Artur looked at her with such care for her long halberd and said in a deep voice, "As a soldier, you have feelings for the weapon that has been with you for many years. I can see that Marshal Xie is a man of deep feelings."
Should we return her words to her?
Xie Lanzhi made no attempt to avoid the rain. Ignoring the wet ground, she sat cross-legged on the ground, the rain constantly hitting her shoulder armor, and the hair on her forehead was already disheveled. Looking at Artu standing high above, she was clearly inferior, sitting down like a defeated general.
The Lu envoy, still lingering on the mountainside not far away, couldn't help but mutter, "Has the battle been decided?"
Xie Lanzhi said, "You say your king is the chosen one, so you know that both your king and I are strangers in a foreign land, right?"
Artur said, "You care about this kind of thing? Whether you do or not, your fate is already sealed."
"Our country's sorcerers never miss a plan, Marshal Xie, you'd better accept your fate sooner rather than later. If I were to kill you, I could at least ensure your body remains intact and return it to your...wife."
Upon hearing the word "wife," Xie Lanzhi wavered slightly, but she quickly and decisively replied, "Your country's envoy once presented me with an upside-down dragon and phoenix vase during my wedding, which was nothing short of mocking me for being neither male nor female, violating human ethics, and marrying a woman."
"General Wang is indeed a forward-thinking person. If ordinary people mention me, they would think I was born into the wrong gender, which is why I have a perfect match with Little Phoenix."
Artur hadn't expected her to say so much, which sounded like her last words. If it was her last words, he could delay it for a while without any problem.
Xie Lanzhi continued, "If my marriage with Little Phoenix is predestined, then what kind of creature is your King?"
"What the hell?" Artur said unhappily, "Marshal Xie, I'll only ask you three questions. Answer them if you want, but don't waste any more words!"
"Stop wasting time!!"
Xie Lanzhi had no choice but to change her tune, saying, "You keep saying that your king is the chosen one, yet you openly admit that the 'Free and Easy Pill' is a harmful thing. Isn't that a contradiction?"
"As I have said, the sins are committed in this life, but the merits will last for generations."
Xie Lanzhi said, "Then the second question is, where is the merit? Was unifying the Central Plains really that difficult for you?"
With a million iron cavalrymen marching south, how could we possibly fail to conquer the south?
Artu's face darkened. This question seemed to have touched a nerve with the Huns. The internal strife and disharmony among the Huns was an undeniable fact. They had been fighting amongst themselves for twenty years. Yet, twenty years ago, the Huns had already tried to invade southward, and their first battle resulted in the control of the Huayin Kingdom. Now, the new king had only been on the throne for three years, and when Aqina was still a prince, he had amassed wealth to support the Mohists in inventing firearms, which had barely resulted in any significant progress.
In retrospect, it must have been through their own continuous efforts to overcome technical challenges.
Because they lack the protagonist's halo, many things are difficult to accomplish. It's not that they lack talent or technology; on the contrary, they have everything they need. With such an excellent lineup, what worries could they possibly have about marching south?
Xie Lanzhi asked one last question: "Your king has been deliberately avoiding Little Phoenix. Is there some kind of restriction binding him?"
“You said I have a health problem. There was someone else who had the same problem, but he overcame it.”
"Has it truly been overcome?"
Artur did not answer the remaining questions; in fact, he did not answer any of the three questions properly.
Xie Lanzhi said, "General, you have no sincerity at all. How can I obey your wishes and obediently go to my death?"
As she finished speaking, she propped herself up on one knee to get up, but Artur suddenly said, "Your Majesty, you were once a peerless martial artist with profound inner strength, just like you are now."
"It's like having a peerless master transfer a century's worth of internal energy into you."
"You've used it for less than a year, you should be glad."
It sounds like Aqina has lost his internal energy.
Artur lowered his voice and said, "Marshal Xie, haven't you noticed the problem yet?"
"I discovered my dark chamber is dark, is bad luck upon me?" Xie Lanzhi looked completely unconcerned, appearing relaxed and showing no signs of being on the verge of death.
She had already determined that Niliubei was Xie Ying's burial place because she had saved Xiao Fenghuang in advance, pushing Xiao Fenghuang into the plot ahead of time, so that she would become the ruler of Jiujin at the tender age of eighteen and recover a piece of land.
