Chapter 216: Surrounded

With Guan Long Sheng dead, the remaining Gold Rangers and Silver Rangers of Swordsman Hall lost their will to fight.  They all kneeled down crying with pale faces, "Great Envoy…..You died so tragically!"

"What are you crying about?!"

Xiahou Sang crawled out of the dirt and said while raising his spear, "Put down your weapons and you'll be spared, otherwise you will all die!"

"We're willing to surrender……"

They all put down their weapons.  This was fine, they would avoid being slaughtered.

"Sir, what do we do now?"  Qi Ying said with cupped hands, "This subordinate thinks that since Fire Axe Mountain has been taken and the rangers have willingly surrendered, the mission should be considered finished?  Should we descend the mountain immediately?"

Lin Mu Yu nodded, "General Qi Ying will first lead the five thousand heavy cavalry of the Heaven Charging Army down the mountain and wait for me."

"Yes!"

Qi Ying mounted his horse and left.

Wei Chou asked, "Sir, what else are we doing?"

"Bring some people and follow me."

"Yes!"

There were the sounds of mining that came from the Fire Axe Mountain mines.  When over a thousand fully armed Dragon Courage Camp mercenaries appeared in the mines, the rangers didn't have the courage to fight at all as they threw down their weapons to surrender.  This group of people had joined the Swordsman Hall for a good life, so other than a few who had committed misdeeds, they could be incorporated into the Dragon Courage Camp.

Lin Mu Yu was wearing his temple dress and holding his sword as he led Wei Chou, Xiahou Sang, and the other Imperial Guards into the mine.  Da Niu in the distance recognized him and said with wide open eyes, "You…..Aren't you little brother Lin Zhi?"

Wei Chou shouted, "Don't be rude.  This is the Imperial Guard Falcon's Nest commander Lin Mu Yu and the newly conferred South Guarding General!"

"This….."

Da Niu had a look of panic as he quickly kneeled down and said, "This little one greets sir……This little one didn't know sir was…..I, I know my wrongs, I ask sir not to kill me….."

Lin Mu Yu couldn't help revealing a bitter smile as he came forward to lift Da Niu up.  He said with a smile, "Big brother Da Niu, my real name is indeed Lin Zhi. Don't be afraid, the royal army isn't the emperor's dogs like you all say, killing people at will.  Relax, you can join us if you're willing to surrender, if you're not willing, you can just take some gold coins and go home. With me here, no one will dare touch a single hair on your head!"

Da Niu frozen on the spot in shock as Wei Chou gave a secret laugh, "This large fool…..he really is a dumb."

Xiahou Sang looked around and said, "G.o.d, so there was a gold mine here……Those d.a.m.n rangers, secretly mining these gold ores and not paying it to the government….."

"People die for money while birds die for food, this is normal."  Lin Mu Yu said.

Lin Mu Yu was a bit smarter as he narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "I'm afraid the truth is not as simple.  Looking at Hu Tie Ning's performance, this gold ore is mostly his. At least he can't wipe his b.u.t.t clean of this one."

Lin Mu Yu suddenly turned around and said with a serious look, "Listen closely to me, this gold ore was all secretly mined by the Cangnan Swordsman Hall's Guan Long Sheng, it is not related to sir Hu Tie Ning of Five Valleys City.  Whoever dares slander Hu Tien Ning, I, Lin Mu Yu swear to cut off your head!"

Luo Yu, Wei Chou, and the others were stunned, "Sir…..This….."

Feng Xi smiled as he cupped his hands, "Sir is wise!"

At this time, everyone already reached the bottom level of the mine.  They found that in less than two hours, there were white diamond ores that were in front of them.

"These are…..white diamond stones?"  Wei Chou asked from experience.

Lin Mu Yu nodded and said, "Luo Yu, Feng Xi, have our Dragon Courage Camp brothers come down and quickly gather the white diamonds.  Pack them all up and bring them to the Dragon Cliff Mountain."

Luo Yu said with a smile, "Yes, sir!"

Lin Mu Yu came forward and used his Dragon Spirit Sword to dig.  He found that there was only this much white diamond and any underneath was still gold ores.

Wei Chou understood what Lin Mu Yu was thinking and said with a smile, "Sir, white diamond only grows in layers rich in spiritual energy, so there is only as much as we can see.  It's already lucky enough being able to dig up this much. All these white diamonds, it is already half of the entire empire's reserves?"

Lin Mu Yu nodded, "Un, this is already enough.  Immediately pack them away."

Xiahou Sang had a confused look, "Sir, that…..What about the gold ores?"

"Secretly mining gold ores is a death penalty."  Lin Mu Yu said to him with a faint smile, "Xiahou Sang, do you want to go against the laws of the empire?"

"This….."  Xiahou Sang revealed a smile, "Sir is too intelligent……"

Lin Mu Yu didn't go anywhere, sitting in the mine as he watched Luo Yu, Wei Chou, and the others dig up the white diamond.  He placed the white diamonds into his Qiankun Bag, but it quickly filled it up. There were around seven-eight hundred pieces inside and several hundred pieces were placed in the travel bags of the Dragon Courage Camp mercenaries.

At this time, a Tiger Commander of the Dragon Courage Camp quickly came in and cupped his hands while saying, "Leader…..There is a group of people from the Flying Mount Camp and they say they'll attack us if we don't come out.  General Qi Ying of the Heaven Charging Army almost cannot hold his rage back, sir, quickly take a look……"

"Oh?"

Lin Mu Yu's eyes lit up as he said, "Long Qian Lin is finally here?"

"Long Qian Lin is the number one general of the Cangnan Province and we don't have many people, we can't fight them.  Sir….." Luo Yu gave some advice.

"I know."  Lin Mu Yu knit his brows and said, "Don't stop mining here, you all come out with me."

"Yes!"

Coming out of the mines and mounting his horse, he led over three thousand Dragon Courage Camp heavy cavalry down the mountain.  It was already dawn at this time and the dawn light was falling over Fire Axe Mountain, dying it completely red. There was also a patch of red under the mountain, rather it was blood red.  There was some fighting at the entrance of the mountain, with corpses scattered around, dying the ground blood red.

Qi Ying's armour was covered in blood and looked very sorry as he rode over holding his spear.  He said, "Sir, this subordinate clashed with Long Qian Lin and was pushed back by their spear array at the middle of the mountain….."

"You!"

Lin Mu Yu suppressed his rage and calmed down to say, "Losing is normal, let's go take a look."

"Yes, sir……"

There were around five hundred corpses on the side of the hill, but at least four hundred of them belonged to the Heaven Charging Army.  The corpses of the Flying Mount Camp was pitifully small. The fortress had been simply repaired and the two sides were clas.h.i.+ng.

Lin Mu Yu saw this and raised one brow before saying, "Wei Chou, bring out archers to the fortress.  When the Flying Mount Camp's troops come, aim for their eyes and necks."

"Yes, watch closely sir!"

Lin Mu Yu said, "Luo Yu, send some of the stronger brothers of the Dragon Courage Camp to the fortress walls and have them bring up some stones.  When the Flying Mount Camp attacks, throw the stones down at them."

"Yes, sir!"

"Feng Xi, have two hundred people dismount and use s.h.i.+elds to block their arrows."

"Yes!"

After giving the orders, Lin Mu Yu went up to the little mountain gate with his Dragon Spirit Sword.  Looking into the distance, Fire Axe Mountain was completely surrounded. There were at least over thirty thousand troops under the mountain, with many elites coming from the Flying Mount Camp and being led by Cangnan Province's number one general, Long Qian Lin.  It was hard to see a path to victory in this battle.

Looking into the distance, Lin Mu Yu used his battle qi to raise his voice as he clearly said, "Sir Long Qian Lin, since parting in Five Valleys City, I never thought we would meet again like this."

In the cavalry formation, a black armoured person clutching a spear came out.  He said with a smile, "Sir Lin Mu Yu, I, Long Qian Lin also never thought we would meet like this.  Only sir has secretly led an army into the Cangnan Province and ordered the killing of over a hundred Yun Zhong County soldiers, so now you're being suspected of treason.  This subordinate has no choice but to surround Fire Axe Mountain."

Lin Mu Yu couldn't help laughing as he said, "General Long Qian Lin's brows don't even move when telling lies, you really are the star of a generation.  Why I ascended the mountain and why you all are here, is general Long Qian Lin not clear on this?"

Long Qian Lin gave a cold laugh, "Sir Lin Mu Yu, you are one of the Four Orchid Heroes appointed by his majesty, famous around the world.  You have now been conferred as a South Guarding General and the entire world recognizes you as a future famous general of the empire. I, Long Qian Lin am lucky enough to be here today to ask for a demonstration of your skills, do you dare to fight?"

"Come."  Lin Mu Yu softly said.

"Dang!"

Long Qian Lin raised his sword and shouted, "Attack!"

The Flying Mount Camp used one thousand people to attack, moving in a clean formation.  They immediately raised their s.h.i.+elds when they came into firing range, protecting themselves and their surrounding allies.  They moved forward just like they were holding a single iron s.h.i.+eld, showing no signs of disorder at all.

Lin Mu Yu couldn't help secretly praising them.  This Long Qian Lin really did have some skills, being a famed general of this cold weapon era.  Indeed everyone had their skills and Long Qian Lin's fame was gained through fighting, not through rumours.

"Fire!"

With an order from Wei Chou, thousands of arrows fell from the walls.  The Imperial Guards and the archers of the Dragon Courage Camp sent arrows onto the s.h.i.+elds, occasionally sending one into the eyes or necks of the Flying Mount Camp soldiers  There were waves of pitiful screams as several dozen people were killed in an instant, having an effect on the s.h.i.+eld array.

Long Qian Lin rode to the back of the cavalry array before suddenly raising his sword and roaring out, "Fire the javelins!"

"Dang, dang, dang….."

The s.h.i.+elds all fell down and in the next instant, around a thousand people from the Flying Mount Camp raised the javelins on the backs of their horses, sending them flying out.

"Duck down!"

Lin Mu Yu quickly roared out and everyone on the walls ducked down, but some people who couldn't duck in time were pierced by the javelins.  In the blink of an eye, a few people were killed and over ten people were injured.