The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 517- 519

Chapter 517: Extraction of the Gu Worm

After ushering Mr. Mu into the tent, Yuwen Tong requested Mr. Mu to eliminate the Gu worm from Ling Zhang’s body, a serious look on his face.

Mr. Mu made no unnecessary remarks and told Ling Zhang to lie down on the bed.

Then he opened his medicine chest and produced a long thin knife, the sharp tip of which made Ling Zhang’s scalp prickle. Yuwen Tong’s whole body tensed up.

Then Mr. Mu fished out a porcelain phial, opened it and with that a weird fragrance filled the tent. It was not a refreshing mild kind of fragrance, but an indescribable, tempting one tinged with the smell of decay. Ling Zhang began to feel dizzy after inhaling a certain amount of it.

“I’ve been raising a special Gu worm in this phial. In a few moments, when the Child Worm in you smells this scent, it’ll start to crawl out of your body. This scent is a kind of intense stimulus for the Child Worm, so it will be somewhat agitated and exerting more strength than usual on its way out, which means you’ll suffer some pain. You need to tough it out.”

“It’s okay. I can handle it,” said Ling Zhang.

Mr. Mu nodded and went to disinfect the knife. When the knife was ready, he turned around and, finding that Ling Zhang was still fully dressed, gawked at Yuwen Tong. “You want me to undress your sweetheart?” he asked.

Yuwen Tong’s face darkened and he immediately walked up to the bed to unclothe Ling Zhang, blocking Mr. Mu’s view.

Mr. Mu felt that such action of Yuwen Tong’s was totally pointless, because in a few moments he would have to not only look at Ling Zhang’s body but also cut him …

After undressing Ling Zhang, Yuwen Tong fairly reluctantly moved aside, his face turning serious again as he saw Mr. Mu approach Ling Zhang with his knife which briefly reflected the light from the candle placed at the bedside.

Mr. Mu softly cut open Ling Zhang’s skin. The odd, distinct sensation of having his skin slit open lifted the hair on Ling Zhang’s scalp, and he almost reflexively threw a palm strike at Mr. Mu which would surely send him and his knife flying. The pain was exceptionally distinct as well. He could even feel his blood flow from the cut, slowly winding its way down his chest. His face instantly tensed.

By the candlelight, the red blood stood out in sharp relief with Ling Zhang’s white-skinned chest, which was quite a visual stimulus. Yuwen Tong balled his hands into fists tightly, all his muscles tense. He was even holding his breath unawares, staring fixedly at the cut, exercising all his self-restraint to keep from pulling Mr. Mu away from the bed.

Mr. Mu acted very quick. After making a cut, he immediately put that porcelain phial on Ling Zhang’s chest and poured out a small amount of liquid at a spot slightly above the cut where blood couldn’t flow to. The fragrance, mixed with the smell of blood, became even more pungent and Ling Zhang nearly fainted because of it. He endured the pain, rolling his eyes upwards uncontrollably.

Right at this moment, his chest suddenly started to ache badly and he felt something wriggling beneath his skin. Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly widened and he could hardly breathe. This time his scalp not only prickled but also felt as though it were convulsing. It was so creepy and so blood-curdling. He would rather have a fight with someone and end up being covered in his own blood than endure this kind of spooky sensation. It was pushing his mental endurance to its limit!

That thing was still squirming, and like Mr. Mu had said, it seemed to be very restless and was rampaging around in the cut. Ling Zhang clenched his fists with all his might, subduing his urge to rip off that lump of meat from his chest and throw it away.

The pain caused by the wriggling Gu worm paled by comparison with the weird sensation which was making his scalp prickle so badly as though his head would explode.

At this moment it struck Ling Zhang that time was going significantly slower than normal, cold sweat flowing to his sideburns from his forehead without him noticing. Right at the time when he felt on the verge of his breaking point, that thing finally emerged from Ling Zhang’s wound. It had just crawled out when Mr. Mu quickly impaled it on a silver needle and tossed it into the porcelain phial he was holding with his other hand. The next moment, a screech like the sound of something metal jarring on a hard smooth surface issued from the phial and then silence reigned in the tent.

“Done. The Gu worm has now been lured out and killed. Now I’m going to stop the bleeding and bandage that cut.”

