Chapter 307: Who Pulls the Carriage?

The scout's second report said the opposing side had about forty thousand people; it looked like they were coming from the direction of Shuofang City, and they had already stopped five li out.

The troupe had a splendid carriage, though no obvious banner was raised; it was guessed that the commander's status was not low.

When the king heard they had rebelled, he asked, "What does stopping mean? Are they putting on airs, waiting for me to come over?"

He raised his hand and said, "Stop! Let us rest too."

The king matched wits with the Xiongnu across from him—if they didn't come over, he didn't go over either. After resting like that for half a shichen, the silhouette of the Xiongnu great army appeared on the horizon. The king satisfiedly climbed onto his horseback, feeling he had won the first round.

He took out the Sun-Shooting Bow and brandished it, looking ready for a big fight.

"These Xiongnu are boring; their flags don't even have any writing, just pictures of birds and beasts—who knows who they are."

When they drew nearer, the king got a clear look at the carriages in the troupe, and his sarcastic mouth paused: "…Could it be a girl? A female general?"

The Xiongnu cavalry surrounded a very splendid carriage, four white horses pulling it; the various colored decorative drapes on the carriage were blown by the steppe wind, waving wildly.

It just looked very strange.

The white, gold, and purple gauze curtains—he guessed it was a female general.

Apart from the few times he had used the ceremonial guard of a prince, the king had never gone out so elaborately.

Look, the horses they chose to pull the carriage were deliberately white—looking… rather elegant?

"Next time I go out, I want eight horses pulling the carriage. No matter who he is, I won't lose. I'll use the White Dragon Horse and crush him!" I'll go buy blind boxes, drawing the White Dragon Horse ceremonial guard!

Wei Shen immediately grasped the point: "What is a White Dragon Horse? Is it better than my White Gold Wild Horse?"

The king suddenly went quiet as a chicken: "Nothing, I was just talking. Go ask who's coming!"

Waiting for the Xiongnu to slowly approach, until they stopped outside bow-and-arrow range, Wei Shen called out, but they didn't utter a sound, ignoring him completely.

The king poked his chin with the bow in his hand, saying, "Don't say—this Xiongnu force seems… unlike the ones we've met before, quite refined, wouldn't you say?"

Wei Ke nodded, "They look more disciplined; the people in that carriage are probably Xiongnu high-ranking."

They were observing the opposite side, and the opposite side was no less observing them.

The Xiongnu knew more than the king imagined; at the very least, Lan He had heard of the battles at Wuwei and Bingzhou City, knowing how disastrously they had lost.

The Youzhou cavalry's black armored horses, even when standing still on the grassland, gave a heavy, oppressive pressure that hit you in the face.

The gold-trimmed military banner fluttering in the wind was the only splash of color in that black mass.

At the very least, the first two rows of Xiongnu cavalry were not as calm as they appeared.

The king also stayed still, just waiting to see how long the opposing formation could hold.

Soon after, the soldiers around the carriage slightly bowed; then a man in black clothing lifted the curtain and stepped out, not descending from the carriage but standing on the carriage frame, gazing straight at the king's position.

The king clicked his tongue, "What's with the pretentiousness? Not wearing armor, and he's nowhere near as good-looking as Wei Ke."

That man had a pair of light brown eyes, typical of a northern beard look, about thirty years old; he wore the flashy clothing favored by Xiongnu nobility, a flowing style quite unsuitable for the battlefield. At first glance the king saw he was arrogant and conceited—plainly put, a poser.

Beside him, the lazy Bai Ze that had been crouching rose and glanced, then, unusually, spoke up before everyone to warn the king: "He's a master; be careful not to let him get away."

The king pouted, "You can tell that even though he hasn't moved? Just because he's not wearing armor on the battlefield?"

Bai Ze whispered in a voice he could hear: "His vital energy is full, his martial arts are not bad. Watch his feet—actually most of the time he isn't stepping solidly."

Wei Ke pondered, "Lan He?" He had heard that the martial arts of the Left Worthy King were unmatched among the Xiongnu.

Upon hearing that, the king's eyes instantly sharpened.

He narrowed his eyes to look, but the man didn't look at him at all; his gaze was fixed firmly on the king's Auspicious Beast.

The king looked at the man, then turned to Bai Ze; before he could speak up with any lofty opinion, the man standing on the carriage frame spoke first.

"What is that white thing? I want it to pull my carriage!"

"Wow~"

"Whoa!"

The king and Wei Shen exclaimed together, "This… is that suicidal?"

Good, good, good!

The king thought that whether he could escape after speaking was uncertain before, but now there really was no way out.