Chapter 129: Night Raid Defense (3)

Gu Yun's expression sank; something was wrong!

Sixty to fifty-seven, only three rooms left unchecked; the probability of the wooden box being in one of them was five percent—not very likely! If the wooden box wasn't in the backyard, why would Su Ren go to such great lengths to send so many people to guard it? Was it merely to confuse the enemy? Then where was the wooden box? In the Main Camp in the central courtyard, or the study? Or perhaps the side hall?

Gu Yun knitted her brows in thought and said in a low voice, "Bring your terrain map out for me to see again."

"Yes." Ge Jingyun took the map from his sleeve and spread it out before Gu Yun. Under the moonlight, the intricate and complex diagrams were dizzying, but Gu Yun did not complain or show confusion in the slightest; it seemed that seeing in such a dark environment was the most ordinary thing for her.

Her sharp eyes scanned the map back and forth, and her cold, clear voice betrayed no joy or anger, "Has there been any change in the troop arrangements for this entry?"

When he had gone out to count the heads earlier, he had also asked the other soldiers about the situation inside. Ge Jingyun recalled and organized his thoughts for a moment before cautiously replying, "The backyard guards are still strict; more than half of the soldiers remain in the backyard. However, there is one thing that is very strange: the garrison commanders are mostly concentrated in the position between the backyard and the central courtyard, with about five hundred men stationed there, yet those actually patrolling the backyard are no more than two hundred."

Five hundred stationed, two hundred patrolling—then the place the others were guarding... was where the wooden box was?!

A flash of brilliance crossed Gu Yun's eyes, and she sighed inwardly, "A fine move, Su Ren!" In truth, those five hundred men were not there to guard the rooms in the backyard at all; sending people to patrol was merely to confuse them, while also allowing them to intercept and capture the infiltrators before they could reach the central courtyard. What they were truly guarding was the central courtyard! In this way, with the gate tower in front and fierce generals in the back, the central courtyard, though unpatrolled, had become the safest and least conspicuous place in the camp.

Her slender fingers traced lightly over the map. Given Su Ren's personality, the wooden box would absolutely not be in the Main Camp, so it must be in—finally, her index finger stopped at one spot. Gu Yun's cat-like eyes shone with a cunning light in the night. She crooked her fingers at Leng Xiao and Ge Jingyun, smiling, "You two come here. We will split into two groups later. Leng Xiao, you start from..."

The night grew deeper. It should have been a night of absolute silence, yet it was clamorous and restless due to the burning torches and wave after wave of attacks and shouts.

Because Su Yu had changed the formation, the soldiers charging at the very front had already reached the foot of the gate tower. To capture the gate tower, there were only two methods: one was to ram the gate open, and the other was to climb the high wall. Attacking from above—the city wall was over three zhang high; even if they could throw up a rope ladder, climbing it would take quite some time, and the gate tower was protected by an Arrow Formation, not to mention that there were hundreds of garrison commanders waiting for them once they reached the top.

Therefore, Su Yu chose to ram the gate. The dozens of soldiers in front worked together to hold a large tree trunk that required two people to wrap their arms around, shouting in rhythm as they rammed the gate again and again. Muffled thuds came from the tall bronze gate, shaking one's heart and soul.

From the high tower on the city wall, one could see clearly outside the gate tower and into the backyard; the situation in the camp could be seen perfectly from here. On the high tower, Su Ren watched the soldiers below ramming his gate with the tree trunk. Far from having any anger on his face, he wore a smile, looking completely at ease. The new recruits had good quality, which meant the Su Family Army would welcome more fierce generals; he was naturally happy. On the other side, Han Shu also laughed heartily, "The formation training is not bad!" To be able to change two formations without falling into chaos after only half a month of practice, and not to be cowardly or panicked on their first time on the battlefield—good!

"If you keep trying to fool them with the Arrow Formation, it won't be long before your gate is rammed open," Han Shu laughed, somewhat gloating.

It was likely impossible for Su Ren to rely on the Arrow Formation to keep these newborn calves out. They were holding shields over their heads; even if arrows rained down, as long as their formation didn't break, there was nothing he could do to them.

"Someone," Su Ren called out softly.

"Yes." A middle-ranking general hurried forward a step.

"Switch to Stone Attack." After hesitating for a moment, Su Ren added, "Choose smaller ones."

"Yes."

After hearing Su Ren's instructions, Han Shu couldn't help but laugh out loud. He patted Su Ren's shoulder hard and smiled, "You really do cherish talent; you're still so thoughtful even when two armies are facing off!"

Su Ren smiled faintly and said nothing, but his deep black eyes were secretly searching for Gu Yun's figure. It was impossible for her to have sent people to scout the rear camp at night and then take no further action. There was half an hour left until dawn; what was she thinking?

Because the defending troops switched to Stone Attack, stones as large as heads fell from above, and the force could be imagined. Even with shields to block them, the impact was still shockingly great. The formation that had been neat just a moment ago was immediately thrown into disarray, and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Just as the soldiers below were about to be unable to hold on, several fire arrows suddenly struck from both sides of the city wall. In an instant, sparks flew on the gate tower; the garrison commanders could only split part of their force to put out the fire and part to counterattack, finally giving the new recruits ramming the gate a moment to catch their breath.

