Luo Yan saw Zhou Gu, immediately turned away from Cui Yanjin, and rushed toward him.
Before he reached Zhou Gu, he was intercepted by Zhang Yun and his men, determined to achieve the enfeoffment promised by Su Rong in words; if he killed the Empress of Dawei, it would be the major accomplishment of this battle.
Zhang Yun’s martial arts, if faced head-on, were not necessarily a match for Luo Yan, but his greatest strength lay not in his martial arts prowess but in his sharp mind bordering on the cunning, which is why, shortly after leaving the central military tent, he had already devised a plan with the Hidden Guard to kill Luo Yan. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Thus, when Luo Yan broke free from Cui Yanjin and charged forward, he fell directly into Zhang Yun’s trap.
The Hidden Guard, each having consumed a poison-avoidance pill, formed the Seven Kill Array, trapping Luo Yan in the center, with Zhang Yun waiting for him at the heart of the formation.
Yuan Chen shouted from atop the City Wall, "Not good, sister-in-law is in danger."
Nangong Zheng made a quick decision, "Prince, cover the rear; I’ll go rescue the Empress."
Having said that, he led the Hidden Guard onto the battlefield.
As soon as Yuan Chen opened his mouth, Nangong Zheng had already left with his men, prompting Yuan Chen to close his mouth, distressed.
As soon as Nangong Zheng entered the battlefield, he was intercepted by Cui Xingzhi and the Cui Family’s Hidden Guard. The two exchanged glances and, without a word, began to fight.
One wanted to save Luo Yan, and the other stood in the way, not allowing the rescue. Cui Yanjin, seeing Luo Yan falling into Zhang Yun’s array, was tempted to take credit, but after weighing his chances, he felt he couldn’t outdo Zhang Yun and instead fiercely attacked the men from the Poison Doctor Sect.
Su Rong smiled at Zhou Gu, "It seems you won’t have a chance to display your martial arts."
Zhou Gu clicked his tongue, "Who asked you to promise someone the title of marquis. When Zhang Yun goes crazy, no one can outdo him."
Fen Ling felt an itch to fight, "Sister, shall I go help Xingzhi?"
Ziye was eager to try, "Young Master, I want to go too."
"Okay," Su Rong nodded.
Zhou Gu didn’t bother speaking more, simply waved his hand.
Thus, Fen Ling and Ziye entered the battlefield, heading straight towards Nangong Zheng and his men.
Yuan Chen’s face changed as he watched from the rear, immediately commanding his own Hidden Guard, "You all go, you must bring back sister-in-law."
The Hidden Guard obliged and joined the battlefield.
The two sides clashed fiercely in battle.
Luo Yan was exceptionally hard to kill; after a full hour, Zhang Yun suffered severe injuries but finally managed to sever one of Luo Yan’s arms. As her arm fell, a Poisonous Spider emerged from her sleeve, and one of the Hidden Guards near Zhang Yun instantly pinned the spider down with his sword.
Luo Yan was instantly filled with rage.
The most loyal members of the Poison Doctor Sect surrounded her, while Nangong Zheng broke through the encirclement with his Hidden Guard and personally pulled Luo Yan up from the ground. Zhang Yun gritted his teeth and moved to intercept, but Nangong Zheng suddenly shot Zhang Yun a glance. Zhang Yun paused for a moment, and in that instant, Nangong Zheng escaped with Luo Yan.
From the rear, Yuan Chen saw Luo Yan being rescued and shouted, "Sound the retreat, retreat, quickly retreat."
The soldiers of Dawei retreated like a tide, and Nanchu, not pursuing further, also sounded the retreat.
Zhang Yun, supported by his men, came before Su Rong and Zhou Gu. In front of many, he didn’t say much, only, "Nangong Zheng let Luo Yan escape."
Su Rong nodded, "Doctor Zhang, quickly dress his wounds."
Doctor Zhang hurried over with his medical kit and quickly followed Zhang Yun to his military tent to dress the wounds.
Cui Yanjin stomped his foot in frustration, "How did we fail to kill Luo Yan? Nangong Zheng was too desperate in saving Luo Yan."
