Chapter 62: Li Dao: You Are the True Commander-in-Chief

"Boss, look at how well we did."

As soon as Zhang Meng snapped out of his excitement, he rushed to claim credit.

"Boss, what is this..."

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the group, Li Dao dragged two corpses over.

Li Dao said casually, "Just slaughtered two Xiantian martial artists. Their strength isn't much to speak of, but they should still hold some value. I brought them back along the way to see if we can exchange them for military merits."

The group: "???"

Slaughtered... two Xiantian martial artists?

Not much to speak of?

Hold some value?

Exchange for military merits?

Why did every single word in that sentence sound so bizarre?

These were two Xiantian martial artists.

They had to keep in mind that their own Grand Commander, Zhao Tong, was only at the Xiantian realm himself.

Anyone pulled out at random like this would be a commander of a thousand men, yet they had been slaughtered as casually as livestock.

They knew their boss was strong, but they had no idea he was *this* strong.

Xiantian martial artists weren't even given a second thought in his eyes.

Seeing that the others were still dazed, Li Dao clapped his hands. "Alright, snap out of it. Clean up the bodies and head back to the Yellow Sand Town encampment."

He then glanced at the cattle and sheep scattered around and reminded them, "Find a way to herd these back with us as well."

Xue Bing looked confused. "Boss, what do we need these cattle and sheep for?"

"To exchange for money. Where do you think the medicinal ointments you use during training come from?"

"..."

A moment later, the group quickly cleaned up the bodies.

Coming out had been fast, but the journey back was excruciatingly slow because they had to herd the cattle and sheep.

Looking at the corpses strapped to the packhorses behind him, Xue Bing couldn't help asking, "Boss, do you know who these Northern Barbarians are? Why did they attack us?"

Hearing this, Li Dao glanced at the corpses. "Judging by the markings on their clothing, these people should be from the Tamu tribe of the Northern Barbarian dynasty."

Mentioning the Tamu tribe inevitably brought back memories of Li Dao's days in the death row camp.

Almost every death row mission had been related to the Tamu tribe, and he hadn't expected to cross paths with them again this time.

"The Tamu tribe?" Xue Bing frowned and asked, "What on earth are they trying to do?"

Li Dao replied, "What they are up to is none of our business for now. We'll leave it to Grand Commander Zhao to worry about when we get back."

Though he said that, he already had a few ideas forming in his mind.

After all, everything left traces behind to be followed.

If his speculations turned out to be true, things on this plain were about to get very interesting.

...

Not long after, the group returned to Yellow Sand Town.

Inside the main military tent.

"What? While patrolling the buffer zone, you were attacked by the Northern Barbarian Tamu tribe?"

Zhao Tong slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and said with eyes full of shock.

One had to know that minor provocations and this kind of direct, active assault were two entirely different matters.

"Yes, including two Xiantian martial artists, dozens of Houtian martial artists, and over a hundred soldiers," Li Dao reported.

"So many?" Zhao Tong pressed on, "Given the situation you just described, how did you manage to come back? Where are those Tamu tribesmen?"

"Naturally, we rode back on horses. As for the people you mentioned—"

Li Dao looked toward the tent's curtain. "They're outside. Grand Commander Zhao can go take a look."

Outside?

Zhao Tong's expression shifted, and he hurried out of the tent.

Upon stepping outside, he saw Zhang Meng and the others standing there, but no one else.

"Li Dao, where are the people you mentioned?"

Zhao Tong scanned his surroundings, but besides Zhang Meng's group, there was not another soul in sight.

"Xue Bing."

"Here."

At a nod, Xue Bing unhooked a hemp sack from his horse's back, threw it onto the ground, and slashed it open with his saber.

Two corpses rolled out of the sack, accompanied by a shower of freshly harvested left ears scattered across and around them.

"Those two corpses belong to the Xiantian martial artists. Grand Commander Zhao can inspect them if you don't believe it."

"Those left ears belong to the rest of the enemy."

"I won't even bother calculating the Houtian martial artists for you; consider it a discount, and just calculate my merits based on ordinary soldiers."

"As for the cattle and sheep, they can be converted into resources for me. I'll even give you a twenty percent discount," Li Dao said calmly from the side.

However, the only thing registering in Zhao Tong's ears was the first sentence.

The two corpses belonged to Xiantian martial artists?

Finding it hard to believe, he immediately stepped forward, placed his hands on the corpses, and channeled his Xiantian Qi into them.

