Dominating Martial King
Chapter 345 - 345 219 Power Please Subscribe _3

345: Chapter 219: Power (Please Subscribe) _3 345: Chapter 219: Power (Please Subscribe) _3 Sheen Zhou’s face was completely drained of color, making him look like a dead man.

He had already learned an hour ago that the Xiushui County Army had suffered a massive defeat at the foot of Black Bear Mountain, losing up to seven thousand troops.

This news darkened his vision and caused his chest to throb painfully, making even breathing difficult.

Sheen Zhou no longer knew how to face the current situation.

If the Xiushui County Army had only lost a thousand or two, he could have covered it up with his authority; even if there were three to five thousand casualties, he could have handled it.

It would merely mean losing some financial resources to replenish the army’s equipment and recruit more soldiers.

However, this time the casualties were as high as seven thousand!

Once the higher-ups became aware of this, Sheen Zhou knew that no matter how connected or influential he was, it would be very difficult to maintain his position as Commander.

Being demoted was a highly probable outcome.

To make matters worse was the rise of West Mountain Hall; most of the Sheen family’s properties were located in the northwest of Xiushui County, which was under the influence of West Mountain Hall.

Now that West Mountain Hall had a solid foundation and controlled West Mountain, the Sheen family could no longer conduct business in the north and might not even manage their estates normally.

This was also a massive piece of bad news for the Sheen family.

Sheen Zhou even thought about rallying all the Sheen’s house soldiers and house guards to fight to the death against West Mountain Hall.

But he knew this idea was foolish.

At this time, the Sheen family could only muster up to three thousand house soldiers and four thousand manor guards; against one thousand four hundred gang members and seven thousand five hundred archers and swords from West Mountain Hall, it was like throwing an egg against a rock.

Even with the support of the Long Family and the Shangguan Family, they might not be able to repel West Mountain Hall.

The three families had enough troops, but West Mountain Hall’s morale was at its peak, and their blades were sharp.

It was best not to confront them directly.

He guessed that Long Heng and Shangguan Shen Hao would not join him in his madness.

Their house guards, all nurtured with Silver Coins, how could the two of them rashly squander their strength in battle?

What Sheen Zhou wanted to do most at the moment was to capture the three fleeing Commanders of the County Army.

These three incompetents, how could they be foolish enough to lead to the loss of seven thousand troops at Black Bear Mountain?

Behind Sheen Zhou, Shangguan Shen Hao and Long Heng also wore expressions as dark as iron, each lost in their thoughts.

—West Mountain Hall had actually won!

—Those seven thousand five hundred archers and swords of West Mountain were so formidable!

—The Dan family actually held Ghost Cry Gorge?

—The West Mountain bandits, who had plagued West Mountain for nearly ten years, including the Baiyun Village Chief and the Nine Sabers Dock Master, had actually all died at Ghost Cry Gorge?

—Commander Sheen Zhou is about to be removed, without the support of the county army, without the bandits to hold leverage, how will they suppress West Mountain Hall, how will they restrain Iron Banner Gang?

—They can no longer stop West Mountain Hall from dredging the canal, Xisheng has gained both the financial resources from the canal and the allegiance of seven thousand five hundred hunters, soon to be powerful with wealth and force, how will they compete against him?

Countless chaotic thoughts formed in their minds, leaving both men feeling stifled and frustrated.

The three families had planned carefully for nearly twenty days for today’s battle, yet they had utterly lost.

Not only had they failed to defeat West Mountain Hall, but they had also allowed it to completely break free of restraints to intimidate the north of the county with military might.

After a long while, Sheen Zhou finally came to his senses and once again looked towards the city walls: “It is said that the current leader of West Mountain Hall is that Chu Yunyun, an Eighth Rank Magic Cultivator.

If we join forces, we might be able to kill this woman!”

Long Heng frowned and remained silent, sensing Sheen Zhou’s sinister intentions, yet bound by his status, he could not speak out openly.

Shangguan Shen Hao shook his head slightly, “West Mountain Hall has two Half-demons with the combat power of Fifth Grade, extremely powerful.

Moreover, since this morning, Iron Madman has personally been stationed at the East City Pier, reputed to have killed fifty water bandits, invoking the Divine Power of ‘Tie Xue Futu.’

Even if we killed this woman, it would be useless, the backbone of West Mountain Hall is Xisheng.

As long as Xisheng lives, West Mountain Hall will not fall apart.

This action will only infuriate Xisheng, forcing him into a desperate struggle with us.”

Sheen Zhou’s eyes flickered, then settled back to calm.

Infuriating Xisheng and forcing him to strike against their three families was exactly what Sheen Zhou wanted.

Only by doing so could he compel Shangguan Shen Hao and Long Heng to fully support the Sheen family in a battle against West Mountain Hall.

However, just from listening to Shangguan Shen Hao’s words, he knew that this plan was not going to succeed.

“Brother Sheen, do not worry!” Shangguan Shen Hao’s expression was grave: “Although the current situation is difficult, it is not without solutions.

We must preserve your position as Commander at all costs.

Any losses and expenses to smooth things over, the Shangguan Family and Long Family can bear half.

We will discuss the details later when we return home.”

Long Heng instinctively felt somewhat reluctant.

The Xiushui County Army had lost a full seven thousand men!

How could they make up for such losses?

Adding on the costs of smoothing relations, two or three hundred million Demon Silver was a conservative estimate, how much would the Long Family have to pay?

Nevertheless, Long Heng suppressed his emotions, realizing that without the support of the county army, without the authority of Commander Sheen Zhou, their three families might even lack the power to maintain an equilibrium with the Iron Banner Gang.

At that moment, Long Heng suddenly noticed a figure flying through the sky nearby.

It was a middle-aged man with a small vermillion mole between his eyebrows.

He was of average build, dressed in a fifth-Grade official robe.

This man arrived by flying through the night sky and landed on the flagpole on the city wall, silently contemplating the West Mountain Hall army in the distance.

Long Heng recognized the man at first glance; it was none other than the Governor Sikong Chan of the county!

He raised his eyebrows slightly and then exchanged glances with the two men beside him.

In their eyes, a flicker of unusual expectation and hope emerged simultaneously.