Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue. If the army of the Imperium was viewed as a whole, this General Lei Chenghu would certainly be a well-deserved big shot of the military.
Li Linghai said, “When the Imperium finally launched a strategic counterattack, it was General Lei Chenghu’s troop that led the charge and marched into the five worlds, including the Black Wind Sector, which had been occupied by the Covenant Alliance for a hundred years. He secured five triumphs in a row and recovered the former land a hundred years ago, clearing the obstacles for the subsequent troops.
“In the ten years that followed, General Lei Chenghu’s Astounding Thunder Fleet had been fighting in the most difficult battlefields and were almost broken to the point of destruction many times.
“Because of General Lei Chenghu’s prestige and the middle- and bottom-level officers’ worship of him, and because the war was still intense at that time, even the four Kurfürst families did not dare to play tricks on the reestablishment of the Astounding Thunder Fleet. They could only give the warships of the latest model that were produced recently to General Lei’s command.
“Of course, the troops of the four Kurfürst families would not listen to General Lei’s command easily. So, the soldiers that were placed into the Astounding Thunder Fleet were often from the local troops and the miscellaneous troops that had been collapsed in the bloody battles.
“After more than ten years of strategic counterattacks, it was inevitable that many troops were crushed and lost organization. Those failed soldiers with low morale were garbage that nobody wanted for fear that their lethargy would infect other troops. But General Lei Chenghu simply accepted all of them.
“After the bloody battles, General Lei’s troop had already become a hotchpotch with the crushed soldiers from every part of the universe.
“Many people who admired General Lei’s charisma and eminent military accomplishments volunteered to join General Lei when they had better choices. As a result, the composition of the Astounding Thunder Fleet was even more complicated.
“Such a ‘hotchpotch troop’ would be an unorganized mess in the hands of any commander. But General Lei had amazing skills that could transform the unorganized mess into seasoned warriors in the shortest amount of time and grant them the courage to die together with the enemy.
“General Lei Chenghu is perhaps not the best militarist in the Imperium, but when it comes to the training of soldiers, he is well-acknowledged to be the best of the Imperium!
“All in all, General Lei had been leading such a hotchpotch troop in the frontmost battlefield against the Covenant Alliance, making great contributions to the Imperium.
“Right now, the situation is more or less steady. The Fourth Coalition Fleet under General Lei Chenghu’s command, commonly known as ‘Astounding Thunder Fleet’ is the fleet with the most main-force warships, the best equipment, and the highest combat ability aside from the troops of the four Kurfürst families. In terms of the battle will, they are even much better than the private troops of the Kurfürst families. After the screening of iron and blood of a hundred years, there are neither cowards nor selfish scoundrels under General Lei’s command. They are all the most distinguished soldiers boosted by the purest dreams who are willing to defend the Imperium with their hot blood!
“Right now, General Lei Chenghu is commanding the Fourth Coalition Fleet of the expedition army as the special admiral of the Imperium. He is also the commander of the Third Battle Area, which includes four newly-recovered war worlds and dozens of rather prosperous resource planets, as well as two twisted space zones that are very suitable for the collective space jumps of supermassive fleets. It is an important place that all the generals will fight over.”
After hearing Li Linghai’s introduction, Li Yao said after a long daze, “So to speak, General Lei Chenghu is truly a giant pillar that holds the sky of the Imperium. Are the four Kurfürst families insane enough to involve such a big shot of the military just because they want to strike the reformists? Are they not worried that something may go wrong in the frontline?”
“I’m afraid you are wrong.”
Li Linghai said gloomily, “It remains to be seen whether the four Kurfürst families’ main focus is the reformists and they are just removing General Lei Chenghu by the way, or their primary target has always been General Lei Chenghu while the measures against the reformists are just smoke grenades!”
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao bulged his eyes. “When the birds are all shot down, the bow will be useless?”
“Exactly. Do you remember what I told you when I introduced the situation of the Imperium to you a few days ago? After a decade of bloody battles, the troops that are scattered in different worlds of the Imperium are being awakened as a whole. They are craving to let out their own voice.”
With a smile, Li Linghai said, “Take a guess. If the military really wants to get out of the control of the four Kurfürst families and grow into an independent behemoth, who will it choose as its leader?”
Li Yao blurted out, “General Lei Chenghu?”
“Exactly!”
Li Linghai said, “General Lei Chenghu is almost an immaculate soldier of the Imperium. In terms of prestige, accomplishments, charisma, and the attitude of the bottom-level soldiers, nobody can be compared to him. He truly deserves to be called the ‘God of War’.
