The next day.
At the first gray light of dawn, commands rang out around the military camp. War drums and soldiers' shouts shook heaven and earth, clearly audible even in the central area:
Boom, boom, boom...
"Kill-kill-"
Inside the tent, Ye Jingtang finished dressing and stretched out his arms. The fatigue of the past several days had completely faded.
Before him, the two plank beds that had originally stood apart had been pushed together. Qinghe lay obediently on her side to the left, an alluring blush on her cheeks. Since the blanket only reached beneath her arms, a glance over it revealed the boundless charms below her neck.
Shui'er lay on the right, her sleeping posture perfectly proper, her brows still carrying a hint of icy distance. Apparently, because he had defied his teacher yesterday and even gone so far as to bring out a ritual implement to subdue the fox demon, she no longer wanted to speak to him.
Ye Jingtang came over and studied them carefully for a moment. Seeing that both were rather sleepy, he made no sound to wake them, merely giving their foreheads gentle kisses before leaving the tent.
The forces of the Western Sea Tribes had arrived last night, and by today, all had been issued new armor and weapons.
Although every tribe could boast strong soldiers and sturdy horses, they had been scattered like loose sand for nearly twenty years and had no experience fighting in large formations. Clearly, they could not yet be sent straight into battle.
All the troops were gathering on the vast wasteland under Yao Cishan's command, while Great Wei's officers served as detached instructors, teaching the tribal forces how to deploy and form ranks.
The Empress stood on the Command Platform outside the Golden Tent, holding up