A Pawn’s Passage

Although Spirit Guard Jia Shen held certain prejudices against the younger Daoists, he dared not be careless when it came to war. He gave Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu a detailed account of the current situation in Hisai Castle.

Ichishi District was the gathering place of the Sonno-joi ronin, with over 100,000 men. The Daoist army was at a disadvantage in numbers but held an absolute advantage in weaponry, resulting in them surrounding an enemy force several times their own size.

Under the orders of Ise-jingu, the Sonno-joi ronin of Ichishi District withdrew toward Anno District in an alternating retreat. Although Suzuka District lay behind Anno District, it had not completely blocked the route from Anno to Mie District. Thus, the ronin could still withdraw into Mie District, where Ise-jingu was located.

In this situation, the field camp issued orders to split into two forces, attacking from Ichishi District and Suzuka District simultaneously to form a pincer move, with the aim of annihilating the ronin. This was precisely why Qi Xuansu's successful persuasion of Suzuka Gozen to surrender was crucial.

Logically speaking, given the immense strategic value of Mount Suzuka, Spirit Guard Jia Shen should not have harbored prejudice against Qi Xuansu, who had rendered such great service. However, the matter was top secret and fell under two different chains of command, so in the war council, Sage Qingwei only mentioned it in passing.

From Sage Qingwei's perspective, the Spirit Guards only needed to be aware that Mount Suzuka was under Daoist control and did not need to know the details. In contrast, Daoists like Li Tiangang knew the full story. Just as Daoist priests did not casually meddle in the Spirit Guards' military command, Spirit Guards did not overly interfere in the Daoist priests' affairs. Thus, at this point, Spirit Guard Jia Shen was still unaware that it was the young Daoist before him who had helped the Daoist Order secure this strategic location.

Still, Spirit Guard Jia Shen had grounds for his pride. He had commanded the Western Region campaign and decisively defeated the Golden Horde and the Rus Kingdom's allied forces. Both sides signed a truce agreement, with the Shamanistic Sect promising to relinquish its claim to the Daxue Mountain Palace, thus securing a de facto victory for the Daoist Order.

At the time Spirit Guard Jia Shen was galloping across the battlefield, Qi Xuansu had only just arrived in Jade Capital to become a deacon of the Tiangang Hall. While Spirit Guard Jia Shen was leading troops across grasslands and deserts in pursuit of the Shamanistic Sect's routed soldiers, Qi Xuansu was following Zhang Yuelu in hunting down Desmond the Vampire.

Comparing a gravely wounded and dying vampire to the Shamanistic Sect, it was evident which among them held a greater weight.

At that time, the gulf between Qi Xuansu and Spirit Guard Jia Shen was as big as the difference between heaven and earth.

Thus, it was understandable that Spirit Guard Jia Shen harbored prejudice against Qi Xuansu and the other young Daoists. When he was making his mark in the Western Region, these youngsters were not even qualified to set foot on a battlefield. He had seen more corpses than they had seen living people. But now, in just a few short years, these "children" were to stand as his equals? He could not accept it.

If these juniors had solid military achievements, Spirit Guard Jia Shen would have no complaint. For example, the Holy Xuan was barely thirty when he took charge of the Daoist Order, yet everyone respected him because his battle merits were glorious. In contrast, these young Daoists had all risen rapidly through internal power struggles. Their experience was as shallow as a bowl of clear water, their depths visible at a glance. They relied on powerful patrons and deep backgrounds to get so far. To Spirit Guard Jia Shen, political maneuvering was hardly something that inspired genuine respect.

Circling back to the current battlefield, the Sonno-joi ronin were not fools. Since they were conducting a covering retreat in turns, they had a rearguard force. At this time, roughly 40,000 men held their ground inside Hisai Castle, blocking the Daoist army's pursuit.

Hisai Castle was located on the border between Ichishi District and Anno District. Anyone wishing to enter Anno District had to pass through here. Thus, both sides fought fiercely around Hisai Castle.

The ronin within were like trapped beasts, while several relief forces outside Ise Province advanced at all costs in an attempt to rescue the 40,000 troops in the castle.

The field headquarters issued orders for Spirit Guard Jia Shen and Spirit Guard Ding Wei to fight side by side. Spirit Guard Jia Shen concentrated the majority of heavy weapons for the main assault, while Spirit Guard Ding Wei was tasked with blocking the various relief forces.

In a sense, these 40,000 men were completely brainwashed by the Sonno-joi faction, their minds fanatically devoted to the royal family. They believed that the royal family and the nation were one and the same. This was what it meant to revere the emperor, and to die for such a cause was to earn a place in history.

By contrast, the true foundation of a nation—the common people—mattered little to them. For instance, a samurai could test their blades on civilians without any punishment or guilt. Civilians, seeing a samurai lord, feared him as they would a tiger, so how could they sincerely stand on the samurai's side? Once a samurai was isolated, he was more likely to be attacked by them and meet a miserable end.

