Wuxia: The Super Slave Master

Page 268

When the troops reached a dense forest, the howling of wolves suddenly echoed all around. Luo Chen seemed to have been prepared, and after only glancing at Zhao Yun, everyone picked up their bows and arrows and pointed them at the sky.

As expected, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. The person had dark skin and wore animal skins, seemingly there to probe the strength of the Jingzhou army.

He soon fled alone, and just then, countless hunters rushed out of the mountains, howling all the while, and began hurling spears down the mountainside.

Chapter 174 A Scheme Within a Scheme

As the spears rained down, Luo Chen simply raised his hand, and with his profound inner strength, he deflected the spears of the first group back, causing countless soldiers dressed as savages to fall to the ground.

"Brothers, follow me and charge!"

Luo Chen shouted domineeringly, and everyone joined forces and rushed up the mountain like madmen.

Shi Yi, who had started with a few hundred men, helped his elder brother raise an army of tens of thousands. He ordered the troops to advance slowly, and that the swampy area was about thirty miles away. He would deal with the dust and debris then.

When the Jingzhou army charged up the mountain, some of the soldiers who were separated from the group were either killed or captured by the Jingzhou army.

Zhao Yun took the lead and chased after the defeated army. Luo Chen looked at the surrounding terrain and felt a little uneasy, so he used his divine sense to probe out.

A kilometer away, there were some pools of water everywhere. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be thick layers of quicksand slowly melting into them. "Oh no!" Luo Chen thought to himself.

"The whole army stops advancing!"

At a single command, the Jingzhou army immediately halted their advance. It must be said that Huang Zhong placed great importance on military discipline and managed his soldiers quite well.

"Reporting to my lord, Shi Yi and the others are just ahead!"

Zhao Yun had always felt that he hadn't done anything for Luo Chen, so he felt a sense of guilt.

Luo Chen naturally knew what he was thinking: "My dear minister, do not overthink it. There are enemy troops lying in ambush ahead. If we just walk over like this, I'm afraid we will sink into the swamp before we even see the enemy!"

Seeing that Zhao Yun still looked bewildered, Luo Chen sent one of his guards to walk on a small swamp not far away. Sure enough, after the man went in, his body quickly sank down.

No matter how hard the people around tried to pull him out of the swamp, they couldn't get him out.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

Luo Chen glanced at him and smiled faintly: "Isn't Shi Yi waiting there for me to walk into his trap? Fine, I'll grant his wish. Let's put on a trap within a trap for him!"

Zhao Yun didn't understand at first, but he knew that Luo Chen was absolutely right. Trees fell to the ground one by one, and then the Jingzhou soldiers carried the trees to the swamp and threw them down.

Then they found some flowers and plants to cover the area underneath. Finally, not far from the swamp, they started digging a pit. Once everything was ready, Luo Chen sat on his horse and glanced at everyone.

"Oh no! Help! I can't get out!"

"Don't worry, Niu Zi, I'll pull you out no matter what!"

Hearing the wailing and lamentation coming from the other side of the forest, Shi Yi sneered. Just then, one of his personal guards asked him a question.

"General, they're already making these noises before we've even reached the depths of the swamp. I'm afraid it's a trap!"

Shi Yi hesitated for a moment: "Impossible. This swamp is deep. If they step on it, they will only seek shelter to expand the swamp. In addition, they are all northerners, so they naturally cannot understand the terrain of the deep forests in the south."

"But.."

Shi Yi was a good person in every way, except that he couldn't stand others giving him advice. So he waved his hand and said directly to the guard, "Alright, that's enough. I have my own arrangements. Go down quickly and pass on my order for the whole army to charge towards the swamp."

The guard had no choice but to go down and convey Shi Yi's order.

"Soldiers, follow me and kill! Drive out all these people who have offended us!"

"Get them out! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The soldiers shouted loudly, seemingly filled with righteous indignation. It must be said that Shi Yi was quite capable of leading troops, but unfortunately, he was lost in his own world and ignored the choices of others.

The army from Hepu arrived at the swamp forest very quickly. They saw the people suffering from needle pricks on the ground and rushed over. Unexpectedly, the ground suddenly collapsed, and the entire land fell down.

In an instant, hundreds of people fell into the swamp, and this scene was playing out everywhere in this dense forest.

"How is this going?"

