Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 368 - 258: Transaction

Chapter 368: Chapter 258: Transaction

While the bright sun shone over Houting County, the surroundings of Northern Border City were still enveloped by the seemingly endless snow dancing in the sky.

The howling wind and snow made the inside of the commander’s tent seem especially serene.

The temporary command tent was not large, but more than a dozen generals wearing Border Army commander armor sat clearly divided on both sides of the tent, while an elderly man with white beard and hair sat in the main seat.

None of them were below Third Grade in cultivation; all held command over large forces, and each could shake the Northern Frontier with a mere stomp of their foot.

But at the moment, a deathly silence spread among these influential figures of the Sects.

Just a quarter of an hour ago,

they had learned through various channels that a Cloud Qi Bomb had been detonated near Houting County.

A few days ago, when The Imperial Court presented two Cloud Qi Bombs and demanded they immediately move south to reinforce Northern Border City, there were even those among them who had lusted after the Cloud Qi Bombs.

There was no helping it, for the Cloud Qi Bomb was a tempting item.

After witnessing the effects of the Cloud Qi Bomb, a weapon capable of changing the weather, their greed was immediately ignited.

As long as they could get their hands on a sample, their own Array Masters could attempt to reverse-engineer it.

Lou Ji didn’t give them the time of day.

Leaving behind a phrase, "Come if you wish, or we can die together", she shattered their greed.

Should Northern Border City fall and The Imperial Court’s three hundred thousand troops die trapped in the snowy plains, it would at most be a heavy blow to The Imperial Court’s vitality; but for these Northern Border Sects, it would be a catastrophe.

Should these three hundred thousand elite troops suffer any loss, then various large-scale herb fields, workshops, armament factories, and banks—all their industries—would directly face the blade of the Barbarian Tribes.

And what they had left to defend their homes were nothing but some core disciples from the inner sects and secondary forces of Eighth and Ninth Grade recruits.

The core disciples had high cultivation, but they did not study military formations; the recruits had not seen blood and were easily routed on the battlefield.

Having been forced to move south against their will, yet also not wanting to fight to the death, they made a deal with the Barbarian King.

In their view, there was no way the Barbarian King could refuse their offer.

The Barbarian Tribes dared to make a southern detour entirely because of the blizzard, which gave them an almost overwhelmingly favorable situation due to the weather.

But once the Northern Border Army and the Black Scale Army moved south and joined forces with them, and a Cloud Qi Bomb cleared the clouds, a formation of seven hundred thousand troops without a Protective City Formation to defend could even shatter walls.

And now,

the third Cloud Qi Bomb had indeed been detonated.

But its location was slightly off from what they had anticipated.

It wasn’t at Northern Border City, but rather at Houting County.

Having fought in the Northern Frontier for decades, they knew all too well what this implied.

In the midst of the silence,

the elder on the main seat,

the Supreme Elder of Spiritual Water Palace, Qian Shuisheng, finally broke the silence:

"Gentlemen, please share your views on the current situation."

Yet after he finished speaking, the silence persisted.

After a long moment,

a female general from the left side suddenly stood up and bowed to the elder on the main seat.

The woman was slender, rather petite, but her appearance was not at all plain; she had a complexion like snow, fine features, eyebrows like green feathers, and a voice as pleasant as the clear ringing of bells:

"General Qian, I believe this may be a delaying tactic of Marquis Wucheng, or perhaps that woman Lou Ji. My Snow Valley’s liaison point outside of Houting County has not sent any news of Houting’s fall."

Hearing the woman speak, a man with a scar on his cheek raised his eyebrows, pondered for a moment, and then also spoke:

"Qing Feng makes some sense. The timing simply does not match up. The Black Scale Army and the Northern Border Army are far off at Dali Mountain, and even using cavalry it would take them at least two to three days to reach the area near Houting County."

The white-haired Qian Shuisheng heard this, smiled kindly, and stroked his beard, nodding slightly:

"Indeed, that is a possibility."

After a pause, Qian Shuisheng’s eyes, which seemed somewhat cloudy due to age, suddenly sharpened:

"But even if it is as you two say, who will contact the Barbarian King? And who can make the Barbarian King believe us?"

As he spoke,

his gaze swept around the tent at the assembled generals:

"Heh heh... If you were in the Barbarian King’s position, would you rashly command your troops to move north? I don’t think you would, at least not without sending a powerful warrior from the army to verify first. But by doing so, there may not be enough time..."

As he finished speaking, there was again silence.

A difference in timing.

They had offered the Barbarian Tribes a deal: relinquish control of Houting County and its surrounding area, let the enemy take over all the armaments and the Protective City Formation there in order to stop the Black Scale Army and the Northern Border Army from coming to the rescue.

The key lied in the timing.

Now that a Cloud Qi Bomb had been set off in that region, even if they had not arrived yet, it could buy time for their arrival.

It clearly signaled to the Barbarian Tribes:

You fight your battles, but don’t come bothering me.

Thinking deeper,

If you, the Barbarian Tribes, do not act swiftly, the Northern Border Army and the Black Scale Army can come looking for you with a Cloud Qi Bomb at any time.

Are you scared or not?

"Damn it!"

A burly man let out a low curse, "Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng are playing a fine game, intending for our Border Army to face these tens of thousands of Barbarian troops alone!"

"Enough," another middle-aged man with a beard sighed, "It’s no use talking about this now. The urgent matter at hand is to think about how to break through this situation."

The burly man’s eyes widened, mouth opening as if to curse, but he ultimately restrained himself, snorted coldly, and fell silent.

Then,

the elegantly featured female general spoke again: "I am in charge of the camp’s defenses today. Our scouts have detected many of the Barbarian Tribe’s Wolf Cavalry roaming around our camp, and we can’t determine the location of their main force. The army could be attacked at any moment if we move rashly, ambushed by those barbarians amidst the wind and snow."

Northern Border City was only about forty li from their camp, typically a journey of two quarters of an hour by normal march, but if they were ambushed by the Barbarian Tribes in the midst of their march through the blizzard, they would all be doomed.