Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The first batch of Central Plains soldiers arrived faster than anyone expected them to.
This was the elite army of the Central Plains, not the cowardly infantry that had fled in haste as soon as they encountered the siege of Luoluo's army. Although this army was only two or three thousand men strong, it was perfectly balanced with the number of saberman, s.h.i.+eldsman, marksman, and spearman, and so on and so forth.
Dugu Xian's heart thumped when he saw this scene. The Norland Cavalry was famous for their horseback archery, but they were the most afraid of fighting against the Central Plains Army as they had a complete range of arms. This fear manifested especially when they didn't have a numerical advantage. In the past, the Norland's strategies had been developed to maintain a long distance from the enemy while fleeing, lure the enemy into overextending, and then defeating them one by one.
But today, they couldn't get away. The Dragon King was still on the mountain. Although he had ordered the people at the foot of the mountain to go first, Dugu Xian could not afford to leave the Dragon King behind. He clearly understood that the fragile combination of the Dragon Army and Shulitu's army still needed the unifying authority of the Dragon King.
Han Fen did not realize how critical the situation was and was eager to fight. "I was busy protecting the old man last time and did not even have the chance to enter the battlefield."
"Silence," Dugu Xian said seriously. Once he returned to the army, he had once again become the general who was in charge of the situation.
Han Fen was a bit unsatisfied, but she could feel the rising tension in the air and obediently shut her mouth after a moment's consideration.
Dugu Xian then said to the officer beside him, "Spread the order that everyone must put their arrows and bows away. Half of the soldiers get dismount from their horses to rest while the other half will remain mounted and be ready for a fight."
The officer stared at the general in amazement for a brief moment to make sure that he had heard him correctly before he hurried off to pa.s.s the order to the rest of the army.
Dugu Xian then turned to Red Bat and asked, "May I borrow Instructor Shangguan's Flame Foal?"
"Of course," Red Bat hurriedly replied, even as she looked a little puzzled.
"Nie Zeng, go back to camp with the Flame Foal and ask the young king to send reinforcements as soon as possible."
"Yes." Nie Zeng changed horses to the Flame Foal and rode to the backline of the army at normal speed before galloping away at full speed once he had cleared them.
At this point, Dugu Xian had done all he could, but nonetheless, he still did not have much confidence in his stalling tactic at heart. As a logical and conservative general, he usually fought when he could and retreated when necessary. Very rarely would he ever brace himself to confront the enemy while in an unfavorable situation.
On the other side, the Central Plains troops were already in battle formation. Although they outnumbered the Norland army by two or three times over, they didn't launch an attack right away. Dugu Xian's risky move seemed to have worked.
An officer rode out from the Central Plains Army and fired an arrow. The arrow landed in front of the Norland Cavalry, and it was obviously a challenge.
The soldiers who had followed their orders to dismount and rest all stood up. And the soldiers on horseback reached for their short bows in their leather bags. Dugu Xian immediately ordered everyone to stop their actions, and he himself simply jumped off his horse and asked in a relaxed tone, "Who's willing to fight…"
Before he could finish his words, Han Fen raised her hand and anxiously asked for the battle a.s.signment. "Me, me, me. Let me go. I've never been to a battlefield before."
Dugu Xian's first reaction was to refuse, but he changed his mind on second thought. Since it was a stalling tactic, then why not do it more thoroughly? So he nodded and said, "Good. You go, but you have to win, not lose."
"I'll sleep with you if I lose." And with that said, Han Fen eagerly dashed out.
Dugu Xian was stunned for a moment before he said to the surrounding soldiers, "She'll win for sure."
Dugu Xian's confidence boosted the morale of the crowd. The tension in the air eased a bit, and someone even started organizing a gambling game. But not many people bet on Han Fen because she didn't even have a bow and arrow with her.
The officer of the Central Plains Army was even more surprised when he realized that the challenger was an empty-handed woman. As he held his powerful bow, he didn't even release the arrow until the other side was within thirty paces of him.
Han Fen's first move shook the soldiers on both sides. When the arrow arrived before her, she grasped the saddle with both of her hands and actually used her feet to catch the arrow. After getting a firm hold on the arrow with her feet, she spun around her right hand and threw the arrow right back at the officer. Judging from the speed of the arrow, it seemed as powerful as one shot from a crossbow.
