Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 67 - 66: The Lion Hunts the Rabbit with All Its Might
That night, an envoy from the Royal City arrived at the Liu Family, delivering the final surrender document.
This document was clearly written for Liu Shuyue, with the usual rhetoric—His Highness is merciful and willing to give the Immortal Master one last chance. As long as she swears allegiance and returns to the Royal City with the Vanguard Army, the Liu Family and the local people will be pardoned. Otherwise, Yunzhou will be bathed in blood, and it will be all the fault of the rebels.
Liu Shuyue directly tore the surrender document in half.
The envoy left in anger, not forgetting to threaten before leaving, saying that the Three States Alliance Army would launch an attack on Jiufeng City starting tomorrow.
What he did not know was that earlier, two teams had already quietly left Jiufeng City, moving towards the encircling army’s camps from the north and south.
Each of these two units consisted of six hundred people, all Qi Sensing Men from Hot Pepper Village. They moved without lighting a single torch, or riding a single horse, relying solely on the Purifying Heart Technique to sense their companions’ Spiritual Qi.
The northern team was led by Fu Jiaolu, while the southern team was entrusted to another hunting captain, Du Niu.
Their task was to attack the troops of Bai State and Cangzhou from the flanks and rear.
Located at the center of the grand formation was the main force, the Vanguard Army, which Liu Shuyue would personally confront.
Although the training time was extremely short, and most people had only learned how to shoot and reload, Liu Shuyue believed it was enough. The enemy forces were growing stronger every day, in other words, the moment the villagers acquired their new weapons was the moment when the power disparity between Hot Pepper Village and their opponents was at its peak.
If they could defeat this Three States Alliance Army, allowing the governors of various states to realize that the disciples of the Sect would never compromise with the King of Qi, it would be almost impossible to muster a punitive army of this scale again.
Morning, 6:30 a.m., the sky was just starting to brighten.
Soldiers of the Vanguard Army had begun to assemble out of camp.
According to the plan, they would launch a probing attack on Jiufeng City today, aiming to at least capture the outskirts of the city.
Gong Lingwu was the deputy commander of the Vanguard Army.
"Finally, the day has come." He looked with satisfaction at the well-armored elite lined up, feeling as if a fire was burning in his heart.
The fuel for this fire was the Immortal Master Liu.
For over a thousand years, the rules had been upheld that sect disciples served as ministers to the Kingdom; he never expected the opposing side would dare to defy the sect and resist the royal decree.
Returning to the Royal City, not only did he incur the wrath of His Highness, but also became the laughingstock among the youth of his clan, unable to lift his head for a long time.
Now, he finally had a chance to earn merits to atone for his disgrace.
"You’re in quite high spirits, aren’t you?" Someone approached him from behind. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Uncle Jiang!" Gong Lingwu turned around and respectfully saluted the person arriving.
"When marching and fighting, don’t call me ’Uncle,’ but use our military titles, have you forgotten again?" Gong Jiang said coolly, "Besides, I know you’ve suffered at Liu Shuyue’s hands before, so I’ll lay it out first, if the Vanguard Army captures Liu Shuyue, you must not show her any disrespect."
"Why? Isn’t she a traitor?" Gong Lingwu felt a flicker of displeasure, "Am I supposed to entertain her with good food and drink?"
"She is a traitor, but also a sect disciple. The only one who can punish her is His Majesty, the King of Qi." Gong Jiang repeated the warning, "It’s for your own good, understand?"
Having followed the King of Qi for a long time, Gong Jiang naturally knew his temper. Even if the King degraded Liu Shuyue to the utmost, no matter how furious he was, he would never allow others to lay a finger on the Immortal Master. As the saying goes, thunder and rain are all king’s grace, and no one, except the king, has the right to vent their anger.
No matter how bold Gong Lingwu was, he didn’t dare to defy his clan elders, and could only agree reluctantly, "...Yes, I understand."
At this moment, a lieutenant jogged up to Gong Jiang and reported, "Commander, the scouts have discovered unusual movement at the west gate of Jiufeng City, it seems many people are lining up to leave the city."
"What?" Gong Jiang’s eyebrows shot up, "Bring my horse, follow me to the front line for a look!"
Soon, a group of commanders gathered on a small hill nearby, where the terrain was slightly elevated, allowing them to see the entire countryside.
Once they saw what the opponent was doing, everyone was shocked!
Liu Shuyue’s militia seemed to be planning to leave the city and engage in battle with them in the open!
