Volume 3 – The Place Where My Heart Feels At Peace, Chapter 105: Silent Contest (Part 1)
Wei Potian pulled a long face. “Qianye is my brother. There’s nothing we can’t discuss in front of him.”
Thereupon, the elder said, “The scope of implications regarding this matter appears rather wide and probably isn’t limited to just a few divisions. There’s likely a powerhouse acting as a mediator. Although our Far East Wei Clan isn’t afraid of trouble, we still have to show General Xiao Lingshi some respect in the Evernight Continent. Toppling a few offending division commanders is fine, but it’s not appropriate for us to start a war.”
After saying this, without even waiting for Wei Potian’s reply, he turned toward Qianye, bowed and said respectfully, “What does Young Master Qian think of this?”
Qianye hadn’t expected the elderly man to suddenly skip over Wei Potian and ask for his opinion. However, he felt it was natural after some thought—this matter had indeed arisen from him. While the Wei clan might also obtain some benefits from this, the gains were barely passable compared to the resources invested.
Waging a war in the Evernight Continent was definitely past the Wei clan’s bottom line. This wasn’t an issue of whether or not the Wei clan could contest against the expeditionary army in court and in military strength, but a consideration of whether the regional lord could interfere with the deep-seated military affairs of the Evernight Continent. This Wei clan elder’s words were rather clear—he wished to prevent the heir from expanding this matter for Qianye’s sake lest it ultimately goes out of hand.
Qianye immediately replied, “Potian, the matter between me and Wu Zhengnan is a personal grudge, and I don’t want to create more problems. Everything originated from him. He was at the core of the forbidden deals with the dark races. I think we should just focus on the mastermind here.”
Wei Potian shot him a glance and voiced his agreement. He then turned around to find the captive expeditionary army officers gathered at the base of the village wall near the gate. He immediately raised his voice in anger. “But I’m absolutely infuriated everytime I see these bastards. I really want to kill them all!”
The Wei clan elder intervened, “Young master, they’re only following orders. It’s fine to kill since we’ve already captured them, but there are many outsiders around…”
His voice was quite soft and only Wei Potian could hear it clearly. The elder’s opinion was that killing captives privately wasn’t a big deal, but it would more or less affect the Wei clan’s reputation with so many witnesses. Qianye wasn’t considered an outsider but these bloodline seedlings and Far East Heavy Industries guardsmen were a different matter altogether.
Wei Potian exhaled deeply and replied, “Very well! Let’s deal with them later.”
There was much to do regarding funeral arrangements in addition to cleaning the village and tending to the wounded. Defensive measures, on the other hand, weren’t a problem—Wei Potian had immediately dispatched someone to Broken River City with a letter as soon as he arrived. The 10th division would inevitably be held responsible if the heir of Marquis Bowang and a lieutenant colonel of the Broken Winged Angels was attacked in this defensive region. Hence, they could no longer feign ignorance. Those captive officers from the 15th division had all been returned to their division headquarters. The only thing left was to wait for the 15th division to give the Wei clan a satisfactory explanation.
The next day, Wei Potian dragged Qianye onto the airship and flew directly toward Blackflow City. The Wei clan heir’s movements this time was extremely fast with absolutely no delay during the journey. After landing outside the city in the afternoon, Wei Potian immediately charged right into the city after marshaling the Broken Winged Angels and Wei clan soldiers.
The expeditionary army guards had likely received orders beforehand, seeing as how no one dared to obstruct these fiends. The dozen military trucks sped straight toward the seventh division headquarters where they stopped across the main gates. The soldiers then alighted in succession and proceeded to blockade the entrance.
Wei Potian jumped off from the driver’s compartment and sized up the unimpressive building before him. “This is the seventh division headquarters!? Doesn’t look the part!”
An aide beside him replied, “Young Master, this is indeed the place. At least according to the map. Look, it’s also written on the signboard!”
Wei Potian finally found a sign that said “expeditionary army seventh division” but he was still half suspicious. This seventh division headquarters looked like a space-occupying courtyard with a few old and unadorned office buildings within. This headquarters was somewhat historic and hadn’t changed at all for nearly a decade.
Wei Potian, who was used to seeing the awe-inspiring and majestic division headquarters of the empire, felt as if he had come to a skirmisher barracks in the countryside. But on second thoughts, wasn’t the expeditionary army just a ragtag band of countryside stragglers?
As Wei Potian took large strides toward their main gate, the guards shouted reflexively, “Who dares barge into the division headquarters!? We’ll fulfill whoever is courting death!”
The Wei clan men didn’t make a move but the Broken Winged Angel troops didn’t have such a good temper—many of them had their hands on the weapons at their waist, ready to kill all those guards at a moment’s notice.
Qianye stood with the Wei clan guards and let out a soft sigh. He couldn’t be clearer about the “death quota” granted to elite corps such as the Broken Winged Angels. Killing these ordinary soldiers wouldn’t even count against their death quota which was used for those above the level of junior officers and landowning nobles.
At this time, a major dashed out from within the courtyard and hurriedly cried out, “Lower your weapons, all of you! Lower your weapons!” The guards dropped their guns unwillingly but continued to glare at the other party—they knew these visitors had come with ill intentions.
The major, identifying the leader at a glance, arrived before Wei Potian and said solemnly, “You must be the heir of Marquis Bowang, Young Master Huyang. Wei clan heir, I wonder when our expeditionary army had offended the Wei clan? Not only did you barricade our city, but now you’re blocking our seventh division headquarters! You’re also a man of the empire. You must know that blocking a military-use road is tantamount to interfering with military affairs. I shouldn’t have to remind you what punishment that warrants according to imperial law.”
