The Great Grandmaster of the Spirit Sword Valley, Wu Qingfeng, personally visited the frontlines to inquire about the situation.
The allied forces, thanks to Yang Jian’s preparations, preserved much of their strength; none of the ten Grandmasters perished, and out of fifty thousand Martial Artists, more than forty thousand remained. However, their morale had been greatly affected.
It wasn’t just the fear of the Heavenly Star Army that they possessed, but also resentment towards several Grandmasters in the army.
By now, the reasons for their defeat had essentially spread.
Initially, the allied forces had momentarily surpassed the Heavenly Star Army, gaining a slight advantage.
After all, although the allied forces’ Military Formation was somewhat inferior, the number of Martial Artists provided a significant edge, unleashing a tremendous power with the formation.
Yet, seeing the advantage, the Grandmaster at the heart of the formation thought to garner accolades before the battle had concluded and left his position without authorization.
Then the allied forces instantly could no longer withstand the enemy.
Not only that, after faltering, a few Grandmasters, perhaps fearing they would repeat the old mistakes of their first battle, actually fled the battlefield.
Thus, the collapse was even quicker, and if not for Yang Jian’s capability, the losses would not have been less severe than the last.
It was also because of this that some lower-ranked soldiers, though outwardly unperturbed, had actually grown very distrustful of these so-called Grandmasters.
Seeking merit before the battle ended and deserting during battle—these charges would be capital offenses for any ordinary soldier.
But those people were Grandmasters, Grandmasters from major powers.
They likely would face no consequences.
And it was precisely because of this that resentment had grown even stronger.
Low morale, loss of trust in officers.
These were fatal damages to the army.
Even Yang Jian himself was somewhat stunned; he knew they would be defeated this time, but had not expected the reasons for defeat to be so absurd.
Deserting during battle, a major taboo on the battlefield.
Now, even though many soldiers had been saved, he still found the situation thorny.
“It’s troublesome now, this has really become a mess, I really don’t want to take over!”
Yang Jian saw clearly that if this matter wasn’t handled well, they would lose a third time.
“Not even mud sticks to the wall!”
He cursed quietly, and Yang Jian could only pray that the Great Grandmaster Wu Qingfeng could manage the situation well.
In fact, Wu Qingfeng’s expression wasn’t good when he saw these reports.
“Trash, all trash! Fetch Min Shiyuan, Lu Yinzhi, and Cen Xing to me!”
The Great Grandmaster commanded, and the three dared not resist and were honestly brought forth.
“Look at the fine mess you’ve made, deserting during battle, do you three still deserve to be called Grandmasters?”
Wu Qingfeng was almost amused by his anger.
With such people around, one could never dream of conquering Jiangyuan City.
The three Grandmasters dared not argue.
The might of a Great Grandmaster wasn’t just an empty title.
After scolding them for a while, Wu Qingfeng made his final decision.
“I will take good care of your families.”
These three were actually people from Spirit Sword Valley, in Yangwu State, where martial valor was esteemed; other Grandmasters perhaps sought to gain merit, but they did not desert, so their punishment existed, thus their crime was not fatal.
Thinking this, Wu Qingfeng felt even angrier; were the people of his Spirit Sword Valley really so spineless?
Of course, people from Yangwu State had also deserted during the battle.
However, Wu Qingfeng didn’t mention it.
The person shared the same surname as the Sword Master Jiang Dao, a direct descendant of Jiang Dao.
Those who captured him thought Wu Qingfeng was considering Jiang Dao, so they deliberately did not mention it.
But they understood too.
Privilege always existed; it was just a matter of how significant your privilege was.
It seemed best to leave that person in the hands of Heavenly Saber City.
When the three no-privilege Grandmasters heard this, their hearts instantly filled with fear, naturally understanding the implication.
“Valley Master, please, give us another chance…”
But before they could finish pleading, Wu Qingfeng took action, incapacitating the three.
Three Grandmasters were precious, but compared to the benefit of conquering Jiangyuan City, they amounted to nothing.
Thus, these three could only be “sacrificed.”
An hour later, all the remaining forces of the allied army had gathered in the center of the military camp.
Wu Qingfeng intended to bolster their morale!
With the blood of Grandmasters to bolster their morale!
Wu Qingfeng ascended the makeshift Commanding Platform and then began to speak, “Soldiers!”
The authority of a Great Grandmaster seemed casually expressed, yet effortlessly reached more than a hundred thousand people, such was the strength of the world’s top practitioners.
The soldiers also knew this was Wu Qingfeng, Valley Master of the Spirit Sword Valley.
“Soldiers, I know that due to some people’s desertion during the battle, leading to our defeat, some of those were people from my Spirit Sword Valley, responsible for the deaths of our soldiers, and for this, I deeply apologize.”
The soldiers listening underground were quite surprised; a Great Grandmaster actually apologizing to them.
But still, no one responded.
Surprised as they might be, the crowd was not foolish; those people were dead, apologies were useless.
If the problem wasn’t resolved, the same issue would arise next time.
Their lives were their own; they wouldn’t gamble with their lives.
Wu Qingfeng had anticipated this reaction, so he looked towards several people below the Commanding Platform.
These few understood, and then they pushed the three men forward.
