Chapter 428: Morale of the Military

It had been a while since Dugu Xian left his room, and during this time, he used his sense of hearing to stay appraised of what was happening on the outside.

He knew that, within his courtyard, there were a total of 15 guards and three handymen. He also knew that three guards would pass by the entrance to his room every 30 minutes. They were heavy footed and their weapons brushed against the steel armor they wore, giving off a sound that made one feel at ease.

What made him feel even more assured, was the Dragon King. The youth seemed to have special insight and he might be able to force the 50000 strong Golden Roc Fort army into retreat. He had no whims of eventually, and utterly, defeating the Supreme King. However, if the Great Snow Mountain army were to become equal with the Golden Roc Fort, then he, as a traitor, would not have to live in fear everyday.

An hour ago, someone was shouting that there was a fire somewhere and it shocked Dugu Xian out of his sleep. He had not heard the footsteps of the guards for a while, so instead of going back to sleep, he was listening closely to the sounds outside.

He was a slightly anxious as he looked at the short saber placed on his desk. He decided against touching it as he knew his own kung fu was only on the same level of an ordinary macheteman. Given that, he rose from his seat and walked toward the door, listening for a while more.

It was too quiet outside, as if he were the only one left in the courtyard.

Dugu Xian retreated to the side of his desk, hesitating, before slowly drawing the short saber. He stood its tip against the floor, and leaned it against the back of his thigh. Using two fingers to steady the saber at the hilt, and clasped his hands behind his back. The scabbard was left on the desk and its opening was facing him. If anyone were to come in, they would think that the saber was still within its scabbard.

In this manner, he waited, for whatever may come.

Time passed extremely slowly. He felt like the night should have already been over, but it was still very dark outside. The dim bit of light that could be seen in his room felt very glaring to his eyes.

For no aparent reason, Dugu Xian felt a cool breeze blowing from the ground, up to his neck.

He slowly twisted his stiff body and turned to look behind him.

A figure stood before his bed. It was tall, thin and clad entirely in black. He could not see a weapon, so he figured it must have been shrouded in darkness as well.

With a clang, his saber fell onto the floor. Dugu Xian’s heart beat extremely quickly a few dozen times before suddenly calming down. He was elated; coming face to face with Death was not nearly as scary as he had imagined.

Just as he was about to speak, the other party lifted a finger, signalling for him to be quiet and to face the door again.

Extremely surprised, Dugu Xian slowly reverted to his original position. The saber, however, was left upon the ground.

The man in black did not strike.

A small glimmer of hope grew within Dugu Xian’s heart; perhaps, this person in black was not a killer, but someone sent by the Dragon King to protect him.

Suddenly, the cool breeze behind him became warm.

The person in black seemed to understand what Dugu Xian was thinking and had diminished their aura, which was already insignificant, to nearly imperceptible levels.

The two of them stood in this manner, not unlike statues, for nearly two hours. Dugu Xian began to feel the soles of his feet becoming numb.

The first rays of morning sunlight began to show outside. Just as Dugu Xian very wanted much to turn around and glance at his protector, sounds came from outside his room.

He heard hurried footsteps, before a swordsman from the Great Snow Mountain pushed open the door to his room in a rather gruff manner. He took measure of Dugu Xian, who was standing as still as a wooden pole, and asked “Are you alright?”

The swordsman’s tone was harsh, as if he could never have a favorable impression an enemy Commander who had surrendered.

“I’m fine,” replied Dugu Xian. He was a bit surprised; the swordsman’s expression clearly showed that he had not seen the second person within his room.

“It is not safe outside right now, don’t step out.”

Dugu Xian nodded.

The swordsman must have noticed something strange about his expression and posture. For, as it seemed he was about to turn and leave, he paused for a moment and took another step toward Dugu Xian, asking again, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

This additional question cost the swordsman his life.

Most of the swordsmen were hardened veterans and had an instinctive feel for danger. He had already grasped his sword hilt, but was ambushed after only drawing it two to three inches. His head sank down and his lifeless body slowly kneeled on the ground, revealing the assassin standing behind him.

