Chapter 563: Trap [V6C93 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

Qianye had been to the core region of the void landmass and also knew the value that floating continent held. The forest producing origin distillate alone was enough to incite a war. Even so, he didn’t feel that this landmass was worth the empire going all-out for.

Just like many of the soldiers on the frontline, Qianye became increasingly aware of the Evernight faction’s power as his own strength increased. At times, he even wondered if the empire could really win this war.

The answer to this problem was quite simple—they couldn’t—at least not under the current circumstances.

If one were to view the Great Qin Empire as a race, then it would be roughly equal to the arachne and werewolves on the other side. It would surely be wiped out if the races of the Evernight Council were to work together. It was just that, for the people at the highest echelons, the balance of power and their sense of priority wasn’t just simple mathematics.

The dispute between the seven sacred-mountain seats of the Evernight Council had gone on for tens of thousands of years. Presently, only three supreme beings and four major races remained, but their feud had only grown deeper with no end in sight. Comparatively, the empire’s emergence could barely even count as a rising threat.

In the past thousand years, the Evernight side had often used the empire to weaken their opponent’s movements. The empire, on the other hand, had beat them at their own game by inciting hatred between the dark races and thriving within these political gaps. And that was how the nation had developed to its present stage.

However, the Great Qin was currently going all out. It was difficult to say whether the other side would put aside all differences and unify against a common enemy. If that were the case, the empire might very well lose its main territory.

Qianye’s first reaction was just like most people. He felt that the empire should continue its proven strategy of limiting the war to certain regions, especially since both regular and aristocratic armies needed to recuperate after the battle at Giant’s Repose.

The upper echelons, however, seemed to be considering things from a different angle. Qianye couldn’t discuss this matter in-depth, either, now that the walls had proverbial ears in them.

Song Zining added, “This is a good opportunity if you want to earn military contributions. I’ll do my best to help you secure a position, but you have to be prepared because strength is still the priority in the army.”

Qianye nodded. “Don’t worry, I understand.”

Song Zining laughed. “There’s nothing to worry about when it comes to you. Oh, and one more thing, guess who’s the other Heavenly Monarch who fought together with Marshal Boqian.”

This piqued Qianye’s curiosity because he really didn’t know. From the intensity of the origin glow in his True Sight, however, this expert seemed to be even more powerful than Zhang Boqian. “Who is it?”

Song Zining replied, “The Pointer Monarch.”

“Pointer Monarch!” Qianye was astonished. It was actually the number one heavenly monarch of the empire! No wonder the dark monarchs were defeated so quickly.

Inasmuch as Qianye could remember, the Pointer Monarch hadn’t taken part in any recent battles. His existence was mostly used to restrain the top experts of the Evernight faction. Reportedly, only the Pointer Monarch could contend against them.

“You must’ve heard many things about his excellency, but there’s definitely one thing you don’t know. Do you want to hear?” Song Zining said mysteriously.

“What is that?” Human heavenly monarchs were the idols of all young warriors, and Qianye was no exception. He was naturally very interested in their news.

“This…” Song Zining opened his fan with a smile but didn’t speak immediately.

Zhang Boqian and the Pointer Monarch were playing chess in the central command tent. It was currently Zhang Boqian’s turn to play, but he only held the white piece in the air without putting it down. Across the board, the Pointer Monarch’s brows twitched ever so slightly. Zhang Boqian had remained in this position for a quarter hour now. Even someone of the Pointer Monarch’s mental tranquility felt that the latter was taking a bit too long, especially since he knew Zhang Boqian wasn’t thinking about his next move.

Song Zining could no longer maintain the suspense after seeing Qianye cracking his knuckles with a menacing expression. “The Pointer Monarch has a granddaughter about to come of age at the end of this year. This is a good opportunity, I heard his excellency loves this granddaughter a lot. No military contribution is out of reach if you can marry her. You can retire half a decade early!”

Qianye was astonished. He had never expected that Song Zining’s principle of life-changing dowries applied to even the Pointer Monarch’s granddaughter.

Meanwhile, in the main tent. Zhang Boqian’s expression became somewhat awkward. His right hand fell unconsciously and dropped the white piece at some random position.

The Pointer Monarch shook his head and scolded with a smile, “This little bastard is quite crafty. I heard his divination style is similar to Xitang’s back in the day. He must’ve calculated that I’m listening in on their conversation, yet he still dares to play tricks on me. Quite bold, I say. Boqian, your army is truly a place of hidden talents.”

This was the second time the Pointer Monarch had spoken these words, but Zhang Boqian simply acted as though he hadn’t noticed the different implications. “Song Zining has the protection of his divination arts, but that other kid seemed to have noticed something. His energy fluctuated a little bit when my perception entered the domain.

The Pointer Monarch muttered, “Now that’s interesting. If he’s already so accomplished in void origin power at this level, his future attainments will be boundless.”

