Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1841 - 1834: The Determination to Resist to the End

Chapter 1841: Chapter 1834: The Determination to Resist to the End

"I am not a citizen of this country, the Manor Lord should be aware of this. My wish has been fulfilled, and now that there is chaos in the court, if I continue to stay in Shengjing, wouldn’t I be courting trouble?"

"The National Preceptor need not worry about this, it’s only temporary; the trouble will soon be resolved. At that time, we will still be willing to revere the National Preceptor, in order to ensure the eternal peace of the Empire."

"Listen carefully," Luo’er said solemnly, "I never intended to become the National Preceptor of the Dongsheng Empire. The late emperor did not regard me with contempt, and I was forced to accept this title against my will. Now that the late emperor has passed away, it is also time for me to leave."

"For such an important matter, the National Preceptor should consult with His Majesty."

"I will find an opportunity to speak frankly with His Majesty, but don’t think of stopping me. We are not enemies with your Wu Family and do not wish to harbor enmity. Please, Manor Lord, understand this."

"I understand, I understand..." Anxiang Liang nodded hastily in response.

After agreeing with Anxiang Liang, the next day, Luo’er rode alone in a carriage to the Liangyu Mansion outside the city. To ensure his safety, the Wu Family dispatched their only Forbidden Army to provide heavy protection, fearing that anything might happen to Luo’er.

Before departing, the rest of the Advance Team were very worried about Luo’er, hoping to accompany him. However, Luo’er appeared optimistic; after all, with a Demigod by his side, how much worse could things get?

A convoy of a hundred men passed through the city gates, through the Wu Family’s military defenses, and arrived outside the chaotic city. Under the escort of the Forbidden Army, Luo’er safely reached Liangyu Mansion.

By this time, Liangyu Mansion had already become a massive fortress, with gunners and archers at the ready on the ramparts. A frontal assault would certainly suffer great losses.

When Luo’er was still more than a hundred meters from Liangyu Mansion, he halted the carriage and dismounted. The accompanying envoys immediately advanced to notify Liangyu Mansion of Luo’er’s arrival.

Soon after, the gates of Liangyu Mansion swung open, and a cavalry unit of over a hundred men emerged, forming a formation outside. At the forefront, the envoy from Liangyu Mansion rode forward enthusiastically, inviting Luo’er’s carriage to enter.

Luo’er navigated smoothly between the Wen and Wu families. The Wen Family admired his talents, and the Wu Family respected his absolute martial prowess, allowing him to be immune to the ideological conflicts of the Wen and Wu families.

Thus, under the escort of the mansion guards, Luo’er easily entered Liangyu Mansion and was led by the guards to the inner courtyard where Ichuan Fei was located.

Passing through layer after layer of defenses, he arrived at the sparsely populated inner courtyard. Ichuan Fei lay on a reclining chair in the pavilion, his face looking quite unwell.

By his side was his Shadow Guard, Li Yang.

This woman was meticulously caring for Ichuan Fei, cautiously attending to his medication.

Seeing Luo’er enter the inner courtyard, a flush appeared on Ichuan Fei’s pale face. He propped himself up and cheerfully said, "It is rare for the National Preceptor to visit, yet I’m in such a sorry state, forgive me for the embarrassment."

"Young Mansion, there’s no need to mind me, just rest assured," Luo’er said, letting out a deep sigh and showing a sorrowful expression, "It’s only been a half-month since we’ve last met, and Young Mansion is already like this. It’s truly disheartening."

"Hehe, life and death are predestined. I’ve long come to terms with it..."

Ichuan Fei forced a smile, pushed away the medicine bowl brought by Li Yang, and scrutinized Luo’er as he asked, "Is the National Preceptor here to persuade me?"

"Indeed," Luo’er bowed slightly and earnestly said, "I was entrusted by Emperor Wu to come and advise Young Mansion to surrender."

"Haha..."

Hearing Luo’er’s candid words, Ichuan Fei did not get angry. Instead, he smiled happily.

In the end, he asked with interest, "Do you think I would agree, National Preceptor?"

"No!"

Luo’er shook his head without hesitation and continued, "I also know it’s impossible, so I just wanted to find an excuse to come see Young Mansion."

"Thank you, National Preceptor, for your concern."