After the officer fired his second arrow, he immediately tried to dodge to the side, but it was too late. His helmet fell and he could only ride back to his side, fl.u.s.tered.
Han Fen held up the second arrow and exclaimed, "Hey, I still have your stuff."
The soldiers of the Norland cheered loudly while Dugu Xian let out a sigh of relief.
Han Fen rode round in a circle, juggling the arrow in her hand, and whistled like the people of the Norland. The imitation of the whistling was surprisingly indistinguishable from that of the Norland soldiers, which made the hors.e.m.e.n gain a better impression of her and start cheering incessantly.
Soon, the Central Plains Army also made a surprise move. Another person galloped out of the troops, and it was actually a h.o.a.ry-haired old woman with a cane who ran straight at Han Fen. As soon as the old woman saw Han Fen, she snapped, "Han Fen, is the Dragon King here? Tell him to come out and see me!"
"Oh no." Han Fen recognized the old woman. She had seen this old woman's kung fu before and knew that she was no match for the other side. And even her knockout drugs might not work as long as Tu Pianpian was prepared for them. So she immediately turned her horse around and fled. "I won't tell you."
Han Fen had just won glory for the army, but now she had admitted defeat and fled without exchanging a single move with the other side, which surprised the soldiers of the Norland. When she approached the army, Dugu Xian said, "Han Fen, this is war. You have to win, not lose. I told you so. Go back and fight."
"Ah? Mmm!" Han Fen went back to the battlefield, but stayed away from Tu Pianpian. "Let's see who can run faster. You'll be the winner if you catch me."
Tu Pianpian had urged the horse to catch up with her. She disdained arguing with the younger generation. When she came within twenty steps of the other side, she suddenly shot off and flew straight at the target.
This time cheers rang out from the troops of the Central Plains.
Although it was faster to ride a horse, it was not flexible enough to turn at will. Han Fen jumped off the horse and also used her lightness skills in this game of cat and mouse.
The two women, one old and one young, one chasing and the other fleeing, sped through the gra.s.slands. The soldiers on both sides soon realized that although the old woman was much older, she was faster, and Han Fen could barely avoid her even with her surprise tricks.
Tu Pianpian was a bit afraid of the Waning Moon Hall's poisons, so she had held forty or fifty percent of her power back to protect herself for most of the time. Otherwise, she would have captured Han Fen alive long ago.
Dugu Xian was really feeling anxious in his heart. It seemed that this old woman had very good martial arts skills. Tie Linglong, the only kung fu pract.i.tioner they had at the moment, was probably not the old woman's match. If the morale of the Central Plains Army was greatly boosted and they rushed over, the one thousand hors.e.m.e.n of the Norland would be destroyed while in his hands.
"Get ready to retreat."
A low voice came from behind. Dugu Xian looked back and was overjoyed. The Dragon King had finally appeared!
Shangguan Ru was beside the Dragon King. The two seemed to have undergone some subtle changes, but Dugu Xian did not pay it much attention. He anxiously said, "It's the people of the Central Plains. I don't know why they…"
"We'll talk about it later." Gu Shenwei leaped onto his horse and shouted to the two in the battlefield, "Tu Pianpian, is this how you return a favor?"
Upon hearing the Dragon King's voice, Tu Pianpian stopped and watched regretfully as Han Fen jumped onto a horse and sped away. "The Dragon King is indeed here. Can I have a word with you in private? The Kongtong Sect clearly delineates between friends and foes, and will never return kindness with enmity."
Dugu Xian had already ordered all of the generals and soldiers to get onto their horse. Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, "If the Kongtong Sect really wants to show their grat.i.tude, then come and meet me at my camp where I'll treat you as a guest. When on the battlefield, we'll be enemies."
"Haha, enemies? The Dragon King is too arrogant. I know that that's all the people you have. If battle really breaks out, I'm afraid that the Kongtong Sect will have no chance to repay your favor."
"Then let's fight another day." The soldiers behind Gu Shenwei had already started moving west. Dugu Xian ordered the officers to control their speed, not moving too slow or too fast.
Gu Shenwei had been at the back the whole time. And behind him were the troops of the Central Plains. Although Tu Pianpian was sure that the one thousand soldiers were all the soldiers that the Dragon King had, the generals of the Central Plains seemed unwilling to take the risk, and they only sent small squadrons to hara.s.s the other side.