“If the military wants to get rid of the control of the four Kurfürst families and the Council of Elders, the extremists of the ‘Blood Oath Alliance’ are far from enough. They need the leadership of a real powerful big shot from the military, and General Lei Chenghu is the only candidate!”
Thinking for a moment, Li Yao asked, “What does General Lei Chenghu think himself? Or rather, what is his view on the so-called ‘reformists’?”
“General Lei Chenghu’s attitude does not matter. I believe that General Lei absolutely has no intention of leading the army to rise against the Council of Elders, nor does he have anything to do with the ‘Blood Oath Alliance’. If he had such ambitions, he wouldn’t have commanded all his troops to fight vehemently against the Covenant Alliance a hundred years ago. I absolutely believe that General Lei has been fighting for nothing but the country in his entire life.”
Li Linghai said, “However, now that he has been respected as the ‘God of War’, many things are unavoidable for General Lei. For example, the extreme organizations in the military such as the ‘Blood Oath Alliance’ may call for and instigate other soldiers under his name. Or when the time is ripe, he will be raised by countless zealous young officers and pushed to a throne that he is unwilling to take!”
Li Yao blinked his eyes. “I can totally understand the subtle situation that General Lei Chenghu is in.”
“Then, it should be easier for you to understand why the four Kurfürst families are more determined to settle the matter regarding General Lei Chenghu, at the risk of the instability in the frontline, than they are to deal with the reformists, right?”
Li Linghai sneered, “A hundred years ago, the four Kurfürst families did not take care of General Lei in a hurry not because they were merciful but because General Lei did not pose a great threat to them at that time. Also, the intense war required a ‘God of War’ such as General Lei badly.
“But right now, the military is growing more and more independent, and the young, bottom-level officers are more and more radical. General Lei is worshipped by more and more people too.
“Besides, the Covenant Alliance has suffered a crushing defeat and seems unlikely to be a major threat to the Imperium in the next decades. Isn’t it the best opportunity to take away the bow now that all the birds have been shot down?
“God of War. Hehe. God of War! In the Imperium that is dominated by major noble families, how can a man that is respected as the ‘God of War’ end well?”
Taking a long breath, Li Yao wiped the sweat on his forehead and said, “If General Lei has such a high prestige in the army, how could the so-called ‘special investigation committee’ bring General Lei away from the Astounding Thunder Fleet so easily?”
“It was because General Lei volunteered to go with them.”
Li Linghai sighed. “You don’t know General Lei. He is a pure soldier who believes in obeying orders. The Council of Elders represents the glory of the Imperium. Until he completely loses hope in the Council of Elders, he will obey the orders from the Council of Elders unconditionally.
“Therefore, the special investigation committee does not need many hands at all. Even if they only sent two strengthless office clerks, General Lei would’ve left his own fleet and returned to the nest of the four Kurfürst families together with them.”
After a long daze, Li Yao smiled thoughtfully. “I did not know that such Immortal Cultivators exist.”
“General Lei is a model soldier and a model Immortal Cultivator in our vision. Whether you are his friend or his foe, you have to admire his honor and integrity.”
Li Linghai remarked, “A lot of people say that General Lei was born in the wrong age. He should’ve been born in the age of Blackstar the Great a thousand years ago in the Imperium of True Human Beings that was still young, vigorous, fair, and just.
“In that case, he probably would’ve helped Blackstar the Great annihilate the Alliance of the Holy Covenant as the commander of the Imperium, or at least clear the remnants of all the obsolete noble families!”
Li Yao rolled his eyes and said, “After hearing what you said, Your Grace, I think that General Lei Chenghu actually has the demeanor of a Cultivator!”
Li Linghai smiled. “I know what is on your mind. Do you think that you have a chance to transform General Lei into a Cultivator? If so, you can’t be more wrong. Be careful. If you ever meet General Lei one day, no matter what, do not reveal your identity as a Cultivator because General Lei loathes Cultivators.”
Li Yao was stunned. “Why?”
“General Lei is the firmest Immortal Cultivator who has suppressed the riots of the Cultivators many times.”
Li Linghai said, “Of course, they were not necessarily ‘real Cultivators’, or at least not from Starlight. Many space pirates and privateers like to be engaged in their activities under the banner of the Cultivators. Who can tell which of them are real and which ones are fake?
“After witnessing the ugliness of those ‘Cultivators’ and the idiocy and craziness of the ignorant people who had been instigated by them, do you think General Lei would have any fondness for the Cultivators? The Covenant Alliance, the extraterrestrial devils, and the Cultivators are all the same for General Lei. They are all the enemies of the Imperium in his eyes!”