Zhan Long

Chapter 757 - New Years

Despicable! Just too despicable!

They actually told me about all of the benefits before the responsibilities. How was I supposed to turn down such an offer!!

I looked up and saw King Rob. I then cheerfully said, “I gladly accept your offer to become one of the loyal officers of this empire!”

King Rob smiled, “Good. In order for you to take on this position, I will promote you to the position of Deputy General, fifth rank in the empire. I hope that you work hard for the empire. As for everything else, I will leave to Pearl to assign. That’s right, Princess Pearl handles all military matters pertaining to the capital city. You must unconditionally follow her orders!”

“Yes, your majesty…” I still wasn’t very used to using that term. Wan Er and Dong Cheng both hid their smiles.

“Our Brother Xiao Yao has been promoted…” Qing Qian giggled.

Li Mu then said, “Guildmaster should be the first player to take on an official position in Tian Ling City, right?”

I shook my head, “Not sure…”

Right at that moment, several rays of light fell upon me from the sky and I rose 5 levels. I was now Level 142. Tian Ling City’s highest level player insignia was added to my shoulder. Motherf*cker, just for the sake of this reward, I was willing to pay with 5 hours every day!

……

Very soon, Wan Er, Li Mu and the other team members had received their rewards as well. Dong Cheng squealed, “Wan Er, guess what I’m going to give you?”

Wan Er blinked a few times, “A Horse God?”

Dong Cheng opened her hand, revealing a light blue book in her hands. She smiled, “It’s really illogical, I’m a mage, and they actually gave an “Unrivaled Spirit”to me. Just what is the system saying?”

Li Mu and Wolf each received a piece of equipment. Some of the rewards were applicable, while the others weren’t exactly applicable. Those that weren’t were basically dealt with internally.

……

As it grew late, Wan Er and Dong Cheng both went to sleep. I was also feeling tired, but Princess Pearl walked over and said, “Royal Army Commander Li, come, follow me. I’ll show you the Royal Army’s quarters!”

I nodded. She brought along a couple of personal body guards. Afterwards, she handed me a Commander’s tablet. It was proof of my position, the kind that if I put in my bag, it would never drop.

Pearl’s battle horse was a fiery red pony. It had beat my Flying Scythe Horse by close to a hundred meters to the battle camp. She smiled mischievously and turned around, “Well, isn’t my Little Fire fast?”

I replied, “Yup, it is very fast!”

“Let’s go!”

She took me into the camp. The Royal Army’s wasn’t camped too far from the palace. Inside there was a team of soldiers carrying swords and clothed in armor. They were all patrolmen who were tasked with keeping the safety of the city and keeping the peace. As Pearl walked, she pointed at the different tents and army drill sites and said, “Tian Ling City has a total of seventeen armies that make up its military power. Of our armies, the Royal Army only has 5000 soldiers, the least among them all. However, it is the only army that is allowed to camp within the city. As the commander of the Royal Army, you should understand the honor of that privilege, right?”

I smiled, “This means that unless I were someone that his majesty completed trusted, he would never allow the Royal Army to camp within the city, because this Royal Army is capable of controlling everything in the city.”

Pearl nodded, “That’s right. Looks like you are a smart man. Actually… Frost had mentioned you in her letter. You are someone to be trusted. At least, you wouldn’t threaten the safety of the capital. And so, that is why I suggested that Father leave the Royal Army in your hands. You’ve seen it too. That commander Li Shi is actually a greedy b*st*rd. However, he was one of Father’s old comrades. Father was nostalgic and that’s why he left the Royal Army to him. But, now that you are here, it is time that we strengthen the Royal Army.”

I was stunned, “Did Princess Pearl already consider this?”

Pearl picked up a long spear and smiled, “Yes. I was planning on expanding the Royal Army so that it had 20,000 troops which are split into three different divisions, Cavalry, Foot Soldiers, and Siege. Whether it is protecting the city, or using it to fight against other forces, my goal is to create an army that can do anything.”

I was a little speechless.

……

Right at that moment, a line of horses dashed over. One of the men on the horses saw us. Shock flashed through his face and he leapt off of his horse, “Your Highness Pearl, I did not greet you earlier. Please punish me!”

Pearl replied, “Deputy General Song, please forgo the ceremony. Immediately welcome the new fifth ranked military commander of the Royal Army, Li Xiao Yao. From now on, you are to follow his orders!”

“Yes, my lord commander!” This Song Vice Commander stiffly bowed to me, showing his respect.

I nodded, displaying my acknowledgement.

Pearl then smiled, ‘Let’s go, we’ll wait for the rest in the Strategy Tent.”

“Ok!”

……

The strategy tent wasn’t too big. But, it was at the center of the entire camp. I wasn’t completely familiar with the past ways of organizing military, but I could at least tell that this center area was the most important place in the entire famp. Once this place is ambushed, the entire place would fall apart.

After a few minutes, five of the commanding NPCs arrived. All of them had green expressions as they walked in and respectfully sat down in their respective seats. One of them greeted, “Your highness, why has the commander of the Royal Army been changed? What happened to commander Li Shi…”

“Pearl replied, “General Li has been transferred to the Xia Yu Army. The royal Army will be lead by Li Xiao Yao as the new commander from now on. Everyone will listen to his commands.