It was another person in black. He was masked and slightly shorter and although it was brighter now, Dugu Xian could not see where his weapon was hidden either.

Dugu Xian felt a chill run up his spine. He realized that the person in his room was no protector and he was just the bait in a trap. He did not even know how many people were hidden around his room.

The short man in black also lifted a finger to the corner of his mouth, signalling for Dugu Xian to remain silent.

Dugu Xian was unable to respond. Although afraid that the Dragon King would fall for their trap, he was even more frightened at the possibility him not. these assassins would not keep waiting for the Dragon King forever, and would be sure to get rid of him before making any other moves.

The short man in black dragged the corpse of the swordsman to a corner of the wall and did not bother to conceal himself again. He stood beside the corpse, lowering his head slightly, appearing as if he was sleeping while standing up.

After staring for a while, Dugu Xian finally noticed where the man in black kept his weapon. The scabbard of his saber was as pitch black as his clothes and stuck closely to his thigh. Even under bright sunlight, it would be hard to notice.

Footsteps sounded outside of his room again, this time though, the visitor was more polite and asked softly when he was at the door, ” General Dugu?”

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“Yes?” answered Dugu Xian. He did not know what he should say and squeezed out a vague sound from his throat.

“The Dragon King has come to visit and asks if it’s convenient for you, General.”

The man in black standing at the corner of the wall stared at Dugu Xian, his gaze indifferent.

“It is,” Dugu Xian replied. He shifted his body weight to the other leg and came to a sudden decision. It was done so quickly that he did not even have the time to weigh the pros and cons. “There’s…”

Just as he was gathering his breath to shout the rest of the words, the sabers of the assasins struck at him. There were more than one of them; one standing in front and behind him respectively. Another was even hiding above of where he was currently standing.

“… an ambush!” Dugu Xian still managed to shout the rest of his words, despite the attacks. He could feel an intense pain coming from the left side of his body immediately afterward.

He thought that he was going to die. Strangely, though, he was still very conscious. Legends had it that the Golden Roc assasins always killed in just one stroke; but the strike of his assailants did not seem to be their usual style.

Dugu Xian did not have time to think about it, as he withstood the sharp pain before he fell to the ground; it took him a few rolls before he could get back to his feet.

The first thing he noticed was that his left arm was now gone and blood was gushing from it like snow melting off a mountain. Then he saw the Dragon King in the midst of killing the remaining assassin.

When Dugu Xian was still sound asleep, three Golden Roc killers had already snuck into his room.

Gu Shenwei entered the city just before daybreak and ordered the soldiers to surround the nearby alleys, while he alone went ahead to find out the situation.

The guards in the courtyard were still alive but having faced a sneak attack the night before, two soldiers who used to be savages, were injured by hidden weapons. Therefore the other soldiers had broadened their patrolling radius. Even after midnight, their enemies had not dared show themselves again.

As for Dugu Xian, who had remained in his room, the guards could vouch that absolutely no one snuck in.

Gu Shenwei thought otherwise and therefore sent a guard to check on the general. He had reminded the guard to not speak too much and to leave the room once he saw Dugu Xian.

However, the guard did not follow the Dragon King’s warning. When he was killed, the Dragon King had been standing guard on the roof, listening closely to the voices below and trying to find any traces an enemy.

The prime opportunity for him to strike was the moment when the three assassins retreated from the room. However, due to Dugu Xian’s verbal warning the assassins were ready to kill him, forcing Gu Shenwei to strike.

He pierced through the roof and killed two of the assassins in one go. He was slightly late, though, and unable to save the arm of the general from being cut off. He then exchanged three blows with the third assassin before killing him as well.

The three of them were not just any ordinary killers from the Golden Roc Fort. If they had had the advantage of striking first, Gu Shenwei was not certain if he could withstand their attacks.

Dugu Xian was starting to slip into unconsciousness. He had understood roughly what had occured before he blacked-out and fainted.

The sounds of the battle drew the guards outside Dugu Xian’s room. they startled upon seeing the corpses strewn across the floor. They hurriedly bandaged Dugu Xian’s wounds and cleaned up the scene.

