The City is Covered in Golden Armor
"Reporting to the General, the enemy situation in the Southern Continent has been assessed at the front, and there are estimated to be fewer than twenty men!"
Less than twenty people? Tang Qi and Lin Jiacuo exchanged a glance, and the latter continued to ask, "Any situation in other areas?"
"Reporting to the deputy general, there is no situation in other directions, and the Southern Continent army has not been observed."
Tang Qi picked up his silver spear, mounted his horse, and said to Lin Jiacuo, "We'll meet force with force and water with earth. Whatever they want to do, if it doesn't work, we'll kill this first wave first."
They quickly organized a defensive formation. Tang Qi, fully armored and carrying a spear, led the way, and the group advanced until they were in a formal standoff with the Southern Continent army.
"A black horse with a mask, a blue demon mask, I've long admired your name, General of Slaughter."
Tang Qi smiled and stared intently at the boy standing at the very front opposite him.
The boy remained silent, while Tang Qi continued to smile insincerely: "General Gui Luo, are you not afraid of not being able to return with only so many people?"
His voice was threatening, but Gui Luo remained unmoved. The two armies were locked in a stalemate, the air thick with tension from the combined pressure of their forces, and neither dared to make a move.
“The Wolf Army will be completely wiped out within two months,” Gui Luo suddenly said.
Tang Qi scoffed and retorted without holding back: "Within half an incense stick's time, the Southern Continent will no longer have the God of Slaughter General."
The young man tilted his head and chuckled, continuing to look at him: "How do you think of this deal—trading one person for the Wolf Strategy?"
Tang Qi paused. Exchanging one person for Lang Ce's army, what did that mean...?
"General, don't waste your breath on him. They only number a few dozen; we can easily take them down—uh!"
Tang Qi suddenly flicked his wrist, swiftly deflecting the arrow shot at the speaker. Gui Luo's arrow was silent, swift, and ruthless; had Tang Qi been half a second slower, the arrow would have pierced the man's forehead.
The Wolf Army immediately stirred, taking up their battle stances, ready to charge out and cut down all the Southern Continent Army on the other side at Tang Qi's command.
However, Tang Qi hesitated to give the order, so Lin Jiacuo turned his head to look and saw that Tang Qi was frowning and staring at Gui Luo without moving.
Gui Luo made no attempt to conceal his expression; in fact, his tone was cheerful as he brazenly smiled at him: "I'll take care of your lax discipline, no need to thank me~"
"General! Let's charge!" someone behind us shouted.
Tang Qi, holding the Silver Moon Spear, coldly said, "No one is allowed to move."
"Kill me now, and the Southern Continent army will immediately surround and annihilate you." Gui Luo continued to laugh, "If you don't kill me, your fate will be a month and a half from now."
Gui Luo looked at Tang Qi, and even through the mask, Tang Qi could imagine the insincere smile on the other side of the mask: "Your military rations can only last for a month at most. I promise a period of one and a half months. General Tang should understand my sincerity. I believe you are a smart man and know what to choose."
Tang Qi remained silent. Gui Luo's words completely confirmed his suspicions. Lin Jiacuo looked at Tang Qi in silence, and after a moment he heard him speak: "Withdraw the troops."
Everyone was stunned, except for Gui Luo, who stretched out his hand and clapped his hands slowly, laughing. "I like dealing with smart people, so—" He turned his horse around and led the Southern Continent army away, Gui Luo's voice calm but still smiling, "Good luck~"
The Wolf Strategy Army was eerily quiet. After a long while, Lin Jiacuo turned his horse around and returned without a word. The others followed silently. Tang Qi was a second late before spurring his horse to catch up with Lin Jiacuo. The two rode side by side without saying a word.
"Are you angry with me?" Tang Qi finally couldn't help but ask.
"General Tang is exceptionally intelligent and has a flawless strategy. Why should I be angry with you?" Lin Jiacuo said calmly.
The two walked ahead, leaving the people behind them a distance. Tang Qi looked at him, bumped his shoulder, and said, "Do you think I shouldn't have let Gui Luo go?"