Ling Zhang instantly relaxed completely at these words of Mr. Mu’s, limply lying in bed. He raised his hand with the intention to wipe the cold sweat from his brow but Yuwen Tong held it when it was halfway to its destination, and then used a soft towel to wipe his forehead and cheeks. “You’re okay now,” Yuwen Tong consoled him in a tense voice beside his ear.

Ling Zhang gave a shudder. “That thing was so gross,” he said through gritted teeth.

Yuwen Tong softly wiped up Ling Zhang’s cold sweat and then said, “I’ll have the one who raised and used the worms know how it feels to have his body gnawed by 10,000 worms, and I’ll make him suffer 10,000 times the pain we’ve suffered.”

Ling Zhang feebly put his hand down. “Make sure you do that. That’s the only way I could have closure.”

He was not the only one these worms had inflicted pain on. Yuwen Tong had suffered even more from them. Under no circumstances would he let that evildoer die without being tortured first!

Mr. Mu administered some styptic drug to Ling Zhang’s cut, dressed it and then said, “Although a geriatric like me does need to exercise more, making a journey that long with all haste was indeed an ordeal, so I’ll join you in the hunt for that evildoer and get even with him.”

“We’ll have him caught and marched to your tent. You don’t have to go to that trouble,” said Ling Zhang.

Mr. Mu said, “That guy’s Gu-craft is much better than that of the one we met five years ago. He knows how to raise Affection Gu, and for this reason alone, I’d like to pit my skills against him.”

What with Mr. Mu’s insistence on going with them, Ling Zhang felt it inappropriate to turn him down, having no choice but to start thinking how to ensure Mr. Mu’s safety during the operation.

…

The worm eliminated from his body, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong could finally set their minds at ease.

Mr. Mu’s vulnerary was very efficacious. The next day the cut in Ling Zhang’s chest was considerably better and he was able to get out of bed to walk, though in no fit state to do anything strenuous.

Before Ling Zhang got out of bed, Yuwen Jin came to visit him. After being given the permission to enter, he quickly walked in and asked anxiously, “How’s Brother Zhang? Why did Mr. Mu come here? Did something happen?”

Displeased at his loud voice, Yuwen Tong shot him an unhappy glance with his piercing eyes. “Calm down.”

Having been given a dirty look, Yuwen Jin didn’t dare speak aloud again, but he was still anxious to see Ling Zhang.

“You may come in.” Ling Zhang in the compartment heard their conversation and asked Yuwen Jin to come in.

Yuwen Jin cast Yuwen Tong a tentative look. Yuwen Tong did not say anything, so Yuwen Jin hastened to enter the inner compartment and was taken aback at the sight of Ling Zhang lying in bed. “What happened to you, Brother Zhang?!”

Ling Zhang said calmly to him, “Take it easy. I’m okay now. Sit down.”

After hearing that, Yuwen Jin had no choice but to sit himself in a chair, looking nervously at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang continued, “It’s no big deal. A couple of days ago I was not careful enough and fell prey to the Wan Kingdom’s dirty trick, and a little Gu worm got into my body.”

Ling Zhang just told him that he had carelessly fallen victim to the enemy’s underhand method, skipping the part where two Gu worms had entered Yuwen Tong’s body and he had helped get rid of them.

“Mr. Mu has extracted the worm. All I need to do is lie in bed and rest for a couple of days.”

Yuwen Jin was very angry. “So they resorted to such disreputable method yet again. Those scum are so despicable! They know they’re on the losing side, so they tried to turn the tables by playing dirty. Those shameless bastards!”

Ling Zhang sneered. “Those people of the Wan Kingdom have always been like that. We can’t count on them to be reasonable, but you guys need to be extra careful from now on, in case they use dirty tricks again.”

Yuwen Jin snorted coldly, “Don’t worry, Brother Zhang. I promise I’ll capture Chen Jing and Shan Congli the Wan monarch and bring them to you to let you get your revenge. I look forward to seeing the looks on their faces when we take their capital city!”

Yuwen Tong, coming inside, heard these words, the corners of his mouth twitching. This guy really knew how to talk big, but the problem was that it was his job to catch Chen Jing and Shan Congli to let Ling Zhang vent his anger on them. What did this pal have to do with it?

