Chapter 349: "The Nonsense Show"
In reality, Hong Fang had long been envious and hateful of Nie Feng Hang long before he even arrived at the Northwest. The matter with the soldiers only brought it out to the open and not something new.
Becoming unsettled at being lectured by the upset general, these soldiers were starting to sway in their minds. However, their firm belief got the better of them in the end and stood their grounds.
They are illiterate buckle heads who only knows how to fight. What superior rank? To these men, they will only recognize their General Tiger Wolf as their boss. As for Hong Fang? The man can scream and yell all he likes.
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"Impudent!" Erupting at the blatant disrespect, Hong Feng was ready to unleash his might when a hollering cry stopped his movement from behind. It was Nie Feng Hang and his men rushing over.
"Show your respect, allow the general to head inside." Only with this order did the soldiers relent and move aside.
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Not only did Hong Fang not show his gratitude after seeing this, his hate only deepened to the point where his lips had turned into a scowl.
What a good Nie Feng Hang, how dare he flaunt his authority in front of me!
Just wait, I'll show you who the real boss around here is.
Carrying with him an insufferable rage, the group headed inside for the Black Valley.
Unlike the once lively and thriving valley, the new landscape here was dreadful. Carcasses littered the ground with various degrees of burn. As for the greenery, most had turned to cinder by now with only the charcoal remains giving proof to their once plentiful growth.
Seeing the current chaotic mess of the Black Valley, neither Hong Fang nor Nie Feng Hang could stay calm. In particular was the reputable general. He can't even fathom the numbers of wild animals that had fled from this valley as a result of this disaster.
"Further ahead in front is the depths of the Black Valley. That's the prescribed zone banned by the Nine Sects and Three Schools." The general carefully explains, finding it strange that there's hardly any animal trails around this particular area.
Not wanting to wait any longer, Hong Fang was the first to rush forward, pushing the group to pick up speed to match his. That's when they saw it, the giant crater created by the meteorite.
At first Hong Fang was ecstatic at what awaited him, then came the disappointment. There were no giant meteorite as he wanted, only empty earth scorched by the searing heat from the impact.
"General Nie, what is the meaning of this? I clearly saw a meteorite coming down from the sky last night. It's reasonable to say that there should be the remains of the meteor here. I warn you, such resources are properties of the Court and must be confiscated." Hong Fang didn't bother to hide his displeasure and started to point his accusing fingers.
"What do you mean by that General Hong? I've already had the valley barricaded by noon today. I am certain no one from the outside would've been able to access this place without my men being alerted to their presence. If you don't believe it then you can ask the brethren's of the Tiger Wolf Army." Nie Feng Hang wasn't dumb, he can tell the man was suspecting him of secretly transporting the rock away out of selfish reasons.
"Those are all your men, who knows if they will cover up for you." To lose such a precious alloy, Hong Fang can only say his heart was bleeding.
He had planned to forge a series of armor and weapons for his men. This way he can occupy more of the accomplishments.
"Hong Fang, make your words clear. Do you think I would covet after some Meteor Metal? If you keep spouting nonsense then don't blame me for being impolite." That does it, Nie Feng Hang wasn't going to take this like its nothing. Even his tone had turned sharp and dangerous.
He was never a push over to begin with. If not for the fact that Hong Fang was a general personally assigned by the king, he wouldn't even bother to explain from the start.
"Oh I seems to have forgotten, General Nie isn't just a general. You also have another identity to your name. Should I call you General Nie or Lord Nie?" Not backing down either, Hong Fang starts getting snitchy with sourness.
Aside from the fact that Nie Feng Hang had taken all his glory in the Northwest, Hong Fang also had another reason for his attitude, it was the man's background.
While known as the famous General Tiger Wolf of the Northwest, Nie Feng Hang also had another identity prior to his enrolment in the military. He's the eldest son of Marquis Guang Wu (Chang Ping) and the only child to Princess Nie of Da Xia, making him the heir to one of the four biggest noble families in Da Xia and royalty to the kingdom.
Although Hong Fang's current status wouldn't be considered low by any standard, but his birth remains a thorn in his side regardless. Born of a lowly servant maid, a lowborn was a lowborn. This was something he had learned way back in his childhood. In fact, this wasn't the first time Hong Fang had crossed paths with Nie Feng Hang.
It was during the annual festive banquets in the palace, that's where Hong Fang met the man. During those years, Nie Feng Hang wasn't the current him yet where he would strike fear into his subordinates. He was an absolute darling that roused the doting hugs and kisses of the noble ladies in the palace. As for Hong Fang himself, he could only pretend to be a servant to his elder brother at the time and hide his presence in the corner.
He was envious, envious of Nie Feng Hang in every way. Status, power, and wealth, the person had it all. But what did he do? He abandoned everything one day and ran off to this desolate frontier to be a no name soldier.
Hong Fang never looked kindly to the man's action. A young boy running off alone without aid from his family, it's normal to expect the person to come running back after losing out to the hardship of life. However, Nie Feng Hang proved him wrong, he proved everyone WRONG!
"Since General you won't believe in the Tiger Wolf Army, then us two here should be credible enough. We aren't part of their battalion." Just as the two generals were stuck in a deadlock, Ling Yue and Lan Caier breaks the tie by arriving on scene.
Towards the sudden appearance of the girls, Hong Fang was quite taken aback here. He never expected Ling Yue to be here at the Black Valley.
"What the princesses here said is the truth, they were both here last night to witness the meteors impact. Whether or not I secretly moved the rock away, they will know better than anyone. Or is it General Hong here still believes I can pocket such a huge meteorite without anyone noticing?" Sarcastic in his remark, Nie Feng Hang made no attempt at hiding his disdain for the unreasonableness displayed here.
"Alchemist Yue, what are you doing here in the Black Valley. According to royal decree, you should be at Dan City by now to take up your new post. Leaving without permission is enough to warrant desertion." Since he can't get what he wants from the man, Hong Fang shifts the spear to Ling Yue instead to vent his steam.