Chapter 32 - 32: A Gift Prepared for Blood Moon Tower_i
After arriving at the Training Ground, Li Feng hurriedly approached to pay his respects and said, “This humble General pays his respects to Prince Lu Chen and has seen Madam Chu.”
Lu Chen nodded slightly, and then said, “Let’s talk about the matter at hand. I’ve received intelligence that Blood Moon Tower has sent assassins to kill me. This time, they sent not only five Ninth Grade experts, but the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower has also come personally.”
Upon hearing this, Li Feng’s face changed abruptly, and then he asked, “Prince, are you certain the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower is coming in person?”
Li Feng had heard of the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower, who was said to be at the Half-step Grandmaster Realm, which made him very worried.
Lu Chen said, “If the intelligence is correct, he should have come personally.”
Chu Yuqin thought for a moment, then said, “Blood Moon Tower really has the audacity to attempt to assassinate you time and again.”
Lu Chen said, “They wouldn’t dare do this without someone backing them.”
Looking at Lu Chen, Li Feng asked tentatively, “Prince, what do you plan to do?”
Li Feng knew that Lu Chen had weapons capable of easily killing Ninth Grade experts, so he believed that the North Prince shouldn’t be afraid at all of the assassins sent by Blood Moon Tower.
However, since Lu Chen sought him out, there must be some arrangement in mind.
Lu Chen didn’t answer immediately, but instead counterasked, “General Li, have you completely taken control of North City’s army?”
Li Feng replied, “Prince, rest assured. Under my management, the military of North City has been fully aligned with the North Prince Mansion.”
Lu Chen said, “Good, since the people from Blood Moon Tower are coming, we should properly ‘welcome’ them.”
“By the way, General Li, call over the soldiers who escorted me to North City initially, I have something to discuss with you all.”
Upon hearing this, Li Feng asked cautiously, “Prince, under what pretext should I call them?”
The over one hundred soldiers were Third and Fourth Grade Martial Artists. Even though it was only somewhat over a hundred Third and Fourth Grade Martial Artists, in a place as impoverished as North City, these individuals counted as a formidable force. If all of them were to come to the North Prince Mansion, it would certainly spark curiosity among the people of Yan County.
Moreover, many were watching the North Prince Mansion now. Since Lu Chen’s arrival at North City, he had been indulging in daily pleasures. Suddenly summoning so many soldiers at this time was bound to raise suspicions about whether the North Prince Mansion was planning something significant.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen said, “Just tell them that their families have arrived in North City. I’d like to take this opportunity to set up a grand feast to thank them for their escort along the way and to meet their relatives as well.”
Li Feng instantly understood Lu Chen’s intention, and immediately said, “Understood, Prince, 1’11 go take care of it.”
Then Li Feng turned and left the North Prince Mansion.
After Li Feng had gone, Chu Yuqin looked at Lu Chen and said, “Chen’er, the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower is likely a Half-step Grandmaster. I can probably hold him off, but as for the other five Ninth Grade Martial Artists, I’m afraid it might be difficult to restrain all of them.”
Although the mysterious weapon Lu Chen had was indeed powerful, capable of instantly killing a Ninth Grade Martial Artist, if the opponents attacked together, Lu Chen might not be able to react in time.
Chu Yuqin was somewhat worried; the Blood Moon Tower’s attempt to assassinate Lu Chen surely wouldn’t involve just six people. Last time they had sent a considerable number of Third and Fourth Grade Martial Artists to assassinate him.
This time coming to North City, they would inevitably send many Third and Fourth Grade Martial Artists as well.
These Third and Fourth Grade Martial Artists were not the main force, but they could engage the people from the North Prince Mansion, making it hard for them to protect Lu Chen.
Having experienced the previous incident, Chu Yuqin had also realized the limits of her own power; even though she could withstand the assault of a Half-step Grandmaster, she couldn’t hold back everyone.
If it hadn’t been for Lu Chen producing that mysterious weapon at the critical moment last time, she might have lost her Chen’er forever.
Lu Chen understood what Chu Yuqin was worried about and then said to her, “Madam Chu, wait until General Li returns, and I’ll show you something.” Hearing this, Chu Yuqin became somewhat expectant, guessing that Lu Chen was going to show her a weapon, but she wondered what kind of weapon it was.
