Chapter 1770: Have You Been Well, Great General?!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Heh, since every method is at your disposal, why did Senior not send Abusi and the Tongluo Cavalry to Taiji Palace? With the power of the Tongluo Cavalry, you would definitely be able to inflict a major blow to the Saint Martial Barracks!”
Wang Chong smiled.
Hou Junji blinked, his smile slowly fading away.
The Tongluo Cavalry were incredibly powerful, and if he had really done as Wang Chong said, it would have been a great boon in the fight. But both he and Wang Chong understood that he would never dare to do such a thing.
After all, the Tongluo Cavalry had served the Great Tang imperial household for several hundred years. Having them deal with Wang Chong was fine, but having them deal with the Saint Martial Barracks… If the Tongluo Cavalry were to defect and join together with the Saint Martial Barracks, the one taking the greatest blow would be the Eastern Palace. The First Prince could never take such a risk, and Hou Junji could not allow this possibility.
Thus, he could only place the peerless Tongluo Cavalry at the rear and use them to deal with Wang Chong.
Wang Chong was clearly mocking this point.
“Heh, you’re truly able to keep a cool head. I suppose that this is enough for you to not shame your master. However, this old man is very curious to see just how long you can sit still for,” Hou Junji nonchalantly said. After saying this, he took his cup and lightly sipped his tea, his confidence and composure returning.
The Tongluo Cavalry were getting closer and closer, and Wang Chong’s time was draining away. He needed to use that prodigious intelligence of his to resolve this problem or die.
Attitude and composure were nothing to the edge of the Tongluo Cavalry.
In the distance, the Tongluo were getting closer and closer to the Qian, Center, and Kun Gates, the rumbling so deafening that Wang Chong and the others couldn’t hear any other noise.
“Tongluo!”
“Tongluo!”
“Tongluo!”
Bloodthirsty cries resounded through the heavens. This was a custom the Tongluo had before attacking, the shouts of ten thousand Tongluo in unison producing a truly intimidating aura.
“Your Highness!”
Miyasame Ayaka clenched her fists, her face pale and drenched with cold sweat. The Tongluo were getting closer and closer, faster and faster. She could feel the ground under her feet beginning to shudder.
The ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry released an almost tangible killing intent that stimulated Miyasame Ayaka’s body into shivering. As an assassin, she was extremely sensitive to killing intent.
“It’s over! That slave Abusi betrayed the Sage Emperor and joined the First Prince! We’re all dead!”
Li Jingzhong was the most fearful of all. He stood next to the Fifth Prince and forcefully swallowed as he tried to keep his composure. But the cold sweat drenching his back betrayed his true emotions.
He glanced at Wang Chong. This was the only person here who had any chance of turning the tides, but Li Jingzhong knew that Wang Chong had already deployed all his soldiers, and even if he did have more soldiers, they couldn’t possibly stop the ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry.
The Tongluo were pugnacious people whose fighting strength had even earned the praise of Emperor Taizong. There was no force in the capital that could stop them, not even if you gathered up all the great clans and put them together with the City Guard.
Most importantly, there was simply no time!
“Wang Chong, this prince can only rely on you!”
As the Tongluo charged, the gale they stirred swept up countless fallen leaves, some of them battering against Li Heng’s face, but Li Heng didn’t move an inch. While his face was slightly pale, he stared at Wang Chong’s back with absolute confidence.
“Lady Xu, it’s bad! Tongluo Great General Abusi is leading ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry toward us!”
The news of the oncoming Tongluo Cavalry assault arrived at the Center Gate, throwing the army into disarray.
“What?!”
“The Tongluo are really attacking!”
“What do we do? We don’t even have any more soldiers to deal with the Tongluo!”
Countless people turned toward Xu Qiqin. Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi had both gone rather pale. They had both witnessed the astonishing power of the Tongluo, so they keenly understood that they simply didn’t have the strength to oppose the Tongluo Cavalry.
“Lady Xu, this place has become very dangerous. It’s no longer right for you to stay. I will escort you from this place!”
Xu Keyi clenched his teeth as he spoke to Xu Qiqin. As he did, he blinked to Xu Qiqin’s side and made to seize her.
His liege cared dearly about Xu Qiqin, and so even if they all died here, nothing could be allowed to happen to Xu Qiqin.
There was no other option than to suppress Xu Qiqin and take her away.
Whoosh!
But Xu Keyi’s snatch missed. With a light hop, Xu Qiqin skillfully evaded Xu Keyi’s hand.
“Now is not the time to talk about this!” Xu Qiqin solemnly declared, her expression chilling. “The fate of the entire empire is tied to this night. There’s no place to retreat for us. Although I don’t know His Highness’s plans, I believe in him!”
Her last words had such weight that they seemed to thud against the ground.
Xu Keyi stared in a daze at Xu Qiqin, and he ceased attempting to persuade her for the moment.
A wind blew through the Center Gate, ruffling Xu Qiqin’s white gown. At this moment, Xu Qiqin looked to another part of the Imperial Palace, endless anticipation in her beautiful eyes.
“Wang Chong, let’s see what you do!”
……
In the distance, the crowd stared silently at Wang Chong as the rumbling of hooves grew louder and louder.
“Heh, it seems Senior is certain that you have me!”
Wang Chong smiled as he slowly probed his fingers into the jar and removed a chess piece.
Buzz!
Hou Junji’s pupils constricted like he had been jabbed by a needle, his composure falling apart.
Fei Yuhan and the Imperial Army soldiers also grimaced. All of them understood the weight of these pieces in the hands of Wang Chong and Hou Junji.
“How could this be? Does he still have soldiers that can deal with Abusi and his ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry?!”
Fei Yuhan was flabbergasted.
According to the reports from Kim U-Seok, a significant portion of Wang Chong’s strongest force, his Wushang Cavalry, had been sent overseas. Not many of them were taking part in this battle, and almost all of them were at the Qian Gate.
Wang Chong should have had no soldiers available, so Fei Yuhan really couldn’t see how Wang Chong could possibly deal with Abusi.
“You still have other soldiers?”
Hou Junji stared at Wang Chong, his brows creased and his face solemn.
“Heh, dealing with Abusi doesn’t take too many soldiers. Senior persuaded him to serve the First Prince, so this junior can naturally persuade him to serve me!”
Wang Chong was relaxed and assured, forming a stark contrast with Hou Junji’s solemnity.
“Senior, I’m playing my piece!”
Clap!
The white piece in his hand clacked down in front of that large black dragon. As that piece fell, the mood of the entire battlefield seemed to transform, like a massive wave striking a reef.
“Kill!”
The shouts of the Tongluo were getting closer and closer, and everyone became nervous and frightened. Only Wang Chong remained composed.
……
At this moment, in the southwestern region of the Imperial Palace, a great cloud of dust was rising. The ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry were charging forward, their bodies cloaked in churning killing intent.
As the ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry charged, they had a momentum comparable to an army of hundreds of thousands. They left countless blurry images in their wake, making them seem like a surging torrent.
“Milord, ahead of us is the Imperial Palace’s main gate. There are three thousand Penal Court soldiers stationed there. The King of Foreign Lands seems to have subdued them after defeating King Qi!” a Tongluo general next to Abusi called out.
“Everyone, hear my order! Charge them down and kill them all! Once we take care of them, we’ll go straight through and finish off the King of Foreign Lands!”
Abusi’s body was the center of a vast sea of energy, and his fierce eyes erupted with killing intent.
A loosed arrow could not be taken back, and the Tongluo had no other option now. Only by attacking and defeating Wang Chong to prove themselves could they have a seat at the table when the new emperor took the throne.
Clang!
Abusi unsheathed his sword, one that had been personally gifted to him by the Sage Emperor and was known by the name ‘Bronze Sparrow’. He aimed it at the sky, and at that moment, the heavens resounded with the roars of dragons as Sword Qi pierced the firmament.
“Charge!”
With this thunderous roar, the ten thousand Tongluo Cavalry advanced.
Just when the Tongluo Cavalry were about to attack the palace gates, a deep and sonorous voice came out of the darkness, exploding in front of Abusi. “Have you been well, Great General? Zhangchou has been waiting here for quite some time!”
The enormous power contained in this voice immediately stirred up a howling gale.