Chapter 57: Because of Me

It took merely half a day for the three of them and the dragon to return to the royal city.

Little You landed upon the massive city wall, and Lu Xingchen and his companions leaped down from its broad back.

Although the soldiers stationed along the wall were still filled with awe and astonishment, they lacked the panicked frenzy they had displayed the first time.

They now knew that this dark purple-black colossal dragon belonged to the young general.

The young general had returned to save the Great Dayan Kingdom!

Before long, Li Bo strode forward to greet them.

When his eyes fell upon Lu Chaoyang standing beside Lu Xingchen, he froze completely in place.

Originally, he had believed Lu Xingchen's journey was a desperate venture with a zero-percent survival rate.

Rescuing the grand general seemed impossible; he would consider himself fortunate if Lu Xingchen managed to escape Zigui City alive.

Yet now, he had actually brought the grand general back safe and sound!

His opponents had been Martial Spirit experts, nothing less!

This was nothing short of a miraculous feat!

Li Bo bowed deeply to Lu Chaoyang, speaking with profound reverence, "Greetings, Grand General! Welcome home, Grand General!"

Lu Chaoyang waved his hand dismissively. "Take me to see the sovereign at once. We must deliberate on our next course of action without delay."

"As you command!"

The group proceeded together toward the imperial palace. As it happened, Xiao Yue was currently holding a strategic council with his ministers in the grand hall.

"Your Majesty, the young general has brought the grand general back!"

Before Li Bo had even crossed the threshold of the grand hall, he shouted the news in irrepressible excitement.

Hearing this, the ministers assembled within the hall were struck dumb with shock, all turning their heads toward the entrance in unison.

Lu Xingchen, Lu Chaoyang, and Yun Li stepped into the grand hall one by one.

Upon laying eyes on Lu Chaoyang in the flesh, an uproar erupted throughout the chamber.

"It is truly the grand general! He has actually returned!"

"Wonderful! Our Great Dayan Kingdom is saved! The grand general is the very spiritual pillar of Dayan!"

"Lu Xingchen is simply too formidable! To think he could rescue the grand general right from under the noses of Martial Spirit experts."

"With father and son both here, how could the Great Dayan Kingdom fail to prosper?"

Xiao Long, seated upon the dragon throne, was overcome with joy. Abandoning all imperial decorum, he leaped straight up from his seat and dashed toward Lu Chaoyang.

Xiao Long affectionately seized Lu Chaoyang's hands, his voice trembling with unshed tears, "Brother Lu, you have finally returned. During the days since we lost you, our Great Dayan Kingdom has struggled at every single step!"

Lu Xingchen, standing off to the side, blinked in surprise.

He had never imagined that his old man held such weight in the sovereign's heart, causing him to cast aside his imperial dignity so completely.

Lu Chaoyang let out a hearty, booming laugh.

"Hahaha! Little brother Xiao Long, rest assured! As long as I, Lu Chaoyang, draw breath, the Great Dayan Kingdom shall not fall!"

After a long moment, Xiao Long slowly loosened his grip on Lu Chaoyang's hands and turned to offer a respectful bow to Lu Xingchen.

"Lu Xingchen, I am deeply indebted to you. Had you not risked your life to effect this rescue, the grand general could never have returned safely."

Lu Xingchen smiled faintly. "You are too kind, Your Majesty. As a citizen of the Great Dayan Kingdom, it is merely my bounden duty."

Xiao Yue fixed a profound, searching gaze upon Lu Xingchen.

The ability to snatch a captive away from Martial Spirit experts spoke volumes about Lu Xingchen's terrifying strength.

His value to the realm now arguably surpassed even that of the sovereign himself.

Only then did Xiao Long return to the dragon throne, reclaiming his imperial majesty as he spoke in a deep, resonant voice, "With the triumphant return of the grand general, the darkness lifts from the Great Dayan Kingdom, and light is restored. How shall we now respond to the invasion of the Fengming Kingdom? Let all present voice their thoughts!"

Prime Minister Peng Zhihao stepped forward from the ranks of officials.

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is my view that we should concentrate our efforts on holding the royal city at all costs. Though the grand general has returned, our Great Dayan Kingdom has already lost two-thirds of its territory, leaving an insurmountable chasm in our military strength compared to the Fengming Kingdom.

To achieve victory in this war is, frankly speaking, an absolute impossibility.

However, with the young general and the esteemed experts of the Sky-Rising Sect assisting us, holding the royal city defensively will make it exceedingly difficult for the enemy to breach our walls. Furthermore, I propose to personally undertake a diplomatic mission to the Qinming Kingdom, requesting their mediation in this conflict.

The Qinming Kingdom is likewise an intermediate-level state, boasting powerful Martial King experts within its borders. Moreover, they have long maintained territorial frictions with the Tianhui Kingdom, and they certainly will not sit idly by while Tianhui grows unchecked.

