Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 235

Zhen Gang stepped forward to protect his companion, and after exchanging a few blows with the Lord of Soldiers, he looked at the giant sword in the Lord's hand, which was about the same size as his own, and immediately retreated and raised his hand to call on the Six Sword Slaves to form a defensive formation.

At the same time, five other elderly men wearing leather masks appeared. The nine-star pearl grass that each of them wore was of the same level as the Xia Kui, making their identities self-evident.

"It's the Sixth Elder!" The Zhu family members immediately stopped their thousand-person-thousand-face gestures and looked at the newcomers with surprise.

"Hahaha!" Tian Hu's expression after being humiliated became even more direct. He threw his head back and laughed loudly. He had heard about the Sixth Elder's strength since he was a child.

Calmly retreating behind Elder Bingzhu, Lu Wei felt at ease: although the plan was designed to develop in this way from the beginning, it was not so easy to actually get to this point smoothly.

While we cannot let our guard down rashly, at least basic security is now guaranteed.

"The Six Elders of the Farmer's Family..." Zhen Gang, the commander of the Luo Wang, felt a sense of apprehension. These six old fellows actually took the initiative to leave the Tomb of the Six Sages?

More than 30 years ago, one of these six men participated in the hunt to kill Bai Qi, who had drunk the poisoned wine of the King of Qin. Although Bai Qi could not exert his full strength at that time, as the number one general in the history of the seven kingdoms for hundreds of years and known as the butcher of men, who was not afraid of that name?

Thirty years have passed, and although these six old guys are not as physically fit as they were in their prime, their internal energy level and combat experience should not be underestimated!

Chapter 268 Zhao Gao

Although the Six Elders of the Six Sages' Tomb are beings that Luo Wang cannot ignore, they are not prepared to directly confront them in the plan.

The traditional practice of the farming family for thousands of years is that the Six Elders do not easily leave the tomb without a reason. The fundamental purpose of the Six Elders' existence is to ensure the continuation of the farming family lineage.

Generally speaking, only the leader of the Farmer's Clan can mobilize them with the power of the Shennong Decree. Therefore, Luo Wang's plan for the first ten years was to find out the identity of the Farmer's Clan leader and eliminate him.

Only after eliminating Tian Guang's obstacles could the power grab officially begin. The location chosen for the power grab was intentionally Chun Gu Zhuang, which was some distance away from the Rokusenzuka. However, even so, the most troublesome thing still happened for no apparent reason.

According to the rules of the martial arts world, these six old guys are definitely seniors of the Six Sword Slaves, but if it really comes down to a fight, Zhen Gang doesn't think his side will lose.

However, the plan is going to fail...

"Outsiders are not allowed to act recklessly on farmland."

"Now that you're here, let's try out our Earth Swamp Formation!"

Among the six reclusive elders, Master Li stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on the strangely dressed Six Sword Slaves of the Luo Net. He completely ignored the other dozens of Assassins and Earth-level assassins, and without further ado, he was about to make his move.

Despite their advanced age, they were still so irritable. Just as they sensed the obvious stagnation in the air and the vortex of internal energy, they pointed their swords at each other. The six of them wanted to test the wonders of this formation created by Shennong.

Lu Wei, Zhu Jia, and Tian Hu voluntarily withdrew, while Wu Kuang, who had previously exposed the fake Tian Meng's identity, and Tian Mi, who was still hiding herself, had long since disappeared.

The Sixth Elder and the Six Sword Slaves clashed directly. The other assassins from the Luo Wang were powerless to participate in the battle between the two top-tier martial arts techniques. However, hunting down the three lone hall masters was a target they could fight!

Seeing the Luo Wang forces charging towards them under Zhou Wen's command, the three retreated without hesitation: This was Daze Mountain, the home ground of the Farmer Clan. Given the choice, there was no need to engage in a direct battle with the Luo Wang to demonstrate their meaningless bravery. As long as a group of Farmer Clan disciples arrived, the endless numbers would completely overwhelm the Luo Wang!

