Chapter 162: A Budding War Talent (89.3)
Translator: asa.s.sin
The battle had grown more intense.
First, only one to two enemy soldiers managed to get up the wall and would be killed immediately. Then, more climbed up and would kill some of their men. Though that didn't cause much damage for the time being, the men on the wall couldn't hold on for too long.
Finally, Yun Ting didn't have the time or energy to shout out curses and simply wielded his weapon silently, his young face strewn with tiredness and fierceness.
Xia Shu's right arm was cut. He had to carry his sword with his left hand now. Fortunately, his left hand was as good with sword as his right.
One wave of attack stopped briefly, another washed up.
Xia Shu cut an enemy off the wall when another popped up and came at him with an evil expression.
“Xia Shu!” Yun Ting cried out in alarm, having got rid of an enemy himself, he charged at Xia's way too.
Xia Shu was stunned for a second and watched that enemy fall.
Four black figures shot into the army of over ten thousand at the foot of the city wall like four sharp arrows. Like a tornado, wherever they went, they sent enemies fleeing. Soon, over ten thousand men were divided into small groups. The gloomy battlefield was cut up by black.
“What's that?” A man in black flew by the city gate with a bow as he shot three arrows at a time precisely at three people who were trying to climb up the wall. Three fast tornadoes swept by and the ladders on the wall turned into a bunch of garbage. The men in black galloped away as if they were in an unpeopled land. Yun Ting called out in shock when he saw that.
Covering his wound which hurt badly, Xia Shu forced a smile as he said: “Relief troops! Hurry! Arrows!”
Since the ladders were broken, the pressure on the wall dropped dramatically. In haste, Xia Shu gave orders to his men to shoot arrows to help those men in black.
From the wall, they saw clearly that there weren't many men who came to their a.s.sistance. However, that imposing manner, combat effectiveness plus their armored horses left the enemy in confusion which contributed to the chaos they were able to create.
There were few cavalry in the South. As he looked at those men in black, an idea came to Xia Shu and his exhausted eyes turned excited. “Hurry, Yun Ting, help them into the city.”
Though everyone of these men could fight one hundred enemies, it wouldn't be good if they were left in an enemy army of over ten thousand men for long.
“All right. Let me go out and see them in!”
Xia Shu shook his head. “No need for that. Guard the gate, they can make it out.”
Yun Ting threw him a strange look but decided to listen to this college of his who was a bit older than himself.
As men of Hidden Cloud Soldiers swept away all enemy troops on the battlefield, far behind it, Mo Jing Li and his generals were watching. He hadn't even taken Yong Lin, a little town seriously. It had been a way too smooth journey for him. As long as he had Yong Lin, he had almost half of Great Chu. In fact, Mo Jing Li hadn't expected everything to go so successful himself.
Throwing a glimpse at the Governor of Yong Zhou, a bit coldness pa.s.sed his eyes. A man who betrayed one master might do the same to a second master. This man might be useful now, however, in the future…
Hoot! Several concealed weapons came from nowhere at Mo Jing Li. He dodged vigilantly as guards surrounded him.
“a.s.sa.s.sins! Protect His Highness!”
Several men suddenly jumped up among them. However, they didn't pounce on Mo Jing Li who were behind groups of guards. Several of these men blocked the guards and one of them went at the Governor of Yong Zhou instead.
The governor was so scared that he wanted to scream but couldn't make a sound. He felt a chill on his chest – a dagger went through his heart. In fear, he lifted his head and met a pair of cold eyes as a low voice rose by his ears: “Under the command of Princess Ding, a man that defies his emperor and starts a rebellion should be killed!”
“Let's go!” The man drew the dagger out of the governor's body and blood gushed out in streams. He turned back and slit the throat of a guard who went after him and called out to his fellows who were engaged in combat.
Those men ended the fight quickly and left in all directions. Soon, they mixed with Prince Li's men and disappeared in the crowd.
Mo Jing Li looked at the governor who was lying dead on the ground.
Those generals around him also looked grave with hidden fear and worries. They didn't hear the a.s.sa.s.sin clearly but his last sentence was made obvious – a man that defies his emperor and starts a rebellion should be killed. The Governor of Yong Zhou was killed among an army of over ten thousand men, under the protection of guards. How could they not feel panic-stricken?
Before Mo Jing Li vented his anger, someone cried in shock: “What's that?”
They all turned to the battlefield. Men in black which appeared out of nowhere came and went freely. After several charges made by those men in black, their men at the front showed signs of defeat.
“There aren't supposed to be so many cavalry in the South!”
Those cavalry traveled fast. From such a distance, there was no way for them to figure out how many men there were. It only seemed those men in black were all over the battlefield, leaving bodies behind them wherever they went.
