Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 141: A strange coincidence
In the city of Anyang, within the city lord’s mansion, a sudden burst of light filled the room as Xu Ren invited someone to “enter the game.” Thousands of elite soldiers from Anyang stood guard, armed with talismans, magical tools, and firearms!
Soon, footsteps could be heard from the city walls, and more guards quickly formed a complete encirclement from above!
The night travelers from Lüliang County were stunned!
Xu Ren waved his hand, and a maid immediately set up tea and snacks on the table, lighting incense. From Xu Ren’s demeanor, it was clear that this was not a battle, but a gathering of friends!
Xu Ren said nothing, quietly waiting.
Li Yuanming, the civil official from Lüliang County, and General Zou Zhiquan glanced at the situation, but they didn’t give up! There was still a chance. If a chaotic battle broke out, the firearms of Anyang would become ineffective, and if they could capture Xu Ren, the situation could still turn in their favor!
Li Yuanming and Zou Zhiquan exchanged a glance, immediately understanding each other’s intentions. They waved their hands, signaling their elite soldiers to disperse and launch attacks in all directions.
But Xu Ren remained calm and unhurried. Without any command from him, the elite soldiers from Anyang quickly scattered a vast array of talismans and magic spells. How could firearms be of use in such a close encirclement? This was merely a distraction; the real trump card was the talismans!
Of course, Lüliang County also had talismans, but the soldiers of Anyang treated them like ordinary stones, throwing them out in large numbers. A variety of complementary spells surged like a tidal wave. The few talismans from Lüliang County were quickly overwhelmed.
In the next moment, the soldiers from Lüliang County were slowed by the magic, and Anyang’s soldiers began casting nets! Huge nets were cast one after another, instantly capturing and imprisoning all the elite soldiers from Lüliang County. These nets were made from spiritual threads, and even Golden Core experts couldn’t escape them.
Li Yuanming and Zou Zhiquan were spared, but as two commanders with no soldiers, it seemed like they could do nothing!
Finally, Li Yuanming sighed and decisively threw off his black robes, walking to Xu Ren’s side and sitting down openly. “I have lost!”
Xu Ren looked at the person before him. “You are Li Yuanming?”
“Yes,” Li Yuanming grabbed the teacup and drank it all, “I ran all night, thank you.”
Xu Ren furrowed his brow slightly. “You have a clear face and don’t look like an evil person. Why resort to such methods?”
Li Yuanming responded frankly, “Appearance is just appearance, but I am indeed a poison strategist. I do not hide this.”
“Oh…” Xu Ren finally took a closer look at Li Yuanming. Li Yuanming ate and drank without a care, while General Zou Zhiquan beside him seemed a bit restrained, panicked, and unsure.
The atmosphere became tense, with only the sound of Li Yuanming eating heartily. After a while, Xu Ren couldn’t help but speak up: “I see you have a righteous face and a straightforward manner. You don’t seem to be a completely evil person. It seems you are not quite the same as the legendary poison strategist.”
Li Yuanming didn’t raise his head as he continued eating and spoke, “It’s simple. I believe the path I chose is the right one. My master repented before his death, realizing that poison strategists are not the problem. The real problem is the ruler who uses them.
As a strategist, whether one is a strategist like Xu Ren or a poison strategist like me, our only responsibility is to offer strategies. How the advice is accepted, rejected, or considered is not our concern; that is the ruler’s responsibility.
When two countries are at war, with millions dying, whose fault is it? Not the general’s, not the prime minister’s, but the emperor’s fault! If a ruler cannot distinguish right from wrong, cannot consider advice properly, that is the ruler’s problem, not ours as poison strategists.
So, there is nothing wrong with being a poison strategist, and I don’t think I am at fault. Looking at the current situation in Lüliang County, my suggestion at the time was definitely the most effective one. Of course, I admit it was the most extreme suggestion, but I am a poison strategist, and this is my way of thinking.”
Xu Ren was momentarily speechless. To be honest, the reasoning behind Li Yuanming’s words was somewhat “twisted,” but it couldn’t be denied that there was some logic to it.
