Chapter 1611 IF Scenario: What if Shen Tang woke up earlier (Twenty-Five)

LOL, that's impossible.

Forget about capturing Shen Tang, they couldn't even put the pressure on him to the point of death. All they could do was watch helplessly as Shen Tang swaggered around with his spoils. Even the Allied high command couldn't withstand the psychological pressure, let alone the rabble under their command. Almost the instant Shen Tang beheaded the Alliance leader, the previously orderly military formation began to crumble.

When Shen Tang shouted, "The bandit leader's head is here," his mentality collapsed. Well-trained elites have strong resilience and may be able to turn their grief and anger into motivation and muster the courage to fight to the death in the face of such a situation, while those with weak resilience simply become dejected.

Some military generals also tried to shake her arrogance with their own flesh and blood.

Without exception, they all failed miserably.

The plummeting morale led to chaos in the army's formation. The Allied commanders attempted to stabilize the situation, issuing orders, but the drumbeats, initially steady and orderly, gradually became disordered and chaotic. Soldiers were unsure whether to look at the battle flags or listen to the drums; these soldiers belonged to different factions, resulting in a lack of coordination. One side wanted to advance, the other to retreat, exposing a fatal flaw.

The military commanders who were in charge of the troops became increasingly panicked upon seeing this.

Even though he forced himself to calm down, the reality of the situation gave him no time to organize his thoughts and adjust his strategy. In the end, the chaos only intensified, and the panic deepened. Even with the generals' best efforts to suppress the unrest, they could not stop the troops from falling into disarray. Some even chose to make an example of someone to deter others, but this failed to achieve its intended effect and instead accelerated the collapse of morale. The battlefield was a complete mess.

Um--

Since it's already turned into a mess, let's just drink it while it's in chaos.

With a flick of his wrist, Shen Tang summoned his Martial Spirit Totem, activating all his buffs, and pointed his sword directly at the heart of the enemy formation.

"kill--"

Ji Mo Cong narrowed his eyes, pointing his wooden staff at the enemy formation.

"Gongxi warriors, follow His Highness and charge!"

Despite the vast disparity in troop numbers, it was a brutal beating of the numerically superior side, with various lights weaving a net across the battlefield. The Allied forces were stunned by the initial onslaught, and before they could recover, they were forced to face a relentless and overwhelming offensive.

If they could still grit their teeth and endure this step, then what happened next would be completely unbearable for them! Wei Lou saw that the Gongxi clan had already charged to the front and formed a sharp cone formation, so he confidently used his scholar's way.

Before going to the battlefield, he also discussed tactics with Ji Mo Cong.

Having confirmed that his scholarly approach had no effect on the warriors of the Gongxi clan, he discovered that the Gongxi clan, in cooperation with him, could form the strongest land army, invincible on the battlefield. This was because his scholarly approach could reverse the roles of scholar and warrior.

And the Gongxi clan—

Ji Mo Cong said, "We are His Highness's supporters, cultivating the power of faith, not the literary or martial arts of the outside world. Your rules of the scholar's path should, in principle, be unable to influence us."

After all, the two sides are not in the same power system.

This means that Wei Lou can transform all the brave warriors in the enemy army into scholars with literary minds, and vice versa. Those who haven't been familiar with this tactic beforehand will fall victim to it in the chaos, resulting in utter disarray and paralysis of the military command.

On the other hand, the elite troops of the Gongxi clan remained unaffected. They could use a wedge formation to cut through the enemy lines while simultaneously isolating enemy soldiers from direct confrontation with their own rear guard, buying time for their own side to react. The Gongxi clan was responsible for breaking through the enemy lines and injuring them, while the others were responsible for finishing off the enemy, suppressing them, and capturing prisoners, maximizing the gains through coordinated attacks.

After a fierce battle, the Allied forces were destined to lose.

Seeing that the battle was beyond saving, the remaining troops decided to retreat to preserve their strength and make further plans, so they fought and retreated. Well, to put it nicely, they fought and retreated, but to put it bluntly, those in front didn't have time to turn around and run away, while those behind turned around and abandoned their armor and weapons.

The Allied remnants, having forgotten to consult the almanac before setting out, realized they were doomed. They hadn't gone far when a rapid thud of hooves sounded ahead, battle cries growing louder as the dust cloud nearly obscured their retreat: "General, an ambush!"

Shen Youli anticipated their defeat even before the battle began and deliberately sent troops ahead of time to intercept their retreat! Thinking of Shen Tang's troop strength, the leading general's face turned pale and then red, feeling as if Shen Tang had ripped off his face and trampled it.

"What an arrogant, domineering, and stupid woman!"

"Keep the troops calm and don't panic, they don't outnumber us!"

This commotion must have been deliberately created by Shen Tang's people to throw them into disarray, and his guess wasn't without reason.