Before Shi Yi could figure it out, suddenly the Jingzhou soldiers who were struggling in the deep pit jumped out one by one and used their spears to harvest the Hepu soldiers who were struggling underground.

It's over. Shi Yi knew he had misjudged the situation this time. If he knew that Luo Chen was so cunning, he would never come. Staying in Hepu might have been the best way to hold out.

The bodyguard who had tried to persuade him earlier stepped forward and said, "My lord, something terrible has happened! The brothers have all gone inside!"

Shi Yi nodded, looking dejected, and said, "I know, I know everything!"

"You know why you're not running away," the guard thought to himself, but he dared not say it aloud.

"As the Lord said, 'Where there's life, there's hope.' Let's go, or it will be too late!"

Shi Yi felt that what the man in front of him said made a lot of sense, so he turned around and began to pack up his weapons. The guard sighed inwardly, picked him up, and ran straight outside.

Who knew that they hadn't gone far when Zhao Yun suddenly appeared in front of them, holding a long spear.

Shi Yi still has at least four or five hundred men with him. Isn't Zhao Yun being far too audacious?

"Shiyi, you have so many brothers behind you, are you just going to run away like this?"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers around Shi Yi began to drop their weapons, and Shi Yi naturally noticed all of this.

Shi Yi knew that this young general in white was undermining the morale of his troops.

"Who are you, and what right do you have to comment on my affairs?"

Zhao Yun raised his cherry-red spear and said calmly, "I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he charged forward, Shi Yi hurriedly waving his military flag.

"Go! All of you, go! We must take this man down!"

Zhao Yun moved like a nimble snake through the crowd, his cherry-red spear taking one life after another.

Upon seeing the ferocity of the approaching figure, Shi Yi felt a sense of fear. His hands moved as if they were speaking, slowly turning his horse's head around. Amidst the deafening cries of battle, he heard the sounds of fighting.

It turned out that Luo Chen had already dealt with the Hepu army and then surrounded the area with the Jingzhou army.

Luo Chen appeared imposingly before everyone, raising the Emperor Spirit Sword high: "Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Shi Yi tumbled off his horse, still hesitating whether to surrender or not.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing his pathetic state, the surrounding soldiers all knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Luo Chen!

Chapter 175 Defense or Offense

Shi Xie was very worried when he saw that his younger brother had not returned for many days. Just then, a soldier came up to him.

Shi Xie looked at him: "What is it?"

The soldier stammered and dared not speak. Shi Xie's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that something had happened to his foolish younger brother?

The soldier knelt down on the ground and held up a square box.

"My lord...my lord, this is Luo Jingzhou. They asked me to...to hand it over to you!"

Shi Xie trembled as he accepted the box, his unease growing stronger. He prayed in his heart, pleading that this was not what he had imagined.

After the box was opened, Shi Xie plopped down on the ground, tears streaming down his face. Why? Who was this person?

Only then did the soldier stammer, "Reporting to my lord, the general died at the hands of Zhao Yun."

It turned out that Shi Yi was already surrounded by Luo Chen's heavy troops. He knew that he was doomed to die, so he boldly asked Luo Chen to let him compete with Zhao Yun.

Although Zhao Yun appears gentle and refined, he is a true man of fierce courage!

"That would be best."

Zhao Yun glanced at Luo Chen, who nodded. Then, he took a step forward, brandishing his cherry-scented spear with an air of majesty and power.

Shi Yi also held a large knife in his hand. Looking at the calluses on his tiger's mouth, Luo Chen already knew the difference in their strength.

A barrage of spear thrusts rained down, but Shi Yi's longsword swirled around his body, directly blocking many of the spear thrusts. Little did the rain know its purpose.

Shi Yi used his immense strength to break the weapon in his opponent's hand, then closed in on him and swung his weapon rapidly, knocking the man to the ground.

He then stepped on Zhao Yun, but upon closer inspection, he realized there was no Zhao Yun at all; what he had just struck was merely an afterimage of Zhao Yun.

Seeing that his opponent's martial arts were so superior, Shi Yi was willing to throw his sword to the ground, let out a long sigh, and looked up at the sky.

"I never imagined that after so many years of fighting, I would be defeated by a young general. How laughable!"

Luo Chen stepped forward and shook his head: "Actually, you didn't lose unjustly. Zhao Yun was a master who defeated Xiahou Dun and others. You didn't lose unjustly!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yi burst into laughter: "To be able to fight such a master is indeed worthwhile, but if I fall into Jingzhou, could you grant me one last shred of dignity?"

