Heavenly Jewel Change

Shangguan Xue’er nodded gently in agreement.

Only then did Zhou Weiqing turn to leave. However, not long after, both girls soon heard his voice traveling from outside. “Hahaha, I’m going to be a father…”

…

It took another entire day before the clearing of the battlefield was finally complete. All the enemy corpses had been thrown into a massive hole dug far outside the city walls, while the soldiers on their side were brought back into the city for their families to claim. For those without families, they were also buried with military honours.

In terms of pension payments for the bereaved, Zhou Weiqing was extremely generous. Every family with a deceased soldier was given fifty gold coins. This battle had been brutal and cruel indeed, but to the Heavenly Bow Empire and the Peerless Regiment, it was a crucial turning point in history. It was this fight that had truly cemented their place in the Crescent City, properly establishing their foothold in the lands.

Ming Yu and his personal guard were also welcomed into the city. Ming Yu had also taken the initiative to have his men temporarily help take over some of the guard duties on the walls.

…

Governor’s Mansion. Grand Meeting Hall.

Zhou Weiqing’s brow was slightly furrowed as he looked at all his officers before him, all of them still bearing their wounds of battle. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Yan Zhexi before him, saying: “Alright, what are our wounded and death toll numbers?”

Yan Zhexi nodded, the light in his eyes dimming slightly as he said: “Of our three thousand fresh recruits, one thousand seven hundred and sixty two have lost their lives on the battlefield, three hundred and forty one critically injured, and the rest have minor injuries. In the future, those who can still fight… we have barely a thousand left1.”

Hearing Yan Zhexi’s words, everyone drew in a deep cold breath. This was truly the cruelty of war! Of three thousand fresh recruits, all of them were injured, and those out of commission or dead was more than two thirds! This was mostly because of Tian’er’s powerful support and healing on the north gates, where the injury and death toll was the lowest. After all, they had also been the first to get help from Ming Yu. For the south gate where the fighting had been the toughest, out of the thousand fresh recruits, more than eighty five percent had perished.

Zhou Weiqing subconsciously gripped both fists so hard that his bones creaked out loud.

Yan Zhexi continued: “For our Peerless Heavy Cavalry, due to the sheer defensive power of their heavy armour, they are in the best condition. Besides exhaustion, they are pretty much unhurt. As for the five hundred men from the Peerless Regiment First Main Company, two hundred and sixty one have minor injuries, a hundred and three with heavy or critical injuries… and… forty nine dead.”

When Zhou Weiqing heard the words ‘forty nine dead’, he stood up abruptly momentarily, before he fell back in his seat once again helplessly.

His heart was bleeding in pain! Each and every one of his Peerless Regiment soldiers had been painstaking trained and cultivated with so much time, effort and resources. They were truly elites, especially his First Main Company which were the cream of the crop. This time… having a tenth of his Peerless First Main Company perish… although this was a very small percentage compared to the fresh recruits, or even compared to their enemies, but it was truly a massive blow to Zhou Weiqing.

Even in the northern border wars, the Peerless Regiment had rampaged through their enemies without any losses. Yet, this time, almost fifty of his brothers had left the world forever. How could Zhou Weiqing accept it in his heart.

At the side, Lei Zi’s eyes were already red, his aura unstable around him.

‘Weiqing.” Lin TianAo reminded Zhou Weiqing instantly.

Zhou Weiqing took in another deep breath before letting it loose slowly. After he had calmed down, he said: “For our Peerless Regiment brothers, I want their bodies to be escorted back to the ZhongTian Empire for burial. Fallen leaves must return to their roots, let them go home. If they have families, that would be best. Otherwise, invite the ZhongTian Empire to bury them with accolades. Once they have been sent away, we will see them off together with all our brothers.”

As he spoke up to this point, his eyes had also turned red. This battle might be a miracle to any onlooker, but in Zhou Weiqing’s heart, it was also a terrible blow.

This heavy atmosphere lasted for almost fifteen minutes before Zhou Weiqing finally spoke up once more: “Kou Rui, what about the Kalise Empire side?”

Kou Rui stepped forward and said: “The remnants of the Kalise Empire armies have already started retreating this morning. According to our observations, their retreat of wounded and unwounded soldiers was barely twenty five thousand in total. That is to say that more than twenty five thousand of their soldiers had perished in their attack on us. We have indeed made them pay a huge price for this attack.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded, his expression finally easing slightly. His gaze turned to Ming Yu at his side, saying: “Bro Ming, once again I truly thank you for your aid. If not for your timely arrival, although we might not have all perished, our losses would definitely have been far greater, possibly losing the Crescent City as well.”

Ming Yu laughed heartily and said: “To be able to offer fuel in snowy weather2, I am truly honoured. In war, it is inevitable that deaths occur, you should look ahead to the future instead.”

By now, Zhou Weiqing had finally recovered from his emotional turmoil, and he said calmly: “Bro Ming, this time, your presence here… is it under orders from the Fei Li Empire, or is it on your own accord?”

Ming Yu smiled faintly and said: “Do you remember our previous agreement? I have already arranged whatever necessary and tendered my resignation. These men that I have brought are all my personal guards and trusted subordinates. Will Commander Zhou still honour that promise?”

Hearing his words, Zhou Weiqing was delighted. “Of course, of course, that is my greatest wish, how could I not agree. Bro Ming, you have already seen the power of our Peerless Regiment, but what we lack the most is an outstanding general and commander like yourself! No problem at all, I will give up my position. From now on, you will be the commander of the Peerless Regiment.”

Ming Yu started, giving Zhou Weiqing a profound look as he said: “Aren’t you worried I will steal your Peerless Regiment away?”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “As the saying goes ‘If you use a man, don’t suspect him. if you suspect him, don’t use him in the first place.’ As i said previously, I have nothing against your Heavenly Demon Sect. Furthermore, what benefit is there for you to do harm to me? I still remember the terms you asked for clearly. In this matter, cooperating together is definitely a perfect win-win solution. Bro Ming, I trust that you are an intelligent person, so why bother testing me?”

Ming Yu joined him in laughter, saying: “It looks like you are truly the one with great wisdom. Very well, since you trust me that much, I will not say anything else. Leave the commanding and tactics to me. However, the position of Commander, I will not accept the actual position of Commander, I can be your Vice Commander. This Peerless Regiment was set up by you, and every single army troop has its own nature, character, and this is greatly connected to their first commander and his character. It can be said that you are the very soul of the Peerless Regiment. As such, it is imperative that the soul exists.”

Originally, the other officers looked rather anxious when Zhou Weiqing announced he was stepping down from the Commander position. When they heard Ming Yu’s words, they nodded in agreement, their faces relaxing once more.

For Kou Rui, Yan Zhexi and even Zang Lang, those officers who had graduated from the Fei Li Military Academy, all of their eyes were fiery hot. In their hearts, Ming Yu had always been their absolute idol throughout their time in the academy! The Fei Li God General, he was one of the most respected amongst the younger generation. To be under his command, they would definitely learn much from him as well!

Zhou Weiqing said: “Bro Ming, towards our future actions, do you have any suggestions? The main force of our Peerless Regiment should arrive within five to ten days. At that time, even if the Kalise Empire sends an entire Legion against us, I will not be afraid.”

Without hesitation, Ming Yu said: “Expand, recruit, training and rallying.”

A hint of surprise flickered in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes as he said: “Expanding at this time, isn’t it a bit too quick?”

Ming Yu smiled faintly and said: “It is not too soon. On the contrary, the timing is quite perfect. With the Battle of the Crescent City, we have used almost a tenth of the enemy’s numbers to deal them a crushing defeat. Everything else aside, just in terms of reputation and momentum, this will give us a massive advantage, especially since the hearts of the people here are already on our sides. Furthermore, if we consider the Kalise Empire side, in the near future they should not be able to launch any further attacks. If my estimations are correct, they have only two possible ways to deal with us.”

“Firstly, due to your outstanding and prominent performance in this battle, the Kalise Empire will definitely know that if they do not finish you off first, any future battles will still result in a great loss to them. As such, before they launch another such major attacks, not only do they have to gather an army even greater than this time, they also need to gather a bigger, and stronger batch of Heavenly Jewel Masters from the Bai Da Empire. However… if they choose this method… Hmph.”

As he spoke up to this point, a cold light flashed in Ming Yu’s eyes. “Our current greatest advantage is that the enemy does not know that our Peerless Regiment does not just number this amount, but with a large main force behind us. More so, they are not clear about the true strength about the Peerless Regiment. As such, all of their estimations will not be accurate. If they dare to attack once more, this time, we will not just defeat them and send them packing… I dare to say that we can finish them off totally right here. If that happens, unless the Bai Da Empire actually sends a major force into the Heavenly Bow Empire, it will be easy for us to revive the Heavenly Bow Empire without any other trouble.”

“Of course, this is also the path that I hope the situation develops into the most.”

“As for the second method, it will be a relatively conservative method for the Kalise side. However, if I am there Kalise Commander, I will definitely choose this path. That is to fortify their own lines and wait for a good chance.”

“If they choose such a path, then their best option is the draw most of their forces back to the Heavenly Bow Empire capital, the Heavenly Bow City as the point to shore up their lines, and greatly fortifying the Heavenly Bow City. After all, sieging a city and defending a city are two totally different concepts. Furthermore, the Heavenly Bow City has the advantage of the Stars Forest as a natural defensive terrain. As long as they have sufficient numbers guarding the city, even if we want to attack them, it will not be easy at all, and we will have to expend many resources and lives to succeed.”

Of course, even if the enemy choses this path, we do not need to be afraid either. This will give us sufficient time to build up and accumulate power. The Heavenly Bow Empire has not been occupied for long by the Kalise Empire, and before this, the conflict between the Heavenly Bow Empire and Kalise Empire has lasted for a long time, deeply rooted in the hearts of the citizens. As such, we can use this to show that we represent a just cause, and it will be far easier for us to recruit new troops. In terms of finances, we have the support of the ZhongTian and Fei Li Empire… if you give me half a year, I can recruit and gather five more Regiments of soldiers… train them well in the strictest possible way. If I have a year, even if we have to face the Bai Da Empire head on, I am still confident in holding them off.”

The Fei Li God General truly lived up to his name. The series of analysis he laid out caused Zhou Weiqing and the other officers to nod continuously in agreement.

Ming Yu stood up, taking out a map. Yan Zhexi and Kou Rui quickly stepped forward to help unfurl the map, and all of them surrounded it.

The map was extremely detailed, filled with various small symbols and denotations, dazzling Zhou Weiqing’s eyes. He could barely make out that this was a map which included the Fei Li Empire, Heavenly Bow Empire, Kalise Empire and Bai Da Empire.

Zen: Once again, a rather spoiler title, so leaving it here at the end again. Title – “Tian’er… is pregnant?”