Barbarians Attack Cloudcrest City

Hearing this, Wang Ming instantly perked up.

That's right, the chief villain Ye Tiancheng had not been killed yet.

It seemed the inside men in Sifang City knew what they were doing, saving the greatest merit for him. Otherwise, he really would have returned empty-handed this time.

He immediately ordered, Hurry, hurry, head to the City Lord's Manor at once!

Zhu Gui, the Grain and Forage Transport Commissioner, led the way. Wang Ming led his men and sprinted toward the City Lord's Manor. Before they had run far, they saw another army surging out from the north.

The two sides met at a street corner.

General Zhang Shi, you are here so quickly?

Heh, Wang Ming, you are not slow either!

Wang Ming and Zhang Shi greeted each other and said no more. They each went back to commanding their own troops, but their expressions had changed.

Both looked increasingly anxious.

Quick, quick, quick! Run, everyone, run!

Men, pass down the order: cavalry advance first, infantry follow behind!

Damn it, Zhang Shi, do you have no shame? To snatch the merit, you are leaving no room for friendship, huh? Men, our cavalry advances first too, the infantry can catch up later!

...

The two groups of men raced, each trying to outrun the other.

A battle of siege and conquest had abruptly turned into a footrace.

In the end, they arrived almost at the exact same time.

Coming from different directions, they completely surrounded the City Lord's Manor.

Zhang Shi and Wang Ming were just about to lead their men and charge into the manor.

As a result, right as they reached the entrance, the main gates suddenly burst open, and a group of blood-soaked men surged out.

Seeing Zhang Shi and Wang Ming, especially the armor they wore, the men were initially stunned before dropping to their knees one after another with heavy thuds.

Great Generals, we have already severed Ye Tiancheng's head. Please accept it, Generals!

Zhang Shi was speechless.

Wang Ming was speechless.

You have got to be kidding. Was it really this hard to establish military merit?

Left with no choice, the two could only help the defectors up one by one. After inspecting and verifying the evidence, they confirmed it was indeed Ye Tiancheng's head.

Now, the chief villain in Sifang City had been executed, and Third Young Master Li was dead. The greatest merits had vanished into thin air, leaving only trivial scraps behind.

This left Zhang Shi and Wang Ming feeling incredibly sorrowful.

They had come full of enthusiasm, only to end up as background characters for others.

Wait, there are still two people left.

Wang Ming reacted a bit faster and immediately said, Ye Fan and Su Xiu!

Zhang Shi's eyes also lit up.

He naturally knew about Su Xiu. As for Ye Fan, he was actually a bit vague on the details; to this day, he still did not understand why Great General Ren Tianye was so desperate to kill him.

However, if these two were not dead, he still had a chance to establish merit. Since they had marched here in such grand fashion, they absolutely could not return empty-handed.

He immediately declared, I will go finish off Ye Fan!

Last time in Yunji City, Ye Fan escaped from my hands. This time, no matter what, I will hack him into pieces.

Wang Ming had no objections and nodded, Then I will go kill Su Xiu!

As he spoke, Wang Ming's gaze turned cold.

Back in Yunji City, he had been the earliest to get involved in the marriage arrangements between Su Xiu and the Great General. He had run back and forth tirelessly. Just as it seemed the matter was settled and everyone would be happy, one crisis followed another.

In the end, it was all for nothing.

The brothers in the army had mocked him endlessly for this.

He had handled a task for the Great General, only to mess it up completely.

He was someone who did not want to kill lightly, but that did not mean he would not kill decisively when necessary.

Thus, he searched the City Lord's Manor, quickly received word, and burst into a boudoir, where he saw Su Xiu tied securely to the bed.

This woman, who had once dared to act arrogant and bossy even in front of the Great General, was now in an extremely sorry state, looking like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Wang Ming, General Wang Ming?

To Wang Ming's surprise, upon seeing him, Su Xiu reacted as if she had seen her savior. Quick, save me! Save me! I was wrong, I was wrong.

I know I was wrong.

I do not want to stay in Sifang City anymore.

Please save me and take me back to Yunji City, okay?

I agree to marry the Great General.

I do not want the betrothal gifts anymore.

I will not set rules for the Great General anymore.

I will definitely observe the virtues of a wife after marriage and will not bring shame to the Great General.

Su Xiu's tears flowed like a river, her appearance entirely pitiful.

Every word and sentence was filled with earnest pleading.

Yet the expression on Wang Ming's face did not change in the slightest. It remained icy cold, as if he were looking at a dead person.

It is too late!

From the moment you falsely accused the Great General of stealing your maid's gold hairpin, it was already too late.

Wang Ming spoke indifferently as he walked up to Su Xiu.

Raising his blade and bringing it down cleanly, amidst Su Xiu's screams, her head fell to the ground.

He wiped the blood from his blade and turned away. He had no intention of collecting Su Xiu's corpse, nor did he plan to take her head to claim a reward.

He had been the most deeply involved in the marriage alliance between the Su family and the Great General. He had watched with his own eyes as Su Hong and Su Jin of the Su family worked tirelessly for it, watching Su Hong's hair turn almost entirely white overnight.

He actually had quite a favorable impression of Su Hong and Su Jin.

Normally, the two of them were also very respectful toward him.

He also knew that the Great General had no desire to exterminate the Su family completely. Therefore, there was no need to make the killing of Su Xiu public.

Otherwise, this grudge would exist forever.

Perhaps the Su family would not mind, but the Great General could not be certain whether they truly minded or not.

Then let ashes return to ashes, and dust to dust.

Taking a torch from a personal guard, he tossed it onto the ground. Inside the room, which was filled with wooden materials, a raging fire quickly surged and burned fiercely. Amidst the crackling sounds, it gradually swallowed Su Xiu's corpse.

Wang Ming stepped out the door, his cold gaze sweeping over his personal guards. Su Xiu perished in the sea of fire at the City Lord's Manor. This is the established truth. No one is allowed to spread word of anything else. Do you hear me?

The guards resoundingly agreed.

Only then did Wang Ming turn and lead his men away to clean up the mess in Sifang City.

Meanwhile, in another location, Zhang Shi's pursuit of Ye Fan met with a completely different situation from Wang Ming's. No matter how many people he questioned or what tricks he employed, Ye Fan seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.

There was no trace of him at all.

Damn it, I refuse to believe he can escape this inescapable net. Keep searching!

Zhang Shi was furious, his heart growing even more ruthless.

If he let Ye Fan get away again this time, he would have no face left to see the Great General, nor any face to return to Yunji City.

Report!

Just then, a messenger sprinted over in a near-frantic manner. General Zhang Shi, something terrible has happened!

Our Yunji City is under attack by the barbarians! General Sun Xiang sent me to deliver this message.

What? Zhang Shi was shocked.

The Great General had long anticipated that Yunji City might be attacked by barbarians, but now that it was actually happening, Zhang Shi felt a wave of panic.

Yunji City was their root; it could not be lost.

He hurriedly asked, Have you reported this to the Great General?

No, this subordinate could not find the Great General, so I could only come to report to you first, General.

Zhang Shi tried hard to steady his mind and immediately called over a dozen personal guards. Go find the Great General immediately and report this matter. There must be no mistakes!

The rest of you, go find Wang Ming and tell him about this. Right now is not the time to fight over merit. We must be united from top to bottom and stand together as a fortress!

...