Chapter 799: A Gift
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Azheba didn’t know that he had just had a narrow brush with death. He was very surprised when soone led him into another tent and beca even more surprised when he saw Prince Duodun.
“Who’s this other person?” Duodun asked while struggling to subdue his anger. When the two were close enough to him, Duodun finally clearly saw that the one who had just taken off his hood was an old man who didn’t resemble the Dragon King at all.
“This is Doctor Sun from Jade City. After hearing that many Norland soldiers were failing to acclimate themselves to the new environnt and were falling sick, the Dragon King has sent Doctor Sun here to help us.” Azheba was concerned about the situation here and had had a premonition of disaster, which was soon verified when he saw the gagged Liman.
Doctor Sun was a little nervous. If the patient were Prince Duodun, he would’ve acted arrogantly, as not only did that satisfy his own sense of vanity, but it was also an effective ans of stabilizing the patient’s mood. However, the prince seed vigorous, angry, and difficult to please, so he instead chose to be respectful. “This humble subject of yours pays his respect to you, Your Highness. My na is Sun Zhihao.”
All of Duodun’s companions pointed at Doctor Sun and yelled out, “The Dragon King’s capable of disguising himself. He must be a fake doctor!”
Doctor Sun was confused and asked, “Why would the Dragon King disguise himself as ? I’m just an old man who barely has any hair left.”
Duodun’s sullen face instantly lit up as he laughed out loud. “A doctor’s co to us. This is a favor from God. Soone find the doctor a decent room and take good care of him. He will treat our troops when he’s rested.”
The mont Doctor Sun left, Duodun’s deanor changed again. There were a lot of people he had to punish, but the most pressing issue was to find the enemy. “Where’s the Dragon King?”
Azheba glanced sideways at Liman, who was shaking his head at him. Ye Chuo walked over and blocked Liman from Azheba’s sight.
“The Dragon King left the city and didn’t tell where he was going.”
“How many n did he take with him?”
“There were five of them, including the Dragon King himself.”
Azheba had answered honestly, but Duodun was a little distrustful of his answers. However, the prince soon understood what had happened. Even as he thought about the situation, he ordered, “Here’s what you’re going to do, Ye Chuo.”
Ye Chuo’s tactic didn’t work and he was starting to panic. Upon hearing Duodun’s words, he walked forward hurriedly and knelt down before Duodun. “At your service, Your Highness.”
“Take 500 archers and hunt down the Dragon King. I want a head, either his or yours.”
Ye Chuo was astounded. He replied “Yes,” stood up imdiately, and was just about to leave when Duodun stopped him. “Don’t run around like a headless chicken. Go check whether the Fla Foal’s still here. If the Dragon King took it, then there’s no need for you to go after him.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Ye Chuo answered as his body was covered in cold sweat.
“The Dragon King must be heading south towards Shang Liao’s army camp. You know the direction, don’t you?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Ye Chuo was unable to say any other words, but the prince still didn’t indicate that he could leave.
Duodun turned around and faced Azheba once more. “You’re my most trusted man as well as a top-notch archer. Go with Ye Chuo and help him finish the job.”
“?” Azheba didn’t expect that this task would be assigned to him. Yet the light of understanding soon dawned on him and he realized that this was a test of his loyalty. Liman’s “betrayal” had made the prince suspicious of his own n. “Yes, Your Highness.”
The two companions accepted Duodun’s assignnts to them and left. Duodun finally flew into a rage as he shouted, “Get the herald and the scouts! They must have lost their eyeballs. If not, then why didn’t any of them identify the fake Dragon King?”
Duodun’s soldiers had seen Azheba and then made the mistake of assuming that the man walking side by side with Azheba could be nobody else besides the Dragon King. The distance was a little far so none of the soldiers had clearly seen the old face under the hood.
Gu Shenwei was heading south with Long Fanyun, Chu Nanping, Han Fen, and Shangguan Yun. His destination was precisely where Duodun had speculated he would go - the Restoration Army Camp of the Shule Kingdom.
