Gell heard the words and became agitated, but he also clarified the relationship between the two. "Robbing the rich to help the poor? To put it bluntly, aren't you just a thief? What do you mean by 'yin sha' (hidden killing)? I think you were lured into a trap because of your lust, and someone took advantage of you!"
The undead stopped crying and said righteously, "Mage, I am indeed a thief, but I also consider myself a good fellow! I never rob or kill the poor, only the rich to help the poor!"
Gell grumbled, "Robbing the rich is certainly confirmed, but helping the poor is not necessarily so."
Then he changed the subject, "However, Otris is also foolish to use such methods when his skills are not refined."
The undead's spirits immediately rose upon hearing Gell's words. "Exactly! Mage, that Otris only knows some low-down tricks, you must be careful!"
Gell glared at him, scaring the undead into quickly closing his mouth and lowering his head. Gell suddenly said, "But it's not a solution to keep pestering Otris like this. Forget it, why don't I point you in the right direction?"
The undead had been a wronged soul here and naturally knew there was no way out. Hearing Gell's words, he quickly kowtowed and thanked him, "Thank you, Mage! Thank you, Mage! If this can be achieved, then naturally it would be the best!"
Gell was very pleased with this, nodded, and suddenly remembered that he was in need of manpower for his campaign against Xideya. He couldn't help but say, "But you will have to wait for a while. We'll set off after I have pacified Xideya. However, during this time, you must not disturb my subordinates, do you understand?"
The undead repeatedly agreed.
Gell looked at the undead and began to scheme. He chuckled and said, "It sounds like you seem to have some skills?"
The undead's spirits rose again and he said, "To be honest with you, General, I do have some reputation. If I claim to be second, no one dares to claim to be first."
Gell heard this and sized him up, thinking, "Here comes another 'number one in the world'."
"How about this? For the next few days, I'll leave Otris to you. You'll be responsible for protecting him, how about that?"
When the undead heard that Gell wanted him to protect his enemy, he was naturally a hundred times unwilling, but he dared not refuse. He could only say with a bitter face, trying to shirk it:
"Mage, this doesn't seem right, does it? Besides, he can't see me, so how can I protect him?"
Gell smiled and said, "What's not right about this? You've bullied him for so long, it's time to pay back some of it!"
The undead knew that Gell's words made sense and was greatly moved, but deep down he was still unwilling.
Gell, however, paid no mind to the undead's willingness or unwillingness. He said, "It's already late today. By tomorrow night, I'll naturally have a way to let you meet. You can go down first?"
The undead hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his words and retreated shamefacedly.
Tadarell, after several discussions with his ministers, finally decided to march west to Gage.
Although there were obstacles in this council meeting, the opposition was already very small.
Through Tadarell's meticulous planning over the past few years, the initial strategic deployment of Winterhold had been established.
The only regret was Li White. After his favorite concubine was executed, Li White's mental state became somewhat dazed, and his physical health deteriorated with each passing day. Now he couldn't even attend court.
Tadarell never expected Li White to be so weak and incompetent. He became like this because of a woman. He was so angry that he cursed him.
Li White was, after all, a man of deep affection and loyalty. Compared to himself...
Tadarell no longer forced Li White and did not mention him further.
However, as a regional governor, Li White bore heavy responsibilities. His illness had disrupted Tadarell's entire strategic deployment.
Night had already fallen. Tents were scattered in a well-ordered manner in a mountain valley. At the valley entrance, sentries vigilantly observed the distance.
Ogart saluted from his horse, "Lord Sveinn, I will go ahead!"
Xiao Xun returned the salute and said, "The barbarian people have fierce customs. General, your journey is extremely dangerous. You must be extra careful and not take it lightly!"
Ogart saluted again, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Sveinn. I will engrave it in my heart!"
Xiao Xun glanced at Hecaste in the distance and said, "I'm entrusting Hecaste to you. Treat him well, and you will have unexpected rewards."
Ogart turned his head and looked at the young man in the distance staring at the flowers and grass in a daze. He shook his head inwardly, but said aloud, "Please rest assured, my lord!"
