Chapter 388
Chapter 388
Big Dummy possessed a peculiar constitution. While not entirely immune to all poisons, it was exceedingly difficult to poison him. He stepped forward and began to suck all the blood from Zhang Chong’s wound. The force of it was enough to make Zhang Chong tremble, for with each draw, Big Dummy pulled out nearly half a pound of blood. Moreover, he didn't just suck out the poisoned blood; a good amount of healthy blood came with it.
"Ptooey!"
Big Dummy spat out the blood in his mouth, a volume of well over a hundred milliliters. Shen Lang immediately took out a small knife, cut away all the flesh around Zhang Chong's wound, stitched it up with thread, and applied medicine over it. The treatment was so swift that the poison on Su Quan's sword was rendered useless. Shen Lang then wrote a prescription for Zhang Chong, instructing him to take the medicine daily to eliminate any remaining toxins. After the treatment was complete, an examination of the blood on the floor confirmed Shen Lang's suspicions: Su Quan's sword had been coated in a most virulent viper venom.
Shen Lang said.
"You'll be fine now. Viper venom is fearsome, but it had no time to spread through your body, Lord Zhang. You just need to take the medicine a few times to prevent inflammation."
Zhang Chong looked down at the wound on his chest, a gash a full four inches long. Su Quan's martial skill was formidable, only slightly inferior to Su Nan's. The two men exchanged no words of thanks. Previously, Shen Lang had saved Zhang Chong's life; this time, Zhang Chong had blocked a sword for Shen Lang, repaying the debt. But then Shen Lang had swiftly treated him, and now it was hard to say who had saved whom.
Shen Lang turned to the homely, middle-aged woman.
"Your Highness, the Princess Who Never Goes Soft, in the coming battle, please lead the experts from the Blackwater Terrace and guard Lord Zhang at all times. We absolutely cannot give Su Nan any opportunity."
In truth, Shen Lang hadn't known of Princess Yongjue's presence beforehand; the King was truly insidious.
*Princess Who Never Goes Soft? Wh-what kind of nickname is that?*
Shen Lang quickly clamped his mouth shut. To his great embarrassment, he had let the nickname slip out by mistake. Princess Yongjue shot him a glare. She had no interest in men, but she was well aware of their filthy minds. She instantly understood the meaning behind the nickname Shen Lang had given her, but after one cold glare, she refused to even acknowledge him.
Shen Lang said with a smile.
"Your Grace, we have successfully completed the first stage! Su Nan won't be able to stop here; he will be forced to rebel before he can join forces with the State of Jiang."
Zhang Chong said.
"As expected of you, Master Shen. Truly remarkable."
What was the most crucial objective of this confrontation? To separate Su and Jiang, preventing their two great armies from joining. Su Nan had aimed to kill three birds with one stone, but hadn't Shen Lang used a single carrot to bait him? Now, Shen Lang had pushed Su Nan right to the edge of a cliff.
"Su Nan's plan to kill three birds with one stone was brilliant and vicious, but he was too greedy."
Zhang Chong agreed. When faced with immediate gain, a person's heart is easily swayed. One of Shen Lang's most remarkable traits was his ability to treat money and power as nothing more than dung. He had demonstrated this attitude flawlessly during the battle for Raging Tide City. To seize the city and draw in Qiu Tianwei, Shen Lang had abandoned Gold Mountain Island and spent a million gold coins on his scheme.
It was the same now. How much gold had the band of marauders he led plundered? Even by the most conservative estimates, it was an astronomical sum. Yet Shen Lang paid no mind to such vast wealth, using it instead to lure Su Nan's army. To Su Nan, tens of thousands of rebels carrying an astronomical amount of gold were nothing but a succulent piece of fat meat, ripe for the taking. Su Nan's only thought was how to keep that fat meat from escaping so he could devour it all himself. Shen Lang used that fat meat as bait to lure the Su clan's army to a cliff, then quickly withdrew, leaving half of the tens of thousands of marauders to die. And just like that, he had pushed Su Quan's army to the precipice.
Shen Lang remained unmoved in the face of astronomical wealth, and he was not tempted by the prospect of having tens of thousands of marauders at his command. Any other warlord would have seen those tens of thousands of marauders as an army of tens of thousands, considering the incredible power and authority they could wield if brought under their control. But Shen Lang cared nothing for such power or authority; he turned his back, cast them aside, and pushed them off the cliff's edge.
Su Nan was incredibly clever, but far too greedy. Because of that, in this confrontation, he had not only failed to kill three birds with one stone but had gained nothing at all. Now, Su Quan's army had advanced to the foot of the city walls and eaten only a tiny morsel of the fat meat. What would they do now? Retreat? Impossible. What a blow that would be to the morale of Su Nan's army, poised on the brink of rebellion. The world would think that Su Quan's army of over ten thousand had been frightened into retreat by Zhang Chong's force of tens of thousands.
If they didn't retreat, should they lay siege to the city? That wasn't a good option either. Now that Zhang Chong controlled the main fortress of White Night Prefecture and possessed an astronomical sum of gold, he would continuously recruit able-bodied men from the populace into his army. Given time, Zhang Chong's forces would only grow stronger by the day. The only option left, though it deviated from the original plan, was to attack the city at once.
