The situation had reached a critical juncture!
“Brother Lin Yun, what do we do?” Liang Yuan looked at Lin Yun.
“These bastards!” Huo Zhen gritted his teeth in fury.
Most of the generals behind Lin Yun were rattled by the situation. Having sided with him, their fates were tied—his triumph was theirs, his fall theirs as well!
The conflict had escalated to a point where, if Lin Yun were killed, the cost of choosing the wrong side would be their lives!
Yet Lin Yun remained calm.
Hands clasped behind his back, he looked up at Wu Tong with steady composure.
He knew he couldn’t falter!
Having braved great trials, even crossing the Demonic Beast Mountains alone, this was not enough to unsettle him.
“Wu Tong, I am the lord of Dongyuan Prefecture, a second-rank imperial official. If I perish, the empire will investigate thoroughly, and you will surely die!” Lin Yun’s tone was sharp.
“Yes, yes, exactly!”
The generals behind him echoed, seeing Lin Yun’s status as their best shield.
After all, he was the lord appointed by the emperor himself.
Lin Yun turned to the hundreds of thousands of city guards and the few hundred Dongguo Party generals aligned with Wu Tong.
His gaze swept over them, then he said, “Everyone, if you follow Wu Tong’s orders today and attack me, your lord, you are rebels!”
He roared the last two words, infusing them with inner strength.
The words exploded like thunder in the ears of the city guards, making their hearts tremble.
The term “rebels” struck at their psychological defenses.
“The empire’s punishment for rebels is well known to you all. When that punishment comes, not one of you will escape!”
Lin Yun stepped forward, demanding sharply, “Do you want to ruin your futures for Wu Tong? Are you willing to die with him? Have you fought all your lives only to end up branded as traitors?”
Each step, each question pierced the depths of their souls.
“This… this…”
The hundreds of thousands of city guards exchanged glances, hesitating.
Lin Yun’s words had hit their weakness, exposing their fears.
They knew attacking the lord was treasonous—the lord was the highest authority in a prefecture.
His words sowed worry and doubt.
“That scoundrel is trying to sway the troops—Commander Wu, we can’t let him succeed!” Yi Cheng said viciously.
Wu Tong addressed the crowd below, “Don’t listen to his nonsense! After we kill him, I’ll report that Lin Yun was tyrannical upon taking office, slaughtering generals and sparking widespread discontent, leading to a mutiny. Besides, he falsely accused Fan Xiao, trying to execute him without evidence.”
He continued, “And I have the prime minister’s backing to settle this. I’ll tell you plainly—before Lin Yun took office, the prime minister ordered me to deal with him, even kill him if the chance arose, promising to handle all consequences. With the prime minister’s assurance, what have we to fear?”
“Right, with the prime minister behind us, what’s there to fear?” Fan Xiao quickly chimed in.
“Yes, yes! We’ve got the prime minister’s support!”
The few hundred Dongguo Party generals joined in, their voices booming.
Lin Yun gave a cold smile, “You think having Prime Minister Dongguo Wuji as your backer makes you untouchable? The Huoyun Empire isn’t ruled by Dongguo Wuji—it’s ruled by the emperor! And my backer is the emperor himself!”
The crowd froze—who didn’t know he was the emperor’s disciple?
With a wave of his hand, Lin Yun produced the lord’s tiger tally!
Even in this dire situation, as the rightful lord, he had the confidence to stand tall without a guilty conscience.
“By imperial law, the bearer of this tally is the supreme commander of the prefecture. The city guard must obey its orders unconditionally. You are the empire’s city guard—not Wu Tong’s, not the Dongguo Party’s!”
Lin Yun raised the tiger tally high, his voice resounding like a great bell!
The tally glowed with golden brilliance, dazzling and radiant, exuding an invisible aura of authority.
“This… this…” All the soldiers, seeing the tally, began to waver.
Indeed, they were the empire’s city guard. Wu Tong had once been their leader, but Lin Yun was now the lord, their true commander!
Huo Zhen stepped forward, roaring, “By imperial law, soldiers who see the tiger tally—kneel!”
Having once been deputy commander of the divine capital’s imperial guard, Huo Zhen knew imperial law well.
“Pay respects to the lord!”
After a few seconds of silence, a city guard finally knelt and shouted.
Whoosh!
With one leading, masses of soldiers knelt towards Lin Yun!
“Pay respects to the lord! Pay respects to the lord! Pay respects to the lord!”
Hundreds of thousands of city guards knelt, their unified shouts echoing to the heavens!
Clearly, they chose to obey imperial law.
These were mere rank-and-file soldiers, not Dongguo Party generals. They weren’t even eligible to join the party, merely accustomed to following Wu Tong and his allies’ orders.
But Lin Yun’s words had awakened them, reminding them they were not Wu Tong’s private army but the empire’s!
Even those who hesitated, seeing their comrades kneel, followed suit. None dared stand out when all around them knelt.
As the city guards ceased channeling their inner strength and knelt, the formation in the sky swiftly dissipated.
Huo Zhen, seeing this, broke into a smile.
“Haha, excellent! Excellent!”
The generals behind Lin Yun cheered excitedly.
Lin Yun let out a long breath of relief. With the mass of city guards handled, things would be much easier.
“This…”
The scene left Wu Tong and the over eight hundred Dongguo Party generals pale with shock.
“Second Battalion, get up! Who told you to kneel? I’m your commander—I order you to stand!” Second Battalion Commander Yi Chang bellowed.
Third Battalion Commander Xin Si roared likewise, “Third Battalion, get up!”
Not just them—other Dongguo Party generals shouted at their subordinates to rise.
“Commander, you may be our leader, but… but the lord is our supreme commander, the highest authority in the city guard,” the soldiers replied.
“Right, the lord is our highest commander!” Many echoed.
“You… you bastards!”
Yi Chang, Xin Si, and the others were so furious they nearly exploded.
Lin Yun, hands behind his back, said, “I’ve already ordered that Zhao Hu take over the Second Battalion and Meng Shan the Third. So, Yi Chang and Xin Si, you are no longer commanders of those battalions and have no authority to lead them.”
