Chapter 247 The Return of the Condor Heroes
"Li Ze (the governor of Liaozhou) came to ask for help only yesterday. How come the Jin army reached Xilangling so quickly?"

"I can't tell right now, I just have a hunch."

"Then shall we go up the mountain?"

"Ah."

Yang Chang looked at the mountain ahead, nodded his head, and asked again: "Princess, your magic is already very proficient, so your speed in climbing the mountain is not slow, right?"

"Don't worry, Yang Lang. As long as you choose the right route, I will only be slightly slower than on flat ground."

"That's good. There's a path to the right. Let's go!"

"it is good."

Zhao Fujin entwined his right arm with Yang Chang's, and with his left hand he made a gesture to control the energy and soared several inches high, stepping on the new shoots of grass and leaving an afterimage in the air.

Liaozhou is located in the area where Taihang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain meet, which is similar to the intersection of the Chinese character "人". In the south, it borders Wuxiang County of Weishengjun and She County of Luzhou. There are also several mountain ranges forming a "U"-shaped section. It can be said that it is surrounded by mountains on all sides and the terrain is dangerous.

However, due to the numerous mountains, the small amount of arable land in Liaozhou, the poor resources and the small population, the state does not have much presence in the entire Hedong.

There are three north-south rivers in the territory, namely Wuxiang Water, Liaoyang Water and Qingzhang Water. The population is mainly concentrated in riverside cities, from west to east, namely Yushe, Pingcheng, Liaoshan (now Zuoquan County) and Heshun. Among them, Yushe alone has Wuxiang Water and is closest to Wuxiang.

Yushe County and Wuxiang are separated by a pair of "V"-shaped ridges, and the "V" mouth is "cut" into East and West Wolf Ridges by Wuxiang Water.

The Donglangling Mountains are vast and there are no roads. The official road between the two counties is located at the western foot of the Xilangling Mountains. It goes around for fifty miles and then crosses the mountains for another fifty miles and goes down the mountain, finally arriving at the river valley plain in the southern part of Yushe.

The river between the East and West Wolf Ridges has no valley roads due to the steep mountains, so the official road at the foot of the mountain on the west side is the only passage between Liaozhou and Weisheng. As for the Liaoyang River and the Qingzhang River in the east, they finally merge into the Sheshui River and enter Shexian County, and there is no road to go.

Xilang Ridge is a strategic location. From the top of the ridge, one can have a panoramic view of the official road below. Whoever occupies the ridge will dominate the view. But as Zhao Fujin just said, Liaozhou only sent people to Weisheng for help yesterday.

According to conventional logic, the Jin army should have attacked Pingcheng in the north at this time and should definitely not have appeared in Xilangling.

Fortunately, Yang Chang had [Eagle Eyes and Owl Vision]. He noticed the clue at a quick glance just now and immediately changed the route to go up the ridge.

This guy has a suppressed vision and is used to peeping at others. How could he allow outsiders to peep at him?

It took the couple half an hour to climb along the wild path and reach the lookout point on the ridge.

The figure seen at the foot of the ridge just now appeared in Yang Chang's sight again. It turned out that there were three people there. They were carrying bows and swords, wearing military uniforms, but they did not look like Hu people.

Seeing that Yang Chang had been observing for a long time, but frowned and didn't speak, Zhao Fujin pulled his sleeve and asked in a low voice: "Yang Lang, what did you see?"

"There are three people, all of them look like Han Chinese, dressed as soldiers, one is on the lookout, two are resting, it seems they are taking turns to keep watch."

"What does Li Ze mean? He is so eager to ask Weisheng for help, but he sends soldiers to guard here all day. Is he afraid that we won't come or what? If you have this intention, you might as well defend the city well."

"These people are wearing armor, and they have bows, swords, and shields. Even our sentinels can't do that. How can the impoverished Liaozhou be so willing to do that?"