Around them, the elite soldiers of Anyang finally sealed off the true essence of the Lüliang County troops, binding them and dragging them to one side.
Li Yuanming, having eaten and drunk his fill, stretched out both hands and said, “Alright, before I die, at least I can die a full man.”
Xu Ren gave orders to his experts to restrain Li Yuanming and Zou Zhiquan, sealing their true essence, but he didn’t immediately execute them. Li Yuanming’s words had made Xu Ren hesitate—this was exactly what Li Yuanming wanted. After some thought, Xu Ren decided to wait until the next day to discuss the matter with Xia Qingqing and Yan Ze’an. Additionally, Xu Ren wrote a letter and sent it to Li Xian, hoping to ask for his opinion on the matter.
Xu Ren could see that although Li Yuanming was a poison strategist, he was still a talent. From Li Xian’s perspective, having a “poison strategist with a bottom line” might bring unexpected benefits.
A “poison strategist with a bottom line” could be considered a unique kind of top-tier talent. The way poison strategists think often brings unexpected brilliance. Xu Ren understood well that the rise of any power sometimes required doing disgraceful things.
Once these matters were dealt with, Xu Ren suddenly thought about Cheng Jiming, whom he had sent out to search around the Nanliang Prefecture for Li Yuanming. He wondered what Cheng Jiming was doing now.
Sometimes, things worked out in strange ways.
In the early morning, Cheng Jiming, with his 30 trusted men and the highest achievement of Anyang’s technology—a flying war machine—finally arrived at Nanliang Prefecture.
It was Cheng Jiming’s first time flying long distances from the air, and at night no less. Moreover, it was his first time handling such a powerful flying war machine. Naturally, Cheng Jiming was overly excited and ended up running around in circles, getting lost! After a long time, he finally found his target, the Nanliang Prefecture, but by this time, it was already the early hours of the second day.
But as the saying goes, “Better late than never.” Just as Cheng Jiming arrived, he saw a group of people stealthily leaving the Nanliang Prefecture and heading southwest.
Seeing people sneak out of Nanliang Prefecture at this time was undoubtedly suspicious! Cheng Jiming immediately ordered another flying machine to carefully follow them. After they had traveled a certain distance, he launched an attack. To avoid any retaliation from Golden Core experts, Cheng Jiming had specifically instructed to ignore the details and fire long-range artillery first.
After waiting a bit longer, Cheng Jiming noticed that another group of people had left the Nanliang Prefecture, this time heading northwest.
“Seems like it’s really lively. Let’s follow them and see. After all, the flying machine is fast, so we can always return later.”
Meanwhile, Gu Songfeng, the civil official and strategist from Zhongshan County, had secretly left the Nanliang Prefecture and was heading northwest. As a strategist, he occasionally liked to look up at the stars. After walking for a while, he looked up just in time to be stunned—there was a huge war machine flying in the sky!
Gu Songfeng froze right there on the spot! Seeing such a war machine overhead, it was clear that this wasn’t for protection.
Gu Songfeng observed carefully. The war machine was flying exceptionally high, at least three miles above ground, far surpassing the usual height of typical war machines.
Up in the sky, Cheng Jiming vaguely saw the person he was tracking look up, and immediately gave the command: “Fire!”
The 9mm caliber autocannon started firing at once. At this point, Cheng Jiming had no time to care about anything else; the priority was to prevent the enemy from escaping. He ordered the attack without hesitation—whether there would be any survivors was no longer important.
Both the secondary and main cannons opened fire in synchronization. By the time Gu Songfeng, startled by the sudden assault, attempted to issue an order to dodge, the bullets were already descending. The area around him was instantly filled with the sound of bullets tearing through the air, followed by a series of sharp “puff” sounds. Gu Songfeng barely had time to raise his true essence shield, straining to block the incoming fire.
But just as he did, a shell precisely landed at his feet, and with a deafening explosion, Gu Songfeng was sent soaring into the sky!