Chapter 9 Pre-Battle Summons

Faced with a shortage of military commanders, Li Xiang finally remembered the long-ignored system. Ever since he last summoned Di Renjie, Li Xiang had not made use of the system for nearly three years.

"System, help me check how many summoning points and summoning cards I currently have." Having not dealt with the system for several years, Li Xiang had grown somewhat hazy on the exact tally of his assets.

"Ding! Over the past few years, the host has successively acquired 8 summoning points each for Zhang Huan, Li Lang, Cao Xing, He Meng, and Cheng Lian; and 9 summoning points each for Li Yuanfang, Hu Jinghui, Zeng Tai, and Di Renjie. The host currently possesses 382 summoning points, one random summoning card, one super-tier summoning card, and one historical beauty summoning card."

"System, use the super-tier summoning card first to summon a military commander with a focus on martial prowess," Li Xiang instructed silently.

"Ding! The summoning process has begun.

Candidate number one: Shang Kexi from the late Ming Dynasty. Command: 84, Might: 93, Intelligence: 78, Politics: 80.

Candidate number two: Li Siyuan, Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Command: 94, Might: 98, Intelligence: 82, Politics: 85, Charm: 92.

Candidate number three: Shan Xiongxin from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Command: 80, Might: 97, Intelligence: 72, Politics: 72.

Candidate number four: Yuchi Gong from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Command: 84, Might: 98, Intelligence: 72, Politics: 69.

Candidate number five: Li Gan from the Western Han Dynasty. Command: 85, Might: 97, Intelligence: 75, Politics: 78.

Please eliminate two individuals from the five, and the system will perform the summon from the remaining three."

Li Xiang pondered for a moment. Among the five, Shang Kexi, possessing the lowest stats, naturally had to be discarded, and moreover, that person's reputation left much to be desired.

As for a choice between Li Gan and Shan Xiongxin, Li Xiang ultimately decided to discard Shan Xiongxin. Although the two possessed similar capabilities, if Li Gan were to be summoned, there was a high probability he would be implanted as a member of the Li family clan, much like Li Yuanfang previously.

Employing one's own kin felt far more comfortable than using outsiders, and having a greater number of clan generals would also prove advantageous for the future stability of his forces, much like Cao Cao in later days.

"System, remove Shan Xiongxin and Shang Kexi, and summon from the remaining three."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining Li Siyuan of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Command: 94, Might: 98, Intelligence: 82, Politics: 85, Charm: 92. The implanted identity is the host's clan elder brother, currently serving within the host's army. He brings along 6 accompanying figures: Li Congke, Li Congshen, Li Congrong, Li Conghou, Li Congcan, and Li Congyi, along with the prized steed, Shadow Chaser."

Although Li Siyuan possessed the highest capabilities among these individuals, what Li Xiang had actually desired was Yuchi Gong.

Even so, the primary reason still lay in a combination skill; the side-by-side battle of the dual door gods would undoubtedly elevate the two to an entirely different tier, far outclassing Li Siyuan alone.

Still, acquiring Li Siyuan was not a bad outcome. According to the memories implanted by the system, although Li Siyuan was Li Xiang's clan brother of the same generation, he was already in his thirties and had reached middle age. Furthermore, his adopted son Li Congke, eldest son Li Congshen, and second son Li Congrong had already joined the military alongside him. Although these youths were still young and far from their absolute peak, they were already sufficient for immediate use.

In history, Li Congke and Li Congshen were renowned for their fierce bravery; even in their youth, their martial prowess rating surely would not be low, providing a solid auxiliary boost to Qin Qiong.

Li Xiang only regretted that Li Siyuan, as the grand guardian among the Thirteen Taibao, had not brought along the remaining guardians.

Naturally, Li Xiang held no interest in the vast majority of the other guardians; the one he truly cared about was the Thirteen Taibao Li Cunxiao.

If Li Siyuan could genuinely bring along that formidable powerhouse—famed in the saying 'Among kings, Xiang Yu; among generals, Li Cunxiao'—Li Xiang suspected he would laugh himself awake in his dreams.

