Chapter 105: Ling Chen

Sumonai rushed out of the general's tent, looking around in panic, sword in hand.

In the darkness, men shouted and horses neighed, screams echoed one after another, and the sound of swords clashing hurt his eardrums. The wind was filled with the smell of blood, and the soldiers were running around like headless flies.

"General," Xiu Muye stumbled over, barefoot, his empty scabbard dangling from his waist, "It's the Yan army! The Yan army is raiding our camp!"

Sumonai reached out and grabbed Xiumuye by the collar, dragged him to him, and spitted all over his head and face:

"Bullshit, there are only a few hundred of them. Did the sergeant have a night terror?"

Night terrors are experienced by almost all generals who lead troops.

A nervous sergeant suddenly cried out, "The enemy is coming!" in his sleep. His comrades, believing him to be the real one, fanned the flames. Panic spread rapidly throughout the camp, and soldiers began hacking and killing each other in the darkness, fleeing in all directions. If the commander handled the situation poorly, the chaos could last until dawn.

The enemy only has 400 people, and there is no way they would have the courage to steal our camp.

Yes, it must be night terrors.

A captain rushed out from the darkness and shouted, "General, what should we do?"

"Don't panic!" Sumonai pushed Xiumuye aside and shouted to the captain, "Order, light torches throughout the camp, and return to the tents immediately. Anyone outside will be killed without mercy."

Xiu Muye took several steps back before he could regain his balance. He held onto his tilted peaked felt hat and shouted anxiously:

"General, this is definitely not a night terror. It must be that man surnamed Pei. He's here to launch a surprise attack..."

Sumonai quickly drew his sword, stepped forward, and placed it on Xiumuye's neck. "If you dare to disrupt the morale of my army again, I will kill you right now!"

Xiu Muye froze in place like a frightened hen.

Sumonai withdrew his sword and said to the captain, who stood there with his spear in his hand, his eyes wide open, "What are you still standing there for?"

"General, look." The centurion raised his hand and pointed behind him, saying in a daze.

Sumonai turned around abruptly.

Fire rose in the north of the camp, lighting up half of the night sky red.

"General, that's our food," Xiu Muye rushed forward, pointing to the fire in the north and shouting, "This isn't a night terror, it's the enemy sneaking into the camp!"

"Impossible," Sumonai roared, "Absolutely not!"

He had just slept soundly, dreaming that the king had given him a promotion. Now, upon opening his eyes, he encountered an enemy raid on his camp.

The enemy had only 400 men, and it was truly heroic for them not to flee in the face of an army of 10,000. I never thought they would dare to raid our camp.

Who is the opposing commander and how could he be so bold?

"Quick, gather the soldiers and save the food first!"

There was no time to think about anything else for the moment, Sumonai drew out his sword and pointed it to the north.

The Langya Pass held back a ten-thousand-man army. If all the food and fodder were burned, the army would be destitute and would fall into disarray in just a few days. By then, Sumonai would go down in history as the first Western Rong general to be defeated by a force of ten thousand against four hundred.

He would never allow such a shameful thing to happen.

The other party must have just set fire to the food supplies. If we rush over now, we will definitely be able to rescue most of them.

Xiumuye and the captain quickly summoned nearby soldiers and assembled a group of more than two hundred men. Sumonai, unable to wait, immediately led the men to the rear camp where the food was stored.

Hundreds of soldiers joined the team along the way. Sumonai calmed down and ordered a captain to quell the chaos in the front camp.

No matter how powerful the enemy is, they only have 400 men. If we surround them and wipe them out, Langya Pass will be left undefended. We can march through at daybreak and vent our anger by slaughtering Xiaogang Village.

He led his troops to the camp where the food and fodder were stored. A captain, his face covered in smoke and dust, came up to him and shouted, "General, ahem...quickly, get the soldiers to put out the fire."

"Where are the enemy troops who attacked us?" Sumonai drew his sword and looked around. "Where are they?"

