Chapter Thirty-One: Taking the Initiative to Join the Battle

In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that the demon troops were approaching. Murong Yan asked if any general would volunteer to lead the troops out of the city to meet the enemy, and one man immediately stepped forward. Looking down, Murong Yan saw it was her brother, Murong Bao, and she was instantly exasperated, thinking to herself, Brother, are you trying to cause trouble? With your meager abilities, how could you possibly deal with the fierce Mengke Beast? You’d be better off surrendering yourself!

But not wanting to embarrass him, she merely said, “General Murong, your courage is admirable, but last time you defended the city against the demons, you were badly wounded. It’s best that you do not engage in hard fighting. Remain here to guard the army. Let’s see if any other general is willing to take the field.”

At this moment, the simple-minded Wang Erbao stepped forward, stammering, “M-m-marshal, I—I—I, Wang Erbao, am willing to fight. I—I—I’ll go face the M-m-mengke Beast and see—see—see what he’s made of!”

Murong Yan looked at this big oaf and shook her head inwardly, thinking, Erbao, you have strength but lack strategy. I’m afraid the Mengke Beast is too much for you.

While she hesitated, several more heroes stepped forward: Xue Yingyong, Zhou Chaogui, Sun Lizong, and Wu Xiantu. These four were leaders who had joined the uprising and, since coming to Black Earth City, had yet to accomplish any great feats. Now, hearing of the enemy’s approach, they eagerly volunteered for battle.

Murong Yan looked at these imposing figures with delight, thinking, With so many heroes to aid me, how can I not succeed in repelling the demons?

Just as she was about to nod her approval, Ye Feng stepped out, saluted, and said, “Marshal, I have something to say.”

Murong Yan nodded. “Speak.”

Ye Feng said, “Marshal, the demon troops have come in great numbers, their morale is high, and it would not be wise for our forces to attack rashly. Why not adopt a defensive stance, make use of the advantageous terrain, and resist the enemy at every stage, wearing down their strength? When they are exhausted, then we can strike and surely rout them!”

Murong Yan was inwardly delighted, praising him in her heart: My dear Feng, you always have a way. Reading more books truly makes a difference; you always anticipate the enemy’s moves. With you by my side, how can I fail to defeat our great foe and avenge our people?

She nodded, declaring, “We shall follow the vanguard’s advice. All camps are to fortify their positions and hold the city. No one is to sally forth without orders. Any who disobey will be executed!”

All the generals saluted as one. “As you command!”

Murong Yan nodded. “Very well. All of you return to your posts and make your preparations.”

The generals accepted their orders and withdrew.

Xu Zhihui, leaving the tent, was seething with resentment, muttering to himself, “Ye Feng, oh Ye Feng, you sly fox! Just because of your pretty face, you’ve so bewitched my little junior sister. And why does she always listen to you? Today you forbid us to fight—well, what if I go out and fight anyway?”

Having made up his mind, he quietly gathered his men to launch a surprise attack on the demon troops.

If the ambush succeeded, he’d humiliate Ye Feng; if it failed—well… well… oh no! What if it failed and he ran into the Mengke Beast?

As he hesitated, a large hand landed on his shoulder, startling him.

A booming voice sounded, “Old Xu, what are you muttering about? Something about a junior sister—does this have anything to do with my sister?”

Xu Zhihui turned to see Murong Bao, his triangular eyes narrowing as a sly idea came to him.

“Oh, Brother Murong, it’s you! I wasn’t talking about your sister at all, I was talking about you! I was standing up for you!” Xu Zhihui clapped Murong Bao on the shoulder and continued in a friendly tone, “Brother, you’re the most senior here, yet you’re still just a general, not even a senior general. Why? It’s because you were too badly injured defending the city last time, so your sister has you in a secondary post. She’s also worried that if you rose too high without earning merit, the other generals would complain, so she only made you a general. Today, if you distinguish yourself in battle, what’s a senior general to you? You might even take Ye Feng’s vanguard position!”

Murong Bao laughed gleefully, “Exactly!”

Xu Zhihui thought smugly, Fool, you fell for it so quickly!

He went on, “But your sister’s protecting you, not letting you fight. If you can’t earn any glory, it’s all for nothing!”

Murong Bao looked disappointed. “There’s nothing to be done. My sister’s looking out for me. Before our father left, he told me to always listen to my sister and not act rashly.”

Xu Zhihui continued to egg him on, “But you have to grow up sometime, right? What if your sister gets married—will she still be there at your side?”

Murong Bao’s face darkened. “My sister’s not getting married! Why should she? I want to be with her forever!”

Hearing this, Xu Zhihui was overjoyed. He thought, Ye Feng, you don’t want us to fight? Let’s see what you do when Murong Bao goes to battle!

