Warhammer Fantasy: I Have Total War System

Recruiting "Wu Tamei"?

Just kidding, he hasn't forgotten how the original owner died!

Li Lin was secretly glad that he had retained some restraint and hadn't taken off his pants right away.

He opened his eyes, then quickly closed them again, pretending he hadn't heard or seen anything.

"Is my chair comfortable for you?" Wu Tamei asked again, her voice even colder than before.

Li Lin tensed up.

From behind the screen came the soft rustling of fabric and the cracking of knuckles.

The atmosphere shifted from gloomy to violently oppressive.

Li Lin began to break out in a cold sweat.

He was afraid that the person behind the screen would suddenly punch him from afar.

His injury hasn't fully healed yet!

"Can't you speak?" Wu Tamei, behind the screen, continued to press.

Li Lin remained taut and silent.

Besides being afraid of being beaten, another important reason was the fear of being exposed.

Wu Tamei was, after all, the original owner's fiancée. Li Lin's speech, word choice, and attitude were completely different from the original owner's. Whenever the two talked, the truth would definitely be revealed.

Wu Tamei, behind the screen, had not anticipated that their long-awaited reunion would turn out this way.

She sensed that Li Lin was different.

Calm, composed, and enigmatic.

In the past, Li Lin would respond immediately to whatever she did or said.

The way he spoke to himself always carried a self-loathing, fawning tone.

Like a dog that dislikes its owner but is powerless to resist, it can only twist its own nature and wag its tail to beg for mercy from its owner.

And now, the dog has become a rock.

It was covered in the dust of the battlefield, and carried the weary yet sharp feeling honed from witnessing life and death.

Wu Tamei's breathing became heavier.

"Where's that sorceress you secretly brought from Shangyang? Why didn't she come with you?" Her voice sharpened, carrying a hint of urgent sarcasm.

"What kind of evil magic did she use to help you win? Was it the curse of the Celestial Venerable Qingbao? Or a forbidden technique from the Underworld Dragon Palace?"

Li Lin was initially feeling uneasy.

But when the other person brought up the topic of the battlefield, he suddenly stopped panicking.

His tense cheekbones relaxed, like an old monk in deep meditation, completely shutting out his "fiancée".

In matters of war, deserters are not qualified to judge victors.

"Do you think you're so great?" Wu Tamei's voice rose a little higher, carrying an impatience that she herself couldn't quite explain.

"After winning a few battles, killing my maid, and sitting in my chair issuing orders, you think you're qualified to be on equal footing with the Dragonborn!"

In the dimly lit room, only her own voice echoed.

It feels absurd, like arguing with a wall.

The wall remained unmoved; only the words he threw out kept coming back at him, and he grew angrier with each word.

Wu Tamei remained silent for a few moments, as if making some kind of decision.

Her tone suddenly turned somber and oppressive.

"Others may not know, but I, as a member of the Wu family, know it all too well," she said, emphasizing each word.

"You are not a military envoy at all. The real military envoy is someone else."

Li Lin's eyelids twitched.

His silence doesn't mean he wasn't listening.

In fact, he listened very carefully, afraid of missing any information that would help him better portray "Li Lin, the young master of Nanli".

"If others knew you weren't a military governor and didn't hold the supreme command, do you think anyone would still support you? Would they still fight for you?"

Wu Tamei began to sneer.

"As long as you admit that all the credit for the battle belongs to me—repelling the ogres, guarding the narrow passage, and intercepting the giant beasts—it was all orchestrated by me behind the scenes, and you were just a front for delivering messages."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "I will temporarily waive the charge against you for killing my maid, and before we reclaim Nanli, I will temporarily join your ranks and co-govern the army with you."

As soon as she said it, she suddenly realized that her conditions might have been too good.

Co-governance of the military?

And Li Lin?

Silence fell upon both sides of the screen.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea is neither long nor short, but it's enough to exhaust a lifetime's patience.

The lamp on the bronze lampstand suddenly lit up again, and the door latch clicked as it was loosened.

Li Lin stood up steadily and walked towards the door.

