CHAPTER 518: CHAPTER 84: I AM THE LORD

Severed limbs, fresh blood, bursts of explosions, and peculiar green lotus flowers floating midair.

They were like death sentences from hell.

The moans of the soldiers, the pitiful howls of the Dark Beasts, intertwined, giving Jin Nuo the illusion of being in Senluo Hell.

Even though he was a stately man and an Imperial Dragon Knight of the boundless glory of the Empire, at this moment, Jin Nuo felt truly defeated at heart.

The mere two meters high wall, at this moment, seemed like an insurmountable abyss stopping the footsteps of Jin Nuo and his Dragon Battle Cavalry.

Murmuring ’Fengdan County’ to himself, Jin Nuo’s eyes were now bloodshot with redness.

The thousand-man army, after three charges, had already suffered over a hundred casualties.

Jin Nuo had seen through the pressure exerted by the Dark Beasts and knew the nature of Poisonous Grass feared fire, but he could not fathom why the green Demon Lotus patterns carved on the city walls could unleash such astonishing power in an instant.

To retreat, or not to retreat.

It was like a saw moving back and forth in his mind—this was the first time Jin Nuo felt such hesitation.

Having witnessed the thunderous Lotus Fall, the Imperial Soldiers were now so frightened they were handling everything with trepidation; all their morale and the bravery of the men from the Northern Country seemed to have deflated.

But as long as Lord Jin Nuo did not give the command, they would never retreat.

Jin Nuo’s throat moved, issuing a deep command: "Continue, this time I will lead the charge."

Despite Lotus Fall being fierce, Jin Nuo believed that if he were to fight desperately riding the Black Beauty and relying on his overwhelmingly strong Dark Power, he would have more than an 80% chance of winning.

The men of the Pengbo Family only moved forward, never back.

"Lord, someone’s coming," right when the soldiers were hesitating, a person leaped from the other side of the Dragon Bone Great Wall.

No sooner had that person landed than Black Beauty’s reaction was even faster than Jin Nuo’s.

With a whir, it flapped its meaty wings and rushed up at the speed of a hurricane.

The moment that person appeared, Jin Nuo sharply noticed the Lotus Fall leaves had diminished.

The plains were a mess; corpses and the severed limbs of Dark Beasts were everywhere.

War, no matter its scale, was always extremely cruel.

"Is it him?" When he saw Black Beauty’s almost uncontrollable reaction and then caught a glimpse of a not so tall but very familiar figure through the haze, Jin Nuo’s thick brows furrowed and fine lines appeared on his forehead.

"Brother Jin Nuo..." Yue Jinghua was about to shrug it off when Black Beauty, like a small hill, intercepted him.

Could this dragon possibly be homosexual?

Bracing himself, Yue Jinghua was licked by Black Beauty’s tongue, covered with coarse taste buds, his face still donning a perfectly elegant smile.

"Yue... Jinghua, why are you here?" Seeing Yue Jinghua suddenly appear here, Jin Nuo vaguely felt that something was amiss.

It was only today that he remembered he didn’t know much about Yue Jinghua.

He only knew that he was a mercenary. As for his origins before becoming a mercenary, he knew nothing at all.

"Hehe, Brother Jin, your question is strange. Just like you often appear in Wo Hua Imperial City, my reason for being in Fengdan County is the same as yours – I am a person from Fengdan County. Or, to put it another way, Fengdan County is mine," Yue Jinghua shrugged his shoulders, asserting his identity in a tone that was neither light nor heavy.

Fengdan County is his?

"You are the Young Lord?" Combining Yue Jinghua’s appearance and temperament with his actions and words over the past period, Jin Nuo’s eyelids twitched.

He had been calling someone he was supposed to subjugate "brother" for months.

Jin Nuo felt the urge to bang his head against a wall, and his chest was filled with frustration.

He darkened his face and issued a loud command to Black Beauty, who was confused and hesitated between Yue Jinghua and her master for a moment before finally reluctantly returning to Jin Nuo’s side.

Yue Jinghua, you impersonated the Lord of Fengdan County, plotted against the Lord of Bailu County, Viscount Mo’er, and violated the laws of the Empire - for these three grave crimes, do you admit guilt?" At this moment, Jin Nuo truly hated Yue Jinghua. He had a generous nature and was extremely adept at socializing, and he had sincerely wanted to welcome him into the Imperial Dragon Cavalry Group.

But it turned out the other party was a fraudster who confused him to no end.

"Brother Jin Nuo, if you don’t mind, I will still call you ’Brother.’ I don’t admit to any of these three crimes. Although I impersonated the Lord of Fengdan County, it wasn’t an occupation of someone else’s territory. I am from the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion and the Dragon War Empire is my motherland. When the Xuan Beast Ridge Beast Tide struck, I was urgently entrusted with the role of a Lord out of necessity. If defending my family’s territory and protecting my people are also considered crimes, then I am guilty," said Yue Jinghua, his eyes fiery, his demeanor carefree, showing no hint of deceit.

Someone from the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion?!

Defending family’s territory, accepting command in a crisis.

The Imperial Soldiers exchanged glances upon hearing this. If what he said was true, this was not an occupation of territory at all. On the contrary, it was a commendable deed. However, they pondered when the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, which had fallen into disarray in the Imperial City, had produced such an outstanding figure.

Jin Nuo also muttered to himself, looking at Yue Jinghua in front of him and finding him somewhat similar to the Dragon Battle Young Duke, Yue Minzhi.

"As for the second crime, the murder of Viscount Mo’er is utterly groundless. Bailu County has long had friendly relations with my Fengdan County, and last year Viscount Mo’er contracted the ’persecutory delusion’ illness. On his deathbed, he instructed his steward to transfer the management rights of his territory to me. Now, all the old, weak, women, and children of the Mo’er Viscount Mansion are being well cared for. These matters are known to all the local people. If Brother Jin Nuo doesn’t believe me, he is free to go and inquire," Yue Jinghua told his lie with a straight face, showing no signs of distress, and even managed to sound genuinely sympathetic when mentioning Viscount Mo’er.

Jin Nuo was stunned and felt that something was amiss, but he couldn’t pinpoint any specific errors.

"Nonsense, you thief, full of lies, how dare you deceive Lord Jin Nuo," said Niu Er, Tax Officer, a roly-poly figure who, having seen the situation in front of him stabilize, came over with a few soldiers escorting him.

He had heard all of Yue Jinghua’s earlier words.

Niu Er, Tax Officer prided himself on being an expert in judging people and thought he could instantly see through Yue Jinghua’s fabrications: "And what about the third crime? You resist the Empire’s constitution, fail to pay taxes, and stole national treasures. Don’t try to wriggle out of this. That Sky Dragon Palace, dare you say it’s not within your territory now?"

Having said that, the short and plump tax officer jabbed his finger southeastward, pointing to the Sky Dragon Palace floating high above Yunluo Lake, clearly visible from dozens of miles away.

Now, he wanted to see what the smooth-talking Young Lord had to say for himself.

Yue Jinghua hesitated for a moment and said with surprise, "Tax Officer, you’re talking about that Dragon Palace? That’s a new type of structure in our county and is also one of the ’liquid assets’ of our Lord."