Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

"This despicable trick again! Using Han Chinese as cannon fodder! Mongol soldiers are mixed in among them. If we open the city gates, we'll be letting wolves into our house; if we don't, they'll slaughter the civilians and use the corpses as shields to break down the gates!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse.

"These beasts..."

Meng Gong hesitated, knowing exactly what to do, but the command stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to utter it.

"General Meng, you should understand what today's battle truly means," Lin Tian suddenly spoke, his voice low but sharp as a cold blade brushing past your ear. "And what are you carrying on your shoulders?"

"I...I know, but..." Meng Gong's face was ashen, his brows furrowed with struggle.

"As the commander, I hope you can make clear-headed choices." Lin Tian's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of authority. "But this time—leave it to me."

"Huh?" Meng Gong was taken aback, his face full of surprise.

How to solve it?!

Although the Mongols' methods were despicable, they were an open and aboveboard scheme, crushing the Mongols in a straightforward manner, leaving them with no way to counter them!

No solution?!

If Lin Tian knew what he was thinking, he would probably just sneer: To deal with an open scheme, you naturally have to use an even more ruthless one.

"Bring it up." Lin Tian turned his head and said to Tianyi beside him.

Tianyi accepted the order and left. A moment later, hundreds of disciples of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion escorted people up the city wall, with blades held to their necks, lined up in a row—they were all Mongol prisoners.

"this……"

Meng Gong's pupils contracted sharply, a thought flashed through his mind, and he was immediately horrified.

Impossible! How dare His Highness the Crown Prince do such a thing?!

Lin Tian stood atop the wall, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing directly at Kublai Khan beneath the central army banner in the distance. He channeled his inner energy, the sound of which thunderously shattered the battlefield.

"Kublai Khan, before we start the war, let me give you a little something to say first."

The sound was like a rolling tide, heard throughout the entire venue.

"A gift for me?" Kublai Khan frowned, turning to look at Hulagu. "Did I hear that right?"

I led a large army to the border, and he actually said he wanted to send gifts?

"Great Han, I heard that too." Hulagu sneered, "The Han people love to play these hypocritical tricks, talking about 'reciprocity,' but in the end they are still at the mercy of others."

Kublai Khan remained silent, but his gaze suddenly froze—he saw a row of figures on the city wall.

The next instant, his pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed, "Hulagu! Look closely, aren't those... us Mongols?!"

Hulagu squinted and examined it closely, a jolt running through him: "They're wearing our robes...it seems..."

Before the words had even finished, Lin Tian slowly uttered a single word from the city wall—

"kill!"

In an instant, blades flashed and blood gushed into the sky. Five hundred heads rolled off the city wall and fell into the moat like broken logs.

Meng Gong stood there dumbfounded. Even though he had a premonition, he never expected Lin Tianzhen to make a move!

You must know, this is the current crown prince! Since its founding, the Song Dynasty has governed the military with civil administration, upheld the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and regarded leniency as the foundation of its governance.

If Zhao Yun had not been the only son, his actions today would have drawn fierce criticism from the entire court, with impeachments raining down. Even if he were to ascend the throne in the future, the label of "tyrant" would already be firmly attached to him.

Does Lin Tian care?

Obviously not.

What tactics do the Mongols typically use when attacking cities? They use civilians as shields, creating human barriers to force the defending army to tie their own hands. Lin Tian had already seen through all of this, and before the battle, he secretly ordered the Heaven and Earth Pavilion to penetrate deep behind enemy lines and capture a group of Mongol civilians—one of the two major tasks previously assigned to Tianyi.

If it wasn't for real, how could Kublai Khan be moved?

"Five hundred heads of your Mongol people," Lin Tian said loudly, his voice piercing through the sandstorm, "I hope the Great Khan will accept them with a smile."

Kublai Khan trembled violently, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he almost lost his balance.

The reason he dared to recklessly use Han people as his vanguard was because he was well aware of the "benevolence and righteousness" shackles of the Song Dynasty—they dared not harm the innocent, and dared not break the deadlock.

But now, the chessboard has been turned upside down.

"Aren't you Song people supposed to be the most benevolent, righteous, and courteous?!" Kublai Khan roared, his voice hoarse. "How dare you be so cruel!"

"Benevolence, righteousness, and propriety?" Lin Tian chuckled, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Those are for humans. I don't reason with beasts."

After saying this, he looked at the crowd surging in from afar—the old, weak, women and children, crying and running away, rushing towards the city gate.

A hint of pity flashed in his eyes, but his tone remained icy:

"Stop, don't go any further. The city gates won't open. Because behind the gates are all the people of Xiangyang. And beyond that are millions of Song Dynasty citizens just like you."

"I cannot, and will not, sacrifice them for you."

"However—I, Lin Tian, ​​hereby swear that if even one person dies beneath the city walls today, I will slaughter a hundred Mongols as a sacrifice in the future! If two die, I will kill two hundred! Kublai Khan, listen to me clearly! Even if Xiangyang falls tomorrow and the Song Dynasty is destroyed, my words will never be broken!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Tian's gaze sharpened like a knife, piercing Kublai Khan, who was hundreds of feet away.

"Issue the order! Anyone who steps within thirty feet of the city wall is to be killed without exception!"

The cold command caused the crowd that was rushing toward the city gate to suddenly stop.

But it was only a moment's hesitation. Seeing that the others hadn't stopped, they gritted their teeth and continued charging forward.

"Don't kill me! I'm a citizen of the Great Song Dynasty! Open the city gates!" The man at the front shouted in Chinese, but his figure and high brow bone clearly indicated that he was a Mongol in disguise!

"court death!"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Tian's eyes.

He snatched a longbow from a soldier beside him, drew it taut like a crescent moon, and fired an arrow like thunder!

Although he had never practiced archery, his control over his strength had reached a level of perfection, and hitting the bullseye every time was simply instinct.

The sharp sound of something cutting through the air pierced through the air, and an arrow pierced his forehead.

The man's eyes widened as he stared intently at Lin Tian on the city wall, his face filled with disbelief—you actually dared to make a move?!

In an instant, everyone froze in place, and no one dared to take another step forward.

"How dare he?! He actually dares!! Who is he?!" Kublai Khan gritted his teeth, his eyes almost spitting fire, and roared in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, according to our spies, this man is Lin Tian, ​​the Crown Prince of the Great Song Dynasty, the only bloodline of Emperor Lizong of Song, Zhao Yun, and also the Grand Master of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion who killed the Imperial Preceptor. It is rumored that he has reached the perfect state of the Innate Realm," Hulagu replied in a deep voice.

"Junior brother... did he kill him?" Before Kublai Khan could speak, the withered old monk beside him spoke in a hoarse voice, his speech extremely slow, as if he had not spoken for a long time, his voice sounding as if it had crawled out from underground.

Kublai Khan's pupils constricted sharply, his killing intent surging: The Crown Prince of the Great Song? So ruthless and decisive! If he is not eliminated today, he will surely become the greatest scourge of my Mongol conquest in the future!

"Master, are you confident you can take his life?" Kublai Khan turned to the old monk.

The old monk closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly said, "His aura is contained and undetectable, its depth is unfathomable. I'm afraid... he has already entered the legendary realm."

"The legendary realm?!" Kublai Khan gasped, his gaze towards Lin Tian instantly filled with apprehension. Though he was not skilled in martial arts, he knew all too well what the legendary realm meant—taking the head of a general amidst a thousand troops as easily as taking candy from a bag. If such a figure set his sights on someone, he would never have peace of mind!