Chapter 386
Chapter 386
Hearing Big Dummy's words, the tens of thousands of looters realized which way to flee. They split into two groups at the base of the city wall and ran in opposite directions. Su Quan’s heart bled. How much gold had these twenty thousand-plus rioters plundered? Even by the most conservative estimate, it was an astronomical sum. The Su Clan had originally planned to kill them all, harvest the stolen money, and reap a windfall. After all, what the rebellious Su Clan needed most was money. But now, the leaders who had plundered the most gold had been robbed by Shen Lang and Zhang Chong, and the remaining stragglers were fleeing for their lives. In Su Quan's eyes, the fleeing rioters were not people, but sacks of gold. It was as if the money that should have belonged to the Su Clan had sprouted legs and was running away.
Su Quan roared.
"Stop them! Don't let them escape! Kill them, kill them all!"
In that instant, Samanya’s mounted bandits charged out madly, splitting into two groups to block the looters' path.
"Archers, fire! Kill them, kill them all!"
At Su Quan's command, the large army behind him unleashed a rain of arrows. But the arrows did not fall upon the city walls; they rained down on the frantically fleeing looters. Countless people were struck and fell to the ground, dying gruesome deaths. Beneath the dark curtain of the sky, the stench of blood filled the air. This was what Shen Lang meant when he said fate was fair.
‘You stole more money than you could ever earn in a lifetime, so you must pay for it with your lives. If you succeed in escaping, you will eat fine food, live comfortably for a dozen years, marry, and have children. But if you fail to escape, you will die here. Do not blame heaven or resent others for it. Of course, if you wish to curse me, Shen Lang, feel free! I, Shen Lang, have always been a vicious man. I came here to take revenge on Tianxi Province and destroy the Su Clan, not to become your king or win your favor.’
Su Quan madly slaughtered the crowd of looters, and soon his gaze fell upon Shen Lang on the city wall.
‘This man’s viciousness is enough to make one’s hair stand on end. A weakling with no martial prowess is killing people more ruthlessly than I am.’
After today, when the people of Baiye Commandery spoke of Shen Lang, their opinions would be sharply divided. Some would be moved to tears, saying he had shown them great kindness, for Shen Lang had changed their fates. A significant number of the honest ones would retreat from the looting after stealing enough money, flee to the countryside to hide, and prepare to live peaceful lives. In contrast, the rest would curse Shen Lang with a hatred that seeped into their very bones, for they were to die by his vicious scheme.
‘They say a single general's triumph is built on the graves of ten thousand soldiers. But you, Shen Lang, have not even achieved your triumph, yet more than ten thousand corpses are already piled at your feet. But don't be too pleased with yourself. Your turn to die will come soon. You may not know it, but Grandmaster Banya of Chu has descended from the mountains, Gunan Duta has brought a dozen masters with him, and with me, Su Quan, there are three supreme masters.’
Su Quan said.
"Grandmaster Banya, Great Master Gunan, we must use our supreme martial arts to kill Shen Lang and Zhang Chong. We must kill them in a single blow."
Grandmaster Banya of Chu said.
"I am no assassin. My only enemy is Li Qianqiu."
Su Quan replied.
"Yes, then I will entrust Li Qianqiu to you, Grandmaster Banya. Great Master Gunan, you will take care of Zhang Chong, and leave Shen Lang and that Big Dummy beside him to me."
"No problem!"
"It must be a single, fatal blow!"
The three supreme masters—Su Quan, Gunan Duta, and Grandmaster Banya—gathered all their inner energy.
"Die!"
The three of them shot up the city wall like arrows. Following them, dozens of other masters also began to scale the wall.
"Shen Lang, you wretched bastard, die! Zhang Chong, you old fool, die!"
The sharp swords of Su Quan, Gunan Duta, and Grandmaster Banya thrust toward their respective targets at extreme speed. The three supreme masters had to kill their targets in a single blow. If they missed this chance, there would not be a second one.
Grandmaster Banya's sword was aimed at the Sword King, Li Qianqiu.
Clang!
After an exchange that decided the contest, Grandmaster Banya was pushed back half a move, stumbling in retreat. This, too, was part of Su Quan’s plan. Grandmaster Banya had been called not to defeat the Sword King Li Qianqiu, but to keep him occupied so he couldn't intervene to save Zhang Chong. That way, Gunan Duta could easily kill Zhang Chong.
Killing Shen Lang would be a piece of cake for Su Quan. That Big Dummy was formidable, but not fast enough. He might have been able to block Su Jian'yan before, but he wouldn't be able to block Su Quan now. Su Quan’s martial arts were only slightly inferior to Su Nan's.
But what happened next exceeded his expectations. Gunan Duta had originally leaped to kill Zhang Chong, but he was met by an ugly, middle-aged man he had never seen before.
‘Who… who is this person? How can his martial arts be so high? He’s barely a hair's breadth away from a grandmaster's level.’
However, Gunan Duta possessed a similar level of skill. The ugly, middle-aged man was Zuo Ci's junior, Grand Princess Yongjue.
Ting!
The two swords of Gunan Duta and Grand Princess Yongjue crossed, sending sparks into the air. Grand Princess Yongjue retreated half a step, and Gunan Duta also stumbled back half a step. The martial arts of these two were indeed on par.
Su Quan's target was Shen Lang. But to kill Shen Lang, he first had to break through Big Dummy's defense. And what Big Dummy did best was block swords. Apart from the swords of Zhong Chuke and Li Qianqiu, no one at present could break through Big Dummy's defense.
"Shen Lang, you thief, die!"