After listening to Yang Chang's analysis, Zhao Fujin raised her eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Yang Lang means this isn't the Liaozhou garrison?"

"You won't know until you ask."

Yang Chang took out a silver mask from his arms, put it on his face and said, "Princess, please wait here for a while. I will go over to meet him."

Zhao Fujin chuckled, then covered his face and joked, "Are you addicted to pretending? Where's Xiao Long Nu? Do you want to join us?"

"Let's talk later. I'm going now."

Yang Chang took off the Sun-Swallowing Sword, activated the [Centipede Step] and moved quickly, approaching the lookout in a moment.

The tip of the sword was as fast as lightning, pressing against the throat, frightening the guard so much that he could not move.

His Adam's apple moved up and down, and he quickly and tremblingly begged for mercy: "Please spare my life, sir. We can talk it over."

"Then tell me, who are you working for and what are you doing in West Wolf Ridge?"

"Ah I."

"You disturbed Grandpa's sweet dreams, Zhu Laosan, you bastard."

Yang Chang's voice was not loud, but every word he spoke was sonorous and powerful. Zhu Laosan, who was being pointed at, shouted in fear and panic, and finally one of his companions woke up.

The man stood up with one hand. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the silver-faced man. He drew his sword in panic and kicked the person sleeping next to him.

"Old Cow, get up quickly. It looks like Yang Guo."

"What? He is Yang Guo? Brother Ma, don't talk nonsense."

"Where is Yang Guo?"

When the soldier named Niu stood up, he looked at Yang Chang and muttered to himself: "It really doesn't seem right. What do you want to do? Put down your sword quickly. There are three of us!"

"hehe."

Yang Chang glanced at Niu Da with his peripheral vision, then smiled playfully: “Since you are afraid of Yang Guo, then why should I put away my sword? Do you think you can protect yourself with a broken sword? If you want to stay alive, you can only answer truthfully. I repeat, who are you working for, and what are you doing in West Wolf Ridge?”

"Damn it, I, Old Niu, just don't believe in evil, go to hell!"

Niu Da said he would raise his knife and chop, but before his knife fell, a white light suddenly flashed in his black eyes, and then he felt a chill on his neck.

With a hissing sound, blood splattered.

“I believe it.”

Seeing his companion being killed in one move, but with the tip of the sword still against Zhu Laosan's neck, Ma Erlang jumped back in shock, his hand holding the knife shaking.

"How did you do that?"

"I'm Yang Guo, answer my question quickly. Whoever answers faster will survive!"

Yang Chang's sinister smile made the two men tremble with fear. He did not kill innocent people indiscriminately, but had made a preliminary judgment that the three people were not the Liaozhou garrison.

The pseudonym Yang Guo was only used in Jizhou and Luzhou.

How could a few soldiers in Liaozhou, where information was cut off, know each other? There must be a reason.

"us."

As soon as Zhu San opened his mouth, Ma Er interrupted him and said, "We are the garrison troops of Yushe. We have been ordered to wait for Weisheng's reinforcements at Xilangling. Please spare our lives, my good man."

"Yushe garrison? How do you recognize me?"

"us."

Facing Yang Chang's question, Ma Er laughed and responded, "Yang Guo's reputation as a hero is well-known, and we heard about him from others."

"Is it right?"

Yang Chang looked at Zhu Laosan for confirmation, and put the tip of his sword back, saying meaningfully: "You didn't say a word, so you don't plan to live? Don't forget that there is only one chance for you two to survive, how about I ask him directly?"

"I"

"I agree."

With a swish, the Sun-Swallowing Sword flashed like lightning.

Ma Er's right arm was cut off by the cold light, and he screamed in pain like a pig being slaughtered, which shocked Zhu Laosan again.

"Did you get asked to speak? You keep interrupting me? You are very rude."

After Yang Chang scolded Ma Er, he turned his head and looked at Zhu Lao San, and said, "He won't interrupt again. You can start now."

