A Grand Bargain

Liana stormed towards the Barracks Gate, but after a hundred paces, she glanced back. “Hmm? Could Francis really be so unfazed? Did my scolding truly wither him?”

After a few more steps, Liana felt a pang of unease. She had discerned Francis's primary issue wasn't intellectual, but psychological—burdened by too much responsibility, he had lost the adventurous spirit of his solitary past! She had intentionally spoken harshly to provoke him, but what if she had truly disheartened him beyond recovery? Then... she'd have no remedy for her regrets!

Perhaps Francis was still pondering.

Liana dawdled her way to the Barracks Gate, and when she looked back, Du Chen's warm tent remained tightly sealed.

Liana stamped her foot, gritted her teeth, and turned to walk back. But just then, a fierce gust of wind erupted behind her, sweeping the not-so-powerful Liana into the sky!

Liana's vision blurred, and when she regained her senses, she found herself standing on a Green Cloud, floating high in the air. Du Chen… was squatting behind her, grinning as he stroked his nose. “Your esteemed Majesty, might you be interested in a grand bargain with me?”

Liana paused, then turned and crouched before Du Chen. “My appetite is vast, Your Grace; ordinary dealings simply won’t catch my eye!”

“A transaction involving two hundred thousand souls, would that pique your Majesty’s interest?”

Liana blinked her large eyes. “Oh? Are you asking me to aid you in pulling the wool over the Pontiff’s eyes, to spirit away two hundred thousand people from Thornwood Valley right under his nose? Are you no longer concerned with discerning their good from evil?”

Du Chen pointed to his chest. “Good and evil reside within the heart; no one can truly discern the good and evil of two hundred thousand people, nor do I need to pretend I can! We’ll scoop them all up, transport these Thornwood Valley folk to your domain first, then we can talk!”

“My domain?”

“Indeed. Miki Duchy boasts a Thousand-Mile Maritime Border and Innumerable Islands, almost entirely isolated from the Three Continents. Is this not the most ideal place for resettlement? Furthermore, what your Miki Duchy currently lacks most… isn't it precisely labor?”

Liana’s large eyes twinkled. “Two hundred thousand citizens, one hundred thousand able-bodied laborers—wouldn’t that enable me to construct several Trans-Oceanic Bridges? However, I dislike empty words. First, tell me: what is the very first step in this transaction of two hundred thousand Thornwood folk?”

Du Chen curled his lip. “Why talk about it? I’ll take you directly! With the speed of my Green Cloud, we can make a round trip to Durkes City in half a day—and to deal in souls in the Heavens Beyond Heavens, we naturally need to summon Little Duding first!”

Seeing Du Chen’s mouth curled in an amiable smile once more, yet his eyes slyly scanning his surroundings, Liana finally smiled!

However, just as the two were about to fly towards Durkes City, a thunderous boom echoed. Dozens of Sacred Artifact Cannon beams suddenly erupted from Thornwood City. Immediately after, Du Chen, observing from above, saw Thornwood City’s Southern Gate wide open, and a contingent of Black-armored Warriors, led by the General who had faced Dud that day, charged forth!

“Alarm! All troops on high alert! Vanguard Battalion, follow me to intercept the enemy attack!” Adams’ voice resounded across the fields!

Liana glared fiercely in the direction of Thornwood City. “It seems we’ll have to delay our trip to Durkes City. But how did Thornwood Valley manage to launch an attack? Have they resolved to fight to the death, or is there another scheme at play?”

…In fact, neither was true. Thornwood Valley was sending someone to their demise! And the one sent to die was none other than Ted!

The day before, Thomas had received a secret Fiendkind order to assassinate Ted. But Sena was still alive, and Ted now commanded ten thousand Imperial Guards. The possibility of killing Ted within Thornwood City was simply too slim. Thus, Thomas devised a method that wasn't particularly brilliant, but highly practical—to kill with a borrowed knife!

To be precise, it was to kill Ted using Dud’s hand!

Originally, there was no immediate rush to kill with a borrowed knife. However, spies monitoring Ted reported that the very night he took command of the Imperial Guards, he began teaching them the Seven-Star Divine Radiance Array. And by some Secret Technique, Ted had enabled these Imperial Guards to master the most fundamental movements in a single night, allowing them to form the basic military stance of the Seven-Star Divine Radiance!

Thomas thought, *Ted must not be allowed to develop like this. A basic prototype emerging overnight? If I were to delay for ten days or half a month, wouldn’t Ted become increasingly powerful and even harder to kill!?*

Thus, Thomas convened a Head meeting today, uniting the other six Heads to force Ted to deploy only his Imperial Guards. His intention was that even if Dud didn't kill Ted, at least Ted’s forces would be weakened! After all, however many troops Thornwood City lost, Grand Speaker Philip would replenish them with The Undead!

After three rounds of war-drum cannons boomed from the city walls, Ted had already led his troops out of the Southern Gate. However, he glanced at Adams’ approaching forces, realizing the enemy's reaction was swift, and a surprise attack was out of the question. He then bellowed, “Adams, stand down for now! Dud, do you dare to Duel Formations with me!”

Ancient legends recount that during the Heroic Era, battles between two armies often featured duels between great generals at the forefront. However, this individualistic, heroic style of combat had vanished into the ashes of history along with the Heroic Era itself! Yet, after the Godslayer emerged, a similar fighting style was born, though it wasn't personal duels, but rather military formation clashes! This was what Ted called 'Dueling Formations'—in essence, it meant granting both armies ample time to deploy their ranks, to openly and fairly fight a battle based on true skill, with no regrets even in death!

