Supreme Emperor of Mist

"How could this be possible? A single battalion of crack soldiers defeating fifteen thousand veteran soldiers that have been on duty for years?" the Wuyue County Lord questioned the validity of the report.

If it wasn't because he knew this scout long before he became the lord of this county, he would have him beheaded for conspiring with the enemies.

No matter how unwilling he was, he would have to accept this fact.

He lost.

As they were speaking right now, the soldiers from the Shuiyin Battalion is busy handling the aftermath. They're still not been given the painkiller. At least, not until everyone was captured. Separating them into groups of a thousand each, they're forced to dig a pit for themselves while still suffering from the pain.

The soldiers from Shuiyue County soon distributed the pain-relieving medicine to the obedient soldiers that went inside the pit. Of course, that wasn't their only reason for doing so.

What they're worried about are the troublemakers that might appear in the group. Forced to be packed in that hole together, it was undeniable that some people would have to relieve themselves.

Problems will soon arise, and when that happened, their mental defense will slowly wear down from all these treatments. It would be the best time for Zhang Qin Feng to indoctrinate the soldiers with his doctrine afterward.

This undoubtedly delayed their progress in attacking the Capital City of Wuyue County, but with fifteen thousand soldiers here as the captives here, how many more can the city have?

This is why Qin Lan decided that settling the problem with the captured soldiers should be prioritized before anything else.

The three countries were having a different mood at night when the result of their first battle arrived at the relevant powerhouses. That's including the famous generals, sects, businesses, and the royal court.

The Country of Wu was glad to hear from scouts that came returned from the Shuiyue Military Academy. As for the Country of Wei, they're taking this as a pinch of salt. From their reaction, they're still confident with the defense in the southern part of their country.

Naturally, such confidence came from the fact Peng Likun was the vanguard general guarding the safety of their border.

But to the powerhouses from the Country of Shu, something else was escalated from the Chi-Lan Marquis's action.

One of them was the order from the royal family itself. And the target was not at Qin Lan nor the County Lord of Wuyue, but the Hall of Treasures.

"General." the hall master for the Capital City branch was somewhat worried because there's nothing good from a sudden visit.

"His royal highness has an order. The Hall of Treasures was to hasten the delivery of gearing up the Royal Army. The time was given to the Hall of Treasures is now adjusted to the end of the year. Failure to deliver will result in reprimanding Hall's status and its member across the country." the general read the mandate out aloud.

"One moment, general! This order is practically tossing the Hall of Treasures into the mouth of the volcano!" the Hall Master immediately begged the general to be reasonable. Even the size of the Hall was as extensive as the Shuiyue County, it's impossible to create ores out of nowhere.

"Tossing you people into the volcano? You're at least in a better position here. As for us, the Royal Army, we're ducks and chickens waiting to be slaughtered! If you can't deliver the gears, to where we're going to equip ourselves to fend against the attack from Wu and Wei?" the general said.

As he was still filled with a belly of anger from the king's ridiculous request, the general swing his hand hard. The King's Mandate was thrown on the Hall Master's head before leaving.

"Chi-Lan Marquis!" the Hall Master hand trembled in anger while holding the mandate.

"Get Da Yuan back here as soon as possible. And leave that nephew of mine in prison. Whether he dies or not won't be our problem anymore. Send a few pigeons out and request the other Halls to start supporting the main branch." the Hall Master said.

"Hall Master, I'm afraid this decision cannot be decided recklessly... What about we get the other Hall Masters back here and discuss it first?" one of the elders said.

"Discuss? By the time the Country of Wei and Wu knew what we're facing, the border tax will be raised to make it difficult for us. The fact the land of Shu is lacking Mineral Ores was not a secret!"

"Get it done immediately. Right now!" the Hall Master ordered.

...

...

"I wonder what kind of man is that Chi-Lan Marquis. To think that he could defeat a battalion of veterans using newly trained soldiers in less than half a year." the Xihou Family Head said. Beside him stands a very familiar figure that used to be quite well known back in Fu-Rong Town before this.

