Chapter 1399: Chapter 1399 - 1384: Crown Prince?

The garrison shrinking behind the walls of Shanyang County looked at Ye Zhen, who effortlessly broke through the encirclement and stormed into the county as if taking a leisurely stroll, and started cheering spontaneously.

Although the army of hundreds of thousands of Water Demons was merely besieging rather than attacking, it had already given them indescribable pressure, even psychological despair.

But Ye Zhen’s heroic breakthrough into the city suddenly offered them a glimmer of hope.

However, before the soldiers and ordinary folks could finish cheering, an elderly man in an official County Magistrate robe of Great Zhou abruptly rushed to the front of Ye Zhen, roaring in anger.

"Shut up!"

"What are you all so happy about?"

"Great disaster is about to strike, don’t you all know that?"

The first few lines were shouted at the cheering soldiers and civilians, then spitting, he pointed at Ye Zhen’s nose and started cursing, "Breaking through the siege into the city, do you think you’re heroic?"

"Ignorant, foolish!"

"You’re strong, but you’re just one man, how many nails can you drive?"

"Hero, do you know that your actions will thoroughly enrage the besieging Water Demons? Originally, these Water Demons were just besieging but not attacking. Because of what you’ve done, they’ll surely launch a bloody revenge, and if we’re not careful, the entire county could be massacred!"

This finger-pointed rebuke angered the Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters who came soon after, but Ye Zhen gestured for them to refrain from revealing their identities immediately.

"As the County Magistrate, defending the land and protecting the people, County Magistrate Jiao, I want to know, what plans do you have for the people of Shanyang County outside the city?" Ye Zhen asked intently.

County Magistrate Jiao was momentarily stunned, looking at Ye Zhen with some confusion, then decisively stated, "In such a situation, I can only protect as many of the people under my jurisdiction as possible, and must make sacrifices where necessary....."

"Lord Viscount, why are you here?"

"This officer salutes the Viscount for coming late, and asks for your disposition!" The Military Commander of the Sixth Army of the Soldiers of North Sea County, Gao Xingji, having just received the news and rushed over, bowed deeply when he saw that the person who had broken through the formation was Ye Zhen.

This County Magistrate Jiao was stunned; is this person the new lord of North Sea County?

When Ye Zhen came to take over the Sixth Army last time, he was in a hurry and only went to the military camp without meeting local officials, so it was normal for this County Magistrate not to recognize him.

"Stand up, Gao Xingji. How much do you know about these besieging Water Demons?" Ye Zhen asked.

"Reporting to the Lord Viscount, these besieging Water Demons come from under the command of the Blue-scaled Dragon King, who governs the waters adjacent to North Sea County. Typically, around this time each year, these Water Demons would ravage the area.

Most of the time, with early preparation, losses are minimal, but this year, the rainy season came unexpectedly early, and the rain was heavy and intense, causing the monsters to travel incredibly fast, catching us unprepared, leading to the current situation!" answered Military Commander Gao Xingji.

Hearing this, Ye Zhen frowned, "The Blue-scaled Dragon King, aren’t the Water Demons of these North Sea Waters, especially those at the Dragon King level, required to be enfeoffed by Great Zhou? How are they allowed to plunder? Were any official documents issued?"

Gao Xingji smiled bitterly, "You should know, my Lord, although the Blue-scaled Dragon King has been enfeoffed by Great Zhou, his true loyalty lies with the Dragon Lord of the North Sea...."

"In truth, such enfeoffments of Dragon Kings are just a conciliatory means by Great Zhou towards them, having no binding effect on these Water Demons. Regarding official documents, unless it’s an Imperial Decree issued by the Holy Son of Heaven of Great Zhou, it may scarcely have some effect.

As for other levels of governmental documents, whether they can be delivered is another matter! They can dismiss them with statements about unrest in waterways, and vast water regions!" Earlier, County Magistrate Jiao, who had not spoken due to surprise, suddenly spoke up.

Then, County Magistrate Jiao bowed slightly to Ye Zhen and asked, "May I ask, Lord Viscount, since you are here personally, did you bring reinforcements with you?"

"Reinforcements?" Ye Zhen shook his head, "I only brought these people!" Ye Zhen pointed to the Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters behind him.

The expressions of Military Commander Gao Xingji and County Magistrate Jiao instantly became extremely grim.

