Chapter 322 Violence Must Be Met by Violence
It was sunny today. Leng Changxi stood on the stadium to count soldiers, among whom the Leng Army stood in front of soldiers in black armor. These 1,500 soldiers of the Leng Army had proven their good teamwork by boldly walking in the rock gates to deploy explosive packages as planned in a short time.
This was one reason why the Leng Army stood in front of soldiers in black armor. Another reason was that the latter deliberately did so. Soldiers in front would face dangers first. Now that the Leng Army would like to take the lead, how would soldiers in black armor refuse?
They had taken a three-day rest. Now they were going to fight with Sima Ray’s army. Luguan was the key pass to Qi, so if they broke in, they would enter the central region in Qi, which was so close to Qi’s capital city.
Leng Changxi was in silver armor, and the red tassel around his neck flew with the wind. Qin Yunuan wore a piece of plain white clothes. She quietly stood behind Leng Changxi and was so calm even seeing 200,000 strong soldiers.
Every powerful man would have a woman behind him. And for Leng Changxi, Qin Yunuan was the one.
200,000 soldiers in black armor were all ready. Their black armor shone under the winter sunlight. The wall in the Luguan, as high as 10 meters, was built on bricks made of the hardest yellow soil. It took seven years to build this wall. Sima Ray in luxurious golden armor stood high on the wall and looked down. He looked so imposing that all people down seemed like ants for him. Then, he tilted his head proudly.
He looked down at Leng Changxi who stood out among all soldiers in black armor. He laughed and said, “Leng, if you now kneel down to beg me, I will spare you.”
Leng Changxi wielded his spear and answered, “I will kowtow to the heaven and my parents, but never to b*st*rds. So, you know I won’t.”
“Tough talk is the only thing you can do now.” Sima Ray exchanged glances with the lieutenant who was about 40 years old. He had worked for Sima Ray for years and could understand Sima Ray easily. He ordered his men to throw down rocks they took back from the mountain yesterday. Each rock weighed 500 kilograms. It could be imagined how powerful it would be when thrown down from a 10-meter wall.
Leng Changxi ordered the army to step back at once, but falling rocks still killed many soldiers.
“When will the commando arrive?” Leng Changxi turned to ask Leng Wu while sheltering himself from the flying rubble with his shield.
“They already detoured to Sima Ray’s camp when we were confronting. They may arrive several minutes later.”
“Sima Ray is cunning. Only by dispatching all soldiers will he come out to confront me on the wall. But he doesn’t know I have 1,500 soldiers from the Leng Army. I once burnt his barn in Qi, and today, I will do this again.”
Although Luguan was easy to defend and hard to break in, it was remote. It was at least 250 kilometers away from the nearest town. How to secure military provisions was always a problem in war. But Leng Changxi had an advantage over Sima Ray in this. There was a river in the Yunlong Valley, which was full of steep hills and smart but tricky monkeys though. Therefore, Leng Changxi could directly ship military provisions from West Xia’s border to the camp.
Those giant rocks indeed were terrifying. However, soldiers in black armor, the strongest fighting force of West Xia, managed to duck the blow by building their shields into a solid fortress. Gradually, fewer rocks were thrown down. This trick was less effective than Sima Ray expected.
Sima Ray squinted and decided to use his trump card.
“Leng, look here.”
Leng Changxi held the rein tight to keep balance and also spared energy to protect Qin Yunuan who rode on a jujube-red mare behind him. Although Qin Yunuan could already beat Tuoba Wuyu down given her inner Qi and skills, Leng Changxi always protected her subconsciously. As a result, all people thought Qin Yunuan was weak but a little smart.
Looking up at the same time, Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi saw Sima Ray pushed a girl who was not properly dressed to the battlement. Then they saw her blood-stained head and messy look.
That was Shangguan Yuen whom the scout found to be humiliated by Sima Ray in the woods three days ago.
Not knowing Shangguan Yuen though, Qin Yunuan felt so heartbroken right after seeing this.
Sima Ray haughtily lifted Shangguan Yuen’s chin with his machete. She was pale, from which it could be told that she must have suffered a lot these days.
“Leng Changxi, let me tell you. Actually, the mother of Qin Yunuan, your wife and the Young Madam in the Prince Ning’s mansion, is Shangguan Yu, the lost daughter of the Shangguan Family. In other words, Qin Yunuan is a member of the Shangguan Family, and this is her cousin. If you insist on fighting with me and ignore this lady, I’m afraid your reputation will be ruined.” Sima Ray asserted surely, and everything sounded plausible.
