Chapter 653 – Old General He Si Ji
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
This was Yang Zi Qing’s second time to the Shang Continent. When he arrived, he coincidentally witnessed the strange fleet entering the Shang Continent.
He Si Ji standing beside him stared and observed, He Si Ji was the Vast Star Continent’s Military Chancellor, and was the Continent Lord’s right hand man alongside Yang Zi Qing. Yang Zi Qing was in charge of the internal affairs, while He Si Ji was well versed with military matters. When he was young, he was a famed general with colorful military successes, and as he grew older, his body became weaker, disallowing him from going back to the front lines, thus he started to guide talented young people in the continent. 75% of the silver grade generals of the Vast Star Continent were groomed by him, the rest all received guidance from him, and thus his reputation is second only to the Continent Lord.
He Si Ji had a pair of blue eyes and a eagle sharp nose that made him look extremely cold. He stood up straight, the military years never escaping his body. He did not portray happiness or sadness, an emotionless expression on his face like a statue.
All of his attention was focused on the approaching fleet.
Yang Zi Qing’s expression revealed fatigue, the Vast Star Continent was in a state of unrest, causing him to be both mentally and physically exhausted. His arrival this time was to be able to form an alliance with the Shang Continent. Relying only on the Vast Star Continent’s strength itself was unable to shake the eyes of the wolves around them.
That was the reason of He Si Ji joining him, the Shang Continent’s military strength could not be hidden in front of the old general. Their main task this time was for the old general to assess the Shang Continent.
Yang Zi Qing did not disturb him, He Si Ji was much older than him, and even he had to call the old general “Master”.
Yang Zi Qing also looked at the fleet curiously.
The fleet did not have anything worth mentioning, but his attention was captured by the soldiers who looked extremely tired. He was somewhat surprised, all of them were extremely skinny, face covered with dirt and dust, their clothes were also tattered and torn, as though they were a troop of beggars going around asking for scraps.
Yang Zi Qing had never seen such poverty-stricken army before.
~Could it be that the Vast Star Continent was actually beaten by a group of beggars?~ Yang Zi Qing was in disbelief, he felt that it might be probable that the fleet was an army recruited by Shan Continent.
But he quickly frowned, he had fought with Bing before, the cunning and crafty man would definitely not make such a mistake. And there was Crane, a quiet and calm young man, who had nobility flowing in his veins, he was also not one to make such a mistake.
Then what was the reason?
Very quickly, Yang Zi Qing came back to his senses, he self mocked himself, ~What am I thinking so much for? I have Master He Si Ji by my side, the only one who can see through all of this.~
He turned and was about to speak to He Si Ji, but he noticed the surprise on He Si Ji’s face.
For some reason, Yang Zi Qing’s heart jumped.
Master He Si Ji was a respected old general who complied with tradition, and never showed his expressions. Even in the most dangerous of situations, he would never show fear, Yang Zi Qing had conversed with him so many times and had never seen any fluctuation in the old man’s face.
There was even some time where Yang Zi Qing secretly thought that Master he Si Ji had once injured his face, causing his muscles to be crippled and thus unable to portray any emotions.
When Yang Zi Qing saw Master He Si Ji revealing shock, an intense surge of curiosity and unease crept up his heart.
~What is it that can make this steel face old man reveal such a look of shock?~
Just then, the old man sighed.
Yang ZI Qing sharply sensed the disappointment in the old man’s face.
“We were defeated without injustice.” He Si Ji regained his usual expressionless face: “The other party’s strength far exceeds ours.”
Yang Zi Qing spoke with caution and curiosity: “Master, I hope you can guide me, Zi Qing is unable to understand, I cannot see any peculiarity amongst that group of people? Their equipment is so terrible, and they looked as though poverty have struck them.”
He Si Ji was extremely familiar with Yang Zi Qing, and was not afraid to speak his mind: “Exactly the opposite. If this old one did not guess wrong, this troops must have definitely just recently gone through a long and difficult journey. No, it should be inside the Sea of Energy, where they underwent training on foot.”
Yang Zi Qing revealed a look of shock: “Master, you are saying they trained in the Sea of Energy on foot?”
He thought that he had heard wrongly, the Vast Star Continent had organised a few trainings in the Sea of Energy before, but that was in ships. How could one train in the Sea of Energy on foot? If not for Yang Zi Qing’s respect towards He Si Ji, he would had definitely snorted in disbelief.
What kind of place was the Sea of Energy? A place filled with danger anywhere that could take lives at any time. Energy corrosion occurred everywhere, with the unstable chaotic flows, even warships that travelled in the Sea of Energy could meet with mishap.
~Training in the Sea of Energy on foot? Are they tired of living?~
Only a few strong martial artists could conduct such training. But even these powerful martial artists could easily lose their lives in the Sea of Energy. It was the first time for Yang Zi Qing to hear that an army would be training in the Sea of Energy, wasn’t that seeking death? Won’t the soldiers rebel?
He Si Ji noticed Yang Zi Qing’s expression, but was not angry. Even his initial reaction to his own guess was “impossible”.