Han Fen had volunteered to co because she needed “a distraction,” while Shangguan Yun had been forced into coming. He reminded the Dragon King, “Once we pass though Heaven’s Pass, we’ll be in the Western Regions, which ans that the alliance between us will be over.”
“I’d like to give it a try,” Gu Shenwei replied.
After leaving the city, Shangguan Yun looked towards the east where Golden Roc Castle was located before saying, “We don’t necessarily have to be enemies just because we’re no longer allies, Dragon King. How about I stop working for the Unique King and just sit on the fence?”
Long Fanyun snorted disdainfully. He would never forget how much harm this Third Young Master of Golden Roc Castle had done to the Dragon Army at Wu Mountain.
Gu Shenwei replied blandly with a single word. “Okay.”
Han Fen rode forward and yelled happily, “I want to sit on the fence as well!”
Everyone ignored her, but she didn’t care and just pranced around in front of the others.
There were still so dium-sized checkpoints ahead of them, and Long Fanyun handled all the crossing procedures. He told those soldiers that he was the General of the Right as well as the envoy of the Shule prince, and they passed through all the checkpoints without any issues.
It was nearly dusk when the other group caught up to them. Long Fanyun was the first one to notice the sounds from behind them. He turned his horse and quickly glanced behind him before riding up to the Dragon King and reporting, “It’s Norland Cavalry, about 500 to 600 n.”
There was a small isolated hill ahead. Gu Shenwei had been here before and he still had a vague mory of the surrounding terrain. “Go there and send them a signal.”
Long Fanyun grunted, “Um,” and then glanced over his shoulder at the Norland Cavalry that were approaching rapidly one more ti. He was concerned, but refrained from saying anything. He imdiately spurred his horse on and rode towards the top of the hill.
Chu Nanping stayed by the Dragon King’s side silently. But Han Fen asked in confusion, “What should a person who sits on the fence do at this mont?”
Shangguan Yun had been staring at Long Fanyun’s receding figure, believing that the Norland cavalryn would undoubtedly arrive first. Even if Long Fanyun managed to miraculously conjure up reinforcents, they would never make it here in ti. So, even as he bitterly smiled, he said to Han Fen, “If you are sitting on the fence, then you don’t have to do anything. If you want to stay, stay; if you want to flee, flee. Right, Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei was also gauging the distance and the speed of the approaching cavalry. At the sa ti, he produced a short bow and drew an arrow. “You can stay, but you can’t flee.”
Shangguan Yun nodded approvingly as he said, “I have an idea. We can have Han Fen disguise herself as the Dragon King to distract the Norlanders. The disguise doesn’t have to be perfect - an average one will suffice.”
“I’ll do it,” Han Fen replied imdiately, unaware of how big a risk she was taking on.
“There’s no ti for that,” Gu Shenwei said before he suddenly raised his arms, drew the bow, and shot an arrow into the sky.
Like a rainbow, the arrow arced through the sky before dropping in the distance. This was their distress signal.
Another arrow shortly followed, and the route of the second arrow was nearly the sa as that of its predecessor.
Shangguan Yun shook the arrow in his hand and smiled as he said, “It’s a surprise that I still rember the kung fu I learned back in Golden Roc Castle.”
Most killers didn’t focus on archery, but every killer had to learn it as a basic skill during their apprenticeship.
The two arrows fell into the ground, quivering. The 500 Norland cavalryn separated into two streams and split around both sides of the arrows like a river’s course when encountering a huge rock. Soon, they ford a semicircle.
Yet the arrows shot by the Dragon King and Shangguan Yun flew much farther than a normal archer’s shots, and most Norland cavalryn were unable to replicate their feat. Thus, the army still needed to advance a bit more before they could launch an attack.
Ye Chuo had only t the Dragon King once before. Looking at the four people, he asked worriedly, “Is that the Dragon King?”
Azheba gave a careful look and said, “It looks like him, but I have to get closer to be sure.”
“Kill them first and then identify the corpses later.” Ye Chuo had been given an inviolable order, and he didn’t want to risk anything.
“Wait. If it’s really the Dragon King, then we have to be cautious in case there’re traps. Look, there’s soone’s riding to the top of that hill.”
