Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 369 - 258: Transaction_2

Chapter 369: Chapter 258: Transaction_2

Forty miles, both seemingly within grasp and yet infinitely distant.

The middle-aged man with the whiskers hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice,

"Now our camp’s defensive capabilities are almost equivalent to none. Whoever still has supplies, bring them out. We need to reinforce the camp. The Formation Masters with the army should hurry to carve some simple defense Formation Patterns to prevent those Barbarian Tribes from attacking our camp."

At this moment, the man with the scar scoffed and said,

"Reinforce the camp?"

The middle-aged man with whiskers frowned at these words and stared at the man with the scarred face,

"What, does General Hou think we shouldn’t reinforce the camp?"

The man with the scar shook his head slowly and smiled,

"Hou has no objections, of course. Splendid Moon Palace does have some remaining materials for reinforcing the camp, leftovers from the repairs in Houting County. If the other Sects contribute some materials, we should be able to elevate the camp’s defensive capabilities by a notch."

As he said this,

The man with the scar focused on the middle-aged man with whiskers, "But the problem is... how much food do we have left?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent of the main general looked unanimously toward Qian Shuisheng at the head of the table.

Facing the gaze of the generals, Qian Shuisheng pondered for a moment and spoke softly,

"Previously, in order to let the Barbarian Tribes move northward, we provided them with one third of our supplies. Now, the provisions and war supplies we have should suffice for our army for about twenty days. If we reduce rations, we can stretch it to about a month. If we are willing to slaughter the cavalry’s mounts, we could last even longer."

"......"

One month...

This statement set some of the commanders present to harboring ulterior motives.

Compared to the vertically integrated command structure of the Black Scale Guards or the Northern Border Army, their group more closely resembled a coalition army, an army that had been forced to band together due to external pressure.

After a long silence,

a gentle voice suddenly asked,

"Then... what about the Barbarian Tribes and The Imperial Court?"

Qian Shuisheng glanced at the speaker, the only person present who was not from the Northern Border Sects.

A beautiful young man with thin lips and peach blossom eyes, handsome and impressive.

Wan Medicine Gate.

Wherever there was war, their presence was almost a given.

They came to do business.

Responsible for healing the wounded soldiers; if you were willing to pay, they could even regenerate the limbs of lower-ranked soldiers.

Of course,

apart from paying in silver, occasionally they needed some live Barbarian Tribesmen for medical experiments.

Qian Shuisheng pondered for a moment and spoke truthfully,

"The Barbarian Tribes probably have plenty of food. The carcasses of three Ice Beast Giants, along with the corpses of soldiers from Northern Border City and the bodies of their deceased kin, should at least last them several months."

The Barbarian Tribes, who spend their lives in the Extreme Black Lands and the desolate snowy plains, do not hold any moral standards.

Survival is their only moral creed.

The lower one’s bottom line, the more food one has.

Just as Demonic Beast carcasses are supplements for the human race, the corpses of human Cultivators are considered nourishing for the Barbarian Tribes.

Having said that,

Qian Shuisheng glanced at the north,

"According to our intelligence, Marquis Wucheng’s supplies should also last about a month, but Wu Yuan must have taken away everything that could be transported from the city before leaving."

Hearing this, the handsome young man narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled,

"So, does that mean that now, amongst the three parties in the Northern Frontier, we have the least food?"

"......"

Qian Shuisheng didn’t answer but swept his gaze across the several Sect Commanders below.

As his gaze fell on them, everyone averted their eyes.

Seeing this reaction, Qian Shuisheng’s wrinkled face trembled slightly as he let out a sigh.

In wartime, which house didn’t have a few Sumeru Rings at hand?

The saying goes, better for a friend to die than for one’s own demise. Everyone actually had some food stored away, but to hand it over...

Heh, we haven’t reached an absolute desperate point yet, have we?

When we’re truly out of food, there will be time to haggle. Perhaps they could sell at a higher price and seek compensation after the war.

Seeing the commanders’ reactions, Qian Shuisheng chose not to say much more.

Because it was pointless.

He was the Commander in name only. Battle commands had to be discussed collectively; without discussion, without the allocation of interests, without compensation, there was a high chance they would fall apart.

The beautiful young man from Wan Medicine Gate rubbed his temples and spoke in a low voice,

"So, does this mean we can only wait it out here? To see whose food supply lasts longer?"