He pressed, “But Ye Feng wants to marry your sister and take her away from you. See how your sister listens to everything he says? He forbids the generals to fight, so she forbids us, and now she won’t even let you go out.”

Murong Bao glared. “No! My sister shouldn’t listen to Ye Feng—she should listen to me!”

Xu Zhihui slapped his thigh and laughed, “Exactly! Don’t listen to Ye Feng, listen to yourself. If Ye Feng says not to fight, you should go out and fight anyway. The marshal is your sister—if you disobey orders, who can do anything to you?”

Murong Bao nodded. “Right! I’ll lead the troops out myself!”

Xu Zhihui agreed, “That’s it! But one thing—you mustn’t say it was me, Xu Zhihui, who told you to go. You have your sister as marshal, so you’ll be fine if you break orders. I’m not so lucky—if the marshal finds out, I’d lose my head ten times over!”

He glanced around furtively to see if anyone had witnessed this exchange, and just then, Wang Erbao happened to pass by.

Xu Zhihui’s eyes lit up with another scheme.

“Hey, General Wang, wait! Brother Murong wants to speak with you!”

He called Wang Erbao over. Wang Erbao had always gotten along best with Murong Bao, since both were a bit simple-minded and had trouble communicating with others.

So he came over cheerfully, saying, “M-m-murong b-b-brother, w-w-what is it?”

It took him a while to get even those few words out!

Xu Zhihui was blunt. “Brother Murong says he wants to lead the troops out to fight the Mengke Beast—do you dare go?”

Wang Erbao immediately bristled. “Who—who—who says I d-d-don’t dare? Those who don’t—don’t—don’t dare are just y-y-yapping puppies! But—but—but no! The marshal said—who—who—whoever leaves the city without orders will be executed!”

He stammered so badly it was frustrating!

Xu Zhihui assured him, “What’s there to fear? The marshal is Brother Murong’s sister—would she really have her own brother executed? He’ll take all the blame on himself.”

Murong Bao thumped his chest. “Brother Wang, don’t worry, I’m here! Just say I led you out!”

Wang Erbao, reassured, wouldn’t admit defeat, and retorted, “Who—who—who said I’m scared? Let’s go and see how I—how I teach that Mengke Beast a lesson!”

The two took their leave from Xu Zhihui and went to prepare their troops.

Xu Zhihui rejoiced inwardly, thinking, Ye Feng, there’ll be quite a show this time!

Such behavior was truly despicable—just to spite Ye Feng, he didn’t care if lives were lost!

Meanwhile, Murong Bao and Wang Erbao each returned to their camps, assembled their forces, and headed straight for the city gate.

When they arrived, the gate guards stopped them.

Wang Erbao’s face darkened and he shouted, “H-h-hold it! Do you little soldiers even know who this general is?!”

The guard hurriedly saluted. “General Murong himself—who doesn’t know? But the marshal has ordered that no one may leave without her token!”

Sometimes Wang Erbao, though simple, liked to act mysterious. He blinked, then bellowed, “Nonsense! The marshal’s orders depend on who’s going. Others need a token—why would General Murong need one? He is the token!”

The soldier turned pale with fright, nodding and apologizing, but still pleaded, “Please, sirs, have mercy. I’m just a lowly gate officer, not even properly ranked—I dare not offend you. But this is my duty. How about this: please go back and fetch the marshal’s token. Then I’ll gladly open the gate for you.”

Now Murong Bao spoke up, lifting his chin and putting on airs. Before he opened his mouth, he made a show of clearing his throat and spat on the ground.

Then, in a haughty tone, he rebuked, “Impudence! The marshal sent me on urgent business. Where do you get the nerve to question me? Delay the mission and you’ll lose your head!”

The soldier shrank back, stepping aside in fear, and hurriedly opened the gate for Murong Bao and Wang Erbao.

Delighted, the two led their troops swiftly out of the city.

They slipped through several checkpoints during the night, and by dawn the next day, they had reached the front lines.

There, they saw the demon army stretching as far as the eye could see—a black mass, bristling with weapons and ferocious faces, banners waving, armor gleaming, blades and spears flashing coldly.

Murong Bao’s heart quailed at the sight. He turned to call, “Brother Wang!”

He said, “There are far too many demons—did we make a mistake by coming out with so few men?”

Wang Erbao was frightened too, but forced himself to answer, “M-m-murong b-b-brother, since we’re here, there’s no turning back. I—I—I don’t know what else to say. At this point, being afraid won’t help. At worst, we risk our lives and fight these demons to the death! If we die, twenty years from now we’ll be heroes again!”

Murong Bao nodded. “Right! Damn them all—let’s fight!”

He called out in a loud voice, “Hey! Demons, listen up—your grandpa Murong Bao is here! If anyone has the guts, come out and face me!”

As his challenge rang out, the demon camp gates swung open, and a towering demon general led a squad of demon soldiers charging forth.

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