Victory in the Bag

"Swish, swish-"

At the sight of these unexpected intruders, the West Depot experts and Embroidered Uniform Guards instantly gathered together, drawing their blades and swords as they watched them warily.

Ma Jinliang frowned slightly at the people standing at the palace gates. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he suddenly sprang onto a rooftop and took a careful look outside. His face immediately darkened.

"Director, the men we left outside are all dead!"

At those words, Yu Huatian's gaze turned cold as well. Watching the handsome young gentleman and the armored man stroll through the palace gates, he asked icily, "Your doing?"

Before the handsome young gentleman could speak, the armored man sneered. "I heard that the director of Ming's West Depot stands beneath one man and above ten thousand, wielding power over court and country. I thought he would be clever, but it turns out he's a fool too. Since we're already here, who else could have done it?"

"Insolence!"

Ma Jinliang and the others flew into a rage, instantly drawing their weapons and preparing to strike. Even Yan Shisan's eyes turned cold, his right hand settling on his sword hilt.

Since he had decided to follow Yu Huatian, anyone who dared insult Yu Huatian was insulting him!

The armored man showed no fear. Instead, he sneered again. "Before you attack, I suggest you take another look at what's happening outside."

Everyone frowned. Then Lu Xiaofeng flashed onto a rooftop and looked out. His expression immediately changed.

Throughout Blackwater City, figures in heavy armor carrying curved blades filled the streets, murderous menace spilling from them. Meanwhile, martial artists crowded thickly around the palace gates, most wearing foreign attire. A rough glance revealed at least a hundred of them.

Lu Xiaofeng's brows knitted tightly. Turning toward Yu Huatian, he said gravely, "Mongolian cavalry. And the people outside look to be wearing Western Xia clothing. They should be experts from the legendary Western Xia First-Class Hall!"

"The Great Yuan Dynasty, the Western Xia First-Class Hall."

Yu Huatian narrowed his eyes and instinctively circulated his true qi. His gaze shifted slightly, but his face betrayed nothing.

"Four Eyebrows, with quite a distinguished bearing. You must be that meddlesome Lu Xiaofeng? You certainly are well informed."

The handsome young gentleman gave Lu Xiaofeng a somewhat surprised glance, then flicked open the folding fan in her hand and said with a light laugh:

"Since you even recognize the Western Xia First-Class Hall, why not guess who we are?"

Lu Xiaofeng first looked at the armored man, his eyes flashing. "They say the Western Xia First-Class Hall was established to protect Western Xia's imperial family. It recruits unusual martial talents from everywhere and answers only to General Helian Tieshu. Since its experts are here, you must be Western Xia's great general, Helian Tieshu?"

The armored man snorted. "Correct. I am Helian Tieshu. At least you know something."

Lu Xiaofeng could not be bothered with this loudmouth. He turned toward the handsome young gentleman, swept his gaze over the martial artists behind her, and continued:

"They say Prince Ruyang of the Great Yuan Dynasty has a younger daughter named Minmin Temür. Though a woman, she favors martial attire over rouge and finery. Clever beyond the ordinary, she likewise enjoys recruiting unusual martial talents..."

"Lu Xiaofeng truly lives up to his name!"

The handsome young gentleman nodded slightly. Making no attempt to conceal that she was a woman, she praised him:

"Correct. I am Prince Ruyang's daughter, Minmin Temür. But I also have a Central Plains name, Zhao Min. You may call me by that name as well."

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head. "Even with a Central Plains name, Your Ladyship is still no native of the Central Plains."

Zhao Min smiled. "No matter. One day, Great Yuan's iron cavalry will march south and unite the Divine Land. Then Han and Mongolian alike will be subjects of the Great Yuan Dynasty. What we call ourselves won't matter."

Then Zhao Min extended an olive branch to Lu Xiaofeng. "Lu Xiaofeng, you are a man of some standing in Ming, and I admire you greatly. Why not join me in the grand undertaking of uniting the Divine Land?"

A trace of mockery surfaced in Lu Xiaofeng's eyes. "I'm honored by Your Ladyship's favor, but though I am only a wanderer, I still understand devotion to one's homeland and duty to one's people. Han are Han, and Mongolians are Mongolians. How can you lump them together?"

"Besides, of the Divine Land's six great dynasties, only the Great Yuan Dynasty and the Great Qing Dynasty to the east are ruled by outsiders. The other four were founded by Han people. I'm afraid Your Ladyship's dream of Mongolians uniting the Divine Land will be difficult to realize."

Zhao Min laughed softly. "You have a saying in the Central Plains: 'Nothing in this world is difficult for one who sets their heart on it.' I believe that as long as I never give up, my ambitions will come true sooner or later. When a hundred peoples become one loving family, that will be a true golden age of peace. Only then will the Divine Land achieve genuine peace."

"A fool's dream."

Yu Huatian suddenly spoke, staring coldly at Zhao Min and Helian Tieshu. "There are two kinds of people I detest most in this life: arrogant fools who don't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth runs, and those with foul mouths. As it happens, both of you possess both qualities."

"Death is upon you, and you still don't know it," Helian Tieshu said coldly.

