Chapter 27
“Councilor Shen, the three-month deadline is up. I hope you can keep your promise and not make things difficult for everyone.”
The Fifth Council Elder appeared from nowhere, blocking Shen Zexi’s path and speaking with schadenfreude. Shen Zexi didn’t speak; she only gave the Fifth Council Elder a standard smile and walked past him. Her long black hair was like waves on the sea, dangerous and charming.
Their confrontation lasted only a moment. In the council building behind them, someone was quietly watching this scene.
“This time we finally got rid of Shen Zhengtu. Next, it’s time to divide the Ninth Legion. I’m saying it now: I want the Tiger Ben Team!” someone said impatiently.
The other councilors wearing identical silver-white councilor robes fell silent. Everyone’s eyes looked toward the person who had spoken first. There was disdain, anger, and contempt…
“Councilor He Aige, have you forgotten? Shen Zhengtu is entering the Abyss of Blood, but his eldest son is still in the military.”
It was almost like saying outright: Councilor He Aige, isn’t your way of ‘eating’ a bit too ugly? They still had a son there; to snatch it so blatantly—weren’t you afraid the public would drown you in their spit? Although everyone standing here wanted to eat the choice morsel that was the Ninth Legion, they wouldn’t ask for it so blatantly. After all, everyone wanted to save face.
He Aige laughed awkwardly, grumbling in his heart. Everyone here was “begging for food”; who was more noble than the other?
“No rush. As long as Shen Zhengtu falls, the Ninth Legion will be a heap of loose sand and won’t be able to stir up any waves.”
“Exactly! No matter how strong his children are, they’re still just a few kids and can’t compare to experienced generals. As long as we divide the Shen family’s power and dismantle the Shen family army, won’t we be the ones to have the final say on the Ninth Legion’s future?”
“A commoner with no foundation and no family power—trying to fight us clans is simply wishful thinking!”
“Hahaha…”
Above the floating buildings, the intersecting lights reflected the shadows on the ground, twisted and distorted like parasitic vines on a large tree, constantly draining the life from the “tree” that was the Federation. No one knew on which day this large tree would rot and fall completely.
The argument between Shen Zexi and the Fifth Council Elder at the council building quickly reached the ears of everyone who needed to know. Several commanders and a group of generals from the Ninth Legion were pacing back and forth in the Shen family’s guest hall, glancing toward the door from time to time. Although the servants didn’t have the same access to information as the big shots, there were plenty of rumors. They had heard some gossip about the Shen family, and their movements when serving tea were filled with caution, fearing these hot-tempered generals would tear them apart in a fit of rage.
As soon as Shen Zexi reached the guest hall, she was surrounded by the generals.
“Second Miss, what should we do now? The council is determined to send the Marshal to the Abyss of Blood. We all know that place—once you go in, there’s no turning back. The Marshal can’t go in! If he goes in, our group of old brothers will be scattered!”
“It’s bad enough those ‘gentlemen’ in the council pushed the Marshal out to block the Zerg because they were afraid of death, but now they won’t even give him his only bit of dignity. They are literally digging out the foundation of our Ninth Legion!”
“Fuck those bullshit Federation councilors…”
“How are you talking!”
A large palm slapped that dark-faced sturdy man’s back. Commander Asike quickly gave Shen Zexi an apologetic smile: “Second Miss, I’m sorry. They’re all a bunch of rough men; their mouths don’t have a filter.”
Shen Zexi shook her head to indicate it was fine. The generals standing here were basically all personally promoted by Marshal Shen; their loyalty to him was beyond doubt. Actually, there were fewer than ten generals left standing here. After the Ninth Legion’s battle with the Zerg, its vitality was heavily damaged. Many high-level officers were either dead or had gone mad and been sent to the Abyss of Blood to wait for death. The Ninth Legion was currently being held up by Commander Asike alone.
Without Marshal Shen as their backbone, the morale of the Ninth Legion had been very low. Originally, everyone held a trace of hope—as long as Marshal Shen’s bloodline riot symptoms could be controlled, then there was hope for everything. However, it was only their wishful thinking. The Marshal still had to be sent to the Abyss of Blood.