Su Quan roared inwardly, thrusting the sharp sword in his hand toward Shen Lang with incredible speed. In that instant, Big Dummy stepped forward, wildly swinging the darksteel staff in his hands.
"Block, block, block!"
However, Big Dummy could only block the first sword strike. Su Quan’s martial arts were formidable, and his sword was too fast. Big Dummy couldn't block the second strike.
"Finally, I can kill that thief!"
Su Quan was overjoyed, and the sword in his hand struck like a viper toward Shen Lang's throat. If that sword struck home, Shen Lang was a dead man. But in the next moment, a shadow leaped forward, blocking Shen Lang's path. It was Zhang Chong, who had drawn his sword. Su Quan was aghast.
‘Why is Zhang Chong here? Shouldn't he have been killed by Gunan Duta?’
Ting!
Zhang Chong's and Su Quan's swords clashed. Su Quan's sword knocked aside Zhang Chong's and slashed deeply across his chest, sending a spray of crimson blood into the air. At that moment, Big Dummy brought his darksteel staff down with all his might.
Crash!
Su Quan hurriedly raised his sword to block the darksteel staff but was sent flying by Big Dummy's strength, falling straight from the top of the wall to the ground below.
***
In the State of Yue, Tianbei Province, Shangye City.
The entire city had been transformed into a massive military camp. King Ning Yuanxian had gone deep into debt to raise funds for the war and was personally leading the expedition. On the defensive line dozens of miles ahead, an army of one hundred thousand had gathered. Their march cost so much money it was like scattering gold coins on the ground every day. But Ning Yuanxian didn't mind at all. If he could weather this crisis, what was a debt of a few million gold taels? If there was one common trait among outstanding people, it was that most had a propensity for squandering fortunes.
Whether it was because of the gold the king had borrowed or because the king was personally leading the expedition, the morale of the Yue army on the Tianbei defensive line was sky-high. The atmosphere of a decisive battle grew thicker, and the Yue army even took the initiative to charge out and engage in several small skirmishes.
Though the Third Prince, Ning Qi, had a cold personality, he was a born general who displayed tremendous power on the battlefield. Not only had he won several battles, but he also shouted loudly every day.
"King of Wu, you little brat. Don't you even have the courage to come out and fight me? King of Wu, you wet-behind-the-ears whelp, you're not even worthy of fighting my royal father!"
It was natural to provoke the enemy like this in battle, but beside the Third Prince, another voice boomed like thunder.
"King of Wu, you little brat. Hurry over and lick this old man's big cock!"
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone turned to look at the man. He looked as if the legendary fierce generals Zhang Fei or Fan Kuai had reappeared in the world. His name was Lan Bao. He was a victim and refugee of the war that had shaken the world twenty years ago. After the Great Yan Empire fought a world-shaking battle with Jiangli Jeju, millions of war refugees were created, and they fled in all directions. Go Duhwan was a war refugee, and so was Lan Bao.
He was originally taken in and raised by the Zhong Clan. His temper was particularly fierce, so he was named Zhong Bao, using the character for 'violent.' After joining the Zhong Clan, his naturally formidable bloodline began to show. His personal martial arts could not be called profound, but his skill on the battlefield was astounding. Normally a man of few words, he became a madman as soon as he stepped onto the battlefield, engaging in brutal slaughter, which earned him the nickname 'World-Afflicting Demon King' from some.
However, because he killed people too indiscriminately, Marquis Zhongyao took back the Zhong family name from him. From the age of ten, he followed Master Lando to learn martial arts and changed his name to Lan Bao. At twenty-eight, he was expelled by Master Lando for having too strong a murderous intent. Expelled from the school, he could no longer use the surname 'Lan' and changed his name to the current Lan Bao.
"King of Wu, you little brat. Come here, and I'll ravage you! King of Wu, you little brat, I'll burst your eggs and rip your asscheeks apart. Hahaha!"
The shouts of that terrifyingly fierce general were as loud as thunder and could be heard clearly from afar. The young King of Wu's expression did not change; he acted as if he had heard nothing. But his trusted eunuch saw his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened and knew inwardly that the King of Wu was furious.
Grand General Wu Zhi reported to the King of Wu.
"Your Highness, the King of Yue has increased his forces again."
The King of Wu asked.
"Increased his forces again? Has Ning Yuanxian gone mad? Where else in the State of Yue could he conscript more troops?"
"From Yanzhou."
The King of Wu gasped in surprise.
"The majority of the hundred-thousand-strong army in Yanzhou has already been conscripted, and he's conscripting more troops from Bianwu? He has completely lost his mind."
"Recently, the King of Yue's army has been provoking us daily. That Lan Bao, in particular, has led his troops to attack several times."
The King of Wu's eyes turned cold.
"Stay calm, stay calm!"
Ning Yuanxian might have gone mad, but he had not. His strategic objective for this southern campaign was very simple: to give Su Nan a good opportunity to rebel, to seize the Leizhou Archipelago, and, one step further, to seize Jinshan Island. Doing so would be like holding a sharp sword to the belly of the State of Yue. Once that strategic objective was achieved, he would have to adapt to the circumstances.
The armies of Su and Jiang would sweep through Tianxi Province and advance to the very capital of Yue. When that happened, Ning Yuanxian's rear would be in grave danger, and his personal expedition would become a complete joke—no, a truly insane act. That would be the opportunity for the King of Wu to march south, avenge past humiliations, and reclaim all nine commanderies previously ceded to Yue. If Wu reclaimed its territory from Yue, Yue would lose a third of its land and be reduced to a second-rate kingdom. Wu would then expand its territory by leaps and bounds and become the hegemon of the south.