The wind and rain drifted across the horizon, connecting heaven and earth into one. The surroundings were eerily cold. Amidst the violent galloping of hooves, the sixty Imperial Guards led by Lin Muyu passed through the Coldleaf Forest and stepped into the borders of the Seventh Sea Pass. Every one of them wore a silver helmet over their head and a white cloak over their face. Their heads and shoulders were already covered in snow, and even their exposed eyelashes were covered in a layer of frost. The Seventh Sea Pass was far colder than Lanyan City and could even be considered a land of bitter cold.
…
"Chirp, chirp …"
With a sudden tug on the reins, Lin Muyu reined in his warhorse so quickly that it almost threw him off. He lifted his cloak, revealing a handsome face covered in frost due to the severe cold. Looking up, he could see a forest of mountains in the distance, and between them was an official road that led straight to the Seven Seas Province. At the end of his line of sight was a towering fortress amidst the wind and snow.
They had arrived at the Seventh Sea Pass!
"Sire!"
Wei Chou pointed ahead and said, "Look, the scouts from the Tian Chong Corp are coming."
Not long after, silhouettes appeared one after another in the blizzard. They were all heavily armored soldiers of the Empire. "Dang, dang, dang", a group of scouts drew their swords and surrounded Lin Muyu and the others. The leader of the group, a middle-aged general, shouted, "Who are you? How dare you trespass the Seven Seas?!"
Lin Muyu took out his token and said, "The newly appointed General of the South, Lin Muyu, has come on His Majesty's edict to seek an audience with General Du Hai of the Tian Chong Corp!"
"You're Lin Muyu?" The middle-aged general raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "To think that such a legendary character in the imperial capital would actually look like a pale-faced young man. How strange … Ha, since you're the General of the South, then come with me. I'll take you to see our clan's general."
"Many thanks!"
The scouts turned around and raised the Tian Chong Corp's flag high in the wind and snow, shouting, "Clear the way!"
The sound of horse hooves grew louder as about 200 riders approached the Seven Seas Pass.
As they got closer and closer to the fortress, Lin Muyu looked up and could not help but marvel at the fortress's defensive capabilities. The walls were almost entirely made of huge stones and were about 50 meters tall. It was not an exaggeration to call it a natural stronghold. The walls even looked like they were made of molten steel. The walls were filled with sharp knives that were embedded into the walls, making it impossible to climb them. In other words, the only way to conquer the fortress was to break the gate. However, the gate was a giant gate made of pure iron. Ordinary attacks seemed to have no effect at all.
"Open the door!" The middle-aged general raised the token in his hand high up.
Amidst the snowstorm, the soldiers on the walls waved their hands, and the gates slowly opened. Accompanied by the sound of metal chains twisting, the meter-thick steel gates slowly opened. Inside the city, a group of soldiers wielding sabers and swords stood in formation, ready for battle. The faces of these Sky Crest Legion soldiers were filled with fighting spirit and training.
"General Lin, come with me!"
"Thank you!"
Riding on the warhorses, the group of people followed the scout general along the main road in the stronghold.
Wei Chou and Xiahou Sang looked left and right at everything around them. Both of them had a trace of shock in their eyes. How was this a pass? This was clearly a strong city!
The scout general seemed to be able to tell what they were thinking. With a slight smile, he waved his hand and said, "General, as you can see, the Seven Seas Pass is impregnable. It is known as the world's number one fortress. There are many weapons and rations stored in this city, enough to last an army of 90,000 for seven years. In order to build this Seven Seas Pass, the previous emperor spent a total of 21 years!"
Lin Muyu nodded. "It's a miracle."
"Ha!" The scout general's face was filled with pride. "General Du Hai is known as the leader of the Empire's Seven Divine Generals. He has guarded the Seven Seas Pass for nearly ten years, and there has never been a single mishap. Ha … ten years!"
Lin Muyu was stunned. "The Empire's Seven Divine Generals?"
"That's right!"
The scout general rubbed his nose awkwardly and said with a smile, "But this title was decided by the brothers in the army. His Majesty hasn't approved it yet. Ha, just treat it as a joke."
Lin Muyu's interest was piqued. She asked, "May I ask, which seven generals are they?"
"According to the order of ranking, they are: Du Hai, Xiang Yu, Feng Jixing, Qin Lei, Feng Tiannan, Ji Yao, Lin Yu. Ha … My Great General's ranking is even higher than Xiang Wentian's descendant, Xiang Yu!"
"…"
Lin Muyu smiled and didn't say much. However, she was even more interested in this Du Hai. What kind of person would the current number one general of the Qin Empire be like?
…
At this moment, they arrived at the second wall of the Seven Seas Pass. A soldier's voice came from above. "Open the tiger gate!"
"Creak …"
The sound of metal chains twisting was extremely ear-piercing. The gate inlaid with a golden tiger head slowly rose. Lin Muyu and the others quickly urged their horses in. Finally, they arrived at the center of the fortress.
Inside the tiger gate was a large hall. Although it was solemn and dignified, it could also be said to be simple. Piles of flames illuminated the interior of the hall brightly. On both sides of the hall were soldiers of the Imperial Guard Camp with their hands on the hilts of their swords. Lin Muyu's gaze swept across the hall. There were at least three thousand of them. It was truly a tight security. In the center of the hall, a group of generals stood on both sides, drinking wine.
The scout general walked forward and reported, "Great General, General of the South Lin Muyu of Lanyan City requests an audience with His Majesty's imperial edict."
"Let him in. It's been hard on you. General Liu, you may leave!"
"Yes, Great General!"
…
Lin Muyu led Wei Chou and Xiahou Sang in. Immediately, the Tian Chong Army generals on both sides glared at them, creating an invisible pressure.
