Firmament Sword

”Damn it!” the Grain and Grass Officer roared, cursing as his figure rose into the air and shot directly toward the commotion.

Immediately after, three or four more figures followed him, their speed just as fast, rushing toward the same spot.

Unfortunately, by the time the Grain and Grass Officer arrived, it was all over.

Seven or eight Soldiers from the Cao Kingdom had all had their throats slit. Only one remained, and he looked to be barely breathing.

The Grain and Grass Officer walked over, hoisted the man up, and demanded, ”What happened?”

The man had been stabbed in the stomach, but not fatally. Pale and trembling, he answered, ”J-Just now... we sensed... someone in the woods by the road, so we went to investigate. Who knew... as soon as we entered and made a sound... they... they attacked, and they were cursing...”

”Cursing what?” the Grain and Grass Officer asked coldly.

”They were c-cursing... calling us ’damned Cao the Traitor’... and said they hate... people from the Cao Kingdom the most...”

A thoughtful look appeared in the Grain and Grass Officer’s eyes. He then asked, ”Did you get a clear look at what they looked like?”

”They... all had their faces covered. We couldn’t see what they looked like. But... I grabbed this.” As the Cao Kingdom Soldier spoke, he opened his tightly clenched fist. In his palm, besides a piece of black cloth from their masks, was a snippet of navy-blue fabric.

”I... I only managed to grab a corner of his clothes before he turned and stabbed me in the stomach. The pain made me collapse. They said... ’Let’s go,’ and something about ’what rotten luck’...” The Grain and Grass Officer took the navy-blue fabric snippet and examined it carefully by torchlight, then couldn’t help but curse furiously.

”Damn it! Bastard! Son of a bitch!”

Although it was just a corner of fabric, the Grain and Grass Officer recognized it at a glance. It was from the standard-issue military uniform of the Great Yan Army!

A picture of what had just happened instantly formed in the Grain and Grass Officer’s mind...

’The Reconnoitres from Mo Yun’s remnant forces grew impatient, so they started secretly monitoring us to prevent us from bypassing them and slipping away.’

’Unexpectedly, they were discovered. And by coincidence, the ones who found them were those men from the Cao Army.’

’And Mo Yun’s army just suffered a massive defeat from the combined attack of Cao Tianyi and Yuwen Shentong. Their hatred for the Cao Army is every bit as intense as their hatred for the Cangqiong Kingdom!’

’That’s why those few furious Reconnoitres used the cover of night, thinking no one could recognize them, and attacked the men from the Cao Army!’

”Fuck!” The Grain and Grass Officer felt he had figured everything out, and he became even more incandescent with rage.

To be honest, he didn’t care one bit about the lives of these Cao Army soldiers. He would have been happy if every last one of them had dropped dead.

The problem was, the Cao Kingdom was now starting to fracture internally, and the army of Great Yan needed the Cao Kingdom’s help in too many ways!

If word of this incident got out, the Cao Kingdom would undoubtedly put immense pressure on the Yan Army!

’Why were all the dead men Soldiers from the Cao Kingdom? Why was it all so coincidental?’

The Grain and Grass Officer knew that absolutely no one would believe his explanation!

”Bastard! Fuck!” The Grain and Grass Officer, a cultivator at the Great Sword Master Realm, was seething. He snarled, ”Mo Yun... I was originally going to spare you some grain and grass out of respect for the Grand General. But now... you won’t get a single damn grain from me! If you have the guts, then try and take it with your remnant army! See if you can swallow my three thousand men!”

The other few commanders, also at the Great Sword Master Realm, looked just as furious. They weren’t idiots; though they remained silent, they had witnessed the entire process.

That snippet of navy-blue fabric was enough to identify the attackers of the Cao Army.

What else was there to say?

What more needed to be said?

”That’s right. We’re just transporting supplies; we don’t have the authority to decide how they’re allocated. If she wants some, she can go ask the Grand General!” one of the Great Sword Masters who had arrived with him said grimly.

”Exactly! She won’t get a single grain of rice from us!” another Great Sword Master added, his face twisted in anger.

...

Meanwhile, Xu Luo and his group, having done the deed, had already bolted and were now miles away.

They sprinted all the way back to camp in one go, all of them soaked to the bone with sweat.

Although the operation had gone smoothly, it had been incredibly risky. If they had been just a little slower, they could have been exposed.

”Damn, to think there were several Great Sword Masters hidden in that supply convoy. Good thing we all ran fast enough...” Liu Feng mumbled, the fear still lingering.

”Is this... really going to work?” Xu Lingtian asked timidly.

Li Hong said, ”We’ve done our part; the rest is up to fate. Now it all depends on Second Brother Xu’s performance tomorrow!”

”Heh, Second Brother is quite skilled at this sort of thing,” Xu Luo said with a laugh.

Liu Feng nodded in agreement. ”Don’t be fooled because Second Brother is as quiet as a clam, always looking like he only knows how to forge metal and sharpen swords. In reality, he’s as cunning as they come...”

”The Champion Marquis has always been famous for his unparalleled strategies. How could his son be any less capable? So relax, this will definitely work. At the very least, the Grain and Grass Officer of that supply convoy must be seeing red right now!” Li Hong said with a laugh.

”A brilliant plan, killing two birds with one stone!” Huangfu Chongzhi remarked with a laugh.

”Two birds? This is more like three birds with one stone!” Liu Feng snickered. ”That Grain and Grass Officer is probably racking his brain right now, trying to figure out how to appease the Cao Kingdom’s fury! HAHAHAHA!”

