Chapter 206: Godslayer Or Demon God?
Yun Ce moved his neck, and his cervical bones emitted a series of crackling sounds, like a rusty machine slowly awakening.
The brutal Red Date Horse lifted its hind leg and kicked away the corpse of a Thunder Smoke Beast even thicker than itself.
This Thunder Smoke Beast corpse was originally made by it itself, just because this Thunder Smoke Beast had no eyes and walked in front of it, then it chased up, opened its mouth wide, and bit the neck of that Thunder Smoke Beast in one bite…
The cavalry commander named Cao Hui was riding on the back of that Thunder Smoke Beast. Although Cao Kun had instructed him to treat Yun Ce carefully, he didn’t take it to heart and still thought Yun Ce was the thug recruited by their Cao Clan this time.
His mount Thunder Smoke Beast was dead, so Cao Hui naturally couldn’t live either. It wasn’t because he had some secret pact with the Thunder Smoke Beast—that kind of secret pact was one-sided toward the Thunder Smoke Beast. He died because Yun Ce made a move. If he hadn’t drawn his blade to chop the Red Date Horse, he might not have died, but since he made a move, he was pierced through the throat by Yun Ce with a horse spear and became a corpse as well.
The two cavalrymen at the end of the team turned their horses around and ran, but the Red Date Horse quickly chased up, and those two cavalrymen also died.
Along the way, Yun Ce spoke very little. Just killing deserters like this, he did it four times and killed six people.
Every time he killed someone, he would bring the deserter’s head back to show this group. For a moment, it filled these five hundred cavalrymen with great hatred in their hearts, and they all placed their hands on their weapons. As long as there was a leader, they would gang up and attack Yun Ce.
“Don’t act impulsively; he’s just forcing us to make a move.” A shrewd Hundred-man General saw the mocking intent full in Yun Ce’s eyes and immediately stopped his subordinates.
Seeing the cavalry team slowly quiet down, Yun Ce looked at the several leading Hundred-man Generals and said, “Killing Yan Fei and taking Xiangcheng is my promise to Cao Kun. I have no mood or time to manage you, so you’d better manage yourselves.
1 I like brave warriors in battle and hate cowards. On the battlefield, the brave will receive my protection, while cowards are destined to die amid the chaos.
1 So, whether you can earn military merit to go back and enjoy glory and wealth, or be stuffed in a pocket and dragged back by others, it all depends on your choice.”
1 A Hundred-man General clasped his fists and said, “General, you may not know that Yan Fei seized Feixiang City a few days ago and personally beheaded two Thousand-man Generals of Lingzhou. It is said he killed them almost instantly. We have heard of the General’s bravery, but we don’t know if the General, when facing Yan Fei, can still be as swift as just now when killing his own people?”
1 Yun Ce laughed and said, “Leave Yan Fei to me. You follow behind me. Do you have the guts to charge the formation?”
1 The leading Hundred-man General said, “As long as the General charges in front, when you look back, you will surely see us.”
1 “Good, enough chit-chat. We will march quickly right now and challenge Yan Fei at dawn tomorrow.”
1 The Hundred-man General agreed and took the lead, commanding the five hundred cavalrymen to charge majestically toward Xiangcheng.
1 “Why were you so brutal this time? Those people ran to go back and report the news. Why did you kill them?”
1 Doggy saw clearly what Yun Ce had just done but couldn’t understand the motive behind it.
1 “What do I have?” Yun Ce’s tone was grim.
2 “You have an enhanced Dragon Pearl, a Shehuo, a powerful artificial intelligence, an incomprehensible star map. The Dragon Pearl also has fifty big bombs. You ride a horse more terrifying than a magic beast, your skin and flesh are impervious to blades and spears, your left arm can transform into an indestructible Dragon Claw at any time, you have a clingy wife, and a concubine whose buttocks glow.”
2 “And?”
2 “Don’t joke. Besides these, what else do you have?
2 Oh, you mean those five hundred cavalrymen, more than forty thousand women and children, several strategists who don’t even reach the passing line, several warriors who can’t even beat a Thousand-man General?
2 These things are all liabilities to you, not assets.”
2 Yun Ce said, “To preserve these liabilities, how should I operate?”
2 Doggy laughed and said, “Stretch your strengths as much as possible, make the shadow formed by your strengths cover those liabilities, let everyone only see your strengths and ignore your liabilities, let your strengths form enough deterrence so no one dares to scheme against your liabilities, until your liabilities turn into real assets.”
2 “Where are my real strengths?”
2 “Your martial power. Now, even I have to admit your martial power is truly formidable. As long as you don’t encounter a monster like Yu Sang, you should be able to rampage through this world.
2 Oh, I get it. You can’t stand Cao Kun and their endless scheming, so you’re preparing to use the upcoming war to mold yourself into a vengeful killing god?
3 To make others not dare to scheme against you or bully you anymore?
3 If that’s the case, I think being a demon god would be better. Since ancient times, killing gods haven’t had good ends—like Bai Qi and Ran Min didn’t have good ends—but several with the name of demon god lived pretty well.