“What you need to do is follow commands from your superiors, make sure your men toe the line and perform your sworn duty during battles. Don’t be distracted by anything else.”

After hearing these words, Yuwen Jin looked at his second cousin, a faintly injured expression on his face. “I’ve been an excellent command-follower. I followed every command you gave me. I just want to help Brother Zhang get his vengeance on those people.”

Speechless, Yuwen Tong looked at him. Suddenly, he said, “In the past few years you got out of several blind dates your family arranged for you on the pretext of serving me. When this war is over and we return to the capital city, I’ll betroth someone to you.”

Yuwen Jin let out a moan and hastened to object, “Cousin! Sire! Why do you suddenly want me to get married? I’ve been having a hard job dealing with my nagging parents. If you betroth someone to me, I–I might as well die!”

Yuwen Tong tossed him a forbidding glance. “Are you implying I’m trying to make life difficult for you?”

“No, no, no, that’s not what I mean. It–It’s just I don’t understand why you suddenly want me to get a marriage partner. I mean, you’ve never interfered in any of my private affairs,” explained Yuwen Jin hastily, cold sweat breaking out over his back with alarm.

Yuwen Tong snorted. ‘Why? Because I want to knock some sense into your thick skull,’ he thought.

“You’re way past marriageable age. It’s about time you got married.”

Yuwen Jin opened his mouth and eyed his second cousin with a hurt expression on his face, but he did not dare contradict the emperor with the words he was shouting inwardly – ‘You were much older than I am now when you married Brother Zhang! Why couldn’t I marry at a later age as well?! This is so unfair!’

Though Yuwen Jin did not say it out, Yuwen Tong could divine what he was thinking at this moment.

“Say no more. If you don’t want me to betroth someone to you, get your ass out of here right now and do what you are supposed to be doing. Remember, do not breathe a word to anybody about Brother Zhang getting hurt by a Gu worm.”

Yuwen Jin was unable to spare a thought for his promise to capture Chen Jing and Shan Congli to help Ling Zhang get his revenge. On hearing the condition on which Yuwen Tong would not assign him a wife, he immediately fled the tent so quick as though his clothes were on fire.

Ling Zhang, who had been speechlessly listening to the argument between the two second cousins, said to Yuwen Tong, “Why did you threaten him with that?”

Yuwen Tong said disapprovingly, “There’s no other way to knock some sense into his thick skull.”

Ling Zhang, “…??”

Why did Yuwen Tong think he needed to knock some sense into Yuwen Jin? Ling Zhang was not following what Yuwen Tong was saying.

“All right. Let’s forget about him. How do you feel? Is the cut still aching?” Yuwen Tong slumped into the chair which Yuwen Jin had sat on a moment ago. Sitting in the spot that belonged to him, he felt quite comfortable.

Ling Zhang shook his head. “Not really, but it’s itchy. Mr. Mu’s drug is very efficacious. I think I’ll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, and when I do, I’d like to go to the mountain pass to take a look.”

Chapter 518: A Mountain Pass, an Illusion Formation and a Battle Plan

Ling Zhang was inclined to go to the mountain pass to take a look when he recovered well enough to get out of bed because he wanted to check the lay of the land in person one last time.

“You’re in no fit state to make a trip that long, considering your injury.” Yuwen Tong disagreed.

Ling Zhang said, “I’m just going there to have a look at the terrain. I’m not going to do anything else.”

He was worried that there might be some slip-ups that would compromise their operations if he did not go there to check the lay of the land in person. This was no laughing matter.

Yuwen Tong knew what he meant. After a few moments’ silence, he said, “I’ll go.”

Ling Zhang demurred without a second thought, “No!”

Yuwen Tong was the emperor. How could he go to a mountain pass under the enemy’s control in these circumstances? What if he was injured or caught?! On no account would he allow Yuwen Tong to take that risk!

“Then you are not going either. Given your injury, it’s sure as hell inadvisable for you to make a long trip. This is a fact you cannot deny,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, “…”

“You’ve had your bodyguards reconnoiter that place several times in the past couple of days. Surely you don’t doubt their competence?” added Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang heaved a sigh, regretting having had the Gu worm eliminated from his body so soon. He would have paid a visit to the mountain pass first had he known beforehand things would come to this.

