Both of them did not attempt to dodge. This was a direct fight without any schemes or tactics as both fists unsurprisingly collided.


    The golden mist hovered around as brilliance shone through the cracks.


    Boom!


    A huge explosion sound could be heard.


    Heatwaves spread across the room.


    However, this was not all. Another gigantic explosion could be heard at the same time when Chen Feihua’s and Qian Wu’s attacks shed. The entire throne room trembled from the impact.


    Around the pce entrance.


    The city guards were fighting against the ck figures with their overwhelming numbers. It should almost a one-sided battle.


    However, that did not happen.


    It was a stalemate.


    The thousand-strong ck figure army was blocking the city guards with their lives. Although they were on the retreat, it was a methodical and strategical retreat, not one ofplete and utter defeat.


    King Duan had a sunken expression while standing behind the city guards. The ck figures in front of them were clearly not ordinary people.


    They were well-trained.


    They had perfect offensive and defensive formations when they fought.


    "Kill! What are you guys waiting for! We need to pave a way no matter the price!" King Duan’s roared impatiently.


    However, the city guards were still progressing slowly.


    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu observed the battle on the sidelines with an expressionless face. On the other hand, Ping Yang was clearly impatient. One could see a hint of anxiety in her pair of clear eyes.


    "Hey, shameless fellow! Think of something!" Ping Yang said as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi, seemingly urging him to take action.


    "What? Think of something?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.


    "Find a way to defeat these ck figures!" Ping Yang eagerly said.


    "Why do we have to defeat them?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.


    "What... what else is there? They are stopping the city guards. If we cannot get past them, we will not be able to save father!"


    "We do not need to defeat them to save the Emperor."


    "How do we save father without defeating them?"


    "We can simply leave a portion of the army to stall these ck figures while the rest go on forward." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang helplessly.


    "Hm... we can do that?" Ping Yang seemed to have reacted to the situation as she said.


    This conversation was naturally heard by King Duan Lin Xinjue, In an instant, he felt as though he was struck by an epiphany.


    Splitting the forces?


    Yes, why didn’t he think of that!


    They were in the pce! The pce was extremely spacious. There was absolutely no need to waste time with the people here!


    King Duan Lin Xinjue felt that he was introduced to a whole new world of battle tactics. ording to the normal art of war, one should always clear the obstacles right in front of them before proceeding. This was because leaving a portion of the enemy forces alive would increase the risk of their mission.


    Even if they managed to infiltrate the area, the enemy forces might be able to perform an ambush or sneak attack on them in the future.


    However...


    The situation now was different.


    They were in me Capital City, thend of the Holy Emperor. As long as they could charge into the pce, they did not have to worry about further ambush attacks.


    Lin Xinjue seemed to have realized something upon this thought.


    However, he was ufortable that this epiphany was granted by Fang Zhengzhi. He was themander of the city guards, to think that he would need an outsider to provide him with battle tactics.


    This was undoubtedly a disgrace.


    On the other hand, the situation did not allow him to stand his ground. He had to swallow his shame and heed Fang Zhengzhi’s suggestion as he needed to get to the throne room as quickly as possible.


    "Split the forces right now. General Wang and his troops will stay. The rest of you follow me into the throne room!" King Duan said as his face turned red.


    "Yes!"


    At the rooftop outside the pce.


    A ck figure quickly sped towards the rooftop from the entrance of the pce. He thennded behind Su Qing, his face filled with admiration and respect.


    "My lord, King Duan has already entered the inner pce!"


    "Oh? That is slightly faster than my expectations. How did he do it?" Su Qing was slightly surprised after hearing the news from her informant.


    "He split his forces!"


    "I see, it seems like he has improved in the art of war. Cooping himself up in his residence to study did him some good!" Su Qing nodded as he said.


    "This... this idea was raised by Fang Zhengzhi."


    "Fang Zhengzhi? I understand. Although this is a bit faster than our original n, it doesn’t matter. We are almost done. Send out the message tomence the n!" Su Qing squinted his eyes as he said.


