NOVEL NEXT Ch. 27
Chapter 27: The Huang Clan’s Rebellion
Linze County.
Huangjia Town — a large settlement nestled deep within the heart of Anxi Prefecture, with a population of several hundred thousand.
Towering buildings filled the streets, and businesses thrived in apparent peace and prosperity.
Yet beneath that surface, dark currents stirred.
In recent days, the Huang Clan had secretly gathered around seven thousand soldiers, enforcing a tight lockdown throughout the town.
Patrol troops filled every street and alley, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The townsfolk whispered among themselves, all aware that the Huang Clan was about to raise the banner of rebellion, joining forces with insurgents from other counties to revolt against the Great Zhou.
Inside the Huang Clan’s grand residence, Clan Head Huang Tianba sat imposingly upon a tiger-skin chair.
His eyes were sharp and sinister as he toyed with a blood jade thumb ring.
“Just a few more days, and it will be the day our Huang Clan rises again!”
Huang Tianba sneered coldly.
“By then, the Great Zhou court will be shaken to its core, and we shall be freed from this bitter life!”
At his side, the clan strategist Huang Wende nodded in agreement.
“Patriarch, your foresight is unmatched. With the cooperation of the noble families from each county, our victory is assured!”
However, neither of them foresaw that a cataclysmic disaster was already approaching in silence.
In the darkness before dawn, eight thousand Black-Armored Cavalry galloped forward like ghosts.
Iron hooves shattered the frost beneath them as their momentum soared skyward.
Four thousand Mo Blade Soldiers in the Third Layer of the Tempering Bones Realm followed closely behind, their blades gleaming coldly, brimming with killing intent.
Two thousand Black-Armored Arbalests in the Fourth Layer of the Tempering Bones Realm concealed themselves in the shadows, their crossbows drawn and ready to fire.
Cheng Yaojin, commander of the Black-Armored Army, wore heavy armor and held his famed double-bladed axe, his gaze locked coldly on the lights of Huangjia Town ahead.
“Whole army, hear my command!”
His deep voice reverberated through the frigid wind.
“Tonight, we shall flatten Huangjia Town and slay every last traitor!”
The Black-Armored Army swiftly surrounded the town, forming an impenetrable steel encirclement.
The Black-Armored Arbalests quietly occupied the high grounds, their bolts trained on patrolling soldiers within the town.
As the horizon turned pale with the first light of dawn, Cheng Yaojin raised his massive axe and swung it down fiercely.
“Kill!”
Eight thousand armored riders roared in unison, charging into Huangjia Town like a tidal wave.
The Black-Armored Arbalests struck first.
Bolts rained down like a storm, instantly felling the patrolling soldiers below.
The outer defenses of Huangjia Town fell into chaos at once.
The guards, caught off guard, were crushed and scattered by the onrushing cavalry.
Cheng Yaojin led from the front, his axe sweeping in great arcs.
Blood sprayed in all directions, and none could stand before him.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
Shrill alarms rang throughout the town.
Huang Tianba sprang to his feet, his face dark with fury.
“What’s happening? Why are there so many Black-Armored Army troops here?”
Huang Wende, panic-stricken, cried out, “Patriarch, we’ve fallen into a trap! This must be the Prince of Anxi’s scheme!”
Huang Tianba roared, “Pass my order! Gather every clansman — fight to the death!”
But it was already too late.
The Black-Armored Cavalry swept through the town like wolves among sheep, slaughtering the Huang Clan’s private soldiers without mercy.
The Mo Blade Soldiers charged close behind; wherever their blades passed, flesh and blood were torn apart.
The Black-Armored Arbalests continued their relentless suppression, covering the town with volleys of bolts, completely shattering the rebels’ attempts to regroup.
Cheng Yaojin fought his way to the Huang Clan mansion gates, his massive axe cleaving down and shattering the heavy wooden doors with a thunderous crash.
“Huang Tianba, come out and die!”
Cheng Yaojin’s voice rumbled like thunder, casting deathly silence across the courtyard within.
Huang Tianba emerged with a twisted expression, brandishing a long sword as he led the remaining clansmen to charge out of the mansion.
“The Prince of Anxi bullies us too far! Today I’ll fight him to the bitter end!” Huang Tianba roared as he lunged at Cheng Yaojin.
Cheng Yaojin sneered, swinging his axe to shatter the sword aura in an instant.
“A mere Blood Refining Realm cultivator dares raise his hand against this general?”
With disdain, Cheng Yaojin brought his axe down again.
Huang Tianba barely managed to parry, yet still spewed blood as he was thrown backward.
“Patriarch!”
Huang Wende cried out, rushing to aid him — only to be blocked by the Black-Armored Cavalry, who hacked him to pieces in moments.
Seeing the tide irreversibly turned, despair filled Huang Tianba’s heart.
