510 Entering the Camp (2/2)
Gu Shenwei strode forth, before the blademaster suddenly asked him, ”There are usually two of you. How come it's only one messenger this time?”
”We met with an ambush by the Dragon army and Zhao Biao was killed,” replied Gu Shenwei.
Zhao Biao was a killer from the Golden Roc Fort, and the blademaster was slightly shocked to hear the news. ”Zhao Biao was killed, but you managed to survive?”
”I was luckier. Their first target was him, and I didn't stop but urged my horse on. It kept me alive.”
Gu Shenwei did not explain further. The blademaster would understand that experienced skirmishers always picked off the strongest targets first.
The blademaster still seemed a little suspicious. ”Since you fled so quickly, how did you know Zhao Biao was killed?”
”I guessed. How could he have survived after falling into the hands of the Dragon army? The Cloud King... Third Young Master values this letter very much, and if you want to know the details of the ambush, send someone to pass it to Commander Yi first,” replied Gu Shenwei, faking irritation and anxiety. He had also purposely addressed Shangguan Yun vaguely. He had known from the captive that the trusted followers of Shangguan Yun addressed him as the 'Cloud King', and also that they knew it was still better to call him 'Third Young Master' in the presence of other people from the Golden Roc Fort.
The blademaster grunted. It was unclear whether he was dissatisfied with the messenger's attitude or thought little of the 'Cloud King'. ”Go deliver your letter,” he replied.
It was not the first time Gu Shenwei was deep behind enemy lines. Earlier on, when he was still receiving training in the Golden Roc Fort, he had used the same tactic during the incident of apprentices fighting amongst each other, but now, it was much harder to complete his task.
The path to Shangguan Jianyi did not get any smoother after Gu Shenwei had received the blademaster's approval to proceed; he went through another four obstacles. At last, an advisor from the Whiterobe Academy requested the letter and inspected it visually before personally sending it into the main tent. The 'messenger' could only wait outside, surrounded by guards and killers. Even though he was only separated from Commander Yi by a tent, he could not move an inch.
It was not the best opportunity for an assassination, and Gu Shenwei could only wait patiently. If the letter managed to arouse the interest of Shangguan Jianyi, it was possible that he would summon the messenger for a few words with him.
It was soon proved that Shangguan Jianyi thought little of his nephew. The advisor walked back out and passed an acknowledgement message to Gu Shenwei before waving his hand at the 'messenger', telling him, ”Commander Yi received the letter. You may leave now.”
The 'messenger' had nowhere to go. The decisive battle was taking place tomorrow and he definitely could not return back to the Third Young Master by following the estuary, but it was pointless to tell that to the advisor. As such, Gu Shenwei obeyed the order and left, only explaining the situation to an officer after he had left the protective ring surrounding the commander.
”Stay behind. Tomorrow's battle will be the type that will only happen once a century, and rarely will there be a war of such scale in Western Region. I'll assign you to Commander Yi's guard unit, so that you'll be able to witness the victorious sight of the Golden Roc army achieving complete victory. You may even receive some award for the victory without actually taking part in the battle, haha.”
The officer was being tactful. He could not differentiate between the many factions of people from the Golden Roc Fort, and felt that it would be prudent to treat the Third Young Master's 'messenger' as a killer. Besides, this person had passed the various tests and it would not be his responsibility should the 'messenger' turn out to be an enemy.
In this way, Gu Shenwei remained behind in the enemy camp. During noon on the next day, he was wearing the armor of the Golden Roc army and standing 20 steps behind Shangguan Jianyi on the battlefield.
It was an interesting thing to be observing a life and death battle from the enemy's perspective.
Gu Shenwei increasingly agreed with Dugu Xian's view that it would be impossible to defeat an enemy with larger amount of troops unless they made mistakes.
The fearsome Dragon army was holding on to a slight advantage on the battlefield, but they kept sustaining losses, and even if each of its soldiers could take on two enemy combatants at the same time, it would lose the war of attrition.
Even so, the Golden Roc army made a few mistakes. Shangguan Jianyi had expected a surprise attack from the estuary, but he had grossly underestimated the strength of the Dragon army. Also, Shangguan Yun's letter had made him lower his guard and his spearmen were conscripted servants from various nations in Western Region. Naturally, their morale and combat power were very weak.
It would be a grave mistake.
He even less expected that the enemy leader would be standing near him at this crucial moment, and that the Dragon King could assassinate him by rushing up a few steps.
This was a fatal mistake.
Suddenly, on the estuary, thousands of arrows rained downed upon the spearmen like a storm. They had nothing to shield themselves with and could only watch the arrows flying toward them or choose to flee.
They were forcibly conscripted, their homelands had fallen into the hands of a foreign power, and they were far from home. They were under the impression that it was a battle that they would surely win, and there was only a logical choice open to them when faced with the threat of death.
The high-ranking military officers leading them ordered them to attack, but they were standing at the bottom of a slope which was steep in some areas. As such, it was suicidal to try to charge up toward the enemy, especially when they were all archers.
The spearmen on the right flank of the Golden Roc army were the first to rout, while those that held the line mostly perished under the torrent of arrows.
Shangguan Jianyi still had an option. If he could withdraw his troops to draw the female archers down from high ground, he could smash them with a round of cavalry charge. He believed that the flaws of the female enemy combatants would be exposed in close combat.
The assassination took place at this instant from someone hiding inside a wine barrel. It was placed with the other barrels not far behind Commander Yi; the high-ranking military officers who had been withdrawn from battle after making a positive contribution on the battlefield could receive a bowl of good wine from Shangguan Jianyi.
The barrel split open into many pieces and a short, old man leaped out of it.
The killers were not in position and the guards were panicking. They drew their weapons in a flurry and charged toward the assassin who had suddenly appeared.
Gu Shenwei was also among the guards and drew the scimitar he was given. He had a chance to reach Shangguan Jianyi before anyone else when charging toward Old Man Mu.