Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2681 The Tough Lin Mu

When he returned to Suanzao, the belated system notification rang in his ears:
"--Ding!"

"--System notification: Dragon Lord Lin Mu, because you were the first to appear in the Eastern Ying region and initiate a national war to invade the Eastern Ying region, you can obtain system rewards if you stay in the Eastern Ying region during the national war and survive. You chose to accumulate time to obtain rewards, and now the accumulated rewards are distributed according to the time you stayed, as follows: one Heavenly Rank [Heavenly Profound Black Gold Armor], one Heavenly Rank [Five-Turn Refining Yuan Pill], and one Heavenly Rank [Fixed-Point Teleportation Talisman]."

He didn't stay in the Eastern Japan region for too long, but it wasn't short either, and the final reward was pretty good.

Lin Mu checked the attributes of the three items; the armor and teleportation talisman were both average. However, what surprised him was the Heaven-rank [Five-Turn Refining Essence Pill], which could actually allow a peak Earth-rank martial general to directly break through to the Heaven-rank!

This is a newly emerging breakthrough elixir... unfortunately, it's not listed in the encyclopedia.

After putting the items away, Lin Mu had completely cleaned up the mess from the national war.

As for the players' teleportation fees, Chang Yin and the others would handle that; he didn't need to worry about it.

Although it's unclear why the MVP award for the national war is no longer available, the Great Wilderness Territory still reaped significant rewards in this national war.

For players in the China region, the cost of teleportation and the loot from killing Orochi are the biggest expenses, while the looted resources are a smaller portion.

There were also losses. So many temporary teleportation arrays were built, and a lot of rare items were consumed. Moreover, it seems that those resources are non-renewable.

"My lord, Cao Cao's envoy has just arrived, wishing to invite you to the meeting of the allied rebel forces early tomorrow morning," Wang Yue's voice rang in Lin Mu's ears.

Wang Yue finally arrived from Youzhou, weary from his journey.

Lord Lin Mu previously used the Kun Stone for teleportation, but that was convenient only for him personally. Wang Yue and his personal guards, however, needed to travel by other, slower methods...

"A meeting first thing tomorrow morning...it seems they're going to decide who will take over as leader," Lin Mu said quietly.

Tomorrow will be a fierce verbal battle.

"With the alliance leader established, the second Heaven and Earth Ranking will be officially released!" Lin Mu murmured.

The first list to appear in the Heaven and Earth Rankings is the Heaven and Earth Divine Hero Ranking.

Upon hearing Lin Mu's words, Wang Yue was visibly shaken. His lord, Lin Mu, actually knew in advance that a new ranking list would appear?

Could it be a list of feudal lords?

Such lists have appeared in previous eras as well. Take, for example, the most recent instance, the coalition of eighteen feudal lords against Qin, which resulted in the "List of Lords of Heaven and Earth"!

That time, all the nobles on the list were kings, but this time, the highest ranks are governors and county marquises, so there's no comparison.

Early the next morning, Lin Mu, along with Wang Yue and other personal guards, went to the venue for the meeting of the rebel allied forces.

And the venue was none other than the Suanzao City Lord's Mansion!
Although Lin Mu had occupied the city lord's mansion early on, he later withdrew and gave it to Yuan Shao.

Inside the meeting hall, various warlords and representatives of different forces had already gathered, creating an exceptionally solemn atmosphere.

Lin Mu led Wang Yue into the council hall and found that the hall had been renovated and decorated with many luxurious items, making it appear elegant and magnificent.

Meanwhile, many tables were set up in the hall, all laden with food, drinks and fruit.

Clearly, it was all carefully prepared in advance.

Lin Mu entrusted the city lord's mansion to Yuan Shao, partly because he didn't want to spend time and effort arranging the venue. He was a pragmatist, not a face-saving type like Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao and Qiao Mao, as the conveners of this meeting, both stood in front of the head table, their eyes scanning the crowd.

When Lin Mu arrived, almost everyone else was already there.

"The eighteenth garrison commander, General Lin Mu, has arrived!" At this moment, a deep voice rang out.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu frowned slightly.

The entrance to this meeting... I wonder which town it is...?

“The eighteenth town…hehe…if we’re talking about the previous life, isn’t this the very last one? Interesting…I wonder who the new ones are?” Lin Mu slowly walked into the council hall and immediately saw Yuan Shao and Qiao Mao.

However, Lin Mu only glanced at the two of them before turning his head to look at the others.

In the crowd, Lin Mu found the person he wanted to see.

A burly general, with a fluffy cloak draped over his back, stood like a pine tree. Behind him were three somewhat immature young generals.

Lin Mu's pupils contracted sharply when he saw one of them.

He then composed himself and continued to observe... Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, and so on... were all familiar faces.

However, when he saw someone, his brow twitched.

"Wei Zhongdao!!! Why is he here?" Lin Mu was quite surprised.

“Wei Zhongdao is the governor of Shangdang Commandery. He has replaced Zhang Yang.” At this moment, Ji Beiqin’s voice came from behind Lin Mu.

Ji Beiqin had arrived long ago and already had a preliminary understanding of the situation on the field.

"Prefect Wang Kuang of Hanoi Prefecture didn't arrive either; instead, Prefect Liu Bei of Hanoi Prefecture did!" Ji Beiqin's face turned serious as he said this.

Lin Mu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He had not expected that Liu Bei, who had not appeared for a long time, would become the governor of Hanoi Commandery!

Sure enough, a change of events occurred!

Good heavens, Wei Zhongdao and Liu Bei are both at odds with the Great Wilderness territory. He took in Wang Kuang and Zhang Yang, and now they've become two enemies.

Historical figures can be absent, but they cannot be absent... The appearance of these two has essentially reduced his chances of becoming the leader of the alliance to an infinite degree.

Perhaps this is also a consequence of his capture of Wang Kuangzhang…

"Xiao Mu, it might be a little difficult for you to become the alliance leader..."

“When Jiang Chenglong and I came in, they didn’t mention any of those town lords. It’s like they don’t acknowledge us… It’s outrageous.”

"If we don't recognize you, it means you won't even have the right to vote on the leader of the alliance..." Lin Mu sneered.

He was then led by his attendants to the position of the eighteenth vassal lord.

That's the location near the entrance to the council hall.

As the host, Yuan Shao also wanted to give Lin Mu a hard time.

Everyone else in the room was looking at Lin Mu, wondering if he would sit in that humiliating position.

However, Lin Mu, now free from constraints, burst into laughter upon seeing this, his laughter echoing throughout the arena.

Then, he kicked the attendant away, turned around and left, heading towards Yuan Shao.

"Lin Mu, how dare you commit murder in such a solemn occasion? Where do you place us, the leaders of the righteous army?" Yuan Shao directly accused him of a serious crime.

However, Lin Mu ignored Yuan Shao, walked calmly to him, and said indifferently, "Get out of the way!"

"Bang!" Without waiting for Yuan Shao to move aside, he bumped into the latter's shoulder, stepped over him, and sat down in the head seat. With a wave of his hand, Lin Mu turned around and sat down.

Yuan Shao, who was hit, staggered slightly and looked at the domineering Lin Mu in disbelief.

Yuan Shao and the others were all taken aback by Lin Mu's sudden assertiveness, a stark contrast to his usual subservient demeanor during large meetings. They had hoped to see Lin Mu make a fool of himself, but instead, he pushed Yuan Shao aside and took his seat.

Yuan Shao and Qiao Mao, the initiators, both had extremely gloomy expressions at this moment.

Lin Mu is openly disrespecting them and the powerful clans behind them!
"How dare you act so recklessly in such an important place? Aren't you afraid we'll unite and crush you?"

"You should know that you are still the murderer who attacked and killed Empress Dowager He and the Prince of Hongnong!!" Yuan Shao roared, drawing his long sword and pointing it at Lin Mu.

At this moment, Yuan Shao's momentum was almost the same as when he confronted Dong Zhuo before. However, last time he was at a disadvantage, while this time he had the upper hand.

"Prince of Hongnong, hahaha... So you, Yuan Shao, actually approved of Dong Zhuo's act of deposing the emperor..." Lin Mu threw his head back and laughed loudly, directly confronting Yuan Shao.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression darkened slightly.

Before Yuan Shao and the others could speak, Lin Mu continued, "Empress Dowager He and the young Emperor Liu Bian are people of noble destiny, and my destiny is insufficient to kill them. This is a frame-up by Dong Zhuo, a principle that even a three-year-old child can understand. I did not expect that you, as the governor of Bohai, could not understand it. You are a laughingstock!" Lin Mu was not afraid of Yuan Shao's long sword. His eyes flashed with an extremely sharp light, as if a sword had pierced Yuan Shao's heart.

Seeing this, Cao Cao in the crowd sighed inwardly: "Lin Mu is indeed Lin Mu, he has left Yuan Shao speechless."

Under such circumstances, Lin Mu still dared to confront Yuan Shao head-on, which shows how brave he was.

Of the eighteen warlords, seventy percent were followers of the Yuan family, and their combined forces completely overwhelmed Lin Mu's 600,000-strong army. Wasn't this situation just like when Yuan Shao confronted Dong Zhuo head-on...?

"Clang..." At this moment, the sound of swords being drawn rang out one after another. It was seen that Yuan Shu, Qiao Mao and others had drawn the swords from their waists, ready to respond to Yuan Shao.

The atmosphere in the room froze instantly.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please calm down, please calm down!" The peacemaker appeared; it was Cao Cao.

He walked between Yuan Shao and Lin Mu, gently pulling Yuan Shao's arm and saying, "Benchu, this meeting is a meeting of the righteous army alliance, it's very important, we can't easily resort to force. Wouldn't that just give Dong Zhuo in Luoyang a reason to laugh at us..."

"Disloyal and unrighteous people are not worthy of being part of the righteous army, and we disdain to associate with them!" Yuan Shao's anger increased by 10000, and he uttered these decisive words.

“Benchu, this is not right. We are all here to cleanse the court of corrupt officials and kill Dong Zhuo. We are all righteous troops of the Han Dynasty. We cannot cause conflict.” Kong Zhou, the governor of Yuzhou, also stepped forward to mediate.

"Hmph... This man is going too far!!" Yuan Shao pointed his sword at Lin Mu and roared angrily.

"Oh... who is really going too far... You placed the second-rank General of the State, personally appointed by the late emperor, at the bottom of the list to humiliate him. Is this due to personal motives, or do you not recognize the late emperor's appointment and want to commit treason like Dong Zhuo?" Lin Mu retorted without any politeness.

"The truly disloyal and unjust person is you, Yuan Shao, Yuan Benchu!!!" Lin Mu shouted righteously.

However, this time Lin Mu's words made sense.

As the host, Yuan Shao was so stingy, assigning Lin Mu, who held the highest official rank and noble title, to that position. Wasn't that blatant disrespect?

Yuan Shao's actions were indeed contrary to the etiquette and rules of the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)