Chapter 283 – Initial Show of Strength

“Your Highness, this is not funny at all,” Pang Huan replied as they continued to exchange blows in mid-air.

“I am not joking,” Rong Yuan laughed mildly as he blocked Pang Huan’s string of attacks. “To someone like you, Elder Pang Huan, you should not have to suffer under the stupidity of whoever is leading you now.”

Rong Yuan left it at that. He did not explicitly mention what was stupid but Pang Huan understood what he was saying and his attack towards Rong Yuan paused. He then continued attacking as if nothing had happened.

Knowing that he had internalised his words, Rong Yuan did not continue speaking. Using all the spiritual energy in his body, a crack as long as an arm appeared in the space in front of Pang Huan.

If he were to get hit by the crack, he would be severed waist down. Pang Huan who was heading forward was shocked and quickly pushed against the floor with his foot, changing his direction. He jumped up two meters in the air and avoided the crack.

However, following that, numerous big and small cracks appeared around him. They were not as big as the first crack but if he were to touch any, he would definitely lose either a hand or leg. Frightened, Pang Huan moved as agilely as he possibly could, narrowly avoiding the cracks. He was about to take a breath of relief when the sight in front of him caused his eyes to widen. Less than half an inch from his nose lay a crack as thick as a finger. From where the crack was, he knew that if Rong Yuan wanted to hurt him, he would have been injured.

Taking in Pang Huan’s shock and frightened expression, Rong Yuan smiled slightly. He retracted the crack without saying anything. He spoke in a voice that only two of them could hear, “I believe Elder Pang is a smart man and know what you should choose.”

In the remaining time, Pang Huan was distracted as the image of the crack in front of his nose replayed in his mind. Rong Yuan was using this method to tell him that it was easy to take his life and the only reason why he was still alive was because Rong Yuan admired his talent.

This battle continued for a good four hours. In the realms created by the Martial Sages, the strange ability of Pang Huan’s realm allowed the fight to be balanced amongst them. Outside these realms, due to the addition of the Silver-Armoured Troops, the battle favored the Xia Kingdom. The soldiers from the Dayin Kingdom had been completely wiped out. As Ding Wei saw his soldiers deplete and the morale of the remaining fall, he had no choice but to call for them to retreat.

Seeing the slightly weary look on the Xia Kingdom’s troops, Rong Yuan issued the order to retreat for the day as he looked to Ding Wei and said, “Brother Ding, let’s fight another day.”

Ding Wen glared at Rong Yuan before leaving under the protection of a group of soldiers.

The soldiers from the Xia Kingdom returned back to the city gates of Sangbo Town.

Everyone let out a long breath as their entire body seemed to empty out. The minute the gates were closed, everyone laid on the floor.

Rong Yuan frowned. He then walked across them towards the mayor’s residence of the city under the guidance of one of his lieutenants.

When he reached the mayor’s residence, before he could get any closer, he saw two rows of servants at the door. There were almost a hundred of them and they looked spectacular.

“The mayor of Sangbo Town really places importance on extravagance,” Rong Yuan whispered into Gu Lingzhi’s ear, roasting the mayor. After they got married, Rong Yuan seemed to no longer have any apprehensions. He had to be with Gu Lingzhi at every single moment, and they even had to ride together.

As the group headed to the mayor’s residence, Gu Lingzhi saw the person that was leading them give an extremely unhappy look at Rong Yuan’s arm which was draped around her waist. She wanted to poke Rong Yuan who was behind her to remind him to watch the impression he was giving others. After all, they were here to fight a war and it was not good to be too intimate.

Rong Yuan’s reply was to hug her even tighter to himself. Gu Lingzhi’s back was plastered onto his chest. In a low and hoarse voice, Rong Yuan spoke beside her ear, “Mayor Zang, sorry to have made you wait.”

He then half hugged Gu Lingzhi and carried both of them off the wildebeest's back. His actions were light and elegant. Unfortunately, in Zang Guangping’s eyes it looked like he was acting frivolously.

As Rong Yuan’s feet touched the ground, the servants on both sides fell to their knees as they spoke uniformly, “Welcome, Your Highness!”

Although their voices were not as deep and resounding as a Martial Artist that spoke with spiritual power, the voices of over a hundred people were enough to cause their eardrums to vibrate. Rong Yuan frowned as he glanced at the calm looking Zang Guangping and said, “Please get up.”

No one dared to move. The two rows of servants remained kneeling on the floor. It looked like they were extremely respectful but they did not respond to his command.

“Didn’t you hear His Highness ordering you all to get up?”

Hearing Zang Guangping’s voice, the two rows of people quickly got up and stood in two lines with their heads bowed.

Rong Yuan understood the situation immediately - Zang Guangping obviously wanted to show off his authority.

After all, he was in control of Sangbo Town and had been living like a local tyrant. All of a sudden, there was news about a war and he had to give up control of the town. Of course he was unwilling.