Li Xiang had originally intended to perform several more summons, but summoning Li Siyuan alone had directly delivered a handful of exceptional commanders to his side, instantly relieving his immense pressure.

With things turning out this way, adding another formidable warrior with a martial prowess above 100 to assist Qin Qiong, supplemented by Li Siyuan and the others, should prove more than adequate.

With that thought in mind, Li Xiang acted without delay.

"System, continue by using 100 summoning points to summon another fierce warrior."

"Ding! The summoning process has begun.

Candidate number one: Luo Cheng, the seventh hero of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Command: 89, Might: 102, Intelligence: 82, Politics: 68.

Candidate number two: Yuan Da of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Command: 80, Might: 102, Intelligence: 72, Politics: 78.

Candidate number three: Nangong Kuo, a great general of the Zhou Dynasty. Command: 94, Might: 102, Intelligence: 80, Politics: 78.

Candidate number four: Wang Xian, King of Yunnan from the Romance of the Eastern Han. Command: 80, Might: 102, Intelligence: 78, Politics: 72.

Candidate number five: Hei Wanlong, a fierce warrior from the Tales of Yue Fei. Command: 68, Might: 102, Intelligence: 68, Politics: 66.

Please eliminate two individuals from the five, and the system will perform the summon from the remaining three."

Upon viewing the pool of summoned candidates, Li Xiang fell into a momentary speechlessness; they were uniformly rated at 102 in martial prowess.

This roster fell far short of the caliber from his previous summon using 100 points.

Li Xiang pondered: since their martial prowess was identical, he would simply make his eliminations based on the other attributes. Among a commander's four dimensions, command and might were the most crucial, so he was forced to base his decision on the command attribute.

First, among the five, Hei Wanlong possessed the lowest command and had to be discarded. Next came a troublesome dilemma: Wang Xian and Yuan Da not only shared identical command and might, but their remaining two stats each excelled in different areas. All things considered, it was difficult to separate the two.

Li Xiang wrung his brains in deep thought yet struggled to make a choice, ultimately deciding to simply draw lots. After a round of operations, a result was finally reached.

Unfortunately, the one ultimately eliminated was Yuan Da.

"System, perform the summon after removing Hei Wanlong and Yuan Da." Following a grueling decision-making process, Li Xiang proceeded with the summon.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining Wang Xian, King of Yunnan from the Romance of the Eastern Han. Command: 80, Might: 102, Intelligence: 78, Politics: 72. He brings along the divine weapon, Eight-Treasure Vine-Snake Spear. His implanted identity is the younger brother of Wang Meng, possessing both literary and martial talents alongside Wang Meng. Upon learning that Wang Meng has pledged allegiance to the host, he has specifically come to join his brother, and Wang Meng is now on the verge of introducing him to the host."

In the romance, Wang Xian had once relied on his treasured Eight-Treasure Vine-Snake Spear to defeat successive vanguard generals and commanders of the Han camp; even Yao Qi in his later years was no match for him, and he fought to a standstill with Kou Xun, who had inherited Ma Yuan's true teachings—with Kou Xun privately conceding his inability to secure victory. Such methods were clear to super-tier warriors of the Han camp like Jia Fu and Tian Bu, who still harbored deep misgivings.

Hearing Wang Xian's implanted background, Li Xiang felt a quiet surge of joy. Having him planted as Wang Meng's younger brother, coupled with a subsequent display of prowess before the assembled generals, would allow him to directly promote and heavily employ him.

Having successfully summoned Li Siyuan and Wang Xian, Li Xiang decided to halt the summoning process.

With these figures lending their assistance, holding back Wang Qing would no longer pose a problem for Qin Qiong.

Furthermore, Li Xiang was now left with only 282 summoning points, alongside one random summoning card and one historical beauty summoning card.

Li Xiang gave no immediate consideration to the historical beauty summoning card, while the random summoning card was truly far too unpredictable.

The destination Li Xiang was about to head toward was essentially a meat grinder; he had to reserve at least two summoning opportunities to turn the tide at a critical juncture.