Qian Shuisheng exhaled deeply, leaning back in the main seat, and replied,

"Our Northern Border Sects have made such significant sacrifices for the greater good, can’t the Sects from other regions provide support?"

The handsome young man smiled slightly, unhurried:

"Elder Qian, hasn’t the detailed list of compensation been submitted to you? All those resources should be sufficient for your recovery."

If the Imperial Court were to place pressure, the afflicted Sects would provide manpower and effort, while Sects from other regions would offer materials for compensation after the fact.

When one party is in trouble, all parties offer support; it’s an unspoken agreement among the Sects.

Qian Shuisheng gazed deeply at the youth:

"I am referring to sending people."

Hearing this, the youth immediately laughed without a second thought:

"Elder Qian, that would be breaking the rules. Besides, heavy snow has blocked the roads to the Northern Frontier now, and the Imperial Court has already sealed off those important imperial highways leading northward, even if we wanted to send reinforcements to the Northern Border, we simply couldn’t get through..."

His voice had not yet faded.

"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"

A series of explosions blasted above the Border Army’s encampment, causing the brows of the generals inside the commander’s tent to knit together involuntarily.

If they had held out any hope that the Barbarian Tribes might choose a northern path, that hope had now vanished completely.

The Cloud Qi Bombs detonated over Houting County had made the Barbarian Tribes choose to deal with the Sects and Border Army first.

With tremendous force, catapults hurled countless rocks and various kinds of military hardware towards the miles-long encampment. High-ranking Cultivators accompanying the troops took to the skies to intercept, but amidst the sudden onslaught, the first round of rocks and acid-producing beasts still crashed to the ground, causing chaos.

However, this chaos was quickly suppressed; there wasn’t even a need for the Commander to step in and maintain order.

While the Sects were proficient in internal strife, it did not affect their martial virtue.

Thus, when the Barbarian Tribes launched their second barrage, not a single rock or acid-producing beast made it inside the encampment.

After a moment,

Qian Shuisheng suddenly stood up from his seat and gestured to the others, saying:

"Since the Imperial Court’s inaction forces us to bide our time, I must trouble all of you to organize the military formations and be ready to repel those barbarians’ raids on the camp."

As he spoke,

he turned his gaze towards the scar-faced General Hou:

"General Hou, I’ll have to trouble your Splendid Moon Palace to fortify the encampment; we will surely provide generous compensation afterward."

Hearing this, the man with the scarred face grinned:

"Elder Qian, be at ease; this is part of our duties at Splendid Moon Palace..."

"Report!"

A loud shout abruptly rose from outside the encampment, drawing everyone’s attention.

Surprised, Qian Shuisheng said:

"Enter."

A man dressed in the armor of a Colonel swiftly entered the tent, knelt on one knee, and said directly:

"Elder Qian, there is someone outside the encampment who wishes to see you and the other Commanders."

"To see me?" Qian Shuisheng frowned: "Who is it?"

"Someone from the Prime Minister’s Mansion," the Colonel reported with his eyes downcast: "They say they want to discuss a deal with you."

Upon hearing these words, everyone revealed an odd look.

Qian Shuisheng responded the quickest, exhaling and saying with a light chuckle:

"What are you waiting for, invite that gentleman in."

"Yes, sir," the Colonel replied and immediately left the encampment.

A few moments later,

a middle-aged man with a patchy beard entered the commander’s tent under the Colonel’s guidance, walking in unhurriedly.

Seeing a room full of powerful figures, Zhou Chen felt his heart skip a beat.

In total sixteen people, and aside from the seven Great Grandmasters, the rest had inscrutable cultivation levels.

Damn, if only I hadn’t played dead.

He had feigned death before and was now looking to redeem himself; what a misfortune.

Cursing inwardly, Zhou Chen kept a smile on his face and said:

"Yo, good afternoon everyone."

Qian Shuisheng eyed the newcomer with a calm gaze, smiling faintly:

"Mr. Zhou, the military situation is urgent. If you have something to say, why not speak directly?"

"Elder Qian is indeed in a hurry."

Zhou Chen maintained his smile, gestured with his hands, and laughingly said: "Then I won’t beat around the bush. My lord has sent me to propose a trade with you all."

"What kind of trade?" Qian Shuisheng’s expression remained unchanged.

Zhou Chen looked around the tent slowly and said in a drawn-out manner:

"My lord knows that your situation is not easy, Elder Qian, and asked me to inquire if you might be interested in purchasing Cloud Qi Bombs?"