Before leaving, driven by some emotion he couldn't quite explain, he turned to the person behind the screen and said:

"I am the Military Commissioner of Nanli."

"I will take back Nanli, just as my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and countless generations of my ancestors have done."

"Don't block my way, Wu Tamei."

After saying that, the door slammed shut.

Only when the footsteps outside gradually faded away did the people in the room suddenly wake up.

Bang!

With a loud bang, the screen was shattered by a punch, the sound of tearing silk echoing in the small room, and fragments scattered like fallen leaves tumbling in the autumn wind.

Yang Longyi's eyes, burning with orange-red flames of anger, were fixed on the direction Li Lin had left in.

-----------------

Li Lin's steps were a little shaky; he wanted to quicken his pace, but he didn't want to show weakness in front of Chu Yao.

Damn it.

What were you saying just now?

What if that woman comes out and beats me up?

To make a move in someone else's Dragon Abyss is simply courting death.

He kept a straight face and forced himself to walk slowly and deliberately from the corridor to the outer room.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the other party hadn't rushed out, his back was soaked with sweat.

After calming down, Li Lin began to think about the secret that Wu Tamei had revealed in the conversation—that he might not be the rightful successor to the Southern Li Military Commissioner.

If this intelligence is true, then the original owner's seemingly mediocre "military commissioner" is likely just a smokescreen to conceal the true successor.

However, there is one thing that doesn't make sense in this guess: why would the Dragon Palace, which was personally bestowed by the Dragon Emperor, be on him?

Was Wu Tamei lying, or was there another reason?

These matters cannot be investigated in the desolate wilderness. At least we will have to wait until we reach Nangao to find the clansmen and relatives scattered there and gradually verify the facts.

Upon returning to the Red Pavilion with Chu Yao, Tang Zhi immediately greeted them: "Steward, young lady, you're back!"

Li Lin remained silent, his lips pressed into a thin line, his face etched with a gloomy coldness.

Tangzhi cleverly shut her mouth, obediently stepped aside, and dared not say another word.

"Steward Li, why don't you wait here a little longer until the warehouse has finished inventorying the equipment, and then return to the camp with us?" Chu Yao asked in a normal tone.

"No need, just send it over as soon as possible." After saying that, Li Lin walked towards the door he came from, clearly showing that he had lost all patience with Qingluan Tower.

Chu Yao glanced at Wu Tamei's room out of the corner of her eye and sighed inwardly.

He took out a dark red brocade pouch, a magical artifact.

"This brocade pouch is the generous gift that was promised to be given to Steward Li."

Li Lin took the brocade pouch, and with a slight thought, examined it. Inside, there were thirty-three jade slips containing cultivation techniques.

"This is?"

"The Earth-Rank Low-Grade 'Immovable Profound Soul Technique'," Chu Yao replied, "is the most suitable cultivation method for soldiers equipped with Profound Soul Armor. Those who master it become indestructible and as immovable as a mountain."

Memories of martial arts practice stirred in Li Lin's mind.

He had actually read this technique in his master's unlocked library.

It's not a particularly profound lineage, far inferior to the Heavenly Rank techniques created by the master and many other Shangyang martial artists. Its only advantage is its low entry barrier.

Anyone with a solid foundation can cultivate this technique. No special aptitude or innate talent is required. By taking one step at a time and working steadily, one can achieve mastery, at least reaching the "External Strength" realm.

However, while it may not be considered profound, it is still a low-level cultivation technique.

Even the most gifted child from a poor family might never get to read a book in their entire life.

These jade slips should be rubbings of cultivation techniques, belonging to the category of being priceless and unavailable. If we were to insist on a price, they would be worth at least four or five thousand taels of gold.

It deserves the title of "generous gift".

I don't know what this person's relationship is with Wu Tamei, but he's willing to pay such a high price for her.

However, this has nothing to do with Li Lin.

He accepted the brocade pouch, suppressing his resentment, and forced a "thank you."

"Once the rest of the equipment is inventoried, send it to Steward Li's camp," Tangzhi added quietly from the side.