Thus, the two sides' approaches were fundamentally different. The Daoist Order repeatedly emphasized striking at the nobility while treating the common people well, aiming to win the hearts of Fenglin's populace. The Sonno-joi faction, however, cared nothing for the lives of civilians, focusing only on securing the realm for one family's rule. Thus, they curry favor with various great lords and court nobles while ignoring the common people entirely.

This suited the Daoist Order perfectly. What they feared most was a Fenglin united from top to bottom, engulfed in flames of war that would put the Daoist Order in a quagmire. But the Sonno-joi faction failed to seize the opportunity, clinging instead to the outdated belief that the realm's fate should be decided by noble houses and court clans.

History offered the cautionary example of the Wei Dynasty—the path to decline lay in internal rot. But the immediate cause of its downfall was not the later Great Xuan Dynasty nor the Golden Horde, but the local rebel armies whom they contemptuously called "refugees."

In such circumstances, the Daoist Order's offensive was like splitting bamboo—swift and unstoppable. They did not need to fear being bogged down, for these ronin found it hard to hide among civilians. In a direct battle, given the enormous disparity in weaponry, the ronin were no match for the Daoists.

Hisai Castle was in a similar situation. Though these 40,000 troops fought fearlessly, they were beaten down so hard they could not lift their heads. Thus, they were unable to mount an effective counterattack and were reduced to passively taking the blows.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen repeatedly deployed the Diviner Corps and Tianji Hall's heavy artillery, reducing almost all of Hisai Castle to ruins. With over half the defending force dead or wounded, they could take the city with a coordinated push by the Black Robes Heavy Cavalry and infantry at minimal cost.

However, Ise-jingu had left behind a Shinkan-dan in the city, and artillery could do little harm to them. That was why the Shinkan-dan remained fully intact.

The 3,000 Black Robes Heavy Cavalry were not all under Spirit Guard Jia Shen's command. Most had landed by flying ship on Mount Suzuka, preparing to cut off the Sonno-joi faction's retreat from Suzuka District, trapping them within Anno District.

If Spirit Guard Jia Shen's force attacked head-on now, the few Black Robes Heavy Cavalry at his disposal could not rely on blood qi alone to neutralize the Shinkan-dan's magic, which meant they would have to sacrifice lives to wear down the divine power. This was a situation Spirit Guard Jia Shen did not want. Thus, he decided to dispatch an elite Heavenly Being unit to eliminate the Shinkan-dan, or at least pin them down so they could not interfere with the front line. Then, the cavalry could surge forward in a frontal push and win the battle in one fell swoop.

Alternatively, he could have joined the fray personally, as Spirit Guard Ding Wei had done. But since Sage Qingwei had conveniently sent Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, Spirit Guard Jia Shen handed the task to them instead, taking the opportunity to see whether the youngsters' reputation was well-earned or undeserved.

Since Hisai Castle had already fallen into ruins, its roads and terrain no longer mattered, as none of the defensive formations would remain. Thus, the Shinkan-dan would certainly be located in the shrine at the deepest part of the city.

Like the Diviner Corps, the Shinkan-dan's strength lay in its leader. This made it unnecessary to kill every shinkan. Taking out their leader would be enough to cause chaos.

However, to become the leader of the Shinkan-dan required at least a Wuliang-stage cultivation by Daoist standards. Such a critical figure would also be heavily guarded, so assassinating them would be no small feat.

If either Qi Xuansu or Zhang Yuelu went alone, success would be nearly impossible. But together, they could rival a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being, making the mission far more feasible.

After studying Hisai Castle's situation on the sand table, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu accepted the mission.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen did not go so far as to demand a military oath. His attitude was merely one of simple arrogance and prejudice.

Li Zhuyu escorted Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu out of the command post and said, "Deputy Hall Master Zhang and Deputy Hall Master Qi, please don't take it to heart. Spirit Guard Jia Shen is a field commander, long accustomed to military life. He's just blunt and stubborn, unlike us Daoist priests. He wasn't targeting you in particular and would've done the same even to Yao Pei or Li Changge."

Qi Xuansu looked nonchalant about it. "It doesn't matter. I've heard this man commanded the Western Region campaign. Those with real ability often have a temper. I completely understand and won't take offense."

Zhang Yuelu did not say much, as if she had expected this all along. After all, she was from the Tiangang Hall.

The Tiangang Hall did not directly command military operations, so none of its successive heads were of military background. The one truly responsible for battlefield command was the Spirit Guard Office, which was under three authorities: the Grand Master, the Golden Tower Council, and Tiangang Hall. Its main council was the twelve first-rank Spirit Guards, with one serving in rotation as the Chief Spirit Guard.

The Spirit Guard Office was both an advisory body for the Grand Master, the Golden Tower Council, and Tiangang Hall in military affairs and their executor in battlefield command. Thus, while subordinate to the Tiangang Hall, it could also act as a check and balance.

For this reason, Zhang Yuelu often dealt with these Spirit Guards. Even if she had not interacted with some personally, she knew who among them was difficult and who was easy to work with.

Daoist priests prized the art of managing people, including Spirit Guards, so there was no need to fuss over such matters with them.