Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Letting the Imperial Army Clean Up the Battlefield_i

Translator: 549690339 |

Seeing the North City soldiers before him soaked in blood, with the stains on their armor not yet dry, and their body armor everywhere marked with slashes, they looked as if they’d just been through a great battle.

Lin Xiuming’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that, before they entered the city, North City was really in battle with the Barbarian Tribe?

Lin Xiuming didn’t think too much about it. He immediately leaped up and landed directly on the walls of North City.

However, just as Lin Xiuming had landed on the city walls, he saw the ground beyond the walls littered with the bodies of Barbarian Tribe members, and countless pits that couldn’t be assessed quickly.

Some of the Barbarian Tribe soldiers and horses had died particularly gruesome deaths, almost dismembered, with organs scattered all over. The ground outside the city was dyed red with blood.

Seeing this scene, Lin Xiuming was completely stunned.

He even forgot to walk up to Lu Chen to pay his respects.

From this, it was evident that a great battle had indeed taken place before the Imperial Army entered the city.

And judging by the many bodies the Barbarian Tribe had left behind, it seemed that the Barbarian Tribe had been repelled by the garrison of North City.

Lin Xiuming was utterly astonished. He really wanted to know how so many soldiers from the Barbarian Tribe could have died, especially since it appeared that they had died before even getting close to the walls of Yan County.

Especially those large pits on the open ground, Lin Xiuming found them very puzzling. What were those pits for?

Of course, astonished as he was, Lin Xiuming still didn’t believe the earlier reports they heard of North City soldiers killing two hundred thousand Barbarian Tribe soldiers and capturing a hundred thousand were true.

Lin Xiuming took a deep breath to quickly calm himself down, then lifted his head to look into the distance.

At this moment, a young man in golden armor stood atop the walls, gazing into the distance. Lin Xiuming had seen Lu Chen, so he recognized him at a glance.

However, for some reason, Lin Xiuming always felt there was something extraordinary about the aura emanating from Lu Chen, whose entire demeanor had undergone a drastic change.

When Lu Chen had his wedding, Lin Xiuming attended his banquet, and Lu Chen did not have such a demeanor back then.

Lin Xiuming hurried towards Lu Chen, and only after getting closer did he suddenly realize why he felt different about Lu Chen.

It turned out that Lu Chen emitted the aura of a Martial Artist, and his presence bore a heavy killing intent, typical of Martial Artists who had killed a large number of people.

The North Prince is actually a Martial Artist?

How could this be possible?

Lin Xiuming was even more confused. The North Prince he saw in the Capital was an absolute waste, someone without any strength and who was not adept in martial arts. How could he possibly be a Martial Artist?

The key was that Lin Xiuming felt that Lu Chen’s strength was not weak. At the very least, he had reached the realm of a Half-step Grandmaster, and even Lin Xiuming, a Grandmaster, felt some pressure in Lu Chen’s presence.

Lin Xiuming immediately bowed and said, “Greetings, Prince. I failed to arrive in North City on time; please punish me, Prince.”

Lu Chen didn’t turn his head, his gaze fixed on the north. At that moment, he spoke indifferently, “Punish? No, no, no, General Lin, you’ve arrived just in time.”

The previous night’s battle had killed two hundred thousand Barbarian Tribe soldiers, and now Wanning Valley was strewn with the bodies of Barbarian Tribe soldiers and horses. Although Lu Chen had considered having the captured Barbarian Tribe soldiers transport the bodies and clean up the battlefield.

But since those Barbarian Tribe soldiers had just been captured, Lu Chen was worried they might harbor ulterior motives.

So he didn’t have them clean up the battlefield, but the battlefield did need cleaning. With so many bodies of Barbarian Tribe soldiers and horses, if they were left in Wanning Valley, a plague could very well break out.

Moreover, there was the Wanning River in Wanning Valley. With so many corpses near the river, the entire river would be polluted. Where would Yan County get its water then?

