Death Sutra Chapter 833 - Taking Action

Chapter 833: Taking Action

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The wind abruptly stopped, which instantly clarified the sound of the fierce fighting on the battlefield. After the thick dust in the air settled slightly, the bloody scene beca as vivid as if it was taking place right before their eyes.

At this mont, the opposing side, Luoluo, had just sent troops into battle for the second ti. Scouts were coming back from various positions, and they all reported wildly different numbers, ranging from 10,000 to 30,000.

Dugu Xian twisted his head around and asked, “You got this, right?”

After nodding emphatically, Gu Shenwei took a spear from a nearby guard’s hand and stamped it, upright, into the ground.

Long Fanyun was personally carrying the Red Crow Flag himself. As he walked across the front row of the troops, the Dragon Army soldiers also stamped their spears into the ground upright like how the Dragon King had just one, their eyes all fixed on that big flag with the symbol of a red bird on a black background.

Gu Shenwei rode to Shangguan Ru’s side and said in a low voice, “Stay here.”

Widening her eyes, Shangguan Ru looked like a child whose toys had just been snatched, her face full of amazent and stubbornness. She was just about to object when Gu Shenwei added on, “I’ll be better able to concentrate on the fighting in front of if you stay here and protect General Dugu.”

Shangguan Ru suspected that the Dragon King was just making up an excuse to keep her in the rear, but she soon rembered that the Dragon King was not that sort of person. “Okay. You… stay safe.”

As he peered into her black eyes, Gu Shenwei didn’t say anything. He rely turned his horse around and returned to the head of the Corps. Fifty guards were standing at his sides with shields in their hands. They were the Dragon King’s strongest defense.

As the warhorses pawed at the ground restlessly in place, Gu Shenwei turned his torso to look at these soldiers who were both familiar and strange to him. He wanted to give a pep talk, but then felt that that was totally unnecessary. In the end, he rely straightened his body, gave the horse under him a spur with his legs, and started trotting forward.

The roaring gallop of horse hooves was the only sound that could be heard. Watching the ranks of marching cavalryn pass by, Shangguan Ru felt that her heart was flying away along with them.

Beside her, Red Bat watched the receding Red Crow Flag with tears in her eyes.

But unexpectedly, Shangguan Ru was smiling. “How many won get to watch their loved ones leave for the battlefield? You should feel happy.”

Red Bat wiped her tears away. Sotis, Instructor Shangguan was like a child, and sotis she was like a wise old woman who had been through nurous ups and downs in her life. Red Bat constantly felt unable to appropriately respond to her comnts. She only words she could muster were “I am happy. It’s just that… the wind is too strong.”

And as if she had cast a spell, the wind started blowing even harder.

Shangguan Ru rode up to Dugu Xian’s side and asked, “This war is not going to end anyti soon, is it?”

“Mmm.” Dugu Xian had been observing the left front this whole ti as if there were so invisible force lying in ambush in that open space. After the last Dragon Army soldier had advanced about twice the range of an arrow forward, he ordered the fifth 10,000-n army to enter the battlefield. Then, he had the herald send a ssage to the Commander-in-chief, saying, “It’s ti for the right corps to launch an attack.”

Shangguan Ru reined in her horse and moved two steps backwards before saying to Azheba, who was standing on the other side, “What do you think our odds are that we will win this war, general?”

Upon hearing Shangguan Ru’s voice, Azheba beca so nervous that he nearly fell off of his horse. After coughing several tis, he said, “It is the morale of our army that we care about, so we can call it a victory as long as we are not defeated. So, I think that the odds are very much in our favor.”

Red Bat abruptly interjected to say, “When will you join the fight, General Azheba?”

“I’m waiting for the Commander-in-chief’s order.” Azheba’s face blushed slightly as he said these words. His rank was the sa as that of Dugu Xian, so nominally Mo Chu, was the only one who had any right to order him to attack. However, Duodun had effectively taken absolute control of the army, so he actually only answered to Duodun.

The Dragon King approached towards the battlefield. As long as Luoluo kept his promise and sent his n to attack the Naihang Tribe, Azheba would then order his n to abduct Dugu Xian and Mo Chu. However, Azhe didn’t expect that his opponents would be a group of won.

