Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 262 The Apocalypse King is a Grandmaster!!!

Hearing Hu Yantong's answer, Lu Chen was not intimidated by the strength of the Barbarian Goddess. Although the Barbarian Goddess was very strong, the stronger she was, the less likely she would do something that would lower her status.

Normally, even grandmasters don't easily appear on the battlefield, let alone experts at the Celestial Realm.

Moreover, even if the barbarian goddess really does come to cause trouble for the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen doesn't need to worry too much. Zhuge Chongguang is about to break through to the Celestial Realm, and Lu Chen believes that Zhuge Chongguang should be able to break through smoothly before the barbarian goddess comes to cause trouble for the Northern Kingdom.

Even without relying on Zhuge Chongguang, he could accelerate his cultivation and strive to improve his cultivation level so as to break through to the Celestial Realm as soon as possible.

Lu Chen then continued, "Why did the Tianqi King move eastward? Was it to relocate to the north, or did he come specifically to attack the northern kingdom?"

Hu Yantong replied, "Originally, the goddess intended for King Tianqi to relocate to the north and refrain from rash actions for the time being. However, after suffering a defeat in the Dayue Dynasty, King Tianqi was in a bad mood and wanted to find a place to vent his anger. So he led us to attack the northern kingdom."

At this point, Huyan Tong immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "This was all the will of King Tianqi alone, it has nothing to do with me. I was forced to follow King Tianqi to attack the Northern Kingdom, please spare my life, my lord!"

Upon hearing Hu Yantong's words, Lu Chen fell into deep thought. He had originally thought that Tianqi King wanted to come to the North, but he did not expect that there was another force behind Tianqi King's arrival in the North.

Why did the barbarian goddess send King Apocalypse to the North? What is it about the North that the barbarian goddess cares about?

Thinking of this, Lu Chen asked, "Do you know why your barbarian goddess sent King Tianqi to the North?"

Huyan Tong said, "I am just a leader of a small tribe. How could I possibly know what the barbarian goddess is thinking?"

Upon hearing Hu Yantong's reply, Lu Chen suddenly regretted killing Tianqi King so quickly.

Before Lu Chen made his move last night, he thought he should kill the Apocalypse King as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen problems. However, the fact that he killed him so quickly actually resulted in him losing a lot of information.

It seems I should hesitate a little before taking action in the future; being too decisive isn't always a good thing.

At this moment, Lu Chen glanced at the barbarian prisoners, then his gaze fell on Huyan Tong. "What else do you know about your goddess? For example, how were you born, and what skills do you possess?"

Hu Yantong said, "My lord, I have already told you everything I know. I have only seen the goddess a few times and do not know much about her."

At this moment, Mu Changtian approached Lu Chen and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, what should we do with this barbarian general?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's seal his power first, then take him back to Yancheng. He should still be of some use."

Mu Changtian said, "Your subordinate understands."

Lu Chen then said to Hu Yantong, "If you want to live, behave yourself. If you dare to play any tricks, I will send you down to see your king."

Hu Yantong said, "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely behave myself and will absolutely not run away!"

Lu Chen stopped wasting time talking to Hu Yantong and didn't intend to ask the other barbarian soldiers about the barbarian goddess. Even Hu Yantong knew so little about the barbarian goddess, so it was highly likely that the other barbarian soldiers hadn't had much contact with her either, and they probably knew even less about her.

Lu Chen then turned and left.

Just as Lu Chen left the temporary camp of the barbarian prisoners, Xiao Pengtian returned with his cavalry, bringing back a group of barbarian soldiers who had escaped the previous night.

Upon seeing Xiao Pengtian, Lu Chen immediately asked, "General Xiao, come here for a moment. I have something to ask you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Pengtian immediately approached Lu Chen. "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Lu Chen asked directly, "Have you ever heard of the goddess of your barbarian tribe?"

Lu Chen thought that Xiao Pengtian grew up among the barbarians and held a relatively high position in the Sirius King's tribe, so he should know some information about the barbarian goddess.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, Xiao Pengtian was taken aback for a moment, then he said, "Your Highness, when did the barbarians acquire a goddess? How come I didn't know?"

Upon hearing Xiao Pengtian's answer, Lu Chen instantly realized that the Tianlang King tribe had migrated to the northern lands a long time ago. Perhaps the barbarian goddess was born after the Tianlang King tribe migrated to the northern lands, and the Tianlang King tribe might not have known about any goddess at all.

