Chapter 843: Soldiers Approach Qixi! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Gallop!
As Wang Chong led his forces out of the City of Steel, a horseman watching from the distance began to ride to the Qixi Protectorate in a panic.
”It's bad! Inform General that Wang Chong has led his army out of Wushang and is heading toward the Qixi Protectorate!” the horsemen yelled as he galloped.
Creee! An eagle soared into the sky as the Hu horseman called out, and swiftly flew to the northwest. At the end of its journey, it folded its wings and landed in the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate.
”What?! That Wang Chong is coming!”
The news brought back by the eagle was like a boulder crashing into the hall, immediately making waves in the bustling Qixi Protectorate.
”Bastard! He harmed Protector-General and he still dares to come? Does he really think that we're afraid of him?”
”Gather all our brothers in the protectorate headquarters. I'd like to see how he deals with all of us.”
”Qixi Protector-General! Who cares if the Imperial Court decreed it? Without the nod from our brothers, he's nothing!”
”The heavens are high and the Emperor is far away! Not even the Imperial Court dares to deal with us. I'd like to see what tricks he has. Let's send him packing in the direction he came from!”
The hall was bursting with anger, with the news of Wang Chong's coming seeming to have provoked a beehive, all the Hu commanders on the verge of exploding. In the blink of an eye, countless figures surged out of the hall, and a few moments later, all the Hu soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army had been mobilized. Numbering in the thousands, they converged from all around to the Qixi Protectorate headquarters.
Creee!
Eagles shot into the air as all of Qixi was caught up in this unprecedented turmoil, the air fraught with tension.
On the road to Qixi, Zhang Que looked up and saw several black dots in the sky. ”Lord Marquis, look over there! The surveillance eagles of the Qixi Protectorate army!” HIs words immediately attracted everyone else's attention.
”Lord Marquis, should we get rid of them?”
”There's no need.”
Wang Chong glanced upward before grinning and waving his hand.
”Let them do what they want. Give them a good look and let them prepare. We can resolve all of this with just one go.”
Wang Chong's voice was flat and emotionless, yet it exuded a supreme confidence. The matter of Qixi had been delayed long enough, and it was about time to get it done.
”Pass on my order! Quicken the pace!”
”Yes!”
Dust surged more than ten zhang into the air as the five thousand Wushang Cavalry picked up speed, still maintaining their neat and orderly ranks. On the other end, all the Hu cavalry of the Qixi Protectorate had assembled, organizing into neat rows and columns, a vast army gathered before the Qixi Protectorate headquarters. All of them were quiet, and the air was suffocating.
”How much farther?”
”Ten li!”
”Good! Get those things ready. Let's give him a big present! If he can't see our good intentions and still dares to come over, then we can't be blamed.”
”Yes, General!”
Scout after scout galloped off.
……
A few moments later, a Wushang scout galloped back from the front and kneeled on the ground.
”Reporting! Lord Marquis, many barricades have been set up on the road!”
”Oh?”
Wang Chong's straight brows rose, and he peered into the distance. Several hundred meters away, hundreds of triangular stakes, each around three to four feet long, had been planted on the ground, blocking the road to the Qixi Protectorate. With Wang Chong's vision, he could even see that a large wooden pillar had been planted on the side of the road, several crude words in Han written upon it.
'Go back now!
'Forward is death!'
These six simple words were suffused with an intense murderous aura.
”These words… how ugly!”
Wang Chong smiled and quickly turned his head.
”Have some soldiers clear those barricades away!”
”Yes, Lord Marquis!”
An officer quickly left to deliver the order.
The post of Qixi Protector-General had never been as lucrative as imagined. On the contrary, it was one fraught with challenges. Just the unruly Hu commanders and soldiers alone were enough to give one a major headache. Wang Chong hadn't even taken up the position, was still ten li away from the actual protectorate, and he was already being greeted by barricades. The attitude expressed here was loud and clear.