Chapter 489: Yan Cloud Cavalry
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"My Lord, Wu Yuer is not in the Northern Region." Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Hou had misunderstood. However, he was not surprised that Chi Hou thought that it was Wu Yuer.
After all, if the leader of the Divine Constabulary didn't know who the leader of the Shadow Sect was, then he wasn't fit to lead the Divine Constabulary.
"It's not Wu Yuer?" Chi Hou's heart fluttered. If it wasn't Wu Yuer, then it had to be the Crown Prince's men.
3000 trained soldiers...
The audacity of the Crown Prince...
Was he really that confident?
"Qingyi, help me tend to the fire. I will greet them myself." Fang Zhengzhi didn't explain further. He could hear the sounds in the distance.
The squad was approaching.
"Yes, master!" Qingyi nodded.
"Haha, since that is the case, I will accompany you." Chi Hou wiped his hands clean and stood up.
"My Lord, this way please." Li Jingfeng prepared to lead the way.
Fang Zhengzhi showed no intention of stopping him. This was the Northern Region, Chi Hou's territory.
No one could stop him from going anywhere he pleased.
...
The 2000 soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad mounted their rides and stood in formation, their spears pointing towards the approaching noises.
Zhang Yangping and the other villagers looked on anxiously behind the Red Pinion Squad. The incoming army was a powerful one.
"Are they really going to fight?"
"If they fight, it will be the end of the Northern Mountain Village. Should we tell the teachers and students to take cover?"
"I don't think they are really going to fight. Chi Hou is still in the village. Who would dare to antagonize him here in the Northern Region?"
"But what if they do fight?"
The villagers began to discuss the possibilities amongst themselves. They generally hunted for a living and such situations were foreign to them.
At that moment, Chi Hou and Fang Zhengzhi came out of the gates. They were accompanied by Li Jingfeng.
The three of them approached the Red Pinion Squad.
"My Lord!" The villagers greeted.
"Mm." Chi Hou nodded but didn't say anything else. He looked at the plumes of dust some distance away as he walked forward.
The Red Pinion Squad opened a path for him.
Their movements were disciplined and synchronized.
Fang Zhengzhi was in awe. The Red Pinion Squad was one the most elite forces in the Great Xia. Training was rigorous.
Chi Hou was a military genius to be able to train such a powerful army.
The three people passed through the Red Pinion Squad and watched the approaching army. Just as Li Jingfeng had said...
This was a squad of veiled soldiers.
Each one of them wore a black cloak which stuck to their bodies as they sprinted towards the village. This also revealed that all 3000 of them wore the same armor.
"Not bad!" Chi Hou exclaimed when he saw this. For a seasoned commander like himself, he could tell within moments that this was a well-trained army.
They traveled quickly but were able to maintain their formation. Their formation was that of a spear.
Behind them, there were ranks of soldiers five abreast.
Anyone who knew their military tactics could tell that this was a charging formation. The fact that they could maintain this formation over such long distances...
This was proof of their training and discipline.
"Not bad indeed." Fang Zhengzhi expressed his agreement.
Chi Hou didn't say anything else. He frowned and stared at the approaching 'spear'.
Chi Hou rarely looked like that.
In fact, he didn't frown even when he was battling the 50,000 barbarian cavalries on the plains.
Yet, when faced with this army of 3000 soldiers, he frowned.
The reason was simple.
He had a village behind him, a village which housed the Northern Region's most promising children.
If these men were from the Crown Prince.
Then this would be a capturing mission.
Without the Red Pinion Squad.
These men would simply come to capture Fang Zhengzhi. However, if the Red Pinion Squad intervened, then this would turn into a massacre. The Crown Prince would never let an asset like Fang Zhengzhi fall into the Divine Constabulary's hands.
They were closing in...
"Ready!" Chi Hou raised his hand.
"Woosh!" The soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad raised their spears and pointed them at the opposing force. A domineering aura filled the air.
"Halt!"
At that moment, the 'spear' at the point position of the formation stopped in its tracks.
The 3000 soldiers behind them halted as well.
The formation was still intact!
"I am the leader of the Red Pinion Squad, Li Jingfeng from the Divine Constabulary! I have orders from Chi Hou to capture the criminal here! Who are you, and how dare you barge into the Northern Regions?!" Li Jingfeng bellowed.
As someone who had been serving Chi Hou for more than a decade, he knew that he should not reveal Chi Hou's presence from the get-go.
A light breeze brushed past.
The fragrance of the flowers filled the air.
The 3000 veiled soldiers stood in their spots. They didn't leave because of what Li Jingfeng said. In fact, it was almost as though they didn't hear what Li Jingfeng said.
They were waiting.
They were waiting for orders.
At that moment, a blood red flag was raised. There were neither patterns nor symbols on the flag.
However, when Li Jingfeng saw this flag, his expression changed.
The 3000 veiled soldiers moved when the flag went up.
"Woosh!" They moved in unison. When the sound had died down, each one of them had a metal bow in their hands.
