Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Upon hearing this, Fan Jinhua’s head shot up.

”Little Brother Lu, are you saying I should find some friends to guarantee the authority of the six Royal Decrees?”

At this, Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu looked at Fan Jinhua, speechless. As for the ”friends” he spoke of, Lei Zhen had already proven to be completely useless—not to mention he had stabbed them in the back.

Even if some friends were willing to help Fan Jinhua, who could guarantee which were sincere and which harbored ill intentions?

Fan Jinhua certainly couldn’t; he was far too trusting.

So, Lu Chao shook his head. ”Of course not friends. The heavyweight I’m talking about is right here in Master Fan’s own family.”

Stunned, Fan Jinhua asked, ”You mean... my grandfather?”

Lu Chao nodded. The only person of consequence they could find and trust right now was Fan Changcun.

Luo Wendeng’s expression, however, was a mix of shock and doubt...

He couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, ”Brother Lu, can Marshal Fan really do it? He is, after all... after all...”

What he wanted to say, of course, was that the man was a prisoner.

No matter how you looked at it, Fan Changcun was still just a captive, controlled by the Six Great Flame Countries—or rather, the Tiger Flame Kingdom.

His situation wasn’t that different from their own.

Lu Chao fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly...

”They say Marshal Fan is being kept alive to deal with the Great Wu Empire, but I don’t quite believe that.”

”Otherwise, the Six Great Flame Countries would never have tolerated him after the defeat three years ago.”

Before Fan Jinhua could speak, Yu Xiaoping chimed in, repeating what Lei Zhen and his son had said back in Yangzhou City: it was so Marshal Fan could continue to impart his knowledge of the Soldier Dao.

Fan Jinhua confirmed this, saying his grandfather possessed a vast knowledge of the Soldier Dao.

Many talented generals among the Six Great Flame Countries had been taught by the old marshal, though most of them were dead now.

Those who survived, like Guan Zanyi, generally looked down on Fan Changcun.

Still, Lu Chao shook his head. ”I’m still not convinced. But even if that’s the only reason, it’s enough. As long as the Six Great Flame Countries have a use for Marshal Fan, his words will carry weight.”

”Besides, besides him, we have no one else to turn to.”

Hearing this, everyone’s heart tightened.

It was true. They had no other choice, only one path forward.

”Brother Lu, so we charge Tiger Flame Royal City?” Tan An, with his single-minded personality, asked directly.

Yu Xiaoping quickly interjected, ”Of course not! If we had twenty thousand men, maybe. But with only two thousand, if we charged Tiger Flame Royal City, we’d probably be mistaken for Great Wu Soldiers and Horses and get wiped out halfway there.”

With that, all eyes turned back to Lu Chao.

Lu Chao’s voice grew heavy as he asked, ”Who among you has a Map of the Hundred Countries?”

Soon, one of the Descendants of Azure Flame in the group produced a somewhat tattered Map of the Hundred Countries.

Unfurling the map, Lu Chao pointed. ”We are here. From now on, you will follow this route and fight your way here... to the Sword Leader Kingdom.”

The Sword Leader Kingdom was a tiny kingdom, wedged in the central region between the four Flame Countries closest to Great Wu. While there were a dozen or so other small countries in that area, the Sword Leader Kingdom was the nearest to their current position.

Tan An asked again, ”Why do we need to fight our way to the Sword Leader Kingdom?”

Lu Chao knew the Hundred Countries well. As the former Emperor Star of the Great Wu Empire, he had practically memorized their terrain.

”It’s simple. The Sword Leader Kingdom is the closest to us, and its terrain is the most treacherous.”

”More importantly, from the Sword Leader Kingdom, you can strike directly at Tiger Flame, Wolf Flame, Fox Flame, and Eagle Flame. You can attack from four different directions.”

”Why would we need to attack?”

”Because if even Marshal Fan can’t make the Six Great Flame Countries honor the Royal Decrees...”

”...then we will immediately strike into any one of those four Flame Countries. We’ll take advantage of their war with Great Wu, take advantage of their troop shortages, and forcibly rescue your families.”

”Then we’ll capture some of their Nobility and force one of the Flame Countries to put pressure on the other five.”

Everyone swallowed hard.

Listening to Lu Chao’s plan, they couldn’t help the nervous sweat that beaded on their palms.

It was simply too audacious.

”If that’s not enough, after we’ve rescued your families, we’ll take the Sword Leader King hostage and force the Sword Leader Kingdom to mobilize its army.”

”Still not enough? Then we’ll carve a path through the dozen or so small countries, charging through one Small Kingdom after another... We’ll keep going until we force the Six Great Flame Countries to release your families. If not, then to hell with them all, we’ll side with the Great Wu Empire and screw them over.”

Everyone stared at Lu Chao, their mouths agape.

This wasn’t just audacious; it was insane. Something they wouldn’t have even dared to imagine.

Cheng Chuming felt his head spinning. He quickly reminded his son-in-law, ”Lu Chao, we only have a mere two thousand men.”

To this, Cheng Yunsu replied with a smile, ”Father, the Hundred Countries and the Great Wu Empire have been fighting frequently. Their internal forces are depleted. Besides, won’t we run into some bandits along the way?”

Everyone was stunned. Recruit bandits?

Cheng Yunsu smiled again. ”Furthermore, if we take the Sword Leader King hostage, won’t we have even more soldiers then?”

Looking at his wife, Lu Chao smiled and nodded...

”Don’t worry about recruiting bandits for now. Your job is to sneak to the Sword Leader Kingdom and set up a base. Meanwhile, Master Fan and I will set out for Tiger Flame Royal City. We’ll see Marshal Fan first and assess the situation.”

”What I just described were worst-case scenarios. This is all just contingency planning.”

”At the same time, you all hidden in the shadows will be our leverage when we negotiate with the six Flame Countries.”

And so, with Lu Chao’s words, the plan was settled.

Then, Lu Chao led the two thousand men along the route he had just drawn. Along the way, he taught them various military techniques, such as how to march without being detected. With the Six Flame Countries preoccupied with their battle against Great Wu, it would be difficult for them to be noticed.

「Two days and nights passed.」

Lu Chao and Fan Jinhua bid farewell to the group and set off together once more.

Cheng Yunsu remained with the Descendants of Azure Flame. Lu Chao had now confirmed that they were completely trustworthy and would even die to protect Cheng Yunsu and her father, Cheng Chuming. Staying with them was the safest place for her.

Otherwise, if the Great Wu Empire were to invade the Tiger Flame Kingdom again, nowhere would be safe.

「Several days later...」

Travel-worn, Lu Chao and Fan Jinhua arrived before Tiger Flame Royal City. As it happened, security at the Royal City was lax due to recent successes on the front lines. The two of them snuck into the city hidden inside a wealthy merchant’s carriage.

Once inside, they were on Fan Jinhua’s home turf.

Soon, they arrived before the residence where Fan Changcun was held—in other words, Fan Jinhua’s own home.

But at this moment, the Fan Mansion was surrounded by Guards from the Tiger Flame Kingdom. They could only hide in the shadows and observe.

”My grandfather has always been under guard, but never with this many Guards. Could the Tiger Flame King be guarding against us?” Fan Jinhua whispered. ’How are we supposed to sneak in now?’

The next moment, the mansion’s main gate swung open...

A young woman was seeing out several lavishly dressed old men. She suddenly asked, ”Imperial Physicians, is there really nothing that can be done?”

The leading old man sighed. ”For Old Fan... prepare for the funeral.”