"Bastards!"
Zhuo Feifan was so furious he spat blood. Burning with anger and humiliation, he said, "Didn't the scouts say Lin Yi was still on the main road? How did he wipe out the bandits? He clearly laid his plans long ago!"
He wanted nothing more than to kill those scouts. Their information had been outrageously wrong.
Still on the main road? Lin Yi had already started wiping out bandits. He had probably arrived long ago.
He had wiped out more than thirty mountain strongholds in one sweep. Without advance preparations, it would probably have taken days just to find them, let alone crush them like that.
That could only mean Lin Yi had made arrangements here long ago, which was why he knew the situation so well.
Many of Zhuo Feifan's forces had been wiped out along the way, costing him nearly a thousand men in one stroke. The loss hurt so much he could hardly breathe.
"Alliance leader, didn't you say he only had a thousand men?"
"Exactly! A thousand men swept through more than thirty mountain strongholds in a single day. Is that even possible?"
"Unless they can fly, there's no way there were only a thousand of them!"
The others realized the problem too. With only a thousand men, even if they were all cavalry, Lin Yi could not have swept through more than thirty mountain strongholds in succession.
Those thirty-odd strongholds had nearly ten thousand men between them. How could a thousand men have killed them all?
Unless they were divine soldiers, it was impossible.
"Who cares how many men he has? With all of us joining forces, are you telling me we can't beat a greenhorn like Lin Yi?" someone in the crowd roared.
Zhuo Feifan was not the only one who had lost men. Their losses were considerable too, and they could not swallow this insult.
"Don't be rash!"
Zhuo Feifan took a deep breath and rejected the impulsive retaliation outright. It was far too irrational.
Lin Yi had swept through so many mountain strongholds in such a short time. His strength was more than ten times as terrifying as Zhuo Feifan had imagined, and he had sent people to infiltrate their side long ago.
Wiping out a few mountain strongholds was not frightening. What was frightening was that Lin Yi knew where all those bandits were, which meant a powerful force had infiltrated Xiliang Commandery in advance. If they did not find those people, they would probably be in serious trouble.
He said gravely, "First, send people to find out where Lin Yi is. We must know his current whereabouts, and we also need to investigate any strangers who have come here recently. If he really was behind this, we may have underestimated the heir."
Hmph!
In the corner, a flicker of disdain passed through Wang Chengfei's eyes. He sneered inwardly, His Net made its way here long ago, and you're only realizing it now. You dare challenge the heir with just that? You have no idea what you're doing.
He too had once looked down on the so-called heir of Northern Liang. Then one day, a group of people dressed in white burst into his territory, and he promptly fell to his knees.
Every one of those people radiated killing intent. His men were like toys in their hands, unable to last a single exchange against them. That was when he realized the heir of Northern Liang was no ordinary man.
The heir had not only the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, but also a terrifying force of white-clad cavalry and the elusive Net. So Wang Chengfei had chosen to throw in his lot with him.
Now it seemed he had been remarkably farsighted. He really had chosen the right backer this time.
Just then, he suddenly felt someone watching him. He turned to see that it was Duan Yingxiong, and a smile rose unbidden to his lips. It seemed this man was afraid too.
Sure enough, Duan Yingxiong hesitated for a moment, then walked straight over.
"Brother Wang, please help introduce me to the heir. The Duan Clan is willing to submit to him and serve him like dogs and horses!"
A wise man knew when to adapt to the times, and Duan Yingxiong was a clever man.
The heir was a mighty dragon crossing the river. If Duan Yingxiong opposed him, the consequences were clearly more than he could bear. The heir had destroyed more than thirty mountain strongholds and wiped out nearly ten thousand bandits in a single day. That was not strength he could stand against.
He knew full well that even though he had more than ten thousand men, they were still a long way from matching a regular army.
Wang Chengfei did not immediately agree. Instead, he smiled wryly and said, "Brother Duan, all I can do is ask for you. Even I haven't met the heir, after all. Whether he'd even agree to see me is another matter."
He was not lying about that. He really had never met Lin Yi, so he did not dare promise he could do it.
"Just do your best, Brother Wang. I, Duan Yingxiong, will surely remember this kindness!" Duan Yingxiong said solemnly.
Wang Chengfei nodded, then hesitated before saying quietly, "Don't breathe a word of this. I suspect the heir plans to catch us all in one net. It's one thing for you and me to pull out now, but none of the others can be allowed to."
Gulp!
Duan Yingxiong understood instantly. It was the Net, after all, so the heir surely wanted to catch everyone in one net. If there were not enough people, and the heir used his men to make up the numbers, he would be out of luck.
He hurriedly agreed, though he wondered what gave the heir the confidence to catch all these people in one net.
In fact, someone else was worrying about that very question at that moment.
Haitang!
She was Lin Yi's head maid and secretary, as well as one of the future daughters-in-law personally chosen by the Princess of Northern Liang. After looking over the information on Xiliang Commandery, she had raised the same question.
"Young master, these people number more than fifty thousand in total, to say nothing of the people backing them. Trying to wipe them all out at once is rather risky!" Haitang said anxiously.
If more than fifty thousand people rioted, the young master could very well face grave danger. That was not something she wanted to see.
Lin Yi shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry, Haitang. If I weren't absolutely certain, why would I make this decision? Those people are nothing but a rabble. Killing them won't take the slightest effort."
Uh!
Haitang stared blankly. The young master had only a little over a thousand men. Where did his confidence come from?
More than fifty thousand people were somehow just a rabble. The young master had grown overconfident.
"Young master, something terrible has happened!"
Just as Haitang was about to speak, the old general, who had only just left, came running back, panting. His legs no longer seemed to ache, nor his back to hurt, as he ran straight up to Lin Yi.
The corner of Lin Yi's mouth twitched. This old man was quite the actor too.
He gave a hollow laugh. "Don't be anxious, old man. What happened that's made your health improve so much?"
"Huh?"
The old man's expression froze. He had given himself away. This was awkward.
He braced himself and said, "Young master, a group of people has surrounded us outside. They don't seem to have come with friendly intentions."
"How many?"
"Twenty or thirty thousand!"
Hiss!
Haitang's face went pale with fright. Twenty or thirty thousand people had actually come charging over. Were they going to attack the young master?
"Twenty or thirty thousand?"
Lin Yi was taken aback too. What was going on? He had already unleashed a massacre, yet there were still people blind enough to challenge him?
Wait!
The number brought a possibility to mind. He hurriedly checked his system and instantly understood the reason. He asked, "Old general, is their leader a dark-skinned man named Zhou Cang?"