Chapter 67: War!


    Just a few months after Dou Di recovered his ability to


    cultivate, Jia Yuan and Fan Meng were chatting with each other in Jia Yuan’s


    commander tent while eating some food together.


    The two had grown closer together, one a genius of cultivation,


    the other a genius of strategy.


    At this time, a soldier of the 31st Battalion


    rushed into the tent.


    “Commander! Big news!”


    Jia Yuan looked toward the soldier. It was actually a member


    of Dou Di’s squad.


    “Speak up.”


    The soldier sputtered out the news. “Our Kingdom has entered


    an alliance with the Air Kingdom in a war against the Water and Earth Kingdoms!


    A messenger had just arrived with this scroll bearing the royal seal.”


    Jia Yuan, upon hearing these words, accidentally spat out


    his food, losing a bit of the “reliable commander” persona he had been working


    to maintain.


    The royal seal was created by manipulating one’s fire aura


    into a specific formation and then imprinting the formation onto an object,


    creating a seal at the point of contact. The method was very secretive and was


    only used in extremely important cases.


    Jia Yuan opened the scroll by tapping it releasing the seal.


    He then handed it over to Fan Meng who read it out loud.


    “As of today, the 182th day of the 7203th year of the


    Ancient Calendar, our Kingdom’s BlueFire City has been sieged by the combined


    forces of the Water and Earth Kingdoms.


    It is in light of this event that I, the King of the Fire


    Kingdom, declare our Kingdom to be in a state of war against the Water and


    Earth Kingdoms.


    The esteemed Air Kingdom has generously offered their


    assistance in this endeavor, and as such, we will be working with them to


    destroy the Water and Earth Kingdoms.


    We will show them that the Fire Kingdom is not to be trifled


    with!”


    Fan Meng paused. “Ah… it appears that there are some other things written below.” He glanced at the soldier.


    The soldier understood. He clasped his hands towards the


    Commander and Strategist, and left the tent.


    Fan Meng glanced at Jia Yuan. “It appears that we’ve been


    summoned to join the 2nd Army near the border with the Water


    Kingdom… it appears that they wish to retake BlueFire City and turn it into a


    vantage point for the war. We’re to help with the siege and work with the 2nd


    Army however they need.”


    Jia Yuan thought for a bit. “Isn’t the 2nd Army


    actually the strongest standard army of the Burning Legion? I heard the 1st


    Army is full of pampered nobles and the like. Why are we matched with them?


    Does it say what other Burning Legion Battalions will be going?”


    “That’s the strange part. We’re the only Burning Legion


    Battalion grouped with the 2nd Army. The rest are with the 1st


    and 4th Armies.”


    Jia Yuan understood immediately. “So either they decided our


    Battalion needs a quick dose of battle experience, or they decided that they


    would only throw us into the main fray because I’m the only battalion commander


    who’s not directly from a noble family…”


    Fan Meng replied in a rather wistful manner. “We have an


    unproven commander with an unproven strategist, with an unproven battalion. You


    not being a noble is probably just the tip of the iceberg. It also doesn’t help


    that you’re associated with the Black Wing Merchant Guild… they may believe


    that your allegiance is closer to the guild than your country. Perhaps they want


    to see if you’ll fight for your country…”


    Jia Yuan mused to himself.


    It’s not like I feel


    allegiance to country or to the merchant guild… I just want to do well for my


    friends… and for my teacher.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    His eyes sharpened. “Fine, if they want to see how we’ll do,


    then we’ll give them a show, right? I trust you’ll come up with something


    that’ll show how special our battalion is.”


    “Let’s go prepare the troops. We’re moving out!”


    A few hours later, the 31st Battalion of the


    Burning Legion left their encampment for the eastern border to join up with the


    2nd Army.


    After about a week’s worth of grueling travel, the entire 31st


    Battalion had made it, in haphazard fashion, to the staging grounds for the 2nd


    Army.


    They had made it, but they were exhausted.


    Jia Yuan turned toward his troops. “Wait here! I’ll talk to


    the General of the 2nd Army and I’ll find out where we can make


    camp. Don’t cause any trouble!”


    Jia Yuan walked toward the center of the camp, where an


    ostentatious tent had been set up, clearly the headquarters.


    Along the way, he walked past many troops, most of whom


    looked at him with reverent gazes. They could tell from Jia Yuan’s armor that


    he was a commander of the Burning Legion. The most special force of the Fire


    Kingdom! However, some of the veteran troops looked at Jia Yuan with jaded


    eyes. They had fought with those from the Burning Legion before… the troops of


    the Burning Legion tended to be arrogant and demeaning and couldn’t be bothered


    to help the normal troops when the going got tough.


    He pushed aside the cloth in the doorway of the tent and


    walked in. Inside stood 11 burly men in clean but not overly decorative armor,


    surrounding a table with markers and other pieces on it.


    Jia Yuan clasped his hands toward those in the tent. “Greetings.


    Commander Jia Yuan of the 31st Battalion reporting.”


    The man standing at the head of the table walked over with a


    big smile on his face. “Ahh, Commander Yuan! Good, good. I am General Lin


    Zheng. We’ve been waiting for you! How was the travel?”


    Jia Yuan smiled and responded. “No need for the


    pleasantries, General. I’m not one of those stuffy nobles.”


    The General cackled. “Ahhh, you’re just like my sons said.


    You’re the easygoing type, huh? Good, good. Come over here, here’s the


    situation.”


    Jia Yuan instantly thought of the two brothers who wielded


    unusual weapons, Lin Pei and Lin Xuan.


    So that’s why they


    were so adept with those unusual weapons. Their father turned out to be the


    most hardened general of the Kingdom…


    “As you can see, this is where we stand. Over here, is


    BlueFire City. We’re planning to siege it for about a month until its resources


    dry out… doesn’t make sense to lose too much manpower here in a forceful sack


    of the city, especially so early in the war.”


    Jia Yuan racked his brains for a response, but couldn’t come


    up with any. He wanted to take BlueFire City quickly so that the Fire Kingdom


    could seize the city for supply and defense purposes, but he also couldn’t


    argue against the General’s point about losing troops.


    Jia Yuan finally turned toward the General. “I agree, but I


    want to see if my strategist agrees. In the meantime, I’d like to allow my


    battalion to rest, as we rushed over here at top speed.”


    “Ahh, yes. Of course, you can invite the strategist over! As


    for your troops, they can set up camp on the right flank. We left a space open


    for you there.”


    Jia Yuan left the tent and distributed the orders to the 31st


    Battalion, then returned to the tent with Fan Meng, who looked over the table.


    After a while, he turned toward the General. “There’s no


    need to wait a month to take over BlueFire City. With our 31st


    Battalion, we can do it in a single day.”