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The atmosphere in North City became increasingly oppressive as the dark clouds of war hung over its skies.

After the North Prince Mansion issued the notice of “clearing the countryside and strengthening the walls”, the people of Great Xia gained a new understanding of the North Prince.

Nobody had expected the North Prince to actually consider leading thirty thousand soldiers to a decisive death battle against the three hundred thousand cavalry of the Barbarian Tribe in Yan County.

The North Prince, once considered uneducated, lecherous, and incompetent, suddenly stood up, a fact that astonished the people of Great Xia, especially those officials at court.

People could not help but wonder if the North Prince truly was prepared to fight to the death for North City.

That’s three hundred thousand cavalry!

How could thirty thousand possibly hold them off?

Could it be that the uneducated, lecherous, and incompetent North Prince actually possessed great integrity?

Although he indulged in wine and pleasure, could he actually be a good Prince?

Meanwhile, the assassination of Prince Lu Shuyun was quickly overshadowed by the North Prince’s declaration of life-and-death struggle, to the point where people seemed to think it no longer mattered who had attempted to assassinate the Prince.

What the people of Great Xia now wanted to know was whether the North Prince could hold off the Barbarian Tribe’s army of three hundred thousand until the Imperial Army could send support from the north.

As for the struggle for succession in the Capital city, most commoners did not really care; it could be said that Lu Chen’s announcement had drawn everyone’s attention to North City, and particularly to him.

This was the first time since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty that a Prince dared to lead thirty thousand soldiers into a decisive death battle with the Barbarian Tribe, and he was a Prince once deemed useless by the people.

This made Prince Lu Shuyun exceedingly angry, for the North Prince had attracted all the attention to North City, leaving almost no one concerned about his own plight.

His own mansion had been bloodbathed, yet people were indifferent; what was key was the Ministry of Criminal Justice had been investigating for so long and yet had found not a single clue about the assassins, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Rumors even circulated that the whole affair was a stunt he had performed himself, merely to draw the Sum Emperor’s attention — a pure act of self-mutilation.

Upon hearing these rumors, Lu Shuyun was so furious he was nearly exploding; his own mansion had been bloodbathed, and even the Grandmaster sent by the Wang Family to protect him had been killed, yet there were those who claimed it was all an act of self-mutilation.

Who would kill their own Grandmaster in an act of self-mutilation? A single Grandmaster was worth thousands of Martial Artists; only someone with a sickness in the head would sacrifice a Grandmaster to put on such an act.

Great Xia Dynasty.

Qi Prince’s territory.

An army in red armor was marching rapidly, drawing closer to Yan County.

Having been delayed by the provision of supplies in the Capital city for so long, Lin Xiuming finally led the Imperial Army’s seventy thousand elite troops to head north to resist the Barbarian Tribe.

He had ordered his soldiers to march as quickly as possible, all to meet up with the North Prince before the Barbarian Tribe reached Yan County.

With their seventy thousand soldiers and the several tens of thousands from North City, they would have at least a hundred thousand soldiers.

Though they were no match for the Barbarian Tribe in open battle, they would have no problem defending a few key cities; as long as they held on, they could buy time for the armies of the various Seigniors from Great Xia to mobilize.

Especially the Qi Prince, who was closest to North City.

If the Qi Prince did not dispatch troops, then the Barbarian Tribe could directly enter his territory; thus, the Qi Prince was certain to be the first among the Seigniors to mobilize. With the Qi Prince’s army, their chances of victory would be much greater.

Lin Xiuming, riding on horseback, saw the distant mountain peaks getting closer and knew they were not far from North City. He felt some concern; he did not know what the situation was like in North City at the moment.

Had the Barbarian Tribe already entered North City? Had the North Prince’s soldiers held the cities? Had the North Prince been scared into fleeing? He was unclear of it all.

Since departing from the Capital city, they had received no intelligence from North City, and so he was worried.

If the North Prince had abandoned his people and fled south, and if the North Prince’s soldiers had not held the cities, losing those key cities that were critical to stopping the southward advance of the Barbarian Tribe, then it was fantastical to think that their seventy thousand soldiers could still hold North City.

Especially Yan County.

X

Yan County lay below Wanning Valley, and it was highly likely that the Barbarian Cavalry would pass through Wanning Valley if they headed south.

If Yan County stood strong, they could defend it, preventing the Barbarians from heading south quickly, as taking a detour would require time.

Should Yan County be lost, the Barbarians would be able to push forward unopposed, directly entering the domain of the Qi Prince.

By that time, if Great Xia didn’t assemble an army of hundreds of thousands, they simply wouldn’t be able to drive the Barbarians out of North City.

As Lin Xiuming worried over the situation in North City, a mounted soldier arrived before him with a bamboo tube containing intelligence reports.

“General, intelligence from North City.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming’s mind went blank for a moment, and he snatched the bamboo tube from the soldier’s hand, took out the intelligence reports, and read them carefully.

Seeing that the North Prince had withdrawn all defenses north of Yan County, Lin Xiuming’s face instantly turned pale.

Had the North Prince lost his mind?

To withdraw all defenses north of Yan County, with no cities to buffer them, meant that the Barbarians’ spearhead would be pointed directly at Yan County.

How could Yan County’s mere garrison hold back the Barbarian’s three – hundred – thousand – strong army!

That’s not how you consolidate a defensive line.

The Barbarian Cavalry is much faster than their march, and if the Barbarians reached Yan County without any resistance…

I’m afraid by the time the Imperial Army arrives at Yan County, it won’t be them defending the city, but the Barbarians.

At this moment, Lin Xiuming felt as though he already witnessed the defeat in the North Land and his own ensuing punishment.

Although he was the son of the Prime Minister, he couldn’t shirk responsibility for the defeat in the battle, even if it wasn’t his fault; the Sum Emperor would inevitably find someone to blame.

The North Prince was royalty, representing the royal family’s dignity; surely, they couldn’t make him take the blame.

In the end, the only one who could possibly be held responsible was himself, the General who led the troops north.

Lin Xiuming was seething with anger at this point, truly wishing he could punch the North Prince upon seeing him.

However, when Lin Xiuming saw in the intelligence that the North Prince was leading the soldiers of Yan County to fight a decisive battle to the death against the Barbarians, his resentment towards the North Prince vanished almost entirely in an instant.

He furrowed his brow, his gaze repeatedly scanning over the intelligence report before him.

A worthless Prince suddenly showing such determination was unbelievable to Lin Xiuming.

If the North Prince truly fought to the death, perhaps when they arrived at Yan County, there might still be hope for him.

If the North Prince’s resolve faltered, shaking the army’s morale, then his fate would be either death or capture by the Barbarians.

After a while, Lin Xiuming snapped back to reality and then exclaimed loudly, “Increase our march speed! We must meet with the North Prince before the Barbarians reach Yan County!”

North City.

Yan County, North Prince Mansion.

Lu Chen was in his study, seriously reviewing the intelligence reports sent by Wu Yuan regarding Yelv Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao.

The intelligence on Yelv Nanyan was of utmost interest to Lu Chen; a woman who could achieve such a high status in the Sky Wolf King’s tribe and have the Sky Wolf King heed her advice was clearly no ordinary woman.

Just then, a soldier’s voice suddenly rang out at the door of the study, “Prince, there is terrible news!”

Hearing Mu Changtian’s urgent voice, Lu Chen immediately responded, “Come in.”

The soldier then pushed the door open and entered.. Before Lu Chen could even ask, the soldier voluntarily said, “Prince, a troop of Cavalry from Wanning Valley is quickly approaching Yan County! They are suspected to be the vanguard of the Barbarian Cavalry!”