Chapter 63
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Azure Sky Dragon Riders
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Her movements and posture were so fluid beneath her armor that one might wonder if she even had a lower body.
She lifted her face and met the Dongcheon Lama's eyes.
It was something no one living in Xijang could do, but the Ananta clan were not ordinary people.
Her yellow pupils didn't blink, narrow and vertical.
They were just like a snake's.
"You all need to go out and repel the approaching enemies."
"That's joyful news. It's been ages since we've had any real work to do."
Ananta's voice was strange.
It was laced with a metallic rasp, yet oddly languid, mingled with a faint hissing breath.
The Dongcheon Lama nodded.
"It will be a joy. But these enemies are no pushovers, so you'll need to face them alongside me."
"What manner of beings could draw the Dongcheon Supreme Virtue out into the world?"
"You know of the Great Cloud Bright Religion. They've come, led by their cult leader, U Gyeongcheon."
Ananta's expression was peculiar.
It wasn't fear, but clear reluctance showed.
"If it's the Great Cloud Bright flock, then they're the ones who serve the Ming Sovereign. Their light is the natural bane of us snakes..."
"That's what concerns me. Moreover, this U Gyeongcheon is a peerless master with no equal under heaven today. Even your clan shouldn't rush in recklessly."
"Indeed, if it's the Ming Cult's leader, none of our clan—including me—could stand against him."
"I'm not ordering you to clash directly with them. I'm not that foolish."
"Then tell us what we must do."
Ananta gazed at the Dongcheon Lama's lips with utterly calm, unwavering eyes.
"U Gyeongcheon is mine to handle. Without this newly perfected Great Lama Blood Buddha Divine Art, even I might not have been his match."
"You mean we should eliminate his limbs."
"Exactly. He seems to have brought thousands of cavalry. Since this is Xijang, no heavy armor—just light archer cavalry."
"Hehe... Understood. If we slaughter all their horses, here in Xijang they'll be wingless birds..."
"Truly the Protector Divine General. Your task is to take out their horses first, and deny them even water to drink."
"Not a difficult job. Then I'll head out at once. I guarantee not a single one will lay eyes on the white walls of Potala Palace."
"Go on ahead. But don't overdo it. At dawn, I'll gather thousands of Vajra Warriors and over a thousand elite lamas. We'll march in two days, so just hold them off until then."
Ananta merely nodded.
Then she rose smoothly and slipped outside.
Even the Dongcheon Lama, the living Buddha of Xijang, didn't so much as furrow a brow at her demeanor.
* * *
The Azure Sky Dragon Riders under the Azure Dragon Banner were one of the battle groups created over two hundred years ago by Ming Cult devotees to combat the Mongols.
Specially formed to counter the Mongol cavalry that were invincible across the land at the time, they later became so fearsome that even Mongol riders fled in terror, their prowess beyond imagination.
The warriors of the Azure Sky Dragon Riders were raised from childhood as cavalry specialists.
They ate on horseback, slept on horseback, drank on horseback.
Every one of them had trained in the Great Cloud Bright Religion's internal arts from a young age, spending at least twenty years mastering archery, spear-throwing, and swordplay from the saddle.
And there were three thousand such masters.
Moreover, they embodied stricter discipline and more refined tactics than the Mongol armies, granting them group combat prowess on another level entirely from typical Jianghu experts.
Among them, the company commanders equivalent to百人將 were first-rate masters in personal martial arts, while the battalion commanders as 천인장 rivaled the pinnacle realm.
Of course, their leader, Azure Dragon Divine General Wi Jonggi, had long surpassed the pinnacle.
The rosy pink dawn began tinting the snow-capped peaks to the east.
Steam rose thickly from the horses that had galloped through the night.
"Whoa, halt the vanguard!"
Wi Jonggi, riding at the front of the three-thousand-strong cavalry, reined in and issued the command.
The three thousand riders of the Azure Sky Dragon Riders stopped as one, like a single organism.
Scouts instantly fanned out in all directions.
"We rest here. Feed the horses, then eat and sleep in shifts."
At Wi Jonggi's order, two thousand dismounted at once to unpack saddles and prepare to rest.
The remaining thousand dismounted but only fed their horses hay and water, circulating their qi while leaving saddles and arms in place.
Wi Jonggi was no exception.
He tended to his own mount's feed and water, then stood there gnawing on hardtack.
"Won't you take a proper break?"
A lightly armored warrior approached Wi Jonggi, unburdened.
It was Musujong, one of the three battalion commanders of the Azure Sky Dragon Riders.
A hulking man in his early forties, at the peak of manhood, his moniker was Horse-Slaying Divine Saber.
Earned by wielding a seven-chi horse-chopping greatsword like a specter, yet his long face resembled a horse's.
"Horse-face. Why aren't you tending the lads?"
Wi Jonggi was one of the few who called him that.
"Tch, Brother's still brimming with energy. My limbs ache like hell."
"Young pup sassing his elders."
"By the way, where the hell did the Cult Leader go? Caught a glimpse last evening, and haven't seen him since."
Musujong plopped down on a nearby rock, pulling hardtack from his belt and chewing.
"Who can track that man's movements? Elusive as a ghost."
Gruffly answering Musujong's question, Wi Jonggi finished his tack in one bite and remounted.
"God knows how much blood we'll see on this march. We're not here for a fight, after all."
"We've already butchered the Galoksa lamas, so it won't end easy."
"True. Xijang's experts won't roll over."
"So go rest. Who knows when we'll get another breather like this."
Wi Jonggi was already back in the saddle, scrutinizing his men's actions.
They were deep in Xijang's heartland now—enemy territory.
"Little Brother, I'll circulate my qi here. An hour's enough, so you rest after."
"Alright? Looks quiet for now, so circulate in peace."
As Wi Jonggi turned, Musujong was already deep in meditative trance.
U Gyeongcheon's orders to Wi Jonggi were simple.
Move undetected to a valley near Potala Palace and await.
Thus, they stuck to uninhabited trails, resting by day and marching by night.
U Gyeongcheon's trust in Wi Jonggi was absolute.
Bringing him and the Azure Sky Dragon Riders on this perilous Xijang expedition was proof.
Since stepping foot in Xijang, Wi Jonggi hadn't slept a wink.
He dispelled fatigue through spot meditations, never relaxing even at a gallop.
Now, confirming most subordinates were resting, he climbed the highest vantage and scanned the surroundings.
Scouts were out, of course, but he trusted his senses—far beyond pinnacle—above all.
That was the first miscalculation by the Dongcheon Lama and Ananta clan.
Ananta had been gauging the wind for an hour now.
Spotting the Ming Cult cavalry was child's play.
Knowing the Galoksa lamas were wiped out, only two or three routes existed for thousands of riders from there to Potala Palace.
She'd found them camped on one an hour ago.
"As expected. Resting by day, moving by night."
As Ananta muttered, the man beside her—also hidden, scouting—spoke.
"Indeed. Sun's setting soon. When do we start?"
His voice too carried that hissing rasp.
"Wait for the wind. Soon it'll blow from below up. Around dusk into night."
Common in Xijang's highlands.
Evenings brought winds from sun-baked plains to cold peaks.
"Then I'll ready the men."
"Yes. It'll start soon."
Ananta nodded, and the man vanished without a trace.
In Xijang, the Ananta clan were called the Protector Heavenly Dragon Clan.
Yet unlike the name, their specialties were infiltration, assassination, and venom.
Slipping in snake-like to sink fangs into the unwary—little-known, but they were the true power steering Xijang for centuries.
Hundreds moved in the gloom.
Black masks shrouded their faces; deep indigo homespun blended silently into night.
On their backs, black leather pouches—snouts gripped in hand.
After sprinkling from the snouts here and there for a time, they melted into cover.
Their hides flanked the valley mouth where the Azure Sky Dragon Riders rested, soon to descend.
Now the wind shifted, air rising from valley floor upward.
Whatever liquid they'd spread was odorless, traceless.
But horrors were already unfolding in the unseen.