Chapter 1055: Besieged

Proofreader : Papatonks

"Report!"

Baili Jingwei flinched at this ominous word and his heart almost stopped. A soldier rushed inside to present a jade slip.

"What now?"

Baili Jingwei's face twitched and felt like crying. He was scared things could actually get worse than they already were.

The soldier sweated, unaware of his Prime Minister's worry, "Prime Minister, the imperial capital is in urgent need of rescue. His Majesty makes an earnest request of military aid. Of the 3,820 cities, 565 have fallen. To make matters worse, the revolution is only gaining more ground. The city lords can't stop the flood!"

"It's that desperate?"

Baili Jingwei was shaken up, "Does that mean the disturbance wasn't on a small scale but a full blown riot? But who has such power in the central area? Wait, is it Serene Shores Trading?"

Baili Jingwei's face twitched and turned savage with fury, "Damn those merchants! After purging their base, the sudden vanishing of all their branches led me to believe they scattered like flies, when they were waiting for me to show my back. Humph, soldier, tell Wine Sword Immortal to lead his men back to quell the riots!"

"Prime Minister, Wine Sword Immortal is deep in northern lands and requires three days at the least to return. Also..." Danqing Shen picked up on the clues and said, "You just ordered them to teleport to northern lands but the imperial capital doesn't have a moment to spare. Let's split our forces and settle the fires. Guard, stop the charge! We're going back to save the empire..."

Danqing Shen had yet to finish before Baili Jingwei cut him off, "Wait! W-we can't leave, just charge! You must charge!"

"Prime Minister, a rebellion is upon us. We must provide aid and quell it before it endangers the empire!"

Danqing Shen tested, "Even if we split our forces, with our defenses, we're sure to last a few weeks. It'll be enough for us to quell the revolution and make it back. Not to mention the other three armies are coming soon, in just six days. We will hold out!"

[You might hold out, but the Patriarch can't keep a hold of his head! We're in a race for time where every second counts, where every moment might mean the death of the Patriarch and the collapse of the empire.]

[All that matters is for Patriarch to survive to keep hope alive. Everything can be regained even if lost in this moment. The empire may go in flames for all I care, but the Patriarch must still stand!]

[Zhuo Fan, you rotten son of a b-]

Baili Jingwei crunched his teeth, shaking all over, "Was all of it part of his plan? All of it is to stall me? That was no empty city tactic, but bait to lure the three armies away from the teleportation arrays and not provide timely rescue, earning him six days of peace. Then there's the empire's insurrection, besieging me on all fronts.

"In six days I can pacify the empire but not save Patriarch, which would still lead to its fall. And if I choose to save Patriarch, I won't break their lines in a mere six days, all while the fires rage in the imperial capital. Or maybe the revolution will cut off our reinforcements, hindering us further to delay the rescue. Either way, the game is lost before it starts. He crushed me!"

Baili Jingwei went limp, falling in his chair with dead eyes.

"Prime Minister, what's wrong?" Danqing Shen held him.

Baili Jingwei looked bleak and in despair, "He played me from the very beginning. The board is out of my control. I never dreamed my greatest advantage had become my downfall at that guy's devious planning. Zhuo Fan..."

Baili Jingwei wailed, filled with denial and regret...

Achoo~!

Zhuo Fan sniffed in Sea Bright Sect's Main Hall and then shivered. Ling Yuntian smiled, "Sir Zhuo, did you catch a cold perhaps?"

"Since when does a cultivator catch a cold?"

Zhuo Fan rolled his eyes, "My ears are burning. That Baili Jingwei punk must be cursing me, humph!"

The others chuckled, with Murong Lie praising, "Only Sir Zhuo could call a genius like Baili Jingwei a punk. Sir Zhuo's plan is ingenious and praiseworthy. Reports are coming from the frontline saying Baili Jingwei flipped out, ordering to storm our defenses. He must have known about Sir Zhuo's plan and gone insane, ha-ha-ha..."

"He's reacting already?"

Zhuo Fan paused, then nodded with a smile, "I see..."

"What?"

"I see there's a spy among you!" Zhuo Fan gave them a deep look.

They all cried out, "How can sir say that?"

