The Fourth Set of Stars Chapter 9: Withered and Rotten

  When Qin Yu and Xiao Hei were shuttling through the endless desolate wilderness, fighting against one demon beast after another, the half-year of repression in the Chu royal court of the Dragon Continent was about to erupt tonight.

  Xiyang Town, a small town adjacent to the Heishan Mountains, is the general command center of the Qin family's large-scale war this time. The ones stationed here are Wang Dong and military advisor Xu Yuan. At this moment, however, Qin De and Xu Yuan were playing Go.

  "The sky has already darkened, looking at the time General Qin Feng's army will soon launch its first wave of attack." A black brocade robe-clad Xu Yuan looked up at the sky and smiled at Qin De, his fan still gently swaying back and forth.

  Qin De gently placed a white chess piece and said calmly: "If neither of us wins the first game, then there's no need for Feng Er to become a general."

  Xu Yuan's face had a hint of a smile, Qin De was calm on the surface, but Xu Yuan was still sure that Qin De was absolutely not calm in his heart at this moment, because just now, Qin De made a wrong move. With Qin De's chess skills, he wouldn't normally make such a mistake.

  Calm?

  How did Qin De calm down?

  His wife is dead, his son is dead. And the Qin family's centuries-long preparation will all erupt tonight. At this moment, even if Qin De were a great immortal, he would not be able to calm down.

  The sky gradually darkened, and the small city of Yanglin City, located at the easternmost part of Leixue Prefecture, was still heavily guarded. After all, the Xiang family also knew that the Qin family would launch an attack, and although Yanglin City was an obstacle, it was only a small city. However, according to the Xiang family's intelligence, the Qin family did not have enough strength to break through Leixue Prefecture. Therefore, the garrison of this small city had only a few thousand soldiers.

  "The city gate is already closed, let's leave the city tomorrow!"

  Dozens of city gate guards saw someone approaching and shouted loudly at once.

  "Sir, my father is seriously ill and I must rush out. Can't you be a bit flexible?" Two young men who looked like scholars walked up to the gate guard, simultaneously pulling out a money bag, which opened to reveal several large gold ingots.

  In the dark of night, the glow of several large golden ingots left these guards momentarily stunned.

  Suddenly——

  Outside the Yanglin City, a group of agile figures holding shields rushed out from a small forest outside the city at high speed. The guards on the city wall did not expect that there would be people hiding in the forest, after all, it was not a big forest.

  Each of the soldiers was extremely fast, with each step covering several meters. They were all masters of the inner family. Seeing the speed of these Qin family soldiers, the soldiers on the city gate immediately turned pale, and they suddenly saw the gap between them.

  "The enemy is coming! The enemy is coming!!!" Shouts immediately erupted from the city wall.

  "Get out of here!" However, the leader of the guards grabbed the golden ingot and instead pushed the scholar, apparently wanting to take the golden ingot for himself.

  The two scholars moved in unison, like phantoms, and with a few low growls, dozens of guards stared wide-eyed, clutching their throats and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. The two scholars sheathed their daggers and exchanged a smile.

  The Qin family's first battle must be won quickly and thoroughly. It is worth noting that General Qin Feng personally led an army of one million this time, and the ones who will be fighting in the first battle are the absolute elite of Qin Feng's one-million-strong army, the ace troops - the 'Broken Fortress' Army.

  The Broken Blade Army had only three thousand men, but they were the cream of the crop among one hundred thousand. Each and every one of them was skilled in martial arts and possessed formidable internal energy. As for the two scholars, they were both innate masters from the Qin family's "Hidden Arrows" sect. It would be a trivial matter for these two innate masters to take down dozens of ordinary soldiers in an instant.

  "Shoot arrows, shoot arrows quickly!"

  The military officers on the city wall who were at a loss immediately shouted, but the masters of the Breaking Army used their shields to block the arrows. Some of the masters of the Breaking Army even ran to the gate in an instant and went in just like that.

  Rumble...

  The city gate opens——

  "How did the city gate open? Quick, close it, close it!" The military officer on the city wall shouted loudly.

  A master among three thousand people, like an arrow off the string, charged into the city. The two masters of hidden arrows opened the city gate and suddenly tore off their scholar's robes to reveal a suit of night-traveling clothes underneath. As the city gate swung open, the three thousand vanguard troops swept through the entire small city with ease, like a broom.

  "Whoosh!"

  An arrow shot up into the sky.

  "Haha, Yang Lin City has been broken through, launch the second wave of attack immediately and take down the four cities in the eastern part of Lei Xue Prefecture." Qin Feng gave the order as soon as he saw the signal arrow. He didn't have any doubts about this first battle. A small Yang Lin City, using the most elite 3,000-strong Breaking Army, plus two pre-heavenly experts, if they can't break through, then those experts might as well kill themselves to apologize.

