Chapter 1413: Chapter 1413 - 1398: Dancing on the Knife’s Edge

The Military Law of Great Zhou is extremely strict, especially regarding the control of powerful military armory, which has exceedingly rigid regulations.

For ordinary military armory such as Wind-Fire Crossbows, standard Spirit Armor, and Soul Armor, you can claim them as battle damage and scrapped, simply needing a joint Seal from the Military Sima, a captain, and the user to acknowledge the damage.

However, for massive weapons like the Flame Spirit Burst Demon Crossbow and the Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow, the regulations differ.

Especially for the Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow, the control by Great Zhou is so strict that it could be considered extreme.

From production to distribution to declaring damage and scrapping, the procedure is extremely strict.

For example, if a Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow is damaged, you must submit the remains when reporting it to get it acknowledged.

Usually, this procedure is overlooked only if the entire unit is annihilated.

However, even if the entire unit perishes, according to the military law during war, there is still a stringent military command for each level of commanding officer — before dying, you must destroy all controlled military armory, or it will implicate your descendants.

The regulations are strict, but if you find a way, there are still loopholes. Otherwise, Ye Zhen would not have been able to procure a considerable number of Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbows from the secret armory of Luoyi’s Prince!

Today, when Chen Keping had a damaged Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow stolen by an Advanced Demon Clan member, it was a grave offense in Great Zhou.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Keping also had means to cope with it. After all, it was merely wreckage; with a bit more wreckage, piecing together one is not easy for many to recognize.

But the problem is, today this incident happened right in front of Ye Zhen, this Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy.

At the first moment, Chen Keping knew something was going to go wrong!

This affair today, I’m afraid, cannot end easily!

If Ye Zhen reports this, he either dies or gets severely punished.

At the instant his face turned ashen, a murderous intent surged within Chen Keping’s eyes!

In that moment, Chen Keping even had an impulse to completely slaughter Ye Zhen’s army across.

But upon seeing the chaotic state of the border troops, Chen Keping’s expression became deeply bitter.

If it weren’t for the Blood Demon causing chaos earlier, annihilating Ye Zhen’s troops was just a matter of higher or lower cost.

But now, a formidable Blood Demon directly killed over thirty thousand of his men, with nearly ten thousand injured.

Not just causing chaotic formations, the morale also plummeted to the extreme!

Even if he barely managed to organize the troops, perhaps they could defeat Ye Zhen’s forces, but only defeat, not annihilate!

Since it’s impossible to annihilate them, there’s no point in proceeding with this!

"Chase them! Each Captain leads their troops into the mountains to hunt the Blood Demon; don’t let it escape!" Chen Keping roared.

After the initial chaos subsided, the officers under Chen Keping began to tidy up their fellow soldiers’ bodies and set out towards the mountains in batches.

As he left, Chen Keping glared fiercely at Ye Zhen.

It can only be said, this person with the surname Ye is quite unlucky!

Seeing that over seven hundred thousand military merits were about to be in hand, unexpectedly, a Blood Demon intervened out of nowhere, making Chen Keping furious!

Over seven hundred thousand military merits; handled well, with his current rank, at the very least, he could’ve gotten a third-class Earl!

Unfortunately, it didn’t succeed and led to a big trouble!

"Grand Marshal Chen, regarding today’s events, I will report truthfully to the Western Patrol Office of the Heavenly Patrol Department. Please, Grand Marshal Chen, be prepared to explain!" Ye Zhen cupped his hands and smiled from afar.

Chen Keping did not say a word and turned away.

Nevertheless, listening to Ye Zhen’s words, he was inexplicably certain inside.

Due to his connections with the West Patrol Office, this matter will surely be suppressed as long as he hunts down the Blood Demon. Regardless of retrieving that Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow or not, the matter will be absolutely suppressed.

"You with the surname Ye, just wait. Once this storm passes, I’ll ensure you suffer!" Chen Keping clenched his fists tightly!

"Sir, if this matter is only reported to the Western Patrol Office, it’s likely to be minimized or dismissed! Considering his relationship with the Western Patrol Office, this case will surely be downplayed." Liuu Feng leaned forward and stated.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhen glanced sidelong at Liu Feng, "Do you think that’s possible?"

"This Chen Keping sees us as enemies and commands a two hundred thousand strong army. Such a great opportunity, if I can’t take advantage of it, then being this Wind Patrol Envoy is all for naught!"

With a slight move of his Divine Sense, Ye Zhen had prepared a Jade Scroll accusing Pingyi Border Defense Camp Commander Chen Keping of negligence to seize credit, carelessly allowing Demon Clan invasion, and losing the wreckage of a Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow.

This Jade Scroll, made in duplicate, was sealed with Ye Zhen’s private seal, the High Viscount of North Sea’s Seal, and the Seal of the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy of the Heavenly Patrol Department.

"Dispatch to the Secret Overseer of Luoyi and the Headquarters of the Heavenly Patrol Department!" Ye Zhen commanded.

As a peg specifically arranged by Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, besides Hee Ming’s methods, Ye Zhen also holds the privilege to directly report and has secret communication channels with Luoyi.

Assistance from Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu is also inevitable.

In front of Ye Zhen, Fengg Jiumo and Liuf Feng sent these two Jade Scrolls with attached Spirit Shadows back using a small Teleportation Formation.

"Sir, delivering this secret report to Luoyi requires more than three transfers. The fastest it can be received in Luoyi is after an hour!" Fengg Jiumo replied.

"An hour, very well, deliver this report to the Heavenly Patrol Department Western Patrol Office in two hours!"

As the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy affiliated with the Western Patrol, this report was necessary, but it was different from the Jade Scroll directly sent to Luoyi.

