Chương 99: Assassination

The Song Manor. Hearing that Song Que wanted to destroy the Black Iron Stronghold, Nie Feng immediately made a guarantee:"Once my injuries are healed, I will immediately go and eradicate them for you, Young Master!" Even knowing this task was incredibly difficult, Old Nie didn't hesitate in the slightest. Having pledged himself to his master, Nie Feng quickly slipped into the role of a loyal servant. When the master assigns a task, you don't ask questions; you just do it!

Extremely satisfied with his attitude, Grandee Song smiled:"There's no need to take such risks. When the time comes, Xiong Ba and I will go with you! I have already thoroughly investigated the location and routes of their Black Iron Stronghold. This time, we must catch them all in one fell swoop!" To think the Young Master has already planned so meticulously! Old Nie felt a surge of joy from the bottom of his heart.

Following a master who was both courageous and resourceful, and who acted with such careful planning, it was highly likely he would achieve great things in the future! Actually, he overestimated Song Que. Where would Grandee Song find the time and manpower to investigate the Black Iron Stronghold? He simply had 'Lightning'! He had followed the lucky surviving bandits last time and found their base!

Over the past few days, he had continuously monitored them, gaining a basic understanding of the number of people in the stronghold and the layout of the area. That was why he could be so calm and confident now!

"Young Master, my injuries should be completely healed in ten to fifteen days. We can start planning now. I've heard of this Black Iron Stronghold. Although I don't know the exact details, to be able to brazenly occupy a mountain and block the road at Eagle's Sorrow Ravine, their strength must be considerable and absolutely cannot be underestimated!"

"If it's just the few of us going, I suggest a night raid, focusing on a decapitation strike against their higher-ups! Eliminating their leaders will definitely shatter the morale of the entire stronghold! Otherwise, if we get bogged down in a drawn-out fight, the situation will become extremely critical once the bandits surround us!"

"Furthermore, we need to conduct a reconnaissance mission first to determine a safe route and the exact locations of the leaders within the stronghold, ensuring this operation succeeds on the first try!" Hearing Nie Feng's systematic and logical analysis, Song Que couldn't help but nod in admiration. A scion of a noble family is a scion of a noble family! Although there was no shortage of unlearned, incompetent playboys, the true elite seeds were absolutely well-educated and highly capable!

If they weren't selected and trained this way, it would be impossible for their families to sustain their legacy for generations!

"What you say makes sense, Old Nie. My thinking was too one-sided! We need to discuss this in more detail when we get back. It doesn't matter if we delay it a bit; those bandits aren't going anywhere anyway."

"I will follow your arrangements entirely, Young Master." Song Que's original plan was to sneak in secretly, relying on his martial prowess to slaughter the Chieftain of the Black Iron Stronghold as a show of force! But thinking about it now, he realized it was childish. Although he had watched the bandits move around several times, he had never actually been there on the ground! Who knew if there were traps or sentries? Whether he could even sneak in was a problem in itself!

Furthermore, Xu Shicai's strength was also an issue! Old Yun had only guessed he was a Fourth-Grade martial artist. Moreover, he acted incredibly stealthily and hadn't shown his face in a long time! How strong he actually was remained a question mark. They had to prepare for the worst-case scenario and plan a route of retreat. It seemed that for professional matters, he still needed to consult a professional like Nie Feng! After all, the man had studied military strategy and tactics since childhood!

The group temporarily set this matter aside and began discussing the establishment of their faction and the opening of the trade route through Huanglian Mountain. The three of them supplemented each other's ideas and eventually hammered out a rough outline. How they would actually execute it would depend on the circumstances at the time. When Xiong Ba, Li Xin, and the others returned with their prey, the three stopped talking and devoted themselves to enjoying their rare time of rest.

It wasn't until dusk fell that the group finally returned to the city, fully satisfied. Unlike their hurried departure, Song Que's group returned leisurely, as if going for a casual stroll. Wherever they went, they naturally drew crowds of onlookers, but he was used to it and paid them no mind. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. After all, both the people and the beasts had off-the-charts aesthetic value; it was truly difficult not to attract attention!

Only Nie Feng needed to be a little careful. Having disguised himself and glued on a fake beard, he also wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, keeping his head slightly lowered to avoid people's gazes....

"Masters, please have pity! This lowly one hasn't had a grain of rice in his belly for days! Please bestow some leftover food!" Arriving near the entrance of their street, a beggar in tattered clothes, huddled in a corner on the sidewalk, saw Song Que's group approaching and hurriedly scrambled over to beg for alms. The group, who had been chatting and laughing, were suddenly blocked by this man and hurriedly reined in their horses to stop.

Raising a hand to stop Xiong Ba from stepping forward, Song Que dismounted, slowly walked over to the beggar, and tossed him a few pieces of broken silver:"This money is enough for you to eat your fill for a few days. Take the money and leave."

