The Human Emperor Chapter 219
Chapter 218: Truth!
“…”
In an instant, everyone fell silent.
Black
Tortoise Peak didn’t have the support of a Princess Ni Huang and
neither were they as offensively oriented as White Tiger Peak either. In
fact, they didn’t even have a single master archer like Zhou Huang.
Yet, with just a shield, most of them actually managed to survive this ordeal.
Even the experts whom Marchioness Yi brought here felt that Wei Hao and the others were way too lucky.
“Young general, that person… seems like w.a.n.g Chong from the w.a.n.g Clan!”
Just
as w.a.n.g Chong and Wei Hao were gathered together, no one noticed that
at the top of the peak, beside a blazing campfire, a few young men with
Hu characteristics along with some Han men were currently staring down
with cold gazes.
The Black Tortoise Peak was exceptionally high,
making it easy to survey the surrounding situation from here. They could
easily spot the escaping Goguryeons and Turks spreading themselves
within the forest, as well as the wolves whom the Goguryeons ordered to
stall the pursuing troops.
The Turks and Goguryeons had caused
quite the uproar with this a.s.sault. However, none of the gazes of these
young Hu and Han were on them. Rather, their focus was on w.a.n.g Chong
instead.
“Hmph, that kid sure is lucky. White Tiger is the
west-most peak, closest to the capital, and exactly where the Turks and
Goguryeons were focusing their efforts. Yet, he somehow managed to
survive!”
By
the campfire, a young Hu leader spoke coldly. The Origin Energy around
him coalesced into a green Halo of Thorns and slowly began to revolve
around him. Countless wolf fang arrows lay on the ground nearby but none
of them managed to even get close to him.
To most, this night was
no different than a nightmare. Yet, to those men standing by the
campfire, this was nothing more than a small game.
Be it the
Goguryeon condor snipers or Turk master archers, regardless of how
thickly the arrows poured in, they were no threat to them at all.
The
reason was simple. In this world, there wasn’t a single master archer
alive who could threaten a true Tongluo tribe member. Members of the
Tongluo tribe were the best cavalry in the world, as well as the cavalry
that possessed the least fear for archers.
As the second son of
great Hu General Abusi, Abutong had been learning how to grab arrows
with his bare hands from young and could now easily do so even when
blindfolded.
The barrage of wolf fang arrows threatening Black Tortoise Peak couldn’t harm him at all.
“Young general, it is currently chaotic now. Why don’t we…”
Beside
Abutong, a young Tongluo youth made a gesture to kill, hostile
intentions simmering in his eyes. w.a.n.g Chong’s memorial regarding the Hu
had already made him the thorn in the eyes of all Hu. Countless Hu had
been plotting how they could claim w.a.n.g Chong’s head, and this seemed to
be an ideal situation for them.
“No!”
Contrary to his expectation, Abutong waved his ma.s.sive hands and rejected the idea immediately.
“If
I’m not mistaken, that lady beside him should be Little Marchioness Yi,
the daughter of the only marchioness in Great Tang. Any woman in this
country who was conferred a t.i.tle of n.o.bility and placed in command of
armies is a lunatic, and that woman is a lunatic among lunatics!”
“Even
I don’t have the confidence to subdue her. If our operation fails and
we leave behind any evidence, the situation might backfire on us!”
Abutong
replied. He was clearly wary of Marchioness Yi. Different from w.a.n.g
Chong, she was a true expert who was reputable even among the geniuses
of the capital.
“But young general, do we just let this matter go?”
The
Tongluo youth replied indignantly. Tongluo men had always prided
themselves on their feral and aggressive nature, and tolerance wasn’t
their style of doing things.
“Hmph,
let the matter go? How is that possible! Why do you think I chose this
Kunwu Training Camp when I could have gone to Shenwei Training Camp
instead? The days are long, and there will be plenty of chances to deal
with this w.a.n.g Chong in the future!”
Abutong sneered as he flung his sleeves backward and returned back into the hall on top of Black Tortoise Peak.
The
battle at Azure Dragon Peak ended around the same time as that of Black
Tortoise Peak. And by the time w.a.n.g Chong arrived, the attacking
Goguryeons and Turks had already received the news and left.
The four peaks of Kunwu Training Camp were built from the very start with the intention of supporting one another.
In
truth, the battle had already ended from the moment that White Tiger
Peak triumphed over their enemies! At the time, the tides had already
changed, and no matter how indignant the Goguryeons and Turks were, they
could only flee in disappointment.
“It’s finally over!”
Below
the Azure Dragon Peak, w.a.n.g Chong wore a pallid appearance. He panted
deeply as he supported himself with his hands on his knees. The battle
had lasted a long time, while he’d been running around without a break
the whole time. Now that he could finally take a breather, he found his
Origin Energy and stamina were nearly depleted.
Were it not for
the additional benefit of enhancing his Bane of the Battlefield slaying
the Goguryeon warriors, he wouldn’t have pushed himself so much.