    "Yes!" The figure then disappeared without a trace.


    Su Qing then cast his nce back onto the castle walls of the pce. He turned around and walked down from the rooftop.


    A couple of ck figures standing behind him immediately followed behind.


    At the same time, a ferocious beast simr to a giant ck eagle flew into the horizon with breakneck speed, quickly flying out of sight.


    me Capital City, East gate.


    The city guards standing guard at the gate exchanged nces in apprehension. Although there was clearlymotioning from within the pce, their role was to guard the city gates.


    No one dared to let down their guard.


    At that moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere under the night sky. It was a figure thatpletely cloaked himself in the darkness. Their legs were wrapped in cloth and their spears were also wrapped in ck fabric.


    "Enemies... enemies!" A voice rang from the top of the castle walls. Even though the figures werepletely d in ck attire, they were still discovered when they were near the castle walls.


    This ce was the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.


    The city guards guarding the castle walls had not seen this scene for a very long time. There was a huge group of ck figures nning to infiltrate the city.


    How preposterous!


    "General, there are enemies!"


    "What?" A husky voice sounded. Following which, a middle-aged man d in a shining armor came to the edge of the castle walls.


    Upon looking at the scene, his eyes widened.


    "How can this be? This is me Capital City, the center of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone attempt to infiltrate this ce? Why didn’t you report immediately!" The middle0aged man stared at the huge number of ck figures dashing towards the castle walls with a horrified expression. He could not understand the situation.


    "General, the sky was dark. The enemies were camouged in the darkness. We cannot possibly tell the exact numbers of the enemies. Furthermore, almost 90% of the city guards had entered the pce together with King Duan. What should we do?" The soldier who was standing guard at the castle wall tower reported.


    "Quick, shut the city gates!"


    "Yes!"


    "All the city guards listen up! As a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty, we must protect me Capital City with our lives! Those who wished to be excluded will suffer death!"


    "Yes!"


    The armymands echoed across the city walls. However, this did not affect the ck figures from approaching. As they slowly appeared in the middle-aged man’s field of vision, his expression changed.


    This was because looking down from the castle wall, he could see a huge army of ck figures with no gap in between. There also seemed to be no end in sight, their numbers extending far into the dark horizon.


    "How can this be? How did so many people get to the castle wall in such a short time?" The middle-aged man paled. He was now sure that this was a premeditated ambush.


    Or could this be...


    This was a war!


    "Quick, go to the pce and inform King Duan!"


    "Wait!" Just as the middle-aged man gave his orders, another voice rang. Following which, a figure walked out from the shadows.


    "Lord Su?" The middle-aged man looked at the young man on the castle wall. He was surprised to see him here.


    That was because the person was Su Qing.


    The Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries Su Qing!


    News of Su Qing entering me Capital City had long spread across the country. However, this did not mean that he should appear here of all times.


    "General Li!" Su Qing nodded as he walked towards the middle-aged man.


    Behind him stood a couple of ck figures. Each of them was masked by a ck scarf and emitted a chilling aura.


    "Lord Su, I have urgent matters to attend to. Could you..."


    "General Li need not worry. I know everything!" Su Qing interrupted General Li. Following which, he walked to the edge of the castle wall and cast his nce at the countless ck figures that extended into the horizon. He then frowned and said, "I didn’t think that the Northern Barbarians would send a 100000-strong army into the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty!"


    "What? 100000!" General Li was startled upon hearing the numbers. He once again looked a the horde of infiltrators and could confirm that there were simply too many to be counted.


    However, 100000-strong army?


    This was an impossible task.


    After all, this was me Capital City, well within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone have hidden a 100000 strong army right under their eyes? How strange was that?


    General Li was doubtful of his words. However, Su Qing had already confirmed the identity of the infiltrators. They were the Northern Barbarians. He had to treat them with caution.


