Chapter 35: Triumphant Return

"Don't worry," Yang Tian said calmly.

He understood Wang Fu's concerns and hesitations. Each situation required its own approach. Yet the arrival of these people did not trouble Yang Tian; he was not afraid of any unexpected trouble they might bring. In any case, the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Wang Fu did not press any further. Though he did not fully understand the young master's thinking, he chose to trust him.

Yang Tian instructed the soldiers to let them through.

More than a hundred people hurried up onto the city wall. They saw the sparse but composed soldiers stationed on the wall, the empty, dark-brown land below, and, looking up, the thick smoke still billowing to the sky...

Where was the enemy? Where was the threat of war and invasion?

They had a basic understanding of Desolate City's situation. The number of soldiers was pitifully small—less than a thousand, which surprised them. They also knew what three columns of signal smoke meant. Yet the soldiers showed none of the exhaustion that follows a hard-fought battle.

But if there were no enemy troops, there was no need to send false alarms and light signal fires on purpose. So had the battle ended? If so, why hadn't the smoke been put out? Why did it still rise so thickly?

The one-armed elder asked, "Lord Governor, have the enemy forces retreated?"

Yang Tian shook his head.

This only deepened their confusion.

Then Yang Tian spoke softly, "The enemy has been completely eliminated."

The crowd was stunned.

Impossible. It had been less than three hours since the signal smoke had gone up. Desolate City had faced not just any enemy, but the barbarians of the Northern Tribes. Even if these were just some remote, unaffiliated clans, their fighting power should not be underestimated. Three plumes of smoke meant at least four hundred barbarian warriors.

Annihilated? With less than a thousand soldiers from Desolate City? Even if they fought to the last man, it shouldn't have been possible. Besides, the soldiers appeared energetic and unscathed—hardly the look of men just emerged from bloody conflict. Could they have cleaned the battlefield so quickly?

"Lord Yang, please, don't jest—we want to know the truth," the one-armed elder said on behalf of the group, now beginning to doubt whether coming to Desolate City had been a mistake.

He was the Champion Marquis—no, the Champion Marquis’s youngest son, who had never set foot on a battlefield.

"Mind your manners! Is the Lord Governor someone you can question? With a single strike, the Lord Governor slew all the enemy troops in mere minutes. You simply have no idea how powerful he truly is..."

"Who are you, anyway? You're not from Desolate City, are you?"

Before Yang Tian could speak and before his personal guards could rebuke them, the surrounding soldiers of Desolate City stepped forward to defend him. How could anyone dare question the governor? Absolutely intolerable.

The one-armed elder and his companions found it hard to believe.

Yang Tian had been in Desolate City only a few days, yet had already won the respect and devotion of the soldiers? More importantly, if the battle had ended in victory and the enemy was wiped out, was this really Yang Tian's doing—and in just a few minutes?

It sounded like a fairy tale, and yet they didn't believe all these people were lying in concert.

They looked at Yang Tian with expressions of suspicion and awe.

Even if Yang Tian was hiding his true strength, how could he possibly have wiped out hundreds of barbarian warriors in minutes?

A Ninth-Rank martial master, given enough time, might have been able to do it. But the barbarians wouldn't just stand there and die—they had horses, and their cavalry was swift. Even a Ninth-Rank master couldn't stop them all.

Unless... he was above the mortal realm.

Could it be possible?

They hadn't seen it with their own eyes and couldn't quite imagine it. Still, it explained what they were now witnessing. For the moment, it was best to accept it. If they kept questioning, the soldiers seemed ready to draw their swords.

Yang Tian hadn't expected such protective loyalty from the soldiers. He was rather gratified.

As for the doubts of this group, he didn't care to explain. In time, they would see for themselves.

"Lord Governor, if the battle is already over, why keep the signal smoke burning? Won't that worry the people and send false reports to other cities? Please, order the smoke extinguished," the one-armed elder said, quite seriously, trying to persuade him.

He was an old soldier. He knew what prolonged signal smoke meant. Though long since retired, he still retained his soldier’s sense of duty. He knew his own status was not on par, yet could not help but speak up.

"What is your name?" Yang Tian asked.

The one-armed elder squinted and replied, "Marlon."

Yang Tian glanced at the group, clearly unwilling to explain his reasons. "Your request is reasonable, but I will not grant it. Wait quietly or leave Desolate City as you choose."

He was the governor! The principle he followed was simple: he did as he saw fit.

The soldiers looked at them with clear hostility and a hint of rejection. No one paid them any mind. On the city wall, they felt especially awkward.

Leave? Not now. They had come all this way, over mountains and rivers—how could they just turn and go? The war was over, yet the smoke still rose and Yang Tian had not left; surely there was more to come.

They decided to wait and see.

If Yang Tian truly was as powerful as rumored, he would exceed their expectations.

...

Tick-tock. Time passed slowly.

Another four hours slipped by. The sun was setting; dusk approached.

From afar came the thunder of hooves, stirring up clouds of dust like a thousand horses galloping at once.

Looking down from the walls, countless shadowy figures approached.

An enemy attack?

Marlon and his companions grew tense; the familiar, dangerous, and bloody atmosphere of the battlefield returned. Their combat instincts awakened: every pore opened, blood seemed to boil, and a long-forgotten killing intent surged. It was a feeling they had not known in years.

Yang Tian noted the change in them.

"Young master, they are battle-hardened soldiers," Wang Fu whispered.

Whatever their personal motives, Wang Fu could not deny the qualities forged by their years as soldiers.

The Yang family had been generals for generations; the battlefield was their home. Wang Fu himself had never served, but he was hardly unfamiliar with such things.

The Yang family army—the personal guard of the Champion Marquis’s household—had once been a fierce and elite force, among the very best in the Qin army.

At that, Wang Fu's eyes grew moist. The Yang family army had perished alongside the Champion Marquis, not in glorious battle, but undone by treachery—a tragedy far more painful.

Yang Tian glanced thoughtfully at Wang Fu and patted his shoulder, saying nothing.

He ordered all soldiers to be on guard.

The disturbance in the distance was likely Yang He’s return. Still, caution was necessary; perhaps it was an enemy attack.

Soon, it became clear: the threat was gone. The alert was lifted.

Yang He returned at the head of his troops, herding livestock before them in triumph.

The soldiers cheered with excitement.

"The Captain is back!"

"Ah, victorious at last! A great triumph!"

"Long live the Lord Governor!"

Their smiles were genuine.

Yang Tian did not stop them.

Elsewhere, a victorious battle might be nothing extraordinary, but for Desolate City, such a victory was a rare event, perhaps once in a decade.

There was no need to keep the signal fires burning any longer.

Marlon and his companions were dumbstruck.

Not only had they annihilated the invaders, they had counterattacked as well.

The sturdy, handsome warhorses now mounted by Desolate City’s soldiers had clearly belonged to the barbarians. The cattle, sheep, and horses being herded into the city, the carts laden with supplies—it was clear the barbarian clan had been thoroughly pillaged.

Could Desolate City have done this?

They were shaken to their core.

Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.

Their earlier doubts now seemed nothing but ignorance.

When their gaze returned to Yang Tian, their feelings were complex, their expressions transformed.

"Lord Governor, Yang He returns successful, having annihilated the Cypress Wood Tribe."

"Excellent!"