Chapter 92: Fierce Battle

"Get up, prepare for battle!"

"Get up, prepare for battle!"

"The Wolf Pack is here!"

The entire camp fell into chaos, with everyone drawing their blades and swords in alarm, as if facing a formidable enemy. Reheman organized the defense while cursing, "How could we be so unlucky to run into a Wolf Pack!"

Caravans crossing the desert are terrified of wolf packs. Because in the Gobi Desert, the terrain is relatively flat with almost no cover, making it very difficult to fend off wolves. Furthermore, in such places, wolves are already the largest animals, and they rarely have any natural predators. Once a pack of hungry wolves forms, their destructive power is immense and they are ferociously invincible; often, small merchant caravans disappear into this Gobi Desert before they even step into the wilderness, becoming nothing more than a pile of bones.

"Light the torches!"

Reheman was filled with worry as he gave the order, hoping that the firelight might strike some fear into those wolves.

However, to everyone's despair, wolf howls erupted all around the camp at this moment. By the light of the fire, one could see their massive, eerie shadows, as well as their cold, bloodthirsty eyes.

At least a hundred of them!

Everyone gasped in shock.

"Young Master, Miss Zheng, you must stay behind Qin Zhangfeng!"

Qin Zhangfeng also drew his long sword, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"You few, don't run around. Old San, keep an eye on them!"

Seeing Liu Zheng and his group moving, Reheman suddenly shouted.

The others also looked at them with disdain and began to curse. They said things like, "Be careful, this wolf pack is not easy to deal with." Once someone gets injured and the scent of blood spreads, it easily attracts even more hungry wolves. By then, everyone in the camp would likely find it hard to escape with their lives.

After all, in this camp, Liu Zheng and his companions looked the most frail.

Liu Zheng did not waste words. Having lived two lives, this was his first time being so close to real wild wolves; his fear was mixed with excitement.

"Awoo..."

A wolf pack is the type of creature that prefers to first break a person's spirit before attempting a fatal strike. Therefore, these hundred wolves were in no rush to attack; they simply circled the camp. Since they did not move, the people here naturally dared not move even more.

The situation was tense to the extreme.

Reheman, who was still somewhat experienced, shouted in a voice that the whole camp could hear: "Everyone, observe carefully! Where is the Wolf King!"

Among these hundred wild wolves, there must be a leader responsible for directing the battle. In such a situation, one must capture the ringleader to capture the bandits; if the Wolf King could be slain, the pack would scatter. But everyone knew this principle—yet the Wolf King was hiding in a concealed spot, so how could it be easily found?

Just as the two sides had been in a standoff for half an hour, the intense mental pressure caused a young man in the caravan, who was crossing the desert for the first time, to collapse on the spot. Screaming, he brandished his long saber and was the first to charge at the nearest wolf.

"No!"

"Come back!"

The crowd shouted, but it was already too late. Although the young man had decent skills, the wild wolves were even more agile and easily dodged his attack. Immediately after, seven or eight hungry wolves pounced at once. How could the young man be a match for the hungry wolves? He was soon torn to pieces by the pack.

In an instant, the smell of blood filled the air.

The night became even more terrifying.

"Kill!"

Seeing this situation, with the scent of blood spreading and the standoff no longer useful, Reheman decided it was better to take the initiative and attacked. He let out a roar, and the caravan members responded with a thunderous shout, charging in one direction together.

"Awoo!"

The wolf pack pounced fiercely.

The battle between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out.

The combat power of a hundred wolves was terrifying, and the caravan side fell into a passive position immediately.

Yinzhou Prefecture.

Jiang Xuan looked furious and slammed the table as he stood up: "Qingyang Xiansheng, the Young Master has been gone west for several days, why are we still not moving? A mere Kezhou, with five thousand Garrison—give me, Jiang Xuan, two thousand elite troops, and I will surely take Kezhou!"

He was extremely indignant at this moment.

It had been agreed that they would attack Kezhou, and that would be the moment for him, Jiang Xuan, to make a name for himself. Even if he was only a Left General, following Qingyang Shuo, it didn't matter; he wanted everyone to see his prowess! Who would have thought that two days had passed and Qingyang Shuo still hadn't made a move to mobilize troops? How could Jiang Xuan not be anxious?

A good-for-nothing!

He was extremely disappointed in this Qingyang Shuo, considering him merely a fame-seeking hypocrite.

The others in the Yinzhou army, although not as direct as Jiang Xuan, mostly held the same opinion.

Facing the questioning from Jiang Xuan and the others, Qingyang Shuo chuckled: "Who said we are going to attack Kezhou?"

Everyone was surprised.

Jiang Xuan mocked him: "Hahahaha, so Qingyang Xiansheng only wanted to come to the manor for a free meal? You made bold claims, but now you are backing out?"

Qingyang Shuo smiled slightly: "Kezhou is under the administration of Liangzhou. If we attack it, wouldn't that make us rebels?"

Jiang Xuan asked angrily: "So what if it does?"

Qingyang Shuo said: "Wait for him to attack us. Then Yinzhou will counterattack, and we will have a legitimate reason; even Liangzhou Prefecture will be helpless!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Wait for him to attack?

How would a mere Kezhou dare to provoke the strong and well-equipped Yinzhou?

"Three days will suffice!"

Qingyang Shuo said confidently.

At the same time, he issued three military orders in succession.

First, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce, under the guise of brewing wine, is to purchase grain and fodder in Kezhou on a massive scale. Buy as much as there is, regardless of the price, take it all!

Second, store the grain and fodder at the border of Yinyang and Kezhou.

