World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 297 - 174: Crazy Suo Lun, first battle victorious!

Chapter 297: 174: Crazy Suo Lun, first battle victorious!

At this moment, Tianshui City Territory housed a total of four armies.

The first was the 25,000-strong army assembled by high-ranking samurai lords such as Nurdan, supported by Princess Zhining’s vast wealth of Gold Coins.

The second was the 6,000 elite City Defense Army soldiers who had pledged their complete loyalty to Suo Hanyi.

The third was the 5,000-strong Linhai City army brought by Gui Qinqu.

The fourth was the 4,000 secret elite Black Cloth Army that Zhi Li had planted amongst the rebels such as Nurdan early in the morning.

That is to say, a mere Tianshui City now had 40,000 troops gathered within, roughly two to three times the size of Suo Lun’s forces.

As the attacker, Suo Lun faced the defenders; moreover, his forces were less than half in number than his enemies, making his situation look like an inevitable defeat.

Moreover, Suo Lun’s grand army had traveled thousands of miles and was already utterly exhausted. In contrast, the enemy forces were fully rested and held the fortified city, gaining the tactical upper hand.

Now within Tianshui City, Suo Hanyi had completely won over the hearts of the people.

A few months ago, Suo Hanyi was shamelessly assassinated by an assassin. Tianshui City fell, and the City Defense Army fought to the death to protect Suo Hanyi as they broke out of the city.

One and a half months later, despite his wounds not yet fully healed, Suo Hanyi led a force of 4,000 troops to retake Tianshui City.

And he proved himself to be an invincible commander, furthermore possessing great reputation and popularity within the city.

So, despite the fact that the rebels had over ten thousand men and a fortified city, the city’s citizens formed a militia to support Suo Hanyi’s assault during his attack.

With cooperation from both inside and outside the city, it took only half a month for Suo Hanyi to retake Tianshui City.

Then high-ranking samurai lords like Nurdan kneeled in surrender, pledging loyalty once more to the Suo clan—of course, this referred to Suo Hanyi, and had nothing to do with Suo Lun.

Logically, after Suo Hanyi "retook" Tianshui City, he should have immediately summoned the legitimate City Lord, Suo Lun, back.

But at that time, numerous rumors began to circulate.

For instance, it was said that the assassin who attempted to kill Yan Nu and Yang Hongyi was not sent by rebels such as Nurdan, but by Suo Lun.

Furthermore, it was rumored that Count Suo Long, on his deathbed, secretly wrote a will stating Suo Lun lacked integrity, had defiled his mother and concubines, and was carrying on an incestuous affair with his sister Suo Ningbing. Hence, Suo Lun was deprived of his succession rights, and the reason Nurdan and others rebelled was precisely because of this reason.

A lie told a hundred times becomes truth.

Given that Suo Lun already had an unsavory reputation, coupled with these vicious rumors, his name in Tianshui City became utterly disgraced.

After reclaiming Tianshui City, Suo Hanyi immediately, in front of everyone, ordered an army to Chaos Stone Island to invite Suo Lun back to Tianshui City.

That day, countless citizens blocked the city gates, not allowing the army tasked with welcoming Suo Lun to depart.

The next day, Suo Hanyi once again, in front of everyone, dispatched ten ships to sail north to Chaos Stone Island to welcome Suo Lun back to Tianshui City.

As a result, the sailors sabotaged the vessels themselves, and not only did all the ships sink, but all the sailors also perished at sea.

That day, the cries at Tianshui City’s docks were deafening.

Countless citizens knelt before Suo Hanyi, begging him not to bring the devil Suo Lun back, for if he did, Tianshui City would never have peace, and all the citizens would suffer immensely.

Suo Hanyi also wept, kneeling before all the citizens, saying his adoptive father was like a mountain of kindness to him, and he could not betray him no matter what, nor could he allow his sister and brother (referring to Suo Ningbing and Suo Lun) to be stranded on the desolate Chaos Stone Island.

A few days later, Suo Hanyi decided to lead his troops personally to Chaos Stone Island to retrieve the siblings Suo Lun.

Then, his most loyal samurais and soldiers knelt before the City Lord’s Mansion for a blood protest.

Seven people committed suicide, ten people severed their own left hands, using their blood to beg Suo Hanyi to revoke his orders.

Then tens of thousands of Tianshui City citizens, along with several thousand Tianshui City Guards, all knelt before Suo Hanyi, pleading with him not to bring Suo Lun back.

That day, nearly a hundred samurai placed their swords against their necks, ready to commit suicide on the spot if Suo Hanyi refused their plea.

Therefore, Suo Hanyi, unable to hold back his tears, ultimately compromised and decided not to bring Suo Lun back to the city for the time being.

Afterward, the Governor of the Southeastern Province, Duke Zhi Wei, issued an imperial edict castigating Suo Lun for his prolonged absence from Tianshui City and his neglect of duties. Since Tianshui City could not be without a master even for a day, he ordered Suo Hanyi to temporarily assume the role as acting City Lord of Tianshui City.

Since then, Suo Hanyi got his wish and finally became the City Lord of Tianshui City, albeit an acting one.

But the real City Lord, Suo Lun, would never be able to return. Once he died, the "acting" title above Suo Hanyi’s head would be forever erased, solidifying him as the rightful and recognized City Lord.

So, in this battle, Suo Hanyi could be said to have everything in his favor—right time, right place, and the support of the people.

When he heard that Suo Lun was approaching the city with an army of 15,000, his heart surged with boundless excitement.

Finally, the moment had arrived. He could finally kill Suo Lun for good on the battlefield.

After deliberations, the 40,000-strong force in the Tianshui City Territory was divided into three parts.

The first part consisted of Suo Hanyi’s 6,000 Tianshui City Guards and Nurdan’s 5,000 high-ranking lord troops, totaling 11,000 men stationed at Heavenly Water Main City.

The second part, Princess Zhining’s 4,000 Black Cloth Army soldiers, Gui Qinqu’s 5,000 Linhai Army troops, and the high-ranking lords’ 10,000 soldiers—19,000 men in total—set out for Tianlang Pass.

The third part, the 10,000 troops under high-ranking samurai lords like Nurdan, were dispersed to garrison twenty high-ranking samurai territories, mainly to guard against bandits and robbers taking advantage of any chaos.

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