Motives and Speculations - 32.1

Inside the emperor's personal study...

"Are you sure you're alright General Fang?" Jin Fa Chung asked as he looked at one of his oldest yet most loyal generals; Fang Ting Feng who was the most injured person in the room.

Seeing that he was singled out, Fang Ting Feng couldn't help but smile wryly.

Among those present in the room, though most of them suffered from a couple of injuries, he was arguably the one in the worst condition.

He was only a couple of years younger than his old comrade; Fan Song Xue and although he had improved this past couple of years, his friend has also gotten stronger to the point that he was able to fight off more than ten attackers and only suffered minor injuries and unlike him who only fought four men and was actually injured twice by blade. One, through the shoulder and another a large gash on his stomach.

He was a strong fighter but his weakness is actually close-quarters combat. Instead he specializes in defensive strategems as well as long-range attacks and was extremely proficient in handling a bow and arrow.

Noticing the worried look of everyone, Fang Ting Feng could only give them a reassuring nod.

"I'm fine." he added gruffly seeing that some of them still looked unconvinced.

Seeing that Fang Ting Feng looked extremely stubborn and would highly protest of he was asked to rest first, Jin Fa Chung sighed before he gestured to one of the nearby chairs that was still unoccupied.

"Alright then, if you say so but go and take a seat. You look horrible General Fang." the emperor quipped dryly, prompting some laughter from the others which helped lighten the mood quite a bit.

If anyone saw the people in the room, one would be very surprised and concerned. 

Any meeting or gathering wherein everyone in the room would be in attendance hasn't happened in quite a long time. 

In fact, a meeting like this hasn't happened for more than a decade!

This is because aside from the morning court where most of them attend, the rest of the high military officials such as the generals has never been completely present unlike now.

Of course during morning court, government and military officials alike both attend but usually, only the deputy generals are highest ranking there but now all three major military families; from the Fan Family, Wu Family and Fang Family are all here!

The three families are considered as the three major military families, not only because of their high status in society but also because of their capabilities and strengths. 

For starters, the Fan Family is a family that specializes in martial strength, whether it be through skill in handling weapons, close combat or weapons making. Their way of training is brutal and mainly focuses on cultivating a person's attacking force which is why they mostly handle the training of the country's offensive aspect within the military while the soldiers that falls under their command specializes in attacking which is highly valuable in a war. 

Meanwhile, the Fang Family is the complete opposite. They specialize in defense. This not only includes their fighting style but also how they maneuver in the battlefield. All soldiers go through the Fang Family's basic training and those who excel are cultivated further and is usually assigned in key locations in the kingdom to ensure that it will always be safe. From borders to first-tiered cities, at least a group of soldiers specially trained by the Fang Family will be there. 

As for the Wu Family, this family may be strong yet they don't have as much military might as the other two families yet they can still maintain their own against the other two. 

This boils down to what they specialize in. 

Information.

As some people say, information is power and the Wu Family has that in spades. 

The Wu Family has the vastest and most well-connected information network there is. Even news or information from other countries can be gathered by the Wu Family in due time. It all depends on the difficulty of information that you seek. No one knows how far and how deep the Wu Family's information network extends but to those who are in the know, even if they're not exactly sure, one thing they can be certain is that it's already quite formidable. 

This is why even though currently the Wu Family is small, no one can move them. 

Usually only one of them would usually attend morning court and most of the time it was from the Fan Family but now, not only all are present but also their most trusted confidantes are here as well.

For the Fan Family, not only Fan Hui Liang who was the current head and general of their country was here but also their old patriarch; Old General Fan Song Xue who was rumored to be dying yet he appeared here in perfect condition and is actually one of the strongest cultivators in their country as of the moment!

This isn't even counting Fan Hui Zhong who wasn't here as a part of the Fan Family but as the master of Lei Palace, the Lei Wangye!

For the Fang Family, only Fang Ting Feng was present since his only son wasn't even at the capital as of the moment but was currently checking their borders!

As for the Wu Family, Wu Zhang He actually just arrived with someone in tow. Earlier, after the unknown attackers fled and things calmed down a bit, he hurriedly left the palace after making sure his adopted son was getting his injuries treated. Now that he came back with an extra person, of course everyone's attention would be drawn to him.

As it turned out, the person Wu Zhang He brought was his most trusted aide; Han Ling.

"My Emperor, I have brought Han Ling over because he had heard some information that may be useful to us finding the reason and the people responsible for the attack." Wu Zhang He quickly explained the moment he entered the room.

Hearing that, the air inevitably turned heavy and the look on everyone's face turned solemn.

"Very well... What information did you manage to gather this time?" Jin Fa Chung asked. He knew that Han Ling was his brother-in-law's confidante that usually goes out to gather intel and useful information outside their capital and country.

In regards to this, Jin Fa Chung was actually very surprised to see him here back at the capital.

Clearing his throat, Han Ling nodded respectfully to everyone before bowing and paying his respects to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the information this lowly servant gathered may or may not be related to what happened tonight but this servant does think that it is still a great matter which was why I rushed back to deliver this information to my master."

"What is it? Speak freely..."

"From what I've gathered, our country isn't the only one who has suffered from attacks like this but this attacks were launched sporadically for more than a decade but as of late, the recent attacks has noticeably increased. Some clues indicate that the same group of people responsible may be related to the assassination of the previous Imperial family of Spirit Valor Country more than a decade ago. Another suspicious lead that I managed to check before the trail went cold also brought me to believe that this might also be related to what happened in Fan Family several years ago as well as another somewhat similar attack also took place about a couple of months ago at Thousand Beasts Rage Country where their emperor and crown prince was almost assassinated during their annual hunt although I wasn't able to gather much details about that because it was kept tightly under wraps. Towering Blizzard Country has also tightened the security at the borders but I am unsure if this is related while Storm Blaze Country is experiencing a bit of of turmoil at their capital although this was also resolved and pushed down, it should be quite serious because I was able to find out that it's one of the reasons that the Zenith Crescendo Academy which the Crown Prince attends told their students to return home for a while."

A solemn silence descended upon the room as everyone there thought about what they just heard.

Finally, the tension was broken when one of them spoke.

"What about the people behind the attacks? Where you able to find anything about them?" Fan Hui Zhong asked.

Meeting everyone's serious gaze, Han Ling only shook his head with a grave expression on his face.

"Unfortunately, all the men I sent disappeared without a trace even if I sent people to look for them. It was as if they were rocks thrown into the sea and we couldn't find any clues nor trails to even indicate their presence."