The entire group roared with laughter.

Ling Luoxi said with deep feeling, ”I thought we were out of options, but I never expected such a perfect opportunity to arise. Li Hong, and you, Boss, your wisdom is like a beacon in the darkness, lighting up our hearts!”

”Oh, get out of here, you suck-up,” Little Fatty said, utterly disdainful of Ling Luoxi’s bootlicking skills. ”A beacon in the darkness? It’s clearly the sun in the sky, shining down on all creation!”

...

After this incident, the Grain and Grass Officer was burning with rage. He ordered his convoy to accelerate, determined to find Mo Yun and demand an explanation.

’I’ll make her give me an answer! She won’t just get away with this!’ the Grain and Grass Officer swore viciously to himself.

By the dim light of dawn, the convoy, which had originally been over thirty miles from Mo Yun’s remnant forces, was now just over eighteen miles away. By afternoon, as the sun began its westward descent, the distance between them had shrunk to less than three miles!

Ahead, they could already see the welcoming party sent by Mo Yun’s remnants—a force of several hundred men.

”Hail! Is that the supply convoy of our Great Yan? I am Deputy General Zhou Bo, under the command of General Mo Yun. Please have your Grain and Grass Officer come forward to speak!”

The Grain and Grass Officer rode out, his expression grim. Flanked by his retinue, he advanced with a menacing air.

”Where is your General Mo?” the Grain and Grass Officer asked bluntly the moment he met their Deputy General, Zhou Bo.

Zhou Bo’s brow furrowed in displeasure. ’You’re just a Grain and Grass Officer,’ he thought. ’Even if your rank is high for your position, it’s definitely not as high as mine. What right do you have to demand to see General Mo the moment you arrive? Is General Mo someone a person of your station can meet so easily?’

But ultimately, his side was the one asking for a favor. Zhou Bo had no choice but to suppress his anger and force a smile. ”Our General is unwell and cannot come out to greet you. She sent me to welcome you, General.”

The commander of a three-thousand-man unit was in no way qualified to be addressed as ”General,” but since they were the ones asking for a favor, he had to say what was pleasant to hear.

”Welcome me? Heh, spare me the pleasantries. I wouldn’t dare.” The Grain and Grass Officer sneered. ”I have something to ask General Mo in person. Lead the way!”

”Hm?” Although Zhou Bo was only in his thirties, the fact that he was a Deputy General meant he was no fool. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been the one sent to liaise with the supply convoy.

But regardless, he was Zhou Bo, a valiant general in the army. He was already filled with pent-up rage from their recent, humiliating defeat, and seeing this man act with such arrogance and disrespect finally made him snap.

But then he remembered General Mo’s earnest plea, his starving comrades-in-arms, and the brothers suffering and dying for lack of medicine. Zhou Bo forcefully suppressed his rage and gave a dry chuckle. ”You wish to see my general? Very well. I... will... take you to her!”

He forced the words out with great difficulty.

But what could he do? When you live under another’s roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

The Grain and Grass Officer could naturally see the Deputy General was suppressing his fury. He had heard of Zhou Bo before: a Tier Seven Great Sword Master in his thirties, a significant figure in the army.

’So you’re angry? I’m ten times angrier than you!’ the Grain and Grass Officer fumed internally. ’You think you can just deny the ”good deeds” you’ve done? I still have the scrap of cloth! I’m even hauling the corpses of the Cao Army soldiers with me!’ Saying nothing, the Grain and Grass Officer followed behind Zhou Bo with his large retinue.

Hearing the thunder of hooves behind him, Zhou Bo realized the Grain and Grass Officer had brought several hundred men with him, and his heart burned with even greater rage.

’You sniveling bastard, looking down your nose at your betters!’ Zhou Bo raged inwardly. ’We suffer one defeat, and now even a nobody like you dares to show us this kind of attitude? On top of that, you even put on this display as if you have to guard against us! This is utterly humiliating!’

Cursing silently, Zhou Bo said nothing more. He spurred his horse and galloped back toward their camp.

Mo Yun’s condition showed little improvement. The blow from Cao Tianyi had been too heavy; it had been aimed to kill.

On the battlefield, it’s kill or be killed. The probability of something like mutual admiration between enemies was incredibly low.

When enemies faced each other, every strike was a killing blow!

Had Mo Yun been given the same opportunity, she wouldn’t have held back either.

Mo Yun sat in a plush chair under a large parasol, squinting at the cloud of dust rising in the distance. ”What is going on?” she asked, surprised.

No one around her could answer. They were all just as surprised.

Logically, even if the other party’s Grain and Grass Officer was unwilling to share the provisions, he shouldn’t dare to be provocative.

A supply convoy of a few thousand men daring to provoke a legion of nearly twenty thousand? What was the difference between that and suicide?

”General, my apologies. This subordinate is incompetent. I cannot complete this task!” Zhou Bo galloped to the front, leaped from his warhorse before Mo Yun, and gave a perfunctory salute before storming off in a huff.

”What... What’s gotten into him?” Mo Yun watched Zhou Bo leave, completely baffled. ’Zhou Bo is usually such a composed person,’ she thought. ’Why is he acting as if he’s suffered some terrible injustice today?’

Before she could ask any more questions, the Grain and Grass Officer and his entourage had already arrived.

”Is that General Mo ahead?”

The Grain and Grass Officer did not dismount. He remained seated on his horse, coldly staring at the delicate, beautiful woman under the large parasol, her face pale with sickness. ’Who is this act for?’ he thought contemptuously. ’A defeated general trying to fish for sympathy?’