A moment later, Zhao Tong's expression changed. These truly were the corpses of Xiantian martial artists.

Because when a Houtian martial artist broke through to the Xiantian realm, the meridians in their body underwent a profound transformation, distinguishing Xiantian meridians from those of ordinary people. That was how he could be so certain.

"You killed all of them?"

Zhao Tong looked at Li Dao in astonishment.

"Mn." Li Dao nodded.

Hearing this, Zhao Tong looked Li Dao up and down repeatedly, until he finally blurted out, "Are you really unable to cultivate?"

"Why don't you try?"

With that, Li Dao raised his hand.

Without a second thought, Zhao Tong grabbed Li Dao's wrist and channeled his Xiantian Qi inward.

After a few breaths, Zhao Tong's expression grew solemn.

In the end, utter bewilderment washed over him.

He had circulated his Xiantian Qi all through Li Dao's body, but he couldn't find a single trace of meridians.

Yet a person like this had relied purely on physical might to slaughter two Xiantian martial artists.

"Li Dao, if only you could cultivate..."

While failing to detect any meridians, Zhao Tong had also sensed the terrifying blood Qi churning within Li Dao's body. It didn't feel human at all; it felt more like a humanoid monster.

If someone like this could cultivate—combining physical strength with Qi-based cultivation—he couldn't even imagine how terrifyingly powerful they would become at his level.

Li Dao remained calm. He had let go of these regrets long ago when those childhood memories had returned.

So what if he couldn't practice orthodox cultivation? As long as he could keep growing stronger, that was enough.

Take these two dead Xiantian fighters for example: they had spent decades in bitter cultivation to reach the Xiantian realm, only to be beaten to death by him in a few simple moves and strikes.

Therefore, even if he were given the ability to cultivate now, he probably wouldn't even bother.

After all, the rate at which his current strength grew was far faster than orthodox cultivation.

Noticing Zhao Tong getting sentimental on his behalf, Li Dao prompted, "Grand Commander Zhao, you should probably consider first why these Tamu tribesmen chose to attack the Yellow Sand Town encampment."

"Attack the Yellow Sand Town encampment?" Zhao Tong frowned. "Weren't they attacking you?"

Seeing that Zhao Tong still hadn't figured it out, Li Dao directly analyzed the situation: "Two Xiantian martial artists, dozens of Houtian martial artists, and over a hundred regular soldiers."

"Do you really think a lineup like that appeared near the Yellow Sand Town encampment just to ambush a single patrol squad of ours?"

Only after hearing this did Zhao Tong realize the gravity of the situation. He suddenly said, "Could they be here to take revenge on us? After all, it hasn't even been half a month since we wiped out one of their cavalry squads."

Li Dao covered his forehead in exasperation. He had thought that as a grand commander of a thousand men, Zhao Tong would be able to see the bigger picture, but he hadn't expected his thinking to be so narrow.

He continued, "May I ask what the buffer zone between Daqian and the Northern Barbarians is used for?"

"To stabilize relations between Daqian and the Northern Barbarians and prevent conflicts from escalating."

"Then what does it mean if one day the Northern Barbarians cross the buffer zone and launch a direct attack on a Daqian military camp?"

"War!"

As soon as the word left Zhao Tong's mouth, his expression shifted drastically, and realization finally dawned on him.

"Li Dao, are you saying the Northern Barbarians are going to declare war on Daqian?"

Recalling the information stored in his mind and piecing it together, Li Dao made his judgment. "Not necessarily the entire Northern Barbarian nation declaring war on Daqian; it's more likely that a few restless factions are making a move."

Zhao Tong nodded with a half-understanding look and muttered to himself, "The Northern Barbarians shouldn't have the guts to do that."

Daqian was, after all, not some weak nation.

The reason Daqian could occupy the very center of the continent and possess the finest geographical environment was precisely because of its strength. If it were weak, it would have been carved up by the surrounding major dynasties long ago.

In terms of national power, any single dynasty pulled out and compared to Daqian would fall far short.

Therefore, the Northern Barbarians could not possibly do something so irrational.

After pondering for a long time without coming to any conclusions, Zhao Tong couldn't help turning around and asking, "Li Dao, what do you make of this matter?"

Li Dao's expression was calm. "You are the Grand Commander."

If anyone else had spoken to him in that tone, he would have already lost his temper and taken action.

However, he couldn't do that with Li Dao—especially with two still-warm corpses of Xiantian martial artists lying right outside.

