Chapter 224 - 161: Sudden Situation
For a moment, the scene was utter chaos.
The Rebel Army was naturally unable to organize another attack. Their first probing assault had come to an end.
"Rebels are rebels, after all. Hardly worth mentioning and a far cry from the elite Official Army."
Lin Shoubei was naturally overjoyed at the great victory and said this to the group of Military Officers on the city wall.
Hearing this, his subordinate Military Officers chimed in with flattery, praising Lin Shoubei’s brilliant and divine martial prowess. Lin Shoubei, for his part, accepted their compliments without a trace of modesty.
An outsider would have truly thought they had won a major battle.
The Great Wei Imperial Dynasty had not seen this kind of regional warfare in over a century.
The Guard Army had likely always relied on its elite combat strength to suppress and sweep away bandits, never having faced a battle of this scale. It was no wonder these Military Officers were arrogant and complacent.
Thus, with the Rebel Army’s true elites—their Martial Artists and Martial Masters—yet to make a move, whether the city could be held remained an unknown.
~~~~~
The next day, the Rebel Army attacked the city again.
Just like the day before, this was another probing attack.
Neither Martial Artists nor Martial Masters took part, nor did the elite rebel troops advance. Instead, they continued to drive the common people forward in a human-wave assault.
Once again, they retreated after leaving the ground littered with corpses.
The third, fourth, and fifth days all passed in the same manner.
For three days in a row, it was the same.
On the sixth day, with few civilians left to drive forward, the Rebel Army’s regular forces finally launched their assault.
The attack began in an orderly fashion. Various siege engines were brought to the front of the city, and the armored soldiers were clearly veterans. With just a few charges, they nearly breached the top of the wall.
The Guard Army soldiers on the wall found it difficult to hold them back.
It was only when numerous Martial Artists intervened that the enemy’s attack was broken.
Of course, their success was also partly due to Fang Yue, who periodically fired off sneak shots, killing the Rebel Army’s squad leaders and captains one by one and throwing their command into disarray.
However, after repelling the enemy’s attack, Fang Yue stopped shooting.
’I can’t stand out too much. If the Rebel Army takes notice of me, their Martial Artists might make me a priority target. That would be bad. More importantly, if I perform too well, I might get ’assigned’ more dangerous tasks, and that would be a disaster.’
’It’s a possibility I have to guard against.’
’After all, Lin Shoubei’s official rank is technically the same as mine, so he can’t command me. But the County Magistrate, Liu Zheng, can.’
’That’s something I definitely have to watch out for.’
’I’ll wait and see. Their Martial Artists and Martial Masters still haven’t made a move. I wonder what they’re plotting.’
According to Liu Zheng, the enemy had a double-digit number of Martial Masters.
And even more Bone Forging, Marrow Transformation, and other Martial Artists. If they all attacked a single gate, they could really break through the city’s defenses.
’Either Liu Zheng’s information is wrong, or the Rebel Army is plotting something else.’
’So, I’ll observe how the situation develops. If it becomes truly hopeless, I’ll have to find a way to get my parents and family out of here before the city falls,’
Fang Yue thought to himself.
’If the county town can’t be held, at worst, I’ll have to give up my official achievements and current fortune, take my family, and flee to another prefecture to escape this disaster.’
’The Rebel Army can’t possibly have this much power in every prefecture of Great Wei, can they?’
~~~~~
On the eighth day, the Rebel Army continued its assault.
This time, they nearly breached the south gate, and the entire Xiahe County Town was in a precarious position.
"Sigh... I wasn’t decisive enough. If I had rushed back the day I got the news, I would probably already be on my way to Shanyang Prefecture City with my parents and family by now."
Seeing this, Fang Yue couldn’t help but sigh.
That night, Lin Shoubei came looking for Fang Yue and led him to the main hall of the County Magistrate’s Office.
Arriving at the main hall of the County Magistrate’s Office, Fang Yue saw more than a dozen Military Officers. He recognized some, but not others.
Fang Yue raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
He suppressed the stray thoughts in his mind and walked into the main hall. Not long after, a few more Military Officers arrived, bringing the total number of people in the hall to over twenty.
In the main hall of the County Magistrate’s Office, the person in the seat of honor was not County Magistrate Liu Zheng, but another man—an old man in black robes with a gaunt face, sharp eyes, and the piercing gaze of a wolf or an eagle.
At this moment, the dignified County Magistrate himself was serving tea to this old man, his attitude one of utmost reverence.
From their conversation, Fang Yue learned that this old man was an Inspector from the Prefecture City’s Observatory, holding the Sixth Grade of official rank.
As for his cultivation, Fang Yue couldn’t see through it. He could only sense that this old man was significantly stronger than the Blood Dragon Platform chieftain he had killed some time ago.
’I wonder why he has come to Xiahe County?’
"I have summoned you all here today because I have a matter of great importance to announce."
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Liu Zheng stood up, looked at the gathered Military Officers, and spoke.
"This time, with Prince Wucheng’s rebellion, the Emperor is enraged. He has already dispatched Tributors of the Imperial Dynasty to act. Prince Wucheng will not escape, even if he grows wings."
His voice fell.
The many Military Officers looked astonished one by one; they had clearly never heard of the Imperial Dynasty’s Tributors.
"You don’t need to know the details. You only need to know that every one of the Imperial Dynasty’s Tributors is already a member of the Immortal Stream, with power far surpassing that of an Innate Martial Sect!"
Foundation Forging Martial Artist, Qi Sensing Martial Master, Innate Martial Sect.
This was the full extent of Martial Dao cultivation that an ordinary Martial Artist knew. Upon reaching the Innate Martial Sect realm, one possessed the power to safeguard a nation.
A single person could fight an army of ten thousand, roaming the world as they pleased.
There were even rumors that an Innate Martial Sect had a lifespan of five hundred years, though no one knew if it was true.
Upon suddenly hearing this, every Military Officer in the main hall couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
"I have summoned you all today because I have a task to entrust to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a Military Officer seated near the front immediately responded, "Please give us your orders, my lord! Your subordinate will spill his brains on the ground for you!"
Seeing this, Liu Zheng couldn’t help but stroke his beard in satisfaction and say, "I will choose ten people from among you to follow Inspector Fang’s orders and cooperate with him."
Inspector Fang?!
’Cooperate with his operation?’
Hearing this, Fang Yue couldn’t help but frown. He had a bad feeling about this.
’A man of his cultivation level, arriving in secret... the mission he’s here to carry out can’t be simple.’
’In that case, this mission must be extremely dangerous.’
’Could it be an assassination mission outside the city, to kill the rebel leader?’
’And I’m afraid Liu Zheng will use this opportunity to cause trouble for me.’
Thinking of this, Fang Yue’s heart could not remain calm.
"Heh heh, there’s no need to be so nervous, everyone. This mission is not difficult, and it won’t require you to leave the city to assassinate the rebel leader. It’s merely to set up some... hmm, mechanisms within the city."
As if sensing the tension and fear of battle among those present, Liu Zheng quickly added this.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, the previously tense Military Officers around him relaxed considerably.
If they didn’t have to leave the city, then there probably wouldn’t be any risk.
Besides, carrying out this task meant they wouldn’t have to stand guard on the city wall, which was much safer. For a moment, quite a few Military Officers looked eager to volunteer.
However, it was clear that who would be used and who would go wasn’t a matter of volunteering.
Instead, the newly arrived Inspector Fang would be making the selection personally.
It was surprising, yet somehow not surprising, that Fang Yue was ultimately chosen.
The moment he heard he had been selected, Fang Yue immediately looked toward Liu Zheng, trying to read something from his expression.
And just as he expected, Liu Zheng’s gaze met his at that very moment.
In the County Magistrate’s eyes, Fang Yue saw a hidden glint.
At once, he was certain that this was indeed Liu Zheng’s doing.
After the men were selected, the other Military Officers returned to their posts to continue the defense.
Fang Yue and the others, however, were led by the Inspector from the Shanyang Prefecture’s Observatory—who also happened to be surnamed Fang—to a temple in the western part of the county town.
It was clear the place had been cleared out. Under the night sky, it was guarded by elite soldiers, but the inside of the temple was completely empty.
The temple was ancient, but it seemed its incense offerings were rather unremarkable.
At the very least, if the incense offerings were good, Fang Yue would have heard of this temple before.
At this moment, however, following in the group, Fang Yue grew curious about why this Inspector Fang had brought them to this temple.
Xiahe County Town was currently under siege by the Rebel Army.
So what were they doing here?