The Jade Scroll sent directly to Luoyi was extremely impassioned, whereas the one sent to the West Patrol Office was merely a narrative.

As Ye Zhen expected, two hours later, within half a quarter of an hour after Ye Zhen sent the report to the West Patrol Office, the West Patrol Office sent back a document.

The document said that there was another hidden agenda to this matter, related to another plan of theirs at the West Patrol Office, and acting on one’s own might ruin their plan, for which Ye Zhen couldn’t bear the consequences.

Regarding these words, Ye Zhen could only say that the Commander Chen Keping of the Pingyi Border Defense Camp and the West Patrol Office were really in cahoots, and Ye Zhen would be a fool to believe them.

The Demon Marshal’s Avatar was entirely orchestrated by Ye Zhen himself, how could they have any big plan.

Only half an hour after receiving the document from the West Patrol Office, Ye Zhen received successive decrees from Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, and they were pretty much as Ye Zhen had expected.

Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long put in so much effort and even issued a Secret Decree to protect Ye Zhen’s life, all to plant a nail inside the West Patrol.

Now that Ye Zhen had provided such a good reason, as long as Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long’s head wasn’t kicked by a donkey, he would surely seize the opportunity to trim the wings of the West Patrol.

Undoubtedly, this Pingyi Border Defense Camp counted as the wings of the West Patrol’s Xio Qiangu.

Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long’s decree was simple and brutal, ordering Ye Zhen to arrest Chen Keping on the spot and then escort him to Luoyi for trial!

The other generals at all levels of the Pingyi Border Defense Camp were to guard the camp and await orders!

This Imperial Decree came very timely, but for Ye Zhen right now, it was overwhelming.

Ye Zhen held a gigantic bomb in his hands—the Dragon Prince Ao Zheng of the Blue-scaled Dragon Palace!

The ultimate result of this gigantic bomb was bound to cause the Blue-scaled Dragon King to go berserk, as Dragon Prince Ao Zheng was the Blue-scaled Dragon King’s only sapling in his ten thousand-acre domain.

This issue required extreme caution from Ye Zhen!

Since imprisoning the Divine Soul of Dragon Prince Ao Zheng, Ye Zhen knew he was dancing on the edge of a knife, with any misstep leading to total ruin, demanding his utmost focus to handle it.

However, the Emperor’s Imperial Decree must be carried out, especially in the case of the malignant tumor Chen Keping, who needed to be eradicated as soon as possible.

This time, Ye Zhen unexpectedly created a huge problem for Chen Keping using the Demon Marshal’s Avatar, and missing this chance would make dealing with Chen Keping much more difficult in the future.

"Niu Er, where is Chen Keping’s army currently?" Ye Zhen asked.

Niu Er stepped out from a shadowy corner, "Reporting, sir, Chen Keping has committed over two-thirds of the Border Defense Camp’s force into a canyon on Cow Heart Mountain, supposedly because they discovered signs of the Demon Clan there!"

"Signs of the Demon Clan?"

A cold smile curled up at the corner of Ye Zhen’s mouth, for the Demon Marshal’s Avatar was presently in Ye Zhen’s Mirage Dragon Pearl, so how could there be any signs of the Demon Clan? It was merely a fabricated Daoist School trick.

"Keep a close watch; inform me immediately when Chen Keping returns to the camp!" Ye Zhen commanded.

"Tang Biao, have the army break camp and return to their respective posts, maintaining strict vigilance!"

"Additionally, station both the First Army and Third Army in the County City of North Sea, and from now on, keep the city’s Grand Formation active round-the-clock."

......

After issuing a series of orders, the County of North Sea, fully under Ye Zhen’s control, began operating like a precise machine, with all sorts of information continuously converging to Ye Zhen.

"Sir, news just came from the Pingyi Border Defense Camp that they have slain the Blood Demon who wreaked havoc that day and have recovered the fragments of the Sky-Breaking Dragon-Slaying Crossbow!" one day later, Niu Er appeared silently behind Ye Zhen, "Currently, the large army of the Pingyi Border Defense Camp is gradually returning to the camp, and Chen Keping is also on the way back to the camp!"

"Excellent!"

Ye Zhen nodded, "Liu Feng, Fengg Jiumo, gather your men, openly display the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy’s insignia, and follow me straight to the Pingyi Border Defense Camp to apprehend people!" Ye Zhen commanded.

"Yes!"

The faces of Fengg Jiumo and Liu Feng suddenly turned immensely excited; they were eager to recover from the indignity suffered yesterday, and personally capturing Chen Keping would definitely vent a lot of pent-up anger!

Almost simultaneously with Ye Zhen’s departure towards the Pingyi Border Defense Camp, at a large lake in the County of North Sea, the Water Scorpion General Yin Quan and Officer Yub, facing the ten-thousand strong Water Demon Army, wore expressions of deep sorrow!

"General Yin, fifty thousand troops have been utterly defeated by them; worst of all, four Realm King Realm Tribunors have died tragically! With our current manpower, it’s absolutely impossible to reclaim His Highness, the Crown Prince!" Officer Yub said.

Yin Quan was so anxious that blisters were forming on his mouth, "Then tell me, if this won’t work, and that won’t work, what should we do?"

"General Yin, this issue has exceeded what we can handle. The immediate task is to notify the Dragon King; only the Dragon King can rescue the Crown Prince in the shortest time!"

"But...."

"General Yin, I understand your concern, but this battle’s failure isn’t due to lack of valor. Delaying the Crown Prince’s rescue would be a grave sin!" Officer Yub said.

The Water Scorpion General’s expression shook, and he immediately made a decision, "Someone, bring me the Mother-child Magic Conch!"