Only by pursuing this path can the Great Dayan Kingdom be preserved."

Hearing these words, Lu Xingchen furrowed his brows deeply.

This Peng Zhihao was truly as spineless and cowardly as ever!

When the enemy forces of the Fengming Kingdom had already reached the very gates of the royal city, the man was still dreaming of appeasement and surrender.

He had not returned this time merely to let the Great Dayan Kingdom linger on the brink of death; at the very least, he intended to recover every inch of lost territory, and perhaps even eradicate the Fengming Kingdom entirely to sever any future troubles at the root.

Only then could he cultivate abroad with complete peace of mind.

As Peng Zhihao's words trailed off, Xiao Long's brows locked together into a tight knot, his complexion turning dark as ink.

The ministers below the dais began to whisper anxiously among themselves.

"The Prime Minister speaks much sense. The disparity between our forces and the enemy is simply too vast; we hold no chance of victory."

"To say nothing else, that Martial Spirit expert alone is something the Great Dayan Kingdom has no means to counter."

"Alas, though it fills one with bitterness, what other choice do we have?"

Those voicing such sentiments were entirely civil officials.

The military generals present were flushed crimson with suppressed rage, yet they dared not utter a counterargument.

For the brutal truth was that Peng Zhihao's assessment was accurate.

Only by relying upon the Qinming Kingdom and seeking a truce could the Great Dayan Kingdom carve out even a sliver of hope for survival.

Lu Xingchen let out a cold, derisive snort. "A cowardly, pedantic scholar who clings to life and dreads death—how dare you prattle on about the vital affairs of the state? Your Majesty, I formally propose that we declare war upon the Fengming Kingdom. We shall not halt our advance until we reduce their capital to dust, and we vow never to retreat until the job is done!"

The moment Lu Xingchen's declaration echoed through the hall, the entire chamber plunged into an eerie, suffocating silence.

Everyone else had been earnestly discussing how best to preserve what remained of the Great Dayan Kingdom, yet Lu Xingchen, of all people, was talking about annihilating the enemy nation instead.

Wasn't his train of thought absurdly detached from reality?

Could such a feat possibly be within the realm of achievement?

The assembled ministers cast looks at Lu Xingchen as though he had lost his mind, their eyes tinged with reproach as if blaming him for spouting reckless nonsense.

Only Yun Li looked upon Lu Xingchen with a gaze that flickered with pleasant surprise and admiration.

The survival or destruction of the Great Dayan Kingdom meant nothing to her; she was merely an idle spectator watching a play unfold.

For Lu Xingchen to issue such a proclamation displayed a degree of arrogance and dominance that reached the absolute pinnacle.

She merely wondered whether he possessed the actual capability to back up his words.

For a fleeting moment, Yun Li found herself even more intrigued by Lu Xingchen than before.

The hall remained in a bizarre, frozen stillness for a full minute, before finally erupting into a deafening wave of commotion.

"Good grief, what on earth is Lu Xingchen blabbering about? Given our current plight, we'll be lucky just to avoid total annexation, and yet he's actually plotting a counter-offensive!"

"Utterly fantastical! I have fought in wars my entire life, and I have never witnessed anyone boast with such staggering audacity!"

"Clearly, after spending a few years cultivating within the Sky-Rising Sect, his arrogance has swelled to the skies, leaving him completely ignorant of the harsh realities facing the Great Dayan Kingdom."

"Such grand phrasing! He isn't afraid the wind might slip out and bite his tongue off."

The phrases "cowardly and clinging to life" and "pedantic scholar" had driven Peng Zhihao into a rage, flushing his face a furious beet red.

It was true that he feared death, but every proposal he made was driven by a genuine desire to rescue the Great Dayan Kingdom from ruin.

He had even volunteered himself to undertake the perilous journey to the Qinming Kingdom as an envoy; surely that counted as exhausting every possible effort.

Peng Zhihao lashed out in a sharp, piercing tone, "The young general is being excessively arrogant. Let me ask you this: if we engage the Fengming Kingdom in all-out war, upon what grounds do you base your certainty that we can emerge victorious?"

Lu Xingchen replied in a deep, unyielding voice, "Upon myself! My return this time is precisely to ensure that the Great Dayan Kingdom is relieved of all future threats once and for all."

Hearing this, Peng Zhihao laughed out of sheer exasperation.

"Lu Xingchen, your cultivation has truly rotted your brain. Do you have any inkling of the immense pressure the Great Dayan Kingdom currently bears?

Let me ask you: if you wish to counter-attack the Fengming Kingdom, who will deal with their Martial Spirit expert? Who will neutralize their elite Martial Master battalions? Our nation retains only a single third of its former territory—where do you propose to gather the grain, provisions, and armies required? And even supposing by some miracle we could press our offensive into Fengming territory, how do we handle the intervention of the Tianhui Kingdom?"