He did not explain further, it was only a guess.
“They have three armies.” He Si Ji said, he knew that his assessment was extremely important to Yang Zi Qing’s judgement, so he decided to explain everything that he saw, to provide clarity to Yang Zi Qing to consider.
“The first army, is a typical standard army. You can see their method of advancement, and, notice the energy flow around them.” He Si Ji said.
Yang Zi Qing squinted his eyes, and asked with uncertainty: “There seems to be a flow around them?”
“Yes, they are training their synchronization frequency.” a light aura flickered in He Si Ji’s eyes: “From the way the energy flows, their synchronization is at an extremely scary level. Seeing the scars on their clothes, there should be a doctor with them. And from the looks of their broken equipment, it seems the time they had spent training in the Sea of Energy is definitely not short. The military general in their ranks is experienced, and has obtained the schooling of the standard military school, and has an extremely solid foundation in it.”
Yang Zi Qing nodded his head, He Si Ji was truly a seasoned old general that has groomed out many silver grade generals. His foresight was far stronger than what Zi Qing could compare to, he could infer many things from even the smallest things.
“The second army should be a hired army.” He Si Ji continued.
“Hired army?” Yang Zi Qing was startled: “What do they want to do with a hired army?”
The strength of a hired army far lacked as compared to a standard army. Comparing equal silver grade armies, a silver grade standard army could easily wipe out a silver grade army for hire. Regardless of quality, training or equipment, an army for hire can never compare to a standard army. Even the famous army for hires have lacking qualities as compared to a standard army.
~Why would they have an army for hire? Are they lacking in manpower?~ Yang Zi Qing was suspicious.
He Si Ji shook his head: “Don’t look down on them. The things they practise are for special purposes. Their small scale infiltrations and intersecting attacks are extremely sharp. Their commander should be planning to make them into an army proficient in guerilla warfare, it’s an extremely brilliant idea!”
He Si Ji continued to praise.
Yang Zi Qing was still suspicious: “They can do that?”
“They should be able to.” He Si Ji continued: “as long as you train them with specific planning and tactics, and raise their individual strength. This method has many uses. Look at them, they no longer have the slippery aura of mercenaries, but instead giving off the air of elites. They might look scattered, but in truth they are in a profound formation, that should be one of their specialized tactics. Their commander is extremely powerful.”
He Si Ji was extremely sharp to the aura of armies.
Yang Zi Qing then pointed to the group that was obviously smaller: “Who are the ones behind them? They seem to be few in numbers.”
Suddenly, he realised something, and his face immediately became unnatural: “Shi Sen! That’s Shi Sen!”
Shi Sen’s betrayal was initially not something huge, he was just a commander of a cannon fodder army. But the silver grade general Sun Jie died because of him, causing an uproar, and thus the first time the name Shi Sen entered the ears of the higher ups in the Vast Star Continent.
He Si Ji’s expression became serious: “Those are Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts.”
“Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts?” Yang Zi Qing was startled for a moment, but immediately snorted: “No wonder! The Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts are not to be trusted, they are all indecisive people!”
The reputation of the Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts was extremely bad, other than being difficult of being distinguished, they also had the bad reputation of murdering their employers, thus Yang Zi Qing revealed the look of disgust.
“No, they are the real Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts.” He Si Ji revealed a rarely seen look of remorse, the Vast Star Continent actually had the real Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts but he himself did not know.
“Real Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts?” Yang Zi Qing was once again startled.
He Si Ji knew that Yang Zi Qing was not clear on such matters, and explained: “There are many bogus Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts in the market, overflowing all around. But there are very few of the real Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts, because of their extremely strict tests, they are also very powerful. To be able to find up to 500 of the real Underworld Continent’s Demonic Mounts, that is truly difficult! Do not look down on that number, they have terrifying fighting ability. They should be the last group of Demonic Mounts, and are longing for glory, so you can never underestimate them!”
Hearing He Si Ji’s high appraisal of the Demonic Mounts, and knowing it was them who let the big fishes go, Yang Zi Qing felt immense regret.
This subject made him feel uncomfortable, so he continued: “What about those people behind with light auras all around them?”
“They are not any army.” It was He Si Ji’s first time revealing an unsure tone: “They could be strong martial artists.”
“Strong martial artists?” Yang Zi Qing was dumbstruck.
Those extremely densely packed light auras floating around the boats, numbered to a few thousands. ~A few thousand strong martial artists? Impossible!~
Even He Si Ji felt that it was impossible to have so many strong martial artists, and spoke with hesitation: “Their individual strengths are not too bad, but their coordination is terrible, no, they completely have no coordination, like a patch of loose sand, that is why I say that they are not any army. The light around them is extremely miraculous, and there are so many of them with it.....”
He Si Ji did not know how to continue.
Instead, Yang Zi Qing calmed down: “Seems like they are truly powerful.”
“Very!” He Si Ji confirmed.
The two of them looked at each other, with a look of excitement and worry.
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