Chapter 150: Melee

Indeed, Wang Li was too eager for revenge to give much thought to the whys and wherefores. Xu Zhi, crafty and seasoned, immediately asked Long Chen how he had come by this information.

"His Majesty sent me here to pacify the sea bandits, so naturally I have informants accompanying me. While I know their locations, my manpower is insufficient."

"There is another point: there are simply too many people within Qianjiang Prefecture, making it inconvenient for my troops to move freely. You are best suited to handle this operation."

As Long Chen finished speaking, a flurry of thoughts raced through Xu Zhi's mind.

Long Chen also had covert forces trailing him. Although these hidden agents lacked high offensive power, their ability to gather intelligence was formidable.

Since even Xu Zhi and his faction could not find these individuals, yet Long Chen had located them, Long Chen must undoubtedly be aware of the collusion between the three families and the sea bandits.

Therefore, Xu Zhi was left with only two choices: first, kill Long Chen; second, eliminate the Shadow Guards and cooperate with Long Chen.

The first choice was a poor strategy, because killing Long Chen would inevitably provoke the imperial court's grand army, forcing them to abandon Qianjiang Prefecture and degenerate into mere sea bandits.

"You expect us to fight to the death with the sea bandits while you sit back and reap the spoils?"

Yuan Tengfei's voice was cold, his dissatisfaction plainly evident.

Unfazed, Long Chen replied, "My men are waiting just outside the West Gate. They did not enter the city because they were afraid of causing a misunderstanding."

"Now that everything is out in the open, what is your decision? If you agree to annihilate the Shadow Guards together, my men will enter the city right now."

Both Yuan Tengfei and Wang Li looked toward Xu Zhi, who was unquestionably the shrewdest among them.

Xu Zhi turned his head and asked, "What is the Master's view on this?"

From behind the screen, Monk Fayin stepped out.

Fayin rubbed his bald pate. He had come today to perform funeral rites for Wang Zhong and had been eavesdropping from behind the screen just moments before.

Fayin smiled cheerfully and greeted Long Chen, "This poor monk offers his regards."

Long Chen smiled in return, "Master is most wise."

Fayin then said, "We have already formed a sworn brotherhood with Lord Long. Since the Shadow Guards are targeting milord, they are targeting us as well. This poor monk believes we should join forces and wipe out the Shadow Guards!"

Wang Li shouted, "I'll go muster the men!"

As Wang Li turned to leave, Xu Zhi intervened, "Lord Long, if we help you eliminate the Shadow Guards, the funds for raising troops..."

At this critical juncture, Xu Zhi was attempting to bargain.

Long Chen replied, "Once the Shadow Guards are eliminated, you will have the sea bandits withdraw from Zhenhai County, and a tribute of ten thousand liang of silver from you this year will suffice."

A shock ran through Xu Zhi, Yuan Tengfei, and Fayin. Their suspicions were confirmed: Long Chen was already fully aware of their collusion with the sea bandits.

Since the matter was already laid bare, Xu Zhi saw no reason for further pretense. "Very well," he said. "If milord breaks his word, the reputation of our Three Patriarchs is no empty boast."

Xu Zhi was threatening Long Chen; should Long Chen renege on the agreement, they would find a way to eliminate him.

Long Chen chuckled dryly. "Brother Xu jests. Why would I ever turn down an income of tens of thousands of liang every year?"

Xu Zhi immediately commanded, "Then muster the men and wipe out the Shadow Guards!"

Yuan Tengfei sneered, "Qianjiang Prefecture is our territory. Those who stir up trouble on our turf deserve to die!"

Long Chen produced a map, placed it on the table, and pointed to several red dots. "The red markings indicate the hiding places of the Shadow Guards. Their residences have been tagged, and since these men are outsiders, finding them will not be a problem."

Staring at the map, Wang Li roared toward the outer courtyard, "All members of the Wang family, assemble!"

Long Chen suggested, "I advise sealing the city gates immediately. My men will hold the perimeter outside the city to prevent any of them from escaping."

"Of course, if you fear I intend to watch the tigers fight from the safety of the mountaintop, my men can enter the city right now."

Xu Zhi waved a hand dismissively. "There is no need to trouble Lord Long's men; we certainly possess that much strength."