Ichuan Fei blinked continuously, his eyes starting to redden.

"To find a kindred spirit in life is rare. If I were well, I surely could have accomplished great things with the National Preceptor..."

"Young Mansion’s health is more important than anything," Luo’er’s expression darkened as he pursed his lips and spoke.

"With such a cherished friend as the National Preceptor, I have no regrets in death," Ichuan Fei murmured contentedly, closing his eyes.

"Do not speak of death..." Li Yang softly complained.

"Shut up, I didn’t give you permission to speak!" Ichuan Fei scolded peevishly, seemingly provoked by Li Yang.

"Don’t be angry..."

Li Yang, unwilling to upset him, immediately relented and comforted him upon seeing his demeanor.

"Alas..."

Luo’er sighed deeply, shaking his head as he muttered to himself, "Everything was fine, how did it suddenly become like this..."

"They had plotted for a long time, just managed to seize an opportunity..."

After a pause, Ichuan Fei shook his head and said, "My father was already killed by them, I will never surrender, and Axu is still resisting. The Wen Family is not done yet, even if they hold Emperor Wu hostage, so what?"

"I won’t urge you to lay down arms either; in the current situation, surrendering will only make it worse. Resistance just maintains the current status quo; I understand this reasoning," Luo’er said.

"That’s why I say, the National Preceptor and I have many topics in common..."

"However, I do not understand. The Wen Family was clearly in control, how did such a major blunder occur, leading to a complete defeat?"

"The Wen Family hasn’t lost yet."

"But the Hundred Chiefs has already been killed by them..." Luo’er reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Ichuan Fei was silent for a moment, then he closed his eyes painfully and said, "We had no choice, we were too ambitious, so... but if we hadn’t acted, the situation would be worse now. This is already the best outcome we could foresee..."

"You had already noticed the Wu Family’s anomaly, so you wanted to quickly resolve issues in Beichang and Yipa, so you could focus on domestic troubles?" Luo’er asked.

"Since the National Preceptor knows, why seek confirmation?"

"But I don’t understand. A reform of the new military could be acceptable, but these two wars were unnecessary. There were clearly better solutions than war; why did you..."

"There was no better solution than war," Ichuan Fei shook his head and said, "If we didn’t deploy troops to weaken these two forces, when the Heavenly Dynasty descends into chaos, Beichang and Yipa would surely exploit the situation. They have done so many times before, which is why I never trusted their promises."

"So what strategy does Young Mansion have for breaking today’s predicament?"

"Axu is still resisting, and so am I. The Yichuan Clan is not finished, nor is the Wen Family. Once the new army returns to launch an attack, everything will get better."

"Young Mansion, your illness is already severe, but please focus on your health. I would be delighted to see you turn the tide and stabilize the situation," Luo’er said, unable to refute, only to sigh deeply and bow.

"Thank you for your concern, National Preceptor. The situation has not yet reached its worst. Please, National Preceptor, watch carefully when the time comes."

Ichuan Fei spoke, a confident smile reappearing on his bloodless face.

But at that moment, an unexpected visitor interrupted his confidence.

"Reporting to Young Lord..."

The urgent manor guard bowed at the door, clearly very agitated.

"What brings such urgency?"

"Young Lord..." The guard almost sobbed, loudly saying, "General Jiuyun was ambushed on the victorious return journey, the general and hundreds of elite troops perished..."

"Puff!!!!"

Upon hearing this news, Ichuan Fei was so agitated that he spat a large mouthful of blood and collapsed, choking.

"Young Lord!!"

Seeing this, Li Yang forgot about the others present, screamed, and rushed to Ichuan Fei, the medicine bowl in her hand falling to the ground with a crash, the medicine spilling everywhere.

"Young Mansion, are you alright?" Luo’er asked with concern.

"Heaven wants to destroy me, heaven wants to destroy me..."

Ichuan Fei murmured in a teary voice, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was clear that Jiuyun Shuang’s death hit him hard.

To put it bluntly, he wasn’t even this upset when his father died.

Luo’er knew Ichuan Fei cherished Jiuyun Shuang greatly but hadn’t realized just how much he cared, enough to spit blood and shed tears over him.

Luo’er frowned and began to assess the connection between Ichuan Fei and the people of the Wen Family, as his intuition told him that something significant was happening.

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