It was pitch dark at this moment, but Gu Shenwei easily recognized the Golden Roc Fort’s military camp when he gazed far ahead, since it was brilliantly illuminated by firelights and looked like a 1,000-meter-long light strip as bright as the Milky Way in the sky. This light strip tightly blocked the entrance of a valley, and inside the valley stood the Great Snowmountain’s camp, which was only dimly lit. If Gu Shenwei had not been very familiar with the terrain here, he would have never been able to find out where the Great Snowmountain’s camp was.
Upon seeing that, Gu Shenwei comforted himself by thinking, “Perhaps they just reduced the amount of light in the camp to guard against the killers’ sneak attacks at night.”
Shangguan Fei was deeply impressed by the scene before his eyes and exclaimed, “This is our Golden Roc Fort’s…”
He suddenly stopped and sighed. The Golden Roc Fort had already scaled new heights, but he was only a stepping-stone and a sacrificial lamb for it and was forced to join the losing side.
“Dragon King, what shall we do?” asked Shangguan Hong, in a very modest tone. Since his failed attempt to escape, he had become more and more humble in front of the Dragon King, as if he was the young lord’s slave.
Since leaving the Stone Kingdom, Gu Shenwei had been thinking about this question all along the way. He already had a plan and but he was not very sure about it. Nevertheless, now it seemed that he was left with no other choice.
“The two of you, come here. It’s time for you to do something for me,” Gu Shenwei said to the excited-looking Shangguan Fei and the worried-looking Shangguan Hong.
The two boys were well aware that the Dragon King did not just want to prove to everyone that he had not slaughtered the Supreme King’s children by bringing them back here. They had expected this to happen a long time ago, but now when the Dragon King was about to send them out on a mission, they felt somewhat reluctant to work for him.
“Hur Hur, Dragon King, I’ve assisted you in ambushing Wildhorse, and it was not my fault that you failed to kill him. Given that, I think it’s someone else’s turn this time.” Shangguan Fei hoped to remind the Dragon King of his “credit”.
Shangguan Hong patted his chest and said proudly, “Please tell me what to do, Dragon King. Now, I’m all yours, as long as you don’t despise my poor kung fu.” That being said, Shangguan Hong was praying deep inside his heart that the Dragon King would ditch him for this mission because of his inferior kung fu.
Gu Shenwei knew that only great fear could drive these two cowards to take action, so he patted the parcel containing their dry food and said, “You’ve been eating Intestine Severing Powder these days. It’s one of the seven specially-made medicines of the New Moon Hall and is very good for your health.”
“Yeah, yeah, Dragon King, you’re so kind to us. Both of us want to find a chance to repay your generosity.” Shangguan Fei lied because he dared not reveal his real thought to the Dragon King. In the meantime, he missed his authority as the Ninth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort even more.
“You’ll benefit from this mission, too,” said Gu Shenwei while pointing at the Golden Roc Fort’s military camp. “You two go to meet with Dugu Xian at noon tomorrow. Don’t postpone or bring forward the time. You’ll tell him that you’ve just escaped death, and then you shall summon all the killers in the camp and order them to remove Dugu Xian from his post. After that, you’ll withdraw the army 5 kilometers to make way for the Great Snowmountain’s soldiers. You’ll tell everyone that it’s the Supreme King’s command.”
Upon hearing the Dragon King’s “simple” request, Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong gazed at each other in speechless despair. In their eyes, it really went beyond their current level of competence. Although both of them had taken part in many schemes before, for most of the time they had been hiding behind the scenes and sent others to carry out their orders.
“Well, how will we benefit from this mission?” Shangguan Fei asked bluntly.
“If you two made a public appearance in Jade City now, the Supreme King would soon have you assassinated and tell everyone that you’re impostors. However, if you first appear here, a place beyond the Supreme King’s reach, your safety will be guaranteed. The more people witness your return, the better your future safety will be ensured.”
The Shangguan brothers could not deny that the Dragon King’s analysis sounded quite reasonable, but they still felt hesitant, especially Shangguan Fei. He instinctively rejected all actions that required his personal involvement, “What if Dugu Xian knew the lord’s plan and had both of us instantly killed?”