"You’ve also been hurt, go and get that bandaged!" Su Rong patted his shoulder, comforting him, "This was only the first battle since Nanchong Zheng led the troops here, it’s nothing much."
Cui Yanjin was still upset and nodded as he left.
Inside the city held by Dawei, Nanchong Zheng, to save Luo Yan, had injured his arm. Clutching his bleeding arm, he said to Yuan Chen, "The Queen Mother passed out and won’t be in a good mood when she wakes up, it’s up to the prince to soothe her."
Yuan Chen nodded with a pale face, "Is your injury serious?"
Nanchong Zheng shook his head and turned to get his wound dressed.
Yuan Chen, still frightened, went to see Luo Yan. The imperial doctor from the army was trembling as he tried to stop Luo Yan’s bleeding. The Queen Mother had lost an arm, casting a shadow over everyone from this first battle.
After Luo Yan woke up, her emotions were indeed very unstable.
Yuan Chen looked at her and sighed, "Sister-in-law, you were too hasty. I saw everything clearly from the rear; you were eager for success and didn’t follow commands, falling into Zhang Yun’s formation. If it weren’t for Nanchong Zheng risking his life to save you, you would have died today. Now that you’ve lost an arm but are still alive, you should be grateful."
Luo Yan’s emotions slowly stabilized, and she said word by word, "I will surely kill Zhou Gu and Su Rong."
Yuan Chen didn’t know what to say, "Please take care of your injuries, sister-in-law? You are the queen, personal grievances are trivial, the centuries-old foundation of Dawei is what’s important. I hope you remember what the king advised you when we started out. Today, if Nanchong Zheng hadn’t risked his life to save you, he wouldn’t have been injured. As the chief commander, if something happens to him, neither you nor I have the power to contend with Nanchu."
Luo Yan stiffened and after a moment said, "I understand."
After Qin Feng had bandaged his wounds, Cui Yanjin rushed to find Zhang Yun and, seeing him lying on the bed pale-faced, his anger subsided and he muttered softly, "Why couldn’t you have killed Luo Yan?"
Zhang Yun could only say, "I had no strength left."
"Ah, well, there will be other opportunities, she can’t escape anyway." Cui Yanjin couldn’t bring himself to say that Zhang Yun was of no use because, throughout the court, no one had accomplished more or was more useful than this man.
The next day, Nanchu launched another attack, and Dawei continued to defend the city.
For several days thereafter, the battle was at a stalemate.
On this day, with thunder rolling and night falling amidst heavy rain, Luo Yan requested Nanchong Zheng, "Give me a troop, I will lead a sneak attack on Nanchu’s main camp."
Nanchong Zheng disagreed, "The more like this it is, the more guarded the Nanchu camp will be.
"So we just let the situation stalemate? You must know, our Dawei was rushed into battle, unprepared, and our supplies are not abundant. We can only beat Nanchu quickly, otherwise, if the battle drags on and we run out of ammunition and provisions, we’re finished." Luo Yan had her reasons.
Nanchong Zheng hesitated, "But the Queen Mother charging deep into enemy territory takes a great risk..."
"I’m not afraid," said Luo Yan.
Nanchong Zheng fell silent.
Luo Yan challenged, "Nanchong Zheng, if you hesitate like this, how can you repel Nanchu? What if we miss today’s opportunity? Su Rong and Zhou Gu are so formidable, with numerous capable subordinates. Where would there be so many good opportunities waiting for us?"
Having said all this, she turned to Yuan Chen, "Second brother, what do you think?"
Yuan Chen equally said, "The commander is right, sister-in-law, a sneak attack is too risky..."
Luo Yan angrily said, "Otherwise, how long do you think Dawei’s provisions can last? The king there also needs provisions. Nanchu and Daliang have joined forces to attack us, and before we knew it, a million-strong army consumes rapidly, we don’t have more than half a year’s supply."
Yuan Chen sighed and looked at Nanchong Zheng, "Continuing like this won’t work, Nanchu can afford it, we can’t."
Nanchong Zheng clenched his teeth, "Your Highness, please calm down. Let’s plan a strategy together. Since you are indifferent to life and death, I have nothing more to say. But for a midnight raid, I and Prince Chen will support you."
Luo Yan, seeing his agreement, nodded, "Good."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
