216: Chapter 0216 A Spirit That Swallows Mountains and Seas

A deathly silence fell over the scene, as if only the sobbing cold wind remained to recount the tumultuous upheaval in everyone's hearts!

This single strike was so fast, so decisive, that they hadn't even had time to react!

"Prince Yan?"

Lin Xiao smiled disdainfully and looked at the Cold Iron Guard behind him. His voice was low yet possessed immense penetrating power:

"The weather is freezing, and you are here fighting a bloody battle. Where is Prince Yan?!"

"He is drinking fine wine, embracing beauties, and enjoying himself wantonly in a warm bed!"

"And what about you!? Here, you gnaw on steamed buns as hard as stones, bite into chunks of ice, and risk your lives with your heads tucked into your belts, fighting an enemy army born from the same poverty as yourselves!!"

"Are you truly enemies!? Is Prince Yan your father? Is Prince Bai the man who murdered your parents!? Neither!!"

"Your parents, your wives and children, the people you cherish most—they are cold and hungry, hoping only that you will survive!!"

"Yet here you are, shedding blood and losing your heads for two princes who aren't worth a damn!!"

Lin Xiao thumped his chest with one hand. "I, Lin Xiao, am just like you! I came from humble beginnings and joined the army to fight, seeking only a chance to survive!"

"But what was the final result?! That dog Li Sibai, in his struggle for power and the throne, cut off my Border Army's supplies and abandoned us, leaving us to be slaughtered by the Barbarian Army!!"

"You show loyalty to a prince, but in his eyes, have you ever even existed!?"

Lin Xiao then pointed his black blade toward the sky. "I'm telling you! Never mind a castrated dog—even if Li Sibai or Prince Yan were here, this General would cut them down without hesitation!!"

"This Jingmen, this E Prefecture—I, Lin Xiao, am taking them!"

"Not even the King of Heaven himself can stop me. I said it!!"

The battlefield erupted into an uproar!!

Everyone's heads were buzzing; they felt as if the tops of their skulls were about to be blown off!!

Ordinary people wouldn't even dare to think such treasonous words, yet he dared to say them in public!?

What kind of mountain-and-sea-swallowing courage was this!?

What kind of blood-boiling heroism!?

The soldiers of the Cold Iron Guard, one by one, found their eyes reddening. They thought of their hometowns, their wives and children, and their relatives far away!

Indeed, what did it matter if they were one of the five great cavalries? Did Prince Yan even view them as human!?

If he had even a shred of humanity, would he have ordered this campaign at such a time!?

In truth, they were also fed up with the old eunuch, but that castrated dog had Prince Yan behind him...

If they defied the eunuch, it would inevitably be seen as disrespect toward Prince Yan.

With the distinction between noble and common, ruler and subject, how could they dare to commit insubordination?

But as it happened—Lin Xiao dared!

Before, he had issued the declaration against prince bai, causing Li Sibai to cough up blood and fall ill!

Now, he had personally slain the supervising eunuch, treating Prince Yan as if he were a mere decoration!

His word was his bond! He did exactly what he said he would!!

Lin Xiao's every word and action was helping them vent the pent-up fury in their chests!

He was the most blood-pumping dream in the hearts of these low-level soldiers!!

For a moment, soldiers from all directions, regardless of their camp, gazed from afar at the man on horseback with eyes full of extraordinary respect and adoration...

Zhao Caiwei's bright eyes flickered as she gripped her long spear. Her gaze was fixed on the man, her heart filled with an indescribable complexity.

With her level head, she understood that Lin Xiao was winning over people's hearts. She also understood that he had come this time with other motives.

But... did that matter?

Lin Xiao had his own interests, but what about Prince Bai and Prince Yan? Did they not have theirs?

In these chaotic times, only the strong have the right to survive!

In Zhao Caiwei's eyes, Lin Xiao had proven in this battle that he was far more worthy of the Cold Iron Guard's following than those two fellows who relied on bloodline to be kings!!

