Martial Arts Universe: With a single command, 100,000 iron cavalry will sweep across the martial wor

"Prepare the crossbows!"

Hong Qigong, Huang Rong, and Guo Jing were all taken aback that someone would dare to ambush government troops on the road. They held their positions for the time being, observing how the cavalry would respond. Hong Qigong, of course, would not stand idly by and watch government officials be killed.

"Master, are we not going to save the people in the carriage?"

"Foolish boy, didn't you see the cavalry's formation is perfectly intact? These assassins are in deep trouble. These cavalry are clearly elite, and they're equipped with crossbows. I'm afraid none of the assassins will escape today."

"Release the arrows!"

Arrows whistled incessantly, followed by screams of agony.

"The first and second thousand-strong teams will advance to eliminate the assassins!"

Two thousand heavy cavalrymen responded and spurred their horses, brandishing their spears, charging straight towards the group of assassins.

Pfft, pfft—

Long spears were hurled from the cavalrymen one after another, and even the assassins who weren't hit by arrows were impaled by flying spears and fell to the ground. The man in black was utterly powerless against the cavalry.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The cavalry charged to the remaining assassins, drawing their swords and slashing them, while others fired crossbows continuously.

"Run! We can't beat the army!"

"We've been fooled! These aren't ordinary soldiers!"

"Damn it, that guy lied to us! We can't escape now!"

"Surrender...at least you'll live!"

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Seeing that all was lost, the remaining men in black dropped their weapons and knelt down, begging for mercy. It was too late for them to escape.

The cavalry quickly surrounded the assassin, and crossbow bolts were all aimed at him. Any slight movement would result in him being riddled with bullets.

"That's it?" Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise. "Hundreds of assassins were either killed or captured in the blink of an eye. These cavalrymen are truly formidable."

She hadn't expected the Song army to have such a formidable force. Although these assassins weren't top-tier masters, they were still martial artists and their skills were quite good.

"What an elite cavalry force," Hong Qigong mused. "Their heavy armor is quite effective; otherwise, casualties would have been inevitable. But why didn't we see such cavalry in the last battle against the Jin army? If they had been there, the Jin cavalry might not have had the upper hand."

Looking at the cavalry, Guo Jing blurted out, "Master, could these be soldiers secretly raised by some high-ranking official?"

Hong Qigong reached out and patted his head, saying irritably, "Private soldiers? Which court official can afford to maintain such cavalry? Use your brain, Guo Jing."

Seeing that the person inside the carriage hadn't come down yet, Huang Rong stepped forward and said, "Why hasn't the person inside shown themselves yet? Are they scared out of their wits?"

"I'm not sure, let me check again."

Inside the carriage, Su Qingfeng frowned inwardly. These assassins came to kill her every few days; why hadn't the Murong family dealt with them properly yet? It seemed the martial arts world hadn't found Murong Fu either… Should she spread the word that Murong Fu was hiding in the Western Xia's First-Class Hall?

"Your Majesty, what should be done with the surrendered assassins?"

"Liu Hai, execute them all. These are just sent to their deaths; we won't get anything out of them."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Hai accepted the order and gestured. Upon seeing this, the cavalry centurion immediately gave the command:

"Fire the crossbows!"

Several sharp whistling sounds rang out, followed by screams of agony. In the blink of an eye, all one hundred-plus surrendered soldiers were killed by arrows. Not a single one of the hundreds of assassins who had attacked survived.

Hong Qigong gasped: "The people in the car are ruthless; they shot us without even asking any questions."

Guo Jing looked distressed: "Master, the people in the carriage must be brutal. Those assassins had already surrendered, why kill them? This official is definitely not a good one."

Huang Rong scoffed from the side, "Fool! These people came to assassinate us. We didn't interrogate them because we know they're just lowly soldiers and we won't get anything out of them. Why keep them alive for the New Year?"

Hong Qigong patted Guo Jing on the shoulder: "Jing'er, on the battlefield it's either you die or I live. They dared to assassinate court officials, so they should have expected to fail. If they were truly chivalrous heroes who were ridding the people of evil, they would never surrender—these people have clearly been manipulated."

Guo Jing stubbornly insisted, "But I don't think... those who kill surrendered men can be considered chivalrous."

"Idiot!"

Huang Rong was utterly speechless at Guo Jing's naivety. Luckily, she hadn't confessed her feelings to him back then. If her father knew she had once liked such a blockhead, he would probably have dragged her back immediately, and Guo Jing would likely have received a severe scolding.

Hong Qigong looked at Guo Jing, his expression turning serious: "Sigh, Jing'er, you should speak less in the future."

