“Stop praising me, Deputy Dean Feng. I was absolutely terrified just now.”
Ling Xiao gave a wry smile.
He had genuinely been gambling with his life.
Fortunately, he had won the bet, and that was enough.
Timur Mutu had left, and Jiumozhi Yan had left too.
The remnants of the Black Crow Army, now only about three hundred thousand strong, had also fled.
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, Ling Xiao felt a twinge of regret. If he could have killed Mutu or Jiumozhi Yan, that would have counted as a perfect victory.
Alas, although he had exhausted every stratagem, the power of true experts was simply too great.
“Qin Huo, pass the order: ignore the corpses outside, return to North Desert City at once, and rebuild the defences. The enemy still has three hundred thousand men. They might turn back.”
“Understood!”
Although the battlefield was strewn with spoils, Ling Xiao could not afford to waste time collecting them. Playing it safe remained his strategy.
North Desert City had lost many houses to explosions, but the overall structure stood intact. Turning it into a defensive fortress should pose no problem.
Yet when they reached the city, they found the gates barred. On the battlements stood people they never expected.
“Surprised to see us again, Ling Xiao?”
“Jia Yun!”
Ling Xiao’s brows knitted tightly. The man on the wall was none other than Jia Yun of the Righteous Alliance.
Caught up in the fighting, Ling Xiao had lost track of where Jia Yun, Ji Changran, and Wan Qiufeng had gone.
Now all three stood atop the wall.
They were not alone. Beside them was a stranger in armour. By the style and colour of his plate, he held rank equal to Ji Ning, another general, another city lord.
“General Jia, if you have come to reinforce us, why keep the gates shut? Open them quickly and let us in. The Black Crow Army has withdrawn.”
Li Ruguang clearly knew the man on the wall and shouted up at him.
“You lot drove off more than a million Black Crow troops? I find that hard to believe, Marshal. Not unless you bring me the heads of Jiumozhi Yan or Timur Mutu.”
General Jia sneered.
“An order from the court?”
Ling Xiao asked suddenly.
“Hahaha, clever boy. Shame clever boys rarely live long! Ling Xiao, you colluded with the Black Crow Army, slaughtered Phoenix soldiers, even wounded General Sikong, and now you think you can stroll back inside? Deluded!”
Jia Yun roared with laughter.
Li Ruguang opened his mouth to argue, but Ling Xiao stopped him. “No point reasoning with them. Look how ready they are. They have been here more than an hour, watching us fight the Black Crows without lifting a finger. Now they bite back. These are no reinforcements. They are here to take our lives.”
“Want to live? Hand over Ji Ning and Ling Xiao. The rest may keep their miserable lives, fit only to be slaves.”
General Jia spoke casually, as if the crowd below were less than human, their fates his to toss away.
“Bullshit! Supervisor Ling outwitted the Black Crow Army and shook their empire. He is innocent, nay, meritorious. You will not lay a finger on him.”
Zhang Yufei bellowed.
“General Jia, at least let the civilians enter. I will lead the army to pursue the Black Crows.”
Ling Xiao offered.
“No. Who knows how many spies hide among those peasants? Roll away, or we open fire. Archers, nock!”
General Jia looked down with naked contempt.
“Withdraw! Withdraw now!”
Ling Xiao saw the man meant it, panic flaring as he yelled.
But it was already too late.
Arrows fell like rain from the wall.
Soldiers who had survived the Black Crows now died at the hands of their own.
Under the arrow storm, civilian casualties were horrific.
They had trusted too much. They never thought their own would fire on them.
“Jia Yun! Wan Qiufeng! Ji Changran! All of you, if I, Ling Xiao, survive this day, I swear I will butcher every last beast among you!”
After losing nearly two thousand men, the army finally escaped the archers’ range.
“Pass the word: camp at North Desert Pass for now. Wait until General Ji Ning wakes, then decide our next move.”
Ling Xiao could not fight General Jia yet. To do so would brand them rebels beyond doubt.
That decision had to come from Ji Ning.
Happily, Ji Ning’s detoxification was proceeding smoothly. He would wake soon. Food and supplies were plentiful. They could hold the pass for a month without worry.
One day later, Dark Sting reported: the Black Crow Army had halted its retreat, camping sixty li from North Desert City.
Current strength: roughly three hundred and fifty thousand. Jiumozhi Yan’s whereabouts unknown. Mutu had sent search parties.
“This is our chance!”
Ling Xiao rose, eyes fixed on the horizon.
The only reason General Jia barred the gates was lack of proof that the Black Crows were beaten.
But what if he delivered Jiumozhi Yan’s head?
Ling Xiao summoned Qin Huo, Zhuge Ming, Li Ruguang, Zhang Yufei, Ji Mingkong, and the rest. “While I am gone, Qin Huo commands. Guard the General until he wakes. They want Jiumozhi Yan’s head? I will fetch it and shove it down their throats.”
“I object. Far too dangerous!”
Ji Mingkong stepped forward first.
The others began to protest, but Ling Xiao cut them short. “This is an order, not a debate. I will not repeat myself. The journey is perilous, but I have a plan. Your task is simple: protect the General, protect these people.”
Orders given, Ling Xiao emptied the Mountain-River World of grain, then slipped away unseen.
Shadow Armour and Shadow Step active, not even North Desert City noticed his departure.
Ling Xiao knew his cultivation fell short of Timur Mutu, but in tracking prey he would not lose.
One day later, his soul force located Jiumozhi Yan.
A hundred li out, the man rested under guard of nearly three hundred elite.
They looked ready to march straight home to the Black Crow Empire.
Mutu, meanwhile, was searching in entirely the wrong direction.
Opportunity!
Ling Xiao raced forward, Shadow Step pushed to its limit. An hour later he spotted Jiumozhi Yan rising to leave.
He kept both Shadow Armour and Shadow Step engaged.
He knew open combat was impossible. Only ambush offered hope.
Yet when the Shadow Spike closed to within ten metres, Jiumozhi Yan suddenly hurled his teacup.
The cup exploded mid-air into shards that blocked the Shadow Spike cold.
