Chapter 598: Riding on the same horse, the woman who’s the source of all troubles (2/2)
“With preservation in mind, this one suggest amassing all the soldiers to protect Youyuan Prefecture. On the one hand, our soldiers have more experience fighting Western Zhou troops and are familiar with their tactics, so they’ll be well equipped against potential ambush; on the other, Youyun Prefecture is closest to the Three-Way Battlefield. As soon as the cavalry forces arrived, we can combine our armies in the shortest time and then head south1”
“No, we mustn’t! If the Duke of Qin has already started leading troops to our city, then he absolutely won’t spare the regions north of Fenglin Prefecture, either. We have to protect this prefecture, or else it’ll be difficult to recover the loss of morale!”
“As this one sees it, why don’t we give up on the three eastern prefectures and directly kill our way to Tianning! As long as Great General Ning doesn’t block our way, what’s wrong with giving up some prefectures for an entire nation in turn?”
The conversations continued with opinions aplenty. General Chu listened to them all as he fell deep in thought. But he didn’t have time to waste. Soon enough, a soldier came to report. “Reporting! General, Tianning’s Duke of Qin has led his troops to the city and called for a one-on-one match with you.”
A one-on-one match?
Everyone sucked in a cold breath at those words before simultaneously looking towards General Chu, whose face had turned black.
“Long Feiye, you’re going too far!” General Chu punched the table again, almost breaking it with his fists. In the battlefields of Cloud Realm Continent, one-on-one matches were only reserved for times when victory was eminent for one side. The apparent winner, in order to cut down on battle time, typically challenged the loser’s side to a duel. If the winning army won the duel, the other side was supposed to surrender. If the winning army lost the duel, then the other side had three days’ worth of time to flee. But their armies had yet to engage in battle yet before Long Feiye was already issuing his challenge. He was clearly looking down on General Chu and humiliating him!
This was Long Feiye’s first time fighting a war. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the rules, but that he was wrecking them on purpose!
“Abominable! Abominable!” General Chu paced back and forth in rage, but still couldn’t make up his mind on which city to protect.
Chu Yunyi took this time to hurry back in. “Ning Cheng’s forces will need at least three days before they reach Youyun Prefecture,” he announced.
Three days…
“Youyun Prefecture won’t last for three days,” someone declared.
“General, since the Duke of Qin’s asking for a duel, why not think of ways to delay him?” someone suggested.
General Chu was thinking of the ‘three days’ problem as well. He would never directly confront Long Feiye in battle because he’d lose for sure. He had to think of another way to buy time. No matter what, as long as they held out for three more days, the situation would change again.
While General Chu was thinking, Chu Yunyi murmured three words in his ear: “Han Yunxi!”
General Chu furrowed his brows as Chu Yunyi’s eyes flickered with cold laughter. “You’ll know once you climb up the watchtower.”
General Chu didn’t hesitate to climb the stairs. This time, he could see Long Feiye’s soldiers loud and clear! All 5,000 of them were standing in orderly lines at the foot of the city, but carried the air of a 50,000 strong army. At their head was precisely Long Feiye, but in his lap was a woman—Qin Wangfei, Han Yunxi!
General Chu couldn’t help but shake his head. “Heheh, that vixen!”
In the war history of Cloud Realm Continent, from the time of the Great Qin Empire to the three kingdoms that came after it, no leader of an army had ever led a woman into the field, much less sit with her on the same horse! After all, women were akin to clothing to men, and burdens to generals! But Long Feiye’s first time in war had included bringing along his woman as well! He was so frivolous that it was laughable!
Long Feiye had one hand wrapped around Han Yunxi’s slender waist and the other grasping his sword. He sat atop a tall steed, the commander-in-chief of 5,000 men! He hadn’t chosen to wear armor, but robes of black instead. His inherent nobility and domineering air were second nature to him. Despite not saying a word or showing any anger, he gave off a frightening, awe-inspiring aura all the same. Han Yunxi was also dressed in black robes, but still looked heroic and valiant despite sitting in his lap. She faced the battlefield as she faced her patients, stern and cold. When this woman got serious, she wasn’t very beautiful, but still commanded respect.
When she spotted General Chu’s face atop the city, she shouted, “He’s here!”
Long Feiye raised his sword at the watchtower and said coldly, “General Chu, why haven’t you accepted the duel yet?”