Seeing her cautious and timid demeanor, Li Lin couldn't stay angry.

Why get angry with a child?

He reached out and ruffled Tangzhi's hair again. The little girl visibly relaxed, a slight smile appearing on her pursed lips, and quickly led Li Lin toward the exit.

Long Yuan left Qingluan Tower and returned to his compass carriage.

Li Lin suddenly realized something was wrong.

Why is my head all red?

After a moment of stunned silence, I realized: Holy crap! Enemy attack!

On the system's large map, dozens of red soldier markers were seen moving at high speed from the north to the south.

Before he could even examine the enemy's attributes, he saw two people running towards him from a distance.

"Sir!" He Xu shouted from horseback, "Scouts ahead report! Enemy attack!"

"It's some kind of mobile force, not the Jade Warriors cavalry. They're very fast and came from the official road!" Jian Ping added.

Without wasting words, Li Lin directly ordered one of his personal guards to give up his horse.

"Drive the compass cart to the front and notify Chen Guizhou and the others to prepare for battle."

"You two, take me to the front lines."

He has a large system map and needs to immediately go ahead to find out if the enemy has hidden more reinforcements.

"Uh..." He Xu and Jian Ping exchanged a glance, their expressions a mixture of surprise and embarrassment. "You're the general manager, so it would be better if you stayed in the rear to direct operations."

"I'll go if you tell me to. I have my reasons." Li Lin waved his hand impatiently.

Upon seeing this, the two men bowed and accepted the order.

Horse hooves pounded the dry, cracked sand, kicking up plumes of yellow smoke.

As Li Lin rode his horse, he kept a close eye on the system map, where the movement trajectories of the enemy cavalry cards were constantly being updated.

Their numbers gradually increased, eventually stabilizing at around twenty teams, heading straight for the allied forces that had just emerged from the pass.

However, what particularly annoyed Li Lin was not the enemy attack.

On the system's large map, the vanguard cavalry unit, along with the troop tokens of Commander Hou Rong, are rapidly moving towards the north and south sides.

We are ready for mobile warfare.

However, what should have been dozens of units belonging to the Central Guard Army were crammed together in a camp somewhere in the middle of the front of the column.

It's been half a day, and it hasn't moved at all.

This is outrageous!

Craving purple eggs?!

He turned and yelled at He Xu beside him, "What's wrong with your Central Guard?"

He Xu thought he had used some kind of surveying artifact, wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and said with a helpless and embarrassed expression, "It was...it was General Xinqi."

"She's disciplining a few troublemakers, the others—"

He carefully considered his words, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"As for the specifics, well, you'd better go and see for yourself."

What are you stirring up?

Could it be that Xinqi's methods were too cruel and provoked public outrage?

His spirits plummeted once again.

When the three arrived at the camp where the Central Guard troops were clustered, Li Lin had already mentally rehearsed several worst-case scenarios.

"May wealth and fortune come!" he shouted.

The earth trembled.

Once they emerged from the pass, the terrain transitioned from desert to hills, and everyone was standing on solid yellow earth.

Two majestic stone lions, like bulldozers equipped with Ferrari engines, hopped and skipped over to Li Lin.

The earthquake caused the soldiers of the Central Guard Battalion, who had been cheering and full of energy, to scramble to hide, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

Li Lin rode the black lion "Laifu" directly into the camp.

Then he froze.

In the open space in the center of the camp, Xin Qi was seen stripped down to only a bra and a pair of shorts.

She was tall enough to be considered robust among women, only slightly thinner than most male officers, with skin as white as snow, covered by the blood-red aura drawn by her martial arts, making her appear even more delicate.

Her well-developed muscles did not affect her slender and voluptuous figure at all.

She was currently beating five shirtless male officers, and there were many other people lying around her.

They were all covered in blood, panting heavily with their heads up.

But everyone had a bright smile on their face.

It's as if being beaten up is some kind of great thing.

Li Lin's vision went black.

"Damn it! The rear guard is a bunch of vermin! The central guard is a bunch of lecherous insects!"

"Can this coalition ever recover?!"