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master! May the heavens bless you with peace for generations!" Seeing the large sum of money, the beggar looked up in pleasant surprise, shouting his gratitude. His hands and feet weren't slow either; he hurriedly scrambled forward, reaching out to grab the silver and stuff it into his robes. Hearing his blessing, Grandee Song smiled faintly:"Let's hope so."

Right at this moment, just as the beggar picked up the last piece of silver near the toe of Song Que's boot, under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Grandee Song's back leg lashed out like lightning, kicking fiercely at the center of the beggar's chest! Axe Kick! The kick struck like a heavy sledgehammer splitting the earth—fast, thick, and overbearing! The distance was too close!

Terrified out of his wits, the beggar hastily brought his hands, which were inside his robes, out to block it, but he couldn't stop it! BOOM!... Crack! The beggar flew backward like a torn sack, crashing through the wall of the residence opposite them before the momentum finally dissipated! Pfft... Spewing a mouthful of fresh blood mixed with visceral fragments, the man suppressed the pain, struggled to stand up, and tried to flee!

"Where do you think you're going?" Before he could even take a step, a chilling voice, like the God of Death calling for his soul, sounded in his ear! The beggar only had time to see a flash of light. Before his body could react, he felt a sharp pain in his right arm! An entire arm flew into the air from the shoulder! Bringing with it heart-wrenching pain, the beggar couldn't help but let out a miserable scream!

"Ahhhhh...!" Clang clang... By the time Nie Feng, Xiong Ba, and the others reacted, the beggar was already clutching his stump, trembling and screaming miserably! The severed arm fell to the ground. Held tightly in its hand was a pitch-black, cylindrical object that rolled across the street, producing crisp metallic clangs.

For a beggar to take a full-force kick from Song Que and not die, and furthermore, for such a sinister-looking weapon to appear in his hand—even if they were idiots, they knew something fishy was going on! Song Que had anticipated this! The moment he laid eyes on the beggar, suspicions arose in his heart! Truthfully, on this street, beggars who dared to come panhandling weren't exactly non-existent, but they were extremely rare! Moreover, they wouldn't be around long before being kicked out and tossed elsewhere!

For this guy to still be sitting here at this hour naturally triggered Grandee Song's vigilance! As a man who possessed a Domain, how could the other party's shady movements escape his piercing gaze?! As a beggar who supposedly hadn't eaten for days, this guy's blood and Qi were vigorous, and the muscles on his body were firm and powerful! He was absolutely a martial artist who had at least passed the Muscle Tempering stage!

Furthermore, his hands and feet were secretly poised to pull the Peacock Plume from his robes at any moment! The purpose of his approach went without saying! Since that was the case, Song Que didn't mind playing along for a bit. Just as the man was about to strike, Song Que acted first, crippling him! Smashing the opponent's two legs and picking up the Peacock Plume from the ground, Song Que was secretly curious. This was already the second time he had seen this thing!

Hearing Old Yun say this hidden weapon was extremely rare, running into it again couldn't just be a coincidence!

"Who are you? What is your relationship with Zheng Junqing?" Looking at the beggar lying on the ground like a dead dog, Song Que asked coldly. The opponent was tough. Perhaps knowing escape was impossible today, he just gritted his teeth, clutched his severed arm, groaned, and stared venomously at Song Que without saying a word. This street was, after all, a key area in the county, and the Yamen wasn't far away.

With such a massive commotion and the noisy crowd of onlookers, it wasn't long before Wu Tian arrived leading a group of constables. Spotting a familiar youthful figure among the crowd in the center, Old Wu hurriedly stepped forward and asked:"Song Que, what happened?"

"Uncle, this person disguised himself and hid by the roadside to assassinate me! I discovered him in time and subdued him! I am currently trying to interrogate him about his background!" Saying this, Song Que held out the Peacock Plume for Wu Tian to see. The latter's expression immediately changed!

"Such a coincidence?!"

"Indeed, Uncle! I suspect this person is an accomplice of Zheng Junqing! If we can pry his mouth open, we might extract a lot of information! Unfortunately, the opponent refuses to speak."

"Leave this to me! I'm only afraid he doesn't know anything! Our Pacification Office has plenty of methods to make him spill everything in his head!" Wu Tian looked at the beggar with a cold gaze. Seeing the panic in the opponent's eyes and a strange movement in his hand, he snorted coldly, darted forward, and swatted away the left hand that was about to strike his own head to commit suicide! He conveniently crippled the man's remaining arm before sneering:"Hmph!

Until you explain everything clearly, death is too easy a punishment for you!"

"Don't worry, A'Que! Tomorrow, I will inform you of all the news! Just wait at home for the good news!" Seeing that it wasn't Song Que causing trouble out of nowhere, Old Wu relaxed and promised him with a kind expression.

"Thank you, Uncle! How could I dare trouble you? I will visit you tomorrow to inquire."

"Haha, what trouble is there between us uncle and nephew?!" Old Wu laughed in satisfaction, dispersed the crowd, and led the suspect back to the Yamen. As for how they 'chatted' with each other, the people present probably didn't want to know the gory details!