Some of these generals even had the rank of Captaincy, with two golden hexagrams on their necks. It was truly a frightening sight. The forty-year-old general sitting in the middle had three golden hexagrams and seven to eight scars crisscrossed across his face. Staring at Lin Muyu with a fiery gaze, he suddenly stood up, cupped his fists, and said with a smile, "General Lin has come from afar. Please forgive Du Hai for not welcoming you earlier."
Lin Muyu cupped his fists respectfully and said, "Great General, please forgive this subordinate. I have come with His Majesty's imperial edict. Please receive it, Great General."
"Yes!"
At the mention of His Majesty, the wild and untamed look on Du Hai's face was instantly swept away. He hurriedly walked up to Lin Muyu and knelt down on one knee, cupped his fists, and said, "General Du Hai receives the imperial edict!"
The other twenty-odd generals also knelt down one after another, their faces filled with solemnity.
Lin Muyu took out the imperial edict and read it out, "Great General Du Hai is to assign 20,000 elite soldiers to General Lin Muyu of the South to head to Cangnan Province to exterminate the remnants of the House of Chivalry in the mountains. The time limit is sixty days. Regardless of whether the mission is exterminated or not, Lin Muyu must return the 20,000 soldiers to the Seven Seas Pass. Du Hai is not to be negligent in any matter that is required."
Du Hai was stunned. Raising his head, he asked, "His Majesty wants … wants this general to lend you soldiers?"
Lin Muyu nodded, "Yes, General, please receive the imperial edict?"
"Yes!"
Du Hai raised his hand to receive the imperial edict. After reading it, he smiled and said, "General Lin Muyu is a young hero. How rare. To think that when I, Du Hai, was your age, I was still a small lieutenant, but General has already become a general of a town and received His Majesty's favor. You can command 20,000 soldiers. Many of the commanders in the Empire's army are not as powerful as you. How enviable!"
Lin Muyu did not know how to respond to his lukewarm words and could only reply respectfully: "Great General, you are flattering me. I am only indebted to His Majesty's undeserved favor. May I know when Great General will be able to assign these 20,000 elites to me?"
"There is no hurry. 20,000 people is not a small number. We need to carefully count them. Moreover, I still need to provide warhorses, weapons, rations and many other matters for these 20,000 soldiers. I will hand them over tomorrow morning. What does General Lin think?"
"Good! Thank you, Great General. "
"You're welcome. We are all serving the Empire. There is no need to distinguish between us. Come, General Lin and the other two generals have a seat. The weather is cold. Drink a cup of wine to warm your body."
"Thank you."
… …
It was already dusk and everyone was slightly tipsy. Some of the generals were already dead drunk.
Lin Mu Yu remained clear-headed the entire time. Right at this moment, Wei Qiu walked over and whispered into his ear: "Master, this subordinate just went down to check on the process of selecting soldiers. They are simply bullying us too much. They only gave us some old soldiers and new soldiers. Some of the old soldiers are already close to sixty years old. How can they still fight?"
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely!" Wei Chou raised his head and glanced at Du Hai. "This Empire's Great General is only so-so!"
Lin Muyu raised her hand and said, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. If they are veterans, then so be it. It's not a big deal. Veterans are also a kind of intangible wealth. It's fine. I was worried that they wouldn't be willing to lend me their men. It's already good enough that they are willing to lend me their men. After all, these 90,000 men are also Du Hai's flesh and blood."
"Yes, Milord is right."
After drinking for a while, Du Hai's eyes looked drowsy. He smiled and said, "Dare I ask General Lin, you … have you ever led troops in the Empire before?"
Lin Muyu shook her head, "No."
"Oh?"
Du Hai couldn't help but smile and said, "His Majesty actually dares to hand over 20,000 men to someone who has never led troops before. As expected, he thinks very highly of you …"
As he said this, he muttered to himself for a moment before smiling, "General Lin, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it."
"Great General, please speak."
"Since General has never led troops before, then this old man will choose someone from the army to join the army. This person will follow the army and give you advice. How about it?"
"This …" Lin Muyu thought for a moment. Seeing Du Hai's' if you don't let me lead, I won't give you any men 'look, she could only nod helplessly, "Alright then, as General wishes …"
"Ha, that's good."
… …
At this time, everyone had eaten and drank to their fill. Du Hai immediately stood up and said, "Generals, since you have eaten and drunk your fill, then return to your camps to rest. Tomorrow morning, you will wake up to train the troops!"
"Yes, General!"
The group of generals stood up and took their leave.
"General Lin Muyu, please stay." Du Hai suddenly said with a smile.
Lin Muyu didn't know what he was up to. She stood there in shock and watched as Wei Chou and Xiahou Sang went to wait outside the tent.
"Great General, what's the matter?" He asked.
Du Hai muttered to himself, his eyes filled with coldness. He sneered and said, "The 90,000 men in the Seven Seas were raised by me, Du Hai. It can be said that every one of them is my brother. To ask me to hand over these brothers of mine … I really can't bear to. Lin Muyu, if you want my 20,000 men, that's fine. But first, I, Du Hai, see what you're really capable of!"
"What do you think?" Lin Muyu's eyes were filled with savagery. She knew that things wouldn't go so smoothly.
Du Hai laughed and raised his hand to draw a long saber into his hand. He said, "Take three of my saber strikes. If you can't even take these three strikes, then there's no need for you to lead your troops into battle."
"Alright!" Lin Muyu raised her hand and unsheathed the Dragon Spirit Sword. The sound of the sword resonated around the tent.
… …
"Not good, they're going to make a move …" Wei Chou said with a frown.
Xiahou Sang took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry. Although Du Hai is at the Third Heaven of the Heaven State, my Lord might not lose. Also … Du Hai wouldn't dare to do anything to Lord."
"Mm, I hope so …"
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