Lu Wei had arranged for Zhang Er to lead the elite disciples of the Four Mountains Hall to lie in ambush to the south early in the morning, waiting for the battle to begin in Chun Gu Manor. The aftershocks of the battle between the Sixth Elder and the Six Sword Slaves were enough to destroy the entire village, and the commotion could be noticed from afar. Zhang Er immediately led three hundred disciples to approach the village.

Lu Wei, Zhu Jia, and Tian Hu fought and retreated, and with Lu Tangzhu intentionally leading the way, they soon encountered Zhang Er.

The two sides met up, and without time to ask why the disciples of the Four Mountains Hall were there, Tian Hu laughed loudly twice more, then turned around and charged back towards the Luo Wang.

Seeing the seemingly endless stream of disciples from the Farmer's Clan appearing, some of the assassins from the Luo Wang organization instinctively felt fear. Zhou Wen, who was at the very back, shouted "Attack!" and immediately used his lightness skill to run away.

"Stop!" Tian Hu was furious. He wanted to chase after Zhou Wen but was blocked by layers of nets. Although his swordsmanship was domineering, his lightness skill was very average. He was unable to catch up with Zhou Wen. At this moment, Lu Wei, the number one expert of the Farmer's School, stepped on Tian Hu's shoulder without hesitation and shot out like an arrow to chase after Zhou Wen.

Suddenly, the battlefield was divided into three parts: the Six Elders versus the Six Sword Slaves, the Luo Wang assassins versus the Zhu family, Tian Hu, Zhang Er and the Four Mountains Hall disciples, and Lu Wei chasing Zhou Wen.

This makes it easy to see that the Net has no real leader... or rather, the real leader is still hiding in the shadows, observing everything!

The Six Sword Slaves are the weapons that Luo Wang uses to deal with the experts of the Farmer Clan. That group of Killer and Earth-level assassins are just cannon fodder. Would Luo Wang really entrust the responsibility of commanding 100,000 Farmer Clan disciples entirely to Zhou Wen?

If they were truly at ease, they wouldn't have concealed certain plans or even the existence of the Six Sword Slaves beforehand.

Zhou Wen and Lu Wei both thought of this, so they wanted to force that hidden eye to come out!

Logically speaking, there should be another member of the Heavenly Rank in the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) who has clearly participated in many missions involving farmers and even resolved their troubles. This person is an elite with extensive experience dealing with farmers, yet has not appeared in recent years.

The sun is obscured!

Tian Guang has gone to Lishan, and the current Yanri will only become a true Yanri!

With a clang, the Devouring Sea Sword unleashed a sword aura, which Zhou Wen, who was fleeing, narrowly avoided. The long wound that Wu Kuang left on Zhou Wen's face was only a superficial injury, but the palm strike that Lu Wei delivered later was not a superficial injury; it was an internal injury that affected his heart and lungs!

Although he dodged the sword energy, his speed inevitably slowed down, and Zhou Wen was stopped by Lu Wei.

With a cold snort, the hall master said nothing, and thrust his sword at his target.

Zhou Wen drew Tian Meng's Absolute Strike Sword to fight back. After only a few moves, Zhou Wen, whose wound on his face reopened, was careless and his sword was knocked away. Lu Tangzhu then severed Zhou Wen's right arm with a single sword strike, and with a twist of his right hand, he was about to behead his target.

If the leader of the secret network doesn't come out, this move could really kill Zhou Wen.

Fortunately, the drama that cost Zhou Wen his life made the person behind the scenes unable to sit still, and he took action!

A sharp, cold aura came from behind. If Lu Wei was determined to kill the target in front of him, he would also be at great risk of being injured by an attack from behind. Of course, the hall master did not think that Zhou Wen's value was more important than his own injuries. Besides, the purpose of this play had been achieved, so there was no need to actually kill Zhou Wen.

