Chapter 55: The Mighty Victory of the Tiger’s Might! The Barbarian Tribes Shaken!

"That's right! This time the Sky Wolf Guard has been completely annihilated, and it won't be long before the news reaches the barbarians."

"By then, once Huyan Lie learns of the destruction of the Sky Wolf Guard, he will surely press down on us with a massive army!"

At this, Su Mu clenched his fists, taking a deep breath.

"Therefore! Surviving the upcoming attack is what truly counts as victory!"

Jiang Hongluan and the others clenched their fists tightly, pressing them against their chests with expressions of unyielding determination.

"Captain! No matter what the final outcome is, we will follow you to the death!"

"Indeed! At worst, we die. A true man, born between heaven and earth, how can he be afraid of death? Besides, even if we die, we're making a huge profit!"

"That's right, wiping out the entire Sky Wolf Guard means we've already broken even. If we can also withstand the upcoming barbarian offensive, that will be an immortal military achievement that shocks the world!"

Hearing everyone's words, Su Mu was momentarily speechless.

He hadn't expected—

At this very final hour, their reaction would be like this.

"Good! Then let us show the barbarians together what true soldiers of Great Liang are!"

...

Barbarian Base Camp.

Huyan Lie swirled the tea in his cup, his gaze deep and contemplative.

He stared fixedly at the eerie sword-wielding figure in the portrait ahead, as well as the portrait of Su Mu beside it.

For some reason—

He had a hunch that these two figures could almost perfectly overlap.

Huyan Lie took a deep breath, walked up to the portraits, and raised a hand to block the faces, measuring the bodies depicted in both.

The shoulders overlapped completely, as did the hands and feet...

Aside from the different attire and weapons, it was as if these two portraits depicted the exact same person!

Huyan Lie drew a sharp breath, his body involuntarily stepping back a few paces.

A spark of brilliance flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, he could practically be certain!

His guess was correct!

This Eerie Sword was none other than the mysterious martial arts expert who had previously broken into the barbarian camp!

It was the Eerie Sword who had heavily wounded the barbarian High Priest!

"No wonder! I kept wondering how such a master swordsman could suddenly pop up out of nowhere in Qinghe Town!"

"It was him!"

The corner of Huyan Lie's mouth curled upward.

At this moment, once the identity of the Eerie Sword was locked down, he could lead his army to press the border!

Before such a massive army, an individual's strength would appear utterly insignificant.

Even if this Eerie Sword possessed extraordinary martial arts, what of it?

Could he withstand a thousand men? Ten thousand?

One must know that even he himself would not dare face a thousand-man unit of the Tiger-Wolf Cavalry!

Not to mention that once the identity of the Eerie Sword was confirmed, he could lead thirty thousand Tiger-Wolf Cavalry directly to crush the enemy!

With this thought, Huyan Lie stood up and strode into the central tent.

"Your Majesty! This subordinate has an urgent matter to report!"

As soon as Huyan Lie entered and spoke those words, he noticed the atmosphere inside the tent was somewhat oppressive.

Ashimasha's face was gloomy to the extreme, her fists clenched tightly.

Seeing Huyan Lie, she took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "General Huyan, what urgent business do you have?"

Huyan Lie gave a light cough, walked up to Ashimasha, and bowed respectfully in salute.

"Reporting to Your Majesty! This subordinate has discovered that the person who previously raided our camp and heavily wounded the High Priest is none other than the Eerie Sword—the one who has recently gained a notorious reputation and repeatedly battered our barbarian forces!"

"This subordinate suspects that this person is currently hiding in Qinghe Town. I implore you to issue an order allowing me to lead thirty thousand Tiger-Wolf Cavalry to crush them directly!"

Huyan Lie said with a solemn expression.

Ashimasha glanced sideways at Huyan Lie, stood up, and walked directly up to him.

"General Huyan, are you aware that just moments ago, our scouts brought back a report?"

"General Wanyan led twenty thousand Sky Wolf Guards to attack Qinghe Town."

Huyan Lie paused, his brow furrowing deeply.

Wanyan Wuzhu was still acting so recklessly!

Twenty thousand Sky Wolf Guards attempting a forceful assault on Qinghe Town—even if they managed to take it, the losses would surely be immense!

Moreover, the most crucial point was—

The operational plan for Qinghe Town had all along been under his charge.

Huyan Lie instantly understood what Wanyan Wuzhu was plotting.

The man was trying to steal the credit!

Huyan Lie said earnestly, "Your Majesty! For Wanyan Wuzhu to capture Qinghe Town, the difficulty is bound to be immense!"

"This subordinate suggests that I be allowed to lead thirty thousand Tiger-Wolf Cavalry to assist!"

Ashimasha shook her head, her voice turning icy cold.

"No assistance is needed, because... that fool Wanyan Wuzhu, leading twenty thousand Sky Wolf Guards, has been completely annihilated!"

As these words fell, the atmosphere in the tent instantly froze.

Even Huyan Lie's mouth twitched, and he stood frozen in place in sheer astonishment.

How could this be possible?

These were the Sky Wolf Guards!

When it came to close-combat capability, not even the Tiger-Wolf Cavalry dared claim certain victory against them!

Yet now, he was being told that the twenty thousand Sky Wolf Guards led by Wanyan Wuzhu had been utterly wiped out?

"How is this possible?"

"There cannot possibly be an army of such strength in Qinghe Town!"

Huyan Lie took a deep breath, his tone heavy.

"Not to mention Qinghe Town, even across the entirety of Great Liang, there shouldn't be anyone capable of completely annihilating the Sky Wolf Guards! After all, if they wanted to retreat, no one should have been able to stop them!"

Ashimasha sneered, hands clasped behind her back, and said coldly, "That is the reality!"

"Furthermore, from the start of the battle between the two armies until the complete annihilation of the Sky Wolf Guards, less than three incense sticks' time passed!"

"The Sky Wolf Guards, famed for being invincible in close combat! And yet, before those people, they were slaughtered like livestock, left with zero ability to fight back!"

Huyan Lie opened his mouth, entirely at a loss for words.

This news was simply too shocking!

Qinghe Town...

If Wanyan Wuzhu hadn't led his army ahead to test the waters for him—

Then it would have been *him* leading twenty thousand Tiger-Wolf Cavalry to attack Qinghe Town!

The final outcome might have been slightly better than the Sky Wolf Guards, but probably not by much.

Cold sweat beaded heavily on Huyan Lie's forehead.

Thank goodness!

Thank goodness Wanyan Wuzhu was obsessed with seeking glory, which inadvertently saved his life!

Otherwise...

"Your Majesty, over the years, Great Liang's armies have suffered continuous defeats before our forces, unable to put up any resistance. This has caused more and more Great Liang generals to lose their fighting spirit."

"If this news leaks out and lets those generals know that we are not invincible, it will be extremely detrimental to our subsequent wars of invasion."

Huyan Lie clenched his fists, looking at Ashimasha before him with an exceptionally resolute gaze.

"Therefore! This subordinate earnestly requests Your Majesty's permission to dispatch troops! This time, we must use thunderous force to crush Qinghe Town! To take back the majesty we have lost!"

"Let everyone know that the might of our barbarian race cannot be offended!"

Hearing this, Ashimasha knitted her brows, pondered for a moment, and then said in a deep voice, "This time! I shall go with you all and personally level Qinghe Town!"