Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 228 Certificate of Surrender

Hearing the shouts and screams, Li Fang's eyes widened immediately, because in his impression, the Seventh Young Master was just a punching bag.

"How could he? How dare he??"

At this moment, Li Fang didn't have time to think about anything. He just felt his heart was full of resentment and anger.

Facing the grassland barbarian rushing towards him, a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After all, he had killed at least 800 of these barbarians, if not a thousand. In his eyes, Tarzan was just a strong and brute man, not worth mentioning at all.

The distance between the two men was rapidly closing, the sound of horse hooves was like thunder, and the dust was flying.

When Tazan approached within ten meters, Li Fang could see clearly the weapon in his hand - it was a heavy black stick, as thick as a bowl, and looked extremely heavy.

Tazan casually raised the heavy stick and smashed it towards Li Fang.

Youdao is an expert who knows if there is any problem. When Ta Zan swung the stick, Li Fang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Because although this attack was completely random and just a random strike, the speed was completely beyond Li Fang's prediction!
The heavy stick, with the dull whistling sound of the wind, seemed to have even been torn apart, and headed straight for Li Fang's face.

In a hurry, Li Fang could only swing his sword upwards to try to block the attack.

However, when the back of his knife touched Tazan's heavy stick, an unrivalled powerful force came from the blade, trembling his arms numb.

With a crisp "clang" sound, the hundred-forged steel knife that had been with him for ten years was instantly knocked away, flying more than twenty meters away and falling far to the ground.

Li Fang's knuckles were cracked and blood dripped down his fingers. His face turned pale in an instant and he was filled with horror.

He never thought that this seemingly rough prairie barbarian could have such terrifying strength! As the saying goes, strength can defeat skill. In the face of such strange strength, skills are useless.

Li Fang couldn't help but think of an incident that happened ten years ago:
That was when we were attacking the city of Tocharia, and we also encountered such a monster with innate supernatural powers. He was wearing three layers of chain mail and holding a heavy axe to guard the city gate.

The brothers completely sacrificed their lives, but in vain. After hundreds of people died in the battle, they waited until the enemy was exhausted before trapping them in fishing nets and burning them to death with fire.

Yes, this is a world with internal skills and martial arts, but the waters are rising and the ships are high. Every county of martial arts is. As long as you have the qualifications, it is not difficult to practice martial arts.

Therefore, as long as a person is talented, he or she can achieve the effect of being a fierce general who can defeat thousands of enemies!
But just as he was distracted, Tazan swung his stick down again. Li Fang barely avoided the vital points and was knocked off his horse. After rolling several times, he was spitting blood and could not even stand up.

Witnessing this scene, Xu Lin standing next to him looked as if he had seen a ghost. He had never expected to meet such a powerful general here!
You know, even Jiao Meng, the most capable general under the Marquis, is probably not as strong as the grassland barbarian in front of him, right?

Seeing that Tazan turned his horse's head and rode slowly towards him, Xu Lin was more tactful and immediately shouted at the top of his voice:
"Seventh Master, Seventh Master, I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender!!"

After hearing this, Gong Tianwu looked at Xu Lin with his ability to judge people and found that although this person did not have good talents, he had a special trait, which was to get to the bottom of things.

People with this trait are good at inquiring about intelligence, and Gong Tianwu really lacks such people.

So Gong Tianwu waved at Tazan, and then said to Xu Lin:

"Are you really willing to surrender, or are you just trying to stall for time?"

Xu Lin smiled bitterly and said:
"Even ants are greedy for life. Besides, I am originally the Marquis's man. It is not a big deal to disgrace my status and ancestors to join the Seventh Young Master."

Gong Tianwu smiled and said gently:
"Well, go and kill Li Fang, and I will believe what you say."

Xu Lin was shocked all over, and the smile on his face looked uglier than crying:

"Seventh Master!! Lao Li and I have a life-long friendship, and we both sincerely surrender to you!!"

Gong Tianwu smiled slightly and said:

"Just now you were fighting for Big Brother and desperately begging for help. You are really a model of loyalty. Now under the pressure of the situation, you surrender to him just like that. Haha, haha."

At this point, Gong Tianwu still had a gentle smile on his face, but his words were full of disdain:

"You want to live, but you don't even submit a letter of surrender. Do you think I'm a fool?"

Then Gong Tianwu didn't give Xu Lin any chance at all, and said to Tazan calmly:

"Give him ten breaths of time. If he doesn't do anything, I'll kill him."

Tarzan nodded and started counting down.

Cold sweat ran down Xu Lin's back. He then realized that everyone had misjudged the Seventh Master in front of them. He was truly a cruel and ruthless master.

More importantly, if I died at the hands of this gentleman, even if the truth were to be exposed, my death would have been in vain.

Xu Lin himself did not believe that the Marquis would kill his son to avenge him. Therefore, when people are facing life and death, they often burst out with great strength. Therefore, he could only grit his teeth and say:
"Seventh Master, Seventh Master, you just want to show your loyalty! I know all the routes that the messengers of the prince who are seeking help take. You can only block two of them at most if you send people there!!"

"But there is another route that you don't even know about because it's a smuggling route."

Hearing this, before Gong Tianwu could say anything, the seriously injured Li Fang had already yelled:
"Xu Lin!! You bastard!!"

Then Li Fang was kicked in the face by the soldier next to him. He spurted out a mouthful of blood and grabbed the grass in pain.

Gong Tianwu looked at Xu Lin deeply and said:

"Okay, take my people over there. If you can stop the messenger, I will spare both of your lives."

Soon, Hasar sent two more batches of messengers over, one of which was blocked on the route pointed out by Xu Lin.

Most of the two groups of messengers surrendered when faced with power. For them, switching from loyalty to the Crown Prince to loyalty to the Seventh Young Master was not a difficult thing to accept, after all, they were all sons of the Marquis.

Only two people had a close relationship with Chen Feidi's maternal family, and they cursed loudly.

Gong Tianwu was not going to give in. He simply waved his hand, tied them up and let them get what they wanted.

Then, as for the new ones who joined, each of them would step forward and stab the enemy as a sign of their loyalty.

At this moment, Gong Tianwu received another tip. After reading it, he was silent for a while, and then said to the person next to him:
"Let Hasar and the others withdraw."

Tazan next to him was immediately surprised:

"Owner?"

Gong Tianwu raised his hand and said with a smile:

"I understand what you mean. Only the dead brother is a good brother."

"However, even if a messenger seeking help arrives in Sansheng City now, it will be meaningless."

Tazan was surprised and said:
"what?"

Gong Tianwu handed him the newly acquired note, on which was written a sentence in six large bloody characters:
"Li Tao was stabbed to death!!"

After a moment's silence, Gong Tianwu praised the tower:
"Send a messenger to the Chilie and Baiming tribes and ask them to send people over. They usually get a lot of benefits from us, now is the time for them to contribute."

Tarzan grinned and said:

"Okay, Master, but what are they going to do here? They are just chickens and dogs, and they are totally useless."

Gong Tianwu said: "It's ok for these people to help out, but of course, they are only fit to help out. If they are unwilling to come or make excuses, then just kill them!"

Tarzan laughed and said:
“I like this!!”

After saying this, he whipped his horse and rode away with more than a hundred people.

Gong Tianwu then said to the guards beside him:
"Send a message to Hasar and tell him all about the situation here. I think the assassination of Li Tao is just the beginning. There should be a backup plan. Let him meet up with Tazan and then go outside the city to wait."

***
two hours ago,
Master Zhao walked through the bustling streets and came to the gate of the Marquis' Mansion. The Hou Mansion has high walls and deep courtyards, and the gate tower is majestic. At the door are several guards in armor, with solemn expressions.

After the announcement, Master Zhao was led into the living room.

The furnishings in the hall are elegantly decorated and there are several landscape paintings hanging on the walls, which makes them look quite literary.

Not long after, Xie Desheng came in. He was about forty years old, thin, and wearing a blue-gray robe.

However, Xie Desheng's eyes were full of red at this time, and it was obvious that he was under a lot of pressure and had not been able to rest well.

But this is normal. As the saying goes, it is difficult for an honest judge to judge family affairs. He encountered a prince who loved to make trouble, and there were undercurrents among the ladies in the mansion. Even if Kong Ming was in charge, he would be exhausted.

"Master Zhao, I have long heard of your great name."

Xie Desheng bowed, his tone respectful yet calm.

Master Zhao returned the greeting and said:

"Thank you, Mr. Xie. I am here today because I have something important to discuss with you."

Then Master Zhao got straight to the point:
"The situation in the city has been unstable recently, with scoundrels running rampant, and the people complaining. Many rumors have emerged one after another, and most of them are related to the Marquis' Mansion."

"Lord Li feels that we must eliminate these hidden dangers as soon as possible to restore peace to Sansheng City. However, this matter involves a lot of people, and it may be difficult to handle it with the power of the Governor's Mansion alone. Therefore, I have come to visit you, hoping to work together with the Marquis' Mansion to do this matter."

