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"Where is General Tian?"

When Wei Gongcheng appeared, not only did several deputy generals recognize him, but even the soldiers guarding the gate knew who he was. Faced with his questioning, someone quickly stepped forward to respond.

"Sir, the Imperial Army has rebelled. General Tian already led men to suppress them."

Tian Heng’s face twitched. The soldiers of Jiangnan were indeed quite confident now; the first word they thought of when confronted by the Imperial Army was ’rebellion’...

It was important to note that, in the eyes of outsiders, Jiangnan was still officially under the Imperial Court’s jurisdiction.

"Take me to him!" Wei Gongcheng said firmly.

"Please follow me, sir!"

Wei Gongzhan followed behind him. Watching the entire process flow so smoothly, he couldn’t help but marvel internally. The internal structure of Jiangnan, it seemed, was impregnable to manipulation or interference.

The entire Jiangnan was an organization built on faith.

Every prominent power had a foundation of underlying belief.

For instance, his second cousin, as the Lord of Lyuzhou Hell, had the faith of many soldiers’ families behind him.

Naturally, this also included the newly arrived Western Sea Army.

Although most of the Power of Faith was attributed to Tian Heng, the soldiers generally knew that for most of them, their lifetime achievements would amount to being a First-Class Soldier.

A hundred years later, they would ultimately return to the authority of the Hell Ruler, relying on their descendants for incense offerings.

Many wished to secure a position within Hell, so even if the Western Sea Army was newly integrated, nearly ninety percent of them had visited the Lyuzhou Hell Ruler Temple to burn incense and kowtow.

Anyone who had done such things had been symbolically granted a sliver of Hell’s Power of Faith.

After receiving this, it became impossible to mistake Wei Gongzhan for someone else.

Unless they were facing someone like Ali, who could defy natural laws and alter memories, no ordinary disguise could replace any of the local deities here.

This made their work more seamless. For instance, at this moment, Wei Gongcheng’s request to locate General Tian encountered no barriers.

"Brother, it looks like we’re already late. Can we still stop this? Should we notify Princess Royale to wait for us at the Lyuzhou Hell Ruler Temple, and then fetch them now?"

"No..." Wei Gongcheng sternly shook his head. "The King of Qin must not enter Hell. This is something the lord explicitly warned me about after returning from Yundu. The lord’s words are never wrong!"

"What about... just Princess Royale then...?"

"Princess Royale can’t enter either..." Wei Gongcheng shook his head. "The King of Qin has a unique ability to replace anyone. If we agree to bring Princess Royale, he will undoubtedly make his move."

"He has such an ability?" Wei Gongzhan was taken aback.

"I’ve only heard the lord mention it. It is said to be a form of Taboo Power that can substitute any person and even make those around forget who the original was. However, in this situation, the lord assured me, this ability is useless against us."

"Useless against you?"

"We local deities possess foundational faith here. By distributing the Power of Faith, we can alert our followers to the truth. Furthermore, the King of Qin’s special space cannot trap us; we can directly return to Hell."

"I see..."

"But if the King of Qin enters Hell... things could be different," Wei Gongcheng said sorrowfully. "Unexpected complications could arise. I cannot gamble on this. Hell is the cornerstone of Jiangnan’s order. If anything goes wrong there, Jiangnan would be on the brink of collapse."

"Understood..." Wei Gongzhan nodded. "So, Brother, what do we do now?"

"Let’s find Tian Heng first and decide..."

The two followed the deputy general quickly to the garrison within the pass. At this moment, the armies on both sides were already in a standoff.

War was on the verge of breaking out; what Wei Gongcheng saw made his heart pound nervously.

Jiangnan’s defenses were currently exceedingly vulnerable.

The troops were far too stretched, and every pass was of critical importance.

If a breach occurred here, replenishing defenses in a short time would be impossible.

Though the rivers and waterways beyond the pass could provide some protection, establishing a line of defense quickly was virtually impossible.

The most threatening factor was the Celestial Serpents.

These creatures could burrow underground. Jiangnan didn’t yet have the capacity to spread the Flaming Sun Array across the entire region!

"Official Wei? Why are you here?"

"With such a major crisis, how could I not come?" Wei Gongcheng’s expression darkened. "What’s the situation exactly?"

"The arrival of Princess Royale agitated Lan Shang and his faction. This group of people refuses to wait for their demise and seems to be attempting a desperate gamble."

Tian Heng’s response was brief, but Wei Gongcheng could detect undertones from his words.

This man... was eager to claim credit!

When Princess Royale first arrived, it was Tian Heng who baited her over.

Initially, Princess Royale was supposed to take command of the troops immediately.

At least temporarily, the Imperial Army would have been stabilized.

They could even escort them out of Jiangnan.

Whether rebellion occurred later would no longer be Jiangnan’s concern.

But clearly, Tian Heng wanted to capitalize on this situation, intending to defeat the Imperial Army!

"General Tian, let’s not mince words. You’ve gone this far—what’s your next move? You don’t actually plan to fight the Imperial Army head-on, do you?"

The Ghost King Army was entirely composed of Transcendent troops, their quality surpassing even that of the Warrior Army.

The lord had said before that to confront the Emperor’s forces, they would need to collaborate with Ziyue’s Magician team.

Otherwise, based on sheer troop quality, Jiangnan’s soldiers couldn’t match the Imperial Army’s Ghost King forces.

Tian Heng, seeing Wei Gongcheng lay everything bare, stopped pretending. Wei Gongcheng was a shrewd man, and given the urgency, there was no point in playing rhetorical games.

He directly stated, "Lan Shang is a newly appointed general with insufficient prestige. Even the Ghost Spirit within him, while respected within King Xiang’s faction, lacks authority in the army. Despite their individual power, such a pairing cannot fully command the troops in a short time."

"The Emperor of the Siao Family seems to be promoting new talents, but in reality, he’s also hedging his bets.

At present, he has stirred the army by deceptively painting Jiangnan’s forces as antagonistic.

If this falsehood is exposed, it will destabilize their morale.

At that moment, if we act swiftly to ’capture the leader and dismantle the gang,’ we might have a chance to force the Imperial Army to surrender. "

"An ambitious plan. Are you confident about capturing their leader?" Wei Gongcheng cast a skeptical gaze at him.

Tian Heng was indeed strong. Xuu Hu had mentioned that with Ao Zhen’s backing, Tian Heng’s combat prowess exceeded his own.

Moreover, Tian Heng was naturally skilled in battle.

According to the lord, throughout their entire faction, only Ziyue and Tian Heng could defeat him in single combat.

Even Xuu Hu’s chances of victory were less than forty percent.

The strength was there, but their opponents were no weaklings either.

Lan Shang’s ability to become the Ghost Army’s commander spoke to his exceptional personal capabilities. Wei Gongcheng had encountered Lan Shang a few times before and could immediately sense the violent and terrifying energy within him—far more menacing than Ao Zhen’s aura.

With an army reinforced by formations, to cut down the enemy’s commander amidst the troops would require absolute superiority; otherwise, it would be nearly impossible. If it were that easy, there wouldn’t be so many wars in this world.

"Previously, it’s definitely been impossible... but now... there’s a chance!" Tian Heng said, his eyes flashing with a startling Sword Intent.