Chapter 552 Forcing a Show of Trump Cards

"Just an outsider?" Hu Ma spoke in a businesslike manner, relaying someone else's words.

After all, he was just a minor manager of the Blood Food Society, relaying the thoughts of a noble from the mountains.

It wasn't his own business, so there was no need to inject too much emotion into his words.

But clearly, his detached tone had an unexpected effect. A single sentence struck the Hu family's collateral daughter like a heavy blow to the chest, turning her face pale and forcing her to stagger back.

She couldn't imagine this outcome. It seemed that even being seen as an enemy would be better than this.

*Rumble!* As those words were spoken, the remaining members of the Truth Sect nearby, as well as those who had come to gather information for the nobles in the city, broke out in cold sweat. "What the hell…?" The Mingzhou Prefecture City had been devastated by these people, and the noble's chief strategist had clearly identified them. What had everyone been betting on all this time?

He was letting them stir things up, pretending not to see. Now that the red light was flashing and the army was pressing in, he was just waiting to see how long they could endure before revealing their trump cards.

Reading time: 10 seconds.

When that guess became reality, who knew how many little devils would be unleashed.

"That's the most important thing. Compared to that, even a prefecture or state is small. The noble in Mingzhou has been secretly colluding with outsiders. Every move they've made has been like a dragon seeing its head but not its tail. Whether eliminating the Qingyi or beheading the Seven Fiends, they've shown no mercy." After all, those from the Truth Sect were just altar masters and disciples. Although their numbers weren't small, they couldn't stir up much trouble in Mingzhou without the support of the nobles who had placed their bets on Mingzhou.

"Don't think we've used the wrong approach. Even if we had come and knelt before him from the start, he wouldn't have given us a kind look."

"Now is the time for them to show their true colors!"

Hu Ma glanced at the Heavenly Mandate General. He noticed some new trinkets on him. He raised the Judge's Saber slightly, then dismissed him from his mind.

The Truth Sect's forces had essentially been driven towards Zhu Gate Town by the Grain Protection General.

"Qingyuan Hu Clan's eldest son, Hu Fengyue, receives the decree to set up an altar in Mingzhou Prefecture City, offering three sacrifices here, asking the people's hearts, acting on Heaven's will, respectfully inviting the State Duke Qiang Wu to descend in golden form here..." He was simply too lazy to engage in empty pleasantries. He simply used the Grain Protection Army's thunderous methods to force the other side to reveal their trump cards.

"..."

"Kill all Truth Sect members, protect Mingzhou's grain supply, can't let people starve…"

"He acts so experienced, does he really know what it takes to shoulder the responsibility of Zhenchong Prefecture and what he will face?"

"So majestic and awe-inspiring, arriving in Mingzhou, entering the Prefecture Office, requisitioning grain, claiming to have a Heavenly Mandate, yet it turns out…"

"He… is he so cold towards his own blood relatives?"

Any one of these would be enough for him to express his dissatisfaction with these relatives.

However, amidst the silence, some of the more astute and knowledgeable were thinking about another set of words that Hu Ma had said: "Regardless of background, external connections, or level of cultivation, all are eligible to become officials in Zhenchong Prefecture?"

"Ah!" The Grain Protection General's shout was incredibly powerful, followed by a series of chaotic cries and screams from behind him.

"Now, that can be considered the first thing he, through his strategist, has said to the world. Does that, perhaps, represent something?"

Truth be told, he was even a little dissatisfied. Compared to this so-called Heavenly Mandate that had been forcibly pushed forward, he was more concerned about what good gifts the Mingzhou City officials had prepared for his distant relative.

"He really doesn't know what he's facing."

"After all, he's one of our own children. Even if he's a little willful, we have to find a way to persuade him."

Inside Mingzhou Prefecture City, in a long-closed mansion, three simply dressed and gaunt women were listening to the faint shouts outside from a high-rise.

Of course, while he was thinking, he suddenly understood after hearing Hu Ma's shout. What Hu Ma had told him that night hadn't completely transformed him, but it was like opening up his Ren and Du meridians.

"Instead of speaking up for his own family and righting wrongs, he mixed with the Truth Sect heretics first. Instead of seeking blessings for this rare peaceful land of Mingzhou, he brought a source of chaos, wanting to cut off the Hu family of the Zhen Dynasty!"

Everything Meng family involves in, no matter how friendly it seems on the surface, is always malicious at its core.

