Chapter 695: Wushang Village I (1/2)
Chapter 695: Wushang Village (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Awooo!
Cries that seemed both apish and human came out of the white fog. The cries were brief and were clearly intended as a harsh warning.
”It's the Wushang!”
The howls caused Li Siye's subordinates to pale.
”They're about to move!” a subordinate officer said.
”Get ready. No matter what, we can't leave this place!”
Li Siye stood by the edge of the cliff, his gaze fixed on the distance and his expression firm. The Wushang had attacked many times over the last few days, but Li Siye had continued to occupy this cliff with no intent of withdrawing.
A true man kept to his word, and he had already promised the young master, so no matter what difficulties he encountered, no matter how difficult the mission was to accomplish, he would never retreat.
Awooo!
The howls coming from the fog were coming at a faster and faster tempo and seemed to be getting fiercer and fiercer. The fog roiled and gusts of winds could be heard from all around. The Wushang were finally beginning their operation.
As the cries echoed in his ear, the composed Li Siye took a few steps forward.
………
By the time Wang Chong arrived with his forces in the vicinity of Wushang, more than half a month had passed since his departure from the capital.
Standing atop a lush hill, Wang Chong held his hands behind his back and asked, ”How is it? Is there any news from General Li?”
”No, we've heard nothing from General Li since his last letter, not even a single signal. And the mountain range here is vast, so we've not been able to get in touch with him,” a voice said.
”Mm.”
Wang Chong nodded, no change in expression on his face. Li Siye was the future Invincible Great General. Whether or not his mission was proceeding smoothly, Wang Chong was confident that his strength would mean that he would never encounter any problems.
Wang Chong thought quietly for a few moments and turned to the soaring peaks in front of him, those mountains that were clearly several times higher than the surrounding hills. This mountain range was like a series of waves on the sea, stretching into the distance.
At the sight of these mountains, anyone would feel an ancient and desolate aura, as if time had forgotten about this place, and they would instinctively want to flee. And yet Wang Chong's eyes held affection for these lofty peaks.
I've finally returned.
As Wang Chong looked ahead, he gave an emotional sigh.
This was not Wang Chong's first time seeing these mountains, but it was his first time seeing them before the calamity. It looked completely different from that shattered and ruined landscape he recalled.
This is Wushang before it was destroyed. How beautiful! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
He had been standing in front of these mountains for many hours now. In Wang Chong's eyes, even seeing these apparently monotone mountains a thousand times would not be enough. Because these barren mountains that not even bandits were willing to venture into happened to be the breeding ground for the future hope of the Great Tang:
The Wushang Cavalry!
The strongest force in the world!
In that apocalyptic world where the stars of generals had begun to fade, this crack force of five thousand cavalry had carried the hopes and dreams of many people, and they had been the strongest soldiers under Wang Chong's command, the pillar that supported his army.
If he wanted to change the world, he needed an extremely well-trained and powerful army that could sweep away everything before it. The Annan Protectorate army could not reach this level, and the elite experts that Wang Chong had recruited from the great clans also could not reach this level. Not even Gao Xianzhi's thirty thousand elites of Anxi, hailed as the best troops of the Great Tang, could reach his standard.
And the army Wang Chong most desired just so happened to be sequestered amidst these towering mountains.
No other place in the world could give Wang Chong this sort of feeling.
”Is everything ready?” Wang Chong said suddenly, turning his head.
Behind him, Gao Feng and Nie Yan deferentially answered, ”Lord Marquis, everything is ready.”
For this expedition, Wang Chong had not brought many people with him, just these two and ten-some elites who had survived the war of the southwest. These were all experts who had experienced battles of life or death and were extremely loyal to Wang Chong.
Although they arose from different clans, in their hearts, Wang Chong held a higher status than even their clan patriarchs.
”Let's go!”
Wang Chong nodded and gave a wave of his hand, ordering his forces to set off.
Departing from the summit of that verdant hill, Wang Chong did not lead his forces straight to those precipitous mountains. Instead, he circled around them, heading toward the northwest.
If one followed the Silk Road from the capital in the direction of Anxi, the lands would grow more barren and remote the farther west one went. Of all the sections of the road, Wushang was the most barren and remote. That not even bandits were willing to enter this place was a testament to this fact.
As he gazed at the peaks that thrust into the clouds, even Wang Chong had to admit that climbing those dangerous mountains was no easy task. Even he would find it very difficult to enter the heart of the mountain range, the Wushang village, by directly crossing the mountains.