As it happened, the s.p.a.ce outside Yong Lin was narrow which limited the strength of Prince Li's army. Therefore, they couldn't get rid of those men in black for the time being.
“Hidden Cloud Soldiers!” Mo Jing Li said with clenched teeth.
Hidden Cloud Soldiers!
The crowd was shaken again. Those timid ones already looked ghastly pale.
It was the crack troop of Prince Ding's Manor, the most powerful one in the whole of Great Chu, commanded by Prince Ding himself and listened to n.o.body else except Prince Ding and a Princess Ding who was deemed capable by the Prince. Now that it was here… Then… So was Prince Ding!
“No way!” Shouted Mo Jing Li coldly. “That cripple won't arrive so soon!” He had left the capital in secret. Even if Mo Xiu Yao had departed as soon as he had the news, there was no way he could arrive so soon given his sickly condition. Besides, even if he was here, he would have no energy to command a troop.
“Then…who is leading this troop of Hidden Cloud Soldiers?” A general asked, his voice shaky.
Mo Jing Li snorted slightly. He was sure that Mo Jing Li wasn't here. However, who was commanding the Hidden Cloud Soldiers? Feng Zhi Yao? No, Feng Zhi Yao can't command them…
“Your Highness, there is a large group of cavalry coming our way!”
Mo Jing Li was shocked. “How large?”
“Very large… Countless… All scouts who went near them were shot dead!”
They looked to the south. As expected, on the other side of the woods, dust rose with men in black loomed in the distance. Because of the running horses, the ground started to shake from far away which meant there were at least several thousand horses.
“Your Highness…”
Gongs were sounded to order a retreat. The troops under the city wall left like an ebbing tide. Meanwhile, the gate of Yong Lin opened and those men in black rushed into the city before it closed again.
On the wall, Yun Ting and Xia Shu looked at each other with relief as they watched the enemy withdraw. If it wasn't for those men in black, they might not have held the city.
Yun Ting wiped the blood off his sword, sheathed it and asked curiously: “Xia Shu, who are those men that came to our aid?”
Xia Shu sighed and said: “Don't say you grew up in the capital again. I bet you spent all your time collecting gossips since you don't even know who they are.” How could he know about Prince Li hooking up with his sister-in-law but not this?
Tilting his head and blinking, Yun Ting's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Xia Shu in shock. After a good while, he said in a shaky voice: “Xia… Xia Shu, they aren't… who I think they are, are they?”
Xia Shu rolled his eyes at him. “Who else?”
Yun Ting cried out loud and rushed off the wall.
Xia Shu shook his head and followed. The legendary Hidden Cloud Soldiers. He was curious about them, too, okay?
Down the wall, the broad street was crowded with men and horses. However, neither men nor horses made any sound. The street was so silent that one could hear the sound of a dropping needle.
As soon as Yun Ting walked down from the wall, he felt an imposing and fierce air around him. He instinctively got rid of his originally pleasant surprise, straightened up and turned to the man in the front.
That man was also in black but wasn't on a horse like everyone else was. Instead, he led a horse by the leash and stood there quietly.
With just one glance, Yun Ting could tell he was different. Compared to those men on horses, he was small and friendly, without that imposing manner of those others. Yun Ting even saw a faint smile in his eyes. However, he knew that didn't mean this man was weaker. Quite on the contrary, this man must be the leader.
“I'm Yun Ting, a military officer of Scattered Snow Pa.s.s. Thank you for coming to our aid in such a short time. May I… know your name?”
Ye Li was a bit amused by this young officer who looked both uneasy and expectant. But she remained calm. “Officer Yun, is it convenient if we talk in a private setting?”
Yun Ting was still in a daze.
Xia Shu, who arrived behind him said: “Sure. This way, please. I'm Xia Shu, military officer of Scattered Snow Pa.s.s.”
Ye Li nodded and told the Hidden Cloud Soldiers behind her: “Rest at your spot.”
“Yes!”
Two thousand men dismounted together in a shocking uniformity.
Yun Ting recovered from shock and said: “You've had a hard day. How about going to the camp for a rest?”
“I'm afraid we don't have the time. There's no need to do that. I think there are a lot of injured soldiers in the city. Besides, those armored horses need to be taken care of.”
Naturally, Xia Shu understood that. Though there weren't many cavalry here, fortunately, they had enough forage for two thousand armored horses. He nodded and said: “My Lord, don't worry. I'll have them looked after right now. Please follow me.”
Ye Li nodded and followed Xia Shu to the camp that wasn't far away from the wall.
Dizzy, Yun Ting looked at those men in black who sat down, took a rest or cleaned their weapons after sending the horses away then at Ye Li who left with Xia Shu and several men in black. He shook his head and caught up with them.