“I… I am not reconciled to this…”
Cheng Yaojin strode forward, raising his axe high.
“Traitor of the realm — your death is deserved a thousand times over!”
“Pshhh!”
The axe fell.
Huang Tianba’s head rolled across the ground, a fountain of blood spraying skyward.
Upon seeing their patriarch slain, the rebels’ morale collapsed instantly.
One after another, they threw down their weapons and surrendered.
The Black-Armored Army swiftly secured the entire town, mopping up the remaining resistance.
The townsfolk, trembling, peeked out from their homes.
As they saw the imposing soldiers of the Black-Armored Army, their hearts filled with both fear and relief.
Cheng Yaojin stood before the Huang mansion, coldly surveying the kneeling rebels.
He ordered in a deep tone, “Pass my command — all participants in the rebellion are to be beheaded and displayed publicly as a warning to others!”
“Yes, General!” the soldiers answered in unison.
Soon after, the town was filled with anguished screams.
Blood dyed the streets red, and the air grew thick with the stench of death.
In a brothel within the town, a shadowy figure hurriedly dressed and leapt from a third-floor window.
When he landed and looked around, his face went pale — the streets were littered with corpses and rivers of blood.
“How is this possible? How did the Great Zhou’s army arrive so quickly? I must report this to the general immediately!”
With that, he vanished into the crowd of commoners, fleeing toward the outskirts of the town.
By noon, the chaos within Huangjia Town had completely subsided.
Only the numb townsfolk remained.
Cheng Yaojin, astride his tall warhorse, led his troops through the streets to ensure no rebels remained.
After confirming the town’s security, he withdrew his forces.
The aftermath of Huangjia Town’s purge would no longer fall under the Black-Armored Army’s jurisdiction — it would be handled by the officials of Linze County.
As for the army’s next move — it was to continue purging the disloyal noble families among the Yili Army.
Inside the royal mansion, Jiang Zhaoming and Qin Wei sat opposite each other, their faces lighting up with faint smiles as they received Cheng Yaojin’s victorious report.
Seeing this, Qin Wei asked, “A-Ming, what makes you smile? Has there been word from the Black-Armored Army?”
Jiang Zhaoming nodded.
“The rebel forces in Huangjia Town have been eliminated. The remaining clans should no longer pose a threat.”
“I see. It seems many were worried about your rebellion-suppression campaign next spring.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoming replied, “The more we disrupt their arrangements, the more panic they’ll fall into — and the greater our advantage will be.”
“Uncle, how fares the training of the Bandit-Subduing Army? Have they mastered the Qin Clan’s formations?”
At the mention of the army, Qin Wei smiled as well.
“The Bandit-Subduing Army is strong and disciplined. They’ve already learned most of our battle formations — with a little more practice, they’ll be ready for the battlefield!”
Jiang Zhaoming nodded.
“There’s no rush. Let them train for one more winter. The suppression war will be their true test.”
“The situation in Anxi Prefecture is changing fast,” Qin Wei mused.
“I didn’t expect you to gain so many elite troops so suddenly.”
“Especially that Black-Armored Army,” Qin Wei stroked his chin.
“Tell me, where did they even come from? Why is there no trace of their origins?”
“I don’t know either,” Jiang Zhaoming admitted.
“But the entire Black-Armored Army is unwaveringly loyal. There’s no need to dwell on it.”
Then he added, “Uncle, there are already eight hundred Giant Wolves in the wolf pack. You can start considering forming cavalry.”
At that, Qin Wei’s eyes lit up.
“Hahaha! Then this general thanks His Highness!”
He had long coveted the Black-Armored Cavalry, yet in Yili, Kuqa, and Luntai, mounts were scarce.
To think Jiang Zhaoming would entrust the creation of the Giant Wolf Cavalry to the Bandit-Subduing Army — it delighted him greatly.
Jiang Zhaoming shook his head with a faint smile, thoughts stirring in his heart.
He now possessed Yili — the fertile “southern riverlands of the frontier” — as well as the resource-rich lands of Kuqa and Luntai.
At present, he lacked neither food nor weapons — only war mounts.
After all, Anxi Prefecture stretched tens of thousands of li from east to west.
Without a cavalry capable of sweeping across the realm, how could he reclaim lost territories?
Thus, breeding and training enough cavalry had become the top priority in his plans for development.
And so, the two counties nearest to Yili — Cangbei County and Beiting County, lying at the northeastern edge of Anxi Prefecture — became his next strategic targets.
Yet the rebels had clearly realized this as well.
For just as the Black-Armored Army was crushing insurgents across three counties—
The Cangbei County, lying directly north of Yili and bordering Loulan County, had completely fallen.
Several of Cangbei’s great noble families had joined forces with the Blue Wolf Army of Loulan County, utterly defeating the Cangbei Army and driving them out of their homeland.