Chapter 386: Chapter 252: Luring out the Shadow Guard_3

Therefore, letting the common people know that the Barbarian Tribe was moving south, in Lu Chen’s view, would not bring too much trouble to the North Country, even if the common people felt panic.

Upon hearing Lu Chen’s words, Mu Changtian thought for a moment and felt there was some truth to them.

At this time, Lu Chen unfolded the map in front of him, then said, “Everyone gather around, let’s not discuss the trivial matters for now. The Tianqi King’s army will soon arrive in the North Country, we must make haste to deploy.”

Hearing Lu Chen’s words, the military generals in the great hall immediately gathered around the table in front of the throne to discuss the deployment strategy.

After the military meeting ended, Lu Chen allowed Mu Changtian and the others to return to the military camp and gave the soldiers a day off to say goodbye to their families.

Although war was imminent, it was still necessary to allow the soldiers a chance to say goodbye to their families, lest the soldiers die on the battlefield and their families remain unaware of where they went, or if they would return.

In addition to allowing the soldiers to go home and bid farewell to their families, Lu Chen also ordered Qin Yushan to clean up the spies in Yan County; they were soon to move northward, and without Lu Chen in Yan County, those spies might cause trouble, so it was better to have the Brocade Guard clean up beforehand.

Speaking of cleaning up spies from other countries, Lu Chen thought of what Bai Qingqing mentioned some time ago, that the Sum Emperor had already sent people to eliminate the traitors among the Shadow Guards, and it was very likely that those who wanted to assassinate Bai Qingqing were still in Yan County.

Lu Chen planned before moving north to lure out these Shadow Guards and then eliminate them. If he let them be in Yan County, once he left, they would definitely make a move against Bai Qingqing. This time he was heading north without intending to take Bai Qingqing with him, and with the Sum Emperor’s Shadow Guards in Yan County, Lu Chen was very concerned, fearing that these guards would create trouble.

Having decided on the next actions, the entire Yan County became busy.

In the morning, Lu Chen held the military meeting, and by the afternoon, all the common people in Yan County had learned of the approaching southward invasion of the Barbarian Tribe’s four hundred thousand strong army.

Of course, this news was released by the newspapers at Lu Chen’s behest, as he intended to make extensive propaganda for this war.

Upon hearing that the Barbarian Tribe was moving south again, the people of Yan County became panicked in an instant, some even considering running away. However, more people chose to trust the North Prince, believing in the North Prince’s army.

The victories in the previous two wars had given the common people of North Country great confidence. Although there were rumors that the North Country’s Heavy Cavalry was annihilated during the battle with the North Fre King, the soldiers of North Country still managed to defend Tianguang City and prevented the North Fre King from moving south.

For most living in the North Country, as long as the soldiers held the north, preventing the Barbarian Cavalry from moving south was considered a great victory.

At this very moment.

Inside a private room of a certain tavern.

Wang Jiantao looked at the newspaper in his hand, pondering for a long time.

He now understood why there had been so many Grandmasters going to the North Prince Mansion that morning; they were probably discussing how to resist the southward invasion of the Tianqi King’s four hundred thousand army.

At that moment, a Shadow Guard said, “Commander, subordinates have learned that soon the North Prince will be heading to the military camp on the eastern side of Yan County for an inspection, and Bai Qingqing had always liked to follow the North Prince closely. She’ll probably accompany him this time too, which presents a great opportunity for us.”

Wang Jiantao thought for a while and remained silent.

Zhuge Zhongguang is a Grandmaster, and someone at the level of Grandmaster should not be following a prince around everywhere. If Bai Qingqing indeed accompanies the North Prince to the military camp and Lu Chen doesn’t have many high-level martial artists with him, then it would certainly be an excellent opportunity for them to eliminate Bai Qingqing, and they might even directly make a move against the North Prince.

Of course, dealing with the North Prince was not something he should undertake now; without a clear order from the Sum Emperor, even though he knew that the North Prince was now a major concern for the Sum Emperor, as a commander of the Shadow Guard, he could not act against Lu Chen.

After a brief pause, Wang Jiantao picked up the conical bamboo hat on the table, “Set out!”

…

At this time, Wang Jiantao and the Shadow Guards were unaware that the news of Lu Chen inspecting the military camp was deliberately released by Lu Chen. His plan was to draw out those Shadow Guards who wanted to kill Bai Qingqing, and then directly deal with them, preventing them from causing trouble for Bai Qingqing after his departure, or from creating chaos in Yan County.

Around four in the afternoon, Lu Chen sat in a carriage while Bai Qingqing rode a horse, casually taking a few guards and heading out of the city towards the eastern military camp.

The military camp on the eastern side of Yan County was some distance away from the city, and part of the journey went through a forest.

Forests provided an excellent location for assassins like the Shadow Guards to strike.

Lu Chen was convinced that the Shadow Guards would make a move.

Before long, Lu Chen’s carriage entered the area where the Shadow Guards were ambushed. Seeing that Lu Chen had only brought Bai Qingqing and a few fifth-level guards, Wang Jiantao found it strange.

Logically, Bai Qingqing should have already noticed that the Sum Emperor was eliminating the Shadow Guards in North Country, and she was one of the targets. So why did Bai Qingqing still dare to let Lu Chen bring just a few skilled men along?

Could it be that Bai Qingqing didn’t tell Lu Chen about the Shadow Guard situation? Or perhaps Bai Qingqing didn’t take the Shadow Guards seriously from the start, thinking no one would dare to attack her?

After all, she was a Grandmaster, and killing her was indeed not an easy matter; her confidence was normal.

Seeing that Wang Jiantao had yet to give an order, a Shadow Guard next to him said, “Commander, if we let them pass a bit further, they will see North Country’s military camp, and it will be too late for us to make a move!”

Hearing this, Wang Jiantao asked a Shadow Guard who had been trailing the carriage from the Prince’s Mansion, “Xiao Qi, are you certain that only the North Prince is inside the carriage?”

“I am certain, I saw the North Prince get on the carriage with my own eyes,” replied the subordinate.

Wang Jiantao thought to himself that if it were only the North Prince, plus a few guards, indeed there was nothing to fear.

Although the North Prince was rumored to be a martial artist, his age was evident and he could not be overly strong no matter what.

With that in mind, Wang Jiantao no longer hesitated.

“Attack!”