Xu Qing remained silent.
"Xu Qing, have you seen the battle report? It speaks of glorious achievements, like severely injuring the two monarchs. What an accomplishment!"
"There's also this prince. If he had arrived earlier that day, even if it was just by fifteen minutes…" Kong Xianglong laughed bitterly and didn't continue speaking. Instead, he took another big gulp of the wine and waved at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing stood on the spot for a long time before leaving silently.
It had been a month since the Palace Master died in battle.
With the arrival of the Seventh Prince, the Secretariat Department no longer had any meaning to exist and was forgotten. As for Xu Qing and the Sword Holders of the Secretariat Department, they were arranged to be on the battlefield.
After a few twists and turns and experiencing a series of battles until now, Xu Qing understood this Seventh Prince's style of doing things.
As long as he could get victory, no cost was too great.
It was indeed as Kong Xianglong had said. Human lives were nothing in his eyes. Most of the races and mortals in the Yutian and Qiling Provinces hadn't evacuated completely.
However, because he saw the opportunity, he chose to detonate the earth fires.
There were indeed many people from the Holy Wave Race who died in this month, but there were also many humans.
This was especially so for the original army of the western front.
They were the vanguard in every battle.
Right now, there weren't many of them left. They were continuously scattered and mixed into other armies. Every one of them had been tempered into elite soldiers who had fought a hundred battles in this war.
Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong had also participated many times. However, under the care of the Deputy Palace Master and the other old men, they barely avoided a few missions where their deaths were certain. Currently, they belonged to the 4th Legion of the 3rd commander under the command of the 17th general of the Imperial Capital Army.
They were in charge of the defense line in this area.
At that moment, it was dusk. The afterglow turned brown due to the smoke and scattered on the mountain path Xu Qing was on.
Xu Qing walked silently until he returned to the military camp built in a valley not far away.
There were hundreds of cultivators here, all of whom were from the former western front army. Although there weren't many of them, they weren't few either. However, there wasn't much noise.
Everyone's bodies were covered in wounds. Some were healing, some were meditating, and some were in a daze.
There were also corpses that were piled up and hadn't been transported away.
When Xu Qing walked over, some of them lifted their heads and looked at him.
Among them were Sword Holders, disciples of the various sects, and former Secretariat Department members.
Xu Qing also looked at them and fell silent.
In a tent at the edge of the military camp, Xu Qing saw the captain.
Although he was also in a sorry state and the armor he wore was filled with cracks, the captain was in good spirits and his body had long grown back.
At that moment, he was squatting there and holding a black horn in his mouth. He chewed on it as though he was verifying its toughness.
There was also a military pot burning with fire crystals at the side. There was some meat stewing in it and under the gurgling sound, it emitted waves of fragrance.
"Eldest Senior Brother, I'm back." Xu Qing walked into the tent.
This tent was their residence.
Although the Seventh Prince was very strict with the war zone, after a large number of Sword Holders from the Sword Holding Palace died in battle, the Deputy Palace Master, together with all the elders of the Sword Holding Court, submitted petitions to the prince multiple times. Eventually, the Prince agreed to allow the heavily depleted sects of the Sword Holders to withdraw from the battlefield and return to their territory.
However, the agreement to leave was only granted to a portion of the sects, and it had to be done in batches.
Thus, the Seven Blood Eyes, with Xue Lianzi severely injured and the majority of its disciples dead in the battle, departed from the battlefield as the fourth batch of the sects ten days ago.
As a Sword Holder, the captain didn't leave. He was originally in charge of another area near this place but due to his maneuvering, he was arranged to stay with Xu Qing.
"I calculated that you should be back around this time. Hurry up and come over, let's eat." The captain looked at Xu Qing. He laughed and called Xu Qing to the pot.
"I went to the campsite of those people of the Imperial Capital during the day and saw that they ate well, so I took some. Also, I saw that they also obtained a few Holy Wave Race battle beasts."
The captain pointed to the pot.
"Want to try it?"
Xu Qing glanced at the captain and admired his ability to make friends.
Ever since the Imperial City's army arrived, the captain had been heading to the other party's campsite all day. He had made many friends and also obtained a lot of information. From time to time, he would bring back these nourishing items. He grabbed a piece of the meat, placing it in his mouth.
The taste was indeed not bad. Moreover, after eating it, waves of warmth rose in his body, transforming into traces of spirit qi that nourished his cultivation.
"Not bad, right?" The captain smiled proudly. He sat at the side and grabbed a piece to eat as he spoke.
"I heard from Old Kong that we'll return in three days. I feel that I haven't returned to the county capital in a long time. I have to sell the Dao fruits we obtained when we return this time."
"I've asked around. Even in the Imperial City, that thing is good stuff." As the captain spoke, he looked around and whispered.
"I also heard that the war in the Grand Imperial Capital Region is still ongoing. This time, the Black Heaven Race has invaded with full force and there are other races that are restless. Fenghai County is the only place where the human race has won."
"I heard that the victory here caused many large races with different thoughts in the surroundings of the Grand Imperial Capital Region to restrain themselves and choose to wait and see… Everyone knows about this Seventh Prince now."
"Furthermore, I have learned that the Human Emperor has twelve sons and three daughters, but there is no struggle for succession among them. The Human Emperor is known for his powerful methods and is in the prime of his life. He has a cold and ruthless demeanor, showing little concern for familial ties. His decisions are solely based on what is advantageous for the race."