After listening to this, Xie Desheng nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"Lord Li is right. Although the Marquis is not in the city, the safety of Sansheng City is also the responsibility of the Marquis' Mansion. I agree with this matter, and the Marquis' Mansion is willing to cooperate fully."

Upon hearing this, Master Zhao showed a hint of joy on his face:
"With Mr. Xie's support, this matter is half done."

However, at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by a woman in luxurious brocade clothes who walked in.

She was about thirty years old, with a beautiful face, but there was a hint of sharpness between her brows, and her every move and gesture showed a sense of arrogance. She was the wife of Marquis Chen Yunsheng - Madam Wang.

"Mr. Xie, I'm afraid this matter needs further discussion."

Mrs. Wang spoke coldly, her eyes sweeping over Xie Desheng and Mr. Zhao, with obvious hostility in her tone.

Xie Desheng stood up and saluted:
"Madam, why are you here?"

Mrs. Wang snorted coldly, walked to the main seat and sat down, and said lightly:

"If I don't come, won't the Marquis' Mansion be led by the nose?"

Master Zhao's heart sank, he stood up and bowed, saying:
"Madam, this matter concerns the safety of Sansheng City. Please put the overall situation first."

Mrs. Wang glanced at him and said sarcastically:

"Master Zhao, what you said is very high-sounding. But the king has already said that the Marquis of Zhenbei is in charge of the army, and the governor governs the people. Both sides have their own powers."

"You have found many excuses to come here today. If you wait until the Marquis' Mansion takes some action and then report it to the King, it will be ironclad evidence."

Master Zhao smiled bitterly and said:

"Not so, ma'am, not so."

Mrs. Wang sneered:

"Not that? How did my brother get charged with you at that time? Don't you know what's wrong with you?"

Then she turned to Xie Desheng and asked:
"Mr. Xie, I would like to ask you a question. The Marquis' Mansion and the Governor worked together. Who deserves the credit for this?"

Xie Desheng said:

"Of course it's from the governor's office."

Madam Wang said sharply:
"Mr. Xie, can you guarantee that this will be done flawlessly? Can you guarantee that it will succeed?"

Xie Desheng said seriously:

"Of course not."

Mrs. Wang asked:
"What if it goes wrong? Whose fault is it?"

Xie Desheng frowned, then stood up and bowed to Master Zhao, saying:

"This matter still needs to be considered in the long run."

Master Zhao quickly tried to smooth things over:

"You two, this matter is of great importance. Please think twice. If the situation in the city gets out of control, the Marquis' Mansion will not be able to remain unscathed."

However, Master Zhao's words did not receive a response, and Xie Desheng turned around and left somewhat rudely. Although he was trusted by the Marquis's Mansion, he knew better than to say that one should not alienate relatives, and he could not go against the mistress.

More importantly, although Mrs. Wang has an extreme and eccentric personality, she is very shrewd, and every excuse she makes for opposing the proposal is reasonable!

So although Xie Desheng felt that what Master Zhao said made sense, he didn't want to risk his own future to guarantee it for the Governor's Office.

Seeing this situation, Master Zhao sighed and shook his head and left.

When he got on the carriage parked outside the Marquis's Mansion, he was suddenly startled and said:
"Sir, why are you here?"

It turned out that there was one more person in the carriage at this time, and it was Li Tao.

Master Zhao immediately realized that the situation might deteriorate further, to the point that Li Tao would have to wait at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion in advance.

After Li Tao met Master Zhao, he immediately sighed, knowing that the matter had not worked out. After all, a person's expression can tell everything.

So Li Tao instructed the driver in front:
"Let's go, go home."

Since the Marquis is not here at this time, Li Tao is the most powerful person in Sansheng City and must have his own guards.

Even though he had decided to leave the house on a whim this time, the carriage was surrounded by a team of elite guards, moving slowly on the main street of the city.

At the same time, under the guards' scolding, the people on both sides of the street gave way and bowed their heads in greeting. The air was filled with the smell of dust and sweat, occasionally mixed with the aroma of street vendors' hawking.

At the corner of the street, a man in coarse cloth was squatting on the ground with a small stall in front of him, on which were piled several bundles of fresh vegetables.

He lowered his head, with the brim of his hat covering most of his face. He was slowly arranging vegetable leaves in his hands, looking no different from an ordinary vendor.

(End of this chapter)