“I need you to tell me the details about the Formation you want to deploy there, along with how you want my men to cooperate. After we finish discussing it, I will not dispatch my troops immediately. I’ll have to send some men there to do some more recon. Besides, this mountain pass is different from the others we’ve seen. The terrain there is very steep. There’s no way we could make enough progress to ensure our victory in the first engagement, so our first round of attacks would be aimed at getting the enemy’s measure. You’ll need to give the Formation a test run, and our army need to put out feelers to see how strong the enemy’s defense is and get some information about their battle plans,” Yuwen Tong continued.

After Ling Zhang, who had little acquaintance of this kind of things, heard Yuwen Tong’s explanation, the light dawned on him, and he had an idea of what to expect. “Okay. Let’s do it your way,” he said.

Ling Zhang had Yuwen Tong bring him the Formation diagrams on the table which he had drawn, then said to Yuwen Tong, “The terrain in this place is precipitous. It’s a natural barrier of Jifang City, easy to hold but hard to attack. This is one of their advantages, but people capable of deploying Formations could also take advantage of this kind of terrain. Taking into consideration the terrain alone, I could deploy many kinds of Formations in that place, but there are mainly four of them that could be useful for carrying out our plan of attack. I’ve finished the diagrams of them, and I also wrote their respective functions on the diagrams. You may take a look first, seeing as you’ll be the one directing the troops. It must be my Formation facilitating the execution of the attack plans, not the other way around.”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head, studied the diagrams for a while and eventually selected one – an Illusion Formation.

Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised. “You want an Illusion Formation?”

He had thought that an Illusion Formation was the least likely to be chosen. In fact, at first he had ruled it out, and the reason why he had put it back on the list was because he had recalled the battle outside Haizhou five years ago.

Yuwen Tong said, “This mountain pass is different. If the Wan army do everything they could to defend it, we wouldn’t be able to get an inch closer to the city, so they don’t even need to come out of the city to fight us. It’ll be no good to lay any traps or deploy a Misguidance Formation or a Smokescreen Formation outside the city. If we are to deploy a Formation there, it has to be one that could help with our attacks. This Illusion Formation is a very good choice. If things go smoothly, we’ll be able to distract the enemy and buy our troops precious time to attack the mountain pass.”

Yuwen Tong was also adept at various kinds of Formations. Previously, in terms of Formation prowess, Ling Zhang had stood no comparison with Yuwen Tong. It was after diligently learning from his grandfather for five years that Ling Zhang had narrowed the gap and was now almost as good as Yuwen Tong. Ling Zhang had always fully trusted Yuwen Tong’s judgement. However, there was something about the Illusion Formation that concerned him. “The Illusion Formation won’t last long, and when it wanes, the enemy would become suspicious. It’ll last an hour at the most.”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “An hour will be more than enough.”

There were many things an army could do within an hour. This was like a godsend, and it would put them at a great advantage.

Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang in general about his plan of attack. Ling Zhang’s eyes grew progressively brighter as he listened. “All right. I’ll be in the tent the next time you discuss the battle plans with them.”

Yuwen Tong nodded. This was Ling Zhang’s first time offering to attending a meeting about battle plans. There had been some occasions when Yuwen Tong had invited Ling Zhang to attend similar meetings, but Ling Zhang had always declined, saying that he knew too little about war to be helpful in that kind of meetings.

Yuwen Tong was aware of Ling Zhang’s misgivings, which were, in his eyes, totally unnecessary, but Ling Zhang could be quite a piece of work when being intransigent. This time around, as Ling Zhang had offered to attend the meeting on his own initiative, Yuwen Tong was determined to have Ling Zhang show those officers his flair for military strategy.

…

The next day, Ling Zhang, after getting out of bed, went into the conference tent with Yuwen Tong. The officers were all somewhat surprised at Ling Zhang’s arrival. Yuwen Jin called happily, “Brother Zhang!”

Yuwen Tong shot him a forbidding look. “Show some respect.”

