Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 556: Ever Night (Part 566)
Liu Yu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried far in the light drizzle.

Lord of the Northern Underworld.

These four words are incredibly valuable these days.

So when everyone realized who the person in front of them was, they all knelt on one knee, just like Liu Yu.

Some people had guessed that a military governor would come to urge them to hurry up and march, but no one expected that the last person to come would be this one.

Moreover, he instantly defeated the military strategist, and his cold gaze made everyone present afraid to raise their heads.

Lin Beixuan looked at Liu Yu and said nothing more. Instead, Rat Lord chuckled twice and stared at Liu Yu.

"Since General Liu says so, then we can rest assured. We hope that you will not do anything foolish like that deceased gentleman."

"The general will know!"

Liu Yu looked at Lin Beixuan with longing in his eyes, his back ramrod straight.

Lin Beixuan arrived and left quickly, and after making an example of someone, he flew directly back to Liangzhou.

Standing atop Kang Xingshen's head, the Rat Prince proceeded with extreme caution. Only after Kang Xingshen remained silent did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"My lord, do you think that General Liu will arrive as agreed?"

"Whether it is or not is no longer important. I glanced at the overall strength of this army and found it to be several levels weaker than the Northern Expeditionary Army I had seen before."

The military discipline was lax, and there was no senior general in charge of the camp. The soldiers were either new recruits or soldiers who had not participated in war for a long time.

An army like that would only be cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Rat Prince frowned in thought: "But why did emperors of past dynasties do this? What benefit did they gain from letting their soldiers sacrifice themselves for nothing?"

Lin Beixuan said calmly, "He knows that the army he sent is not capable of fighting, so I will face two choices."

I could simply not let them go up, because it doesn't matter if an army like that dies, but it would have a huge impact on our own morale.

The Beiming Army has recruited many new soldiers and incorporated former Liang King's troops during this period. It is no longer as pure as before and is easily swayed by the situation on the battlefield.

"Alternatively, I could send these cannon fodder to fight the evil spirit army and the demon army. These tens of thousands wouldn't be completely wiped out, and those who survived would all become veterans who had experienced the battlefield."

Rat Lord's eyes widened: "Is he using us as free training material?"

"Not only that."

Lin Beixuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the constantly flashing ground below.

"This army may just be a decoy; the enemy's real move is not here."

"Perhaps there is another army from past dynasties hiding in the shadows, planning to appear when the time is right."

After careful consideration, the Rat Lord gasped.

"This is truly a case of the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman benefits. If it is really as you say, then the emperors of all dynasties were far too ruthless and vicious."

Lin Beixuan, however, was unimpressed. After learning about Yang Guang's deeds, he was not surprised that the emperor could do such a thing.

Perhaps in the eyes of many, Yang Guang was gambling with tens of thousands of lives on the chessboard.

If the gamble is lost, tens of thousands of lives are lost.

But if he wins the gamble, he will effortlessly acquire a veteran army, which, together with the hidden forces, will be able to deliver a fatal blow to Lin Beixuan.

No matter how you look at it, it's a good deal.

The ways of emperors are indeed ruthless and domineering!

Lin Beixuan sighed. The more he experienced in the secular world, the more he realized the difference between those in high positions and ordinary people at the bottom.

The other party will only focus on achieving their own goals, thus ignoring some costs that they consider insignificant.

At this moment, the meaning of each person's destiny seems to come into being. Some people are born to live a life of luxury, and even when a massive war comes, they still live better than the poor people at the bottom.

Some people, however, become tools in their schemes, their lives as fleeting as mayflies, appearing only briefly before disappearing.

Lin Beixuan sat cross-legged on the dragon head of Kang Xingshen. Since he had Kang Xingshen as his mount, he no longer had to worry about his safety and could travel between the mortal world and the underworld.

His consciousness slowly sank, and his inspiration flew out and disappeared underground, arriving in the underworld.

With the onslaught of large-scale wars, the underworld became extremely busy, with countless underworld officials traveling between the mortal realm and the underworld to bring the souls of the dead back to the underworld.

Most of these spirits are those of soldiers who died on the battlefield, possessing extremely strong military aura, making them quite troublesome to deal with.

The underworld officials also have their methods, which is to summon a troop of ghost soldiers, and the other party will naturally submit.

