Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 379 Battle of Long Spears
"Su Changying, the Northern Army is not yours to command. What is the meaning of your unauthorized troop deployment to besiege the Grand Commandant's mansion?"

My father holds military power and is your superior. He hasn't used the imperial tally, so how can you mobilize troops? Get out of my way, I'm going to appeal to His Majesty!

The gates of the Huo family mansion opened, and the archers in front parted to make way for three fully armored generals who emerged from inside.

The person speaking in the middle was tall and robust, a head taller than the average person.

He had striking features, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a righteous appearance. He wore a silver robe and armor, and held a long spear in his hand.

It was Huo Yu, the son of Grand Commandant Huo.

The moment he uttered the word "Your Majesty," he flicked his spear, pointing it directly at Su Changying on horseback.

The moment he moved, the archers drew their bows, and a great battle was about to break out.

To his left stood a thin boy with a large silver hoop earring, a headscarf wrapped around his head, and a slender, glossy green snake coiled in his hand. The snake, with its vertical pupils and flicking tongue, slithered incessantly on the boy's arm.

The boy had a sinister look on his face, and his eyes were like those of a snake, which was extremely frightening.

Standing to the right of the burly man in silver robes was a familiar face—Huo Ting, who had dealt with Zhou Zhao and Su Changying several times.

Huo Ting stepped forward and smiled somewhat ingratiatingly, "General Su, Lord Zhou, is there some misunderstanding?"
My uncle is utterly loyal to His Majesty, and no one in the Grand Commandant's office has committed any wrongdoing. Why are you two making such a fuss?

Huo Yu, who had a fiery temper, shook his spear again. "Why waste words with them? Northern Army soldiers, listen to my command! Do you know the consequences of besieging the Grand Commandant's mansion? You are not Su Changying's private soldiers."

"Grand Commandant, you are the supreme commander of all the armies in the land. What is Su Changying compared to you? If you were before His Majesty, even eight hundred of your heads wouldn't be enough to chop off."

Su Changying scoffed and pulled a token from her sleeve. "The Grand Commandant is plotting treason. I have been ordered by His Majesty to arrest him. Anyone who obstructs me will be executed."

This is Chang'an, not Tianying City.

Neither he nor Zhou Zhao were lawless madmen; they directly attacked Grand Commandant Huo without an imperial edict.

After capturing Changrong in front of the Court of Justice, Zhou Zhao deduced that the person they were looking for was Grand Commandant Huo.

She whispered to him that he should immediately go to the palace to request an imperial decree.

His Majesty does not trust Zhou Zhao, but he does.

His Majesty dares not gamble, but he dares to gamble with his future.

As long as Zhou Zhao wanted, he was the sharpest sword and the strongest shield in her hands.

The Huo family members' expressions changed. Huo Yu glanced at the snake-playing boy beside him. The boy stuck out his tongue and hissed like a snake. He then attacked Su Changying directly. The green thing on his wrist shot out like a green light directly towards Su Changying's face.

Su Changying rode on horseback, the wind making his robes flutter.

His longsword suddenly flew out of its sheath, streaking through the air with a silver light.

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, the snake-playing boy couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth in smugness. "The last person who looked down on Awu has already turned into a pool of blood."

This snake was his natal snake, a snake king that had fought its way out of the Ten Thousand Snake Cave. It had absorbed countless amounts of venom, and its sharp teeth could turn even an elephant into a pool of blood in an instant with just a slight scratch.

He named the green snake Awu.

He smiled and had already reached Su Changying's side. In a corner where no one was paying attention, another white snake's head peeked out from his sleeve.

Suddenly, his expression froze as the green light shattered into pieces, snake blood splattering on his face. "Impossible! No one could possibly be faster than Awu!"

The snake-playing boy was horrified. Su Changying had only lightly swung his sword. Just then, he noticed that the little white snake in his sleeve had also rushed out like a gust of wind. The green color was conspicuous, but the little white snake was light in color and almost transparent. Compared to speed, it was better at concealment. Very few people could detect its existence.

If it were in the past, would the boy who played with snakes have been so confident?

But now, a strong sense of impending death overwhelmed him, and he couldn't help but shout, "Frost!"

But it was too late. Su Changying's seemingly calm and collected longsword suddenly changed speed. Like a ferocious beast suddenly hunting its prey, it stabbed directly at the snake-playing boy's throat with overwhelming force.

The boy's eyes narrowed to slits as he watched as the white snake, as thin as a thread, was pierced through by the longsword and thrust towards him.

He tried to dodge, but no matter how he tried, the sword was like a leech, as if it had eyes, and he couldn't avoid it.

The longsword pierced his throat, and the boy didn't even have time to announce his name before he died by the sword...

There was dead silence.

Because Su Changying's sword was so fast, in everyone's eyes, he only used one move, just one move, to kill two snakes and one person.

The threats made by the snake-playing boy earlier immediately turned into a joke.

The boy who played with snakes lay there with his eyes open.

With a flick of his longsword, Su Changying sent the white snakes that were strung on the sword slipping off instantly, the wind from the sword tearing through the clothes of the snake-playing boy.

The reverse side of the robe was gold.

Su Changying coldly raised her eyes and said to Huo Yu in front of her, "With the imperial decree in hand, is the Huo family plotting rebellion?"

Huo Yu's face turned pale, and she did not answer the question.

Su Changying wasn't annoyed and simply said, "The first one."

There are eleven left.

Su Changying thought to himself, his eyes flickered, and this time he did not wait for Huo Yu, but lightly leaped off the horse and thrust the long sword in his hand directly at Huo Yu.

Huo Yu hurriedly picked up his spear to parry. His spear technique was known for its "heavy" power; a single sweeping strike had once broken all four legs of an enemy warhorse.

Seeing Su Changying attack, he spat angrily, "Su Changying, you think you can win? Let me tell you..."

As he spoke, his ears twitched, and he heard the sounds coming from all directions of Chang'an. He couldn't help but smile. "Did you hear that sound? Don't take it for granted that you're so powerful. You've probably forgotten that my father is the Grand Marshal of all the armies in the land."

As he spoke, he stared intently at Su Changying's face, but saw that there was no trace of panic on his face, instead, the corners of his mouth turned up.

"You think your father is cunning and shrewd? But unfortunately, all your plans are under the control of Lord Zhou."

As Su Changying spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Huo Ting quietly slip away from the side. His eyes flickered, and the long sword in his hand directly stabbed the breastplate in front of Huo Yu. The breastplate made a crisp cracking sound and then shattered into pieces.

Huo Yu subconsciously looked down, but when he came to his senses, he felt a chill on his neck; the long sword was already against his neck.

"Take him down," Su Changying said coldly.

(End of this chapter)