Chapter 766: Your magic isn't working, is it?

Everyone heard this and their spirits were greatly lifted.

"Exactly! That's how we should deal with them!"

"Let them go and never return!"

"Set up camp! Start cooking!" Xiao Yuanhang gave the order, and the seventy-thousand-strong army sprang into action.

Tents rose one after another, and cooking smoke curled upward.

The soldiers silently wiped their arrows, sharpened their swords, each holding a burning fire in their hearts.

The three ten-thousand-person pits beneath the city had already ignited everyone's anger.

At night, in the commander's large tent, the candles burned bright.

Xiao Yuanhang sat upright behind the commander's desk, with Wang Jingzhao, Wang Cheng'an, and Zheng Wucheng, the chief commander of the Goryeo Righteous Army, seated to his right.

To his left sat the generals of the Fierce Kingdom, in order.

Xiao Yuanhang pointed at the map on the desk: "This place is West Harbor."

"I intend to send five thousand troops: one thousand archers fully supplied with arrows, two thousand infantry as the vanguard, the remaining two thousand as rear support, carrying eight Heavenfire Tubes, for a night raid on this location."

He paused: "The flames from the Heavenfire Tubes shoot far enough that, from the shore, they can set all the ships ablaze."

"The archers will guard the harbor; if any Japanese sailors jump ship to escape," he lifted his head and scanned the crowd, "not a single one will be spared."

"The vanguard will set fire, the archers will block the road, and if anything unusual occurs, the rear will respond."

Zhang Wu'an was the first to stand: "Prince, I, the humble officer, volunteer to go!"

Xiao Ningchen rose, clasped his fists, and said: "Father, let me go."

Zheng Wucheng rose, strode to the desk, dropped to one knee, raised his clasped hands above his head, and in a hoarse voice said: "Your Highness Prince Ning, the Goryeo Righteous Army asks to be the vanguard!"

"I will lead my brothers to the front, to seek justice for the people in those three ten-thousand-person pits!"

"Rise," Xiao Yuanhang glanced at him, "for this night raid, Xiao Ningchen will lead the troops, with Xiao Er and Zhang Wu'an as deputy commanders; all orders are to follow Xiao Ningchen's command."

Zheng Wucheng kowtowed deeply: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

Xiao Ningxun gazed toward the tent's exterior and softly said: "Father, I fear this plan won't work."

Everyone's eyes turned to him in unison.

Xiao Ningxun rose and walked to the map, raising his hand to point at the northwest of West Harbor: "This place is too close to West Harbor; it's entirely the homes of Goryeo fishermen."

"The current wind is from the southeast, blowing from the sea onto the land."

"If over a thousand warships catch fire, sparks and burning wood chips will surely be blown ashore by the wind."

"Once the fierce fire oil ignites, it can only burn out; it cannot be extinguished."

"Once this fire starts," he lowered his hand, his voice sinking a few degrees, "it will burn not only the Japanese warships but also all the nearby Goryeo civilians."

"That would be hurting the enemy by a thousand while damaging ourselves by eight hundred."

The tent fell silent for a moment.

Zheng Wucheng's expression changed.

Wang Jingzhao and Wang Cheng'an exchanged a glance; yes, the people have already suffered this great calamity—how could we only think of killing the enemy and not care for them?

The soldiers of the Fierce Kingdom also remained silent.

Xiao Ningxun looked at his father, eyes flickering: "Unless..."

Xiao Yuanhang waved his hand, stopping him, and slowly rose: "Prepare according to the plan we just discussed."

Having said that, he lifted his leg and walked out of the tent.

Wang Cheng'an asked softly: "Third Prince, what is this, Prince?"

Xiao Ningxun gazed at his father's back, the corner of his mouth lifting: "Your Majesty need not worry; Father, he has his own way."

That night, the second watch was approaching.

On the low slope outside West Harbor, five thousand troops had silently taken position.

One thousand archers lay in wait behind the slope, and two thousand infantry were ambushed ahead of the archers.

Eight Heavenfire Tubes were scattered, one every several dozen paces, their dark copper nozzles aimed at the forest of masts in the harbor.

Zheng Wucheng's gaze continually swept back and forth between the harbor and the nearby civilian homes.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, his palms slick with sweat.

Xiao Ningchen glanced at the sky and whispered: "Don't rush, wait."

"When the second watch arrives, the wind direction will surely change."

Zheng Wucheng turned his head to look at him, his face full of disbelief.

Can the wind direction really be said to change and then change?

How can this Second Prince's words be spoken with such certainty, as sure as eating and drinking?

Xiao Er gave a faint smile.

Xiao Yuanhang was in his own bedchamber, holding his daughter as he leaned against the couch.

