A large snowstorm came after the lunar new year. While it was a good sign for snow to fall after the lunar new year, the amount of snow was beyond everyone’s expectations. The army camp situated on the borders was freezing and many soldiers suffered from frostbite.
At this moment, the 15,000 scouts and vanguard of the Divine Prefecture Empire were trapped 300 miles away from Swallow County. Their way back was mountainous terrain covered in snow and there wasn’t a way for them to proceed forward and continue their scouting mission. Under such circumstances, they could only set up camp where they were.
However, setting up camp where they were did not solve the problem at all. Even if they could set up camp where they were, they would eventually run out of rations! The rations needed to feed 15,000 men and their horses was a frightening figure. With their return path being cut off, it also meant that their provisions wouldn’t be able to reach them. Furthermore, because their mission wasn’t too far away, they only brought seven days of rations along with them! None of them paid much attention to the falling snow and by the time they realized that the snow was getting heavier and heavier, half a day had passed and their way back had already been sealed. At that time, it was already too late for them to do anything.
The amount of rations that the 15,000 of them would require every day would be 10,000 catties at the very least. Furthermore, this did not include the grass that their horses needed to eat and the medicine for the injured. With the weather turning cold and rations running out, those who were slightly weaker immediately fell ill! Thankfully, the constitutions of the troops were pretty good and not many were sick.
While it wasn’t too cold when it was snowing, the moment the snow stopped, the bone-piercing chill was almost capable of freezing a person alive. While they did make some preparations for the cold, the preparations that they had made were greatly lacking.
This sudden snow had forced the 15,000 troops into a desperate situation without any hope!
At least ten days would be required for the snow to melt completely, and by that time the 15,000 soldiers would have probably turned into 15,000 ice statues.
There were two paths before them at the moment. The first would be for them to continue moving forward and robbing the commoners along the way. However, doing so would not be able to solve their predicament either. Any village near the border would house a maximum of a hundred households and it would be impossible for such a village to feed a 15,000 man army.
The other choice would be for them to charge to the enemy camp and snatch their enemy’s resources for their own use. Of course, this choice had its dangers but was the more practical of the two.
The general leading the vanguard forces was the courageous Feng Mo. This ex-leader of the twenty Blood Iron Warriors had finally managed to persuade Ling Tian to let him out on a mission after a thousand pleas, but before his mission could even begin, they were trapped in the snow. Feng Mo who was trapped in this desperate situation had almost gone crazy!
If he had left a day earlier or later, he wouldn’t have been trapped in such a precarious and pathetic situation. However, why would his timing be so coincidental! Could it be that all of the brothers he brought out today would be frozen solid out in the wild? Feng Mo was unresigned! He was truly unresigned!
Regardless of how unresigned he was, he did not dare to go against Ling Tian’s orders. Ling Tian’s words were extremely clear, “…spring of next year would be the time when the Yu Family is flattened!” With snow covering the land, it definitely wasn’t the best time for them to engage in battle. Thus, Feng Mo was still hesitating if he should unleash his attack.
However, there were another two reckless and daring individuals among the soldiers: Ling Feng and Ling Yun. After Ling Jian got married, Ling Tian conferred titles of nobility and gave them official government posts. However, their blood was still surging with killing intent and the two years of silence couldn’t be compared to having a sword in their hands. Knowing that Feng Mo was about to lead his soldiers out, the two of them had also insisted on following him out.
With an experienced general like Feng Mo leading the troops together with the aid of peerless assassins such as Ling Feng and Ling Yun, both Ling Tian and Ling Jian felt that nothing would go wrong. With such a lineup, as long as they weren’t surrounded by forces many times greater than theirs, nothing should go wrong. Furthermore, Ling Feng and the others were truly too bored in this period of time and it was time to let them out to catch some air. Ling Jian and Ling Tian had even discussed about allowing the fifty brothers to take turns and catch some air.
Of course, both Ling Feng and Ling Yun were greeted with numerous envious gazes before they left. If not for Ling Jian hollering at the others to order them back, there would definitely be more of them who tagged along in this mission.
However, none of them expected such a situation to unfold after setting off!
In the face of such a precarious situation, Ling Feng and Ling Yun were not worried in the slightest and slightly excited instead. They pressed Feng Mo to launch an attack so that they could first, weaken the enemy, and second, protect the lives of their brothers.
Seeing Feng Mo’s hesitation, Ling Feng persuaded convincingly, “With such bad weather, since young noble says that this weather isn’t beneficial for both empires to engage in battle, Yu ManLou definitely wouldn’t risk sending out his troops either! Thus, we must make use of this opportunity to get rid of a few thousand enemy forces, snatch some food, cause some destruction and escape for our lives. Even if Yu ManLou finds out about our attack, he would only be able to endure silently.”