"Baili Jingwei fell for my first two tricks and still followed my expectation until my third one. But how did he find out about it so fast? And I also made sure to light the empire on fire. He should split his men to save it. Even if he guessed my intentions, still having doubts, he'd never ignore the empire in peril."

Zhuo Fan's eyes flashed as he looked over the oldies, "The answer couldn't be simpler. He didn't guess my plan but was certain of it. How? Only if someone told him. That's why he flipped out and started a mad charge."

The men gasped, "We have a traitor? Who?"

Everyone looked at each other in suspicion.

Zhuo Fan smiled and waved without worry, "Not that it matters. Covert operations are about mind games, about laying traps and running the minute it's exposed, unlike an overt plan. It won't affect the plan if others realize it. I had his three armies stalled in the three lands, losing precious time to come back. He is also stuck even with charging the northern lands, not having the manpower to break through the lines anytime soon. It is this time that will earn us victory."

"Uh, Sir Zhuo, did you foresee a traitor among us?" Ling Yuntian asked Zhuo Fan.

Zhuo Fan nodded, "Sea Bright Sect's barrier is strong, something I'm sure Baili Jingwei knew beforehand since he planned to attack it at some point. Spies are a must in wars, which is why I foresaw a spy among us. That's why I didn't tell you, nor explain my orders in detail. Now it won't make a difference, because the enemy is stuck in my trap, ha-ha-ha..."

"Sir Zhuo is godlike!" Everyone looked in awe at Zhuo Fan, in awe of his skills. Only Murong Xue looked askance with a cold face.

Though she might abhor Zhuo Fan, she had to give the man credit for his methods.

[He is the vilest devil, a Demon Archon with unlimited appetite for destruction and blood.]

[Once the war is over, he must be removed for good. What man would throw away a hundred million lives for victory?]

Zhuo Fan noticed it was getting dark and grinned, "Friends, the time limit to deal with Invincible Sword is six days. Any later and Baili Jingwei would have all the army assembled and anything can happen. We have to kill Invincible Sword within this period!"

The men grew solemn and nodded. Shangguan Feixiong smiled, holding out his dear sword, "Zhuo Fan, you haven't unsealed it last time since you were in jail and used it as leverage. Now you are our Grand Marshal, one of us. I still want to fight Invincible Sword and can't do it without Soaring Sword..."

"Of course!"

Zhuo Fan's right eye flashed in two golden halos at the scarlet sword, "Divine Eye of the Void's 2nd stage, Void Annihilation!"

Bam!

The sword shuddered then shone a bright red as it flew around having regained its freedom.

The people stared agape.

[That's it? The Soaring Sword is unsealed just like that?]

[Doesn't that make us all fools for toiling over it for a year?]

They all looked at Zhuo Fan with shock and awe.

[Zhuo Fan is a miracle worker, and not just a mastermind.]

Shangguan Feixiong beamed as he looked at the divine sword. He made a sign and the sword fell in his grip, "Thank you so much for this immense help..."

"It's fine, ha-ha-ha...." Zhuo Fan had no shame in his casual attitude. But then Shangguan Feixiong turned heavy, "The hell would I do thanking you? That was your duty to begin with! This was part of our first deal!"

Zhuo Fan grinned.

Ling Yuntian smiled, stepping between the two and saying, "Shangguan Clan Head, you're wrong there. He only said about giving you the sword and not in what condition. Now Sir Zhuo unsealed it so how can you say that?"

"Yeah, you..."

"Fine, now your Soaring Sword is back to you, so go on."

Ling Yuntian urged him to the side before beaming at Zhuo Fan, "Sir Zhuo, the Soaring Sword is settled, now it's about Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha, when will your guard be returning with it?"

"Oh, her, you'll meet her when you see Baili Yutian."

"What..." They gasped.

Zhuo Fan had an evil grin, "Hasn't she already told you who she is? Since she's Frigid Rain Sword King, then she'll take Heaven Sealing Sword to Baili Yutian. Since you'll be meeting that old man soon, you can ask him for it."

"What?"

Their hearts sank at Zhuo Fan's devastating news.

[Is Sir Zhuo working with Baili Yutian?]