Gu Shenwei examined the corpses of the three assassins carefully. He did not know how Shangguan Jianyi looked like, but he was certain that none of them belonged to that bold enemy Commander.

He believed that Shangguan Jianyi had either fled from the Stone Kingdom or changed his hiding spot. This was no ordinary opponent – Gu Shenwei was convinced of his assessment. Having met a worthy opponent, an excitement grew within him.

He had not lost yet, though. Shangguan Jianyi’s action of setting fire to the two supply depots and setting a trap at Dugu Xian’s room, proved that he was starting to take the bait.

A short while later, Dugu Xian woke up. Sharp pain accompanied his increasing consciousness as he frowned and groaned twice. “Shangguan Jianyi will most likely not send his troops over again for the rest of this year.”

Gu Shenwei stood in front of the general’s bed and nodded, replying, “No, but he’ll send more assassins after us.”

The intelligence that the Dragon King wanted Shangguan Hong to pass on was not the most important of his plan to trick the enemy; what made Shangguan Jianyi suspicious was the two supply depots. He was an extremely meticulous and wary person, and just like the Dragon King. The inventory in the depots were mostly nonsensical items, and Shangguan Jianyi would believe that both Shangguan Hong and the depots were part of an elaborate plot cooked up by the Dragon King to trick him into attacking as soon as possible, causing him to fall into the trap.

It was a ploy similar to a double bluff and when Gu Shenwei told most of it to Dugu Xian, the general was even more confident than the Dragon King was that it would work. This was due to the fact that he understood Shangguan Jianyi’s character. “He doesn’t trust anybody except for his own eyes,” he counseled.

Therefore, Gu Shenwei made sure he ‘saw with his own eyes’.

Gu Shenwei stayed for a while before returning to the barracks. It was highly plausible that Shangguan Jianyi would wait till the next spring before sending his soldiers to battle, but even if there was only a ten percent chance that he could attack now, the Great Snow Mountain army could not afford to relax. Before winter came, they must improve on their defences.

The atmosphere of the entire barracks was one of high tension as they would be facing tough opponents. All soldiers were ordered to gather earlier on and had still not been dismissed after Gu Shenwei came back.

A group of swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountin were matching the soldiers against the personnel file in their hands while another bunch of them made a thorough search of the entire camp. Eventually, they found close to a hundred soldiers that were unaccounted for. Inluding the arsonists that had set fire to the supply depots, there were more than 270 spies within the army camp of the five nations.

It was Gu Shenwei’s thorniest problem – how could he pacify everyone while subduing the five nations of Xiaoyao Lake?

The spies had to executed, publicly. Anything else would go against military principles.

It was tough to try to pacify everyone, though; just a few promises and pretty words would not assure anyone. After Gu Shenwei gave the order to behead the spies, he dismissed his soldiers and planned to gradually suppress the fear and longing to desert within his troops.

It was an extremely busy day for him, people kept seeking him out. Some did it blatantly while others tried to drop hints, but all of them wanted to provide information against someone else. If Gu Shenwei were to listen to them fly into a fit of rage, he would have to have killed half of his own army.

He knew that not all of the spies had been uncovered. It was actually very likely that other soldiers, who were registered in the personnel files, harbored the same thoughts as the moles: that the Dragon King and the Great Snow Mountain army were invaders.

That very evening, Zhong Heng came to see him. The Prime Minister seemed to have thought very thoroughly about what he was about to say. He first told Gu Shenwei about the serious consequences of the upheaval in the fighting spirit of his troops, before suggesting a solution that he believed was more appropriate and less costly, “I would suggest you get married to the princess of Stone Kingdom quickly, Dragon King. It’s the most important link between the Great Snow Mountain and Xiaoyao Lake.”

Gu Shenwei understood what Zhong Heng was getting at. Logically, he knew that it was a good idea which he should have thought of before. But in his heart, he realized that he had was strongly opposed to the princess. It had nothing to do with their previous encounter. It was a resistance that had taken root the day he decided to ask for her hand in marriage.