804 Dividing up the Spoils (1/2)

His face livid, Duodun regretted bringing so little troops. He had never expected the Dragon King to assemble 10,000 people in just a few days, not to mention that the cowardly Shule people had actually roused up their courage to oppose the Norland Cavalry.

”Is the Dragon King very good at fighting?” Duodun asked Liman who was standing beside him.

Liman had been pardoned, but he was the only one of the prince's companions who was dressed without armor or helmet, as if he were a commoner. He was not even allowed to carry a dagger with him, which was openly humiliating for a Norland man, especially when that man was the son of a general.

But Liman still thanked the prince for his magnanimity and believed that he should speak the truth. ”As far as I know, the Dragon King is not good at fighting in a large-scale battle. I'd say the 3,000 vanguards have lost to themselves, not the enemies.”

Duodun grunted, but he still somewhat agreed with Liman's opinion.

The 3,000 Norland cavalrymen had suffered few casualties as most of them had fled before being completely surrounded. However, their actions had left them utterly demoralized as they were the exact opposite of what valiant men of Norland would have done.

The first group of escapees described the battle as very thrilling. According to their description, the Dragon King seemed to have led fifty or sixty thousand people at once, suddenly surrounding the unprepared Norland Army with an overwhelming advantage, and it was really not easy for them to escape.

Soon, the second group of hundreds of soldiers returned with completely different news. They had been released by the Dragon King after briefly being taken prisoner, and they had seen with their eyes that the Restoration Army consisted of only 10,000 people, most of whom were armed with sabers and spears, with very few bowmen among them. And they acknowledged that the two sides had charged towards each other at the same time, and that there was no question of who had provoked whom first.

Liman reached his conclusion based on the second statement. ”Distance is the key to horseback archery. Our army made a big mistake by charging the enemy and engaging in melee combat. It was even more of a mistake to fight against 10,000 people with only 3,000 people.”

Duodun, of course, understood this, but he could not admit it because it was precisely he who had ordered it. He had ordered the army to first defeat the enemy before asking about their origins no matter who the other side was. According to his estimate, the Dragon King would bring at most 5,000 people, or even less, and would certainly be no match for the Norland cavalry.

He had no intention of killing the Dragon King, and had just wanted to show off his strength. But the situation had turned out to have the opposite effect, instead giving the Dragon King a chance to train his soldiers.

Duodun's other close friends knew the root cause of the incident and also knew that His Highness needed their help to save him from embarrassment at this moment. So, one of them said, ”Victory and defeat are both common in war. It doesn't mean anything if our vanguard lost to the enemy's main forces. With the same amount of soldiers, our army will win the next battle for sure.”

The generals and officers were all asking for a battle assignment. But Duodun was still looking at Liman, and he asked, ”What do you think?”

”The Dragon King is an ally. We should not fight him.”

”What ally?” exclaimed one of the confidants angrily. ”Didn't the Dragon King also recognize the Norland Cavalry? He was just trying to stir up trouble.”

”Neither did we recognize the Red Crow Flag,” Liman calmly pointed out. ”Since the whole battle was born from a temptation, it's hard to say who's in the right and who's in the wrong. We can still gloss it over. But if we start another battle, the relationship will become irreparable.”

”So what? Sooner or later there will be a fight. Let's take this opportunity to wipe out the hidden danger,” another friend said. Since Duodun didn't want to speak, his men would speak for him. ”His Highness will enter the prairie to pacify the Norland next year, and as a rear base, the Shule Kingdom must not be left open to the Dragon King.”

”There's nothing wrong with taking the Norland and giving up Shule. Although the Dragon King is proud, he's also a man of his word. It will be more reliable for him to conquer the southern area of Heavenly Mountain than Golden Roc Castle.”

”Ha, have you been enchanted by the Dragon King? Everyone in the world knows that the Dragon King is just as unscrupulous and untrustworthy as Golden Roc Castle. You are the only one saying that he's trustworthy.”

”I think that the Dragon King can be trusted too.” Azheba, who had been silent, now interrupted to say, ”More importantly, he can act as a barrier against the Central Plains and keep the Western Regions safe.”

Just as the two sides were arguing in front of Duodun, a horseman approached from the opposite hillside. Soon, someone from the frontline came to report that the Dragon King's messenger was asking for a meeting.

This messenger was Long Fanyun. After dismounting from his horse, he just nodded without kneeling down to salute. ”The Dragon King said that it was all a misunderstanding. We thought that it was the Golden Roc Army and that Your Highness's army must have also thought the same thing. To resolve the confusion, the Dragon King suggested a ceasefire. The Dragon King also said that it was better to meet by chance rather than by invitation and that His Highness was welcome to inspect the Dragon Army.”Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

The Dragon King hadn't apologized at all. The generals and officers became angrier and began to criticize Long Fanyun.

Duodun waited for a while before he raised his whip and motioned his men to be silent. ”Go back and tell the Dragon King that since it was a misunderstanding, there's no such thing as a ceasefire. The autumn air is so fresh, and I merely came out to hunt. It seems that the Dragon King has the same hobby. So perhaps we share the same prey. Let's forget about inspecting the army and begin discussing how to best divide the prey.”

Long Fanyun brought back Duodun's message. With that, Gu Shenwei had finally confirmed that the Norland man not only knew that the Dragon King had led the army northward, but also about the great fortune of the Meng family.

The meeting was held on top of a hillock between the two armies. Both sides only brought a dozen or so people with them. Duodun's friends reminded him that the Dragon King used to be a killer, but he didn't care at all. His stance was firm, and he said, ”He who holds the Sword of a King will never play with a killer's narrow saber. Also… He wouldn't dare kill me.”

Duodun showed his courage in front of his subordinates and displayed unprecedented enthusiasm towards the Dragon King. He even embraced the other side with open arms and said, ”There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings between us these days.”

”When moving from from strangers to allies, misunderstandings are inevitable. But you and I are still allies, which shows that our relationship is unbreakable.”

The two talked in a roundabout way for a long while. When night was approaching, Duodun moved the conversation to the main topic first. ”I've received some news. The Meng family, rich men of Jade City, want to ship a batch of scarce goods to Shule, and I want to commandeer them all. The Norland is at war and the Western Regions can't just stay out of it; they should offer some goods and money towards our war effort.”