Chapter 1020: Starting the War

Yang Ping sat behind a huge and long table while he stroked his mustache as he listened to Jiang Jinfu’s report and nodded thoughtfully. “Well then, you mean to say that this formation is extraordinarily powerful?”

“Yes,” Jiang Jinfu replied. “I never expected this formation to be so impressive! General, since Zhao Dahe has managed to achieve such a result after training these convicts for only ten days, our elite soldiers will become even more powerful if he trains them too!”

“It won’t work,” Yang Ping muttered indifferently. “Soaring Eagle Cavalry isn’t an infantry! Never mind. Just forget about this. You may leave now!”

“… Understood.” Jiang Jinfu left in resignation.

Yang Ping continued to stroke his mustache with a thoughtful look on his face.

After a long while, he shook his head and decided not to dispatch the Sharp Vigor Battalion.

This wretched Zhao Dahe was really a mischief-maker!

Although the Saint had just sent someone over to convey her command that Zhao Dahe should be treated as a normal person and be dispatched whenever necessary, he would be a fool to obey her orders!

Everyone from the Sharp Vigor Battalion seemed like a completely new person. They were all in high spirits and were practicing more diligently than ever so Xu Cihang no longer had to use his whip.

After having witnessed the formidable power of this formation, they had come to view it as a life-saving skill. As long as they had properly mastered this skill, they would be able to survive even if they had to go into the battlefield.

If they did not practice it enough and ended up making a mistake on the battlefield, they would not only cause trouble to their comrades but would also put their own lives in danger. Therefore, they needed to pour everything they had into their training.

Chu Li stayed inside his tent and focused on cultivating the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture as well as the Nature Restoration Manifestation. Indeed, the battlefield was the best place to cultivate the Nature Restoration Manifestation.

Three days later, a stifling atmosphere suddenly settled over the military encampment of Soaring Eagle Cavalry.

The rays of the setting sun looked red as blood.

The entire encampment of Soaring Eagle Cavalry was bathed in crimson light.

Chu Li followed Jiang Jinfu to a large tent within the central army division. The two men were completely silent as they made their way to the tent since they had come to view each other as an annoyance.

When he entered the large tent, Chu Li saw that ten military officers were already standing inside the tent with tense expressions on their faces. They were all emitting a killing intent.

Through his Omniscient Mirror, Chu Li already knew their identities. These officers were all centurions.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be attacking Flying Cloud Cavalry.” Yang Ping placed his palms on the table as he looked calmly at the centurions.

They instantly began to discuss this among themselves in low voices.

“General, we’re going to launch an attack on them?” a centurion asked while he gave a fist salute. “I thought we’d be staying behind to defend the city?”

“The Grand General has given us orders to take advantage of their careless attitude and deliver a heavy blow first so that we can help alleviate the pressure of defending the city!” Yang Ping calmly replied.

“General, shouldn’t we be dealing with the enemy’s heavy cavalry? Why are we attacking Flying Cloud Cavalry?” another centurion asked.

Yang Ping replied, “Black Bear Cavalry will be dealing with their heavy cavalry.”

“What is the Grand General thinking?” one of the centurions muttered with a frown. “Our cavalry may be strong, but compared to Flying Cloud Cavalry…”

He shook his head as he trailed off.

The others also shook their heads.

None of these men were low-ranking soldiers, so it was not easy to sway their minds with such simple statements. They all knew very well that their cavalry was no match for the Qiu Dynasty’s cavalry. After all, they had been modeling their cavalry after the Qiu Dynasty’s cavalry, so they did not have the confidence to go up against the very people they had been imitating.

Yang Ping said impassively, “Look at how useless you are. The war hasn’t even started and you’re already so fearful!”

“General, the riders of Flying Cloud Cavalry have started learning horse riding from a very young age, and I heard that most of them are famous master archers,” a centurion replied while he shook his head. “We might still be able to handle their heavy cavalry and their infantry. As for Flying Cloud Cavalry…”

Yang Ping asked, “Well then, what do you think we should do? Should we just surrender?”

“Of course not. We shouldn’t surrender. Well, we can have the Grand General use the staggered column formation¹.”

“Oh, does the Grand General seem stupid to you? Do you really think he hasn’t thought of that?”

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“Well then, how did he arrive at his decision?”

“Just obey his orders. You guys don’t have to know how the Grand General arrived at his decision on this matter! Even I don’t know anything about this!” Yang Ping glared at them coldly and their confidence began to wane.

General Yang was a temperamental person, so the calmer he was, the scarier he seemed. He might suddenly turn around and start yelling at them. Thus, the centurions became nervous and tense when they saw how calm he was. They were always in a state of anxiety whenever they stood before him as they had to guard themselves against his unpredictable mood swings.

Yang Ping calmly turned his gaze to Chu Li. “Zhao Dahe, the Sharp Vigor Battalion will be in charge of cleaning up the battlefield this time!”