Yuwen Jin flinched and then hastened to deferentially address Ling Zhang as “Your Highness”.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. Since he was here to discuss battle plans with them, he appeared very serious, looking nothing like the person who was normally mild to Yuwen Jin. He always had a commanding air about him, especially when he was intentionally being serious, so at this time hardly anybody in the tent dared look him in the eye or risk being impertinent.

Xiao Jiangyue and the others reverently paid their respects to Ling Zhang. There were a couple of newly appointed officers present, but all the others were familiar faces. They all had some acquaintance with Ling Zhang and was fully aware that although Ling Zhang had scarcely participated in politics, he knew about the political landscape better than any of them did. Leaving aside his strong marital bonding with the emperor, his intelligence network alone which covered the whole Great Wen and even the other two countries guaranteed that he could keep abreast of the latest developments of the situation in almost every area. Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi, who had once fought side by side with Ling Zhang, knew this fact better than anybody. Xiao Jiangyue and a couple of other experienced officers, who had fought their way northwards to this place with Yuwen Tong, during the smooth process of taking those cities along the way, had all found quite some traces of what that intelligence network was capable of, and they all knew without a shadow of a doubt that although Ling Zhang had not been in the army, his influence had been everywhere. Apart from them, the couple of newly appointed officers did not dare take Ling Zhang lightly either. It was true that they did now know about Ling Zhang as well as the others did, but because of the fact that Ling Zhang, when standing beside Yuwen Tong, emanated an air just as commanding as Yuwen Tong’s, they all sensibly chose to adopt a reverent attitude towards Ling Zhang.

“I’m here because I’ll participate in the offensive operation aimed at taking the mountain pass as well, and I’ll deploy a large-scale Formation to assist you in the attacks,” said Ling Zhang.

A large-scale Formation? The couple of officers who had some acquaintance with Ling Zhang’s skill set had thoughtful expressions on their faces at these words. Those who had no knowledge of what Ling Zhang was capable of, however, were baffled as to why Ling Zhang wanted to deploy a large-scale Formation. How was that supposed to help with their attacks?

Ling Zhang said, “The deployment of the Formation consists of two steps. The first step is to lay the foundations under the cover of night; the second step is to have our troops create a distraction during the first engagement in which we’ll try to get the enemy’s measure. If successfully deployed, the Formation will buy our troops at least an hour to advance without the enemy noticing.”

It would buy them an hour to advance without the enemy noticing?! Everybody present except for Yuwen Tong was shocked.

“Are you sure it’ll buy us an hour, Your Highness?” Even Xiao Jiangyue, who had always been a poised man, couldn’t help but be the first to ask.

Ling Zhang nodded. “I promise it’ll buy us an hour if it’s successfully deployed.”

Xiao Jiangyue immediately said, “Okay! Even a quarter of an hour would put us at an advantage, not to mention one solid hour. If there’s anything you need us to do to help with the deployment of the Formation, all you have to do is ask. I promise I’ll do everything I could to get the job done!”

When Xiao Jiangyue had unhesitatingly expressed his support for the plan, the others immediately came to themselves. Yuwen Jin, Jiang Ke, Jiang Xi and He Xiao all hastened to follow suit.

“Brother Zhang … Your Highness, please don’t prolong the agony – just tell us what kind of Formation it is,” urged Yuwen Jin.

The other newly appointed officers, though bemused, were all smart enough not to raise any objections at this point in time. Two of them were a little overcautious, but they merely said they wanted to hear more details about the Formation first.

Ling Zhang did not take offence. Xiao Jiangyue, Yuwen Jin and a couple of others had quickly expressed their support because they knew him well and trusted him. The others, however, did not know him as well as they did, and neither did they have as much trust in him. They were reserving their judgement instead of immediately expressing their support because of their awareness of their responsibilities, which was exactly what competent officers were supposed to do.

“It’s an Illusion Formation, the successful deployment of which requires the right terrain and the cooperation of soldiers. Some kung fu masters with powerful internal energy are supposed to be at the Eyes of Formation. Its function is to distract the defenders’ attention, temporarily deceive their eyes and make it difficult for them to figure out from which direction the attacks come,” explained Ling Zhang.

When he said these words, all the others listened attentively.