Lu Chen waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, you can go back to your work."

This……

Xiao Pengtian paused for a moment, then said, "This subordinate takes his leave."

After wandering around the battlefield a few times last night, Lu Chen returned to Ningbei City.

Just as Lu Chen was about to send the latest battle report to Yancheng through the Imperial Guards, Wu Yuan came to Lu Chen and handed him an envelope. "Your Highness, there is intelligence from Yancheng."

Lu Chen took the envelope from Wu Yuan, opened it, and took out the information inside to take a look.

Upon seeing the intelligence report that the Dayue Dynasty had sent an envoy to the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen's expression turned somewhat serious.

Why did the Dayue delegation send people to the Northern Kingdom at this time?

The intelligence report says that the Dayue delegation's message is that if the Northern Kingdom needs anything, they can contact Dayue, and Dayue will definitely help.

Help? Are you being that kind?

There has never been any official contact between the Northern Kingdom and Dayue. After all, the Northern Kingdom is just a vassal state within the Great Xia Dynasty, and vassal states are not qualified to establish diplomatic relations with the dynasty.

The fact that Dayue suddenly sent a delegation to help the Northern Kingdom clearly indicates that they had ulterior motives.

It seems that Dayue is trying to sow discord and provoke the Xia Emperor, making him believe that the Northern Kingdom is planning to become independent. Therefore, they have secretly established diplomatic relations with the Dayue Dynasty.

I wonder if this is what the empress meant.

If this was the empress's intention, it proves that she was an extremely restless ruler, and she probably had ambitions to expand her territory.

Lu Chen didn't take the matter to heart for the time being. He said to Wu Yuan, "Go back to Yancheng immediately and tell the Oriental Daily News about last night's results. Have the Oriental Daily News publicize it extensively in the newspaper."

Two hundred thousand troops faced four hundred thousand barbarian troops and won a great victory, even killing a Grandmaster.

This is the first time in hundreds of years that a Grandmaster has died on the battlefield. In the past, whether it was a dynastic war or any other kind of war, Grandmasters never went to the battlefield, which is why no Grandmaster had ever died on the battlefield.

Lu Chen believed that such a huge victory would be enough to deter some people with ulterior motives from coveting the Northern Kingdom. Of course, it would also make some people more wary of the Northern Kingdom, thus accelerating their desire to get rid of him, the King of the North, such as his father, the emperor.

Wu Yuan then asked, "Your Highness, when I came to Yancheng, the Grand Scholar asked me to inquire whether you needed to meet with the delegation from Dayue?"

Upon hearing this question, Lu Chen countered with, "What did the Grand Secretary say?"

Wu Yuan replied, "The Grand Secretary said it all depends on your opinion."

The Northern Kingdom can no longer afford to remain passive, as its strength has been exposed, and the Xia Emperor is also subtly planning to take action against it. Therefore, Zhuge Chongguang believes that the Northern Kingdom no longer needs to consider the Xia Dynasty's wishes regarding establishing diplomatic relations with any dynasty. As long as the Northern King is willing, it is not impossible for them to establish official channels of communication with the Dayue Dynasty.

Moreover, the rebels in Jiangnan are still holding on, and the Great Xia Dynasty has no time to deal with what is happening in the North. Although they dislike the North, they will not break off relations at this time.

The Northern Kingdom is already the most powerful of the vassal states. Breaking off relations so early will not benefit the Great Xia Dynasty. If they want to deal with the Northern Kingdom, they will only take action after they are fully prepared to go to war with it.

The way Emperor Xia dealt with the powerful families of Jiangnan shows that he was a cautious emperor. He only forced Lu Shuyun to travel south when there were no external threats and when he was fully prepared.

Moreover, the Northern Kingdom is different from the aristocratic families of the Jiangnan region. Since Lu Chen arrived in the Northern Kingdom, he has won three consecutive battles.

The powerful families of Jiangnan are like a disorganized mess, unable to even rally together for a rebellion. The imperial army could easily deal with them. However, when facing a vassal state like the Northern Kingdom, which has already wiped out nearly a million soldiers, the Xia Emperor would undoubtedly be much more cautious.

Once Emperor Xia learns of the battle at Ningbei City and reassesses the strength of the Northern Kingdom, he will most likely choose to maintain relations with the Northern Kingdom.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen said to Wu Yuan, "Go back and tell the Grand Scholar to let the Da Yue delegation stay in the Northern Kingdom for a while longer. I will be back in half a month."