Xiao Tuanzi rubbed her eyes from drowsiness, letting out a tiny yawn: "Daddy, isn't it time yet?"

"It's time," Xiao Yuanhang ruffled her hair, "come, look at what's yours, Tuan Tuan."

"Your second older brother and your second uncle are waiting for this moment."

Tuan Tuan blinked, her drowsiness instantly half gone; she sat up straight, took the small embroidered pouch from the pile of clothes on the nearby stool, and brought it over.

She quickly untied the embroidered pouch and pulled out a clump of fur from Xiao Feifei's ear.

She looked at the white, soft clump of fur in her hand, reluctantly pressed it to her face, and whispered: "Xiao Feifei, I miss you so much!"

Xiao Tuanzi tilted her little head, thought for a moment, and said: "Now, reverse the wind direction!"

"Just for tonight! After that, you can blow wherever you like!"

Having said that, she loosened her tiny hand, and the clump of fur fell downward.

A faint glimmer flashed, and that Fur Clump instantly vanished.

She pricked up her ears, then grinned at her father: "Alright, Daddy, the wind said it would obey!"

Xiao Yuanhang scooped his daughter into his arms and planted a hard kiss on the top of her head.

The next moment.

Zheng Wucheng's whole body went rigid as a gust of wind suddenly blew from behind.

He jerked his head up, looking toward the flags on the warships in the harbor.

The wind direction changed! It really changed!

The wind that had been blowing from sea to land now rose from the ground and blew straight back toward the sea!

He widened his eyes, his voice stammering: "Wind… wind!"

Xiao Ningchen showed no hesitation: "Ignite!"

Xiao Er swept his large hand, lighting eight torches at once and bringing them to the bronze mouth of the Heaven Fire Tube.

The soldiers pressed the handles hard, and eight blazing pillars of fire roared across the night sky, spewing into the dense thicket of masts.

One by one, the sails and masts of the Eastern Sea warships ignited first; the flames raced up the canvas, fell onto the hull, and in the blink of an eye engulfed each ship.

Xiao Er ordered: "Continue!"

The eight Heaven Fire Tubes spewed scorching flames again.

Over a thousand warships clustered together, and the fire spread like a prairie blaze, too fast to be extinguished.

The Eastern Sea water troops on the ships awoke in terror, their bodies ablaze, leapt into the sea screaming, and swam toward the shore.

More people scrambled in the flames like headless flies; some hadn't even managed to put on clothes before the raging fire devoured them.

Seeing the Eastern Sea water troops swimming ashore toward them, Zhang Wu'an bellowed, "Archers!" and shouted, "Loose the arrows!"

A thousand bows were drawn to the full, and arrows rained down on the harbor like a storm.

The water troops who had barely escaped hadn't caught a breath before the dense hail of arrows nailed them to the shore.

The remaining water troops sensed something wrong and could only turn back toward the sea.

However, the charred wrecks began to topple, crashing repeatedly into the sea and smashing them to death.

Before long, the floating corpses on the sea piled up in layers, rising and falling with the waves under the glow of the flames.

Zheng Wucheng stared at the sea of fire, hot tears welling up.

The Goryeo righteous army fell to their knees, some wept loudly, others howled toward the heavens.

Although the Eastern Sea people were still present, this battle finally vented a curse for the civilians brutally slain by their swords.

Xiao Er looked at the towering blaze before him and said, "Exhilarating!"

Xiao Ningchen ordered: "Zheng Wucheng, go and scout! See if any fish slipped through the net!"

"Yes!"

Zheng Wucheng led over a hundred Goryeo righteous soldiers around West Harbor, then reported, "Second Young Master, all Eastern Sea warships caught fire and were destroyed without exception!"

Xiao Ningchen gazed at the shattered hulls and countless corpses on the sea and said, "Return to Main Camp!"

Five thousand troops marched toward Main Camp unharmed.

Zheng Wucheng remained silent all the way, and as they neared the camp gate, he finally could not hold back and asked, "Second Young Master, what about that wind?"

Xiao Ningchen did not turn his head and replied, "Heaven's will."

Zheng Wucheng inhaled deeply, a light flashing in his eyes, and asked no more.

At the same moment, on the walls of Royal City.

The flames of West Harbor danced in Fujiwara Yoshinobu's eyes.

He clenched his fists, his face ashen, yet he had no solution.

The Ryeok Nation's army had already encircled Royal City, making any relief impossible.

He could only watch helplessly as his warships and the stationed naval forces turned to ash.

"Master Abe Tai," he turned his head toward the man beside him, "you are the head of the Yin‑Yang Office, officially appointed as a Yin‑Yang Doctor, a Yin‑Yang Master."

"Why tonight, your sorcery has lost its potency?"