Chapter 219

After joining the large army that had crossed the bridge later, they abandoned the soldiers of Mandele and quickly marched north.

Rika issued two orders to Langnu to increase speed; the second time he gave the order to speed up, Kongqi Kongdun burst out in curses. One of his heavy cavalry squads had already lost a warhorse due to the forced march, and he said that if they continued to speed up, even more horse legs would break.

Rika couldn't be bothered to speak with him, especially after learning he had actually been a traitor to Bolton from the start. After the order was delivered, his duty was already finished; if he dared to defy, that would also be Langnu's affair.

Langnu would be better off chopping off such a person's head and hanging it on Winterfell's walls, or putting it in a box and sending it to Bodun, rather than letting him command the heavy cavalry squad—even if that squad numbered at most twenty-seven men.

The White Blade River soldiers who had come to Winterfell together with Kongqi Kongdun, after several battles, now only three remained alive, including Kongqi Kongdun himself; the other two were assigned by Langnu to become the leaders of the cavalry squad—heard that he had also been wounded, why didn't he just die on the battlefield instead of shouting here?

Even such a traitor and turncoat could become a viscount! He thought Langnu was utterly bewildered.

He dared not express his attitude to Langnu, knowing she would never listen to his words; even if he spoke, she would probably just look down on him and say, "Kid, what do you know?"

What do you know?

If she knew that Kaison, Pu'er, Molan, Banji, Miken, Laikelai, Molermeng, and Hereman were the ones who shared honor with Sitake, she shouldn't have recklessly promoted others, let alone lavishly enfeoffed feudal lords, even including a laughable southern mercenary… then she wouldn't have let her eastern subordinates and other families all occupy high positions:

Red Warrior Keleduo is the leader of the heavy cavalry unit; he admitted that no one was more suitable than him, but there were also suitable substitutes, such as Earl Qiongen. As for the heavy cavalry leader, that's fine, but most of the heavy cavalry squad leaders under him were also easterners she had brought back from her adventures in the east… The rest, the left flank cavalry was entrusted to Lord Meisen Saiwen for command; the right wing cavalry was given to Earl Geluofu; most astonishingly, the infantry, three divisions of infantry were respectively led by Instructor Huban of Saiwen City, the Geluofu-affiliated Morelsen clan, and the rescued mountain clansman Hengli Nuote… Poor thing, whether it was Ha'er Molan, Ha'erwen Hereman, or Banji and Laikelai, none were given any important responsibility, which truly made Rika feel indignant.

The sons of the families who shared fate with Sitake had already proven their loyalty and ability in earlier battles! How could this have happened?

He could only keep these things hidden in his heart.

This army had already made him feel utterly alien.

He dared not question, perhaps he would confront her when she was in a good mood and no one was around, but her sister Sansa Sitake had died in her arms, and he felt there would never be a chance.

"Hoo…" The deep horn blast penetrated layer after layer of icy water mist and frost, reaching their main camp; it was the enemy's horn.

"Hoo…" the second blast symbolizing the enemy.

After parting ways with Mandele, they took two days to traverse the winding fields, orchards, hills, and vast uninhabited wilderness before reaching here, arriving at the front line of the battlefield.

Rika and Langnu's guard cavalry regiment detached from the main force and moved in to observe. The enemy also sent out cavalry to patrol and scout; they chased each other for a while, but in the end they were always the victors. Any enemy daring to provoke, their scattered cavalry were all cut down by the more skilled Langnu. After slaying five enemy cavalry in two engagements, the enemy sent no more cavalry, so they could stand in the open field and carefully observe ahead.

That was a clearly upward slope; Bodun's soldiers had obviously occupied it not long ago, merely erecting a simple spiked barrier, with anti-cavalry stakes built along both sides of the slope, after which lay a simple camp.

He had no doubt that cavalry could charge up, but by the time they arrived, how much strength and speed they would retain was hard to say; and then what awaited them would likely be Bodun's pikemen and archers shooting from higher ground.

