Jiang Tangtang soon received the letter that Lu Shiyan had sent back via a white eagle. However, the more she read the contents of the letter, the more she frowned.

His original purpose for this trip was to rescue the families of those artisans. However, he did not expect to encounter Prince Rui. And his actions after meeting Prince Rui directly changed his previous plans, deciding to first capture Prince Rui and consolidate all his power.

This plan is too risky.

However, considering his abilities, Jiang Tangtang felt relieved. She quickly rode the black eagle to Puzhou City to find Liu Chengfeng and gave him the other letter that the white eagle had brought back.

Liu Chengfeng read Lu Shiyan's letter and showed a hint of surprise on his face. However, he always trusted Lu Shiyan's abilities, so he didn't think much of it and immediately made arrangements according to Lu Shiyan's requirements.

Although Lu Shiyan's secret training of soldiers was not long, due to the special training methods, this group of soldiers has already become a rare elite force.

With such an elite force, working in conjunction with a top expert like Lu Shiyan, and using mysterious gunpowder as weapons, they captured the reinforcements sent by Prince Rui's confidant with almost no effort.

Prince Rui was bound hand and foot to the carriage by Lu Shiyan. Seeing that an army of tens of thousands of people had been easily defeated by Lu Shiyan with only a few hundred men, he was completely stunned and in disbelief.

How is that possible?

How could his carefully trained soldiers be defeated so easily? What kind of monsters are these?

And what about those black pellets they're carrying? They can knock down a whole bunch of soldiers with a single throw. When did the Great Zhou Dynasty invent such powerful hidden weapons?

Prince Rui felt that none of it was real, but the pain in his body and the blood splattered on his face when his trusted confidant committed suicide in shame reminded him that it was real.

"Who exactly are you?" Prince Rui looked at Lu Shiyan as if the person in front of him was not human, but a monster.

It's not surprising that Prince Rui seemed so naive. Lu Shiyan was simply too formidable.

Not only did they easily capture him as a hostage, but on the battlefield, they single-handedly swept through thousands of troops.

If he had such a fierce general, would he still have to worry about not becoming the ruler of the world?

Thinking of this, Prince Rui said impatiently, "It doesn't matter who you are. As long as you are willing to be loyal to me, this world will belong to both of us."

"Do you even believe that yourself?" Lu Shiyan slowly wiped the bloodstains off his longsword. "If you want to live, you'd better hand over all your troops to me, and I'll spare your life."

Prince Rui was furious and shouted, "You audacious commoner, you deserve to die!"

"When Your Highness scolds someone, you should first consider your own situation."

Lu Shiyan sheathed his sword and looked at him coldly, saying, "I am a cultivator and do not like my sword to be stained with too much blood, so I will give Your Highness a chance first."

But if Your Highness doesn't want this opportunity, I wouldn't mind feeding my sword with Your Highness's blood.

"But my sword has a strong killing intent; every time it draws blood, I have to eat my fill before I'll sheathe it. I can't say for sure whether it will harm the prince's family."

Prince Rui felt he had heard the funniest thing in his life.

The demon who could cut off heads without blinking an eye claimed to be a cultivator who disliked having too much blood on his sword.

Unfortunately, he couldn't laugh at all now. He could tell that he wasn't just bluffing; he really might kill him and his family.

He wanted to be the ruler of the world.

But to become the ruler of the world, one must first be alive. If one loses one's life, everything else is meaningless.

Prince Rui was extremely frustrated, but in order to save his life, he had no choice but to surrender a portion of his troops.

He originally intended to stall Lu Shiyan for time, and then find a way to kill Lu Shiyan and take back military power.

But those who followed him in the rebellion were not fools either.

It was obvious that he was now like meat on a chopping board, barely able to protect himself, while Lu Shiyan was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also had remarkable methods, far surpassing Prince Rui.

Moreover, it's said that Lu Shiyan is fair in his rewards and punishments and treats his subordinates very well. The soldiers he brought all speak highly of him, saying that if they followed him, they wouldn't worry about their families even if they died on the battlefield.

Because if they die in battle, someone will take good care of their families.

Who wouldn't be tempted by this?

They had risked their lives alongside Prince Rui, yet he didn't fully trust them and often used their families to manipulate them. If this was how they were while they were alive, who knew what would happen after they died?

Many lieutenant generals and soldiers voluntarily defected to Lu Shiyan. Others, to demonstrate their loyalty, proactively shared any information they knew with Lu Shiyan.

In just a few days, Lu Shiyan had taken over all of Prince Rui's power. When this news reached Prince Duan and Prince Jing, both of them were stunned.

"How could this be? How many soldiers do those lowly country folk have? How could they possibly capture Prince Rui?" Prince Duan and Prince Rui had always been at odds. At any other time, he would be very happy to see Prince Rui in trouble.

But now, he felt every hair on his body stand on end.

He had been fighting with Prince Rui for so many years, and he knew Prince Rui's strength better than anyone. If he could easily defeat Prince Rui, then he would be in danger.

"I heard he possesses an incredibly powerful weapon and a special force. That weapon can produce a tremendous sound, and when thrown, it can knock down a whole group of people. And each member of his special force can hold off an entire army..."

The more Prince Duan listened, the more serious his expression became. Finally, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up, angrily shouting, "Who was in charge of going to Puzhou to gather information? How come no one reported such an important matter? What were you all doing?"

...

At this moment, King Jing, like King Duan, was also throwing a tantrum.

"How did that person suddenly appear? Why was there no news about him before? At this rate, are you going to wait until he storms the Prince Jing's residence before reporting to me?"

Enraged, Prince Jing grabbed his sword from the wall, ready to strike down the soldier who had come to report the news. His trusted aide risked his life to stop him, advising, "Your Highness, the best course of action now is to find a way to contact Prince Duan. The two of you working together to eliminate that formidable enemy is the most urgent matter. We can discuss everything else later!"

The thought of cooperating with Prince Duan made Prince Jing's face flash with disgust.

Previously, the brothers fought tooth and nail for territory and the throne. They were already being generous by not drawing their swords against each other, so how could they possibly talk about cooperation?

His trusted aide advised again, "Your Highness, this is not the time to act rashly! No matter how much you and Prince Duan disagree, you are evenly matched, and we are even stronger. When the two sides fight, we will definitely win."

But unlike that person who suddenly appeared and swallowed up Prince Rui's power, this other party is like a demon; we alone cannot defeat them. If we don't seize this opportunity to cooperate with Prince Duan, all our years of hard work will ultimately amount to nothing, just like Prince Rui's, benefiting someone else.

At the urging of his confidants, King Jing finally said, "Bring me pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

(My darlings, due to some special reasons, this book will be completed soon. If you feel there are any plot holes I haven't filled, or if you have any requests, I will try my best to fulfill them. Love you all.)