Before setting out, they investigated the troops under Shen Youli's command.

A rough estimate suggests that the main force she brought today is almost the limit of what she can mobilize. This means she can't spare many ambushes to cut off their retreat; a single charge could break through. The larger the enemy formation, the more it indicates their numerical weakness!

"Follow me into battle!"

Before the last word appeared, an arrow broke through the fog.

The arrowhead, gleaming with purple light, was almost touching his eyeball!

The clamor of the world faded away, and time seemed to slow to an extreme degree, as if it had sunk into the sea. His entire attention was focused on the cold arrow that had almost taken his life. He could clearly see the cold glint of the arrowhead, the patterns on the shaft, and the air currents cutting through the fletching... In that life-or-death moment, a burst of intense heat, scorching his soul, suddenly erupted from his mind.

He let out a loud shout.

Violent flames erupted from his body.

The cold arrow was reduced to dust the moment it touched the fiery outer layer, and he felt an unprecedented lightness in his limbs, his dantian, depleted from the fierce battle, almost overflowing. His warhorse seemed to sense his condition, doubling its speed beyond its limit, and the two of them became like shooting stars.

The exhilarating feeling of this breakthrough made his soul roar.

Suddenly, a powerful sense of dominance arose within me, as if I were the only one worthy of respect in the world.

But the next second, the person who burst out from the thick fog brought him back to reality. In the instant of the clash, he saw the undisguised disgust and jealousy in the other's eyes beneath the armor. A muffled voice cut through the battlefield noise and reached his ears clearly: "Damn it, I hate those last-minute breakthroughs the most, so stop pretending with me!"

This self-proclaimed archer displayed his prized skill, but not only did he fail to kill his target with a single arrow, he also watched as the enemy dodged the attack, even awakening a martial spirit in that life-or-death moment. It was like the enemy defecating on his head – utterly disgusting!

The next strike was aimed straight at the opponent's vital point.

"I'll let you break through! I'll let you break through! I'll let you break through!"

Go to the underworld and drink a few more bowls of soup, so you won't have to pretend with him in your next life.

As this person appeared, a large shadow emerged from the thick fog.

These men wore different armor than Shen Tang's troops, and upon meeting, the two sides immediately began fighting without a word. To escape more quickly, the allied soldiers removed their armor, and the warriors disarmed themselves. Faced with this sudden ambush, they became lambs to the slaughter, unable to even mount a proper defense, let alone launch a counterattack.

Ji Sunyin wanted to stop him.

The fact that the general could break through on the spot shows that he has good resilience and talent; he could be captured and used after some adjustments. However, he spoke too late. His trusted general, wielding two swords, pressed down on the man's shoulders and cleaved him in two with a single stroke. Unless the high priest and the others were present, perhaps they could have kept him alive and pulled him back from the brink of death: "Alas, what a pity."

We have lost a disciple who could be exploited to the fullest.

As the fighting subsided, darkness fell.

Shen Tang also noticed this surprise force that had suddenly appeared to surround the allied forces. She could tell at a glance that they were friends, not enemies. The High Priest and the others, along with Wei Lou and his nephew, discovered the identity of the surprise force first. Ji Mo Shuang's cold face showed a few smiles, and she laughed and scolded, "At least it wasn't a waste of money to raise them."

This child still knows to come back.

Wei Lou rode forward on horseback: "Why have you come, my lord?"

Ji Sunyin: "I received the news and I'm worried that we can't hold this position."

The main elite troops under Shen Tang's command are still from the Gongxi clan. If they cannot hold their ground, the Gongxi clan will suffer the greatest losses. Although Ji Sunyin rebelled and chose to leave, it doesn't mean he has no feelings for his clan. He immediately reorganized his troops upon receiving the news.

No matter what, he had to come.

He hadn't expected that with such a disparity in troop strength, the allied forces would perform so poorly, rendering his plan to coordinate with Shen Tang's forces to launch a pincer attack on the enemy and disrupt their formation useless. Ji Sunyin shook his head, half-jokingly saying, "If I had known that Your Highness and the others were so brave and that it was just a false alarm, I wouldn't have worried about it."

Wei Lou said, "Actually, it's still quite dangerous."

At least he genuinely worried.

They had underestimated the terrifying morale boost that a rank 20 Marquis could provide when fighting on the front lines. Without this element, the battle would likely have dragged on as fiercely as Ji Sunyin had feared. Just then, Ji Moshuang landed on a lotus leaf as she fell from the sky.

Gong Xiyu also arrived just in time.

Mother and son reunite, brothers meet again.

But instead of the warmth and emotion I had imagined, all I received was my mother's emotionless instruction: "Go and see His Highness."

Ji Sunyin did not move.

Ji Moshuang said, "Let's discuss the purchase of prisoners."