Adams heard Ted’s challenge for a duel of formations. After observing and assessing the situation, he ordered his troops to hold their positions, sending someone back to camp to consult Dud.

Seizing this opportunity, a Golden Serpent Sulan glided out of Thornwood City. Proudly standing atop its head was a heavy-armored Martial General. Though her face beneath the helmet was obscured, the faint floral scent and the Sulan underfoot clearly revealed her identity!

Ted turned, frowning, to look at his daughter. “Helen, wasn’t I supposed to have you and Sulan guard the city?”

Helen retorted angrily, “Father is going out to die—can your daughter truly rest easy within the city walls?”

Ted snorted, “What do you mean, ‘going to die’? This is a joint resolution of the various Heads! The forces from Durkes City this time number only thirty thousand. As long as we can significantly deplete their strength, we’ll have a chance to win! This time, your father is merely commanded to engage—be it by raiding their camp or by Dueling Formations—not to seek victory, but merely to wear down the enemy’s forces! How is this ‘going to die’!?”

It must be said, Thomas’s excuse was quite plausible, presentable anywhere!

Helen gritted her teeth, urgently asking, “Father, it’s understandable to want to deplete the enemy’s forces, but why must it be you? Why are you only permitted to bring ten thousand family army? Surely you understand what that means?”

“Hmph, I hold the highest military rank in Thornwood Valley; if I don’t fight, who will? Thornwood City has four gates, and the valley’s forces are needed to guard them. If I don’t take my family army, where else would I get troops? Should I reassign soldiers from guarding the gates? Besides, this is a war of attrition, not a decisive battle; ten thousand family army are quite enough!”

This was another excuse Thomas used to fob off Ted, and to be fair, at first listen, it did sound somewhat reasonable!

Helen wanted to say more, but Ted’s eyes, piercing through his helmet, shot forth two sharp beams of light. “Rest assured, your father is no fool! I’ve long considered what you’re saying. But Valley Master Sena and I made a blood oath, and he even gifted me ten thousand Retainers to help me restore the Brockman family’s glory. Not for Thomas, but for Valley Master Sena, your father must fight with all his might!”

Gazing at Dud’s army formation, slowly advancing opposite him, Ted sighed inwardly. *“Thomas certainly harbors malicious intent, but a true warrior dies for his confidant. Valley Master Sena’s kindness to me is as vast as the heavens. And indeed, using my family army to deplete the enemy’s numbers right now is a good choice. If I can just eliminate around ten thousand enemy troops, even if it costs me my life, it will be worth it!”*

“Helen, you and Sulan must return to the city quickly, Dud has emerged!”

Helen smiled faintly. “Father has fought desperately to protect me for nearly twenty years, never abandoning me in battle! If today can only end in death, then Helen wishes to fight to the bitter end by your side! The Brockman family has no cowards!”

The Golden Serpent Sulan beneath her feet spoke in a tiny, tiny voice, “Master, Miss, those are Francis’s troops opposite us. Surely, we can be considered… acquaintances with him…”

“Silence!” father and daughter exclaimed in unison. “While Du Chen, the Divine, who backs Francis, has indeed rescued us multiple times, that was a private kindness. Now, as the Third Head of Thornwood Valley, how can I let personal favors override public duty!?”

While the father and daughter argued, Du Chen and Liana stood high above their own military camp, observing the larger situation. Upon noting that the enemy forces numbered only around ten thousand, and with Dud assuring them the battle would be resolved within a quarter of an hour, they settled in to watch with ease. Initially, Du Chen hadn't recognized Ted and Helen beneath their heavy armor, but the Golden Serpent Sulan was unarmored, and Du Chen recognized it at a glance!

*Heavens, Ted, Helen, and Sulan are in Thornwood Valley!?*

Upon discovering this unexpected surprise, Du Chen’s eyes darted, and he asked, stroking his nose with a smile, “Your Majesty, you’re quite familiar with military armaments and armor, aren’t you?”

Liana nodded. “What is it? Do you have another terrible idea brewing?”

“Oh, Your Esteemed Majesty, this Duke is merely curious—what, pray tell, is the approximate internal structure of the armor Ted is wearing?”

“Your Grace Du, that armor is forged to the standard specifications of Fiendkind Generals, divided into three layers, inner and outer…”

The two of them, astonishingly, engaged in formal pleasantries mid-air: one feigning humility, the other with shifty, thievish eyes. They looked like a perfect Pair of Scoundrels!

Meanwhile, the armies below deployed their formations with palpable tension. From the sky, Ted’s formation faintly resembled the Big Dipper Formation, though it seemed a little scattered. Dud, too, had deployed ten thousand men; their formation was orderly, but its specific shape was indiscernible!

Following the battlefield etiquette of respecting one’s opponent, Ted slowly raised the spear in his hand. “Ted Brockman, Third Head of Thornwood Valley, stands ready for battle!”

Next, Dud should have Responded with a Halberd, and then both sides would officially commence battle. But before Ted’s words had faded and before Dud could even speak, a figure galloped out from beside Dud’s formation. His voice, seven parts sincerity and three parts surprise, exclaimed, “Isn’t that Sulan? Could it be that the warriors about to fight are truly Uncle Ted and fellow student Helen!?”