A Pawn’s Passage

Meanwhile, in Hisai Castle within Ichishi District, a fierce battle had erupted.

The fighting was so intense that Hisai Castle was almost entirely reduced to ruins.

These ruins were not the result of post-battle arson. Instead, it was the handiwork of relentless artillery fire.

Sage Qingwei did not like to deploy artillery in scattered positions. He wanted it to be concentrated, much like the volley-fire tactics of gunmen. A dense formation increased accuracy and created all-around suppression, keeping enemies in their cover and unable to lift their heads, let alone return fire.

Thus, the more than one thousand cannons the Daoist Order had brought were all positioned outside Hisai Castle.

Over 20 Crane Crafts dove toward the city, dropping Grade-A Series Six Phoenix Eye Bombs that ignited roaring flames, while 800 heavy cannons turned 25 kilometers of the eastern front of Hisai Castle into a sea of fire.

The thunderous roars were unceasing, and many people lost their hearing in the continuous blasts, having to shout at the top of their lungs just to make themselves heard by someone right beside them. The air was thick with the pungent stench of gunpowder. Glass windows shattered under the intense shockwaves, cascading shards to the ground. Wooden houses, even if not on fire, shook violently, their beams creaking as though ready to collapse at any moment. Billowing smoke filled the skies, blotting out the sky.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen was overseeing this battlefield. He raised his telescope, the fierce combat scene reflecting in its lens. Beneath his helmet was a fair, well-defined face, thick arched brows, and eyes as calm as still water, free of brutality or rage.

To hold thunder in the chest yet wear the face of a tranquil lake was the mark of a true general.

In fact, a first-rank Spirit Guard was equivalent to the Daoist Order's top general. But with governance and supreme authority in the hands of civil officials—the Daoist priests—the Spirit Guards could only remain subordinate.

However, this did not diminish the elevated status of a first-rank Spirit Guard. In the actual command of military operations, Daoist priests rarely interfered and usually left matters to these highly specialized, top-ranked officers.

The twelve first-rank Spirit Guards were divided into Six Dings and Six Jias. The Six Ding Spirit Guards specialized in defense and were stationed across various regions as gatekeepers. For example, Spirit Guard Ding Wei, who oversaw the Fenglin Daoist Mansion, participated in this war as part of her defensive role.

The Six Jia Spirit Guards specialized in offense. In the past 30 years, there had been only three recorded deployments of first-rank Spirit Guards. The most recent one being the assault on Wu Luo's divine kingdom, which involved one Tianzhen Daoist master and two first-rank Spirit Guards.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen was a veteran of countless battlefields. He had commanded forces in the recent Western Region campaign. Now, he had once again been ordered to lead troops into Fenglin.

Such high-ranking Spirit Guards did not belong to any of the three major sects. They were under the jurisdiction of the Zixiao Palace, just like the Grand Master lineage. They were independent from the three major sects and answered only to the Grand Master's orders. This was also the key reason why the three sects vied for the position of Grand Master. Now that the position was vacant, they followed the deployment and orders of the Golden Tower Council.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen ignored the artillery bombardment and the sea of blood in the telescope. The corner of his lips curled into a faint, cold smile.

In his eyes, this kind of battle was rather dull, like a grown man bullying children who had yet to come of age.

At first, the Sonno-joi ronin in the city had organized a single assault, surging forth like a tide, but under the fierce artillery barrage, they quickly fell back, leaving only a field of mangled corpses and writhing, dying men.

After that, the ronin no longer dared to show themselves.

This even gave Spirit Guard Jia Shen a bold idea of peacefully capturing the city, giving these Wa people a small taste of the Daoist Order's might.

Soon, the continuous roar of artillery subsided for a moment as the cannons began to cool down.

Then it was time for the Diviner Corps to take the field. Over 300 Diviners got into formation and began casting spells in unison.

A massive thundercloud appeared above Hisai Castle, blotting out the sky and shrouding the entire city. Then, countless bolts of lightning descended from the cloud. From afar, it resembled a massive bramble thicket encasing the city.

Electricity danced in the air.

Compared to artillery, lightning was far more penetrating. Many ronin hidden in underground bunkers who had survived the cannon fire and shockwaves were reduced to charred corpses by the stray bolts.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen's expression remained unchanged. After all, there was no place for mercy in commanding troops.

This did not mean he was a bloodthirsty killer. It meant that once on the battlefield, both friend and foe were nothing more than numbers.

A commander must view life and death with detachment. The lives lost in battle were simply figures, devoid of sentiment. It was merely a cost to be calculated in command, with no other significance.

A commander must be calm to the point of seeming ruthless. How to console and settle the wounded and dead afterward, how to handle prisoners, or whether to pardon the enemy did not fall within the scope of battlefield command. They were the Daoist Order's concern, or rather, the business of civil officials.