Turning around and swinging his sword, Lu Wei cleaved through the unfamiliar attack. Several feet away, a head of dark red hair and unfathomable eyes revealed the newcomer's identity to be completely beyond his expectations!

It was actually... Zhao Gao himself!

...

Having narrowly escaped death, Zhou Wen gritted his teeth and clutched his severed arm, fleeing without even picking it up, leaving Lu Wei to confront Zhao Gao, the Grand Chariot Officer of the Qin Dynasty and the master of the Heavenly Net.

It wasn't the expected sun-covering incident, but rather Zhao Gao, who should have been by Ying Zheng's side... Upon closer examination, this unexpected turn of events makes some sense.

The Six Sword Slaves and Zhao Gao were almost inseparable; wherever the Six Sword Slaves were, Zhao Gao was likely to be there as well.

The peasant family's vast estate is worthy of Zhao Gao's personal control.

"You surprise me." Zhao Gao's voice was low and thin. He stood there straight without exuding any aura. It was very uncomfortable to be stared at by his triangular eyes on his unhealthy pale face: "It seems you know my identity."

"Master of the Net? It's quite a surprise to meet you." Lu Wei wiped the blood off the Devouring Sea Sword with his sleeve and calmly met the other's gaze.

The two did not fight again, but instead began to talk to each other in tacit understanding.

"Is that so?" Zhao Gao looked at the flawless aura surrounding Hall Master Lu and smirked slightly. "I can surprise you even more, like annihilating this Great Ze Mountain. Do you think the Luo Net can do that?"

"The Net of Knowledge can certainly destroy one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, but are you sure you have the ability to bear the consequences of destroying the Farmer School?"

Lu Wei smiled faintly: "Having forged a complete blood feud with the Farmers, I think Lord Zhao Gao must have something he doesn't care about. The Farmers' counterattack will definitely shatter the Luo Wang's plans."

"You seem to know quite a bit." Upon being called by name, Zhao Gao abruptly stopped the tapping motion of his fingers, which were adorned with the spider ring, and his eyes narrowed even more sharply.

“I will know everything I need to know.” Lu Wei slightly raised his chin: “Lord Zhao Gao must know that I met a Qin envoy in Handan City.”

'Gan Luo!' Zhao Gao thought to himself, but his expression remained completely hidden: 'I know. My two incompetent subordinates accidentally offended Hall Master Lu in that city.'

"Speaking of which, Hall Master Lu and our Luo Wang really have a deep connection, don't you think?"

"Indeed, is Lord Zhao regretting not killing me before I grew up?" Lu Wei nodded frankly. From Jicheng to Dazeshan, he had indeed encountered the Luo Wang many times.

Although every meeting ended unpleasantly.

"Not at all, Hall Master Lu is our partner in the Luo Wang organization. How could I possibly want to lay a hand on him?" Zhao Gao sneered, taking out a metal token from his sleeve.

The Shennong Token! But it's fake. The real one is with Lu Wei himself.

Tian Guang had a partnership with Yan Ri, so after faking his death at Yan Ri's hands, he deliberately gave Yan Ri a fake token, which Yan Ri then handed over to Xianyang as a key piece of evidence.

The fake Shennong token is made of sturdy material, but it is not as good as the real one, and there are many problems with the details.

Only the leader of the Xia family and the Sixth Elder could discern these details.

"Look, our Luo Wang has done Hall Master Lu a great favor."

"I suppose Hall Master Lu doesn't want anything to happen to someone? He should be considered your mentor, right?" Zhao Gao chuckled as he deceived Lu Wei: He only had the token; Tian Guang was already dead in the Luo Wang organization.

"The leader of the peasant chivalrous family doesn't need a mentor, just as Lord Zhao Gao doesn't really need a master." Apart from his own life, no one else can become a tool to threaten the ruthless Lu.