At this point, the Pointer Monarch broke into a laugh as if he had realized something. “We seem to have fallen for their trick! We have retracted our perception after being found out, but now that I think about it, their earlier conversation is probably just to coax us. The conversation afterward is likely their actual topic.”

Despite saying that, the Pointer Monarch didn’t release his perception again. People of their status could hardly continue eavesdropping after being discovered—it was too embarrassing.

Zhang Boqian’s focus returned to the chessboard. “How important can the childrens’ matters be?”

“That’s not necessarily true. Which of us didn’t go through their age? For instance, you also did quite a lot of big things before you were even thirty.”

Back in the tent, Qianye’s expression and tense body relaxed.

Song Zining also seemed to be feeling better as he said with a smile, “I already know who’s listening on us. It’s not a big issue. Now, back to important matters.”

With that, his expression turned serious. “Do you remember I told you about someone investigating you?”

“Yes, what of it?” Qianye’s heart tightened slightly, but he actually wasn’t that nervous. He felt that the only thing he couldn’t let people know was his half-vampiric constitution. With his increase in strength, it had become prohibitively difficult for people to figure out any clues—unless someone were to cut him open and see the blood core.

Song Zining seemed to have understood Qianye’s thoughts. “It’s not that simple. I had utilized some of that wild boar’s family resources to prepare an identity for you back then—even your supposed fellow villagers were arranged seamlessly. But the other party has invested sufficient resources this time and actually sent someone to investigate locally.”

This time, Qianye knew things weren’t normal. A fake was a fake. No matter how perfect the disguise, a gap would definitely appear with enough digging. He began to ponder who would be so interested in him. There were even more suspicious aspects in his recent relationship with the Zhao clan—why would this person do things the hard way?

Song Zining’s expression darkened. “I’ve already sent someone to investigate just who is curious enough to dig past the Song and Wei families’ lines.”

He had crafted Qianye’s history with great finesse, putting Qianye under the Song clan’s vassal branch while registering his birthplace as a small border town under the Far East Province’s control. This also meant that the person flipping through these documents would alert both clans at the same time. Even with such a deterrent measure, the other party had still chosen to continue the investigation.

Qianye sensed something strange in Song Zining but just couldn’t put his finger on it. He glanced up at the latter and said, “Then that person you sent…”

“All of them are veterans, there’s nothing to worry about their skill and loyalty. I also instructed them to… should the chance arise…” At this point, Song Zining made a slaughtering gesture.

Qianye said with a frown, “Since the other party already knows they will alarm both you and the Wei clan, won’t they be well-prepared? Perhaps your men won’t be able to handle everything.”

Song Zining was somewhat alarmed. “This, I didn’t think of.”

He stood up and paced about the tent for a dozen or so times before saying, “If that’s really the case, the other party isn’t just targeting you, they’re also targeting me. I might need to take this trip personally. That means I won’t make it back in time for the battle of national fate.”

“This war is a good opportunity for both you and I. Is there a need to abandon it?” Qianye objected.

Song Zining had already revealed his leadership talents and obtained a position of power as a military staff officer. If he continued displaying his skills, there was a good chance his temporary post might become a permanent one. Not many in the empire could achieve this at his age.

Song Zining shook his head. “The opponent this time has bad intentions. I’ve already investigated many times before but failed to even find a general direction. I’m worried he will take advantage of this war to stir up something to harm us. I’m prepared to go over personally and finish him off once I find him. We must nip the problem at the bud.”

Qianye finally ascertained what was wrong with Song Zining’s impatience. As such, he stood up and put a hand on the latter’s shoulder, preventing him from pacing about.

In response to Song Zining’s questioning glance, Qianye said, “Zining, have you thought about whether the other party is trying to lure you over?”

Song Zining looked on blankly.

Qianye continued, “You said you couldn’t find any clues. Does that mean you’ve already tried your divination arts?”

Song Zining nodded with a serious expression.

“If you failed to capture the person but obtained some important clues, will you continue your divination with it as a medium?”

Song Zining’s expression changed sharply and revealed some disappointment.

Qianye said, “I don’t know much about divination, but I do know that using it on overly powerful existences will result in a backlash. If those clues you find lead to a certain major character and the other party happens to sense it via a secret art... he probably won’t hold back under such unknown circumstances. At that time, the true enemies won’t even need to take action to injure you.”

Song Zining exhaled deeply while knocking on his head. “You’re right, this is probably the route I would’ve taken. The scenario you mentioned have never occurred to me, this is very abnormal.”

“Zining, you were overly anxious just now.” Qianye suddenly thought of something. “Is the other party already disrupting you?”

“Quite likely.” Song Zining had quickly recovered after discovering the abnormality. He rubbed his chin and said, “This matter is getting more and more interesting. Just who is the other party? Laying down such an intricate scheme for me… what an honor.”