Hong Qigong was terrified that Guo Jing would say another word and really anger him to death. This kid actually dared to talk about chivalry with a general leading troops; his brain simply couldn't process it. If a general had a chivalrous heart, how could he lead troops into battle?

At this moment, Su Qingfeng also stepped out of the carriage. Now that the assassin had been eliminated, he had nothing to fear.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Su Qingfeng couldn't help but complain:

"Sigh, it's all because I'm incompetent. If I knew martial arts, I wouldn't have had to hide in the carriage all this time."

The man with bangs beside him, looking serious, interjected:

"Your Majesty, with so many soldiers protecting you, even if you know martial arts, you don't need to take action yourself. If we were to ask you to do it, it would be a dereliction of duty on our part."

Su Qingfeng smiled after hearing this:

"Liu Hai, I was just venting... Hmm? Why are there people watching over there? Aren't they afraid of the fight we just had?"

Liu Hai glanced warily toward Hong Qigong and whispered:

"Your Majesty, those men are skilled in martial arts; it is still unknown whether they are related to this assassination attempt."

"Haha, they have nothing to do with the assassins. If they were really in cahoots, they would have escaped long ago."

"Besides, didn't you notice? That old man was dressed in rags, but he was accompanied by a handsome young man and a beautiful woman. This old man must be highly skilled in martial arts, a member of the Beggars' Sect, and hold a high position within the sect."

Su Qingfeng was quite interested in the three people by the teahouse; judging from their appearance, they were clearly related to the Beggars' Sect. The old beggar was obviously a member of the Beggars' Sect, but as for the two beside him, he only noticed the woman's outstanding appearance, while he didn't pay any attention to the honest-looking man.

Su Qingfeng glanced over there, then said to Liu Hai, the commander of the Netherworld Iron Cavalry Legion:

"Liu Hai, let's go sit at that teahouse."

Liu Hai was somewhat worried:

"Your Majesty, that old beggar is probably not simple. Perhaps we should return directly to Suzhou."

Su Qingfeng smiled nonchalantly:

"What's there to be afraid of? We have so many soldiers; they're the ones who should be worried. Let's go have some tea."

Unable to dissuade him, Liu Hai could only offer these words of advice:

"Then... Your Majesty, if anything happens, you must leave as soon as possible."

"I know, it's a pity I'm so unlucky." Su Qingfeng waved his hand and walked towards the teahouse.

Liu Hai quickly waved to the side, and a squad of a hundred cavalrymen immediately stepped forward to guard Su Qingfeng's perimeter. Their crossbows were ready to shoot down any enemy who threatened Wu Xiangjun.

Hong Qigong was surprised to see that a young man had emerged from the carriage, and he couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation:

"The owner of this carriage is so young... and he's coming this way."

Huang Rong was filled with curiosity about the person who emerged from the carriage. How could someone so young have five thousand elite cavalry guards? And they didn't seem to know any martial arts.

The old beggar looked at Su Qingfeng walking slowly forward and shook his head:

"I don't recognize him. I've never heard of such a young general in the Song Dynasty. He's probably not a general, but the son of some high-ranking official."

"Master, let's go. I'm afraid this person might be a threat to us."

Seeing the cavalrymen watching them warily, Guo Jing said to Hong Qigong with concern. He had always disliked these kinds of aristocratic sons.

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong smiled and said to Guo Jing:

"Fool, if the army really wanted to deal with us, they would have already fired their arrows. That young master wouldn't be walking towards us."

Guo Jing straightened his back and said:

"But those soldiers nearby are watching us like hawks; they might make a move at any moment. If we witness an assassination attempt, what if this young master tries to silence us?"

Huang Rong found him increasingly endearingly simple-minded:

"Kill you my foot! Old beggar, you'd better teach your good apprentice a lot in the future, otherwise he might kill himself with stupidity one day."

"Jing'er, please sit down and have some tea."

Hong Qigong glanced at Guo Jing, then looked at Huang Rong, feeling a little resentful: if this girl hadn't kept urging him to take Guo Jing as his disciple, he wouldn't have accepted such a stupid apprentice.

At this moment, Su Qingfeng had arrived at the teahouse. He glanced at the three people beside him and then sat down nearby.

"Where's the waiter? Where are the people at the teahouse? Didn't you see the customers have arrived?" Su Qingfeng called out as soon as she sat down.

"Pfft—cough cough, stop shouting, the boss here has already disappeared."

When Huang Rong saw this young nobleman addressing the waiter so formally, she couldn't help but spit out her tea in laughter. Where would a waiter come from in this roadside teahouse in the middle of nowhere?

