Chapter 255: Sparing You Is Impossible

"You didn't understand, did you? Very well. Today, this General will let you die with your eyes open."

Saying this, he suddenly stretched his neck and shouted loudly.

"General Fang, General Hu, bring your two contingents and reveal yourselves."

With his single shout, troops covering the sky and earth, like dark clouds, surged out from all four directions and eight corners, rushing forth with a whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's hundred thousand troops were surrounded so tightly that not even water could leak through.

And the two leaders among them were none other than the scouts' so-called defectors, Hu Song and Fang Hang.

The looks in the two men's eyes as they gazed at Jiang Jiang Mingyu were filled with visible mockery and unrestrained ridicule.

"Jiang Jiang Mingyu, you traitor, you have finally fallen into our hands," Hu Song sneered. "Were you not so arrogant? Were you not going to destroy the Great Feng Kingdom? Were you not going to kill Your Majesty?"

"Today, even in death, you cannot escape. Your hundred thousand strong army will be wiped out by us in one net," Fang Hang said, not to be outdone. "Did you think we would truly surrender to you? Did you think we would truly betray Your Majesty? Did you think we would truly abandon Zigu City?"

"You are too naive, you are too self-righteous, you know us too little," Hu Song and Fang Hang said in unison. "From the very beginning, we were spies arranged by Your Majesty. Our mission was to lure you into a trap and then annihilate you in one stroke."

"Did you think Tian Jiu was your confidant? Did you think he was your loyal subject? Did you think he was your friend?" Hu Song and Fang Hang said again simultaneously. "You are wrong. He is also Your Majesty's secret envoy, he is also our accomplice, he is also your mortal enemy."

"You were played in the palm of our hands, you were calculated until you knew nothing, you were fooled until you spun in circles, you were deceived until you were utterly defeated," Hu Song and Fang Hang continued. "You are truly ridiculous, truly pathetic, truly pitiable, truly detestable."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Tian Jiu, what... is going on?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked with a trembling voice, struggling to speak. His eyes were filled with pain, filled with confusion, filled with despair, filled with pleading.

Tian Jiu laughed heartily and said ruthlessly, "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, it seems now that calling you a pig-brain is already an overestimation of you."

"You do not need to know too much. You only need to know that you are about to die, and that is enough."

Saying this, he shouted deeply and loudly.

"Do it!"

Beneath Zigu City, amidst the ten thousand armies.

With Tian Jiu's single command, Hu Song and Fang Hang, the two of them, raised their weapons in unison.

"By imperial decree to suppress the rebels, execute Jiang Jiang Mingyu! Soldiers, kill for me!"

Seeing the armies from all four directions and eight corners surging madly toward Jiang Jiang Mingyu, Tian Jiu retreated on horseback while sneering darkly.

"Jiang Jiang Mingyu, you are now completely surrounded by one hundred and twenty thousand troops. Today, your only fate is death."

"Thank you for your appreciation earlier, but a traitor is a traitor; everyone has the right to execute him." Tian Jiu took the lead, charging at the very front, his long spear pointing directly at Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart, his tone cold and ruthless.

"Today, I will use your little life to pave the way for this General's career. Goodbye." Behind him, Fang Hang followed closely, smiling with a look of triumph, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

In their view, although Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not fly even with wings, beside him was still the highly skilled Zhang Zhang Jiaqi. Killing Jiang Jiang Mingyu publicly would indeed be another great merit, but they did not want to gamble with their own lives. So they had long arranged one hundred and twenty thousand troops to surround Jiang Jiang Mingyu's hundred thousand, giving him no opportunity whatsoever.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu no longer wished to say anything more. He knew these two men would not easily let him go; they betrayed him and became his enemies for their own interests, for their own ambitions, for their own lives. He also knew his current situation was extremely dangerous: his troops had been cut apart by the enemy, only Zhang Zhang Jiaqi and a few trusted aides remained by his side, his enemies had already killed to his very front, and his life or death hung on a single thought.

But he was not afraid, he was not panicked, he was not discouraged; he merely looked at them coldly, a trace of unyielding defiance and mockery flashing in his eyes.

To kill me, you do not yet have such capability.

He murmured silently in his heart, while speaking softly to Zhang Zhang Jiaqi beside him, "Zhang Jiaqi, send the signal!"

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi nodded. She understood Jiang Jiang Mingyu's meaning, she understood their plan, she understood their hope. She took a signal arrow from her bosom, aimed it at the sky, pulled hard, and a streak of red light tore through the darkness, emitting a piercing sound.

This was the signal Jiang Jiang Mingyu had agreed upon beforehand; this was their final move; this was their moment of life and death.