Next, Ling Zhang expounded to them what they were supposed to do, and how the Formation was going to work. After that he deployed a miniature Illusion Formation on the sand table and demonstrated its function. The officers were all amazed as they saw the model army suddenly disappear and then materialize elsewhere. They even felt that the terrain was no longer what it had always been.

Not until Ling Zhang unmade the Illusion Formation did they find that the model army was still in its original position, that the terrain had not changed a bit. All of them were astonished.

“I can’t believe this is really happening!” said one of the officers, astounded.

Ling Zhang said, “This is just a simple demonstration. For the Formation to serve its purpose on the battlefield, I’ll need everybody’s cooperation. And, it’ll be best if we create a spurious impression to mislead the enemy when we try to get their measure during the first engagement.”

A spurious impression? A couple of quick-witted officers immediately cottoned on, their eyes twinkling with excitement. Jiang Ke and Xiao Jiangyue exclaimed at the same time, “What a masterstroke!”

And with that the two of them exchanged a glance and dissolved into chuckle in unison. Then they hastened to look at Ling Zhang. “Your Highness, are you saying that when putting out feelers in the first engagement, we should attack the mountain pass as the illusory army in the Illusion Formation would? So that the enemy would get a false impression, and when we launch a full-on attack later, the fake army displayed in the Illusion Formation would cause them to drop their guard and mislead them into believing that the army was real?”

Ling Zhang smiled with a head bob, “Exactly. It’ll help with the successful deployment of the Illusion Formation, which would in turn better serve the purpose of deceiving the enemies.”

Chapter 519: The First Battle

After hearing Ling Zhang’s explanation, all people present caught on to what it was about, their faces etched with excitement. If it worked, they would actually have an hour to carry out their plan of attack without the enemy noticing. That would considerably reduce both the time they needed to take the mountain pass and the casualties!

“The precondition of all this is the successful deployment of the large-scale Formation,” Ling Zhang reminded them in a cool and unemotional tone.

Xiao Jiangyue bobbed his head. “I understand. The hour is of great importance to us. We will do everything we can to help you successfully deploy the Formation, even if we have to do an extra feint!”

“That’s true. Just tell us what you need us to do,” said Jiang Ke.

Other officers also expressed their willingness to be cooperative. The couple of newly appointed officers changed their opinions of Ling Zhang. They had never heard of this kind of Formation before, but after watching Ling Zhang demonstrate it on the sand table, they were fully convinced and at the same looking forward to seeing the Formation serve its purpose.

…

It took them a long time to finalize the plan of operation. When the meeting was over, the officers took their leave and raced against time to have their men do a dry run.

The first round of attacks was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so there was not much time left. What with the extra task, the whole army was rushed off its feet.

Ling Zhang’s twenty-four bodyguards, along with dozens of guards led by Yao Yi, spent two nights secretly laying the foundations of the Formation outside the mountain pass of Jifang City according to Ling Zhang’s requirements. The locations of a couple of crucial Eyes of Formation were too close to the mountain pass, so they had no choice but to wait until the day of the fight to get them ready.

…

Soon, two days passed, and the first found of attacks, which was aimed at taking the enemy’s measure, started.

This time around Ling Zhang went to the battlefield with the army. After another two days’ rest, the cut in his chest had healed very well, but Yuwen Tong still did not allow him to ride a horse. Instead, he had Ling Zhang sit in a chariot and stay in the rear, and forbade Ling Zhang from going to the front to fight the enemies at close quarters.

Ling Zhang stroked his chest and meekly heeded Yuwen Tong’s words.

Naturally, it was not that he did not want to go to the front. He was hoping to be allowed to join the fight when the army launched a full-on attack a couple of days later, so he had to rest more and be adequately prepared.

As the army of the Great Wen came into sight, the sound of a bugle, followed by the beat of war drums, rang out from the mountain pass guarded by Wan soldiers.

Soldiers of both sides tensed up, and the tension was rapidly reaching flashpoint.

Yuwen Jin, He Xiao and the couple of newly appointed officers, leading their respective units, attacked according to the battle plans. Outside the mountain pass of Jifang City, the bugles sounded the charge with deafening blasts, accompanied by thunderous battle cry which was filling everybody present with feverish ardor.

