It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"Please ask the Third Master Yunyang to return to Yuxi City."

The troops of Yuxi City all took a step forward with their footsteps in unison. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, shining on their dark armor. Although they were not many in number, they had an aura as sharp as a blade.

These people were not new troops recruited by Yuxi City, but the elite who survived under Luger's command.

Alayya also took a step forward, put one hand on the hilt of the long sword [Youlong], and looked at Li Neng expressionlessly.

Li Neng shouted loudly to the recruited masters:

"If you don't do it now, when will you? That girl named Alayya once spoke rudely to my eldest brother Liyi. If you kill her, my eldest brother will reward you handsomely—"

The masters who had originally shown little interest suddenly began to get excited again.

Li Yi is the prince of Yunyang, so the things he took out are naturally not ordinary items.

Moreover, catching the eye of Prince Yunyang means that their future will be even brighter.

The bearded man who had threatened before took a few steps forward with a big knife, pointed the tip of the knife at Alayya, and laughed:

"What a genius swordsman! He's nothing but a vase in my opinion! He's also a sixth-level perfectionist. I want to see..."

Before he finished speaking, his smile suddenly froze on his face.

The slight chill on his neck made him hold back the words he was about to say. He lowered his head and found that the sword was already against his neck. Alayya, who had been in front of him at some point, looked at him calmly, raised her hand, and the long sword slashed across his throat, and the hot blood spilled into the blue sky.

Alayya shook off the blood on the sword. At the same time, the soldiers from Yuxi City who were charging passed by her one after another, bringing up a gust of wind that made her sleeves flutter in the wind.

On July 22, 333, Li Neng was defeated outside Yuxi City and was captured on the spot and imprisoned.

Only five days had passed since he had raised his army with great vigor and launched a massive attack on Yuxi City.

26. A new look

When Selaginella woke up, he stared at the ceiling for a long time without reacting.

Although he had never died before, he felt that the world after death should not be like this. When he was a child, he planned to follow his father to the battlefield, but his father grabbed him by the collar and threw him back into the bed, scolding him:

——"You haven't even fully grown your hair yet, what's the point of fighting a war? Do you think fighting is cool? Remember, you can do anything in this life, don't be a small-time officer like me. Not only can you not make any money, but every time you close your eyes, ghosts will come to you to take your life, and even if you die, you will go to hell!"

Fearing that he hadn't heard clearly, the middle-aged man in armor added:

——"Do you know what hell is? It is a world made up of flesh, blood, bones, and karmic fire. What awaits you there is endless torment, and it will never stop!"

Selaginella covered his head with his hands, feeling a splitting headache. Memories from many years ago kept surfacing in his mind.

He tried his best to familiarize himself with the scenery in front of him. It was not as horrible as his father had described, but full of a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. He knew that he was not dead yet, but he did not know where he was, so he turned over and sat up, trying to get out of bed. This process made some noises, and a girl ran over from outside the room, wiping her hands with an apron.

"Hey, you're awake."

These were her first words.

"You're quite capable. You managed to wake up even after being hit on the head with a hammer by one of our soldiers."

This was her second sentence.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Tira, and I'm Sister Thirteen's maid. Sister Thirteen asked me to look after you and take you to see her when you wake up. But Sister Thirteen is in a meeting now, so you have to wait for a while."

After Tira finished speaking, he scratched his head and added embarrassedly:

"Oh, I forgot to ask if you feel any discomfort elsewhere. If so, I'll call the doctor for you."

Selaginella stared at her blankly, and after a moment asked:

"I'm a little confused... Do you know who I am? I'm the enemy general, and it would be more appropriate for me to stay in prison now."

Tira laughed and replied:

"That's a good idea, but prison is not a place you can stay. The person living in there now is the Third Young Master of Yunyang. What will it look like if you live there? Our city lord said that if you can pry open the foundation of the wall, you can treat him as your own before you do so."

It took Selaginella some time to figure out what she was talking about with his aching head, and he couldn't help laughing. He stood up, feeling that there was no bone in his body that didn't hurt, but he still endured the pain and walked in front of Tira. He was much taller than Tira, and he was still very oppressive when he stood in front of her.

"Are there any soldiers who followed me still alive?"