Since Su Quan's army was already at the city walls, they had no choice but to attack White Night Fortress. It was better to move the army and attack the city now, while Zhang Chong had yet to fully establish his footing in the prefecture. But once they attacked a fortress of the State of Yue, it would be an act of rebellion, derailing their original plan to wait until the Su and Jiang armies had joined forces. This was why Shen Lang had told Zhang Chong that the first stage was a success. They had forced Su Nan to rebel prematurely, preventing the Su and Jiang armies from uniting.
* * *
Shen Lang said.
"Within three days at most, Su Nan will raise his banner, declare his independence from the State of Yue, and his army of over ten thousand will frantically attack White Night Prefecture. When that time comes, Your Grace, you will have to endure unparalleled pressure."
And why wouldn't he? Zhang Chong had only three or four thousand soldiers under his command, yet he had to fend off an enemy four times his size. The coming siege defense was bound to be utterly brutal and desperate.
Zhang Chong said.
"I can only say that I will do everything in my power! If the city stands, so do I. If the city falls, consider me dead!"
The King's limit was to tie down Su Nan's rebel army in White Night Prefecture for at least one or two months. If the main fortress of White Night Prefecture fell within that time, Shen Lang and Zhang Chong would be defeated. Shen Lang finished writing the prescription and handed it to Zhang Chong.
"Your Grace, our brief reunion must end here. I will take my leave before Su Quan's army can surround the city."
Princess Yongjue was stunned.
"Shen Lang, you should be staying here to defend the city. Where are you going?"
Zhang Chong answered her.
"The key to this war lies with the army of the State of Jiang. If they join with the Su clan, we will surely lose, no matter how capable we are. Our few thousand men cannot possibly hold off the combined tens of thousands from Su and Jiang."
Princess Yongjue said.
"But His Majesty's decree was only for you to hold off Su Nan's rebel army for one or two months. Once the situation in the north is settled and the main army marches south, we can have a decisive battle with Su Nan in Tianxi Province and annihilate them in one fell swoop!"
"But Master Shen has no intention of waiting for His Majesty's main army. He wants to wipe out the entire Su clan with just our own strength."
Princess Yongjue's mind went numb upon hearing this. She said quietly.
"Are you two truly insane? How is that even possible? The combined forces under your command don't even exceed four thousand. Just holding off Su Nan's rebel army for a month would be a remarkable achievement, a great victory. But to think of eliminating the tens of thousands from Su and Jiang with only four thousand men... that's just sleep-talking. His Majesty's decree was clear: you are to hold Su Nan off for one or two months and buy His Majesty time until the northern front is clear!"
To the princess's words, Shen Lang bowed his head respectfully and replied.
"As they say, 'A general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign!'"
Then, Shen Lang cupped his hands in a salute to Zhang Chong and said.
"Your Grace, I take my leave! You must hold out and defend this place for at least a month! When the time is right, I will return with a great army. Then, we shall strike from both inside and out and annihilate Su Nan's rebel forces."
"Take care of yourself, Master Shen. I can only promise that as long as I live, I will defend this city!"
Shen Lang mounted his warhorse, and the two hundred female warriors, each leading a spare horse, departed swiftly. They had to exit through the east gate and vanish under the cover of darkness before the enemy could surround White Night Fortress. Princess Yongjue watched Shen Lang's retreating figure and asked quietly.
"What on earth has he gone to do?"
Zhang Chong said.
"He has gone to destroy the main army of the State of Jiang."
"With just two hundred people, he intends to destroy Aruotai's army of forty to fifty thousand?"
"And he says he will accomplish it within half a month!"
Princess Yongjue felt she was going mad.
*The main army of the State of Jiang has forty to fifty thousand soldiers, and you have only two hundred. Moreover, you yourself don't even have the strength to wring a chicken's neck! To destroy forty to fifty thousand with just over two hundred people? What kind of absurd dream is this?*
Unable to hold back, Yongjue burst out.
"Lord Zhang, let's say Shen Lang is mad, but have you gone mad as well? His Majesty's decree clearly ordered you to hold off Su Nan's rebel army for one or two months, not to annihilate them!"
"Your Highness, do you believe I could stop Master Shen? Did he not say long ago that he must have his revenge and would wipe out the entire Su clan?"
"What grudge could he possibly have against Su Nan?"
"Perhaps because the Su clan pushed the Jin clan from behind when they were in peril, and also because Su Jianting stabbed his mother-in-law in the back."
A scornful laugh escaped Princess Yongjue.
*Is that all? Just for that kind of grudge? I thought it was some blood feud over the murder of his parents. His mother-in-law, Su Peipei, gets stabbed in the back once, and you, Shen Lang, vow to exterminate the entire Su clan? Aren't you being a little too petty?*
Then, Zhang Chong continued.
"Furthermore, in the capital, Su Nan used the Xia Wanwan incident to frame Master Shen and tried to drive him to his death."
Princess Yongjue stared at Zhang Chong for a moment before speaking.
"You truly are remarkable, Lord Zhang."
The meaning behind her words was crystal clear.
*Lord Zhang, didn't you and Shen Lang also fight a life-or-death battle in Raging River Prefecture? In fact, you've clashed more times than he has with Su Nan. Shen Lang seems determined to have his revenge on Su Nan until the man is dead, so why does he treat you, Zhang Chong, like a lifelong friend who transcends age?*
"I never had a personal grudge against Master Shen."
"Shen Lang is taking just over two hundred people to destroy the main army of the State of Jiang. How does he plan to do it?"
"I do not know."
"You don't know his plan, yet you trust him? And you're entrusting your own life to him?"