Although they did not expect to take the pass during the first battle, the main purpose of which was to take the measure of the enemy, it did not make the fighting any less real or brutal, and they must take it seriously. Yuwen Jin, He Xiao and the other officers leading the troops at the front concentrated all their efforts on directing their men, not daring be distracted for a single moment.

Xiao Jiangyue stayed in the rear, receiving reports and giving commands. The other officers, who had changed into common lieutenant’s uniform and blended into the crowds of soldiers, were covering Wang Dashan and the others who were putting the finishing touches to the deployment of the large-scale Formation according to the plan of operation they had made with Ling Zhang.

It was not easy to deceive the defenders’ eyes, which was why they needed the soldiers to cooperate with them. Xiao Jiangyue’s role as coordinator was of the utmost importance.

Meanwhile, according to the secret plan they had finalized beforehand, this round of attacks was aimed at preparing the ground for a full-on attack. Xiao Jiangyue needed to direct the troops to ensure the achievement of this objective and at the same time prevent the army from suffering heavy casualties. His face was just as tense as those of his two lieutenants standing beside him. On a tall pole flew the commander’s flag. The drummers and the buglers were also under close protection, ready to give signals at the commander’s orders.

“TOOT … “

“RAT-TAT … “

Every bugle call and drumbeat signified that the battle entered a different phase. Ling Zhang was standing on his chariot, watching. Though not fighting the enemies in person, he was keeping close watch on the development of the battle.

Yuwen Tong was also present, but he was not directing the troops. Just like Ling Zhang, he was also watching the fighting, attentively observing every defensive move of the defenders.

On the ramparts opposite the positions of Yuwen Tong’s army stood Chen Jing and some other officers, all of whom were looking at the sea of troops of the Great Wen on the offensive, their faces grave.

“I think their attacks won’t last long, seeing as Yuwen Tong is not directing his men in person.”

These Wan officers, despite their failure to hold Yuwen Tong back in the previous battles, were fairly competent. As they saw that the enemies outside, though in large numbers, had not suffered many casualties so far, they came to realize the purpose of this offensive from Yuwen Tong’s army.

However, aware of Yuwen Tong’s attempt to take their measure as they were, they still had to try their level best to defend against the attacks, because Yuwen Tong’s army would take advantage of any slip-up of theirs and use it to breach their defense, and if that happened, they might be in big trouble.

“This is by no means the best Yuwen Tong could do. Tighten the security after the fight, and I want an extra line of defense laid outside this mountain pass. We will hold Jifang City or die trying. In no circumstances will we let Yuwen Tong’s army get through!” Chen Jing gripped the top of the parapet, staring resentfully in the direction of the imperial carriage in the enemy rear which was heavily guarded. Chen Jing would have some time ago started shooting arrows at it were it not too far away for him to hit.

After a brief moment, Chen Jing inquired, “How long before the reinforcements arrive?”

“His Majesty has given the order for the forces garrisoned in the two northern prefectures to move south. As for the border forces … they’re still standing by for the time being,” replied his henchman.

Chen Jing indignantly smacked his fist onto the parapet but ended up frowning with pain. “What is His Majesty thinking? Does he not know Jifang City is the last defensive line of the capital? If this city falls, the capital will take the brunt of the enemy’s next offensive!”

“I think His Majesty is probably worried about potential invasions from those northern tribes. Ever since Yuwen Tong’s army crossed the border, all those tribes have been itching to make their move, intending to wait until our garrisons are dispatched elsewhere to move south and annex a couple of towns of ours,” said his henchman in an effort to justify Shan Congli’s decision.

Unconvinced, Chen Jing sniffed, “How much damage could those tribes possibly do? If they do move south, our troops staying there would be able to keep them at bay for some time, and even if they manage to cross the border, we would lose no more than a couple of cities, which we’d sooner or later take back from them, but the threat from Yuwen Tong is different. Isn’t it obvious enough which one–”

Chen Jing almost blurted out angry criticism. At the realization that the one his criticism would be directed against was the monarch, Chen Jing restrained himself in a timely manner, knowing that he would be in serious trouble if he said those words and someone tattled on him to Shan Congli.

