Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 561-571: The Battle for Supremacy (Part Two)
“Your Majesty has ulterior motives, that’s fine. Even if you want us to die, that’s fine too. But we don’t want to die in the end without knowing why.”

"Of the 30,000 people currently here, apart from a small number of veterans who have been on the battlefield, the rest are mostly new recruits who have just joined and were brought in after only half a month of training."

"At our current level, we probably won't last an hour against the enemy."

Liu Yu stood up, walked up to Qin Yue, and said with a serious expression.

"Now you see, rumors are flying all over the army. Nobody wants to be a fool and die without knowing why."

“The important figures behind us should just tell us what they want us to do. If they continue to treat us like pawns who can’t even decide how they’re going to die, I can’t guarantee that we’ll do something against His Majesty in order to survive.”

Liu Yu's last words were extremely weighty, his tone carrying a resolute determination to face death.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue turned around angrily and said sternly, "Liu Yu, are you planning a rebellion?"

At this moment, Qin Yue stopped pretending. He had indeed been arranged by Huo Jun to be an undercover agent under Liu Yu's command, to learn about the Beiming Army and to transmit information about the current situation of Liu Yu's army to the rear army through various means.

"Rebellion?" Liu Yu sneered, staring at Qin Yue: "You don't even treat us like human beings anymore. Are we wrong to beg for our lives?"

Qin Yue took a deep breath: "His Majesty has no intention of abandoning you as pawns. Don't fall into the trap of those treacherous villains from the Northern Underworld Army."

"A treacherous scheme? You were the ones who plotted against the Beiming Army first, but you turned around and accused them. You really know how to shift the blame."

The riots outside were getting worse, and many soldiers had already gathered together. Liu Yu didn't have time to argue with Qin Yue about these things, so he said coldly.

"Report what happened here to General Huo now, and also pass on a message for me."

"What did you say?" Qin Yue frowned.

"Help me ask him if he still wants our 30,000 people. If he does, tell me your whole plan. Otherwise, I will survive in our own way."

"When the time comes, don't blame us for disobeying the imperial decree and showing no mercy."

After saying this, Liu Yu flicked his sleeves and left.

Qin Yue watched Liu Yu's departing figure, her expression shifting between light and dark. Finally, she gritted her teeth, turned around, walked to a corner, took out paper and pen and wrote for a while. Then, she stomped her foot on the ground, and soon a round head popped out from the ground.

The owner of this head is an animal that looks like a modern groundhog, except that it has a short, thick horn on its forehead, which seems to be more convenient for digging in the soil.

Qin Yue stuffed the letter into the groundhog's hand. The groundhog turned around and used its remaining hand to dig into the ground. Soon, a bulge appeared on the ground, and it transformed into a long snake that slithered underground and quickly left.

"call--"

Qin Yue let out a soft sigh, but the worry on her face only deepened.

From him, one could hear the deafening shouts of Li Jun not far away.

After suffering so many grievances, it would be unacceptable for anyone to learn that they were merely a pawn used as a stepping stone for the rear guard. Even if they were unaware of this, they would probably feel the same way as these people.

After all, no one wants to risk their life to gain promotions and titles for others.

The Northern Underworld Army certainly didn't give them a friendly look, which made them very angry. But what made them even angrier was that they were betrayed by their own people and couldn't even choose their own fate.

Qin Yue waited for a while, and then she heard a noise from the ground. The groundhog that had just left had returned, carrying a letter in its mouth as well.

Qin Yue took the letter from the groundhog's mouth, opened it to read the contents, and her already not-so-good expression instantly turned even more gloomy.

The letter was simple; in essence, it told him to try his best to keep Liu Yu and his associates calm.

However, the letter made no mention of his desire to know the plans of the rear guard.

"How can I stabilize things? Everyone just wants to know what they should do and find a way to survive. Even if they're going to their deaths, they should at least know why they're dying!"

Qin Yue looked up at the sky and saw that it was dark and gloomy, with thick black clouds that seemed almost within reach.

However, despite this, the blood moon in the sky did not disappear, but instead appeared before everyone in a larger and more scarlet form.

Its brightness and size surpassed that of the sun, and the damp, cold air carried a faint smell of blood, as if foreshadowing some ominous sign.

Qin Yue stood still, listening to the increasingly turbulent commotion coming from the Li Army camp, like a tsunami about to erupt.

It seems that even Liu Yu can't suppress it anymore!
With heavy steps, Qin Yue returned to the camp.

Before long, Liu Yu arrived in front of Qin Yue and asked anxiously.

"So, what did General Huo say?"

Liu Yu looked somewhat expectant. If Qin Yue could bring Huo Jun's true thoughts, perhaps this mutiny could be contained.

However, Qin Yue simply shook her head and looked into his eyes: "I have done my best. The general hopes that we can stabilize the situation for the time being."

"That's it?" Liu Yu's eyes turned fierce, and his shoulders trembled slightly with anger.

Under what circumstances would a martial artist at the Divine Realm become so angry that he loses control of his body?

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Liu Yu suddenly burst into laughter, appearing somewhat deranged.

Qin Yue opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but inexplicably the words came out differently.

"Perhaps if we wait a little longer, General Huo will make a move."

These words made Liu Yu lose control of his emotions even more, and he drew his long sword from his waist and slashed directly at Qin Yue.

"scold……"

Qin Yue's eyes widened, she lowered her head and covered her neck with her hands, staring in disbelief at the blood on it.

"You... gulp..."

His throat was cut, and he couldn't make a sound.

Although he and Liu Yu were both at the Divine Realm, he was still caught off guard and unable to react when attacked.

Most importantly, he never expected that Liu Yu would actually draw his sword and kill his comrade-in-arms, which would be severely punished under the military laws of past dynasties, and could even bring disaster to the entire clan.

However, Liu Yu only looked at Qin Yue with indifferent eyes, and blood kept dripping from the long sword in his hand.

"Since General Huo is unrighteous, then don't blame me for being unjust."

"I have endured this campaign for a very, very long time. We were comrades, but you have used us as bait and expendable pawns. In this war, who is superior to whom?"

Liu Yu seemed to vent all the contempt he had suffered at the hands of the Beiming army these past few days, as well as his anger at being used as a pawn by the rear army. His eyes were bloodshot as he ordered his men to drag Qin Yue's body out and hang it up.

A blood-soaked corpse was hanging high in the air. Even the people who had started the rebellion couldn't help but pause their actions, and everyone's eyes fell on the corpse in the air.

Many people had already recognized the corpse hanging in the air. At this moment, Liu Yu stood below the corpse with an icy expression and spoke loudly.

“I have identified the mole in the army. He is one of the people who communicated with the troops behind the lines. Qin Yue was once Huo Jun’s personal guard…”

Liu Yu recounted his request to Qin Yue in detail, his head bowed as he looked at the blood-stained steel knife in his hand.

“I know that many of you, like Qin Yue, will relay news from your team to the rear.”

"But now that things have come to this, I don't care anymore. I just want Huo Jun to know that those who bully others will be bullied in return."

"I don't care about anything anymore. I just want to survive on this battlefield. I don't want to die for no reason!"

Liu Yu roared out his last words in a hoarse voice. As the highest-ranking general in this army, even he said such words, which instantly resonated with everyone present.

They were already causing trouble because of their status as expendable pawns, but now that Liu Yu has taken the initiative to step forward, pretending to be unaware of the situation, and even killing the undercover soldiers, the troops, which were originally in the midst of chaos, have surprisingly become united.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and a cold wind swept across the land, carrying the stench of blood to every corner.

Some people in the crowd revealed eerie smiles at this moment, a greenish light flashing in their eyes, and their lips twitching inexplicably.

If an expert were here, they would realize that these people were forced into action by the spirits without any warning, which is why their bodies became uncoordinated.

Somewhere outside the Lijun camp, a group of weasels huddled around a weasel the size of a calf.

The weasel leaned against the rock like a human, wearing rough animal clothing, with a skinless corpse stuck in its long, sharp claws.

Before long, some soil was thrown away on the ground, and the groundhog that had been helping Qin Yue deliver messages crawled out.

"Thank you for your hard work!" The weasel in animal clothing opened its mouth and made a shrill sound.

"I still can't do the work of digging holes and burying dirt, it's too dirty."

The groundhog shook its fur, but in the end it seemed unable to bear it any longer, so it grabbed its own skin and peeled it off like taking off clothes.

The skin was peeled off bit by bit, revealing a gray, hairy rat that was blind in one eye.

"It feels so much better now that I've taken it off!" the gray-furred giant rat said comfortably.

The weasels that were crowding around immediately brought over a bucket of clean water and helped the gray-haired rat wipe its body.

The weasel in its animal-cloth chuckled and tossed the corpse stuck in its paw aside.

"Let's go, mission accomplished. Let's see if those fox spirits have completed their instigation mission."

The gray-haired rat waved its hand: "No need to go. I deliberately observed the Li army camp for a while before coming here. It has completely broken out. That General Liu killed that Qin. The ancestors' plan worked."

"Now let this historical army play its final role."

The weasel in animal clothing nodded: "I hope they don't do something stupid and turn around and charge at my Northern Underworld Army, otherwise the mission won't be complete."

"The man surnamed Liu shouldn't be that stupid. According to the ancestors' speculation, he should leave directly with his troops. An army of tens of thousands of people should at least attract the attention of some of the evil spirit army and the evil army. The Li army behind them is probably even more confused."

"Hmph, you're just reaping what you sowed!" the gray-haired rat said coldly.

……

At the same time, Liu Yu, just as expected, led his men to withdraw directly from the front lines.

Without informing the Northern Underworld Army, the 30,000-strong army marched westward in a grand procession.

This route is somewhat intriguing, because it is neither heading back to Jingzhou nor does it seem like he intends to cause trouble for the Beiming Army.

They suddenly appeared on the battlefield where the two sides were fighting, like a group of homeless wanderers who did not know where to go.

Rumble…

The rain was pouring down, and the whole sky seemed to be falling down.

A large camp was hidden under the light shield of the Imperial Seal. Huo Jun paced back and forth inside the tent with a gloomy expression, surrounded by some mid- to high-ranking generals and the strategist Fang Xiangyi.

"According to the news that just came back, Liu Yu launched a mutiny and fled with his men."

"I knew he was an idiot! He actually led his men to escape at this time, he was deliberately trying to ruin our plans!"

"So what do we do now? Should we hide and wait for the Northern Underworld Army to finish their battle? They should already know we exist, right?"

Inside the tent, there was a great deal of discussion. Fang Xiangyi slapped the table, which finally stopped the people who were talking.

"Let's proceed according to the original plan for now. Even if the Lord of the Northern Underworld finds out about our existence, there are still the Evil Spirit True Lord and the Goddess Zigu. Staying in the shadows and observing how things develop is the best approach at present."

Then, Fang Xiangyi looked at Huo Jun and asked, "What does General Huo think?"

Huo Jun stopped in his tracks: "We need to find Liu Yu first. They are soldiers of all dynasties. We can't let them remain in exile forever."

Fang Xiangyi raised an eyebrow: "He killed Qin Yue, I'm afraid he won't be coming back."

"Then kill him and take back the army." Huo Jun's tone was extremely cold as he speculated, "Judging from Zi Gu's movements, the decisive battle with the Bei Ming army will officially begin in less than three days. The Evil Spirit Army will definitely come out in full force at this time, which will be our best opportunity."

"After this battle, both sides will be severely weakened. Even if we can't take down all three, taking down just one will be enough."

"Pass down the order: from this moment forward, the entire army shall prepare for battle and await orders at any time."

Huo Jun lifted the tent flap, and his gaze gradually rose, enveloping the entire Li Army in a thin, veil-like halo of light.

Countless soldiers lined up neatly on the cleared ground, a powerful aura burning within each of them, coalescing in the air to form a giant, swirling dragon.

They were Yang Guang's strongest elite troops—the Divine Might Army.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, a similarly large army was slowly advancing across the land.

This army looked very strange; almost none of them were normal human figures.

The enormous airships flew through the air, their oars churning the way. The crawling monsters that served as the vanguard moved forward like a flowing black tide. The huge, mountain-like deformed giants carried firearms that looked like cannons on their backs, and there were also bird-men with wings flying in the air.

Immediately afterwards, a giant eye appeared beside the blood moon in the sky, looking down at the earth, and an evil power began to spread throughout Liangzhou.

(End of this chapter)