3 However, to achieve this goal, you must create a few shocking grand scenes. Scenes like tearing apart devils can only be the bottom tier. Catching enemies, biting their throats, drinking their fresh blood, prying open their skulls to eat their brains—you must make yourself look not like a human.
3 That way, when others scheme against your liabilities, they will think carefully whether those assets are worth the price of offending you.”
3 “Forget drinking blood and eating flesh. Just tear apart a few enemies alive then.”
3 “Actually, I can help you suck blood, absorb their internal breath essence. Then, when people touch you, they turn into dry corpses or fly ash—it would definitely be very shocking.”
3 Doggy was speaking sarcastically. If it were revealed that Doggy could suck blood and absorb warriors’ internal breath essence, Yun Ce wouldn’t just fail to gain a foothold north of the Great Wall—he’d instantly become a great demon head that everyone wants to kill.
3 Even if he fled to the Gui Fang, it would be the same end. After all, both Han People and Gui Fang acknowledge themselves as humans. Thousands of years of strife are just about who are the barbarians and who are the orthodox.
3 “Forget it, play it by ear then. This time, Cao Kun really dug a big pit for me. Yan Fei was originally the great general sent by Tan Shou to stabilize the rear.
3 He doesn’t expect me to kill Yan Fei; he just hopes we hold Yan Fei back. From the five hundred cavalrymen he gave me, they’re clearly sent as cannon fodder. Even if I end up defeated, Cao Kun and the rest would have long feasted until the ditches are full, leaving only me hiding in a corner gnawing pickles.”
4 Five hundred cavalrymen attacking a city with walls, a moat, fierce generals inside, and six thousand soldiers—obviously impossible. Just because of Cao Kun’s phrase “extraordinary people achieve extraordinary things,” Yun Ce came.
4 Upon arriving under Xiangcheng, Yun Ce realized that Yan Fei really didn’t take him seriously. The cavalry hurried over, and everyone saw the open city gate. The defending soldiers only began slowly closing the city gate. By the time Yun Ce galloped close on his horse, the suspension bridge over the moat had just been raised.
4 Getting any closer, arrows fell from the city walls, forcing Yun Ce to lead the team in retreat.
4 Not engaging immediately showed Yan Fei was clearly no reckless fool. From the timing of raising the suspension bridge, he was also trying to provoke Yun Ce into dismounting to attack the city.
4 Defenders abandoning city defenses for field battle—that defending general is obviously an idiot. Attackers only bringing cavalry and eventually dismounting for infantry assault—that general undoubtedly deserves death.
4 The problem lies in the specifics. Now, the defending forces outnumber the attackers by more than ten times, so the defending general coming out to fight could be understood.
4 Cao Kun’s move uses a small force to pin down the numerically superior Xiangcheng in place, letting him watch helplessly as he takes other weak cities.
4 He considered everything except whether Yun Ce could withstand Yan Fei’s powerful attack.
4 From this angle, Cao Kun’s targeting of Yun Ce is very strong.
4 After the five hundred cavalrymen went from the East Gate to the South City, then to the West Gate and North Gate, circling the entire city, everyone in Xiangcheng knew a cavalry force had come outside to attack Xiangcheng.
5 Since Yan Fei was very cautious and wouldn’t come out, Yun Ce could only execute Cao Kun’s second plan: besiege the city.
5 At night, Yun Ce’s forces camped outside the East Gate. With only five hundred men, they had no ability to build a camp, so they could only strengthen scouting. Cavalry camping is troublesome, mainly because warhorses need thorough relaxation: unbridle them, loosen the saddle, let them eat, drink, and rest.
5 To arm a relaxed cavalry force into a combat-ready one in a short time takes at least the time of one incense stick.
5 Yun Ce smartly placed the camp fifteen li away from Xiangcheng. This way, when enemies leave the city, the scouts outside would immediately send warnings, giving the cavalry enough time to equip. By the time the enemies arrive, they could fight.
5 The arrangements were quite thorough, but Yan Fei didn’t follow Yun Ce’s plan. After dark, two thousand cavalry secretly exited from the North Gate farthest from Yun Ce’s camp and quickly vanished into the wilderness under cloud-covered moonlight.
5 Yan Fei wasn’t in the team. He personally saw his deputy general Zhou Cheng off from the city and then went back to sleep.
5 Actually, during the day, the deputy general had repeatedly requested to fight, but Yan Fei didn’t agree. It wasn’t because he worried his forces couldn’t beat this cavalry, but because he worried they couldn’t capture this cavalry in one go.
5 Two thousand against five hundred—advantage is ours.
5 Cavalry rarely launch attacks at night, even under a full moon. A mature general rarely uses cavalry because moonlight creates many light and dark illusions on the ground. One misstep by a warhorse causes great losses.
5 Under the gaze of the Hundred-man General, Yun Ce leisurely donned his armor and took out a cooked baby bean from his bosom to put into the Red Date Horse’s mouth.
6 While stroking the Red Date Horse’s head, he said to the cavalrymen standing behind him, “The time for us to achieve merit and establish our careers has arrived.”
