The Demon Lords

Chapter 494 13 Sword Saint_5

"Brother, I don't agree with your assessment. What's destined to happen will happen. Wars that must be fought will inevitably be fought. Even if the Situ Family could negotiate peace with the Yan State, such peace certainly wouldn't last long.

The hearts of emperors yearn for hegemony; how could they allow another to sleep soundly beside their own bed? This has been an immutable truth since ancient times."

Yu Huacheng was essentially pointing at his brother's face, calling him too naive. Such a bleeding heart!

The Sword Saint raised his wine cup, took a small sip, and said,

"Do you know why the Situ Family didn't dispatch troops when the Yan people invaded South Gate?

"Do you know why the Yan people, after annihilating the Helian and Wenren families, didn't press their advantage and attack the Situ Family, despite their great victory?

"Is it truly because the Situ Family is too cowardly to fight?

"Is it really that the Yan State is so depleted it cannot seize the moment to continue the war?

"The Yan State is full of madmen! Tian Wujing dared to slaughter his own entire clan. The Yan Emperor dares to gamble with the National Destiny of Yan and the throne of the Ji Family!

"Why wouldn't they continue the war? Why would they be unable to fight on?

"Wouldn't it be better to risk everything, swallow the lands of Three Jin, and eliminate all future threats once and for all?"

"Why?" Yu Huacheng asked.

"In the northeastern snowfields, the wild people have begun to stir. It's said a new king has emerged among them. The Situ Family's main forces are not in the west at present; nearly all of them are positioned along the Skybreak Mountains to defend against these wild people. So, can you guess why Situ Jianguo brought only a few thousand cavalry to reinforce you? It's because the Situ Family cannot currently dispatch more troops westward."

"This..."

"Do you know why the old patriarch of the Situ Family suddenly died?"

"Situ Lei."

"Yes. Situ Lei killed him."

"Brother, how can you be so sure...?"

"Situ Lei asked me to do it. He led me into the depths of the Situ Family estate, and I personally killed their old patriarch."

"How... How could this be possible...?"

"And that ridiculous Situ Jianguo, wanting you to pass a message asking me to submit to his Dacheng State! The foolish boy has no idea his own grandfather was run through by my sword."

"Brother, why?"

Yu Huacheng couldn't understand. Why would his elder brother, who usually disdained worldly affairs, willingly become a weapon in someone else's hands?

"Because the new king of the wild people sent a message, saying the Situ Family could allow the wild people's army to march south and help them resist the Yan cavalry. The old patriarch of the Situ Family was tempted.

"The Yan people are too formidable. In just ten days, their 200,000 iron cavalry annihilated the 600,000 strong armies of the Helian and Wenren families!

"Situ Lei came to me and told me about this.

"I asked him, 'Why tell me?'

"He said, 'To send my old man to his grave.'

"After his father died, he ascended the throne and founded his state.

"The very next day, he secretly led a personal expedition to the easternmost part of the Skybreak Mountains.

"So, don't be fooled by all the commotion surrounding the Situ Family's founding of their state. It's nothing more than the local tyrants of the Three Jin lands, dissatisfied with the Yan, using this as an excuse to vent their frustrations and gamble on a new horse.

"In reality, the Situ Family probably has fewer than 50,000 troops left in their entire western front. Their main elite forces have already departed for the Skybreak Mountains."

"No... this..."

Isn't this all just child's play?! Yu Huacheng wanted to scream. To found a state and then immediately pull a stunt like this... Isn't it...

The Sword Saint reached out and ruffled his younger brother's hair, just as he might have when they were children, and said,

"The Earl of North Border, leading the North Border Army, has already withdrawn from Jin land and returned north. Lord Jingnan, despite having a large army in Li Tian City, hasn't made a move. And now, the Yan people have halted their advance."

Yu Huacheng remained silent.

"Look. Just look at how that Ji fellow in the west is behaving.

"And then look at how that Situ fellow is acting.

"And finally, look at what our own Emperor, the one surnamed Yu, is doing! He's like a fish flopping on dry land. No one's paying him any mind, yet he's still there, thrashing about with all his might.

"Tsk... Utterly disgraceful."

"Brother, then tomorrow... should I still attack this fort?"

"Attack. Why wouldn't you?

"Emperor Jin must die.

"This is the best outcome for both sides right now, and it's most fitting for our Yu Family to be the ones to do it. Once Emperor Jin is dead, as long as the Situ Family is occupied defending against the wild people's southward advance, the Yan people cannot possibly send troops to attack. That's the tacit understanding between them. As it stands, Yu Ciming has become the most inconvenient obstruction."

"But what about the Yan Army inside the fort?"

"It's just one contingent of the Yan Army. The Yan court shouldn't be that petty, should they? Surely, the Yan people wouldn't refuse help in solving a problem, preferring to dirty their own hands, would they?"

"Brother, but what if? What if Tian Wujing himself leads his army here?"

"Well, then your brother here can see just how many charges from several thousand Jingnan Army cavalry this sword of mine can withstand. When Baili Sword faced the North Border Army's iron cavalry beneath the imperial capital, he fled without even daring to draw his sword! This time, I, your brother, finally have a chance to thoroughly overshadow him. Then, no matter how much the scholars of Qian State try to build his reputation, they'll never again have the face to claim that his Baili Sword is the foremost among the Four Swordsmen."

"Brother, don't be impulsive!"

"Hmm, true."

Yu Huacheng coughed.

"If Tian Wujing really shows up, well, we should show him some face. Let's just slip away then."

Yu Huacheng was speechless.