Qin Yunuan looked blank for a while and couldn’t help looking up at the pale and poor look of Shangguan Yuen who leaned against the battlement. Shangguan Yuan kicked her mother out; Shangguan Yee bullied her; Shangguan Rang coveted her. So she really hated the Shangguan Family. But this 15-year-old girl was innocent. She had done nothing bad. For saving her father, she was tortured by Sima Ray to help him improve his martial arts.
“I have no reputation at all,” Leng Changxi said resolutely. “You’ve long defamed me as a traitor who has colluded with enemies. So how will I worry about disgracing myself anymore?”
“Oh?” Sima Ray answered and pushed the machete further, so Shangguan Yuen’s neck started to bleed. Sima Ray looked very proactive. Judging from how Qin Yunuan treated Qin Baochuan, He knew she cared people she loved very much and would get back at all people who had hurt her. However, Shangguan Yuen was innocent and did nothing bad, so she would show pity for her.
As he expected, Qin Yunuan turned her head quietly. She didn’t want to see that. But in a war, there were always victims, no matter whether they were innocent or not. She had to face the reality.
Leng Changxi was calculating time in his mind nervously. He wanted to spin things out for as long as possible. When Sima Ray knew his barn was on fire, how could he be as arrogant as now?
“Leng Changxi, think it over. She is your wife’s family.” Sima Ray exerted his strength to pull back Shangguan Yuen’s head so that the latter leaned against the battlement in a strange posture with her head raising. She looked blank and seemed dead.
Leng Changxi said in a flat tone, “Just do it. I don’t care.”
To be honest, Sima Ray kind of liked Shangguan Yuen. After all, the cleaner the woman he had sex with, the better it would be for him to enhance himself. Shangguan Yuen was a virgin before, and she was young. For him, she was a good choice. But under such circumstances, he had to give her up.
When Sima Ray was going to stab the machete into Shangguan Yuen, a soldier came to report to him in haste.
“Your Royal Highness, our barn is on fire. We’ve lost half of our provisions.”
“Impossible.” Sima Ray would never make the same mistake again. “I deliberately built the barn against the hill, and everyone going in and out needs permission. I have placed many buckets around the barn to save water in case of a fire. How will half of our provisions be burnt?”
“Your Royal Highness, they shot burning arrows from the hillside. Our soldiers are all here, and only a few are left to guard the barn. So we are shorthanded.”
“Useless.” Sima Ray threw away the machete and Shangguan Yuen who was so weak that she fell down to the ground. He kicked the soldier at his chest. “Burning arrows from the hillside? Nonsense. The Leng Army, who are most killed in archery, had already broken up on the day when I laid siege to the barn in Qi. So how could anyone be able to shoot burning arrows to our barn?”
Suddenly, he understood what happened and rushed to the battlement. As expected, he saw Leng Changxi smiled complacently. D*mn it. How could he call the Leng Army back. So the Leng Army was attacking them…
“Your Royal Highness, it’s just the Leng Army.”
Sima Ray flew into a rage and slapped the soldier who then went faint. He ordered other people coldly, “Remember that there is no Leng Army anymore. They are just losers, losers!”
Leng Changxi was pleased to see Sima Ray panicked and looked up to remind him, “Your Royal Highness, your barn is on fire. Shouldn’t you send people to put it out? It is of no use to just stand here.”
Sima Ray became black in the face and clenched so hard that he seemed to almost break his fingers. He looked down at Leng Changxi and said, “I want a truce. I’ll fight with you another day.”
When the war turned white-hot, how could Sima Ray ask for a truce. However, Leng Changxi didn’t care. He nodded and said in a modest manner, “As you please.”
Leng Changxi and soldiers rode horses back to their camp. Sima Ray was occupied with putting out the fire in his camp in the Luguan while Leng Changxi was also busy with planning. Leng Changxi was the God of War in Qi. How would he merely plan to burn the barn and do nothing more?
“General, traps in the east are placed.”
“General, traps are also placed in the camp gate.”
“General, traps in the west are also ready.”
Three generals reported in a row. Leng Changxi sat on the chair saying nothing, and he just wiped his shining spear in silence. Having not fought for long, he really looked forward to the war now.
“General, how do you know they will plan a sneak attack tonight?” Tuoba Wuyu was still confused after seeing that Leng Changxi calmly prepared everything in an orderly way.
Leng Changxi turned his head and answered, “Because I know how to use my brain, unlike you. Sima Ray is arrogant. He lost this time, so he will seize any opportunity to get back at us. With a waning moon and no star, it is dark outside tonight. Other than having an affair, it’s perfect for a sneak attack.”