“Mayor Zang, the servants here are really obedient.” Rong Yuan spoke in a praising yet disparaging manner.

Zang Guangping replied with a few polite words, feeling very pleased with himself for the effect he created.

When he knew that the Third Prince was coming to Sangbo Town to organise the troops, he was extremely suspicious about this Third Prince that was rumored to be amazing. Now that he met the Third Prince, his suspicions grew even more. The Third Prince was supposed to be fighting a war yet he brought his newly-wedded wife with him. How can someone that cooed at his wife properly lead his men to overcome this barrier of Sangbo Town?

Although he was unhappy, he still respectfully greeted, “Your Highness, it’s our honor to welcome you here. Please follow me.”

He then swept his hand politely and gestured for them to follow him.

Everyone that was with Rong Yuan dismounted their wildebeest and the two rows of servants immediately enthusiastically grabbed the reins of the wildebeest. They were no longer as silent as when Rong Yuan gave the order previously.

The group walked into the residence in a single file.

Although Sangbo Town was only considered a town officially, it was located at the border and had a vast amount of land that was sparsely populated. It had an area that was even bigger than some cities. The internal planning of the town followed that of a city.

For example, the mayor’s residence that they were at was no less inferior to one in the city. Not even mentioning the land it stood on, the residence had a water pavilion, a pond and a flower garden. It was obvious that the owner knew how to enjoy such luxuries.

As they walked past the pond in the yard, Rong Yuan noticed Gu Lingzhi taking a moment to look at the multi-coloured koi swimming about. He immediately laughed, “If you want to, we can stay here for awhile.”

Zang Guangping’s face darkened as his image of Rong Yuan fell even more. Even if Rong Yuan was splendid in his younger days, seeing him now, it was like he was not even half his worth in the past. He was so focused on women and that was definitely not the attitude someone who was supposed to accomplish big things should have!

The people with Rong Yuan did not seem to find this strange and he guessed that this was how Rong Yuan behaved normally. In a moment, his unhappiness with Rong Yuan was displayed on his face. In a low voice, he said, “Your Highness, I think we have more urgent official matters to discuss.”

“Official matters?” Rong Yuan raised a brow as if he just remembered he had things to do. He then pointed to the long row of soldiers from the Silver-Armoured Troops behind him and said, “Then I am sorry to trouble you to prepare some guestrooms for my comrades.”

Zang Guangping almost did not breathe as he gritted his teeth, “Your Highness, that is not what I meant by official matters.”

Rong Yuan pretended not to understand what he meant as he blinked. He then claimed seriously, “But I think that letting my men rest properly is an official matter.”

The Silver-Armoured Troops broke into a laugh. This was the reason why they willingly followed Rong Yuan – he was a leader that cared about his men.

Zang Guangping froze as a despising look crossed his face. Was this how the Third Prince got so many people to serve him?

Although this was what he thought, he still instructed his servants to bring the Silver-Armoured Troops to where he had prepared beds for them to rest.

Before long, only Rong Yuan, Gu Lingzhi, Hua Qingcheng, Yuan Zheng, Zang Guangping, Yuan Hang and one of the captains of the Silver-Armoured Troops, of which Gu Lingzhi could not remember his name, remained.

“Your Highness, now can we go to the study to discuss?” Zang Guangping spoke slightly accusingly.

Rong Yuan continued to pretend to not hear his unhappiness, “Mayor Zang, what do you want to talk about? You can speak here.”

Seeing this, Yuan Zheng retrieved a soft couch from his Storage Ring and placed it on a relatively flat ground by the pond. Under Zang Guangping’s distasteful look, Rong Yuan pulled Gu Lingzhi to sit on the couch. With a warm gaze, he proceeded to ask Gu Lingzhi what she thought of the scenery here, looking as if he was here for vacation.

Hua Qingcheng similarly pulled out a chair from his Storage Ring and positioned himself next to Rong Yuan. He fixed his eyes on Zang Guangping, waiting for him to say something. They demonstrated their intention to hold the discussion here without any restraint.

“You all…” Zang Guangping’s chest rose a few times as he suppressed his anger. In a low voice he asked, “Your Highness, there are too many people here. It is better if we go into the study.”

Rong Yuan raised his brows, “Oh? Could it be that you suspect the loyalty of your own people? It seems like your servants were pretty obedient.” If not, he would not have put on a show before Rong Yuan even entered the residence.

Zang Guangping froze as he was once again angered by Rong Yuan’s attitude.

“Your Highness, I think…”

“I think the scenery here is good and we can discuss it here. If you don’t feel like talking, then please go ahead with whatever you need to do. After travelling for a few days, my wife and I wish to take a rest.”

Hearing this, Zang Guangping could no longer suppress the anger he was feeling, “Your Highness, please do not bring the matters of your harem onto the battlefield. You are not here to relax!”

Previous Chapter Next Chapter