"I am a subordinate of General Geng. I am here to monitor the movement of Weisheng's reinforcements." "General Geng? Which General Geng?"

"Geng Shouzhong."

As soon as Zhu Laosan finished speaking, he saw Yang Chang's puzzled expression and immediately added: "That is, the former commander of the Taiyuan Yisheng Army."

"It's him?"

Yang Chang nodded slightly and put his sword back into the sheath, thinking that this group of disloyal Yisheng Army soldiers had generals with the word "loyalty" in their names. At this time, there was Geng Shouzhong from Taiyuan. Earlier, there was a general of the Yisheng Army named Cui Zhong, who initially betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy in Daizhou, opening the door for the Jin army, and later died in battle in Taigu Water Gorge.

"No, if they are Geng Shouzhong's soldiers, how did they get to West Wolf Ridge? Could it be that Liaozhou has been lost?"

"Uh"

When Zhu Laosan saw Ma Er lying on the ground groaning in pain, he immediately began to confess.

"It's unclear whether Liaozhou has been lost, but we traveled south from Pingcheng to Yushe ten days ago, and everything was smooth."

"That's it"

Yang Chang's expression remained calm, but his heart was filled with ripples. He thought that Yushe had already been lost, so how did the messenger sent by the prefect Li Ze break through the Jin army's defense line?
Is this Nianhan’s plan?
The old man's use of force is unsuccessful, so now he resorts to conspiracy and trickery?
"According to what you said, Geng Shouzhong is now in Yushe? How many troops does he have under his command? Also, who is the commander of the Jin army in this attack on Liaozhou? Marshal Nianhan?"

"General Geng's Yisheng Army originally had 30,000 soldiers. In the past two years, they have been fighting with the Jin army everywhere. Excluding the wounded, only 20,000 soldiers are left. The Jin army's main general is the deputy commander Wushi (Wanyan Xiyin), and the Marshal Nianhan is not in Taiyuan."

"Wu Shi is also in Yushe?"

"do not know"

Seeing Zhu Laosan shaking his head, Yang Chang lifted the scabbard and pushed the sword ear upwards with his thumb. The half-inch of cold light revealed just happened to be reflected by the slanting sun, emitting a dazzling glare.

"You don't know, or you don't want to tell me? Do you want to try to see if my sword is sharp?"

"No, no, I'm not a good man, please spare my life, hero."

Zhu Laosan was so frightened that his legs went limp. He fell to the ground, kowtowed, and begged, "I am a lowly person in the Yisheng Army, how can I know the whereabouts of the deputy commander? Perhaps only General Geng knows this."

“Really? Then how did you find out what I, Yang Guo, look like?”

Yang Chang pondered over his words, thinking that he was just a lieutenant in the Yisheng Army, and the Yisheng Army was just a vassal of the Jin people. He might really not know where the Wushi was, so he changed the topic to another one.

When Boss Zhu saw that Commander Yang didn't make a move, he continued to explain, "I remember that last month, all the armies in Taiyuan posted pictures of heroes, but I didn't see them. Lao Niu and Lao Ma have seen them."

"Oh?"

Yang Chang pinched his chin and thought for a while, then he immediately guessed the connection.

Perhaps the news of killing Wuliebu and blaming Nianhan had already spread to Taiyuan area. Nianhan was not at the front line in Taiyuan at this time, so he must have returned to the Jin Kingdom to explain.

"Stop howling!"

Annoyed by Ma Er's screams, Yang Chang kicked him in the calf and shouted, "Tell me about the painting. Why was he able to recognize me at a glance? Also, why did they post it in every army?"

"I said. I said"

Ma Er was sweating profusely from the pain, but the kick distracted him from the pain. He then slowly replied, "The two people in the picture are wearing masks, and you are also wearing a mask at this time, so I am so sure. General Geng said that you are extremely dangerous, so we must remember your appearance and report immediately if we find your whereabouts."

