Zhan Long

Chapter 1049 - Growth

Fresh blood dyed the maple trees and caused the already red leaves to become even redder.

The horse hooves sounded really rushed. A bunch of people were like injured deer in the forest as they tried to flee. Their suits of armor were torn and tattered, and many of them even lost an arm or were covered in arrows. The flags in their hands had disappeared; the only thing they could do now was to attempt fleeing.

"Surround them!"

Han Yuan gave an order and the Royal Army troops started to gather. Very quickly, these three thousand plus troops were surrounded in a shield formation. Even though they tried to break out, they were unable to, and they eventually totally gave up fighting. All of them were all despairing. In the crowd, one person's eyes were filled with rage. "Kill us if you want; end us quickly!"

Lin Qiong walked forward with a sword in hand and asked, "Who are you? You're really asking for death!"

This losing general had a Major's emblem on his shoulder, and his face had several sword wounds, but he was still arrogant. "I am Dragonling Army's Major Liu Jun; kill me if you want!"

"Liu Jun?"

I was shocked. I walked forward and looked at him calmly. "Liu Jun, do you recognize me?"

Liu Jun was astonished. "Li… Commander in chief Li…"

Lin Qiong laughed. "Now, he isn't just Commander in chief; he's the Marshal, too!"

Liu Jun knelt and begged, "Marshal… since I was once a Royal Army Lieutenant, please let me live. I had no choice!"

Han Yuan raged. "You betrayed the general and led Luo Xun's army to attack the Royal Army. Did you have no choice?"

Autumn Leaf pulled out his blade. "There's nothing to say to such a traitor; let me end him with one sword!"

I shook my head. "Stop! Don't kill him!"

Autumn Leaf was shocked. "General, why?"

I squinted my eyes and smiled. "I have my reasons."

I looked at the army behind Liu Jun and said to him, "You have gone through many battles and are a rare general. As a soldier, you're not afraid of death. Since you were once loyal to the empire, I will let you off this one time. I'll also give you face and not kill the rest of your men. Bring them back to Waterfront City!"

Liu Jun kowtowed. "Thank you, Marshal Li! Thank you, Marshal Li…"

I looked at Tan Taiyu. "General Tan, gather the defeated troops and let Liu Jun bring them back. We've killed enough, so we don't have to go overboard."

Tan Taiyu cupped his fists. "Yes, Marshal Li!"

…

In less than ten minutes, more than seven thousand Waterfront City troops were gathered and given horses. Liu Jun led his units out of a path we left for them and headed toward Three Blades Mountain.

Li Mu did not understand. "Xiao Yao, why did you release that Liu Jun? Did a mule kick your head? How could you order the release of such scum?"

I laughed. "Such a person can become a treasure! You saw how he is a Major, and out of the seven thousand soldiers, he has the highest rank. The other two Majors have been killed by Han Yuan, so this bunch will now be Waterfront City's main force. Based on the system rules, Liu Jun will become the top general. With such a timid person that has no strategy as the main commander, how can Clear Black Eyes and Drunk Maple depend on the NPC army?"

Li Mu laughed, pointing his middle finger. "That’s so despicable. In terms of being an *ssh*l*, I can't compare to you…"

I: "…"

A piece of unfortunate news came from the distance. Half of Liu Jun's troops were killed by Q-Sword while fleeing. Fortunately, Liu Jun himself managed to survive and get out with his remaining men. Q-Sword nearly spoiled my plan.

Next would be to withdraw. Tian Ling City's NPC army fell back. The twenty million player army covered the NPC troops’ retreat. In the distance, Nine Heavens City, which had obtained the Ancient Imperial City, Demon Mountain, Purple Wind Flute, 7K, et cetera, looked on as we fought.

We were not met with danger when we ourselves retreated to War God River. The Royal and Heaven Barrier armies set up our Dragon Crystal and Flame Dragon cannons by the river to defend against enemies. The Indian players naturally stopped attacking as they were no fools who would run to their deaths.

This was a huge victory. We wiped out close to five hundred thousand Waterfront City NPC troops while only losing below one hundred thousand. We did not even lose 10% of our force. More importantly, Waterfront City would not spawn new troops in the next few days. Even if Drunk Maple and Clear Black Eyes tried to recruit more, one hundred thousand would be the maximum. This number was not a threat to us. Without a NPC army and Dragon Crystal Cannons, Clear Black Eyes would be unable to defend and attack during the next country war. She would have to depend on players alone, and that would be unable to achieve much!

…

After arranging the various NPC armies, I heaved a sigh of relief. I returned to Tian Ling City at 4pm. Two prisoner carriages moved slowly on the streets. In it were Floating Clouds and Xing Huo. Floating Clouds' armor was removed and only clothes were left. She looked like someone who had been raped. Xing Huo was no longer as arrogant as he was earlier, and he looked disheveled. His body was covered in wounds and he even had arrows stuck in his back. I wanted someone to heal him, but upon thinking about how he was about to die, I decided that there was no need.

