Firmament Sword

By the time Wei Ziting arrived at the Central Army Tent, hundreds of people were already following him. The vast majority of them were close to the Wei Family and to Wei Ziting himself.

Their faces were etched with anger as they followed Wei Ziting, bolstering his presence. Many were shouting and clamoring; if you’d put weapons in their hands, it would have been just short of a mutiny.

”We want an explanation! On what grounds have you detained the warriors who disrupted the Yan Army’s supply line and impacted the Southern campaign?”

”That’s right, we need an explanation!”

”An explanation!”

”An explanation!”

Wei Ziting stood coldly outside the Central Army Tent and raised a hand. The voices of the crowd behind him immediately quieted, until there was utter silence.

Many of the True Martial Academy students who had come along to watch the spectacle also held their breath, watching nervously.

As for the soldiers of the Southern Group Army, not a single one got involved. They were professional soldiers and understood the potential consequences of a mass gathering within the army far better than these students.

”General Xu, this subordinate, Wei Ziting, has a question regarding a matter I do not understand.”

Wei Ziting stood with his head held high and his chest out, speaking in a clear, loud voice, ”I brought over a hundred of my family’s private soldiers, including more than thirty elite scouts. They risked life and limb deep inside the Cao Kingdom to cut off the Yan Army’s supply line and wipe out a large number of their troops, rendering distinguished service for our Cangqiong’s Southern Group Army! I would like to ask, General, why have you detained them? What crime... did this group of meritorious men commit?”

At this, the students following Wei Ziting no longer dared to make a sound.

To do so would be to truly defy military regulations.

The Central Army Tent was silent. A group of elite soldiers stood guard at the entrance, their gazes fixed coldly on Wei Ziting and his followers. If they made the slightest move, these elite soldiers would act immediately.

”General...” Seeing no reply, Wei Ziting couldn’t help but grow angry. ’No matter how capable you are, Xu Zhongtian, you’re just a Marquis!’ he raged internally. ’Do you plan to grow old and die in the army and never return to the Imperial Capital? What good does offending my Wei Family do for your Xu Family?’

”Silence!” Following the furious shout, a middle-aged man lifted the flap of the Central Army Tent and walked out with a powerful stride.

”F-Fourth Uncle, why... why are you here?” When Wei Ziting saw the man who had emerged, he was stunned at first. Then, seeing the anger on the man’s face, he seemed to understand something. In an instant, his mind went blank, his hands and feet turned to ice, and a chill ran down his spine.

”You insolent brat! How dare you trust just anyone? Take a look at the kind of people you found! Do you really think they would follow your orders to the letter? You’ve been deceived, yet you’re still preening about your military merits! Merits! Merits my ass!” The middle-aged man was absolutely livid.

The reason he hadn’t approached Wei Ziting about this matter immediately was to avoid blowing the situation up. He had planned to first communicate privately with Xu Zhongtian and then present His Majesty’s suggestion... He believed Xu Zhongtian would grant him that much face.

After all, His Majesty’s will was involved; Xu Zhongtian would surely have to consider it.

But he never expected Wei Ziting to be so impatient. And Wei Lei had also heard that just before he arrived, Wei Ziting had even sent people to provoke Xu Luo...

”What a bastard!” Wei Lei was fuming. He pointed at Wei Ziting and cursed, ”Hurry up and apologize to General Xu! You’re a poor judge of character and too impetuous. The Military Department... you are no longer fit to remain here. Pack your things immediately and come back with me!”

”Fourth Uncle... this... I... I...” Wei Ziting’s young, handsome face flushed beet red, his eyes flashing with deep fear.

At this point, it was no longer a matter of losing face. This incident... could even implicate his father, Wei Feng!

Wei Ziting couldn’t help but be terrified. He didn’t even know how his father would deal with him.

”You ’I’ what? Didn’t you hear me? Get on your knees and apologize to General Xu!” In his heart, Wei Lei was utterly fed up with his nephew.

Back in the Imperial Capital, Wei Ziting had seemed like a rather calculating young man. He was steady and acted with great restraint around Leng Ping for a long time, only showing his true colors later because of the Seventh Princess.

But by that time, Wei Ziting had already gathered a large group of the Imperial Capital’s elites and was qualified to stand as an equal rival to Leng Ping.

Therefore, it wasn’t a big deal to drop the facade back then, not to mention that Wei Feng had already completely suppressed everyone in the imperial court, becoming a figure who wielded immense power.

But who would have thought that such an outstanding young man from the Imperial Capital would, upon leaving home and joining the army, commit such unforgivable mistakes one after another!

’Do you take everyone else for a fool? Or are you the real idiot here?’ Wei Lei desperately wanted to grab Wei Ziting by the collar and ask him just that.

At this point, Wei Ziting was on the verge of losing his mind, roaring almost manically, ”On what grounds! On what grounds do you say I’m falsely claiming military merit? What evidence is there to prove it? If you can’t produce any evidence, I won’t accept this, even if the Heavenly King himself came down!”