"We merely require Lord Long to fight alongside us."

Cunning as ever, Xu Zhi feared Long Chen might slip away, and thus intended to keep him close as a hostage.

Long Chen smiled and pointed back at the map. "No problem. Let us go after the leaders of the Shadow Guards. There are two leaders, stationed respectively at the Market Inn and the Yueshan Inn."

"The leader at the Yueshan Inn possesses a very high level of martial arts cultivation, having reached the Martial Emperor realm. The leader at the Market Inn is somewhat lower in cultivation, likely at the mid-stage King realm, but he excels in hidden weapons and poisons. You must be careful!"

Originally brimming with confidence, Xu Zhi and the others saw their expressions darken upon hearing of a Martial Emperor realm expert.

Martial warriors of the Martial Emperor realm were exceedingly rare across the realm. The highest cultivation among them was Xu Zhi himself, who was merely at the mid-stage King realm. Wang Li had only just broken through to the King realm, while Yuan Tengfei was merely at the peak Grandmaster realm.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy and oppressive, silencing everyone present.

Sensing their hesitation to fight, Long Chen offered, "I shall deal with the Martial Emperor realm cultivator. The rest of you should head to the Market Inn."

Suspicious that Long Chen might be playing a trick, Xu Zhi said, "Nephew Wang, accompany Lord Long to the Yueshan Inn. That establishment belongs to your family, so you are familiar with it. We will head to the Market Inn."

Nodding, Wang Li agreed, "Very well!"

Once the decision was finalized, Long Chen dispatched a cavalry guard outside the city to instruct Dujia Guli to secure all four city gates, ensuring neither the Shadow Guards nor the Imperial City Directorate agents could escape.

Xu Zhi promptly issued orders throughout the city, sealing all four gates as the tension inside the city spiked sharply.

Fayin remained at the prefectural office to oversee operations, dispatching his subordinates to the assassins' hiding places for a coordinated encirclement and slaughter.

Long Chen and Wang Li rode together toward the Yueshan Inn.

"Nephew Wang, do you still have brothers in your family?" Long Chen asked from horseback.

Taken aback, Wang Li retorted, "What do you mean by that?"

Long Chen kindly cautioned, "That Shadow Guard leader goes by the name Nameless, and his martial arts cultivation is formidable. Do not act rashly later; stay behind me. I would rather not see Third Brother Wang leave no heirs!"

Utterly arrogant at heart, Wang Li was deeply displeased by these words. "Lord Long, do not try to frighten me! I have been aching to witness what a Martial Emperor realm expert looks like!"

Turning to his family's hired thugs, Wang Li shouted, "Pull yourselves together, every last one of you! Don't let Lord Long say we are spineless cowards acting like eunuchs!"

The thugs below burst into loud laughter.

Though Zhang Xi and Wu Jian wore expressions of displeasure, Long Chen simply waved a hand to signal them not to take offense.

Upon arriving outside the inn, the proprietor and staff hastily bowed as they saw Wang Li approach.

Having just attended the family's morning mourning rites, and realizing an inn was a place of business where wearing mourning attire was inappropriate, they were not dressed in funeral garments.

"Eldest Young Master..."

Before the proprietor could finish emerging, Wang Li waved him aside with an impatient gesture.

"Which room is it in?" Wang Li demanded.

Pointing to the room where Nameless was staying, Long Chen said, "It is right in that room!"

Clutching a broadsword, Wang Li leaped straight from his horse's back and lunged toward the room's window.

With a sweeping slash of his blade, the wooden window shattered into splinters as Wang Li forced his way inside.

Startled out of his wits, the inn proprietor failed to understand why Wang Li had resorted to violence the moment he arrived.

At a signal from their superiors, the family thugs rushed up the stairwell toward the upper floor.

Before the thugs could even cross the threshold, a muffled crash echoed from above. Wang Li came flying backward through the air, his broadsword clattering to the floor as he vomited a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with sheer terror.

As Zhang Xi and Wu Jian moved to charge forward, Long Chen stopped them with a gesture. "Secure the perimeter! Kill the deputy commander and the rest of them!"

With that, Long Chen grasped his long spear and vaulted directly into the second-floor chamber.