They latched an arrow on the bows and pulled the string taut. They aimed at the Red Pinion Squad without hesitation.
"How dare you?!" Li Jingfeng raised his spear.
He was quite shocked to see this. They were in the Northern Region. He might not have told them that Chi Hou was present, but the Red Pinion Squad should have been enough to cause them to reconsider.
The Divine Constabulary was the most powerful force in the Northern Region!
"Chi Hou, we want the young man next to you. If you are willing to hand him over, we will be on our way!" A voice rang out from within the ranks.
"Oh? What if I refuse?" Chi Hou squinted.
He knew why Li Jingfeng had not used his name from the get-go. He wanted to give this army a chance to turn back.
However, they didn't seem to care. They called him out by name and asked him to hand over Fang Zhengzhi.
Who was this?
Who dared to declare war on the Divine Constabulary in the Northern Region?!
"If you refuse, then please accept our apologies in advance!" The voice rang out once again and the red flag was raised.
"Rubbish!" Chi Hou raged when he saw the red flag being raised. He had given them an out even though they were trespassing.
He was already showing them mercy and respect.
That also had to do with the fact that he thought this army was related to the Crown Prince. He did not want to go to war with the Crown Prince's men unless it was absolutely necessary.
However, this didn't mean that he was afraid of fighting.
"Die!" The soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad hollered when they heard Chi Hou's rage. Their killing intent filled the air.
Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.
What was happening?
Didn't he make it clear from the start?
He told Chi Hou that he was waiting for a friend. Why did both sides start fighting they moment they met outside the village?
They want me...
Why don't you just let me go over?
Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he looked at Chi Hou. He knew the opposing force, but he couldn't tell Chi Hou in front of the Red Pinion Squad.
After all...
This was the Northern Region.
"My Lord, you can just hand me over." Fang Zhengzhi whispered a reminder when he saw Chi Hou rage.
"What nonsense?! Do you really think I will hand you over?" Chi Hou replied without hesitation.
"My Lord, you should. In fact, I don't mind. Let me go with them." Fang Zhengzhi wasn't about to give up.
"You don't mind? But I do!" Chi Hou rejected the proposal.
Hand over Fang Zhengzhi?
Was that meant to be a joke?
How dare they ask Chi Hou to hand someone over n the Northern Region! Chi Hou wouldn't hand Fang Zhengzhi over even if he was outnumbered 10 to one!
"My Lord, I really am willing to go with them."
"Shut up!"
"..." Fang Zhengzhi was rendered speechless. He had already told Chi Hou that these were friendlies.
He had wanted to welcome them more subtly after they got closer.
However, Li Jingfeng had announced himself.
Then, the other force drew their bows.
Before they even exchanged any formalities, things had escalated to this point. Fang Zhengzhi didn't even have a chance to interrupt.
"Die!"
"Die!"
"..."
The Red Pinion Squad's voices grew louder by the moment. They were ready to fight.
The 3000 veiled soldiers were equally fearless. They simply pointed their arrows at the Red Pinion Squad, ready to fire at a moment's notice
As for Zhang Yangping and the other villagers...
Their jaws were virtually on the floor.
"Zhengzhi, get back!"
"If they fight, we will take cover in the mountains!"
"Yes, Zhengzhi, come over quickly!"
The villagers hollered at the top of their voices. The Red Pinion Squad stood between them and Zhengzhi, and Zhengzhi was in the middle of the two forces.
It was too dangerous.
Fang Zhengzhi really didn't mind finding a place to hide but he knew he had to deal with this. He stepped forward.
"Hang on, lower your weapons!"
Fang Zhengzhi's voice was so loud that every soldier on the field could hear him. However, the Red Pinion Squad didn't follow his orders.
It was virtually useless.
However, the 3000 veiled soldiers stopped in their tracks. Then, a yellow flag was raised from within their ranks.
"Woosh, woosh woosh!"
Within moments...
The bows returned to their holders on the backs of the soldiers.
Li Jingfeng was stunned.
The Red Pinion Squad stopped screaming for blood. They too didn't understand what was happening.
Why would they listen to Fang Zhengzhi?
Chi Hou's jaw dropped in surprise. However, he quickly wiped the surprise off his face and squinted his eyes.
He examined the 3000 veiled soldiers, the armor they wore under the black cloaks and the bows in their hands.
His eyes widened.
Then, a green light appeared in his hands. This was a jade green glow. It flew towards the soldiers.
At the same time, the expression of one of the vanguards of the veiled soldiers changed. His body was enveloped by green light.
"Shhhhh!"
His clothes were ripped apart.
The black cloak around him was shredded, almost as if there were countless knives around him.
The black, palm-sized shreds were blown away by the wind.
As they fell to the ground, a radiant armor shone through. It was a silver armor adorned with all kinds of patterns.
Most importantly, the armor was adorned with six clouds. These clouds were blood red in color. They formed a hexagon starting from the shoulder pads.
Almost like a fan!
"The Yan Cloud Cavalry!"