Northern Mang at the Gates

## Chapter Nineteen

Inside the central command tent, the atmosphere was heavy as cast iron.

All officers of Squad Leader rank and above from the Vanguard Camp stood solemnly along both sides, their eyes fixed on Cavalry Lieutenant Zhou Han in the seat of honor. This commander, usually as steady as a mountain, now wore an unfading gloom between his brows.

"An urgent military report has just arrived by eight-hundred-li dispatch." Zhou Han's voice was low, yet it struck every heart like a heavy hammer. "The Northern Mang Royal Court has officially declared war on Great Yan. Their main force numbers three hundred thousand, known as the 'Azure Wolf Cavalry,' commanded by the Northern Mang Great Khan's younger brother, Wuzhuchi, the man called the 'Blood Wolf King.' They have split into three routes and are charging straight at our Northern Frontier defenses!"

A wave of suppressed gasps rose inside the tent. Three hundred thousand Azure Wolf Cavalry! Blood Wolf King Wuzhuchi! They were Northern Mang's true elite, a fearsome name capable of stopping children from crying at night!

"Here," Zhou Han said, jabbing a finger heavily onto the map of the Northern Frontier behind him, right where they were stationed, "is the only route for one of those forces—eighty thousand elite troops! It is also the first breach they have chosen!"

"Eighty thousand..." An older Squad Leader spoke with a dry throat. "Cavalry Lieutenant, even at full strength, our Vanguard Camp has only five thousand men. With the main camp and the other Auxiliary Soldiers, we barely number over twenty thousand... This..."

The disparity in troop numbers was nearly fourfold! And the enemy was Northern Mang's elite Azure Wolf Cavalry!

"Afraid?" Zhou Han's gaze flashed like lightning as it swept over them. "Fear is useless! Behind us lies our homeland; there is no retreat! The higher command has given a strict order: we must nail them down here for at least ten days and buy time for the rear to prepare its defenses!"

Ten days! Using twenty thousand mixed troops to hold off eighty thousand elite cavalry for ten days? It was a task all but impossible!

Everyone's faces turned incomparably grim.

"We cannot hold them by defending." Zhou Han abruptly changed tack, his voice carrying the resolve of one who had smashed his cauldron and sunk his boats. "The only way is to use offense as defense! We will trade our lives for their time!"

He slammed his palm onto the table. "Vanguard Camp! From this day onward, all rest is canceled! Break the whole into scattered units. Divide into dozens of sharp blades by squad, and harass Northern Mang's vanguard day and night without pause! Burn their provisions, cut off their water, kill their scouts! Make them pay a price in blood for every step they take!"

"Use your lives to hold them back! To wear them down! Until the last drop of blood has run dry!"

The tent fell deathly silent. This was a suicide mission! Sending five thousand men to harass an army of eighty thousand was no different from moths flying into a flame.

"This subordinate... accepts the order!" After a brief silence, Squad Leader Zhao was the first to clasp his fist, his voice hoarse but firm.

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

"Accept the order!"

One officer after another declared his compliance, their faces filled with tragic resolve.

Chen Qing stood among the ranks, feeling the grief-stricken and murderous air filling the tent. Yet his heart was strangely calm, even faintly... excited.

Eighty thousand elite troops! That meant vast quantities of vitality and blood, vast quantities of Killing Intent! To him, this was not a dead end, but an unprecedented... feast of gluttony!

Zhou Han's gaze finally settled on Chen Qing. "Squad Leader Chen."

"This subordinate is here."

"Your squad is newly forged, and it is also the sharpest blade in my camp." Zhou Han stared at him and spoke word by word. "What I want from you is not harassment, but penetration! Find an opportunity and, like a nail, drive viciously into Northern Mang's vanguard formation for me. Turn it upside down! Do you dare?"

Penetrate the enemy vanguard? That was a hundred times more dangerous than mere harassment! It was nearly certain death!

Every gaze focused on Chen Qing.

Chen Qing raised his head. His eyes were calm and still, with only that faint dark-red glimmer flickering in their depths.

"This subordinate accepts the order."