"Understood."

Lu Chen said, "Alright, you can go ahead and get busy."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

……

Seven days later.

Yancheng.

The latest edition of the Oriental Daily News was sold out instantly upon release.

Dongfang Longyue immediately ordered the Wangfu printing plant to print another batch of newspapers as soon as possible. As a result, the newly printed newspapers sold out in less than fifteen minutes.

The news that the Northern Kingdom had annihilated the Tianqi King's 400,000-strong army and killed the Tianqi King instantly shocked the entire Yan City.

People found this news hard to believe, especially the spies from various dynasties and powers.

The Apocalypse King was a Grandmaster!

He was just killed like that?

It should be noted that before attacking the Northern Kingdom, King Tianqi had also joined forces with the barbarian tribes to attack the Dayue Dynasty. Even with the Empress personally leading the expedition, King Tianqi was able to withdraw from the battlefield unharmed, but he suffered a setback in the Northern Kingdom.

Xuan Yue Restaurant.

Inside a private room.

A woman dressed in simple black and white clothes, with an exceptionally beautiful face and captivating charm, sat at the table, examining a note in her hand.

At this moment, several old men stood in front of the woman, one of whom was Wang Maoxue, who had taken the initiative to apply to Empress Dayue for a mission to the Northern Kingdom.

She then asked, "What did Zhuge Chongguang say?"

Upon hearing the woman's question, Wang Maoxue replied, "Lord Murong, Zhuge Chongguang's intention is for us to wait a little longer until the Northern King returns, at which point he will personally receive us."

Hearing this, the woman asked doubtfully, "Wait for the Northern King to return?"

"The Northern King is currently engaged in battle with the barbarian army in Ningbei City. Is he able to extricate himself at this time?"

"Could it be that the Northern King intends to have his men hold out in Ningbei City while he returns to Yancheng alone?"

Wang Maoxue said, "I don't know about that. Perhaps the barbarian attack wasn't very fierce, and the Northern King thought that the barbarians were just testing the waters and didn't really intend to attack the Northern Kingdom."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the woman said softly, "The door is open, come in."

The next moment, a man from the same Dayue delegation entered the room, holding a newspaper that had just been published by the Eastern News Agency. He said breathlessly, "Breaking...breaking news! The barbarians...the barbarian army of 400,000 has been annihilated! King Tianqi has been defeated and...whoosh...killed..."

Upon hearing these words, everyone in the room was stunned.

In an instant, the entire room became incredibly quiet, and the sounds from the street outside became exceptionally jarring.

After a long while, Wang Maoxue came to his senses and asked incredulously, "Where did you get this information? The Heavenly King has an army of 400,000. How could he be defeated so easily?"

The man immediately handed the newspaper to Wang Maoxue, who snatched it and glanced at its contents.

Today, the Oriental Daily News only reported one thing: the Northern Kingdom's annihilation of the Tianqi King's army. The Oriental Daily News also described in the newspaper how the barbarian Tianqi King's army had been attacking Ningbei City for more than half a month, and how the Northern King remained calm in the face of danger, lulled the enemy into a false sense of security, and then decisively launched an attack, annihilating the Tianqi King's army in one night.

Of course, the Oriental Newspaper did not record anything about firearms; since there were no firearms, the newspaper looked particularly fake.

Two hundred thousand troops launched a night raid on the barbarian camp, then wiped out the Tianqi King's four hundred thousand troops, and even killed the Tianqi King, a grandmaster.

Is it really that easy?

Are you kidding me?

Even if the barbarian army falls asleep at night, they still possess formidable fighting power once they regain their senses. Moreover, the Heavenly Apocalypse King's army is a large tribe that split off from the former barbarian king, and their soldiers are all extremely powerful. How could they possibly be instantly wiped out by a sneak attack?

Is this news fake?

However, based on the intelligence gathered by Dayue, the Eastern News Agency was established with the approval of the Northern Prince's Mansion, so they shouldn't spread false information without authorization, especially not information related to the war.

Wang Maoxue frowned and immediately handed the newspaper to the woman. "Lord Murong, please take a look."

The woman took the newspaper from Wang Maoxue and carefully read through its contents.

After reading the contents of the newspaper, Murong Xue'er frowned slightly, then said to the people in the room, "I remember there is an official newspaper in the Northern Kingdom. Go and buy a copy of today's official newspaper immediately."

Upon hearing this, the man who had just delivered the newspaper immediately turned around and said, "Yes, I will go and buy a copy of the official newspaper right away."

