NOVPUB"Ren Feixing, you are going too far!"
Due to Mu Qingwu’s cautious and timid nature, he was destined never to say these words to Ren Feixing’s face; he could only say them in his heart. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
The combined forces were to be under his unified command!
Although Mu Qingwu was angry, to be honest, Ren Feixing’s request seemed both unreasonable and, at the same time, within reason.
Ren Feixing had long disregarded him, commanding him imperiously. Mu had just been wondering why Ren Feixing was waiting for him here and now he knew Ren Feixing was harboring this intention.
"The thirty thousand troops of Yangping County have always been led by Commander Lin. The command during battle has always been his, and changing generals at the front may not be wise!
Still simmering with rage, Mu Qingwu calmed himself down and, after pondering for a moment, he gave Ren Feixing a non-committal response.
"Junior Brother Mu, could it be that you think I, your Senior Brother, want to take away your thirty thousand troops? You’re overthinking it. The command in battle naturally remains with Commander Lin, including my own forty thousand troops, who are commanded by Chen An. I’m just worried if we encounter a strong enemy; combining our forces could increase our chances of victory. What do you think?"
Looking at the smug expression on Ren Feixing’s face, Mu Qingwu felt a gnawing hate but continued to ask, "But what if a special situation arises and the two commanders disagree? Whose orders should we follow?"
"Of course you follow mine. Would you have us follow yours, Junior Brother Mu?"
Ren Feixing’s slap was almost on his face, and Mu Qingwu clenched his teeth, forcefully suppressing his fury.
"Since that’s the case, then let’s do as Senior Brother Ren says!"
Ren Feixing seemed not at all surprised by his reaction. Even the corners of his mouth curled up into a smirk as he mockingly said, "The army from Longxiang County is just two li ahead, I’ll go ahead and wait for you."
After speaking, he didn’t even glance at Mu Qingwu again and directly flew westward with Li Wenxuan.
It was only after Ren Feixing had flown far away that Mu Qingwu could no longer contain his anger and furiously smashed a nearby large stone into powder, gritting his teeth and vowing, "You disgrace me to this extent; one day, I will make you kneel before me and kowtow!"
Gui Zhaoqi quickly turned his head to look elsewhere, pretending he had not heard these words.
Lin Dongzhao’s face looked somewhat troubled. The thirty thousand troops he had commanded were now under Ren Feixing, which naturally upset him. After struggling with his feelings for a long time, he asked Mu Qingwu in a low voice, "Are we really going to hand over thirty thousand troops just like that?"
"What else can we do? That bastard, I deliberately delayed this long because I wanted his people from Longxiang County to go and die first. He’s not a fool, waiting for us for six days, not only can he arrive at Wanyang County later, but he can also claim it was to combine forces to enhance combat strength and wait for the Yangping County troops. We are the ones who were late, causing them to be slow.
If we refuse to combine forces, he will have an excuse to blame the lack of support on Yangping County. Then, the charge of us causing delay will be even greater!"
With this explanation, Lin Dongzhao’s expression changed slightly as he immediately understood this logic.
"This Ren Feixing, his intentions are so sinister!"
A look of perplexity crossed Mu Qingwu’s face. From what he knew of Ren Feixing, being from Xu Du and naturally arrogant and dismissive of others, Ren normally preferred using brute force to oppress people and wasn’t known for scheming.
This time, however, he had come up with such a sinister plan!
But recalling Ren Feixing’s demeanor just now, he dismissed the doubts in his mind and looked north, sneering, "He wants to show off by combining forces; we’ll just let him. There has been no news from Wanyang County for such a long time, indicating that the Demon Sect’s army is formidable and not to be underestimated. Since he has the command, the responsibility will naturally fall on him; we just need to sit back and watch the show!"
Lin Dongzhao furrowed his brow and asked, "If Wanyang County is held, won’t the seventy thousand troops gaining merit precisely match his intentions?"
Mu Qingwu’s expression suddenly turned sinister, and he whispered, "Won’t you give your men a hint? If something happens, let them obey on the surface but trip him up behind the scenes. Forty thousand plus thirty thousand may not act as seventy thousand troops but could instead act as twenty thousand or even ten thousand!"
"So that was your plan, sir."
Now Lin Dongzhao understood. Although he hesitated at first, he soon nodded and rushed down to handle the matter of combining forces.
Being one of Mu Qingwu’s men and having disliked Ren Feixing for a long time, if he could put a dent in Ren Feixing’s plans, he was all too willing to do so. More so, notifying his thirty thousand troops to not exert themselves could, in case of actual conflict, save more of his soldiers’ lives. Why would he refuse?
Of the thirty thousand troops, twenty-five thousand were from the Yangping County Sword Control Bureau, having always been commanded by Lin Dongzhao, while three thousand were from Fengbo Hall and two thousand from other minor factions within Yangping County. For this effort to support Wanyang County, all were under Lin Dongzhao’s command, so naturally, he went to give the orders for combining forces himself.
Having decided on the combination, the three did not delay any longer. After making all necessary arrangements, they continued moving west and soon saw the forty thousand Silver Armored troops from Longxiang County, stopping right in the middle of the Official Road.
Ren Feixing, standing with Li Wenxuan at the rear, saw the arrival of the thirty thousand troops from Yangping County. He turned around and shouted loudly to his troops, "The army will now position itself along the sides of the road immediately, leaving a path for our brothers from Yangping County to pass first!"