“Even if Yu ManLou really wants to take his revenge, he would not dare to send out his forces now. He would definitely wait for winter to be over and would not come out to suffer the wind and snow. We have no choice but to take such a risk but Yu ManLou is different. When spring arrives, the attack of our Divine Prefecture Empire would also begin and we would be finding Yu ManLou even if he doesn’t look for us. What are you afraid of?”
“So our choice will not affect the big picture of the battle. Furthermore, charging forward will give us a chance to survive but if we don’t move forward, are we going to wait for our deaths?!”
Feng Mo began hesitating and after pondering for a long while, he finally said, “You are right! You are right! This is truly a great plan! Alright, we shall follow your plan!” He then broke out into a wide smile and added, “This is also to my liking!”
This made Ling Feng and Ling Yun who spent a great deal of effort to persuade Feng Mo feel as though they fell into a trap. That old brat Feng Mo definitely has the intention of letting us take the blame when we return.
As such, Feng Mo chose three thousand soldiers who were in perfectly good condition to be the vanguard. Ling Feng, Ling Yun and himself led the troops personally and they gathered all the twenty Blood Iron Warriors to infiltrate the Yu Family’s territory. As a safety precaution, the 12,000 remaining soldiers would naturally keep some distance from the vanguard forces and followed from behind. If anything goes wrong, they would be able to provide backup.
However, none of them expected what the ending would be…
On the other side, snow was falling heavily as well and all the soldiers of the Yu Family were either in front of a fire or drinking a warm glass of wine to keep warm.
Regardless of how experienced a general was, it would be impossible for him to predict that there would be an enemy ambush in such weather. Both the families were separated by a mountain range and the snow would cause the terrain to become slippery. With a single slip, the outcome would be falling to one’s death. Sending out troops at this moment was akin to seeking death and this was the biggest taboo for a military general!
Even without talking about military books, no one would choose to set off on a military expedition based on common sense. The journey of a soldier wasn’t an easy one and even if a soldier had to die on the battlefield, he wouldn’t want his hands and feet to be frozen! This was already a tradition!
Who would have thought that there would be a bunch of crazy fools coming out from Sky Bearing as though they were on a holiday and get trapped in the snow? Furthermore, the mountain that they were trapped in was already past the borders between the empires…
A coincidence was truly frightening at times…
However, this coincidence was also inevitable and these soldiers never had any good intentions to begin with! Of course, it was extremely rare for troops to be so unlucky as well. Being trapped in the mountains when snow began to fall…
The general in charge of the first line of the Yu Family’s defense naturally wouldn’t be an ordinary individual. With Yu ManLou giving the order, the experts of the Yu Family had all entered the military camps and the camp at the borders was naturally the most important one. With winter being the time when war would never break out, there were many who wanted to make use of this opportunity.
All the descendants of the various elders naturally had to be conscripted into the army as well. However, how would the elders of the Yu Family be willing to allow their precious descendants to participate in a bloody war? Just what would they do if anything happened to their descendants? Trying to make something ordinary seem special is one thing but fighting on the front lines was another!
The current weather was the best for making something ordinary seem special. With the knowledge that battle will never break out, they sent their descendants to the most bitter and arduous military camp. This camp that was usually the most dangerous place was currently the safest place. When the weather became warm again, they would then transfer their descendants back and it was truly a foolproof plan.
They would be able to ensure that their descendants had sufficient military accomplishments for future promotions as well. Guarding the borders during the most difficult and tough times, not returning even during the lunar new year! Even if they didn’t have any true merits, their loyalty and suffering were there for everyone to see!
The lives of their descendants would be protected and they would be able to fish for some military accomplishments to ensure their position in the empire. This was a beautiful and well-rounded plan. Those crafty old foxes naturally understood the beauty of this plan. Thus, they all sent their descendants to the front lines under the banner of protecting the empire.
Because of this, the front-most military camp on the borders had become the place for the Yu Family’s descendants to gather at this moment. All the profligate young masters of Bright Jade City were now clad in armor and gathered in the camp with their spirits high!
This gave the border guarding general, Yu ChaoWei, a huge headache!
While their safety wasn’t an issue…
It wouldn’t be much if these little ancestors followed the regulations of the military camp but their profligate character did not change the slightest bit. Some of them brought ten hunting dogs, some sat on a luxurious carriage and some had even brought their concubines from home.
The weather was extremely cold but the Yu Family’s military camp was bustling with activity!
Some of them were gathered in a circle and gambling, others were having their beasts do battle as they enjoyed the show, and some others were hiding in their tents with their beauties enjoying themselves. There were even some who had nothing to do and went out hunting. However, with the cold weather, they naturally wouldn’t go up the mountain to suffer but went to the nearby village to hunt instead…
In just a short period of time, not a single barking dog could be heard in the nearby villages! At the same time, any form of poultry naturally couldn’t escape either. The life of the commoners became extremely miserable but thankfully there weren’t any lives that were lost.
As such, Yu ChaoWei received dozens of complaints from the nearby villagers. This gave the XianTian expert a huge headache…
Behind every one of these little ancestors was an old fogey of the Yu Family that Yu ChaoWei wouldn’t be able to provoke. After attempting to reprimand them a couple of times to no avail, he decided to completely ignore them.
Thankfully, they were only going to stay there for three to four months! If they were going to stay for any longer, Yu ChaoWei would rather smash his head on a tree and end his life! If not, he would definitely be angered to death. Seeing the coming of spring and the time for these little ancestors to leave nearing, a smile could finally be seen on Yu ChaoWei’s face.
They truly weren’t existences that he couldn’t provoke.
Now that these bunch of little ancestors were about to return, Yu ChaoWei had even prepared a memorial for every one of these little ancestors stating their merits. When it was time for them to leave, he would then quickly give the memorial to every one of them and chase them out as quickly as he could.
Who would have thought that this large snowstorm would fall at this moment?!
Looking at the falling snow, Yu ChaoWei had the urge to cry. It will be another ten days before I can get rid of these little ancestors! Life with these little ancestors is like a living hell! With them around, how am I going to train my soldiers? All of my soldiers were dragged by these little ancestors to gamble…
Yu ChaoWei even suspected that if these little ancestors were allowed to stay here for a year and a half, the military camp would probably crumble without the Divine Prefecture Empire attacking them.
Hearing the sound of gambling sounding from beside his marshal tent, Yu ChaoWei let out a long bitter sigh. He dove into his bed and covered his head with his blanket…
Is this still a military camp?
Just when General Yu ChaoWei was feeling extremely depressed, a frightening and shocking event stopped his depression.
The most ridiculous ambush since the ancient times was nearing him at the very moment!
General Yu ChaoWei suddenly realized that the noise around him had reduced by a great deal. He was originally surrounded by noise on all directions but the noise in the east suddenly disappeared. While this wasn’t much, the other directions remained noisy and the XianTian expert Yu ChaoWei could instinctively feel that something was wrong.
The east was led by the two grandchildren of the First Elder and a couple of other nephews. They were the most unruly bunch of all the descendants and never bothered about his military order. Why would they cease their lawlessness early today? Learning from their mistakes? That was probably impossible. Could it be they had enough fun? Even if that was the case, wasn’t the disappearance of the sound too abrupt?
After a short while, Yu ChaoWei realized that the sound in the south had also disappeared. The crazed laughter a moment ago had disappeared in an instant!
The noise of excitement could still be heard from both the north and west but the east and south were like a ghost town. This sharp contrast was far too odd! Yu ChaoWei suddenly felt his entire body turning cold and an immense sense of danger overwhelming him.
Circulating his inner qi, Yu ChaoWei extended his senses but could not hear a single thing. The sound of the violent winds and falling snow could still be heard on the outside and there seemed to be the sound of barely audible heavy footsteps from afar.
“Men!” Yu ChaoWei burst out in cold sweat and let out a loud roar. However, not a single person responded to his shout. Yu ChaoWei could sense that something was wrong and his figure shot towards the entrance of his tent. Waving his right hand, he threw a chair out before unsheathing his sword and slashing an opening on the other side of the tent to escape.
Snow covered the entire camp and the ground was silvery-white in color as though nothing was amiss. The chair which he threw out previously was smashed into smithereens and a small crater could be seen in the snow.
The four layers of lookout which he had arranged around the marshal’s tent had disappeared completely! His 32 personal guards who never left his side had also disappeared in the snow and not a single one of them could be seen. Yu ChaoRan suddenly felt his hair standing up and death assaulting him…
Not a single sound could be heard from the south and east but the dense smell of blood slowly flowed over. Yu ChaoWei immediately made a decision and his figure shot towards the west. As the marshal of this military camp, this was the first time he had to unleash his movement techniques in his own camp!
Just when Yu ChaoRan’s figure just left the ground, the snowy ground before him suddenly fragmented and a thick layer of snow smashed towards his face. Following that, two white figures shot out from the ground and two swords stabbed out ferociously.
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