Standing right behind Dugu Xian and about ten steps away from Azheba, Tie Linglong was tightly holding onto her saber hilt, her eyes sweeping around vigilantly. Even Shangguan Ru was included in her alert gaze - she was a little unhappy as she felt that having the female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance stay in the rear was completely unnecessary.

A soldier rapidly rode over, but he was neither a herald of any army nor a scout. Instead, that soldier joined Azheba’s guards and nodded at him.

Azheba moved closer to Dugu Xian to evade Shangguan Ru’s view and potential questions.

But against Azheba’s expectations, it was not this soldier that had attracted Shangguan Ru’s attention, but rather another person.

Nobody knew when Qian Ying had arrived. She was disguised again, this ti among the ranks of the female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance.

Shangguan Ru knew all the female soldiers assigned to her, so she recognized Qian Ying at first sight. She waved her arm and summoned Qian Ying before her, and then asked in a low voice, “Why are you here?”

After seeing that her master hadn’t gone into battle with the Dragon King, Qian Ying felt greatly relieved. She had heard a lot of secrets, but she thought it was unnecessary to reveal all of them to her master. “I’m here to protect you, master. Be careful…”

Qian Ying glanced at Azheba after speaking those words. Shangguan Ru imdiately realized that the Dragon King’s suspicion had not been groundless.

After staying beside Azheba for a while, the strange soldier turned his horse around and rode towards the tent of the Commander-in-chief, but he didn’t pause after arriving at the tent. He then changed his direction again and started riding towards Shulitu’s tent, which was located in the area of the right wing.

After seeing that soldier who had stopped by briefly, Mo Lin nodded at Azheba and went outside for another routine check - standing by was his only choice.

The guards at the doorway were expressionless. After Mo Lin had gone far away, the ten plus n grabbed their saber hilts simultaneously.

At this mont, Shulitu was sitting in a temporary tent with only Nie Zeng and five guards by his side.

It had been a while since soone had last inford him of the front line’s situation. Shulitu was growing a little anxious, and he nervously said, “Go ask General Li Shun how the battle is going at the front and whether the right corps are ready.”

But after hearing the order, the guard didn’t leave. He instead bowed slightly and said, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. General Li Shun already has everything planned out.”

“You’re right. I’m losing my grip slightly.” Shulitu smiled and then sat back into his chair, seeming rather relaxed.

But his heart had skipped a beat.

After being a puppet for so many years, Shulitu had beco highly sensitive to certain issues. For example, sotis people around him would agree with him on the surface, but actually disagree with him. Or, sotis they would appear to be respectful, but actually refuse to follow his orders. These were all indications that sothing suspicious was going on.

After glancing at Nie Zeng, Shulitu realized sothing from the vigilant look in his eyes - these guards had not been assigned here by the Dragon King.

“Which lord did you serve previously? I don’t think that I’ve ever seen you before,” Shulitu asked casually. He curled his body, as if he didn’t feel too well.

The guards exchanged a glance of their own before one of them answered, “We’re General Li Shun’s guards. You probably just didn’t notice us, Your Highness.”

“Where are my forr guards? Actually, I’m a little nervous. And I’d feel better if I had soone familiar within my sight.”

“They’re right outside the tent,” the guard answered blandly without going out to get anyone.

Shulitu glanced at Nie Zeng again and then yawned. “I got up too early this morning. I’m going to take a nap. Wake up if any news cos in from the front line.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” a guard answered.

Nie Zeng started walking towards the door. A guard blocked his path and asked in a low voice, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to the camp to get a pillow for His Highness. He can’t lie down just like that,” Nie Zeng answered naturally as if this was sothing he did regularly.

Shulitu impatiently urged, “Hurry.”

The guards reluctantly made way for him.

Nie Zeng had just left when a voice ca from outside the tent, “General Li Shun sent here to ask you whether everything’s okay, Your Highness.”

“Everything’s fine,” a guard answered.

It was quiet outside. Shulitu opened his eyes and asked aloud, “How’s it going at the front lines? Co in and talk to about it.”

“No news is good news,” a guard replied.

The five guards whipped out their sabers and surrounded Shulitu.

“Are you going to kill or put under house arrest?” Shulitu asked calmly.

Nobody answered. All of the guards’ faces were cold. Two of them were standing in an offensive stance at the doorway.