Nearly all the tents storing food and fodder were ablaze, sending plumes of smoke billowing high into the sky. The air was filled with a choking, acrid haze. Xirong soldiers ran about shouting, putting out the flames with buckets of water.

"There were no enemy troops... ahem... they rushed in, killed the guards, set fire, and then retreated."

Xiu Muye covered his mouth and nose and said to Su Monai: "General, the enemy rushed in just to burn our food supplies. They ran away long ago."

Sumonai finally felt relieved, sheathed his sword, and asked Xiumuye to lead the others in putting out the fire. He found an open space and sat down, accompanied by the captain who was in charge of guarding the rations.

"Did you see the enemy general clearly?" he asked.

Before the centurion could answer, a sudden and violent sound of horse hooves came from afar.

At first Sumonai thought it was a scout coming to report news, but when he saw the moon-white figure sitting on the saddle in the firelight, he stood up suddenly.

The enemy was a Dayan man, a spear in his right hand, riding his horse straight at him. The nearby Xirong soldiers were busy fetching water to put out the fire, having thrown their swords and spears to the ground. For a moment, no one dared to stop him.

This man from Dayan actually came alone to assassinate him?

"Protect the general!" the centurion shouted, drawing his sword and rushing forward.

The man on horseback drew a long sword with a cold gleam in his left hand and, as the horses and riders crossed, slashed it down at the centurion's head. The blade pierced the centurion's left shoulder and cut all the way down to his abdomen.

The centurion bought Sumonai a little time, allowing him to pick up a large shield from the shelf next to him and use it to block himself.

The enemy, on horseback, charged at him at breakneck speed and with strength far exceeding that of a normal person. He was simply unable to resist. Saving his life was his top priority. With thousands of soldiers surrounding him, they would naturally help him deal with the enemy.

Bang!

The spear struck the shield, snapping the shaft in two. Sumonai, along with the shield, flew up into the air, slamming heavily into the shield rack behind him. A pile of shields crashed down on his back.

The sound of horse hooves rolled past from not far away.

Sumonai struggled to stand up, feeling his internal organs twisting and the bones in his arms clenching. If it weren't for the large shield, the spear would have shattered every bone in its path.

At least he reacted correctly and his life was saved.

By the time the man in white reined in his horse at a distance, the Western Rong soldiers who had come to their senses had already picked up their swords and guns and were protecting Sumonai.

The man in white shook his head, seeming to feel a bit regretful. He didn't spur his horse to flee, but galloped back to the dead centurion. He leaned down from his horse, grabbed the longsword embedded in the corpse, and pulled it out.

"Yuexi made this for me, I can't throw it away." The man in white said, slashing his sword downwards, throwing off a string of blood beads.

"Please leave your name!" Sumonai shouted, supporting his almost numb arm.

"Xiao Zhuo."

The man in white put away his sword and rode away without looking back.

"General, that's him," Xiu Muye pointed at the man's back, "He's the enemy commander, Mr. Pei!"

Sumonai was stunned.

It turned out that the main general on the opposite side was Xiao Zhuo, crossbows, sneaking into the camp, riding alone... everything was explainable.

He had long heard of the Yan Crown Prince's fame, but had never faced him. Capturing him would be a bonanza. Perhaps he could even force Emperor Yongde to exchange a few cities for him.

Regardless of the pain in his body, he waved to the soldiers around him and shouted:

"Hurry up and chase him! Whoever captures Xiao Zhuo alive will be promoted to captain of a thousand men!"

Hundreds of Western Rong soldiers mounted their horses, holding torches, and led by a captain of a thousand men, they crossed the removed barricades in the north of the camp and chased after Xiao Zhuo, who was riding alone.

"Capture Xiao Zhuo alive!" The captain pointed at the hazy white figure in the night sky. "The general said, capture Xiao Zhuo and make him captain!"

The Xirong cavalrymen were eager to make a contribution and whipped their horses' buttocks with whips until suddenly, cold lights appeared around them.

That was a crossbow that had been lying in ambush in the darkness.