Chapter 19: Get Out of My Sight This Instant!

Three hundred Heavenly Wolf Cavalry.

The weakest among them were at least of the second rank in martial arts, counted among the elite forces of Zhen’an City.

The horses they rode were no ordinary breeds. Instead, they were hybrids of wild Heavenly Wolves and horses, inheriting some of the wolves’ fierce bearing and formidable speed and endurance.

Heavenly Wolf Steeds.

Those with a higher concentration of wolf blood even possessed outstanding combat prowess.

These towering, robust Heavenly Wolf Steeds exuded an extraordinary aura. The ordinary horse beneath Yang Tian grew restless and uneasy in their presence.

The Heavenly Wolf Cavalry were indeed worthy of their reputation as an elite force.

Their armor gleamed, solid and bright, crafted with exquisite skill and at no small expense.

By contrast, the soldiers of Desolate City looked as if they were clad in rags.

Even their weapons were a world apart: long spears that rang with a cold clangor, both heads and shafts forged from rare materials. Even without considering their lethality, their appearance alone was enough to chill the heart.

Set side by side, the soldiers of Desolate City were like beggars gazing up at lofty, wealthy men.

The eyes of the Heavenly Wolf Cavalry were proud and disdainful.

The soldiers of Desolate City, meanwhile, were filled with sorrow and inferiority, tinged with envy and longing.

Yang Tian could well guess their thoughts.

If only they possessed such fine armor and weapons, their fighting strength would soar, their chances of defending the city would be much greater, and with every battle, fewer of their own would fall.

“Where is Wu Yong?”

The leader of the Heavenly Wolf Cavalry exuded an air of arrogance that he could not disguise, and he questioned them overbearingly.

In Desolate City, only Wu Yong merited his attention.

Wu Yong hadn’t come out to receive him—what was going on?

He had yet to hear the news of Wu Yong’s fate, for it had happened only in the past two days, and he had paid no mind to Desolate City; word had not reached Zhen’an City.

As for Yang Tian, he dismissed him outright.

“I am the new Captain Yang He. May I ask your name?” Yang He saluted politely.

“Send Wu Yong to me. I will only deal with him.”

Yang He was thoroughly ignored, an utter humiliation. It was clear the man placed no one else in his eyes.

“Yang He, go about your duties. Pay them no heed,” Yang Tian instructed coolly.

Such arrogance was worthless in his eyes.

They had come all this way, and originally Yang Tian would have offered thanks, even if it was only by order of the court.

But faced with such disdainful attitudes, he saw no reason to be concerned.

If the war had not ended, and they arrived only now, most of the soldiers would already have perished, and many of the city’s people would have been slaughtered.

Their role would be nothing more than cleaning up the aftermath—what right had they to be so proud?

Without an order, these men who looked down on Desolate City would have been loath to set foot here at all.

Yang Tian had no intention of lingering. Having witnessed their attitude, he saw no further purpose.

“Yes, my lord,” Yang He replied respectfully. The young master’s word outweighed all.

“You’re the city lord—the youngest son of the former Champion Marquis, Yang Tian?”

What happened at the Champion Marquis’s manor, Yang Tian’s actions for self-preservation, and his appointment as city lord of Desolate City were all widely known.

“So Wu Yong is gone—clearly your doing, as he was of your family’s choosing, was he not?”

“How laughable: you come to Desolate City and immediately send Wu Yong away, replacing the captain with your own man. Are you hoping to see Desolate City fall at once? I, Lin Feng, should never have led my men to the rescue.”

The leader of the Heavenly Wolf Cavalry was Lin Feng.

He was seventh rank in martial arts, born of a general’s family.

Yang Tian sneered, “The war is over. Sorry to have troubled you for nothing. The air of Desolate City does not suit you; you may leave now.”

Another one who targeted him.

Was it simply a matter of personality, or was there some other motive?