Wei Potian didn’t bother to reply. The lieutenant colonel from the Broken Winged Angels who had come to stand behind Wei Potian was also silent. It seemed the two had no intention of speaking with this major.
The major ground his teeth and shouted, “All of you, what’s the meaning of this? The expeditionary army guards the wilderness for the empire, risking sweat and blood while receiving insufficient supplies! That aside, why do our brothers who return from fighting against the dark races have to suffer such humiliation? We’re also men of the empire with imperial spirit. We will report this to the Department of Military Affairs no matter how big your origins are! I refuse to believe we can’t argue logically. Why can’t our brothers receive fair treatment even after bleeding themselves dry?”
The major’s vehement words resonated with the already furious guardsmen.
Wei Potian waited expressionlessly until the major had finished his words before speaking indifferently, “Do you seriously think you’re the only ones who’ve fought against the dark races, the only ones who’ve bled? I rather think you guys put in much more effort into fighting our own race.”
The Broken Winged Angel lieutenant colonel also spoke slowly, “You want to take this to the Department of Military Affairs? Very good! Brother Zhang, it’s your turn!”
A man in his thirties responded—he and several other unidentified men had silently joined Wei Potian’s group after his arrival. This man surnamed Zhang seemed like an ordinary civil staff and even appeared somewhat frail.
He arrived before the major and flashed him a certain insignia before putting it away. He then calmly said, “Go and tell Wu Zhengnan that he has five minutes. We’re leaving if he doesn’t arrive in five minutes. Furthermore, everyone here will go with me if you dare to repeat those words one more time.”
The major’s eyes widened after seeing the insignia. He began to tremble uncontrollably as he suddenly turned and rushed toward the interior at full speed. This man surnamed Zhang calmly produced an exquisite origin power sundial. He then set the time and lightly closed his eyes to wait in a composed manner.
Qianye happened to see a corner of the insignia during that instant. Although he didn’t see the whole picture, the unique shape and color were well known to all imperials—it was the insignia of the Imperial Military Police.
The involvement of the military police was an indication that this matter had already entered an official persecution procedure. The expeditionary army could no longer cover things up regardless of their wishes. It seemed the Wei clan had indeed come well-prepared.
Wu Zhengnan appeared from within the division headquarters building at four minutes and 50 seconds. His figure flickered continuously and crossed the hundred meter plaza within moments to appear before the crowd.
Wu Zhengnan’s gaze swept over the crowd, pausing ever so slightly on Wei Potian and the Broken Winged Angel lieutenant colonel before saying calmly, “Even the military police prosecutor has arrived. It seems this little division commander has really alarmed the higher ups. Since you’ve all arrived, please come in. I would suggest, however, the leaders to keep their men in check. My subordinates might not necessarily be able to hold back if someone dies.”
The Broken Winged Angel lieutenant colonel sneered. “Things like this won’t happen if you had come out earlier. Why should we care about them when you yourself don’t even care about their lives.”
Wu Zhengnan shot a glance at the lieutenant colonel and laughed. “You’re still quite young. I might not be your match after another 6 years.”
The startled lieutenant colonel’s expression turned quite ugly.
The whole group became silent. None of them spoke as they followed Wu Zhengnan toward the tallest office building at the center. More and more expeditionary army soldiers poured out from the barracks on each side and were glaring fiercely at Wei Potian and company. It seemed as if they would charge toward them at any moment.
The atmosphere around this 100-meter distance was exceptionally heavy as if a pack of wolves was waiting, ready to pounce on them and tear them apart at a moment’s notice. The breathing of some of the Wei clan guards had already become unstable, a clear sign of fear. The soldiers from the Broken Winged Angels were able to display their extraordinary qualities at this time—they were all calm and completely without any fluctuation despite being younger as a whole.
However, nothing happened until the group reached the floor where the meeting room was situated. It seemed Wu Zhengnan had only brought out those expeditionary army soldiers to intimidate them.
Qianye frowned after hearing the few Wei clan guards discuss this in whispers—he didn’t believe Wu Zhengnan would do something so meaningless. Given a good opportunity, Wu Zhengnan would definitely give the order to attack and finish them off within the division headquarters.
That part of the road, in truth, wasn’t that peaceful.
However, the entire squad of Broken Winged Angels in addition to Prosecutor Zhang and his powerful military police subordinates likely made Wu Zhengnan feel that he didn’t have a chance. That was why he didn’t take action.
The officers all walked into the meeting room. Qianye followed the Wei clan guard captain into the room and silently took his seat at a back row corner. At that moment, he looked up after feeling a sudden sharp gaze landing upon him, only to find Wu Zhengnan looking straight at him. Qianye’s age and rank were particularly eye-catching among the officers and high-level guardsmen who were rank six or seven.
“This one is Zhang Youheng, the active prosecutor colonel of the military police headquarters. These are the relevant documents for the current prosecution.” Saying this, Zhang Youheng produced a document and gently pushed it forward. The document slid across the long table and stopped accurately in front of Wu Zhengnan.
Wu Zhengnan read through the papers in detail and examined the seals of the Imperial Army and Military Police. He then nodded, signed his name on the document, and handed it over to his aide, indicating him to put it away.
This action caused the tense atmosphere within the meeting room to relax slightly.
Accepting the official document meant that Wu Zhengnan was willing to accept the Imperial Military Department’s restrictions and had no plan to revolt. There had been precedents of such cases before—an expeditionary army division commander had once revolted when the Department of Military Affairs dispatched agents to investigate him. He not only killed the investigation team but also fled to the side of the dark races along with most of the division’s troops.