“He won’t kill you guys,” Gu Shenwei said assertively. He knew for sure that a hired commander like Dugu Xian would never be allowed to know the top secrets of the Golden Roc Fort.
Shangguan Hong appeared much braver than Shangguan Fei and patted his chest again, while saying, “No problem, Dragon King. Just wait for our good news.” With these words, he turned to Shangguan Fei and said, “Brother, don’t be so nervous. It’s just a simple mission. Besides, Dragon King has saved our lives. We should try our best to repay him, right?”
Shangguan Fei was stunned when Shangguan Hong called him “Brother”. He was not used to it and even felt somewhat irritated by it. He snorted and said to the Dragon King, “Alright, I’ll go, but I’ve a request. Once we complete this mission, you’ll give us the antidote for that Intestine Severing Powder. No matter how great it is for my health, I don’t want to have it anymore.”
Gu Shenwei solemnly agreed and then reminded them. “You’ll have 12 hours to remove Dugu Xian from his post after going into the Golden Roc Fort’s camp. I want to see the ground outside the valley to be empty by midnight.”
Both Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong were usually considered as cowards by others, who were incapable of fulfilling any crucial task. Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei entrusted them with this important mission, since he believed that they were as cunning as the other members of the Shangguan family. Shangguan Fei had once pretended to be Shangguan Ru to deceive him, and Shangguan Hong had once killed a famous monk to frame him. He was clear that once these two cowards were cornered, they would become capable of anything.
As for Gu Shenwei himself, tonight he would make a detour around the Golden Roc Fort’s army to get into the Great Snowmountain’s camp from the back of it.
The Great Snowmountain’s camp happened to stand in the place of the former Gu family’s manor, and Gu Shenwei could still recall the terrain here.
However, this trip turned out to be far more difficult than he had ever imagined. The mountain path was rugged, and there were many killers lying in wait along the way. To avoid these killers, he could only take more detours.
Not even in their wildest dreams had Tuo Nengya and the tribal chiefs expected the Dragon King to be slowly approaching their camp in the mountain while they were discussing military affairs.
By divine coincidence, when Gu Shenwei arrived at the camp, it was already too late to stop his army from rushing out of the camp for a charge, but he happened to bump into the dozens of killers who sneaked into the camp.
Confronted with the Golden Roc Fort killers who suddenly appeared in the camp, the 300 to 400 wounded soldiers did not have much power to fight back.
In order to boost their morale, Gu Shenwei decided to change his usual fighting style. Instead of ambushing the stragglers, he held his Five Peaks Saber high and rushed into the crowd of killers to engage them in close combat while shouting, “The Dragon King is here.”
Upon hearing that, the killers were struck with fear. Although the Dragon King was also a killer trained by the Golden Roc Fort, they all considered him as a legendary figure and believed that his kung fu was much better than theirs. The injured soldiers of the Great Snowmountain, however, were pleasantly surprised to hear the Dragon King’s voice. When they saw with their own eyes that it was indeed the Dragon King, they were thrilled. More than a hundred wounded warriors immediately struggled to stand up and joined the fight.
Killers never liked a melee. Gu Shenwei was forced to start one, and the other killers quickly retreated to avoid it. For them, this was the only correct choice under such circumstances.
The fight ended quickly, and Gu Shenwei did not send anyone to chase after the killers. Instead, he asked immediately, “Where are the other soldiers?”
“They all went out of the camp to battle against the Golden Roc Fort,” a wounded soldier replied, his eyes filled with indescribable joy. He and his comrades all firmly believed that once the Dragon King appeared, they would definitely win the battle.
Gu Shenwei climbed up a ladder to get a view of the battlefield outside the camp wall and saw 3,000 heavily armored cavalrymen charging into the battlefield.
He recalled that Dugu Xian had once sent out a well-trained cavalry troop during the battle that happened right after he and his army captured this campground. He deeply regretted for not having sent anyone to investigate the source of the cavalry troop at that time. He realized that if he had tracked it down, he would have been able to uncover the Supreme King’s scheme in the Xiaowan Kingdom a long time ago.
Compared to that of the previous battle, the cavalry regiment that appeared today was much more disciplined and much better equipped. In an instant, they had easily broken through the Great Snowmountain’s defense line, and were now steering their horses back and regrouping, preparing to launch a second charge.
