World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 314 - 180: Long live Suo Lun! Zhi Ning spurts blood!_3

Chapter 314: 180: Long live Suo Lun! Zhi Ning spurts blood!_3

Though Lord Suo Hanyi was demanding, he confided in his officers, giving a subtle sense of equality.

As for Lord Suo Lun, he always remained aloof, inscrutable but occasionally, his intimacy would excite and astonish you.

Therefore, Suo Hanyi could only be a general, while Suo Lun was the true sovereign.

In fact, Suo Hanyi could at most promote your military rank, whereas Suo Lun could bestow upon you lands and manors, titles, and bring honor and status to your family.

"Yes, my lord," Suo Danchen said excitedly.

Suo Lun said, "Leave two thousand men to garrison Heavenly Water Main City, the remaining four thousand will follow me south to eradicate the rebels within Tianlang Pass."

"At your command," Suo Danchen said, kneeling on one knee.

...

At dusk.

Outside Heavenly Water Main City, four thousand City Defense Army soldiers had fully assembled. Two thousand cavalry, two thousand infantrymen.

Suo Lun, riding a Lion-Tiger Beast, inspected the troops back and forth; every soldier under his gaze felt immense pressure.

Even their warhorses trembled slightly under the gaze of the Lion-Tiger Beast.

"Inside Tianlang Pass, there are nineteen thousand enemy troops," Suo Lun said. "Among them are four thousand from the Black Cloth Army, ten thousand rebels under Nurdan, and five thousand from Gui Qinqu’s Linhai Army."

All the soldiers present were getting used to Suo Lun’s style of speech, which lacked dramatics and grandiose declarations.

"And we have nineteen thousand as well," Suo Lun continued. "Four thousand from the City Defense Army and fifteen thousand from Elder Yan Yan’s Silver Wolf Legion."

The renown of Silver Wolf Yan Yan was known to all present, as Yan Yan hailed from the Tianshui City Territory and was the celebrated king of mercenaries in the entire kingdom.

"Nineteen thousand against nineteen thousand," Suo Lun said without hiding the scorn on his face. "But in my eyes, the enemy’s nineteen thousand are merely chickens and dogs. Numbers don’t make an army great; a million idiots are utterly useless."

Upon hearing the term "idiots," the soldiers present were taken aback — their lord really had a distinctive personality.

"Such worthless troops, as you saw last night. Four thousand rebels were taken down by you in less than two hours," Suo Lun said with a smile. "The day before yesterday, I spent Gold Coins to hire over ten thousand riffraff, and they were scared witless by just a roar from Lord Suo Hanyi, fleeing without a trace."

At these words, the City Defense Army soldiers could no longer hold back their laughter.

"With such useless foes, there must be a few thousand more in Tianlang Pass," Suo Lun said disdainfully. "A mere nineteen thousand split into three factions — this is the enemy we face."

Originally unafraid, the City Defense Army, after Suo Lun’s remarks, felt no fear of the battle at Tianlang Pass.

"What about our nineteen thousand?" Suo Lun asked. "The woman by my side, Yan Nai’er, is Elder Yan Yan’s daughter. Just two months ago, she led a thousand troops in the western desert to defeat Tianye City’s Allied Forces of fifty thousand. You heard me right, one thousand defeated an army of fifty thousand. That is the strength of the Silver Wolf Legion, which consists of fifteen thousand warriors stationed below Tianlang Pass."

"Apart from the Silver Wolf Legion, there is the four thousand City Defense Army in front of you," Suo Lun stated. "I am not aware of your combat effectiveness. But you know it yourselves, and if you want me to know, then show me in the upcoming battle, and don’t disgrace the face of Suo’s Guard Army."

Suo Lun’s tone was even, but he still managed to stir the soldiers’ blood to boiling.

Fighting alongside them was a legendary force, an army that took on thousands with mere hundreds. This army brought them a sense of security and immense pressure. "If you are that strong, we are not pushovers either. Let’s see who outperforms the other."

