"Young Prince, I think it would be better to deal with them one by one. We would have a better chance that way."
Han Song forced himself to speak.
With so few men, taking them all down in one sweep would be difficult!
But if we went after them one at a time, there would be much less pressure. And just to be safe, I could send someone to notify the prince and request fire support.
"Mm!"
Lin Yi nodded slightly. That did make some sense. Defeating them one by one would make success practically certain and reduce the risks.
He smiled. "Very good. It seems you do have some ability, Commander Han. Who do you think we should strike first?"
"Young Prince, I believe we should strike the Heavenly Eagle Guard first!"
After thinking for a long while, Han Song gritted his teeth and made his decision. He said gravely, "The Heavenly Eagle Guard are barbarians from the Northern Region, sworn enemies of our Northern Liang. If you intend to act, Young Prince, deal with the Heavenly Eagle Guard first. In any case, they certainly aren't innocent!"
There was a blood feud between them anyway. Just get on with it!
He also happened to have a bellyful of anger, and now he could vent it.
"The Heavenly Eagle Guard it is. I'll leave this to you and send men to help you!" Lin Yi nodded. The order did not matter. Killing them all came first.
Send men to help me?
Han Song instinctively looked at Zhang Long and Zhao Hu. Those two could fight street thugs, but sending them to kill people would probably just be feeding kills.
"There's no need, Young Prince. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu should stay behind to protect you," he declined tactfully.
"Hahaha!"
Lin Yi could not help laughing heartily. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu naturally would not do, but his own men certainly would!
"Ma Chao, come in!"
"Ma Chao?"
Those words left everyone beside him stunned and utterly confused. What did he mean?
Ma Chao was clearly someone's name. Was he another of the young prince's guards?
But he was only one man. Could this man possibly defy the heavens? What was the young prince up to?
"Who is Ma Chao?"
Han Song was even more puzzled. He was in charge of security at the Prince of Northern Liang's Residence, yet there was someone here he knew nothing about. Wasn't that far too strange?
Weren't the young prince's three lackeys Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard? Where had this Ma Chao come from?
An enormous question mark hung over his head. Had this man appeared out of thin air?
Suddenly, a man in a white battle robe, carrying a Tiger-Head Gilded Spear, slowly emerged from the rear courtyard and walked straight toward them.
Under their dumbfounded gazes, the man knelt directly before Lin Yi.
"Ma Chao pays his respects, my lord!"
An expert!
The instant he saw Ma Chao, Han Song's pupils contracted. He could tell at a glance how fearsome Ma Chao was. This man was probably a peerless warrior.
Such an expert had actually knelt before the young prince. Han Song could scarcely accept it.
The young prince had hidden an expert like this? Had he been concealing his abilities all along?
One look into Ma Chao's eyes left Zhang Long and Zhao Hu feeling as though they had wet themselves in fright. Without question, this was someone neither of them could afford to provoke.
A trace of amusement flashed through Lin Yi's eyes at everyone's shock, and his gaze settled on Ma Chao.
Ma Chao, courtesy name Mengqi!
Legend had it that Ma Chao wielded a Tiger-Head Gilded Spear with extraordinary mastery. Now, just looking at his spear revealed how exceptional he was. No wonder he ranked among the top five.
Lin Yi helped him up and said gravely, "Mengqi, all manner of monsters and demons are running rampant in Northern Liang City. Go with Han Song and wipe them out!"
"Ma Chao obeys!"
Ma Chao nodded, then looked directly at Han Song and said gravely, "Commander Han, I am Ma Chao of Xiliang. I hope you will cooperate fully with me in this operation!"
What?
Xiliang?
Han Song's mouth twitched. What the hell was Xiliang? Wasn't their territory called Northern Liang?
Was the young prince planning to strike out on his own?
But since the man had spoken, he naturally could not back down. He said solemnly, "Since these are the young prince's orders, I am duty-bound to act. But Brother Ma Chao, you alone still won't quite be enough, will you?"
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing this, Ma Chao burst into laughter. He swung his Tiger-Head Gilded Spear sharply, then roared, "Ma Chao is here! Where is the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?!"
"Roar! Roar!"
As though they had heard his call, a dense thunder of hoofbeats suddenly rose from the rear courtyard. Then, before Han Song's dumbfounded eyes, a thousand Xiliang cavalrymen appeared before them.
With matching equipment, they stood in formation, stunning everyone present.
"We pay our respects, my lord!"
The Xiliang Iron Cavalry paid homage to their lord!
Their solemn military bearing and fervor toward the young prince made Han Song draw a sharp breath.
"What a terrifying Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Such overwhelming killing intent! Where did the young prince get them?"
At that moment, he was dumbstruck. He was responsible for guarding the residence, yet the young prince had hidden over a thousand men in the rear courtyard. Wasn't that far too absurd?
Could this be the young prince's trump card?
What a young prince of Northern Liang! Everyone had underestimated our young prince!
Smack!
Zhang Long could not help slapping Zhao Hu beside him. Zhao Hu cried out in pain and glared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking whether I'm dreaming. How did the young prince suddenly get so many men?"
"Damn you! Couldn't you have hit yourself?"
Zhang Long said nothing, but his whole body trembled. Looking at the smile on Lin Yi's face, he felt chilled to the bone for the first time.
He suddenly realized that he did not understand the young prince at all. Perhaps everyone had misunderstood him. They had always been screwing up together before, so how had he suddenly risen in secret-and hidden it so deeply?
Looking at the terrified Han Song, Lin Yi smiled. "Commander Han, do you think you can sweep Northern Liang City clean now?"
"Absolutely!"
Han Song gave an utterly certain answer. If they still could not destroy those forces with an army like this, Northern Liang City itself would probably be gone as well.
With such orderly military bearing, they were worthy of the name Xiliang Iron Cavalry. These were unquestionably elite troops.
If this army struck without warning, it was already strong enough to cut through the current Northern Liang City. Using it against a band of assassins really was overkill.
There was no army in Northern Liang City now. The young prince was already invincible!
"Absolutely? Good. Then get it done. I only want results!" A flash of killing intent passed through Lin Yi's eyes as he spoke coldly.
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Han Song drew a deep breath. Since the young prince had decided to unleash a slaughter and had even brought out his trump card, it could no longer be avoided.
In that case, let the slaughter begin!
At a single command, five hundred Northern Liang Guards from the princely residence assembled in the front courtyard. They had heard the young prince's orders too, and every one of them brimmed with killing intent.
When the lord was humiliated, his retainers deserved death!
The prince had left Northern Liang City, and their duty was to protect the young prince. Yet the young prince had actually suffered an assassination attempt. Their overflowing fury, combined with the resentment built up over days of investigating the assassins, erupted in an instant.
"Kill!"
The scene seethed with killing intent, making even Han Song's blood surge.
He could not help murmuring, "It's been a long time since our Northern Liang Guard killed anyone. The world seems to have forgotten that we, too, fought our way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. It's time to let the world feel the terror of the Northern Liang Guard again."
What a Northern Liang Guard!
Ma Chao and Lin Yi silently nodded beside him. This was what the Northern Liang Guard should be. A life spent on guard duty had not worn away their killing intent.
"The young prince commands that all assassins within Northern Liang City be eliminated. Anyone who dares resist is to be killed without mercy!"
"Kill!"
Anyone who dared attempt to assassinate the young prince would be killed without mercy!
At a single command, over a thousand armored cavalrymen poured out in full force, charging straight toward the Heavenly Eagle Guard's location.