Chapter 604 - 603: Farm Woman 32
Besides, her ox-like strength was just the rudimentary version. How could she possibly compete with a natural-born Hercules like Yue Shu?
Yue Shu squinted at Tuoba Lian, assessing the distance. "It’ll be difficult," he said. "He’s armed to the teeth."
Tan You nodded in understanding. "Then find a way to kill him. Make sure he doesn’t leave here alive."
Yuan Cheng listened to Tan You’s casual words and thought, ’What a big talker. That’s Tuoba Lian, the Beirong’s fiercest and most capable Second Prince. Did she really think he could be killed just because a woman like her ordered it?’
Spurred on by Tuoba Lian’s valiant charge, the Beirong’s shattered morale began to reform. As they closed in on the city wall, the guards who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the passage silently retracted the decapitation wires and began creeping toward the enemy’s rear.
Their backs were laden with bulging packs, yet they showed no concern about accidentally setting them off and injuring themselves.
As Tuoba Lian closed in on the wall, the archers on the ramparts began to fire. Chen Xi and An Wen held their crossbows, their young faces taut, completely unflinching in the face of the bloody scene.
Yue Shu also nocked an arrow to his bow, his gaze scanning over Tuoba Lian. The prince was armed to the teeth; where could he aim to land a devastating blow?
His eyes swept over Tuoba Lian’s own eyes and his cheeks before finally settling on his eyes. ’Who asked this bastard to leave nothing but his eyes exposed?’
He was truly armed to the teeth.
Tan You saw Yue Shu’s intent, but she only watched with narrowed eyes, not interfering in the slightest. ’Yue Shu is a natural-born general,’ she thought. ’As someone who’s never even been on a battlefield, I have no business telling him what to do.’
It was an awful feeling, being targeted. Tuoba Lian was a man who had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Sensing the killing intent, he instinctively looked up and saw Yue Shu taking aim at him, with Tan You and Chen Xi at his side.
Tuoba Lian roared with laughter. He continued his charge, bellowing, "Has Yunzhou State run out of men? Putting women on the battlefield... Urk—"
A succession of whistles cut through the air. Out of the corner of her eye, Tan You saw that the first projectile was an arrow from Yue Shu. Following close behind were three crossbow bolts from Chen Xi.
"AARGH!" With a bloodcurdling scream, Tuoba Lian slumped in his saddle. Fierce as he was, even with an arrow in his eye, his right hand still gripped the pommel tightly, trying to keep himself from falling off his horse.
But he hadn’t counted on Chen Xi. As a girl, Chen Xi naturally lacked the strength of a man, so she had always prioritized precision when practicing with her crossbow. The three bolts she fired all struck the neck of Tuoba Lian’s warhorse.
The warhorse let out a pained whinny and collapsed, throwing Tuoba Lian headfirst to the ground. The cavalrymen behind him were still surging forward, about to trample him underfoot.
Tuoba Lian’s one remaining eye widened in horror. His adjutant, Tuge, seeing the danger, spurred his horse forward. Just before the hooves could crush Tuoba Lian’s chest, Tuge grabbed his prince’s armor and hauled him up onto the horse behind him.
"Second Prince, your eye..." Tuge was frantic. This was the first time Tuoba Lian had suffered such a severe injury since the Beirong invasion began. From the looks of it, his left eye was lost.
’I just don’t know how deep the arrow went...’ Tuge was filled with anxiety. He was about to ask more when he realized there was no sound from behind him. He glanced back and was so horrified his eyes felt like they would pop from their sockets. Tuoba Lian was slumped sideways across the horse’s back, unconscious.
Yuan Cheng had a clear view of Yue Shu’s and Chen Xi’s coordinated attack. He watched Tuoba Lian take the arrow, only to be scooped up and saved by his adjutant. Yuan Cheng felt it was a terrible shame.
But he reacted quickly. Seeing Tuoba Lian lying limp on the horse, Yuan Cheng immediately roared, "Tuoba Lian is dead! The Beirong’s Second Prince Tuoba Lian is dead! Surrender now!"
Among the defending soldiers, there were naturally some quick-witted ones. Immediately, someone echoed the cry: "Tuoba Lian is dead! Surrender at once!"
"Tuoba Lian is dead! Surrender at once!"
"Tuoba Lian is dead! Surrender at once!"
"Tuoba Lian is dead! Surrender at once!"
As the chant rose, the morale on the Yunzhou State side soared. The Beirong forces, on the other hand, began to falter. Their infantry in the rear was unaware of the situation at the front, so when they heard the shouts from the city wall, chaos erupted within their ranks.
From his ambush position in the rear, Peng Fang waved a hand. "It’s our turn!"
The dozens of men behind him drew their sabers in unison. "Captain Peng, we’ve been waiting for this moment."
With that, they all leaped out. They would never use the Soft Muscle Powder out in the open. That was a trump card for sneak attacks. What if they used it in plain sight and the enemy developed a defense against it?
Besides, who didn’t want to earn glory? Yue Shu and Chen Xi had already made their mark. Was there a single man in the guard squads who wasn’t green with envy?
Because they were ambushing from the flank, and because the Beirong army ahead of them was already in disarray, Peng Fang’s small squad tore through the enemy’s rear ranks like they were chopping vegetables, transforming into veritable killing machines.
Tan You stood on the city wall, her face expressionless as she watched the scene unfold. War was always bloody. Perhaps these Beirong soldiers had wives and children, too. But since they had chosen the path of invasion, they had to be prepared to be killed in return.
Ambushed from behind and hammered from the front, the Beirong army collapsed like a landslide. The soldiers were all scattering, fleeing for their lives. How could they possibly hear their commanders’ orders now?
Tuge’s heart burned with anxiety. He was worried about Tuoba Lian, terrified something terrible might happen to him. He also knew that this assault on Yunzhou State had clearly failed. He had no choice but to give up.
Tuge kicked his horse’s flanks. "Go! Back to camp!"
A horn sounded the retreat. The cavalrymen who still had their wits about them began to rally and pull back. Peng Fang saw this. ’The Beirong are trying to run? Not on my watch!’
Chen Dazhu, one of the men behind him, said anxiously, "Captain Peng, should we take out... that thing?"
Peng Fang was about to nod when he spotted a figure perched on a distant tree branch and his eyes widened. "What is Chen Yue doing here?"
"Where?" his men asked, searching around. But how could they possibly spot Chen Yue’s figure?
Peng Fang was exasperated. "I tell you all to train your eyes, but what have you been practicing? Over there!"
He was just about to point when his eyes bulged. "How does she dare?"
Why wouldn’t she dare? A twelve-year-old girl who feared neither heaven nor earth, she was perched on that tree branch like a human grenadier. After tossing out three bombs in quick succession, Chen Yue raised an eyebrow smugly. ’How could I possibly miss out on something this big?’
"Kick ’em while they’re down!"
She had deliberately aimed her throws at Tuge’s group of cavalry. If Tuoba Lian managed to survive this, it would truly mean the man had a charmed life.
Chen Yue clapped her hands in satisfaction. On an adjacent tree, a teenage boy perched there frowned. "Aren’t we going to go down?"