711 Confrontation (2/2)
What surprised Gu Shenwei was that the three armies of King Riying, King Riyao, and the Second Consort seemed to have united and were under the command of a single general.
He clearly remembered that when he had set out last night, King Riyao's army was still suspicious, King Riying Shulitu wanted to commit suicide, and the Second Consort had refused to hand over all her troops. It did not seem as if they were going to band together at all.
Could it be that the three sides had changed their stances at the same time in the face of a common enemy?”
A group of dozens of people galloped towards the hillock, and someone shouted from a distance, ”Is it the Dragon King?”
The position where Gu Shenwei stood was under the control of King Riyao's army, so he shouted back, ”It's me.”
The soldiers separated a little and Fang Wenshi rode forth. With sweat all over his face, the first thing he said after meeting the Dragon King was, ”Please enter the battlefield at once, Dragon King.”
The counselor had always adhered to the principle that the king should not enter the battlefield in person. This was actually the first time he had made such a request on his own initiative.
Gu Shenwei rode towards the army and ordered Fang Wenshi, ”Make it short.”
”To put it simply, the Second Consort agreed to hand over all her troops and only keep five hundred guards with her. King Riyao's army accepted Shulitu as the new king and merged with King Riying's army. Then King Shengri's army arrived.”
This was more perfect than even the most optimistic of expectations. Gu Shenwei understood that there must be many reasons and deals behind the sudden unification, but he only had time to ask one question. ”Who's the commander in chief ?”
”Shulitu, the new king. But it will be the Dragon King when you arrive at the frontline.”
A twelve-year-old kid was surprisingly able to command an army of more than twenty thousand men and confront the enemy successfully enough that King Shengri did not dare attack rashly. Gu Shenwei was feeling more and more surprised.
The Norland Calvary had rules even when giving way. They moved to either the left or right sid,e but the same centuria would not be divided into both sides. Gu Shenwei had noticed that, but had never understood how they had formed that habit.
”Dragon King,” the crowd whispered.
”Dragon King!” someone shouted excitedly.
Gu Shenwei soon came to the forefront. Unlike the armies of the Western Regions and the Central Plains, the commander of the Norland Army had to be stationed at the very forefront of battle. Actually, there was no great danger because the soldiers around the commander were all cavalry of the highest caliber, and they would quickly form a tight circle of protection in an emergency.
By sitting on a tall steed, Shulitu appeared even thinner. And the barely worn armor dangled off of him awkwardly and seemed about to crush him at any moment.
Nie Zeng and Han Wuxian were on both sides of him, conscientiously playing the role of bodyguards. More than thirty other generals and officers surrounded them.
The teenage killer Nie Zeng felt quite relieved that he didn't have to carry an eccentric woman with disheveled hair in front of tens of thousands of people anymore.
Han Wuxian seemed to finally understand what a normal person dressed like. She wore shoes this time and had even wrapped herself in simple leather armor like the female soldiers. But she was still very conspicuous because instead of wearing any kind of helmet, she had put on a beautiful wreath, with her long hair still draping behind her.
Shulitu turned to welcome the arrival of the Dragon King, so the whole army stopped moving, and so did the enemy on the other side.
”The Dragon King has come just in time,” Shulitu smilingly said as if the assassination had never happened.
”Isn't King Shengri ready to fight?” Gu Shenwei slightly nodded to Shulitu. Although Fang Wenshi claimed that the Dragon King was the real commander, he knew very well that his power would only work through this kid.
Something must have happened last night that had changed Shulitu's attitude. There was no animosity in his childish voice. ”King Shengri made a mistake. He thought that the deaths of the former King Riying and King Riyao would cause the army to fall into disunity, but once he realized that our armies were united, he dared not attack.”
Fang Wenshi interrupted to explain, ”King Shengri incited a few officers into mutiny but they were captured by His Highness in one stroke.”
”It's all due to the counselor's effort.”
The two courteously explained each other's contribution.
Gu Shenwei thought that he must have missed a wonderful scene.
Just as they finished speaking, a rider from King Shengri's side made a harsh whistling sound and set out to challenge this side.
One of the officers around Shulitu immediately rode forth to oppose the enemy. The surrounding soldiers all cheered loudly.
”Azheba is really a valiant general, it's a pity that he was neglected in the Court Attendants Army,” Shulitu praised sincerely. ”The Dragon King has sharp eyes and accepted such a good marksman.”
Nie Zeng excitedly added, ”Azheba has already shot down seven enemy generals, and this will be his eighth.”
Gu Shenwei was unaware of Azheba's archery skills so he watched carefully.
The Norland Army's one on one match was also different from other places'. The two sides would stop moving forward after running a certain distance. Instead, they would circle each other in an oval so that they could pull the bow sideways.
In the middle of the battlefield, the enemy fired an arrow first, so Azheba ducked while on horseback to avoid it. But before the other side could pull the bowstring and release a second arrow, he suddenly straightened up and casually shot out an arrow without taking aim.
Without any further ado, the eighth enemy promptly fell from his horse.
Thunderous cheers rang out everywhere. Even many horsemen on King Shengri's side gave a great shout of approval.
”The morale of our army is at its peak now. Please give the order, Dragon King,” Fang Wenshi urged in a low voice.
Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, ”Please give the order, Your Highness.”
The Norland people worshiped heroes of the Prairie, which was an unalterable tradition. The Dragon King had to get used to pulling the strings behind the scene.
Fang Wenshi was a little surprised but he would soon be struck by disbelief by an ever bigger surprise.
A scout came galloping along from the edge of the battle formation and gasped for air before stopping his horse. ”Court Attendants coming. There are many of them, probably fifty or sixty thousand, coming.”
There was a small commotion in King Shengri's army. The opposite side had obviously received the same news.