As he spoke, tears streamed down Wei Ziting’s cheeks. He choked out, ”I spent a huge sum to buy a map of the Yan Army’s supply line from a confidant of the Cao Kingdom’s Prince General, Cao Tianyi. This map was confirmed on-site. Was I wrong to do that? My men, acting as scouts, risked life and limb at the One-Line Heaven Gorge on the Yan Army’s supply line in the Cao Kingdom. They set a trap and wiped out the Yan Army. That is an undeniable fact. Was I wrong?”

”Since all of this happened, on what grounds do you say I didn’t do it! I, Wei Ziting, have acted with integrity and a clear conscience. On what grounds do you accuse me of falsely claiming credit? If this merit isn’t mine, then whose is it? Let him stand up and say so himself!”

”Fine, it’s true I made a mistake before about Xu Luo being in the Cao Army’s camp. That was my fault. Because of some personal grudges between Xu Luo and me, my judgment was clouded. I reported it without verification. I, Wei Ziting, did that, and I admit it!”

”But cutting off the Yan Army’s supply line and wiping out their transport troops—the idea was mine, the money to buy the map was mine, and the men who did it were mine! On what grounds... do you say I’m falsely claiming credit? On what grounds!”

Wei Ziting looked crazed. His attitude was defiant, his handsome face twisted into a ferocious snarl. His every word was an accusation, moving many of the onlookers.

”Looking at Wei Ziting now, I’m kind of starting to believe him.”

”Yeah, if he really hadn’t done it, wouldn’t he have been scared stupid by now? How could he still dare to argue so forcefully?”

”I’m still not convinced. I just feel like Wei Ziting right now looks like a cornered dog.”

Many of the spectating students were all discussing in low voices, and a number of those who had been standing firmly behind Wei Ziting began to quietly edge away.

”On what grounds? Wei Ziting, your skin is so thick it’s reached a whole new level! You actually have the gall to ask on what grounds?”

Just as Wei Lei was about to grab Wei Ziting, slap him hard across the face, and drag him away by force, a fatty stepped out from the crowd. He pointed at Wei Ziting and cursed, ”Wei Ziting, ask yourself, don’t you feel any shame saying those words!”

”Liu Feng, what business is this of yours? Stay out of these muddy waters! This has nothing to do with you, so get lost!” Wei Ziting threw all caution to the wind and dropped all pretense.

”Hahahaha, what business is it of mine? I can’t believe you’d say something like that! Why don’t you ask your Fourth Uncle what business it is of mine? Hahahaha, this is hilarious!”

Liu Feng threw his head back and laughed, his face full of scorn. ”Wei Ziting, oh, Wei Ziting, you’re a complete idiot! This whole operation, I, your Master Fatty, was involved from start to finish! The plan was conceived by the Martial Soul Squad’s captain, Xu Luo, and vice-captain, Li Hong, and discussed by our entire group. The one who set up the traps was Sui Yan, who’s skilled with mechanisms, and the ones who carried it out were all of us from the Martial Soul Squad!”

”And you dare say it has nothing to do with me? Wei Ziting, have you no shame?” Liu Feng’s words plunged the surroundings into a dead silence!

Everyone stared at the Little Fatty in utter disbelief. A series of sharp gasps could be heard from the crowd.

If the Martial Soul Squad had really done this, then this squad was truly about to become famous throughout the world!

”You’re lying! This has nothing to do with you!” Wei Ziting roared. ”Dream on if you think you can steal my military merits!”

”That’s right, Liu Feng! What evidence do you have that you did this?” Li Tie was already furious at the sight of Liu Feng, and now he decided to go all in, committing to this path until the bitter end.

”Evidence? The evidence was sent to His Majesty long ago. If you want evidence, go back to the Imperial Capital and ask His Majesty for it. Master Fatty couldn’t be bothered with you lot, but seeing how utterly shameless you are, I just couldn’t hold back...”

”You’re talking nonsense! If you did this, why would you turn down the military merit? Why?” Li Tie glanced at Wei Ziting, whose face was ashen, and yelled at Liu Feng.

”Yeah, this is strange. If the Martial Soul Squad really did it, why would they refuse the merit?”

”Mmm, it’s very odd. Is there anyone who thinks they have too much military merit?”

”This merit is enough to make a soldier famous throughout the world. I don’t believe anyone would be stupid enough to refuse it.”

Many people began to mutter amongst themselves after hearing Li Tie’s words, finding the situation baffling.

”Curious, are you? Then Master Fatty, today, in front of all my comrades in the Southern Group Army, will tell you exactly why the Martial Soul Squad did this and didn’t even want the military merit.”

Liu Feng’s voice grew somber. His gaze swept slowly across everyone’s faces.

Including that of the Champion Marquis, Xu Zhongtian, who had walked out of the Central Army Tent.

”It’s because dozens of innocent civilians lost their lives as a result of us cutting off the Yan Army’s supply line.”

As he spoke, the rims of Liu Feng’s eyes reddened slightly. He let out a long breath. ”Those Yan traitors may be worse than beasts, but if we hadn’t cut off their supply line at the One-Line Heaven Gorge, trapping them there and causing their mission to fail so they didn’t dare return to their army... they wouldn’t have turned into a band of marauders after escaping and brutalized those innocent people.”