Zhao Tong's old face flushed with embarrassment, but he quickly composed himself. After thinking for a moment, he spoke frankly, "Just help me analyze this, and based on today's military merits, I'll secure you the position of commander of a hundred men."

Li Dao turned to look at Zhao Tong. "Are you sure?"

Zhao Tong patted his chest. "If I can't pull this off for you, I'll hand my position as Grand Commander over to you."

Li Dao smiled faintly. "I wouldn't mind sitting in that chair if you want to give it to me."

Zhao Tong rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and help me analyze this. This is no small matter."

Li Dao looked around, and his gaze suddenly landed on the frontier map hanging on the tent wall.

"Let's go inside and talk."

With that, he led Zhao Tong, Zhang Meng, and the others back into the tent and stood before the map.

On the map, Li Dao quickly located Yellow Sand Town.

Based on the markings, he rapidly analyzed the geographical layout of the border between the Northern Barbarians and Daqian.

At the same time, useful pieces of information from his past observations began flashing rapidly through his mind.

About a few minutes later—

Just as Zhao Tong was starting to lose his patience, Li Dao snapped out of his thoughts.

Zhao Tong immediately asked, "What have you figured out?"

Li Dao glanced at the map and muttered, "I didn't expect the Tamu tribe to play such a big game this time."

"What do you mean?"

Li Dao reached out and tapped the map, pointing to a buffer zone between the Northern Barbarians and Daqian. "This section should be the junction where the Tamu tribe meets Daqian's frontier."

"Along this buffer zone bordering the Tamu tribe, there are nearly ten frontier camps similar to the Yellow Sand Town encampment."

"Among them, Yellow Sand Town's location is not near the center; rather, it is closer to the fringe of the buffer zone where the Tamu tribe operates."

"And since the Tamu tribesmen even sent troops to wipe out and blockade an area on the periphery like this..."

"If my guess is right, they have also targeted the other encampments, and they have been preparing for this for a long time."

Zhao Tong was stunned. "What do you mean by 'prepared for a long time'?"

Li Dao explained, "Forget about the Northern Barbarian cavalry I encountered on my very first day reporting for duty. From the moment you first laid eyes on them, they were probably already plotting in their hearts. Those constant harassments by the Northern Barbarian cavalry were meant to lower your psychological defenses, thereby laying the groundwork for today's operation."

Zhao Tong was shocked. Once he understood the implications, a layer of cold sweat crept up his back.

"Then what is their ultimate target?" Zhao Tong blurted out.

"Target?"

Li Dao scanned the map, his gaze wandering for a moment before landing on a specific location.

"If nothing unexpected has happened, their target should be right here."

Zhao Tong stared wide-eyed at the spot Li Dao was pointing to.

"Impossible! How could the Tamu tribe be so reckless?"

"That is Fufeng Pass, a frontier fortress that hasn't been breached in two hundred years!"

Hearing this, Li Dao shook his head. "There is no fortress in this world that cannot be breached."

"Especially when everyone assumes it to be impregnable, that is precisely when it is at its most vulnerable."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Tong fell silent.

Because what had just been said made entirely too much damn sense; he couldn't find a single flaw to refute it.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Zhao Tong turned back to look at Li Dao.

"What do we do?"

Li Dao swept his hand across the map. "First, let's verify the troop strength at Fufeng Pass."

"If I remember correctly, Yunzhou has a permanent garrison of 150,000 troops, with 10,000 permanently stationed near Fufeng Pass."

"That is the direct personal army controlled by the Northern Suppression Marquis, Shen Chong."

"Another 80,000 are distributed across various locations within Yunzhou to maintain local security."

"The remaining 60,000 main force has always been stationed on the vast plains outside Fufeng Pass, guarding against any unexpected moves from the Northern Barbarians on the frontier."

Suddenly, as if recalling something, Li Dao turned around and asked, "Grand Commander Zhao, do you know where the Northern Suppression Marquis, Shen Chong, is right now?"

Zhao Tong hesitated for a moment, then pointed to a spot on the map.

Huh?

Seeing the location on the map, Li Dao was taken aback. "Shouldn't he and his garrison be near Fufeng Pass? Why would he be all the way out here?"

Zhao Tong explained, "General Shen routinely inspects the various frontier camps at regular intervals, so..."

"However, you don't need to worry; the garrison troops won't be mobilized. General Shen only takes his personal guards to carry out the inspection work."

Li Dao: "???"