Chu Li gave a fist salute. “Understood, General!”

Yang Ping had been prepared to give him a scolding. The moment he questioned Yang Ping’s orders, Yang Ping would take the opportunity to vent his anger on Chu Li.

“General, they’re the Sharp Vigor Battalion, not the transportation corps¹!” a centurion protested.

General Yang had been keeping the Sharp Vigor Battalion completely out of harm’s way ever since Zhao Dahe had joined the Sharp Vigor Battalion, so the others had been feeling indignant and upset about this.

The Sharp Vigor Battalion should be in charge of gathering news and information. Although they were currently defending the city, they would still need whatever information they could get their hands on about their enemy’s troops. However, the Sharp Vigor Battalion had been totally idle these days!

Thus, they felt very dissatisfied. Did the general have to be so afraid of a lowly disciple from the Holy Church of Light? The general had always been talking about how the disciples of the Holy Church of Light should not interfere with military affairs, yet his words and his actions were clearly contradicting one another!

Therefore, they were making use of Chu Li to express their dissatisfaction toward Yang Ping.

Yang Ping replied coldly, “Do you think it’s easy to clean up the battlefield? If they run into any enemies while carrying the corpses, they’ll need to fight them off too. It’s no easier than fighting at the front line like the rest of you, so you should all shut up!”

The ten centurions swept their eyes over to Chu Li and wondered how much Chu Li had bribed the general that the general would be so protective of him.

Jiang Jinfu stood aside and stared at him coldly too. It was a pity that Chu Li did not misbehave in front of the general. Instead, Chu Li had not only been watching them arguing among themselves, but he had also managed to keep his composure despite being treated with cold indifference by the centurions. Jiang Jinfu secretly cursed at him as he thought, ‘What a shameless fellow!’

“Prepare your equipment. Tomorrow, the sound of drums will be your signal to charge straight out through the eastern gate and attack them while they’re having their meal!” Yang Ping calmly said.

“Understood!” the centurions replied in unison and gave him a fist salute before they turned around and marched out of the tent.

…

In the morning, the sound of beating drums were heard.

That day, the weather was remarkably pleasant. The sun had risen earlier than usual and it was shining radiantly in the sky.

The people from the Sharp Vigor Battalion were riding on horses and were clad in sets of Shining Armor¹. They had all put on helmets, so only their faces were visible. Additionally, they were each carrying two long blades on their backs with a round shield hanging on the left side of their horses and a longbow hanging on the right side. Their equipment was of the highest quality and was arranged in an orderly fashion. The equipment gleamed coldly under the brilliant sunlight.

Aside from these pieces of equipment, their horses were each carrying a bag.

As the sound of drums echoed on, they sat motionless on their horses.

These war-horses were also draped in Shining Armor so only their eyes, their muzzles, and their four limbs were exposed. They were a light cavalry, which prioritized speed above all else. Therefore, the Shining Armor was very light and could only ward off long-range bow shots.

The horses kept pawing restlessly at the ground with their front hooves. Their anxious behavior contrasted greatly with the riders sitting on their backs.

The men felt overwhelmingly tense as they realized that they were finally going to enter the battlefield and that they might not be able to make it out alive. As the thought of their imminent death weighed on their minds, some of them began to have cold feet while others remained calm. There were also a few of them who seemed rather excited.

Chu Li was riding at the head of the group, facing the entrance of their camp. Suddenly, he turned around and swept his gaze over the rest of them before he said calmly, “We’re all in this together, so none of us will be dying alone. Even if we end up in the underworld, we’ll be able to defeat the ghosts there with our formation. There’s nothing to be afraid of!”

“Indeed, there’s nothing for us to fear!” the others said all at once.

When they thought about how there would be people by their side even if they were to die on the battlefield, they instantly felt less afraid. This was human nature.

“Dong, dong! Dong, dong! Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong!” Upon hearing this drum pattern, Fan Yang quickly said, “Master Zhao, it’s our turn now!”

“Let’s go!” Chu Li shouted.

He spurred his horse forward with Xu Cihang and Fan Yang trailing closely behind him, followed by the other twenty riders.

As they galloped out of the Sharp Vigor Battalion campsite and reached the spacious central avenue, they saw that the riders in front of them had already made their way out through the main entrance of Soaring Eagle Cavalry’s military encampment.

They proceeded to spur their horses out through the main entrance and galloped down the avenue in the city. Soon, they charged out through the eastern gate and increased their speed as they galloped along the main road and headed eastward.

Chu Li turned his head to glance at the riders behind him and saw that some of them had pulled down the visors on their helmets. As for those who had not done so, a few of them appeared to be excited while the rest of their faces were either pale or flushed. He could sense their restlessness very distinctly.

Instantly, he chanted a few words from the lection of Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture.