Besides that, Ian Song’s gains in Qi Luck far exceeded his expectations. After sweeping through the entire Sirius Grasslands, he could feel torrents of Qi Luck surging toward him.
When he checked his Qi Luck value, he discovered that, apart from what he’d earned from crushing the Red Wolf cavalry before, he’d gained a full eight million Qi Luck.
He realized his earlier guess had been right.
If not for his intervention, when chaos broke out in Valeguard, the Red Wolf Tribe might really have seized the chance to rise and found their own nation.
Now that he’d snuffed out a nation at its birth, it was only natural to gain eight million Qi Luck.
Unfortunately, even with all that Qi Luck, he didn’t have any higher-level cultivation techniques. Otherwise, he could have pushed his cultivation to an even greater height.
Still, the Golden Core stage was enough for now, so he wasn’t in any rush to get stronger.
After two days, the army returned to Frostmarch City.
As soon as he arrived, Ian Song started catching up on everything that had happened during the month he’d been gone.
Frostmarch Prefecture itself had been peaceful—nothing noteworthy had happened.
On the rebel side, in just a month, they’d conquered a third of Dragonreach Province, and their momentum was unstoppable.
No one knew if Peter Xue was taking advice from some master strategist, but every time he captured a city, he’d open the granaries and distribute food. The rebels’ reputation soared. He also played the local gentry against each other—those who’d been cruel to their villages, he confiscated their property; those with good reputations, he left alone and even invited them to send people to serve as local officials.
That’s why so many talented people started flocking to his side.
There were always plenty of opportunists in times like these.
With the support of those local gentry, Peter Xue’s army was gradually turning from a peasant host into a regular force.
Now, his regular troops alone numbered 380,000.
As for the fifty thousand soldiers under the Minister of War, even with repeated orders from the court, they still didn’t dare face Peter Xue’s army. Whenever they heard the rebels were coming, they’d run away.
Dragonreach Province itself couldn’t even organize a proper defense force—otherwise, the rebels wouldn’t have taken a third of its territory in just a month.
After handling official business, Ian Song returned from the yamen to the Commissioner’s Residence.
The Military Commissioner was also called ‘Commissioner,’ so Ian Song’s residence was now known as the Commissioner’s Residence.
After more than a month apart, Sylvia Cai, Yoyo Chen, and Chloe Cao were especially excited.
After dinner at the Commissioner’s Residence.
Chloe Cao handed Ian Song a letter.
This letter was personally written by Prince Adrian Cao. The opening congratulated Ian on becoming Military Commissioner, the middle discussed the current situation, and the end tactfully requested Ian’s support—after all, with chaos about to erupt across the realm, Adrian needed to speed up recruitment.
"Is the messenger still here?"
Ian asked.
"He’s been waiting for you to come back!" Chloe replied.
The next day, Ian summoned the messenger sent by Prince Adrian Cao.
"Disciple Ning Que greets Teacher!"
As soon as they met, the messenger knelt on the ground and performed a formal salute to Ian.
"You may rise!"
Ian hadn’t expected Adrian Cao to send his own chief bodyguard, Neil Ning.
After several months apart, Neil Ning’s cultivation had advanced noticeably, though he was still some distance from the late Grandmaster realm.
Ian’s eyes flickered; he pointed a finger.
A thread of golden light shot straight into Neil Ning’s brow.
Neil Ning shuddered all over, then immediately sat down cross-legged and began cultivating.
Ian acted as if he hadn’t seen anything and turned to his official paperwork.
Half an hour later.
A vast surge of power erupted from Neil Ning’s body, instantly sweeping through the entire yamen.
Everyone inside the yamen trembled in fright.
Luckily, the pressure faded as quickly as it came.
"Thank you for helping me, Teacher!"
Neil Ning, having withdrawn his aura, bowed respectfully to Ian again.
"Prince Adrian has great ambitions. He’s bound to face assassination attempts in the future. When you return, you must protect him well!" Ian said meaningfully.
"Don’t worry, Teacher—I won’t let you down!"
Neil Ning nodded vigorously.
Then—
Ian handed Neil Ning five hundred pieces of glassware to take back. These would let Prince Adrian raise several million taels of silver for military pay—enough to equip an army of two hundred thousand.
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
The situation across the realm continued to deteriorate.
The Xue Family Army had completely conquered Dragonreach Province—mostly because so many cities surrendered without a fight.
Now that the rebels held two provinces, their movement had truly become a force to be reckoned with. Even if Valeguard managed to destroy them, the cost would be devastating—and then, it would be an age of warring princes.
Sure enough—
Once the Xue Family Army occupied two provinces, the court went into utter panic.
The Emperor of Valeguard also realized that the troops gathered from various military districts couldn’t possibly wipe out the rebels, so he ordered the elite Westland Iron Cavalry from Westcape Pass to march on Northwest Imperial Province and suppress the uprising.
Westcape Pass bordered Liang Kingdom, and the Westland Iron Cavalry stationed there was a battle-hardened force with formidable strength.
However, the Westland Iron Cavalry wasn’t numerous, and they also had to guard against Liang Kingdom. So only twenty thousand were mobilized for this campaign, with ten thousand left to defend Westcape Pass.
Twenty days later—
General Lucas Lu led twenty thousand Westland Iron Cavalry to Northwest Imperial Province, taking command of the fifty thousand troops under the Minister of War.
Under Lucas Lu’s leadership, the seventy-thousand-strong army broke through three cities in just ten days, killed over thirty thousand rebel leaders, and even slew the youngest of the Xue brothers, Xue Shan.
This forced Peter Xue, who was in Dragonreach Province, to rush his troops back to reinforce Northwest Imperial Province.
Lucas Lu’s victory was like a shot of reassurance for the court.
Over the next month, Lucas Lu’s forces kept winning battle after battle, nearly reclaiming all of Northwest Imperial Province and killing a terrifying eighty thousand rebels.
Meanwhile, the seventy thousand troops under his command kept growing with each fight, reaching a hundred thousand.
Another ten days passed.
Lucas Lu conquered the last city in Northwest Imperial Province, completely restoring the province to imperial control.
But by this point, Lucas Lu’s army had nearly exhausted its grain supplies and had no strength left to attack Dragonreach Province.
Lucas Lu sent several urgent memorials to the capital requesting grain, but there was no response.
In the end, the Emperor promoted Lucas Lu, but didn’t send a single coin or grain. Instead, he told Lucas to raise supplies locally.
When Ian learned this through special channels, he couldn’t help but sigh, "It’s not the gods you have to fear—it’s the idiots on your own side!"
Right now, the Valeguard court was the ultimate liability. Clearly, after Lucas Lu’s string of victories, the court no longer saw the rebels as a major threat and wasn’t as desperate to give grain or power as when they’d first recalled Lucas.
Receiving the imperial edict, Lucas Lu was so furious he nearly cursed out loud.
Northwest Imperial Province had already suffered drought, and after the uprising, most of what could be looted had been looted. So even if Lucas wanted to raise grain locally, it was impossible.
In a fit of anger, Lucas Lu immediately requested permission to return to Westcape Pass.
But to Ian’s mixed amusement and exasperation, the Emperor actually approved it. He then sent Marquis Leonard of Puyang, newly promoted to Capital Garrison Left Commander, with ten thousand Capital Garrison troops to take Lucas’s place.
When Ian heard the news, he shook his head privately. He knew then that Valeguard was truly finished.