Chapter 1198 – Ambush on Xu Pei, the First Kill of the Feudal Lords (68)
“Good grief, Han Wenbin, when did he start plotting this?”
Yang Si, in shock, took a big step forward, almost tripping over his fallen outer robe. If Qi Guanrang hadn’t lent a hand, he would have taken a tumble. Steadying himself with great effort, he stared wide-eyed at the blazing orange flames erupting from the center camp.
The orange glow looked like colorful ink and aggressively spread across the black canvas of night.
Qi Guanrang silently calculated the timing in his heart and grimly realized that Han Yu’s plans could be traced back to Xu Pei’s arrival in Shanweng City.
In other words, while advising Xu Pei to take a defensive stance and stabilize the situation, Han Yu was scheming to deploy ambushes to turn the tide.
The army surrounded Shanweng City to drain their morale, with the aim of increasing the number of enemy deserters.
With more deserters, morale would drop, leaving little fighting power behind.
Unexpectedly, Han Yu shamelessly used this to his advantage, staging a deception while instructing the soldiers to pretend to be deserters and brazenly leave Shanweng City. These “deserters” were mostly young men, and after escaping the city, most turned into wandering bandits, with a few joining Jiang Pengji.
Of course, the lowest-ranking deserters would never get to see Jiang Pengji; they would start from the bottom as minor soldiers.
For safety’s sake, these deserters would have a trial period before being sent to the battlefield. At most, they would do menial tasks like washing clothes, setting up camp, or transporting weapons, unable to touch anything easily convertible like water or grain.
Even so, Yang Si and the others fell for the trick, and Han Yu achieved his goal. The deserters behaved themselves, working in a designated area, showing no signs of flaws. When the signal was given, they suddenly gathered, seized the enemy’s weapons, and caught everyone off guard.
The number of “defectors” was small, but not too few either. Their unexpected revolt allowed them to take the upper hand.
Xie Ze had already disguised himself as a deserter, smoothly joining forces with the “bandit refugees” outside the city, acting according to Han Yu’s plan.
He had been worried about not having enough weapons and horses, but little did he know, Han Yu had prepared everything in advance.
At this moment, Xie Ze began to understand why Han Yu was so adamant about holding Shanweng City, refusing to engage no matter how much the enemy scolded.
It wasn’t that Han Yu didn’t want to fight; he had clearly hidden part of the supplies outside the city so that the resources within wouldn’t be enough to confront the enemy directly.
To avoid raising suspicion from the enemy, Han Yu went to great lengths.
Thinking of this, Xie Ze didn’t know whether to admire this military adviser or fear him.
“The success or failure hinges on this one move—”
Xie Ze donned his armor, picked up his weapons, and assembled the troops, ready to set off.
Following Han Yu’s arrangements, this operation went smoothly. Even though the enemy’s defenses were tight, they still managed to tear a hole in their lines during the sudden attack. He ordered the soldiers to burn the tents to create chaos while charging towards the main command tent.
Just as many were falling in and out of sleep, a loud horn woke those who had just entered dreamland.
The enemy surged forward with great aggression, and the hastily assembled defenses were utterly ineffective, allowing the enemy to break through the layers of protection and reach the center camp.
The flames of battle spread rapidly.
At this hour, Li Yun had yet to go to sleep.
When the ambush began, he was patrolling another section of the camp. Hearing about the enemy’s assault, he rushed over.
“Enemy attack—”
By the time Li Yun arrived, he witnessed the military tent where Lord An rested in flames, with other parts of the camp engulfed in a sea of flames.
The screams and shouts of battle from both sides shot up into the sky!
Looking at the camp ablaze on three sides, the enemy’s numbers were at least ten thousand.
Amid the chaos, no one knew where they had come from.
Ten thousand troops!
The army had tightly guarded Shanweng City—how could these soldiers evade the scouts and launch a surprise attack on the camp?
Li Yun’s eyes immediately found Xie Ze, who was killing with a gun in hand.
“I’ll deal with him! You all hurry and find the Lord, and don’t defy orders!”
The soldiers replied, “Yes!”
If anything happened to the Lord, they could die in apology.
Li Yun’s expression was as cold as ice as he spurred his horse forward, charging with a long spear.
With a loud clash, their long spears collided, producing a sound that made one’s teeth ache.
Li Yun cleverly pushed aside Xie Ze’s offensive with finesse while deflecting his lethal strike, saving a fellow soldier in the process.
“Xie Ze? It’s you!”
Li Yun snorted, fiercely aiming for Xie Ze’s vital points.
If hit, it would surely be a deadly strike.
Xie Ze pressed his lips together tight, also recognizing Li Yun—the young commander bearing the martial lineage of the Xie clan—because of the urgent battle, he had yet no time to consult his family. Li Yun’s face was bathed in the soft orange glow of flames, somewhat tempering his fierce aura.
In just a glance, a portrait hanging in his father’s study flashed through Xie Ze’s mind.
The man in the portrait wore a dark Confucian robe, appearing dignified yet brimming with vitality, his features striking like the genius of heaven and earth.
This man bore a resemblance to Li Yun, about five or six parts alike!
Could it be—
Did these two share some connection?
Filled with questions but without a word, Xie Ze made his moves increasingly sharp and deadly, aiming for the kill.
Li Yun was equally unwilling to back down, thrusting his spear directly at Xie Ze’s face.
What familial ties!
In this chaotic world, one wasn’t in control of their own fate.
With conflicting positions, it was a matter of life or death; there was no room for sentiment.
There weren’t many troops on Xie Ze’s side, but he had an unexpected advantage; if time dragged on, his situation would turn dire.
Realizing this, Li Yun quickly shifted from offense to defense, sticking to Xie Ze like stubborn gum, entangling him so he couldn’t focus elsewhere.
Xie Ze understood his predicament, ignoring the wounds that Li Yun had inflicted, and simply adopted a style of trading wounds for wounds.
He and Li Yun were evenly matched in martial arts; if they truly fought to the death, who would win was uncertain.
Those who are afraid of pain are afraid of those who are not afraid of dying.
Xie Ze was resolved to risk it all, making Li Yun’s situation even more precarious.
Fortunately, this was Li Yun’s home turf; Xie Ze couldn’t launch an uninterrupted assault against him.
Before long, Xie Ze was covered in wounds, the bright red blood gushing out from his injuries.
“You seem calm, not worried about Liu Xi burning in the flames? Once Liu Xi falls, how will you all keep a dragon like me trapped?”
Xie Ze gasped for breath, his voice hoarse as he questioned.
If not for Li Yun’s extraordinary hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to catch anything in this chaotic scene.
“Who did you say is burning in the flames?”
Jiang Pengji’s voice reached the ears of both men.
“Xu Pei is a dragon? Tsk, such a pity—he’ll soon be just a dead bug.”
