“Coming for me?”
Dai Chengfeng raised an eyebrow slightly. “This Prince just arrived in Wu'an City, hasn't even stepped through the gates of the City Lord’s Mansion, and in the blink of an eye, the Heaven Dou Empire has besieged the city?”
“Is it their intelligence network, or…?”
The corner of Dai Chengfeng’s mouth curled into an intrigued smile. “Interesting!”
With that said.
Dai Chengfeng turned directly and walked towards the city gate. “Let’s go, to the city wall!”
Zhu Fan quickly followed, guarding Dai Chengfeng closely from behind, his eyes filled with vigilance.
Zhu Yan looked at their retreating figures, his face full of bitterness. “The Heaven Dou Empire didn’t come early, didn’t come late, but chose to come precisely after the Fourth Prince entered the city…”
“What should I do?”
“If something unexpected happens to this Fourth Prince in my Wu'an City, and the higher-ups blame us, I’m afraid my parents, wife, and children will all suffer!”
“Now, I can only hope that all of this is just a coincidence, sigh!”
After a while, Zhu Yan shook his head and quickly jogged along, hurrying to catch up with the two.
At the same time.
Outside Wu'an City, the Heaven Dou Empire’s army surged towards Wu'an City like a steel torrent, with military flags emblazoned with the Heaven Dou Empire’s emblem fluttering fiercely in the wind.
The soldiers were clad in heavy armor, holding sharp long spears, the cold metallic gleam shimmering under the sunlight, exuding a murderous aura.
Inside the central army tent.
At this moment, the atmosphere was even more oppressive to the extreme.
A golden-haired young man was leaning over a map spread out on the table, his face handsome yet somewhat cold.
It was none other than the current Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.
His fair, slender fingers gently tapped the location of Wu'an City on the map, murmuring, “Is this Wu'an City?”
Then, he straightened up slightly, crossed his arms, his brows tightly furrowed, his gaze moving along the mountains and rivers on the map.
“Indeed, it’s easy to defend but hard to attack.”
At this moment.
An old general, clad in heavy armor with white hair and beard, strode out of the formation.
He came before Xue Qinghe, knelt on one knee, and cupped his hands with a worried expression, saying, “Crown Prince!”
“This old man knows that you have just been conferred the title of Crown Prince by His Majesty, and your foundation is not yet stable.”
“Now, volunteering to come to my Wu'an City, you wish for a great victory to make His Majesty and the court officials look at you with new eyes.”
“But…”
“It is still too risky for us to rashly dispatch thirty thousand troops.”
“For many years, the two Empires have maintained a delicate peace through tacit understanding. Once broken, those covetous fellows from Spirit Hall will surely seize the opportunity, and the consequences will be unimaginable…”
“Enough!”
Xue Qinghe, who was examining the map, heard this and raised a hand to interrupt the old general before him. “General Li, you need not say more.”
“I am confident that Spirit Hall will not interfere.”
“Moreover, the Star Luo Empire has repeatedly provoked my Heaven Dou border for many years. Can it be that we Heaven Dou can only let them bully us, and are not allowed to retaliate?”
“As long as we do not occupy Wu'an City.”
“Presumably, even if the Star Luo Empire has great resentment, by then the die will be cast, and they will only be able to swallow this silent loss.”
Hearing this, General Li remained unconvinced and tried to persuade him further: “But, the Star Luo Emperor’s character is unyielding and tough, how could he easily swallow…”
“Enough!”
Xue Qinghe suddenly slammed the table, causing the teacup to jolt and tea to spill.
His eyes were filled with displeasure, his face grim, and he angrily said, “This Crown Prince’s mind is made up.”
“General Li, are you defying orders?”
Instantly, the old general before him felt a chill in his heart, sighed helplessly, slowly stood up, and cupped his hands, saying, “This old subject would not dare…”
“This old subject will go prepare for the siege now.”
“Good, go.”
The old general turned and left the tent with heavy steps.