He had not seen the terrain beyond the high ground and the spiked barrier's position, nor had he ever walked there before… This was truly a pity, even he himself had only been to the east of the river once, let alone venturing deep into the interior.

He believed Langnu could see a bit more clearly—she always could, and he had heard Laolunsi Xuenuo say that Langnu was a shapeshifter.

When he returned home, he told this secret to his father, and his father told him to keep it confidential.

The reasoning is simple: shapeshifters are considered monsters by those who don't understand, and no one wants to be seen as a monster; moreover, she is the head of House Sitake, and proclaiming this brings no benefit to anyone, especially the Pu'er family.

"This is a weapon of war, absolutely not to be regarded as evil." His father said, "House Sitake has many wolf spirits, just like other followers of the old gods. The more animals she can enter, the higher her talent is shown, which is good for Sitake, the North, and us."

Like other followers of the old gods… he too was a follower of the old gods, but he had never communed with any animal to become a wolf spirit, bear spirit, or any other spirit. Following his father's admonition, he only needed to remember that when encountering a medium, he should not make a fuss, lest he appear like a northern fool—since northern families with memory and background are well aware of this.

Perhaps in Laolunsi Xuenuo's eyes he was just a fool, or perhaps Laolunsi Xuenuo himself was a medium, which is why he could so quickly grasp the meaning of "kindred."

Damn it! Are half-breeds more prone to unlocking talent?

At that moment, Langnu turned her horse's head.

If it were the past, he would have just spoken up and asked what he had discovered, but now he thinks it's better to remain silent. If she wants to speak, she will; if she doesn't want to speak…

"Return!" She spurred her horse and galloped back. Afterwards, their warhorses neighed, and they followed closely behind, letting their faces meet the freezing cold wind.

He felt his own head was also frozen; facing such a defense, he could only attack with more soldiers' lives, and he could think of no better way.

Shortly after returning to the camp, she summoned the officers.

She saw the officers rush into the large tent, while he was still complaining that he wasn't qualified to attend the meeting, but the officers actually came back out one by one.

"That fast?" He saw Laolunsi Xuenuo walking out of the tent outside, and then hurried forward to grab him.

"Of course fast. We'll launch the attack tonight." He leaned in and said to him. Having his sleeve pulled, Xuenuo grew a little impatient, lightly pushing his hand away, saying, "If I were you, I wouldn't grab a half-breed's hand; I'd hurry to get the warhorses ready, organize the gear, and take a proper shit. Her Highness will personally take the field; you're her close guard—can you even run away?"

Damn it.

"Decided so quickly? Is there nothing else to say?"

"Ah, it's just a notice… Her Highness has already decided everything; what's there to discuss? Besides, even if we discussed something, I couldn't tell you. I have other things to do, get lost, get lost…"

Having to go back to the battlefield so soon, he felt unprepared; aside from a few drills after returning from the south, he hadn't really trained at all.

When that foolish attendant Huodenuo Rui notified them to assemble, two more hours had already passed; at that point, Langnu finally revealed the plan to her nearby guard cavalry.

"Why must you go yourself?" He finally couldn't help but ask, but his tone came out as an indignant question, "You can't possibly do everything yourself, can you?"

"What do you want to say? If you're afraid, you don't have to go." She said softly, her tone giving no indication of whether she was serious or mocking, which made him feel even worse.

"We are all guard cavalry; night raids should be assigned to infantry!"

"When you mount, you are my guard cavalry; when you dismount, you must become my guard infantry." The first sentence made his face flush, "But you're right, night raids should be assigned to infantry—unfortunately, not precise enough—night raids should pick brave and resolute infantry, and I don't have time to slowly pick through the army, nor do I want to, because I believe that you and I are the bravest and most resolute people."

Without a doubt.

"Moreover, this is the first time since returning from the south that we are matching up against Bodun; I don't want to wait until midnight for news of a disastrous defeat up ahead, merely inviting Bodun's mockery! Therefore, we must win this first battle. Are you satisfied?"

He didn't know whether he was satisfied or not, but seeing the cavalrymen beside him all excited, that must mean they were satisfied.