Within the palace, Lochlan arranged for a meeting after he received news.

Han Yuan and Long Xing were personally sending Floating Clouds and Xing Huo as they walked behind me into the hall. The generals and officials were all lined up on either side, and I stood at the front with Lin Wan Er. As the Flaming Cloud Infanta, she controlled a main city. Her power in Tian Ling Empire should only be lower than mine.

Lochlan was delighted. "News came from the battlefield. I thank Master Li for solving a huge problem for Tian Ling City. Flame Lion, Azure Ocean, and Dragonling armies really deserve it!"

I said, "Floating Clouds and Xing Huo have been captured; Your Majesty, please decide on how we should deal with them!"

Lochlan nodded and looked at Xing Huo. "I wrote to you and ordered you to bow to the empire. I also promoted you to a general and gave you control of the Flame Lion Army, but in return, you stole Waterfront City and took control of it. Do you accept your sins?"

Xing Huo looked at Lochlan and laughed. "What a joke! What is the point in saying so much? Just kill me. I am a man who isn’t afraid of death."

"Okay," Lochlan laughed coldly, saying, "I shall grant you death!"

After saying that, he actually jumped off the throne and pulled out his sword. Godly strength wrapped around his blade, and Xing Huo was beheaded on the spot. At this moment, Lochlan actually showed Deity Tier strength. This kid was really cultivating quickly!

All the generals present, Tan Taiyu, Qu Hu, Ouyang Di, et cetera, were shocked. Their strength was lower than Deity Tier, so they were all shocked that the emperor could be this strong! Among the generals, only Lin Qiong remained calm. As a two-star God Tier Boss, his strength was two ranks higher than Deity Tier. Naturally, he would not fear Lochlan's strength. This was the reason why I sent him to intercept Xing Huo. Xing Huo was only a Deity Tier Boss; only Lin Qiong out of all the empire's generals could suppress him.

…

Xing Huo's neck continued to spurt out blood. I reached out. "Men, drag his corpse down!"

Zhu Hai asked, "Are we going to let him off so easily?"

I smiled and asked, "What does Ocean Duke want?"

Zhu Hai said, "Men, drag his corpse down to feed the dogs! Stab his skull with a spear and hang it on the city wall. Let's see who else dares to rebel!"

I frowned and did not say anything.

Lochlan asked, "Master Li, you don't agree with Ocean Duke's words, do you?"

"Although Xing Huo sinned badly, after his death, all the good and bad he had done was written off. I think that we should just bury him with his corpse intact!"

Zhu Hai laughed coldly. "Master Li is The Executor and also the general of the Royal Army; are you actually so merciful like a woman?"

I laughed coldly, too. "Every war I start is for unifying the world, not for killing. If Tian Ling City wants to unite the world, we must make them follow us through sincere admiration and not out of fear."

Zhu Hai wanted to say something, but Lochlan gave the order. "Drag Xing Huo's corpse down and bury him."

"Yes!" Two soldiers dragged Xing Huo’s corpse with his severed head.

Next was Floating Clouds.

She looked at Lochlan with tears in her eyes. She really was a beauty.

Lochlan looked at Floating Clouds. "Sister Yun, did you regret anything?"

Floating Clouds looked at Xing Huo's blood and melancholy flashed in her eyes. "Regret? What is there to regret? I chose all this. Once your father died, I lost the guy I have loved the most. I want revenge. I want to kill the guy who rules Tian Ling City!'

She looked at me with hatred ang anger in her eyes. "Li Xiao Yao, even if I am a ghost, I won't let you off!"

I looked at her and said, "I am not afraid of you when you are alive, so what can you do to me when you are dead?"

Lin Qiong and Han Yuan laughed at the same time.

Lochlan's body shivered. "Drag her down and behead her. Bury her corpse into the royal tomb beside my father's…"

Zhu Hai said, "Floating Clouds is a sl*t; how can she enter the royal tomb?"

I frowned. "Zhu Hai, His Majesty is kind, so how can you keep forcing him to do things he doesn't want to? Are you the ruler or is he?"

Zhu Hai was shock and knelt. "Your Majesty, I’m not being rude!"

Lochlan smiled and looked at me with gratitude. "Okay, let's scatter… We shall reward everyone on another occassion!"

…

Floating Clouds was beheaded. I was uninterested in looking, especially since a beauty had been killed.

Next was the time for the country war.

Lochlan was growing step by step and he was looking more and more like a king. He had killed his last relative, so this was him growing. For the world, for the throne.

An emperor was destined to be lonely!