“Get up, all of you!”
Danzhu roared furiously at the soldiers kneeling nearby.
Yet the men only continued kowtowing toward the west, paying him no heed.
Wu Zhe looked around, his face filled with bitterness.
He had guessed Jin Feng might have another card to play, but he never imagined it would be this vicious.
The consequences of this divine light were far graver than the loss of the horse camp and Bao’er Mountain combined!
Without warhorses, cavalry merely became infantry. They could still fight.
But without morale, everything was finished.
Fortunately, not every soldier had knelt. More than six in ten were merely watching.
There was still a chance to salvage the situation.
“We must find a countermeasure at once!”
Wu Zhe’s brows knitted tightly as his mind raced.
…
“Sir! Your Highness! We did it! So many soldiers down there are kowtowing to us!”
At the summit of Great Python Slope, Qing Mulan peered through her telescope at the Tubo camp and leapt with excitement.
“Let me see!”
The Ninth Princess forgot all royal decorum, snatched the telescope from Qing Mulan’s hands, and deftly adjusted the focus toward the enemy camp.
“Sir, you are incredible! How did you make this seven-coloured divine light?”
Qing Mulan grabbed Jin Feng’s arm and asked.
“Trade secret!”
Jin Feng gave a faint smile, offering no explanation.
In truth, the so-called seven-coloured divine light was nothing more than fireworks.
Over the past days, Jin Feng had kept sending men to harass the Tubo camp for several reasons.
First, to buy time for Han Feng and Zhou Youda to organise the captives.
Second, to wait for reinforcements.
Third, to develop fireworks.
Ever since learning that the Gada tribe worshipped the fictitious Divine Light Immortal, and the origin of that myth, Jin Feng had conceived this plan.
Making fireworks, however, took time. Only now were they ready.
“Sir, why didn’t you release the seven-coloured light before the captives seized the horse camp?”
Qing Mulan asked, “That way far fewer civilians would have died!”
The captives had no weapons and had suffered days of hunger and exhaustion. Many perished taking the horse camp.
After the assault, the ground was strewn with bodies. Even viewing it through the telescope, Jin Feng could not bear the sight.
Before the war these people had lived in hardship, yet at least their families were whole.
Once war came, homes were shattered, loved ones lost.
Many, like Zhou Youda, had watched family members violated or murdered before their eyes.
The hatred in their hearts was unimaginable.
Thus the Tubo guards at the horse camp met horrific ends, almost all literally bitten to death by the mob.
Yet the number of civilians who died was several times greater than the guards.
“If we had been certain of success, I too would have preferred to release the divine light earlier,” the Ninth Princess answered for Jin Feng, putting away the telescope. “But the captive camp lay dozens of zhang from the horse camp. They could only creep over under cover of darkness.
If sir had released the divine light sooner, it would have alerted everyone just as it has now. How then could they approach the horse camp? By open assault?
The civilians were unarmed, mostly the old, weak, women, and children. A direct attack would have cost far more lives than we have lost tonight!”
“I understand!” Qing Mulan nodded.
“Your Highness, what do we do next?” Meng Tianhai asked. “Shall we strike the Tubo camp?”
The princess did not reply at once. She looked toward Jin Feng.
Meng Tianhai followed her gaze.
By now he harboured not a shred of doubt toward Jin Feng, only wholehearted admiration.
At this moment, even if Jin Feng ordered him to lead a charge against the plateau itself, he would obey without hesitation.
Jin Feng studied the Tubo camp below, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
In the end he shook his head. “We cannot attack yet.”
“Why not?” Qing Mulan pressed. “So many Tubo soldiers are stunned by the seven-coloured light. This is a perfect opportunity!”
“Because the seven-coloured light is almost spent!”
Wu Jin said helplessly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the explosions overhead ceased and the surroundings dimmed.
Time had been short. Every firework he had managed to produce was now expended.
“I counted roughly just now,” Jin Feng continued. “Only about three in ten Tubo soldiers actually knelt. The rest are merely watching, or do not believe in the divine light at all.
The Tubo camp is also ringed by field works. Though not as formidable as city walls, with the men we have, taking it would be a pipe dream.
Moreover, survival is man’s strongest instinct. If we truly attacked, most of those who knelt would still pick up their weapons and fight.
Considering every factor, our chance of victory is probably less than one in ten.”
“So when you ordered the Iron Tiger Battalion to form up below, it was to prevent Danzhu from sending reinforcements to Bao’er Mountain and the east gate, just putting on a show, right?” Qing Mulan asked.
“You have finally started using your brain. Progress indeed,” Jin Feng said with a smile of encouragement.
“Of course!” Qing Mulan lifted her chin proudly.
Jin Feng rarely praised her; she had to seize the moment to gloat.
“Though you are not entirely correct,” Jin Feng added, unable to resist deflating her. “I ordered the Iron Tiger Battalion to assemble not merely as a feint only in part.
If a large proportion of the Tubo troops had knelt in worship, I would have ordered an immediate assault!”
“Could you not let me enjoy my moment a little longer?”
Qing Mulan glared at him in annoyance.
“No!” Jin Feng struck without mercy.
The Ninth Princess watched the two bickering, the corners of her mouth curving upward.
These past days had weighed heavily upon her.
Now that the Tubo army’s fate was sealed, the stone upon her heart finally fell.
She understood that Jin Feng and Qing Mulan’s childish banter was their way of releasing the tension that had built up over many days.
Jin Feng teased Qing Mulan a few more times, then noticed Qin’er squinting northward. He followed her gaze.
A ragged figure, Han Feng, supported by escort guards, was slowly approaching.
Behind him came a man and a woman, equally tattered, also supported by guards.
All three bore a clear brand upon their faces.
Jin Feng ignored Qing Mulan, straightened his sleeves, and bowed deeply to the three.
Since receiving his noble title, Jin Feng rarely offered anyone such a profound salute.
Even to the Ninth Princess he merely inclined his head in a scholar’s courtesy.
But now he bowed to Han Feng and the couple, he bowed willingly and from the heart.
Without Han Feng risking his life to infiltrate the captives, tonight’s victory would have been impossible!
Not only Jin Feng, Qing Mulan, Zhang Liang, Meng Tianhai, and even the high-born Ninth Princess all bowed deeply to the three.
“S… sir! Your Highness! Lady Mulan, please rise! You are all persons of exalted status. I dare not receive such courtesy!”
Han Feng hurriedly pulled free of the guards’ support and staggered toward Jin Feng.
As he walked, tears streamed down his cheeks.
Behind him, Zhou Youda and his wife wept just as bitterly.