    "What is General Li waiting for? The Northern barbarians are known to be ferocious and merciless. Their army definitely came prepared. The army of me Capital City alone will not be able to defend against them. There are also Northern Barbarians creating a ruckus within the pce. General Li should light the pinnacle me and summon troops from all over the country to protect me Capital City!" Su Qing stared at General Li’s horrified expression and calmly suggested.


    "Light the pinnacle me? This.. without the Emperor’s or King Duan’s orders, I don’t think..." General Li perspired profusely upon hearing those words.


    Lighting the pinnacle me!


    This was an exceptionally important decision.


    How could he attempt such a thing without a royal decree?


    "What rubbish! Did I not make it clear enough? The Northern Barbarians had already disrupted the peace in the pce. How can the Emperor then make time to issue a royal decree? If General Li waste any more time, me Capital City will be infiltrated. How then can the citizens live in peace? Can you bear the responsibility of shaking the very foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty?" Su Qing’s face sunk.


    "Of course I cannot. However, if the enemy doesn’t truly have a 100000-strong army and is deliberately trying to..." General Li hesitated as he spoke.


    "Is General Li doubting my judgment?" Su Qing once again interrupted General Li, his eyes shining with a chilling presence.


    "No, of course not, but..." General Li immediately shook his head as he said.


    "Does General Li knows why I rushed to me Capital City all the way from Northern Lands?" Su Qing kept his gaze on General Li.


    "Isn’t Lord Su here for the Crown Prince..."


    "Of course not! As the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries, I have gotten the secret message a long time ago that the Northern Barbarians are preparing for a war. I am here to report this urgent message. As for the issue regarding the Crown Prince, how could I have predicted that?" Su Qing said.


    "This..." General Li was slightly convinced upon hearing those words.


    He had only heard rumors about Su Qing entering the capital. Naturally, he had no clue about the intentions behind his actions. However, Su Qing mentioned that he could not have known about the Crown Prince issue beforehand.


    Just from this point alone, General Li was slightly persuaded by his speech.


    Did the Northern Barbarians truly hide 100000 soldiers within the Great Xia Dynasty under their watch? If that was the truth, it would be terrifying.


    If he made a single mistake handling this issue, his entire family would probably be executed.


    "It is a crisis. Is General Li going to waste any more time? The moment me Capital City is taken, the glory of the Great Xia Dynasty might go down in ruins!" Su Qing urged once again as he saw the hesitation on General Li’s face.


    "Lord Su’s words... are urate, however, without the Emperor’s..." General Li bit his lips in apprehension. He was alreadypletely drenched in perspiration.


    The outer castle walls of me Capital City was flooded with enemy troops.


    The situation in the pce was unknown as well. This was indeed a crucial time when both internal and external security was being threatened. If he did anything right, he would be generously rewarded.


    On the other hand, a mistake would be extremely detrimental as well.


    How could he then make a decision lightly?


    He was extremely hesitant.


    However, at that moment, he saw a sh of light in his eyes. It was a chilling sh, a sh from the reflection of the moonlight off the de of a sword.


    It emitted a chilling presence in the night sky.


    Most importantly, that sh of light was extremely near. It was so close that he had no time to react nor dodge it. He also did not prepare any defenses beforehand.


    sh!


    The sword pierced through his throat as blood gushed out profusely.


    "It is a time of crisis. However, General Li has disyed ipetence and weakness at this crucial time. I have executed you on behalf of King Duan!" Su Qing’s voice rang.


    At the same time, he removed the sword from General Li’s throat.


    A blood fountain followed the trajectory of the sword as it was raised into the air. Fresh droplets of blood then rolled down the de of the sword.


    General Li’s eyes widened in shock.


    He had never expected Su Qing to kill him. Furthermore, he did so in front of all the city guards under hismand.


    "Urgh!" He wanted to say something. However, he could no longer speak. He held his throat with his hands and he fell to the ground.


    "Light the pinnacle me. Summon all the troops back to protect me Capital City!" Su Qing walked forward and stepped onto General Li’s head. He raised his sword high up in the air as the moonlight reflected off its merciless de.