Chapter 185: Barricade (1/2)
[Volume 3 – The Place Where My Heart Feels At Peace]
“Wei clan?” Speak of the devil!
The staff officer reported, “Those claiming to be from the Far East Wei Clan say they’re here to seal off the city and await their heir’s arrival.”
The heir!?
According to imperial nobility classifications, only the successor to the title of marquis and above may be addressed as such. Even if the people present couldn’t recall the tremendously complicated aristocratic system, they knew a marquis was definitely the core of a high ranking aristocratic family. This was common knowledge! This also meant that the person arriving was from the main branch of the Far East Wei Clan—this changed the very nature of this matter—even the dignitaries of the expeditionary army would have to give the Wei clan some face.
Wu Zhengnan’s expression turned extremely ugly. “Have you confirmed it?”
“It should be true. There’s also a squad from the Broken Winged Angels among them. Our brothers no longer dared take action after seeing them.”
“Could it be that our city gates have all been sealed?” Wu Zhengnan inquired.
“The Wei clan men are stationed at all four gates.”
Wu Zhengnan suddenly asked, “The airships have returned, right? Two airships can hold one battalion. Sicheng, you and Old Zhao will lead two battalions from the first regiment and meet up with the 15th division’s men at the Far East Heavy Industries’ mines. You must kill that brat and all the seedlings no matter what happens here. Leave none alive! Do I make myself clear?”
Qi Sicheng and another sinister looking colonel stood up to accept the order before leaving.
Only then did Wu Zhengnan glance at all his aides within the meeting room and speak in a dull voice, “Let’s go and see what the people from the Wei clan plan to do.”
An officer suddenly whispered into Wu Zhengnan’s ear, “General, we’re still holding over a hundred seedlings in one of the barracks. Do you think…”
Wu Zhengnan waved his hand without any change in expression. “Deal with all of them!”
The officer shivered slightly before hurriedly complying.
Wu Zhengnan said indifferently, “Don’t feel distressed about this. We need to be alive to use all the money. We can earn back the fortune after we overcome the challenge before us.”
However, the expressions of the numerous officers didn’t improve much. The Far East Wei Clan’s heir making a personal appearance indicated that this matter wouldn’t be settled so easily.
A faint trace of malice appeared on Wu Zhengnan’s face as he watched the two old airships take off and fly in the direction of Broken River City. He then boarded a jeep and drove toward the city gates.
The two parties were in a confrontation.
A dozen military trucks were parked right across the gates, forming a temporary barricade which effectively blocked the path out of the city. The 100-odd soldiers who had arrived with this convoy were facing off against hundreds of expeditionary army troops from the city and even more were on their way.
Although it seemed like a confrontation with an obvious disparity in numbers, the party that had the upper hand was, in fact, the smaller one. Many from among the expeditionary army appeared apprehensive. They would glance into the distance from time to time and then look back into the city repeatedly.
The cargo trucks outside the city weren’t those old models from the expeditionary army system. Even the mud and dirt accumulated from the long track couldn’t hide the exquisite craftsmanship of the dark black and streamlined metallic hood. The expeditionary army’s old model trucks, on the other hand, had large pipelines running along their sides. Due to the lack of proper maintenance, most of them were rather rusty with areas where the paint had peeled off.
The cars seemed to be from two different eras judging merely by their external appearance. Their flags and emblems also represented very different things. There were two types of flags among the cars forming the barricade. One of them was a depiction of an angel with a sword looking downwards, its wings dripping with blood, while the other was the Far East Wei Clan’s eagle head emblem. Perhaps the ordinary soldiers were unfamiliar with the emblems of the aristocratic families, but the fierce veterans were all too familiar with them.
The mere presence of these flags was sufficient to cause the expeditionary army soldiers to hesitate.
A commotion rose from within the city as a convoy of jeeps rushed toward the barricade. Wu Zhengnan jumped down from the vehicle and shouted hoarsely, “I’m Wu Zhengnan of the seventh division. Who’s the person in charge here, come out and meet me!”
A Broken Winged Angel lieutenant colonel walked out and stood before Wu Zhengnan. The difference in rank didn’t garner any extra respect from the former—unconcealed arrogance was written all across his face.
“Where is the Wei clan heir? Wasn’t it said that he’s coming?”
The Broken Winged Angel Lieutenant replied coldly, “The heir of Marquis Bowang is still at the expeditionary army headquarters and will arrive in approximately one day. Anything you have to say will have to wait until his arrival!”
Wu Zhengnan’s expression sank. “What’s the meaning of this?” It wasn’t quite evident on his face, but he was shaken deep down. Marquis Bowang was the head of the Wei clan!
“No other meaning. We’re sealing the city and that’s it.” The Broken Winged Angel wasn’t quite courteous with his choice of words.
“What if I want to leave?”
“The heir commanded us not to let anyone enter or leave. It appears you’re not an exception either.” The implication behind the lieutenant's words was that Wei Potian had instructed them not to let Wu Zhengnan escape by any means.
“The Far East Wei Clan’s influence hasn’t extended quite as far as the expeditionary army, has it?”