When asked this, Lin Jiacuo became annoyed and said to Tang Qi with slight annoyance, "Do you know how many Da Shuo soldiers will die at his hands if we let him go back? That was the best opportunity to kill him."
"Kill him and then what? The Southern Army will immediately surround and annihilate him, and everyone will die here."
"So what? Are there any cowards in the Wolf Strategy Army?" Lin Jiacuo still didn't understand: "Even if you let him go for a month and a half, he'll still lead the Southern Army to besiege you. Since you're going to die anyway, what's the point of living for a month and a half? You might as well have killed him with one sword just now."
"A month and a half is enough time for things to turn around," Tang Qi said calmly. "It's not worth dying now, not worth it at all. A pointless eastern expedition, a pointless encirclement, and then... a pointless death?"
He looked at Lin Gyatso: "I am not convinced, and I will not accept it. At the very least, others should know why we died, instead of just a hasty statement in the marching log about our ineffective resistance against the enemy."
“We’ll only have a chance if we can go back.” With another long sigh, Lin Jiacuo continued, “Actually, I’m thinking, if this really is a trap set specifically for the entire Wolf Extermination Army, are we the only target or… just the beginning?”
These words were spoken softly, but they were enough to send chills down the spines of the two men. Who would be next? The three battalions of the East, West, and North? Or... Li Guangjun?
Now, Tang Qi ridiculously hopes that this deadly situation stems only from personal malice towards him, blaming him for all his wrongdoings and his grave sins.
He would trade one man for the Wolf Army. He recalled Gui Luo's words; if he could, he would want all sins to end with him. Tang Qi sighed again; he seemed to be doing this often lately.
Lin Zhengye, having missed the opportunity to join the army in battle, could only stay at the camp in a dejected mood. As soon as Tang Qi and the others showed their faces, Lin Zhengye jumped up with a "whoosh" and exclaimed, "They're back! The general and the others are back!"
Tang Qi and the others dismounted, while the rest of the group rested and regrouped. Lin Jiacuo followed Tang Qi into the main tent, while Lin Zhengye crouched down outside, eavesdropping. Before he could hear for more than a few seconds, someone inside suddenly said, "Come in."
Lin Zhengye shuddered and went inside with his head down, feeling dejected. What was bound to happen would happen eventually, he comforted himself with that thought.
"you……"
"I was terribly wrong to secretly follow you; I made a grave mistake, a mistake that compounded my error. I deserve to die a thousand deaths; my sins are unforgivable..."
Lin Zhengye, with his eyes closed, spoke in one breath before Tang Qi could scold him. Tang Qi chuckled and said, "It's really hard for you to have racked your brains for so many words in such a short time."
Lin Zhengye, his neck stiff and face flushed with embarrassment, waited to be criticized, but Tang Qi said again, "Alright, you're already here."
Lin Zhengye was taken aback and exclaimed with delight, "Brother Qi, you...you're not going to punish me?"
"How do you want to punish me? Give me a beating? This is a battlefield; injuring you will only drag the whole army down." Tang Qi thought for a moment and then said, "How about this: next time the enemy attacks, you'll go with them. If we win, we'll let bygones be bygones. If we lose, you'll be punished with twenty strokes of the cane when we return to the capital. How about that?"
Lin Zhengye's eyes gleamed: "Really...really?" He had wanted to go on the expedition with everyone for a long time.
“Although Gui Luo promised to bring the Southern Continent army over in a month and a half, the Southern Continent will definitely not be peaceful during this period, and we will have to fight a lot of battles.” He looked at Lin Jiacuo again: “Hu Zi will only need half a month to go find reinforcements, and we only need to hold out for half a month.”
If rescue arrives in half a month, all will be well; if not, he will personally end the deadlock.
As it turned out, Tang Qi's premonition was accurate. They only had a peaceful midnight before the sound of enemy attacks rang out the next morning.
"Reporting to the general, there are about a hundred enemy cavalrymen ahead!"
"Fire arrows, tie flint and steel to them, and burn them all!"