Little Phoenix was originally the main character; she was the only one who truly came into being as the main character.
As for what Artur said about the chosen one and the variable, in fact, both Aqina and she are variables, and both should be removed from this world as a source of trouble.
Artur sighed deeply: "Don't think it's because my internal strength is improving or my injuries are healing quickly; it's your body that's been weakening."
"Whether you haven't noticed yet or are afraid to notice, I don't know, but you should be able to sense it by now?"
"How could someone with profound inner strength allow themselves to be soaked through, with even their footsteps sounding unusually heavy?"
Upon his reminder, Xie Lanzhi suddenly noticed a subtle difference: when she began to sprint, there was a long, heavy trail on the ground, which was normal; that's how she used her internal energy.
She looked again at the footprints left in the mud nearby, which were deeper than the marks she had made while rushing through the mud. And without realizing it, her body was getting cold, and her body temperature was dropping too quickly.
Looking at Artur, aside from his slightly wet armor and the wet uniform on his arms, he was radiating heat, and even though the rain was pouring down on his shoulders, it was quickly evaporated.
Internal energy can generate heat in the body and protect it. When she activated her internal energy, it felt like her whole body was being pushed into a volcano and burned. Now it's like a cooled-down pot, with only residual heat left.
Xie Lanzhi took a deep breath, but felt that the heat was being lost even faster.
"I see?" Xie Lanzhi clasped her hands in a fist salute to Artur: "Thank you for the reminder."
Artur was utterly helpless. Seeing her fearless attitude, he threw away the knife in his hand and walked towards her step by step: "Although my answer did not meet your expectations, I have at least given you an answer."
"This time, you should accept your fate."
"Has Artur ever considered that your life is also in someone else's hands?" Xie Lanzhi sat on the ground. When she tried to get up, she found that the armor she usually wore felt incredibly heavy, so heavy that she couldn't stand up. She sat frozen in place, watching Artur approach with murderous intent, ready to deliver the final blow.
Xie Lanzhi closed her eyes, and darkness enveloped her, as if she were accepting death. She could hear the approaching footsteps.
Knowing that once she closed her eyes, she might never open them again, she still closed them and waited quietly.
As Artur drew closer, he kept saying, "My armor, my helmet can protect against flintlock musket fire."
This was because they had already guessed that she might make some underhanded moves, and they wanted to stop her from struggling in vain.
"I don't know much about the last two questions you asked either." Artur's tone suddenly softened, and he slowed his pace, as if he wanted to give her a little more time before she died.
Xie Lanzhi was indeed unable to move. Not only was her internal energy rapidly draining away, but it felt as if her strength was being drained away as well. Her body was ice-cold, as if her blood was about to congeal.
She thought she would be defeated by Artur, or that she would defeat Artur, but she never expected that she would lose her power first.
No wonder Artur lowered his guard and even loosened his lips when he saw her weapon was broken. He knew he couldn't escape and his death was imminent.
"Then speak, even if it's only a few minutes, it's enough." Xie Lanzhi said with her eyes closed, "If God wants me to die, I have no choice but to die. God is heartless, but people are compassionate."
Artur said, "If you stay away from Feng Ning, you might live a few more years."
"It's a pity you're too close; your every move is seen by the heavens."
"You don't have a stand-in."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lanzhi quickly opened her eyes, catching the crucial information. The sword belonging exclusively to the Hu Xiong general was suddenly drawn, its sharp light gleaming as it was drawn. Rain mingled with the blade, and with a swift, gruesome stroke, a pillar of blood splattered onto the grass, mixing with the mud and staining the ground red.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down, as if to tear the sky apart, accompanied by thunderous roars that were deafening.
The Lu envoy watched in horror from the mountainside as the black-armored figure lay on the ground while the silver-armored figure stood, clearly the victor.
"It's over, it's over! Yes, it's the Lord who has lost!"
"The Lord has been defeated."
He repeated himself in disbelief, completely unaware that the Xie soldiers and Hu Xiongnu soldiers nearby had already drawn their weapons. One side was heading towards the hunting ground with a somber expression, while the other side was overjoyed and full of mockery.
Finally, wait for both groups of soldiers to enter the hunting ground at the same time.
The Lu envoy then came to his senses and solemnly announced, "Marshal Xie...is dead."