On their way back, they met the 30,000 hors.e.m.e.n sent by Shulitu. The troops of the Central Plains received the same news and immediately retreated.
The first potential battle between the Central Plains Army and the Shulitu's army did not break out.
The news of the Central Plains Army's arrival had spread throughout the camp. Many scouts from various places had brought back lots of news while the Dragon King was away.
"The army that the Dragon King met was the vanguard of the Central Plains Army, which numbered about ten thousand men. They just arrived at Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s today, and it was said that the main force would arrive in one or two days." Shulitu briefly introduced the general situation.
Dugu Xian was very surprised. "So fast? I thought that the main force of the Central Plains Army would not launch an attack until the spring or summer of next year. Is this news reliable?"
"It's in the process of being confirmed. There are only rumors swirling around at the moment, and not much credible content is available," Shulitu replied.
Mo Chu was no longer the Commander-in-chief, and the other deputy commanders were either dead or deposed. So, Dugu Xian had naturally been appointed as the Commander-in-chief of the whole army by Shulitu. In the face of these generals, he had to make a decision right away. "Anyways, we have to take down Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s tomorrow as it is a tenable defense position. Then we can figure out a solution to deal with it."
One of the generals did not understand and asked, "Luoluo was the one who attacked the Central Plains Army. Now that Luoluo has fled, why would the people of the Central Plains still come here?"
Shulitu wasn't surprised. "Although Luoluo is our mortal enemy, from the viewpoint of the Central Plains both of us are people of the Norland. To them, there's no difference between taking vengeance on Luoluo or me. It seems that a fight is inevitable."
Shulitu's troops had just defeated Luoluo's army, taken in a large number of surrendered enemy soldiers, and also gained the support of the Naihang Tribe. Thus, the morale of the army was so high that the generals at the meeting almost unanimously agreed to go to war with the Central Plains.
Dugu Xian did not object or approve of anything explicitly, so Shulitu could only make a few perfunctory remarks. Thus, the final decision was that they would launch an attack on Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s first thing tomorrow morning, and with it, wipe out the vanguard of the Central Plains Army.
After the generals left, Shulitu sneaked a glance at the Dragon King before turning to face the Dragon King and asking, "Does General Dugu think that we should not go to war against the Central Plains?"
"Not necessarily. I'd like to determine the strength and disposition of the Central Plains Army first. The real intention of the main force of the Central Plains was to fight against the entire Norland. I'm afraid…"
Shulitu nodded and said, "I'll send out some more scouts to gather information. Either way, we have to take down the Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s first. We'll talk about whether we go to war or not later. Alas, winter is coming so late this year."
The oncoming winter was the most powerful factor that controlled when the war would stop, which could give the new Khan's army a break. However, it was so late in coming.
Gu Shenwei hadn't spoken yet. He agreed with Dugu Xian's opinion that their decision to go to war depended on the strength of the Central Plains. He also understood why Shulitu was insisting on attacking Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s first tomorrow; it was a friendly gesture to him.
Both Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s and Jade City belonged to the Dragon King. Shulitu's actions showed his acquiescence towards this.
That evening, Tu Pianpian really came to the camp to see the Dragon King. She was alone, and didn't even take her Martial Nephew Fan Yongda with her.
Standing tall, Tu Pianpian kept her mouth shut as long as there was someone else in the tent.
Gu Shenwei dismissed the others and said, "You may speak now."
"I'm here to repay the debt of grat.i.tude, but it has nothing to do with the Kongtong Sect. It's for Prince Xiao…"
"Prince Xiao?"
"He's the Imperial Uncle that the Dragon King saved last time. He's grateful for the Dragon King's kindness, so he only sent ten thousand soldiers as the vanguard to remind the Dragon King to withdraw all of his troops. Because if war really breaks out, the Norland will be defeated for sure."
"Heh, what a good way to show grat.i.tude."
"I've not finished yet… Prince Xiao knows the Dragon King's goal is Jade City and Golden Roc Castle so he asked me to tell the Dragon King that there is no need to worry. Even without the help of the Norland, the Dragon King can still become the Lord of Jade City."
Slightly stunned, Gu Shenwei vaguely remembered that someone had mentioned the t.i.tle 'Lord of Jade City' in front of him before.
