Death… and me

"Regret? I, Tie Long Cheng will never regret! It is the destiny of soldiers in the battlefield to die!" Tie Long Cheng held a stern gaze, his eyes keeping their sombre look as if he was staring into nothingness. "I am deeply saddened for those who died on the battlefield but I definitely have no regrets!"

"Saddened and sorry?" Gu Du Xing gave him a cold smile. "Were you saddened and sorry in the moment that you sent those soldiers to their deaths? Although I am aware that their commanding officers were not loyal to you and made mistakes, but these soldiers were without blame! You could have done more to preserves the lives of the soldiers yet why didn't you?"

Gu Du Xing was simply not able to imagine that such a terrible thing could happen in this world. The more capable and more loyal the individual, the more likely that they were to be sacrificed and simply tossed aside!

What kind of abhorrent principle was this?

These ridiculous and selfish moves were actually made by the leaders of two great nations! Shouldn't they being as representatives of such large nations put their people's interests first? Instead, they both turned out to be people who sent millions of young and loyal soldiers to their deaths when it could have been avoided!

"If I had not done what I did, how else would I have been able to win the trust of Diwu Qing Rou? Although those soldiers are dead, I am saddened but hold no regrets!" Tie Long Cheng said coldly. "They may have died but the lives of six hundred million people of Iron Cloud have been spared! Without their sacrifices, Iron Cloud would have been part of Great Zhao's territory 8 years ago! Not only would we have not lost our sovereignty and territory, all of our citizens would have become slaves to the nation of Great Zhao!

"I may have done something despicable but I do not regret it! Even if the history books somehow write the truth about these part 8 years and I am portrayed as a traitor and a sinner, I have no regrets! If I were to be given another chance to make the same choice, I would still have done the same thing!"

"If I had surrendered, my own losses would not have been that substantial. Moreover, I am a prince and grand marshal in Iron Cloud. Should Great Zhao take over Iron Cloud Nation, I would still at least remain as a royal or a royal court official. I will never be a person for people to step on, even Diwu Qing Rou would not dare!"

"So what if I am scorned?" Tie Long Cheng smiled, "Even infamy has to be bore by someone. To protect Iron Cloud is reason enough to take on this infamy."

"But infamy itself is not easy to bear." Chu Yang snorted and said, "Since both of you two cooperated this closely and used each other to such an extent, surely you placed spies within Great Zhao right?"

Tie Long Cheng's body suddenly became stiff. His eyes shot out two sharp bolts of lightning in Chu Yang's direction and remained quiet after that.

"Eight years! Both countries have been fighting with each other and caused significant loss to each other. It is natural that there would be a high turnover! All these spies could have used each victory to advance in position! Those times would have been the best for placing spies! I don't believe Grand Marshal Tie did not do that!"

Tie Long Cheng remained quiet and did not say anything.

"I am fairly certain that Diwu Qing Rou has already has some high ranking individuals in Iron Cloud. Despite your talent in strategies, knowledge in tactics, recognising battle plans, fighting in the interest of your country and looking at the big picture, you will not be able to match up to Diwu Qing Rou. You are not a master conspirator and politician like him. Hence, I especially believe in this…"

Chu Yang smiled. The words that had come from his mouth made Tie Long Cheng's body turn cold.

"…If you were able to place ten spies in Great Zhao, Diwu Qing Rou's spies in Iron Cloud would number no less than a hundred! Ten folds greater!"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I am referring to the army, Grand Marshal!"

Tie Long Cheng quietly let out a sigh.

"Therefore, although it might seem that Iron Cloud is extremely stable. However, if Diwu Qing Rou were to employ every resource at his disposal, the Iron Cloud Nation's situation would be no different from when it was 8 years ago. Unable to even take a light beating!" Chu Yang continued to ramble on, becoming more and more critical, "You really don't believe that Diwu Qing Rou would really allow you to just turn Iron Cloud into such a strong nation do you? If you truly believed this, you are clearly not worthy of your position!"

Tie Long Cheng let out a strange laugh and said with heartfelt praise, "That's right! Very well said!"

He entered a contemplative state and asked Chu Yang, "With regards to everything that you have said, did you manage to come to this conclusion by yourself? Or do you actually have a hidden spy network?

As Tie Long Cheng uttered those words, the eyes of the young lady who stood quietly beside him suddenly lit up and she turned towards Chu Yang as though she could not wait to see what would reply.

Tie Long Cheng's tone was very cautious as he asked this question.

It was because this question was of great importance. If Chu Yang had a network of spies that was capable of getting information that he could not, then it would certainly be a big help! With this powerful spying force alone, Chu Yang would be qualified to work with Iron Cloud!

Work with, not work for!

However, if Chu Yang did not have any spy network and he was able to arrive at such a conclusion from just a few little clues, then it was even more terrifying! This proved that this youth in front of them had intelligence that was not inferior to Diwu Qing Rou's!

Perhaps even a fraction more!

This was a talent of exceptional rarity! One individual can make a significant difference, he could bring glory to the nation or determine its fate! This was a saying which was made for such a person!

Chu Yang remained silent for a while before he said, "unfortunately, I do not wield such a powerful intelligence force."

Both Tie Long Cheng and the young lady beside him were shocked beyond belief. From the very beginning, they acted casual. Even when Chu Yang told them about the plots and the strength of Diwu Qing Rou, they were careful to show only a bit of emotion. However, after hearing these words, they were unable to keep their cool and their countenance changed almost instantaneously.

All of these things came from this young man's wisdom?

"I did not figure out these things." Chu Yang added. He knew what Tie Long Cheng was thinking when he asked such a question. He also knew he could have just leave the misunderstanding be. In fact, if he had it would be advantageous to him.

However, Chu Yang decided against it.

He chose to do so because if they continued to misunderstand, as they cooperated, Chu Yang would definitely be asked on his input on various decisions. Despite the privileges that he would gain from being in such a position, his opinion alone could affect the lives of millions!

Having such influence would no doubt have a direct effect on the war between both nations! Even a small mistake would be irreversible! It could result in him not being able to change anything from his previous life!

If Chu Yang had such great deductive skills, he would have naturally used this to his advantage. However, since he was only using the memories of events that had occured in the past, it would be a mistake to take on the responsibility of something he might not be able to handle.

This was the reason he let the opportunity go, but he chose not to provide a clear explanation and only gave Tie Long Cheng vague hints to let him think: This person is surely an exceptional talent!

Tie Long Cheng thought for a little. When he looked up and still didn't hear Chu Yang say anything else, he immediately knew that since they were not cooperating, Chu Yang obviously wanted to keep secrets to himself and not give away any comprehensive details. Thus now was the time to negotiate.

However, Tie Long Cheng did not because he had other plans.

He turned and looked at Chu Yang, "You have said this much. What do you want? Everything you said were undisclosed secrets of Diwu Qing Rou. Regardless of how you knew all this, based on that alone, you are of great value. I believe that you don't like Diwu Qing Rou. So what is your underlying motive of coming to Iron Cloud?"

"What I want is, in fact, very clear." Chu Yang smiled, "Can you not see it?"

Tie Long Cheng also smiled, "Yes, whatever you want to do is no business of mine. The person you want to find is Prince Tie Bu Tian, not me."

The moment he said the words "Tie Bu Tian", Tie Long Cheng did not blink but simply looked straight ahead at Chu Yang. However, there was something unusual in his voice.

"I did not want to find you, but you brought yourself here." Chu Yang snorted and said angrily, "And you blocked my Heavenly Armament Pavilion!"