Originally, they had intended to stay calm and not come to see the Second Miss to avoid causing her trouble or letting the council catch any weak points. But hearing that the Marshal was to be sent to the Abyss of Blood, they could no longer sit still. Without Marshal Shen, they were like a group of rootless duckweed, filled with anxiety and confusion about the future.
As the highest commander of the Legion now, Asike looked around and spoke in a deep voice to soothe them: “No matter what, the Ninth Legion cannot fall into the hands of those jackals. The only thing to do now is to do our best to cultivate the Eldest Young Master. As long as the Eldest Young Master rises, our Ninth Legion won’t scatter.”
With this “chicken blood” boost, the listless generals were revived. That’s right, they still had the Eldest Young Master! The Eldest Young Master’s bloodline was also at the Fierce Beast level; in terms of strength, he was not inferior to Marshal Shen in his youth, especially since the Eldest Young Master had grown up in the military. With someone they knew well leading the Ninth Legion, the soldiers wouldn’t panic and could rebuild morale. The son would inherit the father’s business—it had been that way since ancient times.
Just as everyone was rubbing their hands together, preparing to assist the Eldest Young Master and reorganize the Shen family army, someone poured a bucket of cold water over them.
“But the Eldest Young Master was sent to a border planet. Currently, there is internal chaos on that planet, and it won’t be settled for a year or two. This is clearly a trap. As long as there is no order from the Chief Executive, the Eldest Young Master probably won’t be able to transfer back from the border planet in his lifetime. After a year or two, it’s hard to say if the Ninth Legion will even still have a Shen family army.”
When the Eldest Young Master was transferred to the border planet, it was ostensibly for tempering. In reality, everyone was afraid the Shen family would produce another Marshal Shen. The council was suppressing the Eldest Young Master, specifically sending him to a remote star system with no achievements to be a minor border general. Otherwise, with the Eldest Young Master’s strength, he would have long since ceased to be confined to the rank of Lieutenant General.
The guest hall fell silent again. Shen Zexi sat in her seat quietly drinking tea. There was no trace of worry on her face; she was as leisurely as an outsider.
“Second Miss, do you have some way to get the Eldest Young Master out?” Asike asked, his eyes lighting up as he saw Shen Zexi’s calm demeanor.
The other generals’ eyes also shone as they looked toward Shen Zexi. They had almost forgotten—this was the one who had mingled her way into a councilor position at a young age, an existence with near-demonic wisdom. Aside from the ten Great Elders of the council, her words carried the most weight. Many times, the orders issued by Marshal Shen had a faint shadow of Shen Zexi behind them. They didn’t realize that after something happened to Marshal Shen, they would instinctively come to the Shen house to find Shen Zexi.
Shen Zexi put down her teacup, the white porcelain bowl and saucer clinking lightly. The Shen family had come up from the bottom of Blue Star; when they had nothing else to do, they would brew a cup of tea. Even Shen Zexi, who hadn’t grown up on Blue Star, was used to drinking tea. The fragrant tea water slid down her throat, and her gloomy mood from the day improved significantly.
“Uncles and Elders, please don’t be in a hurry. My brother lacks experience and is young; he simply can’t suppress those old foxes. The Ninth Legion should still be handed over to someone more suitable to command it.”
Everyone looked at each other, not understanding the meaning behind her words. Commander Asike spoke bluntly: “Second Miss, you must be joking. This joke isn’t funny at all. We are already in a crisis.”
“Asike, you’re still so flighty.”
A resonant and steady voice came. Hearing the familiar voice, Asike’s body trembled as he turned in disbelief toward the person coming in. The other generals were no better; they all opened their mouths wide, faces full of shock.
The newcomer was tall, estimated to be over 1.9 meters. His bulging muscles almost burst the dark blue military uniform. His rugged features and golden pupils contained a soul-stirring pressure. He walked with large strides, a murderous aura rushing forward, making people’s legs tremble involuntarily.
