Chapter 971: Boarding Your Pirate Ship! (Part 1)
Ling Feng looked at the expression on Long Xiaao's face and knew that this guy had been completely fooled by him.
Long Xiaao was somewhat different from the usual slick operators; he still held ideals of loyalty and patriotism. There's no denying, the Sky White Monarch had indeed been prescient, dispatching Long Xiaao to Iron Wolf City as City Lord was tantamount to driving a steel needle into Yuan Tiangang's sphere of influence.
"Brother Long, whether you want to protect yourself or realize your ambitions and ideals, I give you this advice: while Prince Jing is still at the Southern Border, help him truly grasp real power. By then, you will be a hero of the Empire!"
"On the contrary, if you do nothing now, when the war is over, Prince Jing will simply return to the Imperial City as a prince. And you? The Southern Border is perilous; if a City Lord dies here, not even a ripple will be made!"
Ling Feng's words made Long Xiaao break out in a sweat, swallowing repeatedly. He turned his gaze to Moo Feng and asked in a deep voice, "Prince Jing, what's your opinion?"
"What Brother Feen says is what I mean. Brother Long Xiaao, there's nothing in the world that cannot be swayed, but without attempting, how would you know if you have the capability?"
Moo Feng clenched his fist, "If successful, Brother Long Xiaao will always be my elder brother! If we fail, I will spare no effort to protect you! Regardless, you are a loyal minister of the Empire!"
"Alright!" Long Xiaao resolved his heart and gritted his teeth, "Prince Jing, Brother Ling, I shall risk my life and accompany you, gentlemen!"
"Haha!" Ling Feng laughed loudly, "Brother Long Xiaao, I believe years from now, you'll feel extremely fortunate about today's decision!"
Long Xiaao wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, chuckling bitterly, "Brother Ling, I feel like I've boarded a pirate ship with you."
"Hehe, we're on a proper Royal Family ship, rightfully so!"
Ling Feng raised a brow and smiled, "With your assistance, Brother Long, Prince Jing will have the leverage to take on Yuan Tiangang."
Long Xiaao chuckled bitterly, "Brother, you're overestimating me. The City Lord Mansion's personal guard, City Guards, and the Imperial Guard altogether barely add up to a little over ten thousand troops, whereas the Tianmang Fortress holds millions of formidable troops."
"We're not really going for a head-on conflict with real steel and guns against Yuan Tiangang." Ling Feng gave a mysterious smile, "Remember, besiege the city directly, attack from the heart strategically. This battle will be fought, but not in the usual way."
Ling Feng beckoned to Long Xiaao and Moo Feng, who approached him closely. They listened to Ling Feng's whisper, leaving them utterly shocked.
"This... will it work?"
Long Xiaao's eyelid twitched wildly, "Brother, you're playing with fire!"
"Fortune favors the brave, hunger plagues the timid." Ling Feng shrugged, looking at Moo Feng.
Moo Feng gritted his teeth, recalling what Ling Feng had said to him.
What he lacked was not wisdom, but courage, and a touch of madness!
"It will work! It definitely will!"
Moo Feng took a deep breath, "Let's do as Brother Feen says!"
Long Xiaao also clenched his fist, "Alright, since Prince Jing says so, let's do it! Do it!"
...
Three days swiftly passed.
Five hundred miles west of the Tianmang Fortress, there was a mountain valley called Yellow Dragon Ridge.
At this moment, on a mound, there was a one-eyed General, gazing intently to the north, cursing loudly, "Damn it, we agreed to rendezvous at Yellow Dragon Ridge at noon; what time is it now, these bastards!"
"Hehe, Old Lee, the Black Armored Cavalry Army is not a regular ragtag force; they're the Empire's true elite, the best of the best. We can afford to wait a bit for them."
Beside the one-eyed General stood the scar-faced General; these two were exactly Lee Qing and Wang Meng, the two Generals Ling Feng had seen at the Southern Army's commander tent.
Currently, the three Demon Emperors had joined forces, leaving the Southern Army no choice but to request support from the surrounding Black Armored Cavalry Army.
With the Black Armored Cavalry Army's combat capability, they could undoubtedly greatly alleviate the stress on these garrison troops.
"These bastards, five years ago, I'd have gone and twisted the head off their Commander!"
Lee Qing cursed furiously, "We agreed to rendezvous at noon, and now it's almost dusk; this delays the timing for battle! Yellow Dragon Ridge is again not very safe. If the Demon Clan targets us, our troop numbers won't be enough for one mouthful for them!"
Before the words were out of his mouth, a cloud of dust rolled up from the south, accompanied by relentless shouts and cries.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear many warriors of various Demon Clans riding Gale Demon Wolves, driving large demons, were rapidly charging towards Yellow Dragon Ridge.
"You and your jinx of a mouth! You always speak of trouble!"
Wang Meng's eyelid suddenly twitched; the scene showed at least three thousand Demon Clan warriors, plus the demons they controlled, numbering over fifty thousand altogether.
This overwhelming tide of demons would be hard for even an army of ten thousand to resist, while they came secretly to Yellow Dragon Ridge with less than three thousand troops!
"Damn!"
Lee Qing was at a loss for words, smacking himself hard on the mouth, "Damn it, I was never this accurate in predictions before!"
"Why are you still standing around? Retreat!"
Wang Meng furrowed his brow deeply; there's a ninety percent chance they won't escape death this time. Once the Demon Clan quickly vanquishes them and sets up an ambush, biding their time, it's likely the Black Armored Cavalry Army's elite will all perish here.
Unfortunately, even if the soldiers run as fast as they can, they still can't outrun the Wind Attribute demons, Gale Demon Wolves.
It took merely a moment for the three thousand troops to be surrounded by fifty thousand demon warriors and demons.
Human warriors fell in swathes. Three thousand against fifty thousand—this was a battle with no suspense.
Lee Qing and Wang Meng fought valiantly, bathed in blood, but unfortunately, their strength could not change anything.
Soon, Demon King-level masters were sent out, and with such a disparity in combat strength, it was near a state of crushing defeat, instantly devouring most of the Human Clan warriors.
Despair enveloped the soldiers' hearts.
Seeing those demons' hideous faces, cruelly devouring their companions, even their souls trembled with fear.
"Kill! ——"
However, at that moment, the familiar YingYang Soaring Horn sounded; from the north, the sound of battle cries arose, a uniform force of black armor, black armored troops, the synchronized prodigious roar and dense footsteps showed this was a highly trained army.
Black Armored Cavalry Army!
At this moment, the appearance of the Black Armored Cavalry Army was akin to the arrival of divine forces, pulling these warriors back from the brink of despair.
"Counterattack! Counterattack!"
Wang Meng shouted loudly, as long as they held on until the Black Armored Cavalry Army arrived, they would still have one slim chance of survival.
Boom!
With a slash of sword light, a bloody rain splattered, Wang Meng's strike unmistakably awakened the dazed soldiers.
However, they hadn't noticed yet that among the Black Armored Cavalry Army, the one issuing commands was none other than Prince Jing, Moo Feng!