I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

Chapter Twelve: The Pledge of Allegiance

Something fell into the water, making a "splashing" sound.

"Boom bang bang."

The knocking on the door interrupted the lynx's thoughts.

"Kal'tsit, it's me. Is it convenient for me to come in now?"

"Please come in, Your Highness."

If it were daytime, her current appearance wouldn't be anything worth hiding.

Having received permission, he pushed open the door and entered during the day.

"I took that cloak to wash, Kal'tsit can wear this one for now."

Hanging a moon-white brocade robe on a clothes rack, Bai Zhou approached the lynx, skillfully picked up a ladle from the wooden basin beside it, scooped up a ladle of water, and sprinkled it on the white, flower-like crescent moon.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness... um~."

The warm water washing over her skin felt so comfortable that she didn't want to move. The warmth from the man's palms only added to the lynx's comfort.

"Kal'tsit, you've lost weight again."

His azure eyes swept over the lynx's increasingly emaciated body, his fingertips tracing its slender waist, a hint of reproach in his voice. But then, as if he had discovered something amusing, a gleam of joy appeared in his eyes.

"Your Highness, I'm just trying to keep myself within a healthy range. Being fat or strong isn't the only sign of health... Your Highness!"

The lynx was earnestly explaining things to him when suddenly it grabbed his sensitive spot. What's worse, the culprit was still wantonly kneading him.

"Kal'tsit's tail... I think it's so cute no matter how many times I see it."

The lynx's tail is not as long as those of dragons and gods; it is only a short section about half the length of a palm, and it looks quite cute as it occasionally sways gently according to its owner's wishes.

Unfortunately, this little tail is usually well hidden by the lynx and is difficult to spot.

"Your Highness..."

"Just a quick massage, Kal'tsit, it'll be over soon."

"You really are... please have mercy."

The lynx sighed softly, then lay down on the edge of the tub, letting Bai Zhou do as he pleased.

"Kal'tsit must be exhausted from her long journey. She should get some rest tonight."

"Well then, see you tomorrow, Kal'tsit."

After cleaning the lynx's hard-to-wash back, Bai Zhou stopped bothering her and gave her some more instructions before getting up and leaving.

"Your Highness..."

Covered by a thick quilt and resting on a soft pillow, the lynx's mind was filled with its conversation with the daytime.

Such a strong stance, such a forceful tone.

"Your Highness... has grown up too."

Turning to the side, the lynx gently closed its eyes, anticipating the arrival of tomorrow.

On the other hand, after leaving Kal'tsit's house during the day, he did not return to his own room to rest, but instead went alone to the government office inside the Northern Underworld Heavenly Pool.

"What's all the noise! ​​Dragon Lord? You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you."

When Bai Zhou entered the room, all the generals, big and small, stood up in unison, startling Ye Ji, who was concentrating on studying the strategy. The old golden eagle was about to scold him, but when he saw that it was Bai Zhou, his anger instantly dissipated and he showed joy instead.

"Please be seated, gentlemen."

Bai Zhou waved to the generals to take their seats, then looked at Ye Ji.

"Marshal Ye, how is the battle going?"

"Replying to Lord Long, so far, things are going... smoothly."

As he said this, Ye Ji's expression was somewhat strange.

"What do you mean by 'considered'? Marshal, could you explain it to me in detail?"

During the day, he came to the table and looked at the sand table on it.

Ye Ji closed his eyes slightly, then suddenly realized.

"But I forgot that the Dragon King is currently stationed at Yumen and knows little about the front lines. I was mistaken."

He cleared his throat and began to explain the current battle situation to Bai Zhou.

"Our army has been here for more than half a month, and has fought four main battles against Ursus, winning three and drawing one. There are also twenty-three smaller battles. However, thanks to the new armor and weapons, our army has suffered very few losses, and most of our soldiers have only sustained minor injuries."

"Isn't this a good thing? Why is the Marshal frowning?"

The daytime remains unresolved.

With such low casualties and frequent great victories, shouldn't we be laughing all the way to the bank?

"What worries me most is the defeat of the Ursus army."

Ye Ji explained his concerns to Bai Zhou.

"For some reason, the Ursus army was once ambushed and surrounded by my troops after I set a trap and sent them to feign defeat. Given the intelligence of the enemy general, he should have only sent a few small teams to probe first, but the enemy came out in full force, allowing me to easily defeat them."

