Qi Can stood there dumbfounded. He realized, with a jolt, that everything he had just spouted had been treated as a joke?
Was the Jiang family completely insane? Did they really think they could take on the entire Black Moon Kingdom with nothing but their own household?
"Young Master Jiang, you… won't even reconsider?" Qi Can hadn't given up yet.
"Get out!"
Jiang Chen let out a light shout. A stream of true qi surged out, and an invisible current slammed into Qi Can, sending him hurtling through the air like a kite blown out the door.
Qi Can was about to brace himself and resist when his feet suddenly touched down, landing steadily on the road outside.
"Qi projected externally, handling heavy with ease! Could he… could he be an Eleven-Meridian True Qi master?" Qi Can had been somewhat arrogant before, but now cold sweat was pouring down his entire body.
How dare he cause any more trouble?
Jiang Chen's strength was far beyond his wildest imagination. A teenager — barely into his teens — was able to wield true qi with such extraordinary finesse!
The realization hit Qi Can like a bucket of ice water. He didn't dare say another stupid word. He cupped his fists in a hasty salute and scurried away like a kicked dog. Jiang Chen had let him go, but who was to say the people around Jiang Chen wouldn't take offense and block his escape?
Sure enough, the news of the Black Moon Kingdom's invasion wasn't some baseless fabrication from that Yue Qun.
"Master, what should we do about this?" Qiao Baishi was thoroughly bewildered. He had the patriotic blood of a loyal subject running through his veins, but he knew all too well that given the Eastern Kingdom's current strength, at least half of the hundred and eight noble houses had lost the ability to fight.
The remaining half were panicking and utterly unreliable.
As for the royal family, their elite forces had been virtually wiped out during the Long family's rebellion. The newly assembled royal power was mostly cobbled together at the last minute, with very limited strength.
Surveying the entire kingdom, there was almost no elite force capable of going to the front lines to face the Black Moon Kingdom head-on.
"What can we do? When soldiers come, we'll send generals to meet them; when floods come, we'll build dikes." Jiang Chen remained unfazed. Wars between mundane kingdoms — that kind of pressure was nothing to him.
Sect powerhouses had never managed to bow him down, so how could a mere Black Moon Kingdom possibly worry him?
"Baishi, accompany
Jiang Chen paused here, unable to suppress a sigh. The Eastern Kingdom was a thorough mess. After the Long family's catastrophe, the entire kingdom's system had collapsed.
In theory, with the Eastern Kingdom's resources, there should have been spies and intelligence networks operating in the Black Moon Kingdom. But after that battle, the Eastern royal family's power had been nearly annihilated. Even if intelligence channels and contacts had existed, they were almost entirely severed now.
With the intelligence network in shatters, the entire country was like a headless fly.
Restoring that kind of normal order would take no less than three to five years.
If Jiang Chen hadn't stumbled upon this information by chance, the Black Moon Kingdom's armies could have been at the border before the royal court had the faintest clue.
In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures were called for.
Jiang Chen dispatched two Golden-Winged Sword Birds, leading a squad of Silver-Winged Sword Birds at maximum speed to escort the Medicine Hall delegation back to the Royal Capital.
The Silver-Winged Sword Birds were astonishingly fast. With relay rotations along the way, they covered the distance with incredible speed and arrived in the Royal Capital that very day.
Song Tianxing, like Qiao Baishi, was a native-born son of the Eastern Kingdom, and patriotic blood ran deep in both their bones.
Without a moment's hesitation, they went straight to request an audience with Princess Gouyu.
By rights, they should have sought an audience with King Dongfang Lin. But Dongfang Lin was a teenager barely into his teens — practically a figurehead at this point.
The one truly pulling the strings from behind the curtain was Princess Gouyu.
With Song Tianxing's reputation alone, an audience with Princess Gouyu might not have been guaranteed. But Qiao Baishi was different. He was Jiang Chen's trusted confidant, and Princess Gouyu understood that perfectly well.
Before long, Princess Gouyu was dressed and ready, and summoned the two into the palace.
"We pay our respects to Princess Gouyu." Song Tianxing and Qiao Baishi stepped forward and bowed.
"You two — how did you end up together again? And rushing to see me in such a hurry — has something urgent happened?"
Song Tianxing glanced at Qiao Baishi, signaling him to speak.
Qiao Baishi didn't decline. His face was grave. "Your Highness, we received word at noon today — the Black Moon Kingdom has amassed its armies and will invade our Eastern Kingdom within ten days."
"What?" Princess Gouyu's beautiful face drained of color. For some time now, she had harbored an ominous premonition, a quiet dread gnawing at her heart.
She had been naively comforting herself that the Black Moon Kingdom might not make a move, that it wouldn't act so quickly.
But that self-comfort was, in the end, nothing more than self-deception.
The Black Moon Kingdom had not only acted — it was moving even faster than she had feared.