"Ren-Er, I've heard that the Supreme Fist Pavilion is looking forward to matching you with one of the disciples from the Ice Maiden Temple... You'll have to make sure you grab this chance," he changed the topic after the scout who came to report left.

"Dear Grandfather, the Supreme Fist Pavilion indeed has that intention. Please rest assured that Ren-Er will do his best to capture the maiden's heart. This marriage can only be successful, and I won't fail!" Xihou-Ren answered.

"En... Good. This will be a blessing to our Xihou Clan. Make sure you get it done well. If you need anything from the clan, come straight to your father or me." the Clan Head said.

"Ren-Er understands. By the way, grandfather... My teacher just gives me the first manual for the rumored Pericelestial-Realm Fist Technique." Xihou-Ren happily shared the good news with his family elders to make them support him even more.

"Really? You know that this is not a joke, Ren-Er. Did the Supreme Fist Pavilion really gives you one of the three copies they had?" the Clan Head sounds excited.

"It's true. Ren-Er just practiced a tenth of what is in the book, but I had the feeling that I am getting a step closer to reaching the ninth level of the Bone Reconstruction Layer. In this half a year, advancing shouldn't be a problem at all." Xihou-Ren replied.

"Good! Pass my order down to the Family Treasury. If Xihou-Ren wanted to grab anything from there, just allow him to do so!" the Clan Head smiled.

"By the way... What is the name of the Pericelestial-Realm Fist Technique?" he asked.

"Answering to grandfather, the name of this fist technique seems to be Golden Lord's Holy Fist. It was said to be one of the most profound techniques from the ancient sect known as Golden Lord's Temple."

...

...

...

"Milord, what's your next instruction?" the officer came to Qin Lan's side after handling most of the issue last night. The soldiers can be said to be well-rested after Qin Lan's two days of arrangement.

"Is there any report about the City of Yue and their situation right now?" Qin Lan asked.

"Yes. From the scout's report, it seems that they're bolstering their defensive. The city seems to have enough provision that could last them for months. If we're attacking, I'm sure this will be difficult because we can't send all our soldiers at once." the officer said.

"Who told you I'm going to attack them, officer?" Qin Lan chuckled. His smile made the officer, Secretary Qian, and even Elder Yang Wen filled with questions about why Qin Lan made such an expression.

"There's a total of six villages, one town, and one city here in Wuyue County, correct?" Qin Lan asked.

"Yes, Milord." Secretary Qian nodded.

"Relay my order. Five hundred men in a squadron. Send six teams out and politely invite all the villagers to come to the City of Yue. Tell the soldiers that if anyone dares to pillage the village while doing so, I'll personally behead them myself."

Secretary Qian, I'll need you to follow a thousand soldiers to the White Jade Town and tell the townsfolk to surrender. Do the same thing and invite them here to the City of Yue." Qin Lan smiled.

"Mi-Milord, can you explain why we're involving the people living in this county? Don't tell me... They'll be a part of this war?" Secretary Qian asked. There's a slight worry in his mind that Qin Lan will involve the people in this war.

"Who told you that I'm getting the people involved in this battle? Since the City of Yue prepared their ration well, I'm only inviting the people from this county to enjoy the banquet together."

"Trust me, by the end of this week... They'll open the door voluntarily and invited me into the city to rule them." Qin Lan smiled while answering secretary Qian's question.

...

...

One week later.

"Drag that County Lord out and kick him out of this county!"

"Kick him out! The Wuyue County doesn't have such a rotten official! How regretful that I am not able to deliver judgment on behalf of my family!" the townsfolk said as they threw eggs and rotten vegetables on the County Lord.

It seems that what Qin Lan said actually comes true. In just a matter of a week, the Wuyue County fell into his hand voluntarily as the people from the county collaborated and rebelled against the Wuyue Lord's men. In just a single night, the county fell into the public's hand.

There was only impress in the face of the people from Shuiyue County.