When Zhang Zhang Jiaqi shot the signal arrow, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's troops were already locked in a desperate melee with the forces of Fang Hang and Hu Song. Although their numbers were small, they were all Jiang Jiang Mingyu's die-hards, all old soldiers who had followed him north and south in campaigns, all martyrs willing to brave fire and water for him. They feared no death, they feared no strong enemy; they did it only to protect their lord, only to complete their mission, only for a single belief, a single dream.

"Kill!" Tu Tu Kesiluo, still in white robes as pure as snow, raised his gleaming long sword high and took the lead. Behind him were his forty thousand iron cavalry, all loyal men who followed Tu Tu Kesiluo, all warriors who threw themselves into danger for Jiang Jiang Mingyu's great cause. Their horses were swift as the wind, their blades sharp as frost, their momentum like a rainbow, their killing cries like thunder.

"Brothers, destroy the main force of Fei Hou, rescue our lord, kill with me!" Tu Tu Kesiluo's voice spread across the entire battlefield, clear for everyone to hear. His target was Fang Hang's rear army, his plan was to break through from the rear, his intent was to rendezvous with Jiang Jiang Mingyu.

Fast horses entered like lightning; in the blink of an eye, he charged fiercely at the enemy army before him. With the rolling of sword light, the head of one enemy soldier blocking Tu Tu Kesiluo's path instantly flew high into the air. Blood splattered in all directions, screams rang out continuously, and Fang Hang's rear army instantly fell into chaos.

"Kill!" On the other side, Li Goudan had already drawn his waist sword, his voice like thunder. Behind him were his forty thousand infantrymen, all local volunteers from Jiangnan, all righteous brothers who followed Li Goudan, all brothers willing to sacrifice everything for Jiang Jiang Mingyu's kindness. Their steps were steady as mountains, their blades and spears sharp as needles, their formation dense as a net, their atmosphere solid as iron.

"Brothers, kill all these rascals!" Li Goudan's voice also resounded across the entire battlefield, making everyone feel his fury. His target was Hu Song's left army, his plan was to break through from the left flank, his intent was to rendezvous with Jiang Jiang Mingyu.

Advancing step by step, in the blink of an eye, he charged fiercely at the enemy army before him. With the flashing of blade light, the chest of one enemy soldier blocking Li Goudan's path was instantly pierced through with a large hole. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, screams continued unabated, and Hu Song's left army instantly fell into chaos.

Seeing the tens of thousands of fresh troops suddenly charging out, Tian Jiu, who had originally thought victory was in his grasp, was instantly stunned. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, his face turned pale, and his heartbeat quickened.

"What... is going on?" he asked in terror. He could not believe his eyes, he could not believe his ears, he could not believe his judgment.

Fang Hang and Hu Song, while commanding their troops to block Tu Tu Kesiluo and Li Goudan, shouted hoarsely at Tian Jiu.

"Tian Jiu, didn't you say Jiang Jiang Mingyu's men were fighting in Taizhou and Guizhou? How are they here?" Their voices were filled with anger and confusion, their eyes filled with suspicion and fear, their hearts filled with panic and regret.

This had not a single point in common with the previous plan. They had originally thought Jiang Jiang Mingyu's men had been lured far away by their inside agents; they had originally thought Jiang Jiang Mingyu's men had been trapped in the mountains by their ambush forces; they had originally thought Jiang Jiang Mingyu's men had been surrounded in the city by their great army. They had originally thought they had mastered everything, they had won everything, they had ended everything.

But now, they discovered they had mastered nothing, they had won nothing, they had ended nothing. They discovered they had been played by Jiang Jiang Mingyu, they had been calculated by Jiang Jiang Mingyu, they had been turned against by Jiang Jiang Mingyu. They discovered they were originally a group of fools, they were originally a group of trash, they were originally a group of dead men.

Before Tian Jiu could speak, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, amidst the chaotic armies, shouted coldly and loudly.

"Tian Jiu, relying on your and Fei Hou's petty tricks, you dare to show yourself before Jiang Mou? It is truly laughable to the extreme." His voice was filled with contempt and mockery, his eyes were filled with coldness and killing intent, his heart was filled with disdain and fury.

"Jiang Mou stepped into your trap step by step, intending to turn their own plan against them and annihilate you in one stroke." His voice was filled with confidence and heroism, his eyes were filled with determination and decisiveness, his heart was filled with wisdom and courage.

"Now you are completely surrounded by Jiang Mou. If you are sensible and lay down your weapons, Jiang Mou can still let you die quickly." His voice was filled with majesty and mockery, his eyes were filled with arrogance and disdain, his heart was filled with victory and pride.

To spare Tian Jiu is absolutely impossible.