As this old general departed, a middle-aged man, completely enveloped in golden armor, with blood-red hair and a rugged face, abruptly appeared from the shadows.
Looking at Xue Qinghe, he said, “Young Master, that old fellow is truly unappreciative. Should I go and…”
As he spoke, the man made a gesture of slitting a throat.
Xue Qinghe gently shook his head. “Forget it.”
“Compared to that old fellow, I am now more interested in the Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Chengfeng!”
Porcupinefish Douluo was slightly stunned, then suddenly realized, “So that’s it!”
“Is this why Your Highness could have launched a surprise attack earlier, but waited until today, when Dai Chengfeng entered the city, to dispatch troops?”
Xue Qinghe nodded slightly, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: “A Prince who once came infinitely close to that position, but was suddenly deposed and exiled here.”
“Do you think he will be content?”
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Porcupinefish Douluo’s eyes: “Him? I don’t know…”
“But if it were me, I would definitely be unwilling and want to reclaim everything that belongs to me!”
At this point, he looked up at Xue Qinghe again. “So, Young Master, are you planning to subdue him for our Spirit Hall’s use?”
“After all, although his Spirit’s potential was exhausted due to spirit ring conflict issues, that was merely the Star Luo Empire’s judgment…”
“Our Spirit Hall has many methods; it might not be impossible to remedy it.”
Xue Qinghe smiled and nodded, then shook his head. “It’s not that simple. He is a Prince, after all.”
“Moreover, before this, I knew nothing about Dai Chengfeng’s character and personality, so I couldn’t fully determine if he could be used by my Spirit Hall.”
“This time, I merely wish to test him.”
“If he truly has lingering unwillingness and a bit of ambition left, it wouldn’t hurt to utilize him; but if he’s just a useless piece of mud, I’m too lazy to waste my thoughts.”
“After all, taking Wu'an City and solidifying my position as Crown Prince is the top priority.”
“As for him?”
“It’s just a convenient side matter. Waiting these few extra days is fine either way.”
Porcupinefish Douluo’s face was filled with admiration, and he cupped his hands and praised, “Young Master is brilliant, your thoughts are thorough, I am impressed!”
Xue Qinghe chuckled softly.
At this moment, a soldier’s loud report came from outside the tent: “Crown Prince, our thirty thousand soldiers have all assembled and are awaiting your command!”
Instantly, Xue Qinghe’s eyes sharpened like an eagle’s. He strode out of the main tent, mounted a tall white warhorse, and gave a loud command.
“All troops, heed my order, attack the city!”
Boom boom boom—!
The Heaven Dou soldiers set off, their steps uniform, making the earth tremble.
On the other side.
At this moment, Dai Chengfeng and the others had already ascended the city wall.
Looking at the dense, surging tide of Heaven Dou soldiers outside the city, each clad in heavy armor, their weapons gleaming coldly, and carrying siege equipment, Zhu Yan felt terrified.
“It seems this time, the Heaven Dou Empire is serious!”
Thinking this, he cautiously moved closer to Dai Chengfeng, his voice trembling slightly.
“Your Highness, what do you think… what should we do?”
“The enemy has a full thirty thousand troops, and it’s not hard to see that they are all heavily armored elites.”
“While our city’s garrison has barely ten thousand men, most of them are actually old, weak, and infirm. The truly battle-ready troops are only about a thousand. The disparity is too great.”
“How about I send a detachment to escort you and Lord Zhu Fan to leave first?”
Dai Chengfeng’s expression was as calm as water, his deep gaze sweeping back and forth across the Heaven Dou army, searching for the commander.
At the same time, he said indifferently, “Have me leave first? My Star Luo Empire’s men have the glory of death, not the shame of life.”
“I will stay here and see what tricks they can pull!”
“You go arrange for the soldiers to defend the city and tell them that I, the Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire, am with them!”
As he spoke.
Dai Chengfeng suddenly saw the golden-haired young man riding a white horse, surrounded by the enemy’s central formation, and his pupils instantly constricted.
“Qian Renxue?!”