“Just do it. Each grassland cavalryman can fight off ten enemies by themselvse. Even if there is a trap, we have nothing to worry about. Besides, not many people in the Western Regions are good at archery… We’ve been friends since childhood, Azheba, and this might be the reason why His Highness assigned you to help . You’re not going to just stand by and watch, right?”
“Of course not.” Azheba took out his bow and arrows, but didn’t start shooting just yet. “Was it you who advised His Highness to assassinate the Dragon King?”
This was an inopportune question which irritated Ye Chuo. “Liman betrayed His Highness because of the Dragon King. anwhile, you’ve been in the Dragon Army all this ti, Azheba. You didn’t happen to have been influenced and now believe that His Highness should forge an alliance with an outsider, did you?”
“I’m loyal to His Highness. I won’t make any reckless decisions.”
“What did you say?” Ye Chuo stiffened in his stirrups and reached for his saber. “Reckless decisions? No risk, no reward! If the Dragon King dies in the army camp, I will beco the biggest hero of the prince. I knew it, you’re just like those wolf cubs who are jealous of …”
The look on Azheba’s face was still that of composure. “We fight for the sa cause - assisting His Highness in unifying the grasslands.”
Ye Chuo realized that he had crossed a line. He sat down, loosened the grip of his right hand on the saber, and sincerely said, “You must help , Azheba. If I fail to retrieve the Dragon King’s head, His Highness is really going to kill . You know him. He never goes back on anything that he says in public.”
“I know.” Azheba tried to comfort him by saying, “When that guy reaches the hill and the situation becos a bit clearer, I’ll do it right away.”
Ye Chuo was still hesitant to trust Azheba. Azheba rode forward and stopped at a position about an bow shot’s range away from the Dragon King. Then he yelled out, “You ca to the city but didn’t visit us, Dragon King. His Highness blad for not having kept you there. Please co back with us to Heaven’s Pass, so that His Highness may treat you with the hospitality you deserve.”
Gu Shenwei also raised his voice to reply. “I have so urgent business. Please go back and tell Prince Duodun that I’ll return to Heaven’s Pass and express my apologies to him soon.”
Han Fen asked Shangguan Yun in a muted voice, “Isn’t Azheba our friend? Why is he talking so strangely?”
Shangguan Yun looked at her in amazent as he asked, “You just can’t stop surprising , can you, Han Fen? I an, you can even read between the lines now.”
Han Fen showed a self-satisfied smile. “I know that you’re a liar, but your complints are always so sweet. Shangguan Fei’s your younger brother, right? All of the n of the Shangguan family are so talented at flattery.”
“I have an academic family background, but I’m just an average person,” Shangguan Yun replied modestly.
There was barely anything that could affect Chu Nanping, but this ti he couldn’t help and glance over his shoulder at Shangguan Yun, feeling that Shangguan Yun was a bit too thick-skinned.
Gu Shenwei and Azheba had been exchanging pleasantries all the while. The latter continuously tried to invite the forr, and the forr continuously declined. Ye Chuo and the troops kept approaching, and in the distance, Long Fanyun had finally arrived at the top of the hill.
The longer Ye Chuo thought about it, the more unreliable he felt Azheba’s plan was. Ye Chuo was just about to give the order to attack and shoot the Dragon King to death when he heard a rumbling sound, like that of muffled thunder from thick clouds, in the distant sky.
Long Fanyun had blown the bugle.
Although nothing happened after the sound of the bugle, all of the experienced Norland cavalryn’s vigilance spiked at the sa ti. They stopped their horses and looked around cautiously.
A team of cavalryn erged from behind the small hill. There were at least 1,000 of them, rapidly closing in on them like the wind.
Ye Chuo believed that the odds were still in his favor because there wasn’t enough ti for the Dragon King to flee. Although the enemies outnumbered them, they were still no match for the Norland cavalryn and their archery.
He raised his hand and was just about to give the order to attack when an arrow abruptly lodged itself in his chest, the archer who shot it soone he would have never expected.
Azheba calmly watched Ye Chuo fall down, and then turned to the Dragon King and said, “This is a gift from His Highness, Dragon King. Please accept it.”.
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