Chapter 44

Iron Blood Silver Lance is a legend, an undefeated myth among the Tian Nan soldiers.

If only the name Mu Qianjun were mentioned, the great assassin who had merged with the deceased Feng Jueyu would not have a deep impression, but when it came to Iron Blood Silver Lance, the entire Tian Nan would remember the military prodigy and martial arts prodigy who was born and raised in Yuecheng, a border town, with his father on the frontier, though his ancestral home was in Tian Nan.

He is Mu Qianjun.

Mu Qianjun is the youngest son of Mu Zhonghun. When the Western Border invaders attacked Tian Nan, he was born in Yuecheng, and could be said to have been born and raised there. From a young age, he followed Mu Zhonghun to guard the frontier, and he had only returned to Tian Nan three times in his life.

Mu Qianjun is a vanguard on the battlefield. At the young age of twenty-six, he has participated in nearly a hundred major and minor battles, slaying forty-one enemy generals, and has earned countless military honors. With his silver lance, he has become famous throughout the continent, being the most formidable of the three Mu brothers and a fierce general, the soul of the army.

No wonder he seemed unfamiliar; it turns out he doesn't often return to Tian Nan. Feng Jueyu firmly remembered Mu Qianjun's name.

A twenty-six-year-old expert at the Heavenly Martial Realm is enough to make Feng Jueyu admire him. After all, the higher the cultivation realm, the harder it is to achieve. Many elderly people over fifty, and even some who have spent their entire lives, cannot reach such a level. Yet Mu Qianjun has achieved it, not only that, but he has also used his Iron Blood Silver Lance to build a great reputation, which is truly remarkable.

For Tian Nan to send such a formidable person to escort a batch of supplies, it seems that these supplies are not simple. The opponent, Yan Wuming, also doesn't seem weak. Today's duel will surely be very exciting.

Feng Jueyu pondered, secretly worried about Shangguan Ruomeng. This group of people is indeed bold, daring to intercept supplies in Tian Nan, and even under the capital city. No wonder the girl was worried in the morning. It's strange, though. Tian Nan is a rare great nation with many experts. Why doesn't the royal family of Tian Nan take care of it? Why let a noble family protect such important supplies? What happened here?

Feng Jueyu thought of many questions, but unfortunately, no one explained them to him. However, he wasn't too worried. After all, the capital of Tian Nan is the imperial city, and the Shangguan family is a local power in Tian Nan City. Even if the strong dragon is powerful, it can't surpass the local snake.

While deep in thought, Yan Wuming had already drawn his precious sword, a pitch-black ink sword, extremely sharp. Clearly, this scoundrel had no sense of shame and had coated the sword with poison, and the faint blue light on the sword indicated that the poison was quite potent. Feng Jueyu began to worry about Mu Qianjun.

Yan Wuming said, "Mu Qianjun, I respect you as a man and don't want to kill you. If you leave and don't interfere, I can spare your life."

Mu Qianjun sneered coldly, "Hmph, put away your false righteousness. Who in the world doesn't know that the Gold and Silver Guild only recognizes money, not people? Our Tian Nan soldiers fight and die on the border to protect our land, without complaint. And you, the Gold and Silver Guild, a guild of Tian Nan, accept payment to help the enemy intercept our supplies. Yan Wuming, if you have any sense of patriotism, leave here. Otherwise, my silver lance won't hesitate to take your life."

"Haha~" Yan Wuming laughed maniacally, "Mu Qianjun, since you know the Gold and Silver Guild only recognizes money, not people, do you think I, Yan Wuming, will leave? I won't tell you, but the price the employer offered this time is so high you won't believe it. Even if I wanted to leave, my superiors wouldn't agree. Well, let me make sure you die with your eyes open."

Yan Wuming continued, pointing to the banks of a nearby canal tributary, "You brought fifty experts from the army this time, and now you've set up an ambush along the banks, right? I've known your movements all along. Now, waiting there are sixty Earth Fiends and two Heaven Fiends of the Gold and Silver Guild. Unless you go back yourself, they are doomed to die."

Upon hearing this, not only was Mu Qianjun shocked, but Feng Jueyu, hiding in the grass, also drew a sharp breath.

Although he didn't know what Earth Fiends and Heaven Fiends represented in terms of strength, from Yan Wuming's tone, he could sense that the number of experts sent by the other side was considerable. Moreover, the fact that he knew the number of experts Mu Qianjun had brought indicated that they were well-prepared. With the enemy in the open and us in the dark, Mu Qianjun's battle would not be easy.

"Despicable." Mu Qianjun gritted his teeth in hatred and charged forward with his lance.

A shadow suddenly darted from the peak of Lianlang Mountain, the sharp tip of the lance emitting a dazzling light, and the true qi followed the lance, like a dragon soaring into the sky.

Yan Wuming was not to be outdone. He wielded his ink sword, forming several sword flowers, and attacked like a venomous snake, the faint blue light on his body indicating that he had a strength comparable to Mu Qianjun's.

