Free Web NovelFor a moment, the entire Zhenguo Hall seemed to have turned into a vegetable market.
The heads of the various war zones argued heatedly, neither willing to yield.
Even the governors of those provinces joined the fray.
"Our Central Plains is the granary of the world, with the strongest logistical support capabilities! Our people can assemble at the fastest speed and strike straight into the heart of the enemy!"
"Our city controls the economic lifeline of Great Xia. With just one word from the Marshal, we can immediately convert all civilian ships into military vessels and launch a full-scale attack from the sea!"
"us......"
Everyone knows just how arduous this battle was.
Everyone knows how slim the chances of victory are.
The vanguard often means the highest casualty rate, and a near-certain death.
But what can they do? They're soldiers.
Because they are professionals from the Great Xia Dynasty.
From the moment they put on this military uniform and became professionals, their lives no longer belonged entirely to themselves.
Protecting our homeland is a mission ingrained in our very being.
If the future seems bleak, then risk your life to fight for it!
If darkness descends, then let blood ignite the spark that will set the wilderness ablaze!
Qi Zhenyun and a few other pro-peace generals were stunned.
He then gave a wry smile.
There's no going back now that things have come to this.
A relieved smile finally appeared on Zhao Qingcang's face.
He walked up to the platform and looked down at the faces below, some fervent and some resolute.
"very good."
"I saw the fighting spirit of our Great Xia soldiers." freёwebnoѵel.com
Zhao Qingcang's voice was not loud, but it suppressed all the noise.
“They thought we were lambs to the slaughter, that we had already sharpened our claws.”
"Today, we will show them through our actions."
"The land of Great Xia was forged with the blood and flesh of hundreds of millions of ancestors!"
"The dignity of the Great Xia Dynasty will not be trampled upon by any petty person!"
He paused abruptly, his voice booming like a bell.
"Go back and hold a mobilization meeting, and tell those howling brats under your command!"
"Prepare for battle actively!"
"I'll give you three days."
"Three days from now, I will formally declare war on the Sakura Kingdom in the name of the Great Xia United Front Marshal!"
"A fight to the death!"
"Yes, Marshal!"
The response was so overwhelming it nearly lifted the dome of the Zhenguo Hall.
With that, the Supreme Military Conference is adjourned.
The generals from various war zones hurried away from the Zhenguo Hall, each carrying a chilling aura of killing intent.
A storm of war that will sweep across the entire country is already brewing.
Qi Zhenyun, however, lingered and did not leave.
He sat silently in his seat, watching his colleagues walk past him one by one, his expression complex.
Zhao Qingcang understood that the other party had something to say to him.
When almost everyone had left and only a few people remained in the hall, Zhao Qingcang slowly approached Qi Zhenyun.
He didn't sit down, but stood quietly, looking at his old partner with whom he had worked for half his life.
"Old Qi, you've worked hard all these years."
Qi Zhenyun slowly shook his head, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"In terms of hard work, you are far superior to me."
Zhao Qingcang stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "Old Qi, is there something you need to tell me?"
Qi Zhenyun raised his head, a bitter smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
"It seems you already know."
Zhao Qingcang pondered for two seconds and said, "I only realized this after the beast tide in Dongning Province."
"A beast tide of this scale can only occur in ruins."
"A beast tide of this scale also occurred in Simon City ten years ago."
"You were in charge of handling that matter back then."
“From then on, I felt that you were hiding something from me.”
Zhao Qingcang's gaze sharpened.
"I want to know, why?"
Qi Zhenyun let out a long sigh and slowly stood up.
"Now that things have come to this, I should be honest with you."
"I hope the Marshal will come with me. I will take you to see someone."
"Let's talk as we walk."
Zhao Qingcang nodded silently and followed Qi Zhenyun out of the Zhenguo Hall.
As night deepened, a military vehicle silently glided into the darkness of the capital.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was heavy.
Qi Zhenyun spoke first, breaking the silence.
"You guessed right." freewёbnoνel.com
“In our Great Xia Kingdom, besides the ruins that were just discovered in Dongning Province, there is indeed another ruin near Simon City.”
"However, the ruins were discovered not ten years ago, but forty years ago..."
"At that time, I was the personal guard ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) of the previous marshal, who was also your teacher, Deng Qihe."
"At that time, Marshal Deng received intelligence about a secret realm appearing outside Simon City, and ordered me to lead a team to investigate."
"After I got there, I discovered that the secret realm was extremely vast, and there were still ancient buildings and writings left behind by ancient races."
"Later, Marshal Deng told me that the place was not the so-called secret realm, but the legendary ruins."
Forty years ago?
Zhao Qingcang was stunned, those four words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
That was a year that was too far in the past.
So distant that even memories are now covered by a thick layer of dust.
After a long while, Zhao Qingcang looked at his old friend and asked in a hoarse voice.
"Why?"
"Why did you keep something so important from me for so long?"
There was no anger in his tone, only a deep, unyielding confusion.
Qi Zhenyun did not answer immediately.
He simply stared at Zhao Qingcang, his expression extremely complex.
"Because of this matter, your teacher Deng Qi and the Marshal..."
He paused, seemingly considering his words, before finally speaking in a deep voice.
"He made a huge mistake."
"At the time, we had to consider the old marshal's reputation."
teacher?
mistake?
Zhao Qingcang's heart sank.
Marshal Deng Qihe was the person he respected most in his life.
He was his guide, and also the spiritual totem of the entire Great Xia military.
In his memory, his teacher was always that strategic, infallible, and towering giant.
How could he make a mistake?
It is still a huge mistake that needs to be hidden for forty years.
A thought flashed through Zhao Qingcang's mind in an instant.
"The beast tide that struck Simon City ten years ago..."
He blurted it out, then immediately denied it.
"wrong."
"My teacher passed away more than 30 years ago."
"How could the beast tide ten years ago possibly be related to him?"
He felt increasingly lost, staring at Qi Zhenyun, and asked, word by word.
"What exactly happened?"
Qi Zhenyun sighed softly, leaned back in his chair, his gaze becoming distant as he fell into deep reminiscence.
"After learning of this news, the marshal showed unprecedented attention to it."
"He put aside all his military duties and personally led a team to the city of Simon in secret."
"That team brought together the military's top archaeology experts, formation masters, and the most elite troops in terms of combat strength at the time."
"I was one of them."
"We entered the ruins and began a thorough exploration."
"The deeper we went, the more alarmed we became."
"The scale of that ruin far exceeded our imagination; it was like a vast kingdom buried underground."
"We found many incredible things inside, including unheard-of minerals, long-extinct plants, and even some... artifacts resembling mechanical puppets."
"The exploration process lasted for nearly a month."
"Later, something was discovered deep within the ruins."
Qi Zhenyun paused here.
Without a second thought, Zhao Qingcang blurted out, "A divine artifact?"