"Finally!" Suo Lun raised a finger and declared, "The head of an enemy can be exchanged for a Gold Coin, without fail."

At this pronouncement, all present City Defense Army soldiers were nearly going mad with excitement.

One head for one Gold Coin. That was an exorbitant price, almost equivalent to two years’ worth of their salaries—three or four times the standard rate for taking down Barbarian Tribes in the Great Mountains. If they could take down just three or four enemies, they’d be rich.

All the soldiers felt their blood reaching boiling point, itching to fly to Tianlang Pass and reap their Gold Coins for enemy heads.

"March! Go slay the enemy, earn your Gold Coins," Suo Lun bellowed,

"Kill, kill, kill..."

Four thousand City Defense Army soldiers, brimming with morale and murderous aura, swept majestically southward, advancing toward Tianlang Pass.

"Long live our lord!"

"Flatten Tianlang Pass!"

...

Inside Tianlang Pass, Princess Zhining felt uneasy, yet she couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

Every day, the flying pigeons brought messages from Tianshui City without fail, all bearing good news.

For instance, the most recent report was that Suo Lun had hired over ten thousand ruffians with Gold Coins to attack Tianshui City, only to have them scattered in terror by Lord Suo Hanyi’s thunderous roar.

Then, Suo Hanyi led two thousand cavalrymen in a pursuit that spanned hundreds of miles, leaving Suo Lun undoubtedly doomed.

Zhi Ning even looked down on him, thinking Suo Lun was clever but utterly ignorant about military affairs, which was why he ended up in such a wretched state.

She believed that by now, Suo Lun must either have become a ghost under Lord Suo Hanyi’s sword or have been captured and endured unspeakable torments.

Outside Tianlang Pass, Yan Yan’s Army was still constructing defense works.

The two armies were still staring each other down from several miles apart, unwilling to engage in battle.

Eight or nine days had already passed since the beginning of the siege, and the supplies Suo Lun’s army brought must be nearly exhausted.

In a few more days at most, when the enemy’s supplies are completely depleted, they will fall into chaos without needing to fight.

Yan Yan would not wait until the day when his ammunition and provisions were exhausted; by then, he would be forced to attack Tianlang Pass.

By then, Princess Zhining, leading an army of nineteen thousand, could easily annihilate Yan Yan’s Army with the advantage of the fortified city.

Her assumptions were not at all incorrect; Yan Yan’s mercenaries were adept in field battles but not in sieges. If things went as Zhi Ning expected, Yan Yan’s Army would undoubtedly be defeated, with massive casualties.

Thus, Princess Zhining was playing to her strengths and avoiding weaknesses without a single mistake.

The only thing she was wrong about was that battlefields change in an instant, and losing the initiative meant defeat.

And now, Zhi Ning had long lost the initiative.

The moment she failed to attack Yan Yan’s Army right away, she had lost the first step of initiative.

After Suo Lun killed Suo Hanyi, she had lost the initiative on the entire battlefield.

...

And so, as days slipped by, Zhi Ning was still waiting for Yan Yan’s Army to run out of supplies.

For some reason, the unease in her heart grew heavier and heavier, yet she could not find the cause.

Two and a half days later, a messenger rushed into Tianlang Pass and shouted hoarsely, "Lord Suo Hanyi is dead, Suo Lun has taken Heavenly Water Main City and is leading his army southward, less than two hundred miles from Tianlang Pass."

No sooner had the messenger finished speaking than he fell off his horse and died on the spot, an arrow still lodged in his back.

Struck by the news like a bolt from the blue, Zhi Ning felt darkness before her eyes, dizziness, and a surge of nausea followed by a sharp pain in her chest.

"Puh..." She suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Commandery Princess Zhi Ning collapsed into unconsciousness.

...

Note: The second update is here; today, a total of ten thousand words were updated. Brothers, I ask for your support; I urgently need the boost in confidence from automatic subscriptions.

Please, I beg you.