The situation was perfect, but Ren Tianye did not let his guard down in the slightest.
After all, attacking the Yangtze defense line had never been easy. He already had victory within his grasp this time, and he could not allow a moment of carelessness to ruin such an advantageous position.
Once he had quickly composed himself, he called out, “Lu Chaosheng!”
“Your subordinate is here!”
“To breach the Yangtze defense line, we must use fire!”
“Everything is ready, and even the wind seems to be cooperating!”
“However…” Ren Tianye continued, “I still have some reservations. If we use fire ships, can our small boats take advantage of the wind and make it all the way to the Yangtze defense line?”
Lu Chaosheng had previously been the de facto commander of the fortress network north of the Yangtze and knew the local weather extremely well. He immediately replied, “Duke, there should be no problem.”
“The prevailing winds here are northerly and northwesterly. The north wind blows frequently. If our small boats raise their sails and ride the wind, they will be able to charge straight toward the opposite bank and carry the flames to the enemy’s defenses.”
“I can already imagine the sight of their entire camp going up in flames!”
Ren Tianye nodded. “Since that is the case, I’ll leave this matter entirely in your hands. Remember, I want absolute certainty. Not the slightest mistake can be allowed.”
“Understood?”
Lu Chaosheng straightened at once. “Rest assured, Duke.”
“If I cannot even handle such a small matter, then I, Lu Chaosheng, will present my head to you.”
Ren Tianye nodded. He had considerable faith in Lu Chaosheng. After all, Lu Chaosheng was reliable, and this operation was not particularly difficult.
He was attacking from north to south, which meant the wind direction was naturally in his favor. Borrowing the east wind, as Zhuge Liang had once done, was completely unnecessary for him.
Ren Tianye then turned his gaze toward Wu Xingzhou and called out, “Wu Xingzhou!”
“Your subordinate is here!”
Wu Xingzhou strode forward, excitement already visible on his face.
Ever since Pei Wugou, that lunatic, had beaten him into the ground last time, he had felt that his luck had hit rock bottom. Nothing had gone smoothly for him since.
But this time, General Zhang Shi’s letter had explicitly stated that he should defect as well.
Considering the best way to attack the Yangtze defense line, there was really only one option: take a fleet of small boats, load them with sulfur and other flammable materials, and then…
He had almost certainly figured out what he would be doing.
He would pilot a boat, take some men with him, and charge toward the Yangtze defense line.
Once the wind picked up and they drew close to the defenses, they would set the fire ablaze, let the roaring flames surge forward, and ram straight into the enemy line. Then he could jump overboard and witness an exceptionally spectacular fireworks display beneath the water.
It would be a great achievement—one capable of washing away the grievances he had suffered before. He absolutely had to perform well.
“General Zhang Shi has already stated in his letter that you—”
Ren Tianye had not even finished speaking when Wu Xingzhou shouted, “Duke, I’m willing!”
“Your subordinate is willing to lead men in defecting to General Zhang Shi and carry out this fire attack!”
Ren Tianye nodded and said, “When General Zhang Shi defected to the Yangtze defense line, I had to expose each and every one of his scars in front of everyone so that Zhou Mengyan and the others would believe him.”
“General Zhang Shi…”
“That was no easy ordeal for him.”
“You’re going to defect as well, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to avoid going through the same thing. Are you willing?”
Wu Xingzhou shuddered.
Back then, General Zhang Shi had practically been stripped of his dignity in public. Now, the veteran soldiers who knew the details had given him the nickname “the Grand General of Flanking.”
There was little doubt that this title would follow General Zhang Shi for the rest of his life.
Did he…
have to go through the same thing too?
But his hesitation lasted less than half a second. Wu Xingzhou gritted his teeth and said, “Duke, I’m willing!”
“Your subordinate is very willing!”
“Good!” Ren Tianye exclaimed, overjoyed.
The soldiers’ desire for military honors was simply too strong. Every one of them was willing to risk anything for the chance to distinguish himself. With soldiers like these, how could he possibly fail?
He raised his voice. “All right, then. Go and make the necessary preparations. After that…”
“We wait for General Zhang Shi’s message!”
“The moment General Zhang Shi’s message arrives, we act immediately!”
“Miss Ruan has created this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity for us. We cannot let it slip away.”
“At the same time…”
Ren Tianye smiled. “According to General Zhang Shi’s letter, whether Miss Ruan can deal with Zhou Mengyan is still uncertain. Although General Zhang Shi is fairly confident, we…”
“Still ought to pray for Miss Ruan!”
“May Miss Ruan succeed soon!”
…
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