“This is the three who deserted during battle from my Spirit Sword Valley, Min Shiyuan, Lu Yinzhi, and Cen Xing. They deserted during the great battle, leading to ultimate defeat. Their crimes are unforgivable, so today I executed them to boost the military morale. All officers and soldiers can verify their identities!”
“Min Shiyuan, commander of the Fire Flame Army, those from the Fire Flame Army should recognize… Lu Yinzhi, deputy commander of the Golden Blade Army, people of the Golden Blade Army… Cen Xing, from the Green Wood Army…”
The allied military formation was known as the Five Elements Military Formation, divided into Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Armies, with ten Grandmasters serving as the chief and deputy commanders.
Under Wu Qingfeng’s deliberate guidance, it was not long before soldiers from these three armies came forward to confirm the identities of the three men—Wu Qingfeng himself never considered falsifying this matter.
“Upon verification of their identities, execute them!”
The three Grandmasters had already been crippled by Wu Qingfeng and thus had no means to resist.
Thus, three Grandmaster-level experts were executed in front of tens of thousands.
All the officers and soldiers witnessed Wu Qingfeng’s determination.
This seemingly thirty-something, exceedingly refined Great Grandmaster was exceptionally ruthless—disposing of his own people just as he claimed he would.
However, the effect was indeed good; after this display, the atmosphere among the allied forces notably improved.
Seizing the moment, Wu Qingfeng declared, “From now on in the allied forces, those who do not obey military orders will die, deserters will also die…”
He reiterated the word “die” over a dozen times, leaving everyone present somewhat chilled to the bone, especially with the bodies of the three Grandmasters still unretrieved, undoubtedly affirming the truth in his words.
However, once the soldiers regained their senses, their morale was boosted once again.
Such strict military orders were necessary to keep these Grandmasters in check and to provide a real chance for victory in the war.
“Allied forces’ Yang Jian, heed my command!”
“Yang Jian is here!” Yang Jian stepped forward directly.
“The above military orders are under your full responsibility. Ensure strict enforcement, and if someone violates them and you cannot handle it, report directly to me!”
“Understood!”
Regardless of what Yang Jian was thinking now, he could only agree.
“Good, Grandmaster. I will bring in new people; you can do as you see fit!”
Having executed three Grandmasters and established numerous lethal rules, Wu Qingfeng considered his mission accomplished.
The subsequent matters would be handled by Yang Jian, and Wu Qingfeng then left the Commanding Platform directly.
However, things were far from over.
After settling all matters, Yang Jian went to see Wu Qingfeng, who had not yet left the military camp, to report the results and inquire about his own concerns.
“Sword Master, why don’t you just strike directly and break through Jiangyuan City?”
He believed that if Wu Qingfeng took action, Jiangyuan City’s defenders could not possibly stop him.
“If it were that simple, we would have already entered Shuzhou!” Wu Qingfeng looked toward Jiangyuan City.
He probably suspected that as soon as he left, that person would follow!
Master of Destiny Zhou Cang, before his death, had slain many Great Grandmasters from various powers but hadn’t touched King Yong Nian’s.
Therefore, on King Yong Nian’s side, there was still someone of Great Grandmaster strength. Although not as strong as their seven Great Grandmasters, with some contingencies, holding him off was still possible.
If he guessed right, that person was now inside Jiangyuan City, keeping a close eye on him.
He was unable to take action himself.
“Anyway, Jiangyuan City is now yours to manage. Do as you see fit. I’m not just saying this; if someone needs to be killed, kill them. If they’re killed, I’ll find replacements for you!”
“Yes, Sword Master!”
After reporting back, Yang Jian left directly.
Once Yang Jian was far away, Wu Qingfeng spoke to the air, “Pass the identity of Jiang Hongyi into the military camp!”
“Yes!”
Did Wu Qingfeng really care about Jiang Dao as his subordinates speculated?
How could he? His strength was almost on par with Jiang Dao; how could he possibly fear him?
Having slain also simply meant that, people from Heavenly Saber City couldn’t possibly seek revenge.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t killed because the person had other uses.
After all, the alliance between Spirit Sword Valley and Heavenly Saber City was bound to fall apart one day.
Although there were quite a few from Heavenly Saber City in the allied forces now, even if the people from Heavenly Saber City withdrew, his Spirit Sword Valley could fill the vacancies.
He wouldn’t miss out on such a formed army.
It’s just planting a seed now, bound to sprout and bloom one day.
…
Not long after Wu Qingfeng left, Yang Jian received news that the chief of the Water Source Army, Jiang Hongyi, had deserted during battle but had not been executed, and there were also discussions about Jiang Hongyi’s identity.
Such news spread rapidly.
Soon, the narrative became that Heavenly Saber City was intentionally protecting deserters.
With no Grandmasters from Heavenly Saber City around to explain, Yang Jian wouldn’t believe it was a coincidence without someone stirring things up.
“Such tactics, truly formidable!”
Being a military leader, Yang Jian naturally could see the manipulations involved.
And he also noticed that, regardless of the discussion, the soldiers’ regard for Wu Qingfeng remained very high.
Executing three Grandmasters had garnered Wu Qingfeng a lot.
He could only inwardly criticize.
To this extent, yet they still engaged in intrigue, just like those from Spirit Sword Valley.
Wasn’t he afraid that the army’s soldiers might revolt again?
Helpless, he could only send people to placate them.
And just when he had almost settled matters, ten new Grandmasters arrived… just like that…