"Its sharpness rivals that of swords and blades! But there's one thing swords cannot match: its piercing power. Thus, where the spear points, victory is assured!"
"And the wings represent speed. The faster the speed, the more thorough the cut. Thus, where the wings go, life follows."
"As the spear and wings of the King's Mercenary Group, you must cooperate, using the spear's penetration and the wings' cutting power to strike terror into the hearts of your enemies!"
"Now, this spear and these wings of yours are sharp enough. A sharp spear paired with sharp wings will surely make you invincible! And you will become the kings among mercenaries!"
"King's Spear, Invincible! King's Wings, Life's Trace! King's Mercenaries, Invincible!"
Zi Linling's voice was not loud, but every word struck the hearts of everyone present, igniting their emotions and their aspirations.
The mercenaries' blood boiled, and they shouted in unison with Zi Linling:
"King's Spear, Invincible! King's Wings, Life's Trace! King's Mercenaries, Invincible!"
"King's Spear, Invincible! King's Wings, Life's Trace! King's Mercenaries, Invincible!"
"King's Spear, Invincible! King's Wings, Life's Trace! King's Mercenaries, Invincible!"
...
Zi Linling was very pleased with their performance; this was exactly the result she desired.
In an instant, the morale of the King's Mercenary Group soared to a terrifying degree.
Zi Linling's gaze swept over each person, like an emperor surveying his realm, with an air of boundless disdain.
"Very good! Haven't you all broken through in the past two days? Then do you want to solidify your strength? Do you want to test yourselves? Do you want to make our opponents tremble with fear?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Three more perfectly synchronized shouts, shaking the heavens.
"Excellent! King's Mercenaries! Let's move out!"
Zi Linling nodded with satisfaction and gave the order.
"Move out!"
"Move out!"
"Move out!"
Over three hundred people, with their shouts, projected the might of thirty thousand.
Ye Lingyuan put away the golden sky mane horse and carriage, held Zi Linling's slender waist, and stepped into the void, heading straight for the Jinxia Kingdom's army camp.
Three miles outside the Jinxia Kingdom's army camp.
"You bastards from the Imperial Zi family, come out and die!"
"Zhao Wenlong, you idiot, you scoundrel, get out here!"
"A bunch of cowards who only bully others by virtue of their connections, come out and welcome our leader!"
...
In short, whatever insulting words they could think of, the mercenaries hurled them.
This, of course, was also Zi Linling's strategy.
Originally, she had planned to charge directly into the enemy camp and catch them off guard.
But upon realizing that the forces sent by the Imperial Zi family were not weak, Zi Linling abandoned the idea of a surprise attack.
Instead, she resorted to provocation.
To call it provocation might be an understatement; it was more like enraging them. Her objective was precisely to infuriate the enemy.
Most people, in their rage, lose their ability to judge, thus becoming riddled with flaws.
In a confrontation between two armies, any slight error by the leader can lead to their side's defeat.
This was precisely why Zi Linling allowed the mercenaries to engage in verbal abuse.
If a matter can be resolved with strategy, only a fool would fight with brute force.
Zi Linling was disinclined to fight tooth and nail, and naturally, she would not let her own people do so either.
Inside the Jinxia Kingdom's tent, General Zhao Wenlong was drinking with members of the Imperial Zi family when a hurried messenger reported, "Report, General, trouble!"
Zhao Wenlong displeasedly set down his wine cup and retorted, "Scoundrel! What has made you so flustered? Don't you see I am drinking with the envoy?"
The messenger, hearing this, fell to his knees with a thud and stammered, "Forgive me, General, I have military intelligence to report!"
As far as he knew, Zhao Wenlong was not only an idiot but also a cruel official, prone to arbitrarily punishing soldiers and even finding excuses to kill those who opposed him.
Therefore, upon hearing Zhao Wenlong's scolding, he reacted instinctively.
After all, his life was on the line!
Zhao Wenlong frowned and was about to reprimand him again when he was stopped by a gloomy-looking man in his thirties.
"General Zhao, some matters are more urgent than others! We can always drink, but if we delay military affairs, neither you nor I can bear the consequences."
Although what he said was reasonable, a flicker of disdain quickly crossed his eyes.
Zhao Wenlong quickly smiled obsequiously, "Yes, yes, yes, Third Master Zi is right!"
Then, he quickly suppressed his fawning smile, glared at the messenger kneeling on the ground, and snarled, "Hurry up and speak! If you delay military affairs, can you bear the consequences?"
"Damn it! First, you told me not to speak, then you got annoyed that I was disturbing your drink, and now you're annoyed that I'm not speaking for fear of delaying military affairs! The rumors are true, this idiot general is brainless and foolish!"
The messenger cursed Zhao Wenlong to death in his heart, but outwardly, he respectfully said, "Report, General, a small contingent from the Tianqi Kingdom has arrived and is challenging us three miles away!"
Although Zhao Wenlong was an idiot, his connections were strong!
If military matters were delayed, Zhao Wenlong could use his connections to shift all the blame onto others and absolve himself completely.
But he, a mere messenger, could not! Delaying military affairs meant certain death.
Therefore, despite looking down on General Zhao Wenlong, the idiot, the messenger dared not omit any information.
"What did you say? People from the Tianqi Kingdom have come?"
Zhao Wenlong's wine cup fell to the ground with a "crack."
"Yes! General!" the messenger replied.
"How many people? Who is leading them? Has the Tianqi Underworld King come?"
Zhao Wenlong's questions tumbled out like a rapid-fire barrage, making it impossible to conceal the nervousness in his eyes.
"Reporting to the General! There are about three hundred people. The leader is a young girl. Tianqi Underworld King Ye Lingyuan was not seen."
"That's good! That's good! As long as the Tianqi Underworld King doesn't come, it doesn't matter who else comes!"
Zhao Wenlong breathed a sigh of relief. If Ye Lingyuan had come, he would have had no choice but to flee.
Because he was too focused on news about Ye Lingyuan, Zhao Wenlong automatically ignored the messenger's second statement—"The leader is a young girl."
He declared with great confidence, "Gather the troops, and I will go out to see who it is that dares to challenge us!"
The messenger was about to agree when he heard the gloomy man, Third Master Zi, speak, "Wait a moment!"
The messenger hesitated and looked at Zhao Wenlong.
Zhao Wenlong, who had already taken a step forward, retracted it and said obsequiously, "Does Third Master Zi have any other instructions?"
Third Master Zi ignored him and turned to the messenger, asking, "You said just now that the leader was a young girl?"
The messenger felt a wave of pressure and instinctively replied, "Yes, yes, yes!"