However, it was all over now. All that was left was to sweep the entire area.
…
A strong mountain wind blew across the night sky.
While
w.a.n.g Chong, Marchioness Yi, Wei Hao, and the other camp members were
clearing the corpses and carca.s.ses from the four peaks, no one knew that
a pair of eyes had been silently observing their actions and the entire
Kunwu Training Camp from the shadows.
No one knew exactly how
long he had been standing there, but without a doubt, from the start to
the end of the a.s.sault, there wasn’t a single detail that had managed to
escape his notice.
“Are the preparations complete?”
In the
darkness, a shadowy figure was standing atop a rocky prominence with his
hands behind his back. His voice was authoritative and cold, and it was
impossible to discern any emotions from it. A slight star-lit radiance
shone upon him, allowing one to vaguely see the shape of Great Tang’s
uniform.
“All preparations are ready! Quill, Imperial, Serpent,
Dragon, Tortoise… All six armies stand ready. Not a single one of those
master archers, warriors, or wolves will get away!”
A young man moved to kneel before that figure respectfully. His tone was composed but the content of his words was shocking.
If
w.a.n.g Chong was here, he would definitely be astounded. Quill, Imperial,
Serpent, Dragon, and Tortoise—they were all regiments under the
Imperial Army.
w.a.n.g Chong and the others thought that the master
archers had sealed all news from getting out, but the royal palace
somehow seemed to have had advance knowledge.
“Very well! Relay my
orders! Kill every single one of them, especially the master archers!
Since the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates and Goguryeo sent us so
many master archers and condor snipers, it’ll be a little embarra.s.sing
if we don’t accept them properly!”
The figure ordered coldly and callously.
If
Zhao Qianqiu was here, he would be even more astounded. The person
standing here issuing orders was the very same one who said that he
would return to the capital to report to the Sage Emperor! Instead of
returning to the royal palace, he was hiding here instead!
The
command was swiftly relayed, and in all directions, in places where none
could see, another battle raged on. This one ended much quicker than
the previous a.s.sault. There was no stalemate. It was a completely
one-sided slaughter.
Or perhaps, calling it as a battle was a little inaccurate. To be more exact, it was a prepared harvest.
“Lord, are we being a little too heartless here?”
The young kneeling man finally questioned after relaying the orders.
“Heartless?”
That
figure perched atop a towering prominence appeared taken aback,
seemingly unable to comprehend the meaning behind the young man’s words.
“Over
a hundred master archers and several hundred Goguryeon warriors… In
truth, this a.s.sault could have been entirely prevented. So why did we
keep the news from them despite receiving earlier warnings? Those
recruits are still children; they aren’t at an age to enter a
battlefield yet. Aren’t we being a little too callous to them?”
The young man was involved in this matter, so he was aware of the entire proceedings.
It
was due to the lack of preparation that this sudden a.s.sault caught so
many off guard, resulting in ma.s.sive losses. The Goguryeons and Turks
had concealed their movements well; their planning being also very
thorough; and their sense of timing was, in addition, excellent.
But to the Great Tang, an operation of this level wasn’t in their blind spot yet.
The
Three Great Training Camps were just twenty to forty li away. At such a
distance, how could the capital possibly be completely unaware of the
happenings here?
In truth, there was no secrecy behind this
a.s.sault in the first place. Even though the Turks were extremely
careful, and the wolves were slowly slipped across the border one by one
over an extremely long period of time, it was still insufficient to
hide from the eyes and ears of the royal court.
Just that, the
royal court intentionally concealed the matter. Not only so, they even
allowed their enemies free reign, and this a.s.sault on the Three Great
Training Camps was the result.
“You’re sympathizing with them?”
That person replied indifferently.
“Yes!”
The young man grit his teeth and affirmed.
“Heh, do you know of the death quota of the Three Great Training Camps?”
Weng!
The
young man was initially confused when suddenly a ghastly comprehension
dawned on him and his body trembled. He abruptly raised his head.
“Lord, you mean that…?”
“Hmph, do you think that I have the right to make a decision for such a huge matter?”
That person replied.
“So that means that the Sage Emperor…”
The young man’s face turned pale.
“It’s
good that you understand! Only after the quota is exceeded will we step
in, and currently… the number of deaths is still within the permissible
range!”
The figure replied nonchalantly as he continued to
observe from above. On the other hand, the young man listening to these
words trembled violently, as though he was struck by a bolt of
lightning.
Tongluo Tribe -> Toŋra Tribe -> They are a part of a nomadic tribe cla.s.sified under Tiele.
are Turks coming from the heritage of Xiongnu.
Xiongnu
is a confederation(alliance) of nomadic people who formed a powerful
influence in the third century BC to late first century AD.
Note:
As China has a more organized method of recording history and their
records are more complete, most of the history of these tribes are
transliterated and pa.s.sed down in Chinese. According to
Wikipedia(Chinese), in the original language, Tongluo should refer to
Toŋra. However, for the sake of convenience, I’ll use the transliterated
version.