There were no grand boasts, only three simple words, yet they carried a chilling coldness and confidence that made hearts tremble.

Zhou Han looked deeply at him. "Good! All supplies you require will be provided in full! I grant you the greatest authority to act on your own! Remember, your mission is not to fight to the death. It is to create chaos and crush their morale! If things cannot be done, retreat immediately!"

"Yes!"

* * *

The military situation was urgent as fire. Once the orders were issued, the entire camp became a war machine wound tight, whirling madly into motion.

Chen Qing returned to his own squad and briefly explained the mission. When they heard the words "penetrate their lines," even hardened veterans like Old Niu and Sun Quezi could not help turning pale. Yet when they looked into Chen Qing's calm eyes, which contained terrifying power, not a single man raised an objection.

"Check your weapons and armor. Carry three days' dry rations. Bring double shares of bows, crossbows, and arrows. Assemble on the west side of camp in a quarter hour." Chen Qing's orders were concise and forceful.

"Yes, Squad Leader!"

The soldiers answered in unison and swiftly sprang into action.

Chen Qing returned to his tent and brought along all his remaining pills, including some ordinary healing medicine he had accumulated earlier. He also asked the quartermaster for a large quantity of fire oil and specially made poison-smoke balls.

When he arrived at the assembly point, the fifty soldiers had already formed up. Every one of them was fully armored. Though fear lingered in their eyes, there was even more of the ferocity born from being driven into a desperate corner. They knew there would be no retreat this time.

Chen Qing swept his gaze over them. He gave no pre-battle speech, merely said lightly, "Follow me. Kill enemies. Stay alive."

With that, he turned and led the way out of camp.

The fifty-man squad was like an arrow released from the bowstring, shooting without hesitation into the vast, perilous wilderness of the Northern Frontier, toward the black torrent of eighty thousand iron cavalry that was about to descend.

Half a day later, upon a patch of withered yellow grassland.

Chen Qing crouched behind an earthen slope, his sharp gaze fixed on the distance. On the horizon, billowing dust rolled forward like an ochre dragon slowly writhing its way toward them. Even from over a dozen li away, the dull, thunderous hoofbeats could faintly be heard, shaking their hearts with dread.

Northern Mang's vanguard had arrived!

At a rough estimate, the vanguard numbered around ten thousand men. All wore light armor and rode swift horses, moving with great speed. Wolf-head banners were interspersed throughout the ranks, snapping fiercely in the wind.

"Squad Leader, there are... there are too many of them..." Hei Wa's voice trembled as he lay beside him, the hand gripping his spear shaking slightly. Their fifty men were as insignificant as ants before this army of ten thousand.

Chen Qing ignored his fear and simply concentrated on sensing the immense Killing Intent rushing toward them, mixed with the smell of blood, savagery, and the rank stench of the grasslands. The Fierce Tiger Iron Body within him began to circulate faintly on its own, sending out a throbbing hunger.

"Their marching speed is not fast. They seem to be waiting for the main force." After observing for a moment, Chen Qing said in a low voice, "Old Niu, Sun Quezi."

"Here!"

"Here!"

"You will each lead ten men and split into two groups. Take the fire oil and poison-smoke balls, then circle around to their flanks. When you see my signal, ignite the fire oil and throw the poison smoke. Once you have created chaos, retreat immediately in the east and west directions. We will rendezvous at the designated location."

"Yes!" The two accepted the order, immediately selected their men, and used the cover of withered grass and terrain to split up and move out soundlessly.

Chen Qing led the remaining thirty men and continued lying in wait where they were, like a tiger before the hunt, patiently awaiting the best opportunity.

Time trickled by. Northern Mang's vanguard drew closer and closer, until they could even make out the sturdy figures and savage faces of the riders on horseback.

The pressure hung over everyone's hearts as though it had substance.

Chen Qing slowly drew the ring-pommel saber from his waist. Under the dim daylight, its blade gleamed with a cold, ghostly sheen. He licked his somewhat cracked lips, and the dark-red glimmer in his eyes burned like ghostfire.

The chaos he needed would soon be ignited by his own hand.

The hunt had begun.