Chapter 339: Disturbance in Liguang (6)
"I don't believe it needs explanation, right, brother? There's no need to worry. You'll be joining him shortly."
"You!" The moment he stood up, a wave of nausea washed over him. He could barely keep himself standing upright. A look of disbelief flashed across his wizened face. "You poisoned me!"
"Please forgive this disgraceful act of ours," another person walked in. It was Lady Hong-Lan Li, accompanied by a few other members on the elder council. In total, there was four of them. "The poison was meant to ease your suffering. Consider it as a sign of respect from us."
"I see… so you've betrayed the Li Family. Why did you do it?"
"If we decide to ally ourselves with the Alzar Kingdom, it will only become our undoing. The simple matter of the fact is that they're stronger than us. They have the leverage to demand whatever they want, and even if we don't concede, then they'll simply take it from us. The Alzar Kingdom and the Xingyuu Empire can never co-exist. Therefore, we need to work alongside the Imperial Council to repel them from our land. That's how it's always been."
"When you suggested negotiating to the elder council, was that part of your plan too?"
Waving his fan, Lord Fengji smiled. "Of course. The negotiation with the Alzar Kingdom is our best chance to catch the tiger by the tail. It will also serve as a show of our sincerity to the Imperial Council. In the end, the elder council exists for the greater good of the Li Family. I hope you'll forgive me for this, brother."
"…I'll be seeing you soon," Lord Foshan said ominously before someone knocked him out.
"What a lovely show of affection between brothers," a female voice announced coldly.
Lady Hong-Lan Li and the other elders gave a subtle nod to acknowledge her presence, while Lord Fengji simply glanced in her direction. He then spoke in an even tone, "This should be enough. Isn't that right, First Junior Imperial Unit Commander Haea Li?"
Stepping out of the shadows was a woman dressed in an extravagant set of golden plate armor overlaying a green and blue leather tunic. She wore a helmet which forced her hair back, and combined with her ambiguous figure, it was hard to tell if it was a woman or man on first look. A sabre hung off her waist with a sheath that was embellished with gold, possibly hinting that it was more ornamental than useful. Her face could be described as cold and condescending, even as she regarded some of the most powerful people in the Li Family. There was not the slightest hint of friendliness anywhere. She radiated an aura of absolute seriousness that tolerated nothing less than perfection. This was the First Junior Imperial Unit Commander Haea Li, also known as the Third-In-Command of the Tai Feng Army! Despite her surname of Li, she was not related to the Li Family in any official capacity. In fact, she was one of the cornerstones of the Xingyuu Empire's military, making her firmly stand in the Imperial Council's camp. She was an enemy!
She walked in and inspected the body of Lord Foshan before turning to Lord Fengji. "You would do this to your own brother just to prove your loyalty to the Imperial Council?" Anyone who could do this to their own family was either deranged or plotting something. In this case, it was probably the latter.
Lord Fengji raised his fan to cover his mouth, his expression growing unreadable. "I'm not sure what you mean. My brother and I have always been at odds. Ever since he robbed the position of patriarch from me, I've been holding onto this grudge. I've always wanted to be the patriarch."
Commander Haea peered deep into his eyes and scrutinized his expression. No one spoke a word and the tension in the room grew palpable. However, after a long time, the woman eventually nodded. At the very least, she felt he was telling the truth. She said, "We'll leave it at that for now. As for Lord Foshan Li, is he dead?"
"Not yet. The poison that I inflicted on him is a gentle, but fatal one called Morning Transience. My brother will die in the morning, rest assured."
"In the morning?" Commander Haea said mockingly.
"Although we had our differences, he is still my brother by blood. I would rather not end his life in such a manner. I want him to enjoy his last sunrise at least."
"No." A sharp murderous glint flashed across her face. "Decapitate him right now in front of me so I can be certain that Lord Foshan Li is dead. I will bring his head back to the Imperial Council as proof of his death unless… you have another reason for delaying it?"
He closed his eyes and sighed. "You're as heartless as they say, Unit Commander Haea Li. This is my brother we're talking about. I would rather not do something that sinful. I might be cursed from the afterlife, you know?"
"Fortunately for you, I don't believe in curses." She snapped her fingers, and on her command, several swords were drawn against the elders and Lord Fengji. The situation had taken a drastic turn! The woman continued, "Do it now, or I'll strike you down where you stand."
"You would dare?" Lady Hong-Lan sneered. "We're in the middle of the Li Family residence. If we make a sound, hundreds of guards will swarm in and kill you, so don't think about escaping. You won't even leave behind a corpse."
"That's fine with me, as long as you die first," Commander Haea smirked.
Lady Hong-Lan and the other elders grew unnerved at her seemingly nonchalant attitude. Was it a bluff or was there another reason for her confidence? Either way, it made them uncomfortable. Only Lord Fengji remained unmoved and glared at the woman.
"Enough. You want me to decapitate my brother, right? Very well. If I do, I expect that you won't doubt the Li Family's sincerity again. I will also have a long discussion with the Prime Minister and the Imperial Council about this."
"Lord Fengji!" the elders cried.
"This is all for the sake of the Li Family. I'm sure my brother wouldn't have regrets either." Lord Fengji then walked up, in front of everyone's eyes, and drew his brother's sabre which was lying next to him. Holding the sabre, he muttered something before he slashed! Blood splattered the table and scroll, as the head of Lord Foshan rolled. He died!
"The Imperial Council looks forward to working with the Li Family."
Commander Haea gave him a sidelong glance before ordering someone to pick up the head. Then, they disappeared into the shadows, likely back to Yongtein to report in. The tension in the room deflated as soon as they were gone. Only the elders and Lord Fengji were left to regard the headless corpse of Lord Foshan, the once legendary patriarch of the Li Family, with complex emotions surging through their faces. It was unknown what they were thinking. However, just as Commander Haea and her subordinates left, the faintest glimmer of a smirk crossed Lord Fengji's face.
***
At a similar time, in the outskirts of Liguang, unbeknownst to the Lotus Division or the Steel Eagle Brigade, assembled a large force belonging to the Imperial Council. And this was not an exaggeration of the word 'large' either for it was almost nine thousand strong! Just like the Lotus Division and the Steel Eagle Brigade, they were also the Imperial Council's famous trump card divisions: the Phoenix, Qilin, Kun Divisions! At first glance, one would be inclined to consider it an even playing field, since every soldier descended from a famous trump card division. No side appeared to have any advantage over the other. However, that would be a foolish assumption. Certainly, if it were before, that might have been the case, but now… when they received earth-shattering training from the Featherwind Sect and forcefully wrenched open their potential, these nine thousand soldiers transcended the boundary of mortals.
Five hundred Perception Realms, and more than eight thousand Half-Perception Realms… Keeping in mind that the approximate number of Perception Realms in the Alzar Kingdom was around one thousand, and that this estimate held true for the Xingyuu Empire too, for a single combined army to possess half of that was a staggering feat. It was downright ridiculous! Against a conventional army with equal numbers, they were practically invincible! Not to mention, when they flexed their bodies, they showed explosive power that seemed beyond what the human body could do. Benedict and Shirley would have recognized it as Martial Energy! An almost nine thousand strong army, mixed with Perception Realms and Half-Perception Realms, and wielding Martial Energy on top of that… They could no longer be defined within the scope of normal. This was likely the strongest military force in the human world, a pseudo-Rank 2 Lord army!
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