At this moment, Li Zhuyu stood beside Spirit Guard Jia Shen, gazing at his focused profile.

In Li Zhuyu's view, this first-rank Spirit Guard, who had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, possessed a bearing utterly unlike those young lords who rose to high rank by riding on family connections. His calm and confidence forged through years on the battlefield were something young men like Li Changge and Qi Xuansu could not match. It had nothing to do with talent or family background, but the accumulation of hard-earned experience.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen paid no mind to the Sage Commander's adopted daughter. Instead, he silently calculated the ammunition expenditure, issued orders through the voice transmission talisman, readjusted the configuration of the heavy artillery, coordinated the Crane Crafts with the cannons, and fine-tuned the cooperation between the Black Robes Heavy Cavalry and the infantry. Only after the Diviner Corps completed their spellcasting did he give the order to attack.

A new round of aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire began, as if determined to level Hisai Castle entirely. The city walls had already been reduced to ruins by the Diviner Corps' Earthquake Spell. Now, the city was once again engulfed in flames and thick smoke.

Over 50 Black Robes Heavy Cavalry advanced with steady, heavy steps at an unhurried pace. Behind them marched a large formation of lightly armored infantry, each carrying a rifle.

Just then, the entire Hisai Castle erupted in a dazzling light, as if a blazing sun were rising.

The blinding white light swallowed everything.

Even Spirit Guard Jia Shen was momentarily blinded.

Moments later, the white light slowly faded.

Everything was gone. The Black Robes Heavy Cavalry and the troops who had been leading the assault vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen's thick brows twitched slightly.

The Shinkan-dan of Ise-jingu had finally entered the battle. In a single move, they had wiped out over 50 of the Black Robes Heavy Cavalry. This significant loss dashed Spirit Guard Jia Shen's hopes of taking the city without casualties.

It was at this moment that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu arrived at Spirit Guard Jia Shen's command post.

Li Zhuyu had already received the news. In fact, her presence here was because she was temporarily serving as a liaison officer. Sage Qingwei, who sat at the central command overseeing the overall strategy, needed to establish the most direct lines of communication with each independent field commander. Though Sage Qingwei would not lightly interfere with the battlefield commands, he had to be aware of the true conditions on the front lines.

Li Zhuyu quietly left the command post and went outside to meet Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. They exchanged a few pleasantries before she led them in to meet Spirit Guard Jia Shen.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen finally set down the telescope, turned to the two prodigies, and said, "I've long heard of your names. Are you here this time to gild your résumé further with a little wartime merit?"

These words were rather blunt, even carrying a hint of provocation.

However, Qi Xuansu had gained some composure after years of being mocked. Upon hearing this, he merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Think as you see fit, sir."

Zhang Yuelu, for her part, remained calm and unmoved.

Although Li Zhuyu admired Spirit Guard Jia Shen, she still chose the right moment to express a trace of dissatisfaction. "This was the decision of the Sage Commander."

"Since it's the Sage Commander's decision, I have nothing to say," Spirit Guard Jia Shen replied. "Whether you two are here to pad your résumé and gain merit or are truly intent on fighting and killing the enemy, I won't give you any special treatment."

Zhang Yuelu replied calmly, "There's no need for special treatment."

Spirit Guard Jia Shen nodded. "Good. Now, there's an urgent problem to solve. Hisai Castle has already been reduced to ruins, and I'm certain that more than half of the Sonno-joi ronin inside are dead or wounded. But there's still a Shinkan-dan from the Ise-jingu in the city. I don't want to send my soldiers to their deaths just to wear down the Shinkan-dan's divine power. That's far too costly. We're already short on manpower and fighting on foreign ground, so we can't afford large-scale exchanges. Can the two of you deal with the Shinkan-dan hiding inside Hisai Castle?"

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu exchanged a glance.

This was not entirely unexpected. Sage Qingwei would never have sent them here just to die. The recent incident with Zhang Jiuquan had forced Li Changge to withdraw from the Fenglin front, which was an opportunity for him to earn military merit and advance his career. Thus, this move was akin to sacrificing Li Changge's career progress to resolve the war.

If Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were to be lost, it would be tantamount to forcing the Zhang and Li families into open conflict. After all, with both heirs gone, the future would be bleak. Who would still care about the greater good? If they did not fight while the Li family was bogged down in Fenglin and the Zhang elders were still alive, would they wait until the Li family withdrew from Fenglin and the Zhangs faced a gap in succession to make their move?

Of course, Sage Qingwei had not sent the two youngsters to command armies. As Daoist priests, they would naturally have the guidance of many mentors to govern a region. But when it came to leading troops in battle, Daoist priests were as good as commoners.

Sage Qingwei had selected them purely for their cultivation levels. With the two possessing one immortal object combined, they could be counted as one Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being, capable of serving as a surprise strike force.

Zhang Yuelu nodded. "We can do it, but we need to know the general situation inside the city."