Chapter 140: The World’s Finest Army

The long night passed in silence. By dawn, the army should, in theory, have been on its way, yet the order to march never came. The soldiers in the various camps had no idea what was happening. They whispered among themselves, speculating and gossiping. Qiu Xiang’s temper was rising. He had no idea how many times he had tried to see Ye Xin, but Xue Baiqi and the others had barred his way each time, merely claiming that Ye Xin was in seclusion and that no one was permitted to approach him.

The ominous premonition in Qiu Xiang’s heart grew steadily stronger. In truth, he knew what Tie Xinsheng intended to do. Shen Wangji, Wang Fang, and even Han Sanmei and Wei Juan, who supported Tie Xinsheng, had no idea why Tie Xinsheng was targeting Wen Hongren. If the matter were traced back to its origin, it had been Qiu Xiang who had first given Tie Xinsheng the idea. Only by doing that could they bind Ye Xin firmly to the Tie family’s war chariot.

Yet yesterday Ye Xin had received a letter of unknown origin. Its contents had been profound and unfathomable, leaving Qiu Xiang utterly bewildered. Today Ye Xin had gone into seclusion and refused to see anyone, while the army remained motionless. All these signs pressed upon Qiu Xiang until he could scarcely breathe.

Time passed slowly. After noon had come and gone, Qiu Xiang could no longer suppress the anxiety in his heart. He simply produced the secret order Tie Xinsheng had given him, sought out several commanders of the City Defense Army, and after discussing the matter with them, led the assembled generals straight into the central command. This time, no matter what happened, he would see Ye Xin.

When they were still several dozen yards from the commander’s tent, the soldiers of the City Defense Army stopped far behind. Bringing the army’s commanders to see Ye Xin was one thing; bringing more than a thousand elite soldiers along would have suggested an attempt to force him from power.

Suddenly, the quiet commander’s tent bulged like a balloon. A frenzied surge of primal energy erupted at once. The entire military camp could sense the upheaval. Countless soldiers rose to their feet and looked toward the source of the disturbance.

Boom!

The commander’s tent exploded. Countless blasts of demonic wind swept outward from it in every direction. Tent after tent was lifted into the sky, crude fences were smashed apart, and soldiers and horses tumbled across the ground like rolling gourds. Yellow sand filled the heavens, obscuring everything from sight.

Qiu Xiang had never witnessed such an effect. He was horrified beyond words. Though he had already circulated his primal energy, the windblown sand still lashed his face and body, bringing sharp pain.

In an instant, the entire camp was filled with shouts and neighing horses. Chaos reigned.

Before long, the inexplicable storm swept across the camp and continued into the distance. The rolling dust had condensed into a towering wall visible to the naked eye, pushing outward with a force that seemed capable of covering the sky and blotting out the earth.

The center of the storm, however, had already returned to tranquility. Some soldiers stared blankly at the receding wall of dust. Others began gathering the scattered belongings, while still others soothed their frightened horses. Though they were a newly formed army, they had undergone strict training and knew how to restore order.

Qiu Xiang stared fixedly at the place where the commander’s tent had stood. There was now nothing left there but Ye Xin, sitting cross-legged in silence upon a ruined carpet.

The next moment, Ye Xin opened his eyes.

His body rose from the ground. For an instant, Qiu Xiang had the illusion that Ye Xin had become as tall and majestic as a demon god, that merely standing upright he could hold heaven and earth apart.

When Qiu Xiang shook his head and looked again, Ye Xin was still the same Ye Xin as before. Nothing about him had changed.

“Are you ready?” Ye Xin asked languidly.

“We are only waiting for your order, my lord,” Xue Baiqi replied with a bow.

“Then let us go.”

Ye Xin waved his hand, and a Boundless Sky Wolf slowly approached him.

After all, they were high-grade fierce beasts. The storm had not affected them. Xue Baiqi and the others had been nearest to the commander’s tent and looked somewhat disheveled; Ye Ling and the others, who had only just climbed to their feet, were in an even worse state.

Seeing the wolf riders mount their Boundless Sky Wolves one after another, Qiu Xiang’s calves began to tremble. He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and hurried forward.

“Young Marshal, surely the army should be setting out now?”

“Let the Chief Dean take them to the southern front. I am returning to Nine Cauldrons City,” Ye Xin said with a smile.

“What?” Qiu Xiang was shocked. “Young Marshal! The Lord ordered you to hurry to the southern front! You are disobeying the order!”

“Must the Chief Dean insist on planting a regret in Ye Xin’s heart?” Ye Xin’s smile gradually faded. “I have already received word that Tie Xinsheng has sentenced Wen Hongren, Shen Yunling, and Wen Rong to immediate execution. They will be taken to the execution ground at dusk today. Chief Dean, give me one reason why I should not return.”

Qiu Xiang drew in a sharp breath. “Young Marshal, these are extraordinary times. I hope you will put the affairs of the state first! Wen Hongren trusted the wrong people and repeatedly leaked vital secrets. He deserves this punishment! Young Marshal, you must not sacrifice the greater good for a minor matter!”

“How interesting...” Ye Xin’s gaze became faintly amused. “The Chief Dean set out with me. According to the investigation, the Plainclothes Guard only learned the day before yesterday that Wen Hongren was closely connected with Feng Qishan, a traitor and spy from the Great Zhao Kingdom. Yesterday, Guan Hanyu brought Feng Qishan’s testimony to Tie Xinsheng. Yet the Chief Dean knew long ago. Heh... Truly, a superior man never reveals himself, and one who reveals himself is no superior man at all.”

Qiu Xiang’s mind descended into chaos. He knew that his own wits were far inferior to Ye Xin’s, but in this situation he could not retreat even half a step. He could only force himself to gather his courage.