Luo Chen naturally understood what he meant by dignity, so he turned around and told all the soldiers to get ready. Behind him, Shi Yi slowly raised his sword and gently slashed it across his own neck.

Blood splattered on the ground. Luo Chen ordered his men to take his body back. At least in his final moments, he displayed the demeanor of a great general.

However, Shi Xie took Luo Chen's good intentions as a provocation. He slowly placed the box on the ground and glared fiercely at the soldier in front of him.

At this moment, the soldier raised his head slightly and saw that his master was looking at him as if he wanted to eat him alive. His heart skipped a beat.

"Let me ask you this: your commander has been killed, so how were you able to return?"

Sure enough, when he arrived there, he knew he was doomed to die, so he kept kowtowing.

"My lord, this has nothing to do with me! I told the general, but... but he wouldn't listen to me!"

"How dare you! Are you still trying to deny it?"

Shi Xie drew his sword and slashed at him. Then, he sat down on the ground and gently stroked the human head inside the box.

"Little brother, don't worry, your big brother will definitely avenge you!"

After saying that, he stood up and walked straight out the door. At the same time, not far away, Luo Chen gathered the soldiers together again, and the dark mass of soldiers walked step by step toward Hepu City.

The city's defender, Shi Hui, looked into the distance, his heart pounding with tension. The surrounding soldiers felt the same way; seeing the Jingzhou army arrive meant that their brothers had already died at the hands of the enemy.

"stop!"

At Luo Chen's command, the Jingzhou army immediately stopped, their movements perfectly synchronized.

The soldiers atop the city wall had never seen such a well-organized army before.

He asked in a hoarse voice, "Who goes there? If you see me here, why don't you leave at once!"

Intimidation alone won't scare the Jingzhou army away. Zhao Yun stepped out, his spear pointing directly at the sergeant's emblem upstairs.

"I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan! Why don't you come down from the city walls and face your death!"

Shi Hui was so frightened by Zhao Zilong that he almost fell to his knees. However, all the soldiers were still watching him. At this time, one can lose everything, but one cannot lose one's dignity!

"How dare you! A mere military officer like yourself dares to act so presumptuously here! Guards, fire your arrows!"

The generals around him looked at Shi Hui with suspicion, as if only a fool would utter the order he had just given.

"What are you waiting for? Do you want me to chop you all up?!"

"Yes!"

One of the generals cursed "idiot" under his breath before waving his military flag, and a volley of arrows flew towards Luo Chen's army.

However, this is also why anyone with a little experience in leading troops would consider Shi Hui a fool's place, since the city and Luo Chen's current location are so far apart.

How could your arrows possibly hit the enemy? You've just given them so many long arrows for nothing!

After several rounds, Shi Hui seemed to realize that he could not hit Luo Chen, so he ordered everyone to go out of the city and defeat Luo Chen.

Now that Luo Chen has brought a large number of people, and the number of people they have left in the city is already small, you still want us to go out? Isn't that just utterly stupid?

This time, everyone refused to go out and knelt down to analyze the situation with Shi Hui. Only then did Shi Hui realize why they were all unwilling to leave.

But now that Luo Chen isn't attacking, if I don't fight my way out, am I just supposed to stay here and wait?

This put Shi Hui, who had little experience in leading troops, in a dilemma: should he attack or defend?

Luo Chen could tell that the other party was someone who had no experience in leading troops, so he spurred his horse forward.

"Shihui, are you going to fight or not, or do you not know how to fight?"

As soon as Luo Chen finished speaking, the soldiers burst into laughter, and Luo Chen's playful face immediately turned cold.

"Listen up, you lad, if you can't fight, I'll attack! And while I'm at it, I'll teach you what it means to lead an army!"

Chapter 176 The City Falls

Shi Hui hesitated for a while, thinking that his city was quite large, so he put on a deep expression.

"If you have the guts, come up here. I'll be waiting for you!"

Luo Chen chuckled, thinking that this guy must be stupid, trying to lure him into rushing forward. But after thinking about it carefully, Luo Chen realized that this guy might be bluffing him.

Zhao Yun noticed Luo Chen's hesitation, so he took a step forward.

"My lord, it's getting late. If we're not going to attack, why don't we surround them first?"