Death… and me

"Continue. How do you know that the number of people in Golden in Golden Horse Riders Department exceeds eight thousand?" Tie Long Cheng asked cautiously, "Do you know what this means? It means that there is no military group in the entire continent capable of defending against a direct attack from the Golden Horse Riders Department. I can attest that those who have not reached the level of Martial Master will not be selected to join the Golden Horse Riders Department!"

Tie Long Cheng was indeed astonished. Even within Diwu Qing Rou's internal circle, the existence of Golden Horse Riders Department was considered a big secret. Iron Cloud had paid a very high price in the form of countless people sacrificing their lives to uncover this information of Diwu Qing Rou's secret army.

However, all the information about the Golden Horse Riders Department came in fragments and could not be pieced together fully.

Unexpectedly, this kid in front of Tie Long Cheng had spoken of it as if this was some old news and not a big secret.

"The eight thousand count consists only of the Golden Horse Riders warriors. Within the Golden Horse Riders Department, there are not just Golden Horse Riders warriors!" Chu Yang spread his fingers and simulated counting as if he was familiar with all the numbers.

"Golden Horse Riders warriors are the key fighting force of Golden Horse Riders Department which is their secret fighting force. They are only deployed at key moments such as when the outcome of a battle is determined. But that's not all. Within Golden Horse Riders Department, there are Command Horse Riders who take charge of all the higher level decision making and planning. Black Horse Riders are killers and only one in ten thousand are selected. The exact numbers are unknown. Besides them, Silver Horse Riders are the ones who take care of the finances. There are at least ten Silver Horse Riders amongst the approximate thousand wealthy people in each country on the continent. Next, Iron Horse Riders are in charge of Intel and the gathering of information. Last but not the least, Mysterious Horse Riders are in charge of overseeing the entire operation of Golden Horse Riders Department. The total strength of Golden Horse Riders Department is minimally thirty thousand people."

Chu Yang chuckled before continuing, As of now, Prince Tie Bu Tian's Bu Tian Pavilion has approximately the same manpower as Golden Horse Riders Department. Even so, it is about ten thousand miles behind Golden Horse Riders Department in terms of organization and fighting power – a difference of heaven and earth!"

Tie Long Cheng and the young lady exchanged glances, internally dismayed.

All along, they've known that Diwu Qing Rou had never used his full strength, but never could they expect that he had reserved such a massive force as described by Chu Yang.

"Additionally, Diwu Qing Rou has the full support of all the officials in court. Anyone who went against him was out of Great Zhao's central power as they were either killed or banished. He does not receive any objections to all his proposals. His greatest strength is in his incredible concentration of power."

Chu Yang continued slowly, "To my knowledge, Diwu Qing Rou has a secret agreement with the Wold Tribe of the Northern Grassland. However, I'm not sure of the specifics of this agreement."

Chu Yang had leaked a crucial piece of news.

All this had actually happened in his previous life. Lang Ting had unexpectedly attacked when Diwu Qing Rou had embarked on an all-out war campaign with Iron Cloud. By that point in time, the whole world knew about their agreement. Prior to that, very few knew about this agreement, even those within Diwu Qing Rou's circle of power.

Tie Long Cheng's eyes suddenly glowed but his face remained expressionless, appearing as if he had a mask on.

The Wolf Tribe of the Northern Grassland was on Iron Cloud's back… Being backstabbed after co-existing peacefully… All agreements and friendships were off.

Iron Cloud Nation had planned to forge a close relationship with the Wolf Tribe in the Northern Grassland in the shortest span of time possible. However, it had to deal with Diwu Qing Rou first. The first wave of ambassadors and gifts have successfully arrived at the region of the Wolf Tribe in the past half year. They were planning on sending another batch of gifts soon…

Had Prince Tie Bu Tian's sisters not passed away, they would have been arranged to be given up for political marriages by now.

Although this news was not verified, they felt as if their insides were being burnt. If all of this were true, then Iron Cloud had been played by the Wolf Tribe this whole time.

This betrayal was not acceptable to Tie Long Cheng since this strategy of forging a close relationship was suggested by his military advisors. The military used to always resort to war instead of peacemaking. However, they had to embark on their peacemaking plan because the pressure from Diwu Qing Rou was too immense. It would be such a shame if they had fallen into his trap just like that…

In contrast, the young lady appeared surprisingly casual, as if she did not fully comprehend the situation.

"A large portion of people in Jiang Hu is Diwu Qing Rou's people. Besides, two of the seven major sections of Lower Three Heavens are already fully under his control. There are people on the inside of the other sections."

Tie Long Cheng's facial expression began to turn graver.

"There are four peak level experts working for Diwu Qing Rou. Two of them are assigned to protect him, while the other two are the top two leaders of Golden Horse Riders Department. I've heard that they could actually easily advance into Middle Three Heavens with their great abilities. In fact, they are not far off from the experts in Middle Three Heavens. They are all at the level of King and the strongest person amongst them is already a level five Saber King!"

Chu Yang had just spilled out another slice of earth-shattering news.

Four King level experts!

Tie Long Cheng and the young lady were stunned at the news. Even Gu Du Xing, who was standing next to Chu Yang, turned to look at him in great shock.

"That's not possible! Shouldn't experts at the level of King be able to advance into Middle Three Heavens or even Upper Three Heavens? How could they choose to live in a place like Lower Three Heavens?" Gu Du Xing questioned.

"This does not apply to just the King level, for there are some who are at the Emperor level who would much prefer human wealth and…" Chu Yang smiled, "Otherwise, why would such a conflict exist? Only a handful wish to become strong to watch over the world. For most, their true pursuits are fame, wealth and women."

"Young man, what you just said makes perfect sense!"

Tie Long Cheng let out a sigh and mumbled, "It is no wonder that my two Revered level martial brothers left to assassinate Diwu Qing Rou but never returned. So even King level experts are right by Diwu Qing Rou's side…"

His voice was somber and full of resentment.

Tie Long Cheng had speculated that the assassination attempt failed because Diwu Qing Rou had high-level bodyguards. However, he never could have expected that there were actually four King level experts.

In the Lower Three Heavens, King level experts were as insurmountable as mountains. In principle, this was impossible.

Suddenly, Tie Long Cheng's sturdy figure appeared to hunch a little. His face appeared strange, as if remorseful, as if…

"In ten years, Diwu Qing Rou had built his circle. It is now everywhere thanks to his military. General, you have been on the battlefield with Great Zhao countless times. You have seen it! All the generals that were loyal to Great Zhao's emperor were nowhere to be seen or were defeated by Iron Cloud. Am I right?"

"Yes!" Tie Long Cheng sighed as the wrinkles on his face deepened further.

"At the same time, the new waves of young generals were extremely difficult to deal with. Diwu Qing Rou had used such a strategy to eliminate any internal opposition. Cruelly, he prepared his plan for ten years later…"

Chu Yang was speaking halfway when he paused all of a sudden.

He had just realized the most remarkable thing: Diwu Qing Rou had planned for all these events to happen concurrently in two separate countries! He would not have been able to achieve his goals no matter how incredible he was without cooperation! He most certainly did not have the means to control the enemy's soldiers.

This…

Tie Long Cheng sighed heavily and answered weakly, "You are right…"

Each time he spoke, this powerful general seemed to be aging bit by bit.

"There was definitely someone cooperation with him the whole time! The person who played along with him… is none other than me!" Tie Long Cheng was dismayed.