Huang Tianming watched as Chen Guan stood on the city walls, and the previously cursing Yang Sanle, upon seeing him appear, surprisingly ceased his insults.
Not only did he stop cursing, but there was also complete silence.
"What's going on?" Huang Tianming was puzzled. He quietly approached the city wall and looked outside, discovering that Lu Jianfeng had also arrived at the city front. The two stood side by side but did not challenge each other further.
Still baffled, he saw the two suddenly turn toward the city gate tower, cupping their hands in salute, saying, "Your lowly subordinates, Lu Jianfeng… Yang Sanle… greet Commander Chen…"
"You used to be soldiers of the Blood Qilin Vanguard Camp." Chen Guan recognized them.
"Seventh Squadron Leader Lu Jianfeng." Lu Jianfeng replied proudly.
"Third Squadron Deputy Leader Yang Sanle." Yang Sanle also replied.
"Since you were once my soldiers, return today. Tell Lei Bin that I'll give him one month to withdraw. A month later, I will personally go to the Red Blood Corps." Chen Guan instructed.
"As ordered." After saluting, Yang Sanle and Lu Jianfeng imdiately mounted their steeds, turned back to their army, and commanded a retreat.
Seeing the Red Blood Corps swiftly and completely retreat, Huang Tianming was dumbfounded.
Huangfu Yan's eyes were also filled with astonishnt. They couldn't comprehend why Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle retreated just from hearing a few words from Chen Guan.
"Isn't he just a pretty face who rose to power thanks to Ji Nanhong? Now that Ji Nanhong has fallen, does his word still carry weight?" Huang Tianming was full of confusion.
"I told you, Celestial King, just you wait. The Southern Heavenly Kingdom will soon dominate the Celestial Pillar Grotto Heaven." Chen Guan said as he descended the city wall.
"State Preceptor… State Preceptor, wait for ..." Huang Tianming realized what was happening and hastily chased after Chen Guan.
"Just a mont ago, you called him a fraud, and now you're calling him State Preceptor. Celestial King, you are truly capricious; indeed, it is hard to fathom the ruler's heart." Zhang Chunxiang remarked teasingly from the side.
"Miss Zhang, please don't take offense; I was confused previously. Are you really Miss Zhang of the Zhang Family?" Huang Tianming's expression changed, completely different from a mont ago.
"I am not Miss Zhang of the Zhang Family." Zhang Chunxiang's words caused Huang Tianming's expression to change again.
"Or are you?" Zhang Chunxiang followed up with a question.
Though Huang Tianming was being teased, he wasn't angry at all. He smiled and said, "Miss Zhang is indeed incredibly smart… You've even fooled ..."
Now he could only proceed down this path, with no retreat left.
Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle hurried back to the Red Blood Corps' camp, having already discussed what to say along the way.
Lei Bin was awaiting news from the front, and unexpectedly, the spies he sent out hadn't returned with the battle report yet, while Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle had already co back with their troops.
"Is the Southern Heavenly Kingdom so easy to defeat, already swept away?" Lei Bin saw their orderly formation with no damage, thinking they had returned victorious and that the Southern Heavenly Kingdom and Huang Tianming had been vanquished.
"You've worked hard, commanders. The Southern Heavenly Kingdom must have been wiped out, right?" Lei Bin personally went out to greet them, addressing them as commanders. He intended to show the old command of the Red Blood Corps that they weren't needed; the Red Blood Corps could sweep all obstacles without them.
If they obediently complied, they could continue to advance within the Red Blood Corps. If not, they couldn't bla Lei Bin for being ruthless.
He intended to set Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle as exemplary models.
"We didn't take it." The two replied.
Lei Bin was imrsed in his fantasies, but the answer from Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle imdiately darkened his expression.
"Why did you return if you didn't take it?" He had assud they were returning victorious, which was the reason he ca out to greet them. But it turned out to be wrong, and he was furious at losing face.
"The Southern Heavenly Kingdom has soone there; we knew we couldn't take it. To prevent unnecessary losses, we preserved our strength and retreated." Yang Sanle explained.
"You retreated just for one person without even attempting an attack? Is that person the Celestial King himself? Or have you forgotten you are soldiers? Who is that person to scare you like this?" Lei Bin was furious, but he still wanted to know who that person was.
"Chen Guan." Lu and Yang spoke in unison.
"Chen Guan? Which Chen Guan? Ji Nanhong's pretty face? He's supposed to be dead, isn't he?" Lei Bin, thinking quickly, shot off several questions.
"He's not dead; we saw him at the Southern Heavenly Kingdom, which is why we returned." Yang Sanle explained.
"He's just a pretty face. Why are you afraid of him? He's there; you should have just killed him for . Or are you still sentintal about Ji Nanhong and couldn't bring yourselves to do it?" Lei Bin's gaze grew colder.
"My lord, we don't have any sentintal ties to Ji Nanhong; we aren't aligned with her. We simply knew we couldn't beat Chen Guan, so we had to retreat." Yang Sanle said.
Before Lei Bin could explode, Lu Jianfeng quickly added, "My lord, you don't understand Chen Guan's strength. It's not just us who can't beat him; within this Red Blood Corps, there's no one who can beat him. Even if Commander Shi ca personally, they likely couldn't win."
"My lord, we really aren't exaggerating. If you don't believe us, you can ask the commanders of our corps." Yang Sanle chid in.
"Useless fools, given opportunities yet still ineffective, take them away. Give them three hundred lashes, then take them back to reflect behind closed doors. Anyone else indulging in delusions and making excuses for cowardice will face consequences beyond the whip next ti." Angry, Lei Bin turned to leave.
Watching Lei Bin depart, Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle finally heaved a sigh of relief.
They exchanged a look but didn't ntion the one-month issue; it wasn't the ti to raise such matters now.
Lei Bin pondered how to handle this situation—Chen Guan not being dead was trivial to him.
This person ant nothing to him.
He only recognized the na Chen Guan from gathering information on the Young Master Qi, knowing the Young Master Qi had spent so ti in Chen Guan's battalion.
As far as Lei Bin understood, although Chen Guan was nominally in charge of the Blood Qilin Vanguard Camp, he rarely intervened. The real manager was the Young Master Qi.
Lei Bin naturally assud Chen Guan was rely a pretty face, neglecting his own soldiers to curry favor with Ji Nanhong. Such a person was not worth his attention.
Especially since rumors said he was dead, Lei Bin paid him even less mind.
However, Lu Jianfeng and Yang Sanle's words prompted so caution.
"Then call those veterans from the Red Blood Corps and see what they say." Lei Bin summoned the core mbers of the Red Blood Corps.
Jiang Tianqing, Yun Bihua, Xin Ding, Shi Zhin, Bai Yueguang, Zhu Hongzhi, Zhang Yujian, and many old commanders who had risen alongside Ji Nanhong, along with new commanders appointed by Ji Nanhong, gathered in the eting hall.
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