"What...what about them?"
"Oh, they've all gone back. They ca out for so night training and returned to camp early. They should be near the military garrison by now. It's just you and left here."
Xiong Lie was speechless. This was a series of nested traps.
Xue Three yawned and said, "Kid, if you're trying to play mind gas, you've picked the wrong person."
Why were the devil kings so easily crushed in the past? They were simply too weak—their factions lacked power, and their individual strength was insufficient. Moreover, the opponents they faced operated on a much higher level. Now, with their own side holding the advantage in strength, their talent for scheming and planning naturally ca to the fore.
Suddenly, Xiong Lie thrust his left arm forward, revealing a concealed crossbow.
SWOOSH!
It all happened in a flash. Xue Three threw himself backward, landing flat on his back on the ground, his legs kicking out.
Just as Xiong Lie drew his saber, preparing to press his advantage and cut Xue Three down, his body suddenly shuddered. Two short arrows were now embedded in his abdon.
Xue Three lifted his legs, waving them at Xiong Lie with the flamboyant showmanship of an aerobics instructor, and taunted, "Trying to use hidden weapons? You've picked the wrong guy for that too, you know."
***
On the hillside overlooking the valley, Liang Cheng watched the flickering torches in the camp below, the constant sounds of battle reaching his ears as he stroked his chin.
Next to him stood Hsu Youcheng.
"Field Officer Hsu."
"Present, General!" Hsu Youcheng saluted Liang Cheng.
"I've heard that you Jin people have been adept at fighting the wild people for the past hundred years. I've never witnessed it myself, so I don't know if it's true."
"General, we're no match for the Yan people, but the wild people? They're beneath our notice!"
Liang Cheng listened and couldn't help but smile. He knew the depth of humiliation this old soldier must have swallowed to utter such words. He reached out, patted Hsu Youcheng's shoulder, and said, "From now on, you'll be able to defeat the Yan people too."
"What..."
Hsu Youcheng was still baffled; he couldn't understand why this Yan general would say such a thing.
"However, for now, Field Officer Hsu, you'll need to prove it to . If you Jin people have lost even your specialty of fighting wild people, then don't expect to eat the sa rations as your Yan Army brothers in the future."
"Please observe carefully, General."
Liang Cheng reached out and slapped Fanli's belly. Fanli was already armored, his entire body encased in iron plates that clanged with the impact.
"Blow it."
Fanli, who had been dozing off on his feet, was startled awake. He glanced around in a daze, yawned, then picked up the rhinoceros horn he'd been carrying all day. He puffed out his cheeks, but just as he was about to blow, Liang Cheng added a warning, "If you dare blow the charge call, you'll get no food tomorrow."
"Uh..."
Fanli smacked his lips a few tis, then raised the rhinoceros horn to his mouth:
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
As the horn's call echoed, the Yan Army, having already completed its counter-encirclent, erged from concealnt and began its charge.
Among them, the Jin contingent, whose morale had been noticeably low, now displayed extraordinary courage and ferocity. They howled like a pack of wolves descending the mountainside as they surged forward.
The soldiers from the forr Green Willow Fortress, however, were far more orderly, advancing in disciplined squads of three to five while maintaining their formation.
A Ming, who had been standing beside Liang Cheng, chuckled and teased, "So, they're all ekness and yes-sirs with the Yan people, but all fury and fists with the wild people, is that it?"
"They need to rediscover so confidence and fighting spirit, or they'll all turn into useless old slacker soldiers. These wild people truly aren't much. They charge in headlong and fall apart just as quickly, without even planning an escape route."
"Alright, you continue commanding here. I'm heading down too," A Ming said, preparing to join the main force charging down the mountain.
"What are you going down for?" Liang Cheng asked. "The outco is already decided, really."
A Ming held up his empty waterskin and said, "To fetch so wine."
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