482: Chapter 482 Far-reaching Strategy

Seeing his troops collapse like a mountain and the soldiers lose all will to fight, Li Siqing fell into utter despair!

He stumbled back two steps, clutching his sword tightly in indignation as two lines of turbid tears fell...

Behind him, Official Luo Wenfeng gave a long sigh, appearing to age over a decade in an instant.

“Why... why does Heaven treat this Prince like this?!”

“No! This Prince refuses to accept this!!”

Veins bulged on Li Siqing's forehead as he reached out and pulled a long spear from the side of his saddle.

With a look of determination in his eyes, he sprinted forward and charged toward Xiao Qingxuan!

“Your Highness! Please, don't!!”

“Quickly, stop the Prince!!”

Official Luo Wenfeng shouted, but the soldiers of the Qing Kings Army looked at one another, none of them daring to step forward to stop him at this moment.

A trace of disdain appeared in Leng Bingyan's eyes: “Overestimating yourself.”

She was about to act, but Xiao Qingxuan stopped her.

“Let me handle it.”

Leng Bingyan was taken aback, but understanding the woman's intent, she silently moved aside.

Xiao Qingxuan stood calmly in place, waiting for Li Siqing to reach her.

Li Siqing had studied under Jiang Wanli and was using the Heaven Grade spear technique 'Sweeping Thousands'.

As the spear thrust forward, it let out a shrill whistle through the air, possessing a truly heroic aura.

Yet Xiao Qingxuan neither dodged nor avoided it; she simply raised her hand and extended two slender fingers, as an ice lotus bloomed at her fingertips...

“Ding!—”

With a crisp sound, the spearhead seemed to have struck an ice wall!

The crystalline ice lotus visibly spun and expanded, its petals releasing a bone-chilling cold.

A white, misty frost rapidly spread across the entire spear, reaching Li Siqing's hands, then his arms...

“Ah!—”

Li Siqing felt his blood vessels being frozen by the chill and his blood stop flowing; the piercing pain caused him to scream out!

Yet the rage and indignation in his heart made him unable to let go of the spear rationally.

A moment later, Li Siqing was like an ice sculpture, maintaining his thrusting posture as he stood frozen and motionless in the center of the battlefield.

Xiao Qingxuan withdrew her hand nonchalantly and scanned the surroundings; none of the Qing Kings Army dared to meet her gaze, lowering their heads in fear.

Everyone understood that it was all over.

The moment Li Siqing's spear was easily blocked by two fingers, the name of Prince Qing of the Western Border had been crushed.

Seeing her goal achieved, Xiao Qingxuan rose into the air and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument:

“From this day forth, General Cao Wang shall serve as the acting commander of the Qing Kings Army. Anyone who disobeys General Cao Wang's orders shall be executed without mercy!”

“The E Prefecture army is currently in a bloody battle with the Khitan. The Qing Kings Army is to set up camp temporarily and await further orders!”

Xiao Qingxuan was also unsure of the situation in E Prefecture.

If Zhao Yunting's army couldn't reinforce them in time, she might truly need the Qing Kings Army to step in.

The Qing Kings Army had no objections; though General Cao Wang was a bit unscrupulous, he was at least one of their own.

Following General Cao Wang was better than being broken up and directly incorporated into the Zhenbei Army.

For a moment, many officers bowed toward General Cao Wang from a distance.

“We obey General Cao's orders!”

Some sycophants even began to shout, “Congratulations, Great Commander Cao!”

Only General Cao Wang himself was somewhat dazed and confused!

What was going on? It was one thing for his Vanguard Camp to 'defect' and escape disaster, but how did he end up getting promoted?!

This whole turn of events made him feel quite anxious!

Before General Cao Wang could figure out what was happening, Xiao Qingxuan had already arrived before him.

“General Cao, send the rebels Li Siqing and Jiang Wanli together to Baishui City.”

“Furthermore, this Princess Consort has a task for you to handle...”

After Xiao Qingxuan gave her instructions, General Cao Wang hurriedly accepted the order.

Though he was still a bit confused, one thing was very clear to him: from today on, the Princess Consort of Zhenbei was his 'backer'!