“The war is over? Then you must have falsified the situation. How bold—to inflate a mere skirmish into a crisis of annihilation! Such things have never happened before. I’ll report this to General Qin when I return—your days as city lord are numbered,” Lin Feng threatened, his gaze cold as if he had seized on a fatal weakness.

“What did you do with Wu Yong? I want to take him away.”

Six columns of smoke—that clearly signified a crisis threatening the city’s destruction.

He was puzzled not to sense the signs of battle.

If the war was truly over, it could only mean Desolate City had fallen before they arrived to help.

Thus, he concluded the city had reported a false alarm.

The Lin family did not belong to the same faction as the Champion Marquis; there was even some enmity.

With the Marquis gone, there was no longer any need for restraint.

He did not wish to let the Yang family off easily, and had not expected such a golden opportunity to strike at a fallen foe.

Falsifying a military report was a serious crime.

Yang Tian, the Yang family’s last hope, would not escape easily.

This time, let’s see how he wriggles out.

“Whether the report was false is not for you to fabricate. As for Wu Yong, you’ll find him in the Thorn Ridge,” Yang Tian replied, unconcerned. The corpses of wild beasts there would serve as the best proof.

He simply could not be bothered to explain to Lin Feng.

In the past, those sent from Zhen’an City would always claim the majority of the spoils.

Yang Tian could not be sure whether Lin Feng, tempted by greed, would demand the beast materials under the pretext of hard-earned dues.

“Very well, you just wait,” Lin Feng spat, glaring fiercely at Yang Tian, determined to see him dead. “We’re leaving.”

He had come hoping to earn a handsome merit.

Saving Desolate City and harvesting a trove of wild beasts would have brought him significant credit.

Instead, their journey was in vain.

He would not take this lying down; in fact, he now hated Yang Tian, seeing an excellent chance to get rid of him.

Just as he prepared to lead his troops back to Zhen’an City, a scout he had dispatched returned in haste, whispering a few words. Lin Feng’s expression shifted, his heart seething with fury.

He reined in his horse at once, glaring at Yang Tian with hatred and shouting, “Yang Tian, you dare play tricks on me!”

The scout had learned that Desolate City had indeed suffered a siege by wild beasts—over a thousand in all.

In the end, several hundred carcasses were left behind, and then Wu Yong led the beasts away.

The war was indeed over, but Yang Tian had not bothered to explain.

If he filed a report and the truth was discovered, he would be guilty of dereliction, of wrongly accusing a city lord—no small offense.

Lin Feng was convinced Yang Tian had set a trap for him, deliberately making him look a fool.

How devious!

Fortunately, he had sent scouts ahead; otherwise, he would have been too late.

“You’re delusional. Who played tricks on you? Desolate City does not welcome you,” Yang Tian replied calmly, bluntly dismissing them.

If they were not friends, they were wolves at the gate.

“We were ordered to reinforce Desolate City. Is this how a city lord receives his support? We traveled hard all day—are we to leave empty-handed? Do you ever hope for reinforcements again?” Lin Feng, sensing what was truly at stake, did not hurry to leave.

“If you wish to disobey orders, you needn’t come at all. Had Desolate City truly depended on your rescue, it would already be gone,” Yang Tian retorted without reservation.

He placed no hope in Zhen’an City’s reinforcements.

When the soldiers and civilians had already perished, what did it matter if the city was saved once?

In the past, Desolate City would fawn and flatter any reinforcements.

He refused to do so.

If, in the future, Zhen’an City’s reinforcements delayed on purpose or merely paid lip service, so be it.

“What, are you jealous now? You did nothing and still want to take something for free?” Yang Tian snapped, unyielding.

If Lin Feng wanted to make trouble and seize his spoils, he was dreaming.

“I am now the city lord of Desolate City, and you are not even a commander. What right have you to be arrogant in my presence? Get out of Desolate City this instant!”

No one would be allowed to touch what was his!