Wang Hui immediately felt a wave of killing intent. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but the general before him seemed to have transformed into a different person.
"Send the order. I want every co-defense commander-in-chief, provincial military commander, banner commander, and general here to see me. Now!" Fang Zhiyi commanded, then glanced at the distant signal fires. "Of course, the co-defense commander of Yongning needn't bother coming. He should be quite busy."
The news of the grassland tribes' invasion and the signal fires blazing from Yongning stunned everyone, until orders arrived from the Grand General's tent.
Though reluctant, this was wartime, and the Grand General held supreme decision-making authority—along with the greatest risk.
The various commanders and military officers filed into Fang Zhiyi's tent one after another.
"Grand General! Why have you summoned us here at a time like this? General Yilibu can't hold out alone!" Wu Xing'a clearly voiced his displeasure.
Yilibu, stationed at Yongning on the front line, had always claimed that with him there, those grassland barbarians wouldn't dare easily test the border. In truth, it was because they were so conspicuous that the marauding wild falcons usually avoided the Yongning area altogether.
Yilibu, of course, was happy about that. Not only did he get to put on airs, but he also saved himself a lot of trouble.
But now, with the grassland tribes united, Yilibu had become the first nail they needed to pull out.
"Oh, right, right." Fang Zhiyi smiled. "But doesn't Yilibu always say his elite troops can hold off ten thousand soldiers? Let him hold the line for now."
"You—you're settling personal scores!" Ana pointed at Fang Zhiyi. "Fang Zhiyi! I'm certain it was your unauthorized attack earlier that provoked these grassland barbarians and brought about this disaster! Are you now trying to use them to get rid of Yilibu?"
Fang Zhiyi looked utterly shocked: "Oh? You... you've got a bit of a brain after all."
Ana hadn't expected Fang Zhiyi to actually admit it, and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"Forget everything else for now. This time, over a dozen grassland tribes have formed an alliance to invade—on a scale comparable to the late Emperor's northern campaign. As Grand General, per the rules, I am taking command of all military operations across every division."
"You're dreaming! Fang Zhiyi, just wait—I'm writing a memorial to impeach you this very moment!" Wu Xing'a roared.
But this time, the man who had been spineless for months did not respond with another placating smile.
"Guards. Wu Xing'a refused a military order and insulted this general. Drag him out. Execute him."
The personal guards inside the tent hesitated, taking a cautious step forward.
"Who dares! I'd like to see any of you dare!" Wu Xing'a erupted in fury. "Fang Zhiyi, you're nothing but a Han civilian riding on your father's coattails. You actually think you're the Grand General? Ha! I'm heading back to my camp right now, bringing my troops to reinforce Yilibu! You can wait for the Emperor to hold you accountable!"
The personal guards gripped their blades, watching helplessly as Wu Xing'a made for the tent entrance.
But no sooner had he stepped through the flap than he was shoved back inside.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you blind?!"
"Subordinate greets the Grand General!" Ma Xingwen strode in with long steps.
Fang Zhiyi nodded: "You heard that? Execute Wu Xing'a." He waved a hand.
"Yes!"
The atmosphere in the tent froze solid.
"Fang Zhiyi! You wouldn't dare!" Wu Xing'a shouted, but several soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion surged forward, pinned him down, and dragged him out. Moments later, Ma Xingwen re-entered carrying a severed head to report completion.
Every officer in the tent drew in a sharp breath.
"Fang Zhiyi! You've lost your mind! Executing generals on the eve of battle—what kind of commander are you?!" Ana stepped forward with a show of righteousness. "Let's go! I don't believe he'd dare cut down all of us! Fang Zhiyi, your atrocities will be reported to the Emperor!"
Fang Zhiyi said nothing. He didn't even try to stop them. He simply watched as the officers filed out behind Ana, leaving only four commanders standing where they were, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Oh, my Grand General, you—you can't just act so recklessly!" Wang Hui was frantic.
But Fang Zhiyi just sat down, utterly at ease.
"Three."
"Grand General, what 'three'? Right now we need to appease them and organize the defenses!"
"Two."
"???"
"One."
A figure strode back into the tent, reeking of fresh blood.
"General! The twenty-three who refused the military orders have all been executed!"
Wang Hui felt his scalp go numb: "You—you killed them all?!"
But Ma Xingwen, standing below, did not even answer him.
The only four remaining commanders turned deathly pale. Executing generals before battle was one thing, but slaughtering more than twenty at once? Was Fang Zhiyi not afraid of mutiny?
Fang Zhiyi broke into a grin: "Good. Order Fatty Liu, Yu Xiaogui, Guo Xing, Zeng Jiaye and the others to take troops and assume control of each camp's defenses! Anyone who resists, execute on the spot!"
Ma Xingwen did not hesitate: "Yes!"
Wang Hui was genuinely terrified now. It was clear to him exactly what Fang Zhiyi was doing—seizing direct control of the entire border army. He quickly shot a glance at one of his personal guards, who slipped quietly out of the tent.
Fang Zhiyi saw it. But he only smiled, unconcerned.
The rules of the game were his to set now. He strode out of the tent with long steps.
"Oh, and—all personal guards inside the tent. Disobedience of orders. Execute them all. Tell every brother out there: anyone who defies a military command will be put to death without mercy!"
The other border forces all across the co-defense lines were waiting for orders, but what came to them were faces they'd never seen before.
The original commanders' trusted men tried to block them, but the newcomers didn't bother with debate. On one hand, they flashed appointment letters bearing the Grand General's seal; on the other, they simply cut down whoever was still shouting.
Some mid-level officers tried to resist, only to find that their own soldiers refused to move.
The reason was simple. For one thing, the new arrivals had been carefully assigned in advance—everyone spotted old friends among them. For another, there were just two lines quoted again and again:
"By order of the Grand General! Anyone who disobeys will be executed! Those who step into the vacant positions get promoted in line!"
"By order of the Grand General! All soldiers receive double their regular pay!"
Meanwhile, a furtive figure was slipping toward the nearest town when a blade came across his throat from behind. The killer searched the body, pulled out a letter, glanced at it left and right without understanding a word, then kicked the corpse into a ravine. Several other bodies were already lying at the bottom.
"By order of the General—with the wild falcons coming, from today onward, anyone who leaves camp without permission will be treated as an enemy spy and executed on the spot! Stay sharp, brothers! The time has come for us to win glory!"
"Yes!"
"General, General—if we insist on shrinking the defensive line and the court holds us accountable, all our heads are forfeit!" Wang Hui kept trying to talk Fang Zhiyi out of it. He had no idea what madness had seized the man, but war was no game.
More importantly, he had an inexplicable sense of danger. Who knew when the cowardly general who'd suddenly flipped his personality might decide to cut him down next? Those ragtag Vanguard Battalion soldiers had already taken over a number of camps. Fang Zhiyi was clearly confident now.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