Feng Jueyu had originally planned to watch the battle, but time was not on his side. Now, the fifty iron-blooded soldiers of Tian Nan were about to fall into the trap set by the enemy. One misstep, and they would all be annihilated.

Whether for Mu Qianjun, the Shangguan family, or the supplies of Tian Nan that could affect the entire war, Feng Jueyu felt it was necessary to take action.

Fortunately, the canal tributary was not far from Lianlang Mountain. By descending halfway down the mountain and heading north, he could reach it in about ten miles.

With Feng Jueyu's agility, ten miles was not a problem.

"I can't just watch anymore; I have to go save them and find a way to inform Shangguan Ruomeng. I wonder how prepared the Shangguan family is?"

With this thought, Feng Jueyu quietly slipped into the grass, not even bothering to watch the battle between the top experts.

Following the direction, he quickly ran towards the canal. Fortunately, Lianlang Mountain was not too steep, and there were many small paths. Feng Jueyu took off his robe, picked up a few branches along the way, and made a straw hat as a disguise. In less than half an hour, he arrived at the turbulent banks of the Tian Nan Canal.

Stopping from a distance, Feng Jueyu, the great assassin, knew his own capabilities. Although he had the skills of an assassin, his cultivation was not high. His recent cultivation of the Life and Death Uncertainty Technique had brought him to the advanced stage of the Void Martial Realm. With his keen insight and ambush skills, he could easily kill several Qi Martial Realm experts, and if well-prepared and lucky, he might even kill two True Martial Realm experts.

However, considering Yan Wuming's cultivation and the importance of this matter, a True Martial Realm level was far from enough. There might be Spirit Martial Realm or even Profound Martial Realm killers ambushing on both banks, in which case he would be in trouble.

Therefore, the current strategy was to use the fifty military experts brought by Mu Qianjun, ensuring they were not ambushed while also being able to kill the enemy. This was the best plan.

He hoped the soldiers would be cautious and not blindly wait by the riverbank. If they fell into a trap, it would be too late.

Sighing, Feng Jueyu hurriedly followed.

...

Meanwhile, at the cargo dock...

Five cargo ships were lined up and docked at the pier. On both sides of the pier, torches illuminated the area, and nearly two hundred disciples of the Shangguan family stood on the decks, with about forty people on each ship, ready to set sail.

Shangguan Ruomeng, Shangguan Tengfeng, the maid Xing'er, and several Shangguan family's loyalists stood on the pier, looking at the five cargo ships without giving any orders.

"Dream, why don't I ask for more time from the higher-ups, so the border troops can delay for a few more days until we find the traitor before setting out?" Shangguan Tengfeng asked worriedly.

Shangguan Ruomeng shook her head, "No, we can't wait any longer. The batch of medicine we developed is already three days late. If we don't deliver it to the border, the soldiers will have no medicine to use and won't be able to hold on. The battle in Yuecheng is very difficult, but the chances of winning are high. As long as the medicine is delivered in time, within ten days, the Western Border invaders will retreat due to a lack of supplies, and Tian Nan will be at peace for a while."

"With General Mu's ability, delaying for three days shouldn't be difficult, right?" Shangguan Tengfeng asked.

Shangguan Ruomeng turned around and said, "Indeed, it's not easy. But has Father ever considered that these people have been infiltrating the Shangguan family for nearly two years, all to stop the delivery of these supplies at a critical moment? The Emperor entrusted this decisive battle to the Shangguan family, not even sending a single palace guard, and even used the Talent Guild to cover up the hardships of the Tian Nan army. We did all this to make the Western Border invaders believe that Tian Nan still has the strength for a prolonged war. But the news still leaked."

"If the enemy can plant traitors in the Shangguan family, it means they were well-prepared. At this moment, there must be multiple groups of enemies ambushing along the canal. From the moment they left Tian Nan City, they planned to destroy the supplies. They didn't dare to act in the city because we hid the supplies deeply, and even you didn't know where the real supplies were, except for me and Grandfather. So they can only act on the canal. If their first plan fails, they will send more experts, and they won't stop until they succeed. No matter how much we prepare, it's useless. Just like the sudden increase in bandits on the official road and the Gold and Silver Guild, many supplies have been destroyed. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have chosen water transport."

"What do you suggest, then?" Shangguan Tengfeng was at a loss.

Indeed, this was a very secret military operation. The Emperor of Tian Nan spared no expense to prepare a large amount of supplies and medicine for this operation. The official road was full of enemy spies, making it impossible to deliver the supplies safely, so the last resort was the waterway.

Choosing the waterway had two advantages: a shorter route and the element of surprise. Without powerful river transport tools, it would be difficult to destroy the cargo ships.

Before this, the Emperor did a lot of confidential work, disguising the supplies as ordinary medicine to be sent to other provinces, planning to redirect them to the Western Border halfway.

The grand Talent Guild event in spring was a show for the enemy, to make them believe that Tian Nan still had the strength for a prolonged war, so they wouldn't need to send supplies to the Western Border.

However, the news still leaked...