These bodies had to be dealt with. Since they couldn’t let the Barbarian Tribe soldiers handle it, Lu Chen had thought of having the soldiers of North City or mobilizing the common folk do the job. He had someone go back to the city to announce the victory because he wanted to mobilize the people.

But with the arrival of the seventy-thousand-strong Imperial Army, they did not need the common folk. It was just right to have this huge army clean up the battlefield.

They had come all this way, and it wouldn’t do to return without doing anything.

At this moment, Lu Chen continued to address Lin Xiuming, “General Lin, I’ll leave the task of cleaning up the battlefield to you.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming was momentarily stunned.

Cleaning up the battlefield?

Had the Barbarian Army already retreated?

Lin Xiuming then asked, “Prince, has the Barbarian Army already retreated?”

Hearing this question, Lu Chen simply said, “You’ll understand once you go out of the city to clean up the battlefield.

When Lu Chen heard that the Imperial Army was coming to Yan County, he only brought a few people back with him, and now the soldiers of North City are still cleaning up the battlefield outside Yan County. Lin Xiuming and his men will know the situation outside once they go there.”

Telling Lin Xiuming about the outcome of the war now would probably lead to disbelief, so it’s better to let them, to let the Imperial Army, see it for themselves.

Lu Chen had already ordered the artillery camp to withdraw the howitzers; now, even if Lin Xiuming and his men went out, they wouldn’t see this kind of weapon.

As for the Heavy Cavalry.

It was fine for Lin Xiuming and the others to see them, after all, North City had achieved such a significant military victory and must have a reasonable explanation, otherwise, it would bring more suspicion.

The Heavy Cavalry was a very good explanation.

Once Lin Xiuming and his men saw the tens of thousands of Heavy Cavalry of North City, they would most likely believe that North City’s victory was due to these Heavy Cavalry.

This would make it even easier to conceal the howitzers, and as for whether the Heavy Cavalry might cause concern from the Imperial Court, that was inevitable.

However, Lu Chen also knew that the current court and his own father, the Sum Emperor, were not focused on dealing with him, the Seignior of North City. The Sum Emperor’s primary concern was still purging the court and dealing with Aristocratic Families.

Before removing the Aristocratic Families, it was unlikely he would take action against a Seignior.

Moreover, the court had just issued a Military Expansion Order. As a Seignior who could recruit up to one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, maintaining a cavalry unit shouldn’t be a problem, right? The Military Expansion Order did not prohibit the formation of cavalry troops.

At this time, Li Feng arrived at the city tower.

When he saw that the arriving general was Lin Xiuming, Li Feng was slightly startled, thinking it was fortunate that General Mu had also returned; otherwise, it would be troublesome if discovered by Lin Xiuming and his men later.

Li Feng saluted Lu Chen and said, “Greetings, Prince!”

Lu Chen turned his head towards Li Feng and said, “General Li, I will trouble you to lead General Lin and his men to clean up the battlefield.”

“I am feeling a bit tired, so I’ll be heading back now.”

Li Feng immediately said, “Yes, Prince!”

After that, Lu Chen turned and left.

Watching the departing figure of Lu Chen, Lin Xiuming paused for a moment, then turned to Li Feng next to him and said, “General Li, has the Barbarian Army retreated?”

Lin Xiuming had some recollection of Li Feng, after all, Li Feng had been a critical support for Mu Changtian in the Hu Ben Army.

Hearing Lin Xiuming’s question, Li Feng said with a smile, “General Lin, it’s not just a simple matter of having repelled the Barbarians. Wait until we leave the city and you will see the great achievements our soldiers of North City have made under the leadership of the Prince.”

Seeing that Li Feng was also playing coy, Lin Xiuming frowned slightly.

He couldn’t help but wonder, could it be that North City truly achieved a significant victory this time?

Could they have been lucky enough to kill an important figure from the Barbarian Tribe’s royal court?