Chapter 60: Hitting a Snake Where It Hurts: Easily Manipulating a Martial Arts Maniac!

"It was you? You killed the High Priest?"

Yang Wudi and the others exchanged bewildered glances, looking at Sumu as they stood there completely dumbfounded!

At this moment, they felt more and more strongly that this Lei Yan was simply a scoundrel!

Knowing full well how terrifying Sumu's strength was, he hadn't uttered a single word about it beforehand.

Had they known Sumu was this savage, even the most stubborn Yang Wudi would never have gone up to clash head-on with him!

Wasn't that like throwing an egg against a rock?

There was simply no comparison between the two.

"Wait, the Su family?"

"You're from the capital's Su family?"

Right at that moment, Chen Mo looked at Sumu, his mouth slightly agape as he asked in astonishment.

Sumu nodded in response.

Beside them, Lei Yan chuckled, lifting his chin with a proud expression. "You guessed right, the young master is the eldest son of the Su family!"

Hearing this, everyone fell into a speechless silence.

What kind of unearned good fortune had the Su family stumbled into?

To actually unearth such a treasure!

A genius of Sumu's caliber, the emergence of even a single one, was enough to revitalize an entire clan!

"Old Lei, you brought us here this time shouldn't just be to show off, right?"

"I know your character very well. Unless there's a special purpose, you always adhere to the principle of keeping your wealth hidden. You certainly wouldn't introduce us to a peerless talent like Young Master Su for no reason."

Xu Changkong said with a solemn expression.

The other two instantly came to their senses upon hearing this.

Indeed!

Lei Yan was no saint.

He must have had an ulterior motive.

Sumu looked at the three of them, making a calm, inviting gesture with his hand.

"Gentlemen, this is not a place for talking. Please, follow me!"

...

Inside the study, Sumu sat at the desk to one side, looking at the three men with a rather serious expression.

"Three seniors, I would like to ask you a question."

"How strong do you think the barbarians' desire to annihilate the eight frontier cities is this time? What percentage of confidence do you have in being able to defend your respective cities?"

As soon as Sumu asked this, the three of them fell silent.

Confidence?

If forced to put a number on it, they probably didn't even have one percent.

Because as the barbarian armies broke through the other frontier cities, the enemies they would have to face would grow increasingly formidable!

If there were only a single city left among the eight frontier cities, that one city would have to face all three elite barbarian armies!

There was practically no faction capable of withstanding that.

"Young Master Su, what do you mean by this?"

Yang Wudi looked at Sumu with a profound gaze.

"It's very simple. If we wish to defend our respective cities, continuing to fight each alone and isolated as we did in the past is clearly unrealistic."

"I have observed that if our four cities form an alliance and advance and retreat together,"

"When one side is under siege, the others can dispatch corresponding reinforcements to help."

"In that case, even the barbarians would be dreaming if they thought they could break our alliance in a short period of time!"

Sumu said with a light chuckle.

Hearing this, the three men took a deep breath.

An alliance?

Prior to this, they hadn't even considered such a possibility.

However, thinking about it now, it was indeed rather interesting!

Once this alliance was established, it would prove far too advantageous for the future situation.

"Young Master Su, you suddenly propose an alliance—I imagine it's because Qinghe Town is currently facing rather formidable enemies, isn't it?"

"It's not that we can't form an alliance, after all, our enemies are all barbarians."

"However... you at least need to show us some benefits, right?"

Chen Mo looked at Sumu, coughing softly and putting on a thick-skinned smile.

Although it felt a bit like taking advantage of someone's predicament, since they were forming an alliance, if they couldn't reap any benefits at all, wouldn't they be getting the short end of the stick?

After all, they could clearly see that if an alliance were formed, the primary decision-maker would undoubtedly be the young man before them.

This was virtually equivalent to having the forces of the other three cities subject to Sumu's command.

"That is only natural!"

"If you are willing to form an alliance, we can provide some technological support to help you enhance your military strength in a short period of time."

"Secondly, I know that one of the main reasons why you gentlemen have not expanded your frontier armies is simply the lack of military pay. Even if you recruited people, they would eventually leave because they couldn't get enough to eat or wear."

"Therefore, our Qinghe Town can also provide provisions and pay for ten thousand soldiers in each city."

Hearing this, all three men were stunned.

Because the conditions Sumu was offering were extraordinarily generous!

Even for them, this was the first time they had ever encountered such terms.

Astounding!

"Young Master Su, is what you said true?"

Yang Wudi coughed, his tone turning grave and serious.

Among all the military garrisons, their terrain and location made them the poorest.

To the extent that many soldiers' armors had already developed tears and cracks, yet they still had to grit their teeth and keep wearing them.

Their sabers were all acquired by slaying barbarians in battle.

Therefore, if Sumu's offered conditions could actually be fulfilled, it would indeed be a fine choice.

As the old saying goes, leaning against a tall tree makes for good shade—this was precisely the same logic.

"Of course. I never deceive my own people."

"So, the three of you can think carefully about this alliance."

At this, Sumu glanced at Yang Wudi and gave a soft chuckle.

"By the way, General Yang, if you join, I can also pass on the spear techniques I used just now to you."

"I won't dare say your strength will instantly leap forward by bounds, but improving by fifty percent compared to right now is not a problem."

Seeing the glittering light in Yang Wudi's eyes, Chen Mo and Xu Changkong instantly understood that their iron-triangle alliance had been instantly shattered by Sumu.

They knew full well that Yang Wudi was a martial arts maniac.

For a martial arts maniac, what weapon could be more enticing than secret martial arts manuals?

What's more, the technique Sumu was offering to teach was the very spear art that had just defeated Yang Wudi.

"Young Master Su! From now on, whenever needed, I, Yang Wudi, will take your orders!"

"I am willing to join this alliance!"

Yang Wudi made his decision without the slightest hesitation.

Chen Mo and Xu Changkong let out helpless sighs.

Yang Wudi was truly too impatient!

Yet, this meant the two of them no longer had any room for choice either.

They had to join!

"Since that is the case, we are also willing to join this alliance."

"There is just one thing we must state beforehand: while we are willing to join the alliance, Young Master Su, you cannot interfere with the internal operations of our respective military camps."

Chen Mo said with a profound look.

They knew that if their respective forces were gathered together, it would amount to nearly one hundred thousand troops!

If this news were to spread back to the capital, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar.

If things went poorly, they might even find themselves branded with the crime of attempting rebellion.

Such situations were hardly uncommon!

"I will not interfere with your routine operations. However, during wartime, there is only one requirement: you must obey my commands!"

"After all, on the battlefield, having a single voice is more than enough!"