Judging from the momentum, the Heavenly Mandate General and the remaining stragglers of the Truth Sect had no power to resist in front of this army, but he knew that the other side was still hiding tricks.

"2… Such power and influence, even Zhi Siwu didn't realize. Little did he know that these troops had already been shadowed, and the Truth Sect had lost its nerve, which was all within expectations."

How could Hu Ma, with his knowledge and skills, still be working as someone else's strategist? Hu Ma stood with his saber, coldly watching the troops bypass them and rush forward.

Hu Ma, hugging his saber, slowly took a step forward. The Judge's Saber in his arms suddenly vibrated, and a cold shout rang through the desolate and lonely night: "Mingzhou's spirit is all in you. Since you've come, what are you waiting for?"

The two people on the Grand Master chairs looked at each other, then rose at the same time and walked out of the door. Now, they could be seen standing on a high-rise in Mingzhou Prefecture City, able to overlook the entire city. They clasped their hands in front of them, bowed slowly.

"Ask about ghosts and gods, invite the Three Town Altars!" Each one had a pale face, running towards the outside of Mingzhou City. A gust of yin wind swept through the mansions of the city: "A disaster! A disaster! Sir, stop sleeping with Madam! The Heavenly Mandate General in the city is a fake Heavenly Mandate…" But Zhong Benyi, the Heavenly Mandate General, saw the army approaching. The people around him were either fleeing or surrendering, like a landslide. In his anger, he jumped onto the back of the red-haired fire bull, waving his meteor hammer forward.

As he said this, his voice carried a bit of coldness. All of the above were reasons.

"His temper is not like our Hu family, forceful and domineering, but more like that Bai family aunt…"

Yang Gong suddenly understood what he meant. He didn't know how Hu Ma had become a high-ranking official in the Underworld Path, and to some extent, he didn't quite understand what that meant…

“… is fake?”

Hu Ma, facing her resentment, lowered his voice slightly and said indifferently: "After all, since relatives have come, instead of openly visiting, they first disturb my mind with altar magic."

"How dare you deceive me like this?"

"..."

"Isn't there another way?"

While others had troops covering the advance of their generals, he was advancing alone, covering the advance of the troops.

His gaze was only on his Hu family cousin, or rather, on Mingzhou Prefecture City.

"Then, perhaps, for a child, instead of gentle persuasion, it would be more useful to really let him know how powerful he is."

Everyone guessed the result of those words. This Hu family cousin naturally knew that the strategist's words had shattered the foundation of the Truth Sect.

He knew very well what he needed now. Seeing that the opportunity had arrived, he immediately waved his saber and shouted: "Brothers, follow me!"

That battle group blocked the path of the other troops, seemingly relying on one man and one horse to slightly impede the charge of the Grain Protection Army.

The most important thing was to say, one is from the beginning, the price of taking over the Zhenchong Prefecture, why should only one lineage bear it? It's even possible to be backfired, and directly be suppressed by the people in the city and die for their own benefit…

"This person is not a defender, but he has good battle formation skills."

Seeing that the two of them had reached a conclusion through discussion, the person standing by the door smiled and gently pushed the door open.

Each person had their own focus, but she only felt panic in her heart, and trembling, she called out to Hu Ma: "We are outsiders, who can be his own people?" The most important thing was that once he got on the fire bull and swung the meteor hammer back and forth, it was really impossible for ten thousand men to get close. He relied on himself alone to block eighty or ninety people. Swords and spears surrounded him, but they couldn't get near his body.

There were even groups and groups of people who, seeing the dark mass of people behind them, couldn't run to the front, so they simply threw down their weapons and knelt down in a group, willing to surrender.

Now that they saw the other side's power, they dared not confront them. They shouted, then ignored orders, covered their heads and ran.

Among them, there were many who were motivated by seeing Hu Ma's current status. But on the surface, it was no different from the Grain Protection General's order. Jianghu experts were willing to obey his orders, full of murderous intent, waving their weapons, and directly charging towards the Truth Sect's forces.

He should have been the one giving orders to others.

Two people were sitting at the Four Immortals table, on the Grand Master chairs. One person was standing by the door, listening to the sounds outside the city, but the more he listened, the more his brows furrowed, and the more disappointed he became.

"After all, he's been raised wildly outside, and he knows the importance of the Zhenchong Prefecture, so it's inevitable that he's overestimated himself. He doesn't think we're here to help him, he thinks we're here to rob him, so he's had a deep hostility towards us from the start."

1. Since