...
"Lieutenant General! There are about thirty men to the north; there are infantry and spearmen among them!"
"All members of the Left Wing Army, listen to my command and follow me into battle!"
...
"General! Shieldbearers have appeared! Fifty of them!"
"Armored soldiers, mount your horses and charge!"
...
The battle lasted for six days from start to finish. Gui Luo gave Tang Qi and the others a chance to catch their breath, but he didn't give them any time to breathe.
Wave after wave, until the last person who returned could barely hold a sword.
At first, when he returned victorious, Lin Zhengye would sit on his horse and raise his hand high with a happy expression. But now, he was too lazy to say a word and only wanted to seize every minute and second to rest.
Gui Luo's tactic was to wear them down.
They were surrounded prey, unable to retreat, only able to remain trapped.
Another battle ended, and Tang Qi rode back with his remaining troops on his white horse. The wounded soldiers were sent to the camp with cries of pain. Tang Qi looked exhausted, his armor was cracked, and even the battle flag he was holding had a corner burned off. He looked miserable and disheveled.
The men in the camp looked at them, their eyes devoid of the joy of victory or the hope of survival. The relentless fighting had severely demoralized them.
Since there's no hope anyway, I might as well die on the next battlefield.
Tang Qi read this kind of emotion in their eyes.
"Six days, five battles," he said without dismounting, his face grim. "I know what you're thinking—we can't get out, we can't survive, and no matter how much we struggle, we'll die in the end anyway."
Tang Qi glanced at them, his voice still loud: "But what I want to tell you is that the Wolf Army won all five battles."
Everyone looked at him, and Tang Qi continued with a smile: "They can come a sixth time, a seventh time," he said, slamming the battle flag into the ground. "The Wolf Army will be taken in."
“The dead brothers,” Tang Qi pointed to the dome and still smiled, “are all watching here. I want all of you to stop the sixth and seventh attacks from the Southern Continent for them and for yourselves… If fate has decreed our deaths, then we shall fight to the very end, until the very end!”
"A fight to the death!"
It was as if a spark had been thrown into the military camp, instantly exploding and spreading into a raging inferno. Waves of sound swept away the previous dejected atmosphere, and now they were blazing flames.
Tang Qi sat on his horse and looked at Lin Jiacuo below. He raised his eyebrows and smiled smugly, while Lin Jiacuo shook his head and chuckled softly.
This guy knows exactly how to inspire people; spending time with him warms your heart.
In the tent where Lin Zhengye treated the wounded soldiers, his herbs and treatments could quickly stop the bleeding. In this tent, the wounds ranged from minor injuries with uncontrollable bleeding to severe injuries with missing limbs and broken heads. The painful cries of agony clung to everyone's hearts, and death seemed to be just around the corner. Even Lin Zhengye's hands trembled.
But at that moment, a voice pierced through the fear and landed in their anguished, weeping tent. The man said they had won five battles in a row, and that they would fight to the death.
How strange! The person was clearly standing under the moonlight, but when Lin Zhengye lifted the curtain, he saw the sun, which had fallen to earth and would never go out.
“Moreover, we may not be on a dead end,” Lin Gyatso said, gazing into the distance. A figure slowly approached; it was the messenger Lin Gyatso had sent out earlier. Amidst the urgency and joy of the crowd, he shouted out the words that everyone had been hoping for most: “Reinforcements! It’s reinforcements! There are signs of reinforcements outside Katyu!”
"We don't have to die!"
An immense surprise fell from the sky, almost knocking everyone unconscious. Tang Qi remained calm and asked Xinbing, "What are the specifics?"
"It's the Sheng Hui Army! It's reinforcements sent by His Majesty, and they're on their way to Kachu! The messenger corps is waiting over there. I came to deliver the message first, and the messenger corps will bring the reinforcements over as soon as they arrive!"
"Alright!" Lin Jiacuo smiled and continued, "Then let's hold out for the last few days."
Everyone's eyes shone with elation, as if they had truly seen a hopeful future.
A future as beautiful as a dream.
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