Side Story Chapter 22 (1/2)
Side Story Chapter 22: Two Armies Face Off! Pre-Battle Duel!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“If so, then we can try it out!” Guo Dingguo sternly said after a few moments.
“But we can only retrain forty percent of the force. The remaining sixty percent have to patrol in case the enemy attacks.”
“My thanks, General Guo.”
Li Taiyi grinned.
It was just forty percent, fifteen to sixteen thousand soldiers, but this was enough for Li Taiyi. And he was confident that the result from retraining the soldiers would make General Guo Dingguo even more willing.
The short conference came to a close, and Li Taiyi began to select the soldiers that would go through the retraining.
While Li Taiyi was retraining the soldiers, Ü-Tsang was not slacking around. Wave after wave of scouts attempted to enter Longxi, and as each of these scouts was equipped with a long saber, it was clear that they were not just there to gather military intelligence.
But before these Tibetan scouts could infiltrate the Longxi base, Wang Haibin would lead his men and wipe them out.
Upon seeing how Wang Haibin’s men performed, Guo Dingguo immediately saw the training methods in a new light. Thus, other than the soldiers who were needed for patrols, he had every soldier possible participate in Li Taiyi’s retraining.
Time slowly passed. On this day, the skies were clear and the sun was bright.
“Hmph!”
“Ha!”
Rhythmic cries rang out from the Longxi base’s training ground. There, the divisions of the Longxi army were vigorously training in unison.
Li Taiyi, Guo Dingguo, and Cui Sheng watched the training from the platform. Guo Dingguo, in particular, appeared very satisfied as he watched the army train.
He had never imagined that Li Taiyi would be able to train these soldiers into veterans in such a short time. They were on a completely different level, their bodies brimming with energy.
Bong!
Bong!
Bong!
The thundering of drums came from the distance.
“Reporting! The Tibetans are attacking!”
“What?!”
The atmosphere instantly tensed.
……
Neigh!
The neighing of horses came from the vast and somewhat uneven plain. The Tibetan army converged into a giant steel flood as it emerged from the direction of the plateau and swept toward Longxi.
After a long period of preparation and accumulation, the Tibetans had finally revealed their ambition and begun their formal invasion.
From the sky, one could see that the Tang and Tibetan armies were in a distant standoff. Though they wore different kinds of armor, they both had grave expressions that were brimming with hostility.
The Tibetan side had eighty thousand men, in neat and orderly ranks, all of them wearing black armor.
The leading ranks of the Tibetan army opened up, allowing a stalwart general atop a red horse to emerge. His brilliant eyes radiated intense killing intent, and his sun-like energy was blinding to behold.
This was Ü-Tsang Great General Huoshu Songren!
To his left and right were that red-bearded general and that vigorous general, their eyes dark and grim. These were Ormu and Wuji.
Although the Tibetan army had come suddenly and with great momentum, the Great Tang did not lose out when it came to vigor.
The forty thousand Tang soldiers radiated a heaven-devouring aura that was on par with the eighty-thousand-strong army of Ü-Tsang.
At the front, General Guo Dingguo stood tall upon his horse. His beard was as unkempt as ever, but his eyes shone with a sharpness at odds with his appearance. To his left and right were a darkly tanned general and a tall, muscular general. These were Guo Dingguo’s trusted subordinates.
In the middle of the Tang army, several warhorses were dragging a giant wooden crate that appeared to be extremely heavy. There were thirty such crates spread throughout the Tang army.
Huoshu Songren was confused by these giant crates, but he kept his face unmoved, quickly turning his gaze toward Longxi Great General Guo Dingguo.
This was not the first time the two had clashed.
“Long time no see, General Guo.”
Huoshu Songren broke the tense silence, speaking in the Tang language rather than in Tibetan.
“Huoshu Songren, we had an agreement. Are you breaking the rules?” Guo Dingguo firmly said.
“Heh, you are speaking of your Tang rules? In our Ü-Tsang, on the battlefield, there are no such rules.”
Huoshu Songren grinned.
He didn’t mind resorting to a few tricks if he could take Longxi.
However, despite his sudden attack, the Tang army did not seem panicked. This was rather surprising.
“So Great General Huoshu means… traveling a thousand li to deliver a head is a pre-battle custom of Ü-Tsang?”
A soft chuckle came from the rear of the Tang army, and then a thin and energetic figure rode out—none other than Li Taiyi.
Guo Dingguo’s eyes flashed with surprise, for Li Taiyi had spoken in Tibetan.
Huoshu Songren’s gaze darkened at these words.
Glancing over, Huoshu Songren immediately understood.
“This Sir is the Third Prince of the Great Tang?”
The noble aura of a member of the imperial household meant that they would stand out even in the middle of an army of tens of thousands. However, this was Huoshu Songren’s first time seeing the ‘famous’ Third Prince.