After the man left the room, Wang Maoxue asked, "Lord Murong, how credible do you think this news is?"

Murong Xue'er replied, "Completely believable."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned.

An official from the mission asked, "Why does Lord Murong believe the contents of the newspaper so much? This news seems fake no matter how you look at it."

Murong Xue'er said, "If the Eastern News Agency wants to print a newspaper, it must obtain the consent of the Northern Prince's Mansion, so this news has naturally been reviewed by the Northern Prince's Mansion."

"This shows that the Northern Prince's Mansion intentionally leaked this information."

"Since the Northern King came to the Northern Kingdom, he has not lost either of the two wars he has fought. In the Battle of Tianguang City, although the Northern Kingdom claimed that they lost more than 40,000 heavy cavalry, these heavy cavalry reappeared during the Northern Kingdom's military parade a month ago. This proves that they were just hiding their strength. They must have defeated the Northern Xian King's army in the Battle of Tianguang City."

"Judging from these two battles, the military strength of the North is not weak."

Wang Maoxue then interjected, "Lord Murong, the Tianqi King's tribe is a large tribe that split off from the barbarian royal court. The barbarian soldiers led by the Tianqi King are stronger than those barbarians in the north."

Murong Xue'er said, "Lord Wang also knows that the barbarian army led by King Tianqi is very strong. Why didn't Lord Wang consider that the Northern Kingdom was hiding its strength from the beginning?"

"this……"

Wang Maoxue paused for a moment, then said, "The Northern King has only been in the Northern Kingdom for a few years..."

Murong Xue'er said, "Back when the Heavenly Wolf King's army was closing in on Yan City, how long had the Northern King been in the Northern Kingdom?"

"To guess the military strength of the Northern Kingdom, it is obviously impossible to look at the Northern Kingdom with normal eyes."

"What kind of power is behind the Northern King? Right now, apart from the Northern King himself, probably no one knows. Even Her Majesty the Empress can't see through the Northern King."

Upon hearing Murong Xue'er's words, everyone fell silent once again.

Murong Xue'er said, "We'll know whether this news is true or false once the official report from the Northern Kingdom comes out."

At this moment, Wang Maoxue murmured, "No wonder Zhuge Chongguang made us wait a little longer today. It turns out that Zhuge Chongguang already knows about the great victory of the Northern army."

At this moment, everyone's feelings were quite complicated. They had come to the Northern Kingdom with the intention of providing assistance, and they hoped that the Northern Kingdom would have something to ask of the Dayue Dynasty. However, they did not expect the war to end so quickly.

The group waited in the room for about fifteen minutes before the delegation returned with the official report.

When everyone saw the news of the great victory at Ningbei City published in the official gazette of the Northern Kingdom, they basically believed that the Northern Kingdom had indeed defeated the barbarian army led by the Tianqi King.

This also made the delegation realize a problem: Tianqi King is a Grandmaster. To defeat Tianqi King, a Grandmaster, there must be at least one Grandmaster on the battlefield. Zhuge Chongguang has always been in Yancheng and has never left Yancheng. This means that there is another hidden Grandmaster in the Northern Kingdom.

A small fiefdom with two Grandmasters? Can this even be considered a fiefdom?

I'm afraid that once the Northern King returns to Yancheng, he will have plans to declare himself emperor. Otherwise, why would Zhuge Chongguang say that the Northern King wants to meet the delegation from their Dayue Dynasty in person?

The news that the Northern Kingdom had defeated the Tianqi King's army was so explosive that it spread throughout several dynasties in less than half a month, and of course, it also reached the ears of the Xia Emperor.

However, the Xia Emperor and the court officials did not learn of this news through rumors, but rather through the Red Silk Messenger from the Northern Kingdom.

Great Xia Dynasty.

Xuanzheng Hall.

The imperial court was unusually lively today, with officials discussing how to deal with Lu Shuyun. The civil war in the Great Xia Dynasty was nearing its end. Although Lu Shuyun had not yet been captured, the court had already surrounded Sufeng City, where Lu Shuyun was located. Lu Shuyun, the former crown prince, was now at his wit's end.

Just as people were discussing heatedly, a loud voice rang out from outside, "Urgent report from the North!!!"

Upon hearing this, the entire court fell silent instantly.

North?

What urgent news is coming from the North?

Could it be that the 200,000-strong army of the Northern Kingdom was defeated by the Tianqi King?

(End of this chapter)