Chapter 1035 Xia Prefecture—Lost!
Shang Ruyi's face immediately darkened.
Perhaps Ashina Zhuxie didn't understand the habits of those venomous snakes, nor did he know about those pharmacology principles, but he wasn't stupid. The stick he was supposed to use to scare away the snakes had somehow ended up being used by a venomous snake to bite him. Coupled with the way Ashina Zhuxie appeared in the tomb passage and moved swiftly, Ashina Zhuxie could tell something was wrong and knew that Ashina Zhuxie was plotting against him.
Just then, Wo Xue came looking for Shang Ruyi. Upon hearing this, she immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness!"
Her voice was not soft, and it was full of wariness, which immediately alerted the guards patrolling the camp. Li Miao and Gao Chen, in particular, rushed over. When they saw the Western Turkic Khan staring at Shang Ruyi with a gloomy expression, they sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what happened?"
As soon as they made a sound, a group of people immediately came out from the Western Turkic camp, not to be outdone.
These men were tall and imposing, forming what looked like several walls around them when they surrounded them. They were all fierce and menacing, with barbaric expressions on their faces. They walked up behind Ashina Zhuxie and asked, "Khan, what are your orders?"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Seeing this, Lei Yu frowned. She quickly reached out and grabbed Ashina Zhuxie's sleeve, whispering, "Khan..."
Ashina Zhuxie glanced back at her, but his eyes flickered.
In the past, even when they first met, if he showed any sign of wanting to harm Shang Ruyi, Lei Yu would have immediately stood in front of Shang Ruyi and almost opposed him. But now, although she was also trying to stop him, she did not immediately side with Shang Ruyi. Instead, she simply held him back.
Ashina Zhuxie felt his heart skip a beat.
But his face remained unmoved. He gritted his teeth, pursed his lips, and said in a deep voice, "You know she wants to kill me!"
"...!"
Lei Yu's pupils trembled violently, as if they were about to shatter.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out in the night.
The urgent sound not only broke the tranquility of the night but also shattered the tense atmosphere. Everyone looked up warily in the direction from which the sound came. At this time, in such a desolate place, there shouldn't be anyone coming. If anyone did, they were probably after one of their groups.
But what will happen at this time? Who will come?
Just as everyone was filled with doubt and tension, and Shang Ruyi's eyes grew increasingly dark, as if they were about to merge with the night, a group of people broke through the darkness and rushed into the Western Turkic camp. Several soldiers immediately went to meet them, and after exchanging a few words, they led the people over.
"Khan!"
The man let out a shrill cry, staggered forward, and knelt down before Ashina Zhuxie: "Khan, something has happened!"
Ashina Zhuxie looked down and saw a soldier wearing leather armor, whose clothes were quite different from those of the surrounding Turkic soldiers. His face was covered in blood and mud, and he was panting heavily, clearly having traveled a long distance through wind and rain. His eyes were bloodshot as he said to Ashina Zhuxie, "Khan, something has happened!"
Something happened?!
Everyone held their breath. Ashina Zhuxie's face darkened: "What happened?"
"Khan, Xia Prefecture—is lost!"
"What!?"
Upon hearing this, Ashina Zhuxie's eyes widened instantly, and he stepped forward to grab the soldier: "What did you say!"
Lei Yu, standing beside him, was also struck dumb, exclaiming in disbelief, "How is this possible? Wasn't Xia Prefecture already at its last gasp? We even sent several times the usual number of troops; it could have been taken at any moment! How could this be—"
At this point, her voice suddenly paused, as if she had thought of something. She glanced back, while Ashina Zhuxie continued to press, "How could it be lost! When did this happen?"
"Just the day before yesterday."
"The day before yesterday? What exactly happened?"
"The day before yesterday..." the soldier caught his breath and said intermittently, "We were about to capture Xiazhou, but just as the sun was about to set, suddenly, a heavy cavalry force came."
"Heavy cavalry?"
Upon hearing these four words, Ashina Zhuxie's face darkened again.
He thought for a moment, then asked, "And then?"
The soldier's face was also not good. Judging from his disheveled appearance, one could roughly guess how difficult it was for him to escape with his life. He said with anger mixed with a trace of fear, "This team was well-trained, with neat formations, and they were carrying wolf-head banners. When everyone saw them, they thought they were the Khan's own troops, sent to help in the battle, so we were not on guard."
"..."
"We never expected this group to launch a surprise attack on us!"
"...!"
This caused the surrounding soldiers to gasp in astonishment. They were furious and puzzled, and they all shouted, "Who on earth dares to impersonate the Khan's men?"
"We must capture them!"
"Catch them and tear them to pieces!"
Just as everyone was filled with righteous indignation, Ashina Zhuxie calmed down and asked, "And then?"
The soldier said, "Our men were caught off guard and their formation was thrown into disarray. Then, the troops inside Xiazhou City suddenly attacked from both sides, completely defeating our forces."
"..."
"Xiazhou, just like that, is lost..."
The last few words were so low they were almost inaudible. The Turkic soldiers around him showed expressions of regret and hatred, sighing and wishing they could rush to Xia Prefecture for another battle.
Ashina Zhuxie was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Where did these heavily armored cavalry come from?"
Upon hearing this, the people around were immediately taken aback.
Yes, where did these heavily armored cavalry come from?
It should be noted that although the entire Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates were skilled in cavalry warfare, only Ashina Zhuxie's invincible heavy cavalry force was inherited from his mother tribe, the Zhuxie tribe. How could a heavy cavalry force suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Could they be troops from the Eastern Turks?
No! If the Eastern Turks had such fighting power, they should have sent troops long ago, instead of waiting until the war in Xia Prefecture had reached this point.
So where did this group of people come from?
Could it be—
Ashina Zhuxie seemed to have a confused thought in his mind. Just as he turned around, he inadvertently saw Lei Yu's flickering eyes as he withdrew his gaze from Shang Ruyi. There seemed to be some indescribable struggle in his eyes. Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.
"you--!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com