Chapter 141 The Stranger's Secret
The Lu army was shocked upon hearing this.
I had long heard that Lord Xie had conquered Tianjing, ruled the south, and possessed terrifying military power, his influence at its zenith.
Unexpectedly, the renowned and illustrious ruler of the south has died so suddenly. Truly... the new generation replaces the old, and new leaders rise to power.
The Huns were indeed still the same powerful and fearsome army!
The envoy from Lu reported to the ruler of Lu, Fu Ling, that Marshal Xie had been defeated and killed by the Xiongnu general Wang Artu.
Gong Fuling immediately adopted a look of impending doom. His face was ashen, and he said with a hint of grief, "The Central Plains of the South finally produced a fierce general who could rival the Hu and Xiongnu. Now that he has died in battle, can the Central Plains of the South remain as peaceful as it has been for the past two years?"
The envoy from Lu said, "Your Majesty, please issue an order as soon as possible to carry out Prince Fengning's order to suppress the Hu."
"Now that Marshal Xie is dead, we must not let the remaining one escape! If he goes back, he will become another formidable enemy in the future."
The official immediately issued a personal order to send a message to the newly formed army hiding within the territory.
The newly promoted military captain Ma Liang is Ma Hong's sworn brother. Now that he has received a signal from the King of Lu, Ma Liang's face is very ugly. However, his men still think that Marshal Xie has won.
Many of the thousand newly recruited soldiers were shouting, "Captain Ma, we want revenge!"
"We absolutely cannot let the General escape!"
"Let the Xiongnu people taste the might of the newly formed army!"
Suppressing his emotions, Ma Liang drew his sword, channeling his grief into strength, and roared, "Kill Artu! We cannot let him return alive!"
Then the sky cleared, and rays of light broke through the clouds and shone on the earth, dispelling all darkness and fog.
The Xiongnu and Xie soldiers, each numbering three hundred, entered the hunting grounds but instead of immediately engaging in battle, they clashed and fought each other, cavalry against cavalry, with the Xie soldiers locked in fierce combat with the Xiongnu.
After a fierce battle, Xie Bing, like a pack of demons filled with resentment, charged into the Xiongnu cavalry formation like madmen. The Xiongnu soldiers, who had been in their original formation, were all intimidated by their suicidal spirit.
The Xiongnu commander, Zhongwei, believed that Xie Bing's army was leaderless after the death of their marshal, and this was merely a last gasp of energy. Zhongwei abandoned the fight and led the remaining men into the woods to find General Wang.
Xie Bing and his men chased after them relentlessly, like chasing a rabbit into a tree, which intimidated the Xiongnu soldiers. In the end, Ma Liang managed to turn the tables and encircle them.
Only then did the Xiongnu soldiers realize that the newly formed army in Jinghua Prefecture had a backup plan.
Seeing that they couldn't escape, Zhongwei shouted with glee before he died: "I've been dead for eighteen years and I'm a hero again! But with Xie Ying dead, you will be leaderless!"
"The South, no, the Central Plains of the South, is finished! No one can rival my king anymore!!"
"Bullshit!" Ma Liang roared.
As soon as Zhongwei finished shouting, he was slashed down by Ma Liang and fell to the ground, where he was trampled by the hooves of both his own and his enemy's horses.
Three hundred cavalrymen died in the encirclement and suppression by Xie Bing and the newly promoted army.
"Charge into the hunting grounds and bring back the Marshal..." Ma Liang omitted the word "corpse" and shouted, "Send the Marshal back to Jinghua Prefecture."
Xie Bing's eyes reddened: "The Southern Region is the Marshal's hometown. We will first send him to the capital so that the mistress can pay her respects to the Marshal's last remains, and then immediately head south to inform the clan of this news."
Ma Liang could only nod.
When a group of people rushed into the center of the hunting ground, they did not let their guard down. First, they formed a circle to guard against outsiders, and then they gradually narrowed the circle and approached the grassy area of Pinggu.
When Xie Bing and Ma Liang were ten meters apart, under the shade of a row of trees, they saw the black-armored figure sitting cross-legged on the ground, and the silver-armored general standing high in front of them.
Ma Liang immediately raised his bow and arrow and shot at the silver-armored general. The arrow struck the armor without causing any damage, leaving Ma Liang both surprised and furious. These Huns are incredibly well-equipped!