Tyrant Sky Martial Soul

Chapter 1051: Chapter 1051: A Desperate Gambit

For Ji Ning, attending today’s banquet was dangerous, but it might not be without benefits.

At the very least, it could let the soldiers of the Imperial City Camp know that he, Ji Ning, truly wished to unite and resist the enemy.

”Actually, General need not worry too much. With me and Feng Qingyan here, Si Kong Zun won’t be able to pull any stunts!” Lu Chenlong said.

”Then I’m counting on you. Someone, go inform Ling Xiao to accompany me to the Northern Desert Pass for the banquet!” Ji Ning stood up and ordered.

As soon as Ling Xiao received the message, he guessed there was no good banquet, but as Ji Ning said, even if he knew it was a Hongmen Banquet, he still had to attend.

Unless Ji Ning had truly decided to rebel and declare himself king, then he could choose not to go.

However, at that point, the Emperor could openly attack Northern Desert City.

In that case, Northern Desert City would be caught between two fires, and its tens of thousands of soldiers would not be enough to withstand the slaughter.

Therefore, he also agreed to go, but he had to be vigilant because no one could guarantee that old dog, Si Kong Zun, wouldn’t pull any tricks.

That night, Ji Ning and Ling Xiao headed to the Northern Desert Pass under Lu Chenlong’s lead.

Ling Xiao didn’t bring anyone with him, only instructing Ji Mingkong and Leng Mei to have the Dark Stinger’s men wait outside the Northern Desert Pass, ready to provide support at any moment.

He felt that tonight would not be peaceful.

Si Kong Zun had already prepared the banquet and appeared quite sincere, admitting that it was his fault for not assisting Ji Ning in battle today.

Even on the matter of forming an alliance, Si Kong Zun barely argued with Ji Ning; whatever Ji Ning said went, seemingly like a completely different person.

But the better his attitude, the more uneasy Ling Xiao felt inside, the less settled he was.

Yet he couldn’t figure out what could possibly happen under these circumstances.

The banquet actually ended in this very harmonious atmosphere.

Ling Xiao let out a slight sigh of relief.

Ji Ning also relaxed, as did many of the others present, thinking that everything should be fine now.

”General Si Kong, it’s getting late. I need to return to Northern Desert City. Who knows when the Black Crow Empire might launch an attack. It’s best to be cautious.” Ji Ning stood up and cupped his hand in farewell.

Despite his confusion, since nothing had happened, naturally that was for the best; no one wanted conflict at this time.

But just then, there came a burst of shouting from outside the Northern Desert Pass.

Ling Xiao recognized the voices—it was Li Ruguang and Zhang Yu Fei’s shouting.

Something had happened!

He didn’t understand why those two would suddenly bring troops here, but he knew there must be something amiss.

But before he could figure out what was happening, suddenly Si Kong Zun let out a miserable howl and was violently thrown back, his mouth dripping with blood, even his armor shattered.

”Why! Great General Ji Ning, why would you do this?” Si Kong Zun looked at Ji Ning in shock, lying weakly on the ground, and loudly questioned.

But Ji Ning appeared utterly perplexed at that moment.

He had just heard the noise outside, and then Si Kong Zun had moved beside him, suddenly launching an attack.

Of course, this was quite covert, because everybody’s attention was drawn to the outside commotion, so no one noticed Si Kong Zun’s move.

Then, Ji Ning naturally had to be on guard.

He could only counterattack, and there was no way he could have inflicted such severe injuries on Si Kong Zun, but Si Kong Zun’s reaction was completely unexpected.

Thus, he was completely perplexed.

”Protect General Si Kong, surround Ji Ning, don’t let him escape!”

Someone shouted out, and the soldiers of Imperial City Camp all became excited.

How could this be allowed?

General Saxon had kindly invited General Ji Ning to a banquet to discuss the important matters of jointly defending against the enemy, but who would have thunk it? General Ji Ning not only was ungrateful but also went as far as to injure General Saxon.

Even worse, he called troops to surround Northern Desert Pass.

Even if they had respected General Ji Ning before, they couldn’t stay calm and collected at this moment.

Furthermore, with some stirring the pot, a crowd quickly encircled General Ji Ning.

At this moment, the most embarrassed were Feng Qingyan and Lu Chenlong.

For them, to act or not to act was the question.

If they acted, a clash between the Northern Desert Army and the Imperial City Camp would inevitably erupt tonight, and the Black Crow Empire would then sit back and reap the benefits.

If they didn’t act, could they just stand by and watch General Saxon be gravely injured, and do nothing about it?

That was unjustifiable.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, the sound of something slicing through the air could be heard.

It was an arrow, aimed right at General Ji Ning.

However, at this moment, General Ji Ning didn’t want to fight; he wasn’t as agile as Ling Xiao. Facing this situation, he preferred to clarify things.

It was just too bad that among the crowd, there clearly were those who wanted him dead. Could he explain it clearly enough?

As the deadly arrow was about to strike General Ji Ning, he still did not move an inch.

He was a man with a clear conscience, so he didn’t want to fight back.

But he hadn’t considered that once he was dead, his name would never be cleared.

Crack!

At the critical moment, a flash of sword light tore through the sky—Ling Xiao had made his move.

Ling Xiao wasn’t like General Ji Ning; his mind was the most nimble. He knew that words were useless now; the only thing to do was to protect General Ji Ning and get him out of Northern Desert Pass. As for clearing his name, that could wait for another time.

If anything happened to General Ji Ning, Northern Desert City would truly be doomed, and the Black Crow Empire would surely break through unopposed.

”General Ling, we respect you as a hero—don’t protect this criminal any longer. He appears honorable on the surface but in truth, he’s nothing but a despicable and shameless villain!”

A person stepped out from the crowd, a commander from the Imperial City Camp with the strength of Ten Directions Heavenly Cultivation.

”I believe General Ji Ning would never do such a thing; there must be some misunderstanding here. Let’s not fall for the Blackraven’s trickery. Northern Desert City cannot be without General Ji Ning, for without him, the Black Crow Empire’s army would march straight in.”

Ling Xiao was also reluctant to fight, so he hoped someone would understand his words.

”Why bother talking to this guy? He’s so close to Ji Ning, it’s likely that they’ve been colluding all along, wallowing in the mire together!”

Jia Yun shouted angrily, ”Avenge General Saxon! Kill Ji Ning and Ling Xiao!”

”Yes, kill Ji Ning and Ling Xiao!”

”Kill!”

The martial artists from Phoenix God College, like Wan Qiu Feng and Ji Changran, began to instigate, and the scene descended into chaos.

”Silence!”

The commander who had spoken earlier bellowed, waiting for all the voices to stop before speaking, ”General Ling, I can provisionally take your word and not act against General Ji Ning, but you two must stay at Northern Desert Pass temporarily, going nowhere, until everything has been thoroughly investigated.”

By rights, his demand was reasonable.

But Ling Xiao knew all too well how easy it was to frame someone. If he and General Ji Ning stayed there today, they would indeed become the convicted, possibly ending up with a ”suicide from fearing the crime.”

Of course, what was more important was that he could stay, but General Ji Ning could not.

Northern Desert City truly couldn’t afford to be without General Ji Ning in command.