Chapter 416: Chapter 262: The Tianqi King is a Grandmaster!!!_3

The next moment, a man from the Great Jue delegation entered the room, holding a newspaper that had just been published by the Eastern Newspaper Agency. He said, gasping for breath, “Big… big news, the Barbarian Tribe… forty thousand strong Barbarian Army has been annihilated, the Tianqi King… huff huff… has been defeated… and killed…”

Upon hearing these words, everyone in the room was stunned.

In an instant, the room fell into a deathly silence, and the sounds from the street outside became excruciatingly piercing.

After a while, Wang Maoxue came to his senses and asked with disbelief, “Where did you get this information from? The Tianqi King had an army of four hundred thousand men; how could they be defeated so easily?”

The man immediately handed over the newspaper he was holding to Wang Maoxue, who grabbed the paper and quickly scanned the content.

Today’s newspaper from the Eastern Newspaper Agency focused on only one thing, which was the North Country’s annihilation of the Tianqi King’s army. The agency described how over the past half-month, the Barbarian Army of the Tianqi King had been assaulting Ningbei City and how the North Prince, undaunted by danger, deceived the enemy and then decisively struck out, wiping out the Tianqi King’s army overnight.

Of course, the Eastern Newspaper Agency didn’t record anything about firearms. Without the existence of firearms, the paper seemed particularly fake.

Two hundred thousand soldiers launching a night raid on the Barbarian camp, destroying the Tianqi King’s four hundred thousand strong army, and even killing the Tianqi King, a Grandmaster?

Could it really be that easy?

What a joke!

Even if the Barbarian Army was asleep at night, once they reacted, they would still be formidable in combat. Moreover, the Tianqi King’s Army comprised a major tribe that had branched out from the past Barbarian King. Their soldiers possessed extraordinary fighting abilities; how could they collapse instantly in an ambush?

Could this news be false?

But from the intelligence gathered by Great Jue, the Eastern Newspaper Agency was established with the approval of the North Prince Mansion. They shouldn’t be spreading false news on their own, especially not about a matter related to war.

After frowning for a moment, Wang Maoxue immediately passed the newspaper to a woman, saying, “Lord Murong, please take a look.”

The woman took the newspaper from Wang Maoxue’s hand and read the content carefully.

After reviewing the content of the newspaper, Murong Xue’er frowned slightly before saying to the people in the room, “I remember that North Country also has an official newspaper. Go and buy a copy of today’s official newspaper right away.”

Hearing this, the man who had just delivered the newspaper immediately turned around and said, “Yes, I’ll go buy the official newspaper immediately.”

After the man left the room, Wang Maoxue asked, “Lord Murong, how credible do you think this news is?”

Murong Xue’er replied, “Completely credible.”

At her words, everyone in the room was taken aback.

An official from the delegation asked, “Lord Murong, why do you believe the content of the newspaper so much? This news seems fake no matter how you look at it.”

Murong Xue’er said, “To print newspapers, the Eastern Newspaper Agency must get the approval of the North Prince Mansion, so naturally, this news has been reviewed by the North Prince Mansion.”

“This indicates that the North Prince Mansion intentionally released this news.”

“Ever since the North Prince came to North Country, the two battles he has faced have not ended in defeat. During the battle for Tianguang City, although North Country claimed that they lost over forty thousand Heavy Cavalry, these Heavy Cavalry reappeared in a North Country military parade a month ago. This proves they were only concealing their true strength; they definitely defeated the North Fre King’s army in the battle for Tianguang City.”

“From these two battles, it’s clear that North Country’s military strength is not weak.”

At this point, Wang Maoxue interjected, “Lord Murong, the Tianqi King’s tribe is a major tribe that branched out from the Barbarian King’s court. The Barbarian soldiers under the Tianqi King are stronger than those barbarians from the North Land.”

Murong Xue’er said, “Sir Wang is also aware of the strong military power of the Tianqi King-led Barbarian Army. Wouldn’t Sir Wang then think that North Country has been concealing its true strength from the start?”

“This…”

Wang Maoxue paused, then said, “The North Prince has only been in North Country for a few years…”

Murong Xue’er said, “When the Sky Wolf King’s army was pressing down on Yan County, how long had the North Prince been in North Country?”

“To speculate on North Country’s military strength, one obviously cannot view it through normal eyes.”

“No one knows what kind of power lies behind the North Prince, except for the North Prince himself, not even the Empress can see through him.”

Hearing Murong Xue’er’s words, everyone once again fell into silence.

Murong Xue’er said, “Once the official newspaper of North Country comes out, we will know whether this news is true or false.”

At this moment, Wang Maoxue murmured, “No wonder Zhuge Zhongguang asked us to wait a bit longer today; it turns out he already knew about the great victory of the North Country army.”

The feelings of the people present were complex. Originally, they had come to North Country with the intention of aiding it, hoping to make North Country owe a favor to the Da Yue Dynasty. They did not expect the war to end so promptly.

After waiting in the room for about fifteen minutes, a member of the delegation returned with the official newspaper.

When everyone saw the news of the great victory at Ningbei City published in the North Country official newspaper, they basically believed that North Country had indeed defeated the Tianqi King-led Barbarian Army.

This realization posed a new question to the delegates: the Tianqi King was a Grandmaster, so to defeat him, the Grandmaster, there had to be at least one other Grandmaster on the battlefield. Zhuge Zhongguang had always been in Yan County and had never left, which implied that there was another hidden Grandmaster in North Country?

A small feudal state with two Grandmasters? Could that still be considered a feudal state?

Perhaps when the North Prince returned to Yan County, he would have plans to proclaim himself Emperor. Otherwise, why would Zhuge Zhongguang say the North Prince wanted to meet with the delegation from the Da Yue Dynasty personally?

The news of North Country defeating the Tianqi King’s army was so explosive that it spread throughout the several dynasties in less than half a month. Of course, it also reached the ears of the Sum Emperor.

However, when the Sum Emperor and the court officials learned of this news, it wasn’t through rumors. Instead, it was through the Red Ribbon Messenger from North Country.

Great Xia Dynasty.

Xuanzheng Hall.

The court was unusually lively today, with officials discussing how to handle Lu Shuyun. The civil war within Great Xia was nearing its end. Although Lu Shuyun had not been captured yet, the court had encircled Sufeng City, where Lu Shuyun, once the Crown Prince, was now at his wits’ end.

As the heated discussion continued, a resounding voice came from outside, “Urgent report from North Country!!!”

Upon hearing this, the entire court went silent in an instant.

North Country?

What urgent report could come from North Country?

Could it be that North Country’s two hundred thousand soldiers had been defeated by the Tianqi King?