Afterward, the Prince’s Mansion began bustling with activity.
When Mu Zixuan heard that Lu Chen was going to host a banquet for the relatives of the soldiers who had escorted them to North City, she took the initiative to take charge of the matter.
By noon, many people had entered the North Prince Mansion. Seeing the hustle and bustle of carriages and visitors, the people grew curious, wondering if the North Prince had taken another concubine.
As the main person in charge of Misty Pavilion in Yan County, Chen Yu noticed something amiss with so many coming and going at the North Prince Mansion. She discreetly disguised herself and approached the entrance of the North Prince Mansion, seeking information from someone familiar with the situation.
“Excuse me, young master, is there some special occasion at the North Prince Mansion today? Why is it so lively?”
Hearing this question, the young man who had been enjoying the excitement in front of Chen Yu replied, “I heard that the North Prince is hosting a banquet to thank the soldiers and relatives who escorted him to North City.”
The young man then said quietly, “It’s said that without those people, the North Prince would have died on his way to North City.”
After hearing the young man’s answer, Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. So that was it.
She had thought that the North Prince had already become suspicious.
Blood Moon Tower was going to arrive in North City in a few days, and it would be troublesome if the North Prince detected even a hint of their plans now.
Then Chen Yu returned to Hundred Flowers Tower and reported today’s events at the North Prince Mansion to Wang Qingci.
After Wang Qingci heard about the happenings at the North Prince Mansion, she was somewhat puzzled. If Lu Chen was planning his strategy in advance, he wouldn’t start this early, especially since the people from Blood Moon Tower hadn’t arrived yet.
Could it be that the North Prince really just wanted to thank those soldiers who escorted him to North City?
Wang Qingci always felt something was off, but now that she was one of the North Prince’s people, she didn’t need to probe too deeply into what the North Prince was planning.
Besides, she had to attend to the North Prince at the North Prince Mansion that night. To find out what the North Prince was doing, she just had to ask him later that evening.
Noon.
Lu Chen spoke a few words of thanks at the banquet, and then he let everyone eat and drink to their hearts’ content.
At that moment, Li Feng came up to Lu Chen and said quietly,
“Prince, everyone has arrived.”
Lu Chen nodded, then said, “After the meal, come to the back courtyard of the Prince’s Mansion.”
As his words fell, Lu Chen started drinking with the soldiers, not showing any signs that he had important business with them afterward.
After lunch, the drunk soldiers arrived at the back courtyard. Lu Chen said he wanted to reward them, but the soldiers weren’t fools. They knew that the North Prince had something for them.
Once in the back courtyard, Lu Chen glanced over these soldiers, whose loyalty was mostly above eighty, considering them as his own people now.
Chu Yuqin, seeing everyone assembled, then asked, “Chen’er, what is it that you said you wanted to show us?”
Lu Chen revealed a slight smile, then ordered several freshly slaughtered cows and sheep to be brought over and wrapped in fine armor,
He then took out a grenade larger than an adult’s fist and said to everyone, “Everyone, step back fifty paces.”
Upon hearing these words, without a second thought, everyone immediately retreated fifty steps.
Subsequently, Lu Chen pulled the pin and threw the grenade.
The next moment, an earth-shaking explosion sounded, startling the drunken soldiers sober, leaving their ears buzzing for a long while afterward.
With the explosion of the grenade, a plume of white smoke rose in the distance, and countless holes appeared in the armor that had covered the cows and sheep.
At the sight of this, the soldiers were stunned, standing rooted to the spot without daring to move.
Heavenly Thunder? Could their Prince summon Heavenly Thunder?
Could this be real?
Was this something a person could do?
Could it be that their Prince was an Immortal?
Although some soldiers’ minds were still clouded, Li Feng and Chu Yuqin had already realized that the noise was caused by something in Lu Chen’s hands.
Even so, Li Feng and Chu Yuqin were still immensely shocked.
At this point, Lu Chen said, “Alright, come over and take a look.”
As he spoke, Lu Chen walked towards the site of the explosion. Seeing their Prince proceed, the soldiers quickly followed along..