Although these deserters were driven away by Shen Tang's side, they were also captured by Ji Sunyin's side using force. Prisoners are like fish and shrimp in a river; whoever's net they fall into, they become their catch. Shen Tang wasn't Ji Sunyin's superior, so she couldn't order them to hand them over. Doing so would inevitably displease Ji Sunyin's camp—they were merely employed by Shen Tang, not sold into servitude; they were politically equals, and there was no master-servant relationship between them.

Ji Sunyin smiled and said, "That's a good thing."

He went out and not only did he not waste two days' worth of military rations, but he also made a windfall.

"My lord has led troops to provide support; who will guard the territory?"

Ji Sunyin said, "Of course he is a suitable person."

To ensure safety, he also relocated a group of people.

Shen Tang's forces rose rapidly, but not enough to warrant such a large-scale alliance against her; she hadn't even threatened their interests. When Ji Sunyin received the news, he sensed something was wrong and suspected a deeper conspiracy. At the same time, he worried that his side might become the next target. Therefore, before rushing to provide support, he made several preparations, just in case.

After understanding the cause and effect, he was glad that he had thought things through.

"It was these people who caused all this trouble..."

Wei Lou asked casually, "Does the lord know about them?"

Ji Sunyin: "Your lord was once a candidate for High Priest, and there was so much to learn. The Gods have a deep-seated feud with the clan, so how could the future High Priest forget the enemies lurking in the shadows? I know what they've been doing. It's just that after Your Highness woke up, I didn't pay much attention to it."

Shen Tang's awakening means the end of the Pantheon.

The greatest threat to the Pantheon lies within its inner circle, whose members, these eccentric individuals, still harbor unknown and deadly weapons. Their demise would end everything, while the outer circle is essentially a coalition of interests comprised of secular nobles, kings, generals, and powerful families. The outer circle overlaps significantly with the obstacles hindering unification. Ji Sunyin, who harbored ambitions for unification, was bound to clash with these people sooner or later.

Seeing that Ji Sunyin spoke so casually, Wei Lou quickly followed: "If that's the case, then does the lord know that they have been in contact with me?"

Ji Sunyin showed no surprise.

"I don't know, but it's not surprising."

Wei Lou is his own strategist. Does a literary scholar who can become the strategist of a force not deserve to get a ticket to the outer society of the Gods? Let alone just making contact, even if Wei Lou had joined the outer society of the Gods a long time ago, Ji Sunyin would not have been surprised at all.

Ji Sunyin: "How long have you been in contact with them?"

Wei Lou: "Not long."

The two sides haven't had much contact yet.

Ji Sunyin: "What a pity."

Wei Lou: "What's there to regret?"

Ji Sunyin: "The Gods' Society is rich, with unimaginable wealth. This wealth has been accumulated over a thousand years. With your intelligence, if you joined the Gods' Society, wouldn't you have plenty of opportunities to take their fortune? Isn't that a pity?"

"Our lord comes from the Gongxi clan, would he even consider this?"

"You know nothing about the true strength of the Pantheon." The annual fees paid by the massive outer society are enough to make anyone envious, not to mention the most mysterious inner society, whose wealth accumulated in secret over a thousand years is roughly equivalent to the fortunes of several Gongxi clans.

Wei Lou: "..."

Even though he didn't value gold and silver, he couldn't help but feel envious.

The Pantheon is incredibly wealthy!

Shen Tang thanked Ji Sunyin for bringing troops to their aid and offered a high price to buy the prisoners from him. After calculating the total, everyone was all smiles. They hadn't expected to return with such a large windfall after just a short trip.

Hehe, the more good things like this, the better.

Ji Sunyin couldn't stay away for too long. He asked Guan Chentang for a few days' worth of provisions to take him home, and after a short rest, he was ready to set off. Although he had made many preparations, it wasn't foolproof. He didn't want to go back to find his old lair completely wiped out by his old rival.

But before going back, he asked Wei Lou.

"My lord, you have been away for so long, do you wish to return?"

These words caused the previously harmonious atmosphere to suddenly freeze.

Wei Cheng looked at his uncle with concern.

Although the person he liked was exactly the same as the person his uncle liked, that was merely a rivalry between lovers and couldn't shake the bond between uncle and nephew. He also noticed that his uncle's attitude towards Shen Jun was different; if he went back with the lord, he feared—

Wei Lou shook his head and refused.

“There are still unresolved issues here.”

Ji Sunyin smiled and said, "The road ahead is fraught with difficulties, my lord, please persevere."

|ω`)

Today I received devastating news: my uncle has been hospitalized with cancer.

Sigh, we don't know the specifics of the illness yet, but judging from the way my parents are discussing it, it seems like my eldest cousin doesn't care, and my second cousin probably can't handle it alone.

PS: The next chapter will be the IF ending (I think).

P.S.: I really couldn't find Wei Lou's name anywhere, so I'll just use Junhou for now.

(End of this chapter)