"Brother General Zhao Kuan, this General Lin is even more remarkable than what you wrote in your letter!"

Zhao Caiwei murmured in her heart, finally making a decision!

She directly dropped to one knee, lowered her head, and cupped her fists. "Zhao Caiwei is willing to lead all the soldiers of the Hanguang Battalion to join the Zhenbei Army! We shall follow General Lin into the city!!"

She didn't dare to represent the entire Cold Iron Guard directly, but the five thousand men of her Hanguang Battalion were absolutely of one mind with her.

Sure enough, the thousands of surviving Hanguang Battalion soldiers immediately dismounted, knelt on the ground, and shouted loudly:

"We are willing to follow General Lin!!"

Seeing this, the other Cold Iron Guard soldiers could no longer restrain themselves and knelt one after another to surrender.

"I am willing too!"

"Me too!"

"General Lin! I want to join the Zhenbei Army!!"

"Brothers! What are you still standing there for!? If it weren't for General Lin, we'd all be dead today!!"

"General Lin even dared to kill that castrated dog, what else is there to hesitate about!?"

As more and more people chose to follow Lin Xiao, those on the Yan Kings Army side who were already wavering had nothing left to struggle for.

Originally, even if they returned to the Yan Region, they would surely be punished given their heavy casualties and failure to take Jingmen.

Rather than going back to suffer miserably, it was better to follow the great hero they admired and carve out a career!!

They had previously harbored doubts about the various miraculous battle records of Lin Xiao's Zhenbei Army.

But now, having witnessed it with their own eyes, they were convinced—this was a true God of War of this age!

If even the Yan Kings Army felt this way, the White Kings Army side had no psychological burden at all.

Just as Lin Xiao had said, they were soldiers of the Northern Frontier; of course they should be under the jurisdiction of the General of Zhenbei!

Lin Xiao scanned the surroundings with a solemn face and found everyone prostrate on the ground. There were no hot-headed fools with natural rebellious streaks.

A pity; he had thought there might be a few who didn't value their lives. His black blade was still short about two hundred heads!

Heh! Truth be told, when it really came down to life and death, they were all quite clever!

"You! Step out!!"

Lin Xiao glanced over the soldiers of the White Kings Army and chose a bearded man who was short and stout.

The bearded officer looked bewildered, somewhat unable to believe it. He stood up and took two steps forward.

"General Lin, what are your orders?"

"In the White Kings Army, I see your martial arts are the highest. Your rank should be decent, right?"

The bearded man was filled with disbelief. His name was Lü Baisheng, and he was an inner disciple of Blade Mountain.

Although his rank was only a Commandant, his martial arts were second only to generals like Zhang Shide among this group of the White Kings Army.

In a chaotic battle of tens of thousands, Lin Xiao could actually tell at a glance that his martial arts were the best?

"Speak!" Lin Xiao barked.

Lü Baisheng hurriedly prostrated himself and said admiringly, "General Lin has eyes like a hawk. This humble officer is Lü Baisheng, serving as a sixth-rank Xuanwei Commandant..."

"Good. This General appoints you to temporarily act as a adjutant to assist me in reorganizing the remaining White Kings Army."

"Find a few more reliable people to assist you. Before sunset today, tally the casualties and present the report to me!"

Lü Baisheng was overjoyed, feeling as though his time had finally come. He quickly cupped his fists and accepted the order.

On the Yan Kings Army's side, Lin Xiao naturally didn't need to worry too much.

"Miss Caiwei, I'll leave things here to you. If you are concerned about General Zhao, I can assign someone else."

Zhao Caiwei shook her head. "My father is being looked after by my younger sister. As the Vice Commander of the Cold Iron Guard, this is my duty."

The dust settled.

Lin Xiao wasted no more words. After leading the army back into the city to rest and reorganize, he headed straight for the Prefects Mansion.