Gao Xingji was fine, as his Divine Soul was controlled by Ye Zhen, and he dared not show any disrespect. County Magistrate Jiao, however, was different, and immediately ordered coldly.

"Without reinforcements, once the Water Demons reorganize, they will surely retaliate aggressively, attacking recklessly and regardless of losses. Commander Gao, immediately select a breakout direction from the North Gate and escort as many civilians as possible to safety!"

"As for you, Lord Viscount, if possible, replicate that breakthrough maneuver outside the Southern Gate in the Water Demon Army to buy Commander Gao some time!" County Magistrate Jiao quickly made his arrangements.

However, even with arrangements made, no one took action, particularly Gao Xingji, who used to follow his orders without question, now acted as if he hadn’t heard anything.

"Commander Gao?" County Magistrate Jiao was bewildered.

To be honest, County Magistrate Jiao did have some capability, but he underestimated Ye Zhen’s abilities.

Ye Zhen didn’t want to waste words with County Magistrate Jiao and casually signaled; a Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter pounced and subdued County Magistrate Jiao.

"Commander Gao, how many troops do you have under your command right now?" Ye Zhen asked straightforwardly.

"Reporting to the Lord Viscount, under my command there are currently forty-six thousand three hundred and twelve soldiers fit for battle!" Gao Xingji answered.

"Do you have the confidence to follow me, this Viscount, to annihilate the Water Demon army?" Ye Zhen spoke in a tone that left no room for doubt.

County Magistrate Jiao, who couldn’t speak, widened his eyes suddenly, and even the Military Commander Gao Xingji, whose Divine Soul was controlled by Ye Zhen, was also shocked, clearly thinking this was impossible.

"What about with these?" Ye Zhen casually tossed out some storage rings.

In the instant he took the storage rings, Commander Gao Xingji’s eyes widened, his gaze became fervently intense, and he roared with zeal, "Willing to die for my lord, I have confidence in annihilating the Water Demons outside the city!"

Upon these words, County Magistrate Jiao felt as if he was witnessing a hallucination.

"You have an hour to use this equipment to arm your soldiers!" Ye Zhen commanded.

Soon, the entire Shanyang County boiled with activity.

The Soldiers of the County, who could not previously get their hands on Wind-Fire Crossbows, were now being equipped with them on a large scale, along with full sets of Standard Soul Artifacts and Standard Spiritual Artifacts.

These pieces of equipment, not to mention anything else, just the Wind-Fire Crossbows could increase the combat power of the County Soldiers by several times, and the full sets of Standard Soul Artifacts and Standard Spiritual Artifacts could enhance the soldiers’ survival capabilities by multiple folds.

Hovering in mid-air, observing the densely packed Water Demons outside the city, Ye Zhen regretted not distributing these weapons and equipment sooner.

The Water Demon army was more cunning than he imagined; in just over 15 minutes, they had extinguished the Bone-attached Phosphorous Fire in the north.

Looking over the north, at the casualties among the Water Demon army, the Water Demon leader with a human body and fish head roared angrily at Ye Zhen, floating above Shanyang County.

"Human, you have angered me, the Water Monarch! Initially, by the Crown Prince’s order, I was forbidden to massacre the city, only allowed to plunder scattered civilians. But now, you’ve harmed so many of my subordinates. Therefore, I, the Water Monarch, have decided, to blood-wash Shanyang City, a massacre!"

Ye Zhen’s expression suddenly shifted, Crown Prince?

It appeared these Water Demon raids were indeed commanded?

He instinctively looked at Fengg Jiumo and the Sixth Army Commander, Gao Xingji, behind him.

Fengg Jiumo shook his head, while Commander Gao Xingji was puzzled, "This officer has heard such rumors, saying that more than half a year ago, the Blue-scaled Dragon King established a Crown Prince, but the specifics are unknown to this officer."

Ye Zhen’s Divine Sense raced, instantly conceiving a method to minimize current losses and potentially resolve the current water crisis.

With a fierce grin, he immediately taunted the human-bodied fish-headed Water Monarch, "If you’re going to blood-wash, do it quickly. If you don’t come and massacure, you’re my grandson, my gray-haired grandson!"

Ye Zhen’s voice echoed like thunder across the battlefield, enraging the water monarch with a human body and fish head to the point he immediately issued the order to attack!

"Kill, blood-wash Shanyang County!"