“I got the pillow,” another voice called out from the outside, before soone opened the tent flap and ca in.

The two guards by the entrance slashed out with their sharp sabers at the sa ti, and the one who had just co in was beheaded. The headless body fell to the ground with a thud, a pillow in his hands.

After rolling around several tis, the head stopped, the face looking right at Shulitu.

Shulitu’s face went ashen, but he didn’t scream.

A guard bent over and took a look, “He’s not the one who just…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the guard screeched in pain before slowly turning around, revealing a dagger sticking out from his back. He tried to reach out to grab it, but the only thing he could do was scratch his back a few tis. As his life bled out, he slowly sat down on the ground.

The other guards didn’t panic. They imdiately moved beside Shulitu and encircled him, their eyes looking around for that hidden killer.

A dozen miles away, Duodun was still trying hard to persuade the Second Consort. “Think about it carefully. If we ally with the Dragon King and Shulitu, we won’t stand a good chance of defeating Luoluo, and even if we defeat him, I will have to win another fight to succeed to the throne. But if we ally with Luoluo, the Dragon King will undoubtedly be eliminated. Besides, the Central Plains army is already pursuing Luoluo, and winterti is almost upon us. Thus, so Luoluo will surely flee far away after this war, which will give enough ti to expand my army. Given the difference between these two choices, which one do you think I should choose? In addition, what’s done is done - I’ve already sent a ssenger and I can’t call him back even if I wanted to.”

As she sat on a blanket, the Second Consort’s face was sepulchral. “Can your n defeat those kung fu experts of Dragon King?”

“The Dragon King makes mistakes too, you know. He has deployed all his real kung fu experts elsewhere, leaving only a couple of won and kids behind. But I didn’t make mistakes like he did. Did you think that I did nothing at Heaven’s Pass? Actually, I recruited so kung fu experts too. Not many - just a hundred n or so. But they should be enough for today’s action, right?”

The Second Consort didn’t answer. After a while she said, “Okay, you win. Like you said, what’s done is done, and it’s beyond discussion at this point. I have no more to say. I just hope that you will stay on guard against the Naihang Tribe’s plots.”

“Ha-ha, what kind of plot can Zhesu and Duo Ercha possibly co up with?”

The Second Consort sighed heavily as she said, “Call your n in.”

Duodun stared at her in confusion. “You’re with on this, and not playing any tricks, right?”

“Everything I’ve done, I did for you. You don’t believe ?”

Duodun believed her. He walked to the doorway and asked the companions and generals to co inside.

“Luoluo’s troops are fighting the Naihang Tribe. The scouts said that there’ve been so signs of chaos in the Naihang Tribe, so our armies may depart at any ti,” Liman reported.

“Give it so ti.” Duodun was still watching the Second Consort closely. “When the situation in the Naihang Tribe devolves into a total ss, we’ll corner them then. After that, they will have no choice but to surrender. Have you blocked off the roads in the north yet?”

Liman nodded. “Our 5,000 cavalryn departed yesterday. News ca this morning that they are already in position. They’re moving under King Riying Shulitu’s banner, so it shouldn’t be a problem for them to gain the Naihang Tribe’s trust.

“That’s right.” Duodun took a few steps forward and opened his arms. Two companions imdiately carried a suit of armor to him and helped him put it on.

With his armor on, Duodun looked sturdier and more handso than usual. The Second Consort stared at him obsessively for a while before asking, “Er… Liman, you know the Naihang Tribe’s army well, don’t you?”

“I do,” Liman answered sowhat confusedly.

Duodun turned his head back and smiled. “He’s from the Naihang Tribe and he’s also General Zhesu’s son. Who else could possibly be more familiar with that army than he?”

“Great.” The Second Consort smiled. “Liman, the Naihang Tribe is conspiring against us. If you’re truly loyal to Prince Duodun, then for his sake, you shouldn’t go welco their surrender…”

Duodun angrily pushed aside the companions who were helping him equip his armor as he yelled at the Second Consort, “I trusted you!”

“Oh, silly kid.” Second Consort watched her loved man with a compassionate infatuation.

Then, she twisted her head and said to Liman, “Don’t try to think about what your father will do. Think about what old King Rizhu would have done on this kind of occasion, and then think about whether or not General Zhesu will do the sa thing.”

Liman’s heart skipped a beat.