Third, order a few Scouts from Jiang Xuan's Special Operations Team to go to Kezhou to spread rumors and incite panic.

Everyone was shocked.

Jiang Xuan was also stunned.

Qingyang Shuo said: "The County Marquis of Kezhou, Mou Chengxiang, is a two-faced man who is easily swayed, lacks any real talent, yet is arrogant and conceited. Once Kezhou is in chaos, he will surely try to curry favor with Liangzhou and come to harass Yinzhou. By that time, it will be the day for us to send out our troops!"

Jiang Xuan listened, stunned; though he knew this scheme was brilliant, he still snorted coldly: "Underhanded tricks, hardly the style of a great man!"

Having said this, he hurried away to go give his orders.

Qingyang Shuo smiled faintly.

If Liu Zheng were here, he would surely exclaim in surprise that this Qingyang Shuo was indeed a talent of no ordinary caliber; the move he was using was the power of capital! Nowadays, Yinyang was prosperous and lacked no wealth; by comparison, although Kezhou was a prefecture, it could not necessarily match the gold and silver reserves of the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce. In this era, grain and fodder were the most lethal things. In other words, grain and fodder were the foundation of Kezhou.

At this moment, Qingyang Shuo wanted to use money to buy Kezhou empty, inciting panic among the "stockholders." Once the situation reached an irrecoverable point, Kezhou would have no other Method but to burn its bridges!

Thus, everything happened without any warning.

In Kezhou City, the appearance of merchant caravans buying up grain was not strange. Therefore, for the first two days, the matter did not yet have a major impact.

Once the third day began, the situation underwent some uncontrollable changes.

……

"Young Master, watch out!"

The Wolf Pack had been thoroughly incited to ferocity by the scent of blood; in this Gobi Desert, the terrain they were most familiar with, there was simply nothing that could stop them!

Looking at the camel caravan side, although these men were tall and sturdy with no weak skills, they still struggled when one person faced one wolf. It often took three or four people to barely deal with one wolf. As a result, a lack of manpower became the biggest problem here.

"Ah!"

From time to time, people were attacked and killed by the Wolf Pack, and the scent of blood grew thicker. Human fear also spread boundlessly.

"You bunch of beasts!"

Over there, a Loulan merchant caravan, because their camping position was closest to the hill, had twenty men who were quickly slaughtered by the Wolf Pack until only seven or eight remained! The survivors, seeing their closest comrades and brothers die miserably on the spot, had already lost their reason.

"Watch the formation, watch it!"

Reheman was getting anxious.

At a time like this, what one feared most was people's irrationality! Because the Wolf Pack still had the Wolf King organizing them, if this side fell into chaos first, who would end up in a passive position was clear at a glance.

However, this camel caravan was originally a team thrown together temporarily; how could everyone be guaranteed to listen to Reheman's orders?

"Young Master, the situation is not looking good!"

Qin Zhangfeng fought while retreating and spat; in this short time, he had already killed five wild wolves with his own hands, and his body was covered in the blood of those beasts. But although Qin Zhangfeng was brave, two fists were no match for four hands after all; at the current rate, he feared tonight would be disastrous!

Liu Zheng asked: "Can you find the Wolf King?"

Looking at it this way, this was currently the most hopeful chance to turn the tables!

Qin Zhangfeng said: "Young Master, take care of yourself; Zhangfeng will go try!"

He shouted loudly, held his long saber, and charged into the Wolf Pack. At this, even Reheman was dumbfounded, only then realizing that there was such a highly skilled martial artist in this team. Facing these wolves that advanced and retreated with discipline, Qin Zhangfeng moved as if in an empty land, his hand rising and the blade falling, preventing the hungry wolves from getting even half a step near him!

Everyone watched, stunned.

"Lord Reheman, I think we should gather everyone and surround them in the middle! Back to back, guarding each other, so the Wolf Pack has no opportunity to exploit!"

Just at this moment, Liu Zheng found Reheman and proposed this.

Reheman looked at Liu Zheng in surprise; these words were correct. Only in this way could they preserve their effective strength. At this time, the people of the camel caravan were standing very scattered, focusing on protecting their caravan's goods, which gave the Wolf Pack an opening to attack. If they stood back-to-back in a circle and assisted each other, they could surely resist the wild wolves!

Reheman immediately gave the order. At first, these camel caravan people still cherished their goods, but seeing so many people die beside them, how could they still care about goods? Their own lives were what mattered!

They immediately obeyed Reheman and formed a circle. At this, the pack of wolves finally had some misgivings and could not find an opening to attack. They could only continue to watch this group of people with sinister eyes, emitting angry low growls.

As a result, Qin Zhangfeng had already run a hundred paces and arrived at a small hill over there. Under the moonlight, a giant white wolf was already in sight. Qin Zhangfeng was overjoyed and shouted: "Beast, pay with your life!"

This man was truly highly skilled in martial arts and bold; he completely ignored the threat of the surrounding wolves, with only the Wolf King in his eyes.

He sprinted at high speed, the direction of his long saber already flashing with cold light under the moonlight.

"Die!"

Qin Zhangfeng roared.

The giant wolf kept staring with sinister eyes at Qin Zhangfeng, who was charging toward it, without the slightest intention of retreating, which was chilling to see. Liu Zheng could not help but shout: "Zhangfeng, watch out!"

However, just at this moment.

A wolf howl from even further away suddenly rang out.

The giant white wolf also raised its head and let out a long howl.

The pack of wolves finally began to retreat.

Reheman's expression changed drastically: "A Wolf Driver!"