One general with a large beard replied “Your highness, why has the empire done this?”

Pearl smiled, “For the sake of strengthening our forces. It\'s time we make the Royal Army into a branch that can take on the responsibility of handling our empire’s safety, instead of a flock of soft young noblemen for us to raise. Li Xiao Yao will reorganize the entire army. Well then, Li Xiao Yao, what are your first plans?”

I stiffened. The fact that I was now an army commander was starting to sink in. I couldn’t be overly optimistic about this position. I sternly said, “My first step will be to institute a set of standards and begin testing our troops against those standards. Anyone who cannot pass them, will be discharged. This army will no longer feed those noblemen without any battle power any longer.”

Pearl nodded satisfactorily, “And then?”

I smiled, “My second step, will be to personally lead a division of the Royal Army to Dragon City and begin patrolling the Ice Ridge Mountains. It’s time we use real battle experience to train them.”

One of the generals who looked incredibly soft exclaimed, “What?! You’re saying… you’re saying you want us to battle the terrifying Hybrid Demons? My Lord, are you crazy? Do you not know how fearsome those Hybrid Demons are?”

I let out a sigh and licked my lips. I then pulled out my Zhen Yue Blade. “Peng!” I cut apart the meeting table and coldly smiled, “I have been fighting those Hybrid Demons for several months now and I have killed way over a thousand of those monsters. If you don’t even have the courage to face them, then you should’ve sent in your resignation letter and returned home. Don’t be here wasting our food!”

The five generals were all stunned. After a bit, the bearded one suddenly laughed, “Good. I like General Li’s methods. I, Han Yuan, am willing to hand my life over to you. Even if it means taking a few cuts from those Hybrid Demons in the north. Either way, it’s better than staying in Tian Ling City being treated like a prince!”

Another general who was wearing an eyepatch also smiled, “There’s no need for you to be so happy about war against those terrifying Hybrid Demons, is there?”

The deputy general Song also smiled.

However, the pale soft hearted general was still unwilling, “Just what gives you the right to order us around? And just what makes me have to fight Hybrid Demons for you?”

On the side, Deputy General Song roared, “General Luo, I hope that you are more clear about your current situation. This General Li is a Deputy Commander. He’s three ranks higher than you. You are in no position to give him this kind of attitude. Furthermore, why don’t you open your dog eyes and pay close attention to the blade that he’s holding!”

That was when Han Beard carefully looked at the Zhen Yue Blade. He gaped, “This… is this, the legendary Zhen Yue Blade?! The godly weapon that has been lost in the continent?!”

Pearl smiled, “It is!”

All of the generals were stunned. Deputy General Song sternly said, “If General Li can become the owner of this Zhen Yue Blade, then he must have some super human aspect. I am willing to follow your orders, even if it means going to hell and back!”

The other generals also spoke up. I started feeling a little mischievous, “D*mn, does this mean that my position in this army had actually come about because of this Zhen Yue Blade?”

Nevermind, there’s no point in pondering about it anymore. As long as I now have the trust of these generals. This way, I can actually command the army. Otherwise, what was the point of my position as the commander. If I let Pearl down, that was the same as disappointing Frost. How would I stay in Tian Ling City after that?

Actually, if I look at the big picture, the most important reason I took this position was because it was very beneficial to the growth of [Zhan Long]. After all, now I have the battle power of a strong army like the Royal Army. This was going to be a very important factor in the country battles. I could personally command this Royal Army. I will make sure that they don’t just die and become the enemy’s experience booster.

……

I was busy all the way until five in the morning. Finally, I could log off and rest.

I slept all the way until noon the next day. In the end, when I woke up, I heard Dong Cheng Lei’s voice as he let himself into the living room. I walked over and saw that the kid really was there. Furthermore, he was carrying a large basket filled with chocolates, fruits and snacks. Wan Er and Dong Cheng were also there helping him carry it. They were grinning very widely.

“Ah Lei, you’ve come over?” I smiled.

Dong Cheng Lei smiled, “Brother Xiao Yao, Happy New Years! There’s only three days until the New Years, and so I came to deliver some things that I bought for Yue Er. I don’t know if she plans on coming home for the celebrations.”

Dong Cheng cutely said, Bro, don’t ask that much. It\'s still a ways until its new years. Besides, it’s just a day… That’s right, besides snacks did dad tell you to do anything else?”

Dong Cheng thought for a moment, “He also told me to take you out to buy some clothes. He said that the price didn’t matter.”

Dong Cheng’s smile widened. She grabbed Wan Er’s hands, “How about we go out and do some shopping? We can buy whatever we want. Brother will bring his card along!”

Dong Cheng Lei generously smiled, “Yup, you can buy whatever you want. Vice guildmaster Wan Er, there’s no need to be polite.”

Wan Er grinned, “Alright… Pig, you should go with us too. Either way, Ah Lei is paying. You should buy some clothing for the new years…”

I rubbed my nose, “Alright then. However, I should pay for my own clothes. Ah Lei should save that money for when he marries his new bride!”

Dong Cheng gave a stupid smile, “Brother Xiao Yao, don’t kid with me. Who would fall for someone like me?”

……

I wanted to answer him, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized that there really hasn’t been a girl who has shown anything for Dong Cheng Lei. All I could do was let out a long sigh…