  As soon as Qin Feng gave the order, several arrows shot into the sky immediately.

  In an instant... the four cities on the eastern side of Leixue Prefecture faced a strong attack by hundreds of thousands of troops with almost no preparation, and in just half a night, the four cities were breached. Jiang Tao and Fu Bing each led 1 million troops through these four cities to start sweeping Leixue Prefecture.

  The thirty million 'Black Water Army', formerly the Black Water Mountain Bandits, directly attacked and captured the southern cities of Leixue Prefecture under the leadership of General Fan Yu. The army of three hundred thousand was divided into several troops, ranging from one hundred thousand to twenty thousand.

  ……

  "Pffft!"

  A Qin soldier holding a war knife directly beheaded a local soldier with one slash.

  "Haha, these chicks have never seen blood, and yet they dare to fight us. I've killed over a dozen wolves myself." The Qin soldier burst out laughing, but his hands showed no mercy as he slaughtered the resisting enemies.

  "We surrender! We surrender!"

  One by one, the soldiers of the Xiang family shouted out, and at the start of the battle, the Qin family had indeed shouted "Surrender and we won't kill". The peaceful life had made it so that the soldiers of the Xiang family hadn't killed many people.

  The Qin family's troops were mostly on the border of Hongyuan, fighting with some fierce beasts, and their combat effectiveness was naturally different.

  ……

  Half a month, just half a month.

  Six hundred thousand troops swept through the entire Leixue County like a flood, and for the first time, the strength of the Qin family's soldiers was revealed. The warriors who had been through the brutal killings in Honghuang far surpassed the ordinary warriors of the Xiang family who had not experienced any killings.

  This time, the Qin family will show no mercy and attack the entire Leixue County with an absolutely tough attitude.

  Half a month later, Leixue County was completely taken down. The other three counties of the Xiang family have now been heavily invested, and if they are to be forcibly broken through, the Qin family will also lose a large number of soldiers after all, it is still extremely difficult to attack a fortified city.

  The Blackwater Army is stationed in some cities on the southern edge of Leixue County to deter the three counties of the South Domain, the Mu family.

  ——————

  "Bang!"

  The teacup smashed violently onto the ground and shattered into pieces.

  Pong!

  The desk where the emperor worked in the imperial study was completely overturned, and everything on it fell to the ground. At this moment, Xiang Guang was like a furious lion, his eyes wide open with bloodshot eyes, as if he wanted to devour someone.

  "One county, just one whole county, and it's all over. Everything is in disarray, all plans are ruined."

  Xiang Guang panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes staring at the few people in front of him.

  "My intelligence officer, how much I value you! And what about you? Six hundred thousand troops. Did you hear that? The Qin family has deployed six hundred thousand troops to attack my Lei Xue County. Where did they come from? Tell me, tell me where the six hundred thousand troops came from?"

  Xiang Guang was panting constantly.

  One county, that's a vast territory with over a hundred cities. Moreover, this county is one of the four counties that the Hei family has painstakingly operated, and it was completely broken through in just half a month.

  "Initially, the plan was good. You also said that everything had been investigated and the Black Water Mountain bandits could make Jiang Tao and Fu Bing's 200,000-strong army not dare to move. There is only one Qin Feng's 100,000-strong army, and for that 100,000-strong army to break through Lei Xue County is simply a dream. But what about now?" Xiang Guang stared at the eagle-nosed man.

  The hawk-nosed man knelt down in a panic, saying: "I don't know either, that Black Water Mountain bandit actually didn't keep his promise, they actually completely surrendered to the Qin family, those 3 million Black Water Army were originally the Black Water Mountain bandits." The hawk-nosed man was also very frightened.

  "Haha...... surrender, submit?" Xiang Guang threw his head back and laughed loudly.

  "Heishan bandits, the Heishan bandits with a history of several hundred years! And for hundreds of years, the Qin family has eliminated the Heishan bandits dozens of times, with tens of thousands of people killed or injured. Is all this fake? Ah, is it all fake?! How can they possibly surrender to the Qin family, how is that possible?!"

  Xiang Guang roared in anger.

  The leader of the Baolong Army, Yi Yandao, said: "Your Majesty, it now appears that the Qin family had been harboring a second heart for a long time and had planned this for hundreds of years. The Black Water Mountain bandits were also pawns set up by the Qin family hundreds of years ago to confuse us. This is the only explanation for why, after hundreds of years of fighting between our two sides, the Black Water Mountain bandits suddenly fell silent and surrendered to the Qin family without a word."

  Xiang Guang was most unwilling to believe this, but now it seems that Yi Yan was right.

  "Hundreds of years, heavens! The Qin family has been preparing for hundreds of years. How many more hidden chess pieces does he have? Hundreds of years of preparation, once it erupts, how terrifying will it be?" Xiang Guang was frightened by his own thoughts at this moment.

