Chapter 658: Chapter 658: Whose Reinforcements?

He rushed over, grabbed the man’s collar, and demanded in a harsh voice, "What did you say!?"

The official was small and thin. Tuoba Yu nearly lifted him off his feet, his collar tightening around his neck until his face turned a deep, purplish red.

He coughed with difficulty, sputtering, "J-Just... outside..."

THUD!

Tuoba Yu threw him violently to the ground and strode outside.

Looking up, he saw many giant kites floating in the sky. At a rough glance, there were at least a dozen of them!

One was floating closest, and he could clearly see the writing on it.

Blood rushed to his head, and Tuoba Yu’s heart nearly stopped beating.

In that single glance, he realized what had happened!

Despite his tight security, the news had still leaked! And someone was using it to stir up trouble!

It wouldn’t have mattered if only the city officials knew. For the sake of their own lives and interests, they were willing to be dogs.

But not anymore!

The city was full of common people. Once they found out, the consequences would be unimaginable!

And especially—the city guards who had been kept in the dark! When they saw these kites, they would surely riot!

At that moment, the others also noticed the situation and rushed over, their faces grim.

"Master, what do we do now?"

"These people are unbelievably brazen! Sir, we’ll go right now and drag them all out!"

"That’s right! We can’t let a single one get away! Do they really think we’re defenseless?"

With that, they turned to leave.

Tuoba Yu, furious, finally couldn’t stop himself from roaring, "All of you, halt!"

’What’s done is done. What’s the use of going over there now?’

"If you go, I’m afraid you’ll be surrounded and beaten to death before you even find them!"

Tuoba Yu’s last shred of reason was still intact.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his heart. "Muster the troops immediately! Send them out in small squads to prevent riots in the city! As for the city guards, if they’re willing to surrender, spare their lives! If they resist... kill them on sight!"

At a time like this, the fastest and most effective method was to use violence to quell violence.

One of them hesitated. "B-But if we do that, things will surely escalate. Not only will the secret be impossible to keep, but once the news gets out, those people at the court will think we’re declaring war. They’ll never let it go—"

"Then what do you suggest we do!?"

Tuoba Yu’s face was ashen.

"If we don’t, this very courtyard will be overrun by a mob tonight! And then, you! Me! All of us will die here!"

The man choked, his face flushing then paling. He hastily lowered his head. "This subordinate was ignorant! I... I didn’t consider all that..."

Tuoba Yu closed his eyes.

His original plan had been one of covert substitution, a grand deception. He would quietly take these few border cities, garrison more of his forces to form a base camp, and save himself a lot of trouble for his subsequent plans.

By then, with ample supplies and troops, they would have a fighting chance even if they had to wage a formal war.

But now—it was all ruined!

Their premature exposure meant the complete failure of this plan!

’When it’s a matter of life and death, the most important thing is to survive!’

Another man quickly tried to smooth things over. "Master, your foresight is profound! Don’t they have a saying? ’Where there’s life, there’s hope.’ Let’s deal with this matter first. We can find a way to get even later!"

Tuoba Yu’s face was dark, his last shred of patience gone.

"Get going already!"

"Yes!"

The men split up and quickly disappeared from the courtyard.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tuoba Yu turned and walked in another direction.

’It would be best if this can be resolved. But if not... I must make other plans, and leave myself an escape route!’

"Someone! To the east side of the city!"

「...」

Kites filled the sky, and the whole city was in an uproar.

A large crowd surged toward the gates of the Prefect’s Mansion, their emotions running high. They ran headlong into the Southern Hu Soldiers who were preparing to go out and suppress the "rebellion."

They were wearing the armor of Long City’s soldiers, but sharp-eyed people still noticed something was amiss.

"That man’s eyes are blue! He’s one of the Southern Hu people!"

"It looks like what the kites said is true! Long City fell long ago! Not only did they kill the Lord Prefect, but they also took over the government office! They’ve been playing us for fools all this time!"

"Let’s fight them!"

The battle erupted instantly!

Similar scenes were playing out all over the city.

This was especially true inside and outside the city gates, where the soldiers who had been diligently guarding them now realized they had been betrayed by their own officials. They were instantly filled with rage!

"Son of a bitch! I’ve guarded this city for half my life, only to be led around by the nose! Today, I swear I’m going to chop off a few Southern Hu heads and kick them around like balls to vent this frustration!"

"Yeah! Let’s get them!"

Just as they were furiously about to turn back and settle the score, the enemy came to them instead. In an instant, people in ordinary clothes appeared from all directions.

They gathered quickly, and once they stood together, they exuded a unique and oppressive aura.

Although their outfits were all different, their movements were now neat and synchronized.

The man in the lead slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of blue eyes!

"Southern Hu people!"

The city’s defenders grew even more furious.

"These... they’re all of them! So they’ve been infiltrating the city all along!"

No wonder they hadn’t noticed anything wrong before.

Across from them, the man no longer bothered to hide. He gave a slight smile, but it was ice-cold.

"Gentlemen, I don’t want to fight you. Right now, if you just lay down your weapons and surrender, we will spare your lives. Otherwise—"

"Otherwise my ass!"

A young soldier in armor cursed loudly.

"Get it straight! Whose turf do you think this is? You think you can run wild here?"

’Even if I die, I’m taking one of them with me!’

The moment the words left his mouth, he had already drawn the saber from his waist and was charging straight ahead!

The leader’s expression changed. "So you’ve chosen the hard way!"

The two sides quickly clashed!

The numbers on both sides were about even, and for a time, they were locked in a stalemate, with blood splashing everywhere.

Just then, the sound of urgent and rhythmic marching suddenly came from outside the city gates.

Someone looked back. "Damn it! The gates aren’t closed! Could it be reinforcements for these Southern Hu people!?"

Hearing this, everyone’s faces changed.

The Southern Hu leader, distracted for a moment, was slashed in the arm.

He immediately fell back, clutching his wound. He looked toward the city gates, a flicker of doubt on his face.

’Reinforcements?’

’The Master never mentioned them.’

Finally, a troop of horsemen was the first to charge through the gates!

The man at the front wore armor and held a banner high in one hand, which snapped in the wind!

The large character for "Feng" on it was exceptionally clear!

The city’s defenders, who had been on the brink of despair, were suddenly overjoyed when they saw the armor and the banner!

"Our reinforcements are here!"

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