As for the fate of these war spirits, those who had harmed the villages as a result of war were directly sent to purgatory to be punished, while those who had not done anything evil were either conscripted into the army to join the ranks of the ghost soldiers or chose to be reincarnated.

The cycle of reincarnation is now running normally, and the balance of yin and yang in the universe is slowly being restored.

However, this balance is still very fragile and is maintained entirely by the efforts of the underworld.

If it weren't for the tireless work of the underworld officials during this period, given the intensity of the war, countless evil spirits would have emerged.

The Bridge of Helplessness was bustling with activity. Zigu, a benevolent spirit, sat at the bridgehead, stirring the thick soup in front of her with a stone ladle.

After being brought back to the underworld by Lin Beixuan, she took on the job of guarding the bridge. Because she had walked across the Naihe Bridge before, she knew how to use the stone pot in front of the bridge. After a brief familiarization, she began to take on the responsibilities of Meng Po.

Any spirit that wants to be reincarnated and crosses the bridge must drink a bowl of the "bewitching soup" in the pot before it can pass.

Lin Beixuan did not disturb the other party's work, but crossed the Naihe Bridge and arrived at the Examination Division deep in the Underworld.

As soon as they reached the door, they heard Wang Chao roaring in anger inside.

"Throwing these heinous criminals into purgatory and subjecting them to the first six levels of punishment, I thought I had seen plenty of outrageous things, but compared to these soldiers, they are nothing but a drop in the ocean."

On a huge desk, Wang Chao wrote with lightning speed, quickly sentencing one prisoner after another.

He hadn't led troops for a long time and had become a qualified civil servant, spending his time in the office processing documents.

However, over time, his mental state inevitably became somewhat abnormal. In addition, he has been dealing with a lot of things lately, and his temper has become extremely irritable. He has also gained a new nickname among the underworld officials.

Urging the judge.

Because most of the spirits that left the Examination Department were cast into purgatory. Some only had to endure one level of torture, while others suffered all eighteen kinds of torture. And those spirits that had endured the torture often didn't even last half of it before their souls were completely annihilated.

Although Wang Chao's mental state was somewhat abnormal, he still knew his place when he saw Lin Beixuan and respectfully stepped down from the stage to pay his respects.

Who could have imagined that a lowly officer among the underworld soldiers would become not only a human immortal but also a judge in the underworld government, holding the power of life and death over countless vengeful spirits?

If this were placed in a mortal dynasty, he would certainly be considered a high-ranking official of the third rank.

"Fu Jun!"

After Wang Chao finished his greetings, he asked with a worried expression, "How much longer will this continue? I really can't take it anymore. May I have a few days off to relax my mind?"

As expected, even ordinary people are unwilling to be treated like beasts of burden, and Wang Chao began to request leave from Lin Beixuan.

As expected, Lin Beixuan rejected it.

Seeing that his application was rejected, Wang Chao sighed helplessly.

"How about this, let's switch me with that guy Mahan. I also want to lead a group of people out every day."

Lin Beixuan smiled. He could tell that Wang Chao's mental state was indeed somewhat affected by dealing with these matters every day.

However, before he could even speak, Ma Han walked in with bloodshot eyes.

"You want to switch with me? Sure, let's switch now. I haven't had a proper rest in a long time, so let me sit in your spot for a bit."

Lin Beixuan and Wang Chao looked over at the same time and saw that Ma Han's eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't closed them for a long time, and he looked very haggard.

Since Wang Chao and Ma Han were bestowed the title of Yin Immortals by Lin Beixuan, they both have gained physical bodies and are no longer the drifting ghosts they once were. They can feel fatigue just like normal people.

This was originally a good thing, but in the current environment, it has brought a great burden to the two of them.

It's better to be a ghost than a ghost.

Ma Han bowed to Lin Beixuan and made the same request as Wang Chao, hoping that Lin Beixuan could grant him two days off so that he could have a good rest.

He was different from Wang Chao. Wang Chao spent his days in the Investigating Department trying criminals, while Ma Han spent his days outside surveying the mountains and rivers and the spirits of the wilderness. For those who were blind and refused to submit, he had to take action.

Often, as soon as one thing ends, you have to rush to the other.

Moreover, while doing these things, he also had to expend Yin energy to cultivate Yin paths underground, otherwise it would be inconvenient for Yin messengers to travel.

The pile of things on his shoulders had already left him mentally and physically exhausted, no less so than the previous dynasty who had been complaining endlessly.