"Hmm...maybe it's just that the opponent is too eager to win and is being reckless."

Bai Zhou believed that since Ursus dared to start a war, all related matters and battle plans should have been prepared in advance.

This could be because the opponent has suffered too many defeats and got carried away by the prospect of victory; it's not something worth paying attention to.

"I have considered this situation, but this subsequent event is something I cannot understand."

"Marshal, please speak."

"That was the fourth battle, with more than 400,000 enemy and friendly troops fighting on that territory. One of our detachments was separated from the main force because it had been chasing the enemy for too long and too deep. The enemy also discovered them and joined forces to encircle and annihilate them."

"But for some reason, just when they were about to win, they suddenly retreated."

Ye Ji thought about it for five or six days, but he still couldn't understand why they would give up the victory that was about to be in their grasp.

"...Yes, why is that?"

Even during the day, I couldn't understand it.

It couldn't have been Dalovic who had a brain fart and ordered them to retreat.

"I do not know either. It is because these Ursus people are so unruly that I dare not lead my troops into battle rashly."

Before receiving definite news, Ye Ji would not do anything as foolish as risking his soldiers' lives for victory by being greedy for personal gain. However, this also meant that Beiming Tianchi had not moved an inch for several days, giving the originally intense battle a buffer period.

"Marshal's move is excellent. In war between two countries, every battle is a life-or-death struggle, and caution is necessary."

Moreover, this is only the beginning of the game between the two sides. As time goes on, both the Great Yan and Ursus will continue to invest troops to change the course of the war.

The smaller the losses they incur in achieving victory at this stage, the higher the morale of their troops will be, and the greater their chances of winning the later stages of the war.

"I have another matter to report to Your Majesty."

If the Ursus army's bizarre actions were just post-war gossip, then what follows is a serious wartime dilemma.

"After marching for half a month, our city has reached the territory of Ursus. I sent people to investigate the nearby villages, and the news they received was quite bad."

Ye Ji's serious expression and words caused Bai Zhou to frown slightly.

"The sentry reports that the Ursus people do not welcome us."

That's for sure. From the perspective of the Great Yan, the Ursus army is a mortal enemy, and there will be no kind words exchanged. Conversely, the Ursus people view the Great Yan the same way. Even if we are forcibly conscripted by the Empire, taxed heavily by nobles, and our lives are a mess, we are still enemies.

"I believe our army should bypass these villages and directly attack the enemy's cities?"

There are no benefits to be gained from occupying villages, and the Great Yan's goal is not these impoverished villages.

"Have those people done anything to hinder the army's advance?"

"There is currently no such behavior. However, there's always a chance of something going wrong..."

Ye Ji looked up and his gaze met Bai Zhou's.

The sun shone brightly across the faces of the generals, and a loud voice proclaimed:

"If any enemy citizen does anything to harm our army, we shall rather kill a hundred of them than let them harm even one of our people."

■

"Where did you go? Why are you so late coming back?"

The immortal groggily sat up from the table, and upon seeing the daylight entering the room, he immediately became alert.

"Look, there's dinner I brought for you on the table... It's gotten cold now. I'll heat it up for you in a bit."

The immortal picked up the paper bag and tried to leave, but Bai Zhou pressed his shoulder down and made him sit back down in the chair.

"Thank you for your trouble, sister. But it doesn't need to be hot. It's fine as it is."

Bai Zhou pulled up another chair and sat down, opening the paper bag; the buns inside were still slightly warm.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, sister. The buns are still warm."

Bai Zhou chuckled, picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, then his expression stiffened slightly. After swallowing the bun, he asked the immortal in confusion:

"Where did you buy these buns, sister? Why are they like this..."

During the daytime, the chopsticks held the buns, which were large in both filling and skin, each bun weighing half an ounce, with the skin and filling split in equal parts. Moreover, the filling was quite flavorful, with an uneven distribution of saltiness.

"These steamed buns weren't bought, I made them myself!"

The immortal puffed out his chest proudly, looking at him with a smile.

"How is it, Little White? Is it delicious?"

"……I see."

Bai Zhou laughed again, slowly eating her steamed buns.

"How is it? Tell me quickly! If it's not good, I'll improve it."

The immortal used up a lot of flour to make these steamed buns.

"Hmm... the taste of it."