It's worth mentioning Zhao Gao's 'master'. Zhao Gao certainly understood Lu Wei's meaning: even if the King of Qin trusted Luo Wang very much, if that trust were to be broken in any way, Luo Wang would not be able to resist investigation.

Ying Zheng possessed an innate imperial instinct for suspicion. Even though the peasants were merely a group of peasants and theoretically unqualified to meet the King of Qin, was Zhao Gao really willing to take the gamble?

The peasant faction was not involved in the imperial court, and had no connection with Changping Jun... or to put it more directly, no connection with Fusu. The Luo Wang (a powerful organization) had no fundamental conflict of interest with the peasant faction.

As for the fact that they are already locked in a fierce battle, and Zhao Gao is even pretending to show that he has captured Tian Guang... that's really nothing.

In Zhao Gao's eyes, Lu Tangzhu's various behaviors, including his unexpected collusion with Zhang Er, the chief steward of Siyue Hall, undoubtedly vividly demonstrated that he was a selfish person just like himself.

The Luo Net will certainly suffer losses today, but Zhao Gao himself will be unharmed.

The farmers also suffered considerable losses, but Lu Wei himself was unharmed.

In this way, the two sides may still be able to cooperate, or at least not become mortal enemies.

Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't be standing here chatting.

“The Net can stop targeting the Farmers.” As things have developed to this point, even if the covert infiltration of the Farmers has to start from scratch again, the overt grudges must be resolved first. Therefore, Zhao Gao said naturally, “But Hall Master Lu must show some sincerity.”

"The farmers show no sincerity whatsoever; on the contrary, they are a trap. The people who attacked the farmers should be handed over!"

The atmosphere, which had just begun to ease, seemed to tense up again with Lu Wei's hardline stance...

Chapter 269 Bringing things to order

Zhao Gao and Luo Wang's goal has always been to re-establish a new world order; this is their internal explanation.

However, in reality, this so-called new world order was simply Zhao Gao's own desire to replace the Qin royal family and become the King of Qin.

It is roughly modeled after the story of King Kuai of Yan abdicating the throne to his prime minister, Zizhi.

Of course, the current King Ying Zheng of Qin would not be foolish enough to relinquish power and abdicate, but he has many sons and can choose an obedient one from among them.

For example, the eighteenth son, Hu Hai.

This blank sheet of paper was wantonly scribbled on by Zhao Gao from a young age, gradually growing into the shape that Luo Wang needed.

As long as a puppet is installed first, and then those who might hinder the abdication are eliminated in his name, seizing power from within the empire doesn't seem so difficult for the current Luo Wang (Net of Heaven).

As for the peasants... although most of the assassins of the Luo Net came from the Jianghu (martial arts world), compared with the imperial court, the Jianghu were nothing more than ants that could be easily destroyed.

According to Zhao Gao's plan, once he accepted the abdication, he would be able to decide the fate of the entire world with a single word. At that time, whether it was a mere peasant family or a Confucian or Taoist family, how could they dare to disobey his wishes!

"You've already broken one of his arms, so the debt has been repaid." Zhao Gao didn't care about Zhou Wen's life or death. He had been monitoring the peasant family's plan in the Daze Mountains for the past two days. Ever since the Six Sword Slaves' first ambush failed, Zhao Gao had vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

The appearance of the six elders of the Farmer's Family was completely unexpected, but if we consider that these six old guys were pretending to live in seclusion in the tomb, but in fact they had always been very familiar with Mount Daze, then everything makes sense.

No matter how you look at it, keeping six top-tier martial arts experts hidden for thirty years without making a move seems like a huge waste.

Zhou Wen's plan to seize power was feasible, but it failed. He lost another hand, which weakened his strength and reduced his effectiveness. However, he is not without value.

At the very least, this is a pawn with a deep understanding of and absolute hatred for the peasants, and is the best backup candidate to regain control of the peasants for him at some point in the future.

Most importantly, now that he had already saved Zhou Wen, how could Zhao Gao save face if he were to send him away again just because of a farmer's words?