  Those present were all among Xiang Guang's most trusted, yet at this moment no one dared to speak.

  Xiang Guang hung his head low, unsure of what he was thinking, while Yi Yan and others didn't dare interrupt.

  "Hahaha……" Item Guang laughed in a low voice, then raised his head and stared at the crowd, "Well, isn't it just one county? Doesn't the Qin family have an additional 300,000 Black Water Army? Well, I will make sure to let Qin De understand who is the master of the Chu Dynasty!"

  The item is incorrect.

  The Heishan bandits have become the Qin family's, did the Qin family really just gain 300,000 troops? No. It was 500,000 troops. Because the original 200,000 troops that were used to intimidate the Heishan bandits can now be deployed into war as well.

  The Qin family originally had 600,000 troops, plus the additional 200,000 secretly recruited. Adding the 300,000 Black Water Army, they had a total of 1.1 million troops. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Qin family's army was generally higher than that of the other three families' warriors.

  "Your Majesty, the ancestors invite you to go on a trip."

  A clear and cold voice sounded in Xiang Guang's ear, causing him to shudder all over. He immediately turned to the people present and rebuked them, "All of you get back! Make sure your own affairs are in order before coming out again. If there is another mistake, don't blame me for being ruthless."

  "Yes!"

  Several people present immediately bowed and retreated.

  After a few people left, Xiang Guang tidied up his clothes and left the imperial study room directly to pay respects to that old ancestor.

  ……

  The palace has some places that are not allowed to be approached by outsiders, 'Weiyang Palace' is one of the forbidden areas of the palace. At this moment, Xiang Guang has entered Weiyang Palace. Inside Weiyang Palace, both Xiang Guang and Mr. Lan stood outside the bedroom. Although there was only a bead curtain blocking the entrance to the bedroom, no one dared to break through it.

  Item Guang station outside the pearl curtain, bowed and said: "Guang son see old ancestor."

  "Guang Er, tell me about the battle situation." A warm and familiar voice came from within the room, through the bead curtain, vaguely visible was a person sitting cross-legged on a bed, which was emitting a faint glow.

  Xiang Guang sorted out his thoughts and said, "Ancestor, the Black Water Mountain bandits have changed their name to 'Black Water Army' and become one of the Qin family's armies. In just half a month, they mobilized 6 million troops and occupied my Xiang family's Lei Blood County. This means that the Qin family now has an army of 11 million. Moreover, based on Guang'er's speculation, the Qin family may have been preparing for today's rebellion for hundreds of years."

  "For several hundred years? You're quite clever to have guessed that." The voice inside carried a hint of praise.

  This man's face didn't turn red at all, and he continued: "Even so, I still have confidence in destroying the Qin family. From what I know, the Qin family has already secretly sent 300,000 troops into the two northern counties. When the Qin family starts attacking us, we can directly make Xiang Yu betray them and join forces with my family for a pincer attack from inside and outside."

  "Oh?"

  Xiang Guang's heart moved, and he thought of a possibility. He hastily said: "Ancestor, can Shangguan Hong be trusted? The Qin family has been preparing for hundreds of years. Someone like Shangguan Hong might really have defected to the Qin family. If that's the case, things will be disastrous."

  "Don't worry, even if Shangguan Hong dies, she won't surrender to the Qin family." The voice inside seemed very confident.

  Xiang Guang felt a great deal of relief in his heart as soon as he heard it. He had blind admiration for his ancestors.

  Suddenly, the old ancestor's voice became stern: "Guang'er, has your intelligence department found out about the third son of the Qin family who has already passed away, Qin Yu? Especially how did he cultivate?"

  "Qin Yu? That useless third son?" Xiang Guang was stunned.

  Xiang Guang actually still didn't know the process of Qin De's great war, after all his men, except for Wu De, were all dead, and Wu De was not willing to tell Xiang Guang the true situation.

  "Useless? Four killing gods and Ge Min. Five pre-heavenly great perfection experts! A nineteen-year-old kid killed five great perfection experts, and also the Upper Immortal Wu Xing. That kid even killed Upper Immortal Wu Xing before he died. You still dare to say he's useless?" The old ancestor was slightly angry.

  Xiang Guang was stunned.

  He was more concerned about the eldest son and second son of the Qin family, as for this third son, he had never cared about him at all. But now, even the mysterious old ancestor also paid attention to Qin Yu.

  "Go and investigate quickly. What kind of cultivation method can make a 19-year-old child reach such strength? I absolutely don't believe that one's innate talent can be this high, there must be top-notch cultivation methods. If the Qin family has such cultivation methods and trains out a batch of top experts, that would be a disaster!" The old ancestor's voice grew heavier, clearly already enraged.

  Xiang Guang had never seen the old ancestor speak so angrily before, and he hastily said: "Yes, I'll investigate right away." With that, Xiang Guang hastily left Weiyang Palace.