Chapter 255: To Spare Tian Jiu Is Impossible

"You didn't understand? Fine, today I'll let you die with full clarity."

Saying this, he suddenly yanked his neck and bellowed loudly.

"General Fang, General Hu, bring out your troops now."

With his roar, an overwhelming tide of soldiers, like a black cloud, surged forth from all four directions.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Mingyu's hundred thousand troops were completely surrounded.

And the two leaders among them were precisely Hu Song and Fang Hang, the scouts had reported, the ones who had supposedly surrendered.

Both men looked at Jiang Mingyu with unmistakable mockery and unrestrained derision.

"Jiang Mingyu, you traitor, you've finally fallen into our hands," Hu Song sneered. "You were so arrogant, weren't you? You wanted to destroy the Da Feng Kingdom, didn't you? You wanted to kill His Majesty, didn't you?"

"Today, even death won't spare you—your hundred thousand troops will be wiped out entirely," Fang Hang retorted, undaunted. "Did you really think we'd surrender to you? Did you think we'd betray His Majesty? Did you think we'd abandon Zigui City?"

"You're too naive, too self-important, too ignorant of us," Hu Song and Fang Hang said in unison. "From the very beginning, we were His Majesty's moles. Our mission was to lure you into this trap and annihilate you in one strike."

"Did you think Tian Jiu was your confidant? Your loyal minister? Your friend?" Hu Song and Fang Hang added together. "You're wrong—he's His Majesty's secret envoy, he's one of us, he's your deadliest enemy."

"You've been toyed with in our palms, manipulated without your knowledge, spun around like a top, and deceived into utter ruin," Hu Song and Fang Hang continued. "You're laughable, pitiful, miserable, and hateful."

Jiang Mingyu's face turned instantly ashen.

"Tian Jiu... what is this?" Jiang Mingyu asked, his voice trembling. His eyes were filled with pain, confusion, despair, and pleading.

Tian Jiu laughed heartily, mercilessly: "Jiang Mingyu, calling you a pig's brain is an insult to pigs."

"You don't need to know much. You only need to know you're about to die—that's enough."

Saying this, he bellowed in a deep voice.

"Attack!"

Beneath Zigui City, amidst the ten thousand troops.

At Tian Jiu's command, Hu Song and Fang Hang both raised their weapons in unison.

"By imperial decree, crush the rebels and kill Jiang Mingyu! Soldiers, kill!"

Watching the armies from all sides surge wildly toward Jiang Mingyu, Tian Jiu reined his horse back and sneered.

"Jiang Mingyu, you're surrounded by one hundred twenty thousand troops. Today, your only fate is death."

"Thank you for your past favor," Tian Jiu said, riding at the forefront, his long spear aimed straight at Jiang Mingyu's chest, his tone cold and merciless. "But a traitor is still a traitor—everyone must kill him."

"Today, your life will pave the way for my career. Goodbye." Behind him, Fang Hang followed closely, grinning triumphantly, a flash of cruelty in his eyes.

To them, Jiang Mingyu might be trapped, but his companion Zhang Jiaqi was a formidable warrior. Killing Jiang Mingyu publicly was a great merit—but they had no intention of risking their own lives. So they had already deployed one hundred twenty thousand troops to encircle Jiang Mingyu's hundred thousand, leaving him no opening.

Jiang Mingyu no longer wished to speak. He knew these two would never spare him—they had betrayed him for their own interests, their own ambitions, their own survival. He knew his situation was dire: his troops were split, only Zhang Jiaqi and a few loyal followers remained beside him, his enemies had reached his very doorstep, and his life hung by a thread.

Yet he was not afraid, not panicked, not discouraged. He merely gazed at them coldly, a flicker of defiance and mockery in his eyes.

You don't have the strength to kill me.

He silently thought, then whispered to Zhang Jiaqi beside him: "Jiaqi, send the signal!"

Zhang Jiaqi nodded. She understood his meaning, knew their plan, knew their hope. She pulled a signal arrow from her bosom, aimed it skyward, and pulled the trigger with all her strength—a red streak pierced the darkness, piercing the air with a shrill whistle.

This was the prearranged signal, their final gambit, their moment of life or death.

As Zhang Jiaqi fired the arrow, Jiang Mingyu's troops were already locked in fierce combat with Hu Song and Fang Hang's forces. Though outnumbered, they were Jiang Mingyu's staunchest, veteran soldiers who had fought beside him across the land, willing to die for him, for their mission, for one belief, one dream.

"Kill!" Tu Kexi, still clad in pure white, raised his gleaming sword and charged ahead. Behind him were his forty thousand cavalry—all loyal followers of Tu Kexi, warriors who had risked everything for Jiang Mingyu's cause. Their horses moved like wind, their blades sharp as frost, their momentum like a rainbow, their battle cries thunderous.

"Brothers, crush Fei Hou's main force, rescue our lord—follow me, kill!" Tu Kexi's voice echoed across the battlefield, clear to all. His target: Fang Hang's rear guard. His plan: break through from behind. His intent: reunite with Jiang Mingyu.

Like lightning, he charged into the enemy ranks. As his sword swept, the head of a soldier blocking his path flew high into the air. Blood sprayed, screams erupted—Fang Hang's rear guard plunged into chaos.

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

"Brothers, slaughter every last one of these bastards!" Li Goudan's voice rang across the battlefield, carrying his fury to all. His target: Hu Song's left flank. His plan: break through from the left. His intent: reunite with Jiang Mingyu.

Step by step, he charged into the enemy ranks. As his blade flashed, a soldier blocking his path had his chest pierced clean through. Flesh and blood flew, screams never ceased—Hu Song's left flank collapsed into chaos.

Seeing the sudden emergence of tens of thousands of fresh troops, Tian Jiu—who had believed victory assured—was stunned. His eyes bulged, his mouth gaped, his face turned pale, his heartbeat raced.

"What... is this?" he cried in terror, unable to believe his eyes, his ears, his judgment.

Fang Hang and Hu Song, while directing troops to block Tu Kexi and Li Goudan, screamed at Tian Jiu.

"Tian Jiu, weren't you saying Jiang Mingyu's forces were fighting in Taizhou and Guizhou? How are they here?" Their voices brimmed with fury and confusion, their eyes with suspicion and dread, their hearts with panic and regret.

This had nothing to do with the original plan. They had believed Jiang Mingyu's forces had been lured far away by their moles, trapped in the mountains by their ambushes, encircled within the city by their main army. They had believed they controlled everything, won everything, ended everything.

But now, they realized they controlled nothing, won nothing, ended nothing. They realized they had been toyed with by Jiang Mingyu, outmaneuvered by him, turned against themselves. They realized they were fools, useless waste, already dead men.

Before Tian Jiu could speak, Jiang Mingyu, amid the chaos, bellowed coldly.

"Tian Jiu, with your pitiful tricks and Fei Hou's underhanded schemes, you dare show your face before Jiang Mou? How laughable." His voice dripped with contempt and mockery, his eyes with cold fury, his heart with disdain and rage.

"I stepped into your trap step by step—just to turn it against you and wipe you out in one blow." His voice rang with confidence and boldness, his eyes with resolve and decisiveness, his heart with wisdom and courage.

"Now you're surrounded by Jiang Mou. Lay down your weapons, and I'll let you die quickly." His voice carried authority and mockery, his eyes pride and disdain, his heart victory and triumph.

To spare Tian Jiu is impossible.