“Young Marshal, have you forgotten Yu Fengchun? Have you forgotten Luo Yifu? Have you forgotten Gao Shuizhong? Young Marshal, whether this is righteousness or evil lies in your hands at this very moment!”

By the end, Qiu Xiang was practically shouting with his life.

“Chief Dean, the books I have read and the rules I understand are beyond your imagination,” Ye Xin said calmly. “To me, the victor is certainly righteous, but the righteous do not necessarily win. Those two statements may sound contradictory, yet they contain a subtle truth of their own. I imagine the Chief Dean should understand. Heh... You are not qualified to judge whether Ye Xin is righteous or evil.”

“Ye Xin, what exactly are you trying to do?” Qiu Xiang felt as though his heart and liver had been torn apart. He involuntarily stepped backward. “Are you planning to rebel and plunge the realm into disorder?”

Qiu Xiang had already prepared for the worst. He had thought that, no matter how insane Ye Xin became, he would merely return to Nine Cauldrons City and cause a disturbance. He had never imagined that Ye Xin would actually harbor treasonous intentions.

“Rebel against a mere Tie Xinsheng? Then so be it,” Ye Xin said indifferently.

Ye Xin’s rebellious intent had now been laid bare beneath broad daylight. The commanders of the City Defense Army drew their weapons one after another. A moment ago, they had been comrades-in-arms; now they had become mortal enemies.

“By the Lord’s command!” Qiu Xiang let out a shattering roar. He had never expected Ye Xin’s reaction to be so violent. If he had known this would happen, he would never have given Tie Xinsheng that advice. Perhaps accepting the established facts would have been the wisest choice. But there was no time for regret now. He waved the imperial edict desperately, trying to make sure every soldier could see it clearly. “The Lord has ordered it! Seize Ye Xin, the rebel general, at once!”

“Qiu Xiang, you understand neither strategy nor warfare. With these useless rabble, you think you can seize me?”

Ye Xin’s smile remained as refined and gentle as ever. He then drew the God-Slaying Saber and lightly plucked a finger against its edge. The blade gave a clear, melodious ring that lingered without end.

“Do you know what kind of saber this is?”

Qiu Xiang’s will was seized by the sound of the blade, and he asked involuntarily, “What kind of saber?”

“A butcher’s knife.”

Ye Xin turned and pointed.

“Do you know what kind of banner that is?”

Xue Baiqi had already raised the banner pole. A tattered battle standard snapped in the wind. It was riddled with holes and stained with countless spots of blackened blood. At its center, one could just make out a skull. A row of spears had been painted above it, standing upright in perfect order like the bars of a cage imprisoning the skull within.

Qiu Xiang’s face turned ashen. He let out a low murmur:

“The Heavenly Sin Battalion...”

Ye Xin’s rise had been too strange and too sudden, yet they had found no explanation for it and could only attribute everything to his extraordinary talent. Now, upon seeing the battle standard of the Heavenly Sin Battalion, Qiu Xiang understood countless things in an instant.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

“We are sinners whose crimes are beyond forgiveness. We howl and struggle upon the battlefield. Having already lost everything, what is there left for us to fear or desire?” Ye Xin said calmly. “Qiu Xiang, since you wish to fight, I will give you an opportunity. Arrange your troops and form your lines.”

Compared with the agitated soldiers throughout the camp, Ye Xin had only a dozen or so riders at his side. They appeared hopelessly outnumbered, yet the savage, murderous aura radiating from them soared into the heavens, as though thousands upon thousands of troops stood there instead.

They had slain Sima Qinghong in formation and ambushed Zhuang Buxiu. With victory already assured, and with veteran generals such as Qiu Jiechāi among them, they had preserved their strength.

At this moment, the criminals of the Heavenly Sin Battalion finally released their full ferocity.

“Form ranks! Form ranks!” Qiu Xiang roared frantically.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something. It was said that after Xiao Mozhi had led the Demon Army in surrounding the Heavenly Sin Battalion, he had once sighed that if Tie Xinsheng had been willing to spend enormous resources on the battalion, and if the God-Slayer of Heaven had been given several years to develop it, the Heavenly Sin Battalion would have become the strongest army under heaven.

Qiu Xiang understood what a terrifying opponent he faced. He only hoped that, while Ye Xin had so few subordinates at his side, the tens of thousands of soldiers under his command could pin Ye Xin down completely.

Unfortunately, when Xiao Mozhi had spoken those words, the Heavenly Sin Battalion had possessed no wolf riders, and Ye Xin had only been at the Pillar of State level.

Moreover, Qiu Xiang knew nothing about warfare. His desperate cries only deepened the soldiers’ fear. The more he shouted, the more disorderly their battle lines became.

If they had been the Demon Army or the Tigerhead Army, they too might have been shocked by the savage aura released by the wolf riders. But their discipline was strict, and they had endured battle after battle. At the very least, they would have been able to hold their ground.

These newly formed troops could not.

Some soldiers, upon hearing that Ye Xin intended to rebel and recalling that he possessed Pillar of State-level strength, were already trembling with fear. They turned and fled toward the outskirts of the camp. Once a single person began to run, a chain reaction was inevitable. Even the City Defense Army, renowned for its elite status, began to give ground. Its formation had not yet collapsed, but even the commanders’ repeated roars could do nothing to stop it.

“If you do not wish to stand in my way, then disperse,” Ye Xin said.

He then raised the God-Slaying Saber in his hand and shouted:

“Rise!”

The next instant, his mount shot forward. The City Defense Army, its formation already in disarray, erupted in cries and scattered in every direction.

“Ye Xin! How dare you!”

Qiu Xiang drew his longsword and planted himself directly before Ye Xin’s advance.