Ma Han shouted at the dynasty, "If you want to switch, we can switch now. Right here in front of the prefect, we can switch positions, and I'll become the director of the review department."

Seeing Ma Han's excited expression, Wang Chao froze on the spot, and his original idea of ​​changing positions was gradually being dispelled.

Ma Han was in an even more insane state than he had been. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair and beard were disheveled, and his face looked as if he had aged ten years. Even the aura of his Yin spirit was restless and uneasy.

Wang Chao straightened his clean and tidy robes and said respectfully to Lin Beixuan, "Lord, I don't want to change them now. I feel that interrogating criminals every day isn't so bad."

Ma Han snorted coldly upon hearing this and glared at Wang Chao.

Lin Beixuan hadn't expected that his two judges would have so many opinions about his absence from the Underworld for so long.

However, upon closer reflection, it's understandable. After all, what normal person could endure endless overtime every day? Even the underworld officials have shifts to rest, yet they, as judges, have to work day and night.

"Perhaps it's time to open up the other departments to share the burden of the dynasty's pressure with Mahan."

Lin Beixuan pondered to himself, planning to select some outstanding underworld officials to be promoted to judges after this battle.

After he told Ma Han and the other man about it, he immediately received their support.

Now that the underworld is growing larger, it is indeed difficult for just the two judges to maintain order. There are too many things to handle.

If someone could help them share the burden, that would be ideal.

"Alright, enough catching up, let's get down to business." Lin Beixuan let out a breath.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao and Ma Han exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.

Lin Beixuan said calmly, "Now that the war with Liangzhou as the main battlefield has begun, the Beiming Army alone is not enough to face the siege of the forces of the Evil Spirit True Monarch and the Purple Maiden Goddess."

"And besides that, there might be an army from past dynasties hiding in an unseen corner, which might rise up and bite me at any time."

"I need you to gather ghost soldiers to help me when I need them."

Ma Han hesitated for a moment and said, "But Lord, the battlefield is filled with the fierce aura of war, which the Yin soldiers cannot withstand. Facing them head-on will probably not be effective."

“I know that.” Lin Beixuan nodded. “That’s why I won’t let the Yin soldiers go up for a head-on confrontation. I just need you to use the Yin soldiers to press on the border at a specific time to take away the evil army of Zigu Goddess.”

"Although the Goddess Zigu nurtured evil spirits into soldiers and tainted them with malevolent energy, in the end, their essence is still evil spirits, and they will not have a great impact on the Yin soldiers."

"You only need to lead your troops to hold off the Goddess Zigu for a while, and I will personally wipe out the evil spirit army. Then we can turn around and deal with the Goddess Zigu."

Wang Chaomahan thought about it and decided that the plan was feasible.

Currently, the total number of Yin soldiers in the Underworld exceeds 30,000, which is a terrifying number. Even the Underworld led by the former Lord of the Underworld did not have this many Yin soldiers.

When the ghostly army gathers its strength, it can temporarily block out even the scorching midday sun, allowing the ghostly army to appear in broad daylight.

After discussing the plan, Lin Beixuan's consciousness returned to his body. The Rat Lord stood respectfully beside him and said upon seeing him awake.

"Lord, the Ancestor has sent a message saying that the descendants of the Gray Immortal have learned about some of the movements of the Evil Spirit True Lord in Jiangzhou. In the past few days, ships have been docking at the port, and many strangely dressed, short pirates have disembarked from them."

"Pirates?" Lin Beixuan frowned slightly, guessing, "Is the Evil Spirit True Monarch planning to unite with foreign forces? What exactly does he want to do?"

Among his opposing forces, the one Lin Beixuan understood the least was the Evil Spirit True Lord.

The other party's behavior was strange and unsettling. He was neither like the Goddess Zigu, who had ambitions for the world, nor like Yang Guang, who was plotting something even greater.

He seems to simply want to see the world plagued by disasters and continue in chaos, and now he has even begun to collude with pirates from other dynasties.

Lin Beixuan knew without even thinking who these pirates were.

Outside the borders of the present-day Xuan Kingdom, there are Japanese from Sakura Island. And outside of previous dynasties, there was also a group of such people, called Fuyi.

Although these Fuyi people were short in stature, they were proficient in many strange arts and magics, and their faith in gods was even stronger than that of previous dynasties, thus giving birth to many folk gods in this small island nation.

(End of this chapter)