“Mar… Marshal?!” “Heavens, it really is the Marshal!” “Marshal, you’re better? That’s wonderful! I thought I’d never see you again in this life. Now our Ninth Legion won’t be bullied anymore, waah…” “Marshal, you don’t know—since we learned your illness couldn’t be cured, the other Legions couldn’t wait to shit on our heads…”
The generals were all incredibly excited, tears and snot all heading toward Marshal Shen. Marshal Shen had no choice but to give each of them a punch to knock them away and save his endangered clothes.
“Alright, what does a bunch of grown men look like crying and wailing? Your niece is still here—don’t you want your face?”
Seeing the fire turn toward her, Shen Zexi picked up her teacup again and opened her star-computer to process files, pretending she hadn’t heard.
“Marshal, we’re just happy!” a man with a refined face and a General’s crest on his shoulders explained, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes.
The others nodded in unison. That’s right, they were excited. The Ninth Legion finally didn’t have to be dismantled and didn’t have to look at others’ faces. These past few months, the soldiers of the Ninth Legion lacked confidence in front of soldiers from other Legions. When they were bullied, they could only endure it. Why? Because the others had someone backing them up. Now it was fine—the Marshal was okay, and they could also straighten their backs.
Asike returned to his senses from the massive surprise. Suddenly thinking of the Marshal’s injuries, he asked hesitantly: “Marshal, the healers said your injuries were irreversible. How could this be?”
“Exactly, Marshal—the Broodmother has a massive impact on a beastman’s bloodline. Some of our old partners were just affected and either died or were injured and sent to the Abyss of Blood. By now they’re probably already…” That general began to sob again as he spoke.
Having seen their old partners sent to the Abyss of Blood one by one, the group of burly men all had red eyes. If the Marshal had a healing potion, could those old partners return? Everyone looked at Marshal Shen with expectant eyes.
Shen Zexi instinctively gripped her white porcelain cup, staring fixedly at Marshal Shen. Time seemed to freeze in this moment.
“Actually, the Broodmother didn’t cause me fatal damage.” Marshal Shen smiled wretchedly, the rust-like bitterness of the world overflowing from his cracked lips.
The generals looked disappointed. Shen Zexi, however, let out a sigh of relief. Do not blame her for being cold-blooded, watching the uncles who had taken care of her since childhood die. But Shen Lin was her brother. He would share a corner of his blanket with her when she was cold, anxiously bring her sweet soup when she was thirsty, and every day when she returned home, she had to check for a small gift from the cub… Her heart was full of her brother; how could she bear to hurt him?
Back then, Shen Zexi had even given up on her own father just to avoid exposing the cub’s specialty. She didn’t want her father to expose the cub, and her mind rapidly thought of how to respond to whatever her father would say next. Fortunately, her father didn’t expose the cub.
Shen Zexi hid the killing intent in her eyes and placed the teacup on the table. Marshal Shen quietly glanced at the crack on the white porcelain cup but didn’t speak.
Asike and the others were completely unaware that they had just walked through the edge of life and death, and were currently still asking in confusion: “Then was the Marshal doing this on purpose? Why?”
“What else could it be for? Of course it was to guard against those ‘gentlemen’ in the council and the Chief Executive behind them. To say who among those people wanted the Marshal dead—I can’t think of anyone else but that narrow-minded Chief Executive.”
“I agree. The Marshal’s power seriously affected the Chief Executive’s position. He was afraid, so he started using underhanded tricks. See, he dragged our Marshal out to block the Zerg, and once things settled and the Marshal fell, he stepped out to consolidate his position. If the Marshal didn’t do this, the Chief Executive would have used other means. This was a death trap.”
“Back then, if the Marshal hadn’t been uninterested in the Chief Executive’s position, how could he have had a turn?!”
As said before, these generals were loyal to Marshal Shen. Whatever Marshal Shen said, they wouldn’t question. Instead, they would automatically fill in the subsequent loopholes. Just like that, everyone’s attention shifted to the Chief Executive. They spoke as harshly as they could. The Federation Chief Executive back then was just a small councilor with no power or influence. If he hadn’t sought help from the Marshal, how could he have sat in that position so smoothly? Now that he was firmly in place, he started getting rid of those who had helped him.
The Chief Executive was a natural wielder of power; once he sat in a high position, he began to consolidate his authority. It was just that no one expected him to target Marshal Shen first, playing a good hand terribly.
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