Fire erupted on the gate, and Han Shu's eyes lit up as he smiled, "The Madam has finally arrived."

Su Ren also perked up; she had finally appeared! Suddenly, his shoulder felt heavy, and Han Shu's surprised voice came to his ear, "Look at the back!"

Su Ren turned to look. In the direction of the backyard, hundreds of men in black had snuck in again. They were surging toward the central courtyard like a tide, and in their hands, they held shields—and not just any shields, but the man-sized large shields used for sieges. What were they trying to do?!

While Su Ren and Han Shu watched with great interest, full of confusion, Su Yu was also secretly suspicious. Why would Qing Mo send troops to help him at this time? Even if she wanted to attack, she could have waited until he was soundly defeated before making a move. While he was wondering, he felt a dark shadow walk toward him. He turned his head to see it was none other than Gu Yun! She stood beside him with a faint smile on her face. Su Yu asked in surprise, "You aren't going to command your soldiers; what are you doing here?"

Gu Yun shrugged and replied, "I've already deployed them; the rest is up to them. Besides, this time it's a test of their strength, and I can't intervene, so why can't I stand here and watch the battle?" This was the best spot!

She always had so many plausible reasons that left one unable to refute her. Looking at the gate tower ahead, the defending troops, who had to dodge incoming fire arrows, counterattack, and stop the soldiers ramming the gate below, were finally beginning to get flustered despite their usual composure.

Su Yu chuckled, "I thought you wouldn't attack tonight, that you would just hide on the sidelines and use me to probe my second brother's true strength, and only make a move tomorrow night. I didn't expect you to lose your patience so quickly."

Gu Yun raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled, "So you're saying you made such a big move just to probe his strength in preparation for a sneak attack tomorrow night? Do you think your fox of a second brother will fight with the same layout tomorrow?"

Su Yu frowned slightly and remained silent. He naturally knew his second brother wouldn't be unchanging, but he shouldn't be changing his formations every single night just for this night raid!

Gu Yun didn't think so, "Tonight is the moment when Su Ren and the garrison commanders are most relaxed, and it is also the easiest time to win. If we can't win tonight, I'm afraid that even if we join forces tomorrow or the night after, we won't be your second brother's match." The Su Family Army had always been brave and invincible; arrogance and underestimating the enemy were inevitable. Tonight was the best opportunity!

After a long while, Su Yu nodded slowly, but then shook his head and sighed, "There is only half an hour until dawn; I'm afraid it will be difficult to win tonight." Those garrison commanders were all battle-hardened; their panic was only temporary. If his second brother were to call another hundred men to assist, it would be even harder for them to win.

Her cherry lips curled upward, and Gu Yun replied confidently, "That's not necessarily true!"

Su Yu was stunned. What gave her such confidence?

Just as Gu Yun finished speaking, a buzzing sound was heard. A silver light leaped out from the darkness and pierced straight into the city wall. Looking closely, it was actually a long spear?! The tail of the spear was still vibrating rapidly, showing the ferocity of the force.

Su Yu hurriedly looked toward where the silver light had appeared. He saw a giant crossbow placed on the ground, and a dozen soldiers were struggling to pull a bowstring as thick as a wrist, while their "arrows" were actually silver spears!

What on earth were they trying to do?

While Su Yu was still confused, the second silver spear had already flown out, piercing fiercely into the wall to the upper right of the first one.

Just as everyone was wondering, four or five silver spears had already been embedded in the city wall. Su Yu turned to look at the determined Gu Yun and teased, "You said it's not necessarily true—are you relying on a few spear shafts?"

Gu Yun nodded and replied affirmatively, "Obviously, yes."

What kind of trick was she playing?

This was not only Su Yu's confusion; Su Ren was also astonished. However, what surprised him was the soldiers in the backyard holding shields and charging forward all the way. She must have a purpose for this arrangement, but what was it?

Finally, after the seventh silver spear was shot, the fire arrow attacks from both sides became much more intense than before. Seventy or eighty men dressed in black appeared strangely at the foot of the city wall; they must have snuck over while the garrison commanders on the gate tower were in a panic.

Because they were moving while pressed against the city wall, Gu Yun and Su Yu could clearly see their every move, but the garrison commanders, busy dodging fire arrows and counterattacking, did not notice this.

It wasn't until they ran to the bottom of the silver spears that Su Yu finally understood Gu Yun's intention, but he did not agree with it. Su Yu questioned Gu Yun, "Even if there are a few people with extremely high martial arts in your group of new recruits, what is the use of only three or five of them getting up there? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?" Those silver spears were spaced far apart; those with high martial arts might be able to use Lightness Skill to borrow force and get up, but even if ordinary people had good physiques, it was impossible for them to get up!

Gu Yun remained unmoved. Her bright eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the two blurry figures on the high tower; she believed Su Ren must also be paying attention to the battle. Su Yu only had the luck to see the attack in front of him, but he had no chance to see the counter-attack in the backyard; Su Ren should have that pleasure. Rubbing her cheek lightly with her index finger, Gu Yun replied with a half-smile, "Don't be impatient; the good show is just about to begin. Actually, I want to see your second brother get frustrated more than I want to win against you right now."

(End of chapter)