With that, he turned his horse and headed down another fork in the road.
Xiao Xun could naturally see Ogart's doubts and did not persuade him further. He merely smiled and watched as Ogart disappeared into the depths of the troops.
The army moved slowly, spreading out towards another fork in the road.
Although Ogart's army was an unexpected force, it was not easy to circle around to the enemy's rear. Xiao Xun could not say what he would encounter along the way. All he could do now was to draw the enemy's main force over, thereby reducing the threat to Ogart and allowing him to penetrate the enemy's rear smoothly.
"Lord Sveinn, attracting the enemy's main force is indeed beneficial to General Ogart, but General Ogart is not familiar with the northwest terrain. Are we placing our hopes on him not a bit inappropriate?" Aaron asked with some concern.
Hearing Aaron's words, Xiao Xun nodded slightly. Aaron was a general who could handle affairs independently and had a more comprehensive view of the situation.
The generals present all followed his lead, but Aaron could make his own judgments and dared to raise questions. This made him much more astute than the others.
"Aaron is right. However, the time for this western expedition is limited. The Beastmen and Winterhold will not give us much time to pacify the northwest. If all the rebels in the northwest could gather here, and our army could wipe them out, that would be great."
Only then did Aaron understand Xiao Xun's deeper meaning. Therefore, when Xiao Xun's army arrived at Liushui, they began to advance towards the northwest in a grand and imposing manner.
Karur had long heard that Saint Roman had intentions of a western campaign. He had been diligently preparing for war for the past two years, but now he was no longer taking it seriously.
After all, this matter had been discussed for two years, and Saint Roman had not made any moves. It was not until border scouts urgently reported the appearance of a large number of Saint Roman troops in the Liushui area that he began to take it seriously and dispatched more scouts to investigate.
It was not until he learned that Saint Roman had dispatched tens of thousands of troops, who arrived like a tidal wave, with swords and spears like a forest, that he finally realized: Saint Roman was serious this time.
Although Karur did not know Xiao Xun's background, from the embellished descriptions of the border scouts, he could tell that Saint Roman's army was determined to pacify the northwest this time.
Although Karur's forces were the most substantial among the four cities, they were still nearly half less than Jistede's troops. In terms of strength, they were already at a significant disadvantage.
However, Karur's generals were brave and skilled fighters, and he was not afraid. His brother, Fu Lie, was the first to speak: "Brother! No matter how many troops Saint Roman has, what is there to fear? Besides you, brother, who else can match me?"
The other generals also clamored to fight. Seeing his subordinates' high morale, Karur was greatly encouraged.
However, he was not a reckless man like Jistede and knew the wisdom of not fighting a battle you cannot win.
"My brothers, although that is true, we cannot clash head-on with Saint Roman. If we deplete our resources, even if Saint Roman is willing to let us go, I fear we will be annexed by others!"
The generals fell silent upon hearing this. Although they were fierce, they also knew that war meant casualties.
Fu Lie took a deep breath, "Then what does Brother mean..."
Karur cast a cold smile at his generals, "Aren't Jistede and that barbarian king Saine willing to form an alliance with us? Now, let's see their sincerity first!"
The generals looked at each other. Fu Lie scoffed, "What ability does Jistede have? With that small force under his command, it's not even enough for one of Brother's fingers. Humph! It makes me angry just thinking about that guy! The Beastmen are so unreasonable. Why would they only grant official titles to that guy but not to Brother?"
Hearing this, Karur felt a pang in his heart, but he outwardly showed no displeasure. "My dear brother, you are mistaken! Although Jistede is incompetent in all aspects, Saine is indeed a character. I heard that he is ranked second among the top Western Barbarian experts, and his cultivation is very profound."
When Saine was mentioned, Fu Lie was rendered speechless. He nodded, "Brother is right, that fellow does have some skills. I will send people to form an alliance with them and ask them to come quickly to reinforce us."
Karur nodded and dismissed everyone. He pondered for a moment, then called for a subordinate to come in.
"Go and investigate again! Sveinn is always cunning in battle. We must not let him seize any opportunity!"