Chapter 1496 – Decapitating Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Pointing to the World (Thirty-Five)
“Yo— finally willing to come out! I thought you all had sneaked away!”
After days of jeering without a response, he was almost convinced he’d be ghosted today too, but surprise, surprise!
“You really don’t know this, do you? Even a turtle that’s been hiding in its shell for too long needs to come out and forage for food, right?”
With that, the soldiers around erupted into laughter, their mocking malice practically oozing from their faces.
The military general’s voice was loud, but with the two armies facing off at such a distance, they could only faintly hear some commotion.
Even if they didn’t catch every word, just seeing the enemy laugh so hard made it clear the remarks weren’t pleasant.
Jiang Pengji yawned while sitting atop her horse, bored, “Is this really a prelude to a duel?”
She genuinely didn’t understand the ancient customs of battle. It was one thing not to kill envoys during warfare, but why involve dueling when they could just take advantage of Nie’s wobbly formation and charge in?
Of course, dueling wasn’t frequent, typically limited to frontal confrontations on the battlefield.
In another century or two, such formal duels might just become a thing of the past.
Bai Ning stepped forward into the fray, and Jiang Pengji waved him on.
“I’ll back you up.” She wasn’t boasting; in this world, 1V1, she’d never lost, “Slay the enemy general on the battlefield, and there’s an extra reward.”
Bai Ning clasped his hands in salute and galloped forth. As the opposing general approached, they saw it was Bai Ning, an old man over forty, with graying hair and beard, igniting both contempt and rage. Could it be that Jiang Pengji didn’t have anyone better than this old, feeble general to send out?
“Hmph, Liu Xi looking down on me is quite alright; I shall have a go with him.”
Within the ranks of Nie’s camp were numerous valiant generals, most hailing from military families, trained in martial arts since childhood.
Aside from a few seasoned veterans, most were between twenty-five and forty; the prime of their lives.
“Is Liu Xi really so devoid of capable generals? Sending out such an old man, clearly just asking to die. Who dares approach? State your name! We do not strike down nameless folk!” Though they were a dozen paces apart, his booming voice made every word crystal clear.
The challenger was stout and muscular, shoulders broad, waist narrow, with arms thick as an ordinary woman’s thigh, towering over others.
His attire was no less imposing. A complete set of finely forged armor covered him, adorned with fierce and terrifying beasts.
Just standing there, he exuded intimidation, wielding a long blade nearly ten feet long, its edge glinting ominously.
The warhorse beneath him wasn’t particularly small, but with this formidable warrior atop, it looked almost dainty.
Facing such humiliation, Bai Ning chuckled in anger.
“Such bravado! Aren’t you afraid of the winds blowing your tongue away? Want my life? Kneel and call me ‘Daddy!’ first!”
Hearing Bai Ning refer to himself as ‘Daddy’ ignited a fiery fury in Nie’s general, who urged his horse forward, blade raised.
With both launching their full strength, the impact of their clash sent a jolt through their hands.
The general was stunned—this old man who should be past his prime had strength that was clearly on par with the young!
True, despite Bai Ning’s age, he still maintained excellent physical condition. Before following Jiang Pengji, he’d even single-handedly taken down a man-eating beast! Judging by appearances alone isn’t wise; Bai Ning felt he could fight for another decade!
“Yo— my son isn’t just a pretty face after all, I’m quite relieved!”
Relying on his seniority, Bai Ning continually provoked the opponent as he charged into battle, trying to throw him off balance.
“Little brat, let me teach you a lesson!”
Warriors from military families had their advantages but also certain drawbacks. The advantage was they’d received formal education since childhood, unlike those mere muscle-bound savages. But the downside was clear, their bickering lacked that wild, raw edge.
Bai Ning’s martial arts were taught by Ge Chun, the former general of Nan Sheng. While it wasn’t entirely unorthodox, it was certainly not conventional.
He couldn’t guarantee victory in a brawl but definitely couldn’t afford to lose in a verbal fight.
The general aimed to counter carefully, but Bai Ning’s incessant chatter only stoked his anger, until he couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Looking for death!”
With a mighty shout, the long blade shot towards Bai Ning’s face.
Bai Ning seemed to have anticipated this, blocking and deflecting the strike while ducking to avoid it.
The two exchanged blows for several dozen rounds, sweat trickling down their foreheads from beneath their helmets, saturating the fabric inside their armor.
Sun Wen frowned, watching closely, “Can our lord discern who holds the upper hand?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Naturally it’s General Bai. His experience is more seasoned—he knows how to conserve energy and strike at the right moment. The general of Nie’s side is decent too, but he’s overly proud and somewhat arrogant. After about ten more rounds, the outcome will be clear.”
True to her words, the situation unfolded as she predicted.
Nie’s general, lacking as much experience as Bai Ning, fell for a feint and exposed an opening, receiving a cut to the shoulder.
As pain shot through him, he feigned an attack and retreated to his side’s main forces.
Bai Ning wouldn’t let a kill slip away so easily; he swiftly rode after him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a glint of cold light; was Nie’s camp planning to launch a surprise attack?
With vigilance, he pursued the opponent, raising his blade to cleave him in two.
Before the enemy could let out a single shriek, he crashed down from his horse, and in that instant, an arrow shot towards him.
Bai Ning sidestepped just in time, the arrow piercing his arm, prompting him to hurry back to his ranks.
Meanwhile, Nie Qing’s expression darkened—should he chastise the reckless general for his careless demise or scold the rookie for firing a sneak attack?
In duels like this, the stakes of life and death were clear.
Resorting to sneaky tactics only drew disdain.
Firing a sneak shot was one thing, but without saving his own general and allowing the enemy to escape was nothing short of disgraceful.
When Qin Gong spotted Bai Ning returning, his sharp, resolute features were tinted with anger.
“Is General Bai alright?”
“What haven’t I seen on the battlefield?” Bai Ning grinned, “Just a cold arrow, a mere flesh wound, what a waste of that head!”
A head prize from slaying an enemy general was an enormous contribution, a trophy for him.
Qin Gong was left speechless—how to address someone who still cared about the enemy’s head at such a moment?
“Is a life more important or is a merit? You want to pursue and slay more? Fortunately, it was just a single cold arrow; what if they fired a few more? Do you intend to trade your life for this worthless morsel?” Jiang Pengji scolded coldly, “Is his life worth more than yours?”