He asked this question, but in fact he no longer had any hope.

Tira tilted his head in confusion, not knowing why his tone was so low, and answered as if it was a matter of course:

"Most of them are alive, right? They surrendered right after you fell. Sister Thirteen didn't kill the surrendered soldiers, so why would she make things difficult for them? Do you want to go see them? They are worried about you too... How about this, let's go now. I'll take you over to take a look. It's not far away."

On this day, Selaginella entered the camp of Yuxi City for the first time.

What appeared before him was a scene he had only seen in books. The wounded soldiers were lying in bed recovering from their injuries while talking about the results of this battle with great relish. Even the seriously injured were effectively treated. Some soldiers became disabled and had to retire from the army. They looked obviously depressed. Many of their comrades surrounded them to comfort them. Finally, a group of people sang the military song of Yuxi City together.

——"Unity is strength!"

Almost everyone can sing this military song that Lid first wrote for them. Most soldiers cannot appreciate elegant music, so they think singing it this way is quite to their liking. The simple lyrics and catchy tune make them remember it unconsciously after listening to it twice.

There were also soldiers training under the scorching sun, practicing the basic gun formation meticulously. In the hot summer, Selaginella was trembling and sweating, because he found that the momentum of this army had risen again compared to before. An army that can fight is scary enough in itself, but what's even scarier is that they have not been infected with the habits of those sneaky soldiers. In the absence of supervision, the soldiers are fully committed to every move, and they don't even notice that Selaginella is staring at them for a long time.

Next, Selaginella met his former subordinates.

Because they followed him to the front line at the beginning, the casualty rate of the soldiers was relatively high. Those who survived were all injured, but after seeing Selaginella, everyone's spirits were still very good, and they couldn't wait to tell him what they saw and heard in the Yuxicheng military camp, and Selaginella smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Resettlement allowances, pensions, various privileges and welfare benefits, and the ability to leave your name on a monument after death for generations to remember. In addition, there are scientific training methods, nutritionally balanced meals, regular training and group activities, and a variety of rewards and promotion channels... These are unheard of for Selaginella.

At this moment, Juanbai finally understood why there was such a light in the eyes of the soldiers of Yuxi City when they were fighting in close combat. It turned out that they only needed to concentrate on training and killing the enemy, and everything else would be taken care of for them.

Selaginella stayed in the military camp until the evening and learned a lot of information in detail. Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he was deeply impressed in his heart. It was not until Fang Shisan returned to the military camp after the meeting that he turned his attention away from this army.

This was his first meeting with Fang Shisan. Before this, he could hardly imagine that such an army was trained by the girl in the wheelchair. Outside the battlefield, Fang Shisan changed into a casual uniform, and Tira carefully helped her push the wheelchair. Fang Shisan leaned back in the chair and said gently to the somewhat reserved Juanbai:

"You must be Selaginella, right? I've heard about your experience from the Anbu. When Lord Cangzhou started his rebellion, your father followed Lord Yunyang to join the royal camp and made many contributions. In the end, he was framed because of jealousy and died in the barracks. He also caused a mutiny. Why were you willing to join Li Neng's army when he was recruiting soldiers?"

Selaginella swallowed a mouthful of saliva and felt his mouth dry.

Fang Shisan had never told any of the soldiers around him about what he said, so he was sure that he had not asked his subordinates about it. In other words, before the war started, Yu Xicheng had already known everything about him, a small school officer.

Thinking of this, Juanbai suddenly understood why the soldiers from Yuxi City on the battlefield were willing to spare his life. It turned out that all of this was part of Yuxi City's plan.

Selaginella hesitated for a moment, then said with a wry smile:

"My father once said, if there are other options, don't join the army."

He paused and continued:

"So there is only one reason why I chose to join the army, that is, there is no other way to go... There is no special reason here. If I don't join the army, I will starve to death immediately. Joining the army can extend my life, so I sold my life to Li Neng at a low price. It's that simple."

27. Take what you want

Regarding Selaginella's past, Fang Shisan had indeed heard reports from the Anbu organization before the war began.

Although the Anbu of Yuxi City cannot reach too far now, Li Neng recruited this group of troops from refugees. At that time, he also held a grand "Ten Selections" ceremony, stipulating that only one person out of every ten people who signed up to join the army could be successfully selected. Such a high-profile activity naturally could not be hidden from the Anbu of Yuxi City, and the news was sent back in advance.