Zhao Min was not angered. Instead, she smiled. "Yu Huatian, you are a man of some standing yourself. I heard the East Depot underwent some changes recently. That should have been the perfect opportunity for the West Depot to rise and suppress it, yet your Tianqi Emperor sent a Grandmaster to take charge of the East Depot. With the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa holding you back as well, I'm afraid you'll find little room to achieve anything in Ming. Why not come to Great Yuan? I guarantee you a position no lower than the one you hold now."

Yu Huatian's expression remained unchanged. "You're certainly well informed. But what makes you think you can recruit me?"

Zhao Min said with a beaming smile, "Try circulating your internal energy, and you'll know."

Before Yu Huatian made any move, Lu Xiaofeng and the others' expressions shifted. They hurriedly tried to circulate their internal energy, only to feel their bodies suddenly weaken. They could no longer muster even a fraction of their once-vast internal energy. A wave of weakness washed over them, nearly leaving them unable to stand.

Shock and fury filled their faces:

"We've been poisoned!"

"They used poison! Despicable!"

Even Yan Shisan, Lu Xiaofeng, and the others staggered, hastily bracing themselves against nearby structures as they stared grimly at Zhao Min and her unaffected companions.

Lu Xiaofeng gritted his teeth. "You are a lady of the Great Yuan Dynasty, yet you resort to a gutter trick like poisoning? Is that how a gentleman behaves?"

Zhao Min laughed lightly. "Since you know I'm a woman dressed as a man, you should also know I'm no gentleman."

"You..."

Lu Xiaofeng choked on his words and glared at Zhao Min. But he had no time to argue with her now. He hurriedly sat cross-legged where he stood and tried to expel the poison from his body.

Zhao Min smiled. "Don't waste your effort. This poison is called Ten Fragrance Muscle-Softening Powder. Colorless and odorless, it is compounded from several poisons. Once poisoned, your muscles and bones go weak. No one below the Great Grandmaster level can counter it."

With that, she paid no further attention to Lu Xiaofeng and the others, turning instead toward Yu Huatian. His expression was cold, and he seemed unaffected by the poison. But Zhao Min did not mind. She had absolute confidence in the Ten Fragrance Muscle-Softening Powder. To her, Yu Huatian was merely forcing himself to hold on.

She asked with a cheerful smile, "Well, Director Yu? Your people are all poisoned, while mine took the antidote in advance and are unaffected. If you don't make your choice now, when the second sandstorm strikes, I'm afraid all your people will be buried here along with Blackwater City."

"You think you've already won?" Yu Huatian asked coldly.

"What else? Your people are poisoned and can't move. Now I have more men." Zhao Min looked as though victory were already in the bag.

"Is that so?"

A trace of mockery appeared in Yu Huatian's eyes. "Then turn around and look."

Zhao Min frowned. Before she could turn, her vision suddenly blurred, and tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. Her entire body went numb and weak, leaving her unable to move. She instantly collapsed.

At the same time, a commotion erupted among the Mongolian and Western Xia experts behind her. Their symptoms were much the same as Zhao Min's. Tears poured like rain as they collapsed, their bodies numb and weak, groaning incessantly.

"Poison!"

"We've been poisoned too!"

Zhao Min's expression changed drastically. Looking at Yu Huatian through streaming tears, she gritted her teeth. "You... when did you poison us? What poison is this?!"

Helian Tieshu, a burly man eight feet tall, now had tears running down his face like a child who had been beaten to tears. He roared furiously:

"This is Western Xia's Sorrowful, Crispy Breeze! Even we haven't finished developing it yet. Yu Huatian, where did you get it?!"

Helian Tieshu's voice was filled with terror and disbelief.

Yu Huatian ignored him. Looking at Zhao Min, he said impassively, "Do you still think victory is in the bag? You think you have more men? Turn around and look again."

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

"Kill!!"

Before Zhao Min could turn, a dense thunder of footsteps sounded outside, accompanied by earth-shaking battle cries that rolled like thunder.

The Great Yuan and Western Xia experts outside wiped their eyes and turned to look. At some unknown point, troops clad in Mingguang Armor had appeared amid the golden desert, carrying sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. Their killing intent surged skyward as their dense ranks encircled Blackwater City.

"It's Ming's army!"

The Mongolians' voices were filled with terror. They had never imagined Ming would dare send a great army straight beyond the pass, let alone that they would receive no warning whatsoever.

"Clop, clop, clop..."

A rapid clatter of hoofbeats rang out. A powerfully built general with a battle saber at his waist rode forward, halted before the army, and solemnly saluted Yu Huatian inside the palace:

"This humble general, Jiang Yan, pays his respects to Lord Yu!"

"All thirty thousand troops from Dragon Gate Pass have arrived. Awaiting your orders, my lord!"

Following Jiang Yan's words, the thirty thousand soldiers from Dragon Gate Pass behind him drew their weapons and shouted in unison:

"We pay our respects to Lord Yu!"

Ten thousand voices rang as one, murderous menace chilling the air. A grim killing intent filled heaven and earth!-

Second update. Please send recommendation votes...

(End of chapter)