“There are two people in the picture?”

"Yes, yes, the other one is called Xiao Long Nu, why is she here too? She is so beautiful."

Yang Chang noticed Zhao Fujin approaching, and Ma Er, who had been weak just now, now showed a greedy look.

At this time, this guy still has such dirty thoughts? Is his head filled with shit?

"You have a way to die!"

As Yang Chang shouted angrily, he flicked away the sword earring, and at the same time, he flashed and swung out a touch of frost, cutting the horse in two.

"Ah? I don't, I don't."

"Yang Lang, have you asked clearly? They..."

When Zhao Fujiang arrived in front of him, he saw Zhu Laosan falling to the ground and begging for mercy in fear, but Yang Chang had no intention of stopping. He drew his sword and quickly killed the man.

"You can't leave it!"

"Yang Lang, what are you doing?"

"They are the Yisheng rebels. Geng Shouzhong handed over Shiling Pass to Nianhan, which led to the Jin army coming directly to Taiyuan. They are here to keep an eye on our reinforcements. It seems that the Jin people are plotting against me."

"what?"

Originally, he thought that the man had already confessed and posed no threat to him, so Yang Chang could actually keep him alive in case he could get some other information out of him. However, he immediately changed his attitude after hearing the explanation.

Zhao Fujin immediately made hand gestures and chanted a spell, raised his hands upwards and then covered them downwards, and three lightsabers appeared in the void, falling on the three corpses like raindrops.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
The sword light is like flame, burning the body as soon as it enters.

In the blink of an eye, the three corpses disappeared out of thin air.

Yang Chang was dumbfounded, thinking that Zhao Fujin's magic sword was no different from Ma Ling's gold brick technique. It was originally just simple spell damage, so why could it also achieve physical destruction?
Is it related to [Innate Gold Spirit Body]? Niu, Ma, and Zhu were blasted to pieces. Is this spell more powerful than the boiler in the crematorium?
Wait, the body is just gone and I haven’t picked it up yet.

Just as Yang Chang was stunned, several improvements popped up in his sea of ​​consciousness.

[Gain sword experience. Use it to improve your sword skill proficiency. Please choose to use or discard. ]

【Gain 1 murderous point.】

[Gain sword experience. Use it to improve your sword skill proficiency. Please choose to use or discard. ]

【Gain 2 murderous point.】

Wow, it can actually touch corpses intelligently?
Zhao Fujin is too useful, isn't she? I think this is not the art of controlling things, but should be called the sword technique of transcendence. This method is simple and convenient, and it will not cause plague due to the dead body.

While Yang Chang was daydreaming, Zhao Fujin glanced at the ground and muttered to himself, "I felt that my cultivation had improved, but I hadn't had time to find someone to test it. It turns out to be true."

"Try? We can try it on the enemy, but let's not try it on our own people."

"Oh fine."

Zhao Fujin nodded slightly, raised his palm and asked with a smile: "My cultivation has improved. Can I help Yang Lang more in the future?"

"Of course, of course"

Yang Chang swallowed and thought, "You can use magic to kill the enemy, maybe I'm even better than you. I'm so envious of you."

I have to use the [Eye of Insight] to see what realm Her Royal Highness has reached. Is it higher than mine? Then I will feel disappointed.

Before he could even chant the spell, Zhao Fujin suddenly pulled him aside and asked, "Yang Lang, Geng Shouzhong's men are in West Wolf Ridge. How did Li Ze ask for help? Is there a trick?"

"The princess is indeed smart."

Yang Chang was interrupted by Zhao Fujin and had to stop to explain: "Zhu Wu proposed to use Liaozhou to make a fuss last night. Now it seems that the Jin people have taken the lead and want to use Liaozhou to plot against my husband."

"What should we do? Should we send troops?"

"What are you afraid of? Princess, don't worry. We can crush the Jin people with our weapons and brains!"

(End of this chapter)