Chapter 272: The Giant Dragon's Nest

Besides the Owl Cavalry, the Great King only brought another two thousand cavalry to Wing Province. It's actually quite far; it's unnecessary for too many people to make the trip—the Xianbei don't have that much face.

The Marquis of the Eastern Capital sat on his horse, watching the black-armored, black-mounted cavalry winding westward like a black giant dragon.

That dragon coils in the Northern Border; sooner or later it will stir its head and tail, and then the whole world will tremble.

Besides the unfortunate Xianbei who were wiped out, it seems only they were fortunate enough to witness the giant dragon brandish its claws and fangs.

After the cavalry rode off, the Marquis of the Eastern Capital gazed southward and sighed, 'The times have changed.'

Ge Zhong looked up at the big sun and said, 'No, it's a fine sunny day! I feel much better today than yesterday!'

Wu Jian: '……An idiot should speak less when out.'

Ge Zhong: ……

Draw your sword!

The Great King led three thousand cavalry in a mighty march to Wing Province; the villages and counties along the way were nearly deserted, and they didn't stop, heading straight for Wing Province City.

By the time they reached Wing Province City it was already late night; the Great King rested outside the city, ate, slept, and replenished his energy, then at dawn the next day he broke camp and arrived at the East Gate of Wing Province City.

The gate of Wing Province City was shut, and the city walls were lined with Xianbei soldiers holding bows and arrows.

The Great King rubbed his chin and said, 'Could it be we still have to storm the city?'

Wei Shen dragged the trussed-up Tuoba Yao over and said, 'No need—we already have a hostage; good thing we kept one.'

Tuoba Yao had one hand cut off; after merely staunching the bleeding, he was bound to a horse's back and dragged to Wing Province. After a day of forced marching, he was so exhausted his breaths were shallow.

Seeing Tuoba Yao's condition, the Great King said, 'Hurry up and seize the moment—this guy might kick the bucket any minute!' This poor wretch looks like he could give up the ghost at any moment!

Tuoba Yao nearly choked on his breath upon hearing that!

You… you!

What 'you you'? If you want to live, be polite to His Highness!

Tuoba Yao nearly spat blood; he's royalty too, you know.

Wei Shen dragged him to the front of the ranks and shouted at the top of his voice, 'The Xianbei alliance that dared invade You Province has been utterly annihilated! Are any Western Xianbei here? Do you recognize this man? Tuoba Yao is here—do we still need to storm the city? I urge you to lay down your arms and surrender; the King of You does not kill prisoners.'

The three Xianbei tribes usually schemed against each other; although they now agreed to split the two poor provinces, none trusted the others. In Wing Province City, representatives of all three factions remained.

Seeing only the Western Xianbei chief, the Bald-haired Xianbei, and the Eastern Xianbei on the walls, the defenders' hearts sank even further.

The Great King and his forces were encamped outside the city; the inhabitants knew of it but did not act rashly.

Although over a hundred thousand had besieged You Province, now there is no word—not a single soul has returned. Even if the campaign faltered, remnants should have fled back, shouldn't they?

Now the King of You has come to surround them instead, and the Xianbei are certainly uneasy.

But they never imagined that a force of over a hundred thousand could be utterly trapped in You Province with no way out; they thought perhaps it had withdrawn to the northern borders of Eastern Xianbei territory.

Now Tuoba Yao has been tossed onto the battlefield; his half-dead heart finally gave out—clearly something has happened to the great army!

The Eastern Xianbei and Bald-haired Xianbei left behind came out to ask where their leaders and cavalry were; Wei Shen sneered, 'Open the gate! Later you can go down and join them.'

Having said that, he kicked Tuoba Yao and said, 'Say something—make them open the gate!'

Tuoba Yao gathered a bit of strength and shouted weakly, 'Surrender, we can't win. Mu Tu, surrender!'

His lifeless appearance was no act; that utter lack of vitality was all too real.

The defenders on the walls conferred, still finding it hard to believe. They had marched smoothly all the way to Chang'an, yet suffered a defeat in You Province? That was a force of over a hundred thousand!

Wei Shen again shouted from below, 'Surrender! Get out of Wing Province City!'

'But the Great Jin ceded Wing and You Provinces to us!' They still couldn't believe it, suspecting some plot.

Wei Shen said, 'Great Jin is Great Jin; here the King of You calls the shots. Why don't you go back to Chang'an and ask? Now our lord the King of You wants Wing Province—you had better get out at once, or I'll chop off one of Tuoba Yao's hands every night!'

Tuoba Yao was probably cursing his mother, muttering a few words, and shouting for that Mu Tu to open the gate.

No one knows how the folks inside deliberated, but Wing Province City's gate soon opened. Wei Shen shoved Tuoba Yao to the very front—if he didn't move, the Black Wind Horse would trample him. Shields were behind him, and the three thousand cavalry entered the city.

Some were sent to seize the walls and subdue the Xianbei defenders, while the Great King rode into the city.

Taking one look at the streets of Wing Province City, the Great King knew the populace was sparse—a silence as still as the grave.

The doors of the street-facing houses stood wide open; evidently the Xianbei had already ransacked them.

The Great King sighed and popped a piece of candy into his mouth.

Xiao Zao wandered off on his own, while the Great King sat on his horse, meticulously stripping the rice-paper wrapper off the fruit candy. The candy he bought couldn't be brought in plastic, so Bai Yang had wrapped it in rice paper; the Great King disliked rice paper because it sticks to his throat~

Ling Yin glanced at him sideways, said nothing, and the Great King felt a twinge of guilt. He then produced another piece and shoved it into Xiao Zao's mouth—now they were accomplices.

Ling Yin shook his head helplessly.

Just then, the Great King's heart gave a sudden thump—something felt off!

The wind carried the sharp whiz of an arrow leaving the bow with a 'whoosh,' and Ling Yin snatched it out of the air, catching the arrow flying straight for the Great King's temple.

The Great King immediately turned his head left; the archer stood on the second floor of a street-side shop.

What a close call! Getting hit wouldn't kill, but it would sure hurt!

The opponent clearly hadn't expected anyone to catch barehanded his heavy, powerful arrow shot from above; he didn't flee, but remained there, staring straight at Ling Yin.

The Great King suddenly broke into a grin, his big eyes sparkling, sly as a little white fox in the snowy mountains.

'Nice archery, I really appreciate it, Mu Tu.' He muttered, then got down to business.

If he wasn't mistaken, the person who just answered Tuoba Yao's shout to open the door from outside was this very man.

Mu Tu obviously didn't grasp the child's train of thought; he glanced at Ling Yin again and asked, 'Did the Xianbei great army really lose?'

The Great King smiled narrowly: 'I buried them beneath Mount Zhi Yan, close to their homeland—when they lift their heads they can see home.'

'You really slaughtered a hundred thousand Xianbei?'

'Absolutely certain.'

Mu Tu fell silent for a moment, just as the Great King was about to have Ling Yin take him down, then he spoke again.

'I fought him one-on-one and won; let me take the remaining Western Xianbei back to the grasslands.' He pointed at Ling Yin, knowing the Great King had the final say, and without even looking at Ling Yin he asked the Great King directly.

The Great King again took out a piece of candy and began to tear the glutinous rice skin bit by bit. "You don't understand me; I never engage in a losing deal. From the moment you brought your army to stand on land that does not belong to you, you had no choice. How could there be so many good things in the world? Once you've chosen to begin, you have no right to choose how to end."