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Chapter 643: Mental Breakdown (I)

They failed to take the enemy by surprise and were surrounded.

When the news of the Red Lotus Group’s defeat reached Fenghu District, the scholar was stunned by the news.

A moment before, he had been happily waiting for his subordinates to escort the captured Liu Xi over. The next moment, he was stricken with panic.

“What did you just say?” The scholar took a large step forward and grabbed the messenger by the collar, his expression grotesque. He looked so furious that it seemed as if his eyes were going to burst with rage. Flames of fury burned in his chest. He felt that he must have misheard, or that the messenger must have given him the wrong message. How could they possibly have been defeated?

The messenger was having trouble breathing with the scholar’s hands around his throat.

He was also frightened by the scholar. Who would have thought that the military adviser, who was such a thin and cultured person, would be so terrifying when he was enraged?

However, he needed to deliver his message. He nervously repeated the news.

Not only had the 3,000 men the Red Lotus Group sent to ambush Liu Xi failed to capture him, but they had been surrounded on the mountain trail and completely annihilated.

The scholar gritted his teeth in anger.

He raged, he resented, and he was so furious that he hurled the messenger to the ground.

That’s not right —

The scholar was about to gather his troops to get back at Liu Xi when he suddenly thought of something.

“Wait... Although the rebel, Liu, has great military strength and naturally had a chance of beating those 3,000 valiant generals of ours, what about the troops coordinating their attack from outside?” he asked.

If the troops coordinating their attack from outside had rushed into the mountain trail and joined in, the Red Lotus Group wouldn’t have suffered such a tragic defeat.

The messenger’s expression turned pale, a cold sweat forming on his forehead. He knelt on the ground, prostrating himself, not daring to rise.

Seeing this, the scholar knew that there was still a hidden part of the story. How dare the bold messenger hide information from him! He fiercely reproached, “Tell me quickly, what actually happened? If you dare utter even one untruthful word, I will make sure that God condemns you, implicating your whole clan and making all members of your family turn into ashes!”

The messenger was so scared that he couldn’t stop trembling. He let it slip and told the scholar everything.

He said, “Sir, the Liu is cunning. It’s not that we don’t want to go and help...”

The messenger was very frightened, so he readily told the scholar the information that he had hidden. However, the contents were processed and edited.

Although the scholar was quite ignorant, he had a very cruel and jealous temperament.

If he knew the truth, many would land in serious trouble.

They had no choice but to think of ways to point the finger at Jiang Pengji. They desperately wanted their responsibility in the matter to be reduced.

If the scholar directed his fury at Jiang Pengji, the insignificant minions like him would be spared.

The messenger said, “After realizing that something was wrong, the general led the troops onto the mountain trail to rescue the other group. However, who could have known that Liu was so cunning and had blocked that part of the mountain trail off long ago. He even had hundreds of archers waiting for us on the stone wall. The general attempted to attack forcefully several times. Hundreds of our brothers fell, but we still couldn’t move past Liu’s defenses. At that time... our brothers on the inside of the wall could no longer hold out. For the sake of our other brothers, the general had no choice but to retreat. Otherwise, we would never have given up on our brothers so easily! Please make a wise judgment, sir. You must avenge our fallen brothers.”

After hearing the explanation, the scholar was so angry that he almost had a heart attack.

Of course, this was not the only incident that had angered him. The blows that hit him so hard that he would eventually die from anger had not ceased.

The scholar used all his strength to suppress his anger. His mind went blank. He couldn’t think of any strategy to get back at Liu Xi.

Judging from the arrangements of the rebel Liu, he had probably seen through their tricks and was on his guard.

If they attempted to conduct another sneak attack, it would inevitably be limited.

As he thought about it, a low-ranking leader staggered in, shouting, “Sir, we’re so dead!”

“What nonsense are you saying? I’m perfectly fine!” The scholar furrowed his brows. His mind, full of convoluted thoughts, grew even more agitated because of the interruption, like a ball of yarn that couldn’t be sorted out. He said, “Fire away! What happened? If it isn’t important, I will punish you for your wrongdoing!”

The low-ranking leader had run all the way there. He was already panting from exhaustion, sweating profusely.

Upon hearing the scholar’s words, he had an impulse to cry, but no tears came out. He said, upset, “Sir, Jinmen District has fallen.”

Huh?

Everyone was shocked. The scholar thought that he had hallucinated.

“What did you say has fallen?” he asked.

The low-ranking leader caught his breath and wailed, “The rebel Liu has conquered Jinmen District.”

The scholar’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he gradually began to panic. But he still managed to say flatly, “It is impossible. The rebel Liu was almost completely under our surveillance. How could he find men to attack Jinmen District? Do you admit to your crime of lying about military intelligence?”

The low-ranking leader was anxious. He said, “It’s true. Yesterday, in the early morning, the rebel Liu suddenly led his troops to attack Jinmen District, and it fell soon after. Countless of our brothers were killed or taken hostage. May God strike me down if I have uttered any lies.”

Jinmen District... had really fallen?

The scholar’s heart sank all the way down and a chill crept up in its place. His limbs and his body grew cold. he was so surprised that he forgot how to breathe.

Impossible, impossible!

The target of the rebel Liu had clearly been Fenghu District. He’d kept sending scouts to check the place out, so how was it possible for him to have extra men to head over to Jinmen District?

When had he gone to Jinmen District?

If the rebel Liu had indeed conquered Jinmen District, how could he have had enough men to ambush the ambushers in the dead of night?

The scholar couldn’t figure out the key points within. There just wasn’t enough time, he thought.

Perhaps Liu Xi had won because he had troops descending from the heavens, creating something out of nothing, and had used godly means to create soldiers from beans.

Otherwise, Liu Xi must have brought more than 10,000 soldiers along. Plus, there must be other men that he had quietly hidden somewhere else!

The scholar was so shocked by the consecutive bad reports that he didn’t know what to do. For a moment, he still did not suspect An Cui.

Regardless of whether or not the scholar suspected him, An Cui, who was ruthless and crafty, had managed to stir up trouble.

“Sir... What should we do now?” someone asked.

All the subordinates exchanged unsure looks.

The scholar trembled violently, his expression dark and cold. “Gather the troops and take Jinmen District back. The main army of the rebel Liu is still there. By taking the official road, we can reach Jinmen District before the rebel Liu. Our people and believers are still in Jinmen District, we can reconquer it with inside help.”

The scholar was being smart for once, a rare occurrence. According to his plan, provided that they were fast enough, they might be able to take Jinmen District back.

After all, the Red Lotus Group had been conducting their affairs in Jinmen District for a long time. Many civilians hated them to the bone, but many were completely deluded, believing in their God and worshipping Him every day. Jiang Pengji had just taken over Jinmen District and hadn’t left many troops behind. Her hold on the district unstable.

As long as the Red Lotus Group could reach Jinmen District before her, it would impossible to guess who the winner would be.

However, the scholar’s opponent was Jiang Pengji, the master of rhythm on the battlefield. Competing against her in terms of speed?

Hah!

Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji rushed back with her troops. As her personal accountant, wealth manager, and unnamed head advisor, his mind was indeed in sync with Jiang Pengji’s. The siege equipment reached Jinmen District at almost the same time as she did!

Seeing this, Yang Si and Qiguan Rang were also amazed.

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