The origins of refugees are actually the most difficult to verify, especially when the troops are urgently needed. It is even more impossible for Li Neng to verify the identities of each soldier one by one. The result is that among the 1,200 people recruited by Li Neng, there are nearly ten traitors planted by Yuxi City. Although ten people among 1,200 people cannot cause any trouble, during the days when this army was stationed in Rivet City for training, they had many ways to secretly pass on the situation of the army. It can be seen that every move of Li Neng's army was seen by Yuxi City.

Lee could not see Selaginella's talent, but the Anbu of Misaijo could.

The members of these Anbu organizations were the ones who were scattered all over the world and were responsible for recruiting talented children to study in Yuxi City. Their skills in recruiting talented children were taught by Lide himself. Although they are not as proficient as Lide, their ability to identify people is not bad. Therefore, Selaginella has long been closely watched by the Anbu organizations of Yuxi City. His life experience was personally investigated by Miss Pingzi, a popular figure in the Anbu. In less than a week, all the information was presented to Shuang, who then relayed it to the top management of Yuxi City.

Li De, the top leader of Yuxi City, personally gave the order: Dig! Dig as hard as you can!

So there is today's scene.

"My father's case is still full of doubts. My mother and I were told that he was suspected of buying off the army and plotting a rebellion. Later, they changed the story and said that he was actually a spy planted in Yunyang by the Lord of Cangzhou. But no matter what, my mother and I watched him leave this home, but we didn't wait for him to come back."

Selaginella's voice was a little low and hoarse.

"My father was executed in the military camp, and my mother and I were also implicated. My family didn't have much money to begin with, and even our ancestral house was taken away by them. My mother and I were exiled to the western part of Yunyang. My mother was dissatisfied and wanted to go and find my father's colleagues to argue. I was afraid that something might happen to her, so I advised her not to go. As a result, she was depressed every day and soon left me."

Fang Shisan didn't say anything, just listened quietly.

He Yue once said that she wanted to save the world from suffering because she was a child who grew up in hardship. Fang Shisan also wanted the world to be more peaceful and happy because she had truly experienced the decline of people's livelihood when she was in Tianxing City. Selaginella's experience does not seem strange in this world. It is so common that the person involved does not have much emotional ups and downs.

Selaginella smiled and said:

"There are no people in the world who really don't care about life and death. They are just free from worries. In the end, I didn't listen to my father's advice and became a soldier. Now I am a prisoner. But because I am the son of a criminal, I have no other way to survive except to sell my life as a commodity to those in need."

After listening to this, Fang Shisan hadn't spoken yet, but Tira, who was pushing the wheelchair behind him, had already spoken:

"Those generals in Yunyang are really nothing."

She paused, pouted and said:

"Humph, you can become a general like this, you are far from Sister Thirteen!"

Fang Shisan smiled lightly, without refutation or agreement. Selaginella observed her expression and found that Tira's praise did not make her look even a little proud. She just smiled innocently, raised her head, and said to Selaginella:

"Actually, after all this talk, you should have guessed what we're thinking. Since we're all risking our lives, I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to get the job with the highest bid?"

Selaginella sat up straight, but soon sighed, crossed his fingers, put them on his forehead, and asked:

"You let me stay in Yuxi City for so many days and even let me go to the military camp. Now that I know so many secrets, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave Yuxi City if I refuse."

Fang Shisan shook his head:

"If you refuse, we will only feel regretful, because if you are forced to stay here, I can't trust you to hand over part of the army to you. Although I hope you don't leak intelligence as much as possible, after Li Neng is captured, Yunyang will probably be fully prepared for the next attack. It doesn't matter whether we expose our current strength early or late."

Fang Shisan smiled and said:

"The Lord City Lord hopes that you will stay here because you recognize the strength and ideals of Yuxi City, rather than being held hostage by us to repay you."

Selaginella sighed, then finally smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying:

"My father told me not to be a general because I can't make any money and I'll always be bullied... But now it seems that getting a job here is my best choice. Besides, I've offended Li Neng, so I can't go back to Yunyang anyway. This is good too, at least I won't die so miserably."

He took a step forward, knelt on one knee in front of Fang Shisan, and said in a deep voice:

"I am the son of the guilty minister Matsuya, and a former school officer. I, Sawaka, am willing to offer my life to the general and the lord of the city. From now on, I will serve you at your side, through life and death, without complaint."

Perhaps he was not used to such scenes. Fang Shisan was silent for a while before he said:

"Please get up."

She sat in a wheelchair, folded her hands naturally, and said to Selaginella:

"The city lord said that no matter what charges Yunyang has framed you for, or what verdicts have been made, Yuxi City will not admit it. You are a general of Yuxi City, and we, Yuxi City, um... will protect you."

These words sounded a little awkward coming from Fang Shisan's mouth, so Juanbai quickly understood that Fang Shisan should have been relaying what Li De said.

He was even more curious about this city lord who had received mixed reviews from the outside world, but before that, he had one more question to ask Fang Shisan:

"Those troops of Li Neng...what are you going to do with them?"

Fang Shisan replied calmly:

"There are 713 people who surrendered this time, and 680 of them are willing to join Yuxi City. These people will be handed over to you for command, and they will usually train with the soldiers of Yuxi City. As for the salary, it will definitely not be the same level as the soldiers of Yuxi City at the beginning, it will only be about 60%. But according to the rules, there will be no deductions in the resettlement fee and pension, so you can rest assured."

Juanbai thought about it for a moment. Although this treatment was worse than that of the regular soldiers of Yuxi City, it was much better than the conditions offered by most of the territories outside. What was even more rare was that from the current situation, there was no phenomenon of eating the soldiers' blood and blood in the army of Yuxi City. The promised salary could actually be paid into the soldiers' pockets, which was very rare.

Selaginella cupped his hands and said sincerely:

"Thank you, General and Lord City Lord, for your trust. I am willing to guarantee with my life that this army will never let you down in the future."

28. I am a newbie and I think Li De is my idol.

Fang Shisan would certainly not be disappointed, she could be said to have won a great victory in this round.

Putting aside the fact that he had tamed the wild Selaginella, Li Neng's army was actually quite good. After all, he had carefully selected these people from a large number of refugees by choosing one out of ten. Their previous poor combat ability was partly because Li Neng was a rather stupid commander, and partly because the soldiers were not well fed and overworked. After these people had rested for a while and then trained according to Fang Shisan's method, they would most likely become an excellent army.

According to the new formation rules of Yuxi City, the nearly 700 people led by Selaginella were named Wangdong Camp.

Fang Shisan talked to Juanbai about some of Yuxi City's next tactical arrangements:

"In fact, there wasn't much suspense about the Li Neng side from the beginning. Whether it was a head-on battle or a desperate defense of the city, we had no reason to lose. The reason we went through such a big detour was to preserve our strength as much as possible and prepare for the next battle."

Selaginella was silent for a moment, then mentioned a name:

"Yunyang Prince Li Yi?"

Fang Shisan nodded and said with a smile:

"If it was just Li Yi, we wouldn't lose. But according to reliable information, this time he has the support of Prince Huai and Prince Qiming, and his strength will increase greatly in the short term. And if nothing unexpected happens, Li Neng's defeat will make him cautious. Yunyang doesn't have many famous generals, but there are many generals who are decent. As long as Li Yi hands over the army to some reliable generals and adopts a relatively conservative offensive method, it will still put us under considerable pressure."

Selaginella murmured:

"But if I'm not mistaken, during my coma, Yuxi City should have taken over the defenseless Rivet City. Rivet City is a bridge connecting the fertile land of Yunyang and the border of the demon clan. The terrain is difficult to defend and easy to attack. With Rivet City, it may not be so easy for Liyi to break in."

"Rivet City is indeed ours."

Fang Shisan did not hide this fact. Lineng's fiefdom originally had five cities. The last time Fang Shisan went east, he took four of them. The only one left was Rivet City, which he failed to capture because of the presence of Lord Yunyang. This time, Lineng tried his best but still failed miserably. Naturally, Rivet City was taken over by Yuxi City.

At present, the sphere of influence of Yuxi City actually includes six cities. If the farms in which the demons have invested with technology are included, it will be even larger.