"Is she... has she gone mad?" Gong Lingwu said in astonishment.
Even though they had previously analyzed the intelligence from defeated armies and found that Liu Shuyue had gathered a band of cultivators from who knows where, their numbers couldn’t exceed two hundred at most, and their strength was quite limited. On this side, the Alliance Army had also gathered more than two hundred loose cultivators, whose individual strength was stronger, meaning overall the army held the advantage.
The best choice for Liu Shuyue and the Liu Family was to stay fortified in the city and use the terrain advantage to engage in a battle of attrition with them inside the city.
To actively attack would be tantamount to exposing their most vulnerable side?
"Let me count how many people they have?" A general half-jokingly pointed and said, "...There are actually seven or eight hundred of them, quite a formidable number!"
Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
"Seven or eight hundred soldiers willing to die are also worthy of respect, but look at how these people are dressed. No armor, no weapons; they’re practically indistinguishable from country bumpkins. Even the governmental constables from the Government Office could handle them!
"What are they holding in their hands?" Someone else noticed these people carrying unusual items, "It looks like... a stick?"
"Every single one of them has a stick, interesting indeed."
"How can that thing possibly be lethal?"
"Commander, please permit me to go out and engage them!" A subordinate had already volunteered.
No matter if the opponents were militia or villagers, their heads would be counted as military merits for rewards.
Gong Lingwu was eager to try as well. He had always been looked down upon and gossiped about as being good for nothing besides his surname Gong, precisely because he had no military accomplishments! Although the deputy commander position sounded prestigious, it was actually a special arrangement by his family. If he could fight a real battle with the enemy, wouldn’t it shut those scoundrels up?
He looked towards Uncle Jiang, preparing to speak, but saw that the latter’s face showed no sign of humor, his expression as cold as winter rock.
"Why were those sticks... made to be identical?"
Gong Lingwu heard his elder muttering.
What was so strange about them being identical? He was a bit puzzled.
"Where are the loose cultivators standing by?" Gong Jiang suddenly asked.
"Back to you, sir, most are stationed outside the front camp."
"Let them attack. Additionally, General Zhou..."
"I am here!" The general who had just volunteered saluted.
"You lead six hundred light cavalry from the left path to support the loose cultivators in engaging the enemy, use strong bows to guard the formation, and do not initiate a charge without orders. If you discover Liu Shuyue among them, immediately sound the alarm."
"Understood!"
This was clearly treating that group of loose cultivators as probing stones, Gong Lingwu thought, but in terms of military strategy, was his elder being too cautious?
As if he was not facing a group of militia, but the main force of a hostile country’s army.
"Commander, if the opponents are defeated, won’t those undisciplined cultivators take the top credit?" Unable to resist, Gong Lingwu asked.
"If that’s truly the case, it’s fine." Gong Jiang replied calmly, "What I’m thinking about is another issue: where exactly did Liu Shuyue’s cultivators come from? In this world, the ones who look down on loose cultivators the most are precisely the disciples of the Lotus Cloud Sect, and those cultivators should have no goodwill towards the Sect either."
Far from lacking goodwill, it could even be said they hated them to the bone... The reason they dispersed across the land, living in seclusion and not daring to establish a single temple, was precisely due to the oppression by the Lotus Cloud Sect, wasn’t it?
How could such a group possibly be willing to take orders from Liu Shuyue?
Gong Jiang also speculated whether they were cultivators raised by the Liu Family, but that seemed equally unlikely—if a mere prominent family in Yunzhou could raise so many Qi Sensing Men, why would His Highness bother to demand a sect disciple?
No one could answer the commander’s question.
"If the source can’t be found, it also means there’s no certainty. So who can guarantee that two hundred is the limit of their cultivators?" Gong Jiang concluded slowly.
This made everyone put away their smiles, their expressions becoming a bit more serious.
If the commander’s assumption proved true, then the situation would turn into a contest of twenty-five thousand troops plus two hundred loose cultivators against the sect Immortal Master and seven hundred cultivators.
Of course, the Three States Alliance Army firmly held the advantage.
Only that it required them to treat the situation with more seriousness.
"When a lion fights a rabbit, it uses its full power, let alone against a Hundred-Year Lotus Cloud Sect disciple." He continued to order, "All other units listen, once the light cavalry confirms Liu Shuyue is in the ranks, immediately move Bai State and Cangzhou troops to attack the city from both sides, cutting off their retreat. The Vanguard Army will assault from the front and completely encircle this force, I want them to have no return!"