“It’s unwise to give the enemy more credit than they deserve and give ourselves too little, Your Lordship. Never has an army broken through the mountain pass of Jifang City. There’s no way Yuwen Tong could breach the defense of this natural barrier, no matter how good a commander he is,” demurred the commander of the garrison of Jifang City defiantly, displeased at Chen Jing who he believed had been exaggerating Yuwen Tong’s abilities and belittling theirs.

Chen Jing cast him a wintry glance. At the sight of the displeasure and sneer in his eyes, Chen Jing’s face also hardened and with that he snorted, “Humph. It would seem you should have been the one who was dispatched to the south to stop Yuwen Tong. You expect to hold Yuwen Tong back with this so-called natural barrier? If you people keep clinging to that idea, it won’t be long before Yuwen Tong takes this city.”

With that Chen Jing angrily wheeled around and stormed off. The others, naturally, followed in his wake. The couple of officers staying on the ramparts, all of whom were on the garrison commander’s side, watched Chen Jing leave, ugly looks on their faces.

“Because of Chen Jing’s incompetence, a large army was almost wiped out by Yuwen Tong’s men. His Majesty hasn’t meted out punishment to him yet, but he has the nerve to judge His Majesty and lecture us. Faugh!”

“Who the hell does Chen Jing think he is? He would’ve remained a nobody had his daughter not been made a queen!”

“This mountain pass has never fallen. There’s no way Yuwen Tong could breach our defense, even if he had three heads and six arms. Chen Jing has been reduced to a gutless coward by Yuwen Tong, which is why he thinks everybody else should be scared of Yuwen Tong as he is. He even talked about letting those tribes take a couple of northern cities. Shame on him!”

“General, we don’t need any help from Chen Jing to defend the city. The way I see it, he’s nowhere close to a competent commander!”

“Enough,” said the garrison commander, flung up his hand to stop his indignant lieutenants from making more angry remarks, looking in the direction which Chen Jing had taken. The expression in his eyes flickered and with that he said, “Chen Jing used to be a famous general, and he did render our country some meritorious service. We should show some respect when talking with him.”

“You’re too kind, General. I would’ve given him the cold shoulder some time ago if I were you,” said one of his lieutenants.

“Say no more such words. We need to focus on this battle. When it’s over, lay another line of defense immediately,” said the garrison commander.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

…

The disagreement between Chen Jing and the garrison commander had not come to the knowledge of Yuwen Tong or Ling Zhang yet. The offensive had lasted over two hours. The Wan soldiers were on high ground, and the mountain pass was very narrow. The terrain was steep, and soldiers trying to get through could easily be hit by falling rocks. The troops had been advancing risking life and limb, and there had been many casualties. When the foundations of the Formation were successfully laid, Xiao Jiangyue immediately had the bulge sound retreat to prevent needless loss of men.

The wave of soldiers of the Great Wen fell back and quickly made it out of the range of the Wan archers’ bows. The natural barrier held back the army of the Great Wen, but at the same time it also kept the Wan army from leaving the mountain pass to pursue them, which was why Yuwen Tong’s troops retreated to safe ground without much difficulty.

Yuwen Tong’s army returned to their encampment with all haste. This operation was quite fruitful. They had not only got enough information about the enemy’s defenses but also successfully deployed the couple of key Eyes of Ling Zhang’s Illusion Formation. The Formation was now ready to be activated on the day of the full-on attack.

It was after their return to the encampment that Ling Zhang found that Yuwen Jin was wounded. He had been hit in the arm by a stray arrow. As it was just a common injury, he had an army physician treat it for him.

“Ouch! Easy. This is my arm, not a piece of wood.”

Ling Zhang had not entered the tent yet when he heard Yuwen Jin’s voice, which sounded as sonorous as always, telling Ling Zhang unmistakably that Yuwen Jin’s injury was not serious.

“General Yuwen, I’m a geriatric, and I scare easily. Your loud voice are making my hands tremble,” said the army physician in a quite leisurely tone.

Yuwen Jin, however, did not dare say anything else after hearing the physician’s words, worrying that the physician’s hands might really quiver and accidentally aggravate his injury, which was the last thing he wanted to happen.

The physician had pulled the broken arrow out of Yuwen Jin’s arm and was administering styptic drug to the wound when Ling Zhang entered.

“Brother Zhang,” called Yuwen Jin as he saw Ling Zhang walking inside.