Su Qingfeng looked at the pretty girl and asked with a smile:

"Little girls, why didn't you run away?"

Huang Rong got a little angry when she heard this:

"Who's the little girl? I'm not young anymore. Who are you, and why do you have so many soldiers protecting you?"

Su Qingfeng looked at her, who was still puffed up with anger, but still had a smile on her face:

"And who are you? Seeing that I have so many soldiers with me, aren't you afraid I'll leave you here?"

Hong Qigong took a sip of tea and slowly said:

"Do you think you can hold us back? Although we can't defeat your cavalry, it shouldn't be difficult for us to escape."

Su Qingfeng walked over and sat down next to Huang Rong, and said with a smile:

"Is that so, old beggar? Why don't you try to escape from my cavalry?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing immediately stood up and angrily said:

"Master, I told you this young master wouldn't let us go! See, I was right!"

"Jing'er, shut up!"

Enraged, Hong Qigong shoved Guo Jing to the ground and shouted:

"I really want to strangle this idiot!"

He had only been arguing casually with the young nobleman, not wanting to lose face in front of him, and had no intention of actually starting a conflict. Besides, there were many cavalrymen around, and even if he were highly skilled in martial arts, he couldn't defeat an entire army.

Jing'er? Su Qingfeng glanced at the honest-looking man and was surprised: Could this be Guo Jing? The pretty woman beside him must be Huang Rong, and the old beggar must be Hong Qigong, the leader of the Southern Beggar Clan.

Su Qingfeng smiled at Guo Jing and said:

"Haha, old beggar, your apprentice is quite interesting."

He didn't take Guo Jing seriously—without Huang Rong by his side, Guo Jing was no threat at all. Huang Rong and Guo Jing were clearly not yet together, and he was determined to stir things up this time. How could he let this foolish boy get away with having such a clever and intelligent woman like Huang Rong?

The old beggar looked embarrassed and hurriedly explained, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. My apprentice isn't very bright, please don't take offense, young master."

Su Qingfeng, however, held Hong Qigong in somewhat contempt: "Is that so? Old beggar, would you like me to fix your disciple's brain?"

In Su Qingfeng's view, Hong Qigong was arguably the most incompetent leader of the Beggars' Clan. He spent his days wandering the land in search of delicious food, hardly ever concerning himself with the clan's affairs; while Qiao Feng either toiled tirelessly for the Beggars' Clan or aided the Song Dynasty in resisting the enemy for the greater good of the nation. Hong Qigong was inferior to Qiao Feng in every way.

Moreover, Hong Qigong played a significant role in Huang Rong and Guo Jing's eventual union. No one would believe he was entirely selfless. Given Guo Jing's simple-minded nature, he would likely have been killed long ago without Huang Rong.

"Haha, young master, there's no need for me to trouble my disciple," Hong Qigong said, waving his hand.

Seeing that Hong Qigong was protecting Guo Jing, Su Qingfeng ignored the foolish boy and turned to ask Hong Qigong:

"Hong Qigong, leader of the Southern Beggars' Sect, you've come to Suzhou this time not to attend the Northern Beggars' Sect's grand meeting, but rather..."

Hong Qigong was surprised that this noble young man recognized him: "You know this old beggar? Who are you?"

"Lord Wu Xiangjun of Gusu City—I guessed right, didn't I? Lord Wu Xiangjun, Su Qingfeng." Huang Rong, sitting to the side, spoke with a smile.

Recalling the recent events in Gusu City, she deduced that this person must be Lord Wu Xiang. This Lord Wu Xiang had utterly ruined the reputation of Murong Fu of Gusu, and the search for Murong Fu's whereabouts was still ongoing in the martial arts world. This place was not far from Gusu City, and he was accompanied by a large army, so he must be the army of Gusu City, and therefore he must be Lord Wu Xiang.

Su Qingfeng hadn't expected Huang Rong to reveal his identity; she truly was exceptionally intelligent. He looked at the radiant Huang Rong beside him and said with a smile:

Huang Rong, daughter of Huang Yaoshi of Peach Blossom Island, you are indeed exceptionally intelligent. Indeed, I am Su Qingfeng, the Lord of Gusu City.

Hong Qigong hadn't expected that the noble young man before him was actually the Lord of Gusu City. He had long heard that Su Qingfeng had caused Murong Fu's disgrace and was now offering a bounty for his capture. The Beggars' Clan also had influence in the south, with a branch in Gusu City. In addition, Su Qingfeng commanded tens of thousands of elite troops. Having just witnessed the power of the army, Hong Qigong couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive.