When the news reached the general's manor, Ren Tianye was arranging the betrothal gifts.
Under the arrangement of Su Jin, the mole within the Su family, the betrothal gifts for the Su family's second miss, Su Xiu, were prepared one by one.
Ren Tianye was not a stingy man; everything was arranged abundantly according to custom.
The process was still handled by Su Jin and Deputy General Wang Ming.
Just as he had sent the two to deliver the betrothal gifts, a messenger brought bad news.
"Report! Great General, ten miles outside Yunji City, a unit of the imperial court's Imperial Guard is approaching at top speed. They number about twenty thousand, with complete formations and formidable military might."
Ren Tianye's body jolted.
The imperial court had already sent people?
So fast!
His palms could not help but sweat slightly.
Although he now had over seven thousand elite soldiers under his command, entirely under his control and answering only to his orders...
...the Great Yu Dynasty had been established for eight hundred years. Even a centipede does not die when crushed.
Moreover, the current Great Yu Dynasty was at the height of its prime.
If calculated by military strength alone, just their standing army could muster hundreds of thousands of troops.
It was simply not something he could resist.
And the Imperial Guard that came this time was known as the most elite in the country. Although their true combat power might not match the annihilated Chifeng Army, a great reputation is not built on nothing. The strength of the Imperial Guard still put immense pressure on him.
"Let's go take a look."
Ren Tianye left the manor, mounted his Night-Illuminating Jade Lion, and galloped straight toward the walls of Yunji City amid the clatter of hooves.
As soon as he ascended the wall, Sun Xiang and Zhang Shi gathered around him.
"What is the situation?"
"Reporting to the Great General, scouts continue to send reports, but right now, we haven't seen the Imperial Guard yet."
Ren Tianye looked out past Yunji City.
He couldn't see anything either.
In fact, the naked human eye can see large targets at a considerable distance, such as mountains, city outlines, and rivers.
Twenty thousand Imperial Guards was not a small target.
They should be visible.
Especially since they were standing on high ground.
However, Yunji City had a flaw.
Built surrounded by mountains on three sides, the area not far below it was covered with dense thorns and low hills, which easily concealed lines of sight.
Making it so that no matter how he looked now, there was no trace of them.
But he still immediately ordered, "Assemble the soldiers, enter a state of high alert."
"Yes!"
Zhang Shi immediately went to pass the order.
Sun Xiang stayed with Ren Tianye on the walls of Yunji City, waiting for the impending arrival of the Imperial Guard.
The reports from the scouts came swiftly and frantically.
"Report! The Imperial Guard is eight miles away!"
"Report! The Imperial Guard is seven miles away!"
"Report! The Imperial Guard has reached six miles away!"
"Report! The Imperial Guard has reached five miles away!"
...
In wartime, the frequency of scout reports was much higher than usual, not to mention the unique terrain of Yunji City necessitated constant updates.
But the rhythm of these reports made Ren Tianye, Sun Xiang, and the many soldiers on the wall look grave.
Everyone clearly and intuitively perceived one thing.
"The Imperial Guard is so fast!"
"Are they trying to fight a blitzkrieg?"
Ren Tianye squeezed out a bit of cold sweat.
However, he did not panic.
After all, Yunji City had been fortified by Zhan Shubai to be comparable to Shanhe City; in terms of defense alone, it was even more fearsome than Shanhe City.
Although twenty thousand Imperial Guards were extraordinary, wanting to instantly breach Yunji City was pure delusion.
Furthermore...
The soldiers from the tents inside the city had also taken their positions one after another.
Each and every one of them glared with rage, their eyes practically splitting.
"The Empress really wants to kill us!"
"Damn it, those treacherous officials in the court won't leave us a single way out."
"Fortunately, General Ren is willing to protect us, otherwise, today would be our dead end."
"Fuck! I'm going all out. Even if I have to die, I'll drag two down with me."
...
The soldiers' morale was soaring.
This made Ren Tianye feel even more reassured. Then, at the very edge of his vision, he saw an army surging forward, kicking up clouds of dust that billowed and swirled, their momentum awe-inspiring.
At this distance, the naked eye could not see details, but based on his understanding of the Imperial Guard, Ren Tianye quickly made a judgment.
The patterns on their chests should be the Black Bird totem, and they all wore helmets bearing the character for Black.
Presumably, they were also equipped with Black character waist tags.
"The Imperial Guard!"
"The Imperial Guard that protects the Forbidden City!"
"It seems these are the very people who massacred the seventy thousand Chifeng Army."
"So..."
Ren Tianye guessed: "Did they slaughter the Chifeng Army and then, upon learning of our rebellion, receive orders to immediately come and exterminate us?"
"I wonder who is commanding the Imperial Guard. This battlefield acuity and decisiveness in action are quite remarkable."
"However..."
"Twenty thousand Imperial Guards might not be enough!"
Ren Tianye's gaze grew increasingly focused and solid.
Once the twenty thousand Imperial Guards entered his line of sight, the advantages of Yunji City were fully unleashed.
Yunji City was built halfway up a mountain, with only one main road leading inside. Although this road was built wide and flat, allowing countless people to walk side by side, it...
...was winding and spiraling!
Like a giant dragon, its head lay at the gates of Yunji City, and its tail rested at the foot of the mountain.
If the twenty thousand Imperial Guards wanted to attack the city, they would have to charge upwards from below. This was extremely disadvantageous, even a major taboo in military strategy!
But Yunji City was designed exactly to force any invading enemy into this strategic trap.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the twenty thousand Imperial Guards suddenly stop and set up camp right below Yunji City, making no further moves.
Soon after, a unit of about twenty armored cavalrymen, led by a person fully clad in golden armor and wearing a golden helmet, all riding snow-white warhorses with hooves flying, headed straight for the base of Yunji City.
"General, I'm afraid they are here to negotiate."
Sun Xiang, being experienced and knowledgeable, immediately said.
Yunji City was easy to defend and hard to attack. No matter how formidable the combat power of the twenty thousand Imperial Guards was, trying to take a prepared Yunji City was wishful thinking.
At best, the result would be mutual destruction.
Moreover, the casualties of the Imperial Guard would be far higher than those of the Yunji City defenders.
Ren Tianye also nodded and said, "Since they are here to negotiate, let's talk. Anyway..."
"We are not in a hurry."
Sun Xiang knew what Ren Tianye meant: the plan to hold their ground, quietly wait for the world to fall into chaos, and then seize the opportunity to strike.
He settled his mind and waited for the approaching general.
In just a short moment, those twenty or so people arrived below the city gate tower. They directly crossed the moat, making absolutely no defensive preparations.
Their calm and composed posture gave the people of Yunji City a feeling of arrogance.
The crowd also saw clearly that the leader was a young man in golden armor, with a face as flawless as jade, thick eyebrows slanting into his hairline, and the corners of his eyes slightly tilted upwards, carrying a hint of frivolous scrutiny.
He truly had a handsome appearance.
A deputy general beside him immediately shouted, "Who gave you the nerve to block my Young Duke? Open the city gates at once!"
Open the city gates?
The few people on the wall were taken aback again.
"Wait, why are they telling us to open the gates? Do they want to come in to negotiate?"
"Looks like it. Isn't this too bold? Facing rebels like us, they dare to directly enter our territory to negotiate? Have they eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall?"
"Great General, what do you think?"
...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