Still worried about the battle in E Prefecture, Xiao Qingxuan and Leng Bingyan quickly rushed back toward Baishui City.

On the way, Leng Bingyan couldn't help but ask, “Qingxuan, who is this 'Guo Zai' you asked General Cao Wang to find? Is he one of Prince Qing's people?”

“I'm not sure either, but before Jiang Wanli died, he kept muttering this name. I imagine it must have some deep significance...”

Out of caution, Xiao Qingxuan had General Cao Wang investigate secretly to avoid alerting the enemy.

“Oh... then it definitely needs to be investigated thoroughly.”

Leng Bingyan agreed; a name mentioned right before death was certainly important.

“But seriously, Qingxuan, you really scared me just now. What if I hadn't blocked that blade strike? What would you have done?”

Thinking back to that thrilling moment, Leng Bingyan still felt a lingering fear.

“You needn't be so nervous. I had just taken a Tiangang Pill given by my husband. Even if that strike had hit me, it would have done no more than interrupt my thunder curse.”

Xiao Qingxuan shook her head. “On such a critical occasion, how could I stake everything on a single throw without leaving a backup plan?”

“So that's how it was! You should have said so earlier!” Leng Bingyan said, relieved.

“Mainly, I also believed that you, Yaner, would definitely arrive in time,” Xiao Qingxuan said with a smile.

Leng Bingyan waved her hand and said with a beaming smile, “I didn't really help much. This time, our Princess Consort of Zhenbei single-handedly repelled a hundred thousand troops of the Qing Kings Army. The Northern Daily must promote this well later!”

“After this battle, let's see who still dares to gossip and say you aren't worthy of Lin Xiao!”

Xiao Qingxuan didn't show the slightest hint of pride, remarking instead, “You overestimate me. In truth, being able to repel the enemy today was mostly thanks to the arrangements Lin Xiao made beforehand.”

“My husband saw the weaknesses in my practical combat skills long ago. If he hadn't had me learn the Purple Mansion Thunder Curse, it might have been truly difficult to subdue that fake Jiang Wanli.”

“Even with my Great Grandmaster cultivation and the immortal grade Xuanming Ice Soul, I couldn't harm him. It shows how powerful he was.”

“Moreover, it seems General Cao Wang was also a chess piece planted by my husband. He coordinated perfectly with me and was a great help.”

Leng Bingyan looked surprised, not expecting Lin Xiao's plans to be so far-reaching!

“My husband truly hides his depth; I really didn't know about these details!”

“So you're saying everything was within his plan?”

“Most likely...”

In the hearts of the two women, their admiration and love for Lin Xiao deepened significantly.

“The west is no longer a concern. Now we must see how the situation is in E Prefecture...”

Xiao Qingxuan felt a faint sense of unease as she looked toward the east...

Night fell.

E Prefecture City.

A bloodbath!

As Yelv Heqi gave the order to storm the city, over three thousand Khitan Holy Water Army soldiers charged toward the walls with bare hands, like frenzied beasts!

Under the personal command of Feng Yuzhang, the defending soldiers were very organized at first.

They used the crossbows and rocks on the city walls, attempting to kill these Khitan people—who hadn't even brought siege engines—beneath the ramparts.

But once Yelv Heqi appeared, the course of the war went off the rails!

The white-haired Yelv Heqi was like a massive old bat; with a few leaps, he braved the rain of arrows and flew onto the city wall!

Ordinary arrows were completely ineffective against him. The soldiers couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow before their throats were slit by his two curved blades.

Yelv Heqi seemed to vanish into the night; wherever he passed, blood splattered and lives were harvested like grass.

The defenses on the wall collapsed, and in their wake, more and more Khitan Holy Water Army soldiers climbed onto the ramparts.

“Don't break rank! Don't panic!!”

Feng Yuzhang, clad in armor and holding a sword, shouted in alarm, “Concentrate our forces and besiege him!”

But night battles were inherently chaotic, and few people on the scene could hear his commands.

“My Lord! This is no place to linger. Quickly, follow us to the rear!”

Two Black-clad swordsmen arrived at Feng Yuzhang's side, intending to take him down from the wall.

Feng Yuzhang looked at the two of them and immediately recognized them: “It's you?!”