They would quickly wipe out all the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain in a few more charges.
“Tell them to retreat,” Gu Shenwei commanded, and almost immediately he saw the bewildered look on the wounded soldiers’ faces and realized that he had made a stupid mistake. Horns of the Great Snowmountain were only used to send out signals for charge and never for withdrawal.
He jumped back to the ground, took hold of a horse that looked strong and said to the wounded soldiers who were barely able to rise to their feet. “Defend the camp and never step out of it.”
After that, he straddled the horse, circled around inside the camp and in the end, decided to leave with a battle flag in hand. It was a black flag with a side portrait of a red crow in the center. He had designed this flag during his stay in Jade City.
Gu Shenwei galloped out of the camp, planning to try his best to rescue his brave and loyal warriors. If they were annihilated, he would lose everything he had built up along with the trust of the people left behind in the Great Snowmountain.
The ground was red outside the camp and scattered with numerous bodies. Among them, many severely wounded and dying people were crying and wailing like helpless children.
Gu Shenwei’s mount was galloping as fast as it could, but he still felt that it was too slow. The heavily armored cavalry regiment ahead of him had already begun charging for the second time. They looked like a fast-moving iron wall, and he would never catch up with it no matter how hard he tried.
Even if he managed to keep up with the cavalrymen, he would never be able to stop them by himself.
In front of the cavalry regiment, the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain were engaged in close combat against the infantry of the Golden Roc Fort and thus were unable to pay any heed to the situation behind themselves.
When the heavily armored cavalrymen swept across the battleground, numerous infantrymen from both sides were knocked down like wheat being harvested by a huge sickle.
It seemed that Dugu Xian did not mind sacrificing his own infantrymen while trying to destroy the Great Snowmountain’s soldiers.
Gu Shenwei galloped into the battlefield and shouted loudly, “The Dragon King is here. Gather under the flag!”
The appearance of the Dragon King boosted the morale of his machetemen and swordsmen. They cheered and quickly gathered under his flag. The Golden Roc Fort’s infantrymen began to waver, but their heavily armored cavalrymen remained unafraid. They turned around and regrouped again, preparing for the third charge.
Countless warriors of the Great Snowmountain had already died before the arrival of the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei swept his gaze across the crowd and found out that there were only less than 2,000 people gathering under his flag.
“The injured ones leave first, and the others cover their withdrawal. Let’s retreat into the camp!” Gu Shenwei commanded.
The machetemen swiftly executed the order, but the swordsmen all stood agape. They had thought that Dragon King had come here to join the battle against the Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei held the Red Crow Flag aloft and shouted with an unquestionable tone, “It’s the Dragon King’s order. Everyone has to obey!”
Upon hearing that, the swordsmen all looked dejected like a group of children being scolded by their seniors, but they finally began to retreat toward the camp.
Gu Shenwei jumped off his horse to stand in a line with nearly 1,000 soldiers, still holding the battle flag in his hand. They would work together to block the narrow entrance of the valley to cover their comrades.
“Strike at the horse legs!” Gu Shenwei said, and these five words were quickly passed down by the soldiers standing on both sides of the Dragon King. After receiving the order, the swordsmen all half squatted and held their heavy swords with both hands, ready to strike at the horses.
When the cavalrymen came at the swordsmen, the swordsmen’s defense line sustained the impact and only a few dozen cavalrymen had managed to break through it. The whole scene looked like a hammer being caught up in a soft fishing net.
The third round of cavalry charge was thus thwarted by the swordsmen.
Well-trained cavalrymen never engaged in a close combat against infantry, so they immediately retreated, planning to charge again when they got enough distance between themselves and the enemy.
The warriors of the Great Snowmountain fought while withdrawing and paid a heavy price to block several cavalry charges. Toward evening, they finally made it to their camp.
Gu Shenwei was soaked with blood and looked as red as the crow on his flag when he returned to the camp.
His army was not utterly destroyed in the battle, but he was not glad. Based on his previous experiences, he suspected that there was a plot behind this battle, and his sixth sense also told him that someone in the camp was secretly pleased with the defeat at this moment. He swore that he would find out the hidden traitor in his army.