Chapter 31 – Famous General and Incompetent General (2)

Chapter 31 – Famous General and Incompetent General (2)

Hundreds of flags fluttered across a vast plain that stretched as far as the eye could see.

This Namso Plain was famous as a vital strategic bottleneck connecting Shaanxi and Henan.

The field barracks filling the plain were countless, and hundreds of supply wagons lay scattered here and there. This was the gathering point of the Song Empire's army.

Inside the command tent, a heated commotion was underway. A loud slap echoed as someone struck the wooden table.

Thud!

"The general was assassinated?! Just how lax is the security in this military camp?!"

The one roaring in rage was Senior General Yu Gwang-se. Dozens of generals stood around him, bowing their heads. The atmosphere was as freezing as a block of ice.

The chief of staff replied cautiously, his expression tense.

"We are issuing orders to strengthen security in all corps along the border, so things will calm down soon."

"Give me an accurate report!"

"Currently, the confirmed victims are General Yeo Mun-ho, General Jin Chung, and General Wang Hui."

Assassins had appeared simultaneously across various locations, launching surprise raids on the Song military camps. Their methods were incredibly stealthy and cunning; they assassinated only the commanders before vanishing like smoke.

"The commanders are dead, so they cannot send troops?"

"Yes, sir. The leadership in those camps is in utter chaos, making it difficult to organize and deploy the units immediately."

Fury burned in Yu Gwang-se's eyes. Taking several deep breaths to suppress his anger, he asked, "So, how many have gathered so far?"

"A little under a hundred thousand, sir."

Originally, two hundred thousand troops were supposed to assemble here. However, the actual force gathered was barely half of that.

"Why has the Director of the Privy Council still not arrived?"

"It is said that organizing his corps is taking some time. He sent word that if we begin the attack first, he will join us with fifty thousand troops."

Yu Gwang-se closed his eyes tightly and leaned back, his head throbbing.

Privy Councilor Jang Jun was delaying his arrival with all sorts of excuses. Backed by Prime Minister Jinhoe, he was not someone Yu Gwang-se could easily pressure.

Just then, someone broke the silence. It was General Hancheng, who commanded a force of ten thousand.

"It is too risky to attack Luoyang with our current strength. Would it not be wiser to retreat and wait for a better opportunity?"

Yu Gwang-se shouted back in an irritated voice, "This is a direct order from the imperial court to launch the attack immediately! Will you take responsibility and submit the appeal to the Emperor yourself, General Hancheng?"

Yu Gwang-se's resolve was absolute. Seeing this, everyone closed their mouths and fell silent.

Dissatisfaction was etched onto the faces of the generals. When Great General Yue Fei directed the defense of Xiangyang, no such chaotic friction had ever occurred.

A moment later, an officer entered the tent, stood at attention, and reported.

"General, the unit from Hanzhong has arrived."

"How many did they send?"

"That is… one hundred men, sir."

Yu Gwang-se's brow furrowed sharply.

Knowing the geographical situation of Hanzhong, he had not expected much. Even so, he had anticipated at least three thousand men.

To think they only sent a hundred.

Yu Gwang-se was already in a terrible mood, and this news finally pushed him over the edge.

"Are they mocking me?! Who is the commanding officer? Tell him to get in here this instant!"

"Well… the one leading them is a centurion."

Yu Gwang-se hurled the leather scroll on the table.

It was not even worth the effort of summoning the man to rage at him. A Senior General could not demean himself by dealing directly with a mere centurion.

"Send them all to the front lines!"

* * *

Arriving at the assembly area, the members of the Wolf Fang Squad could not help but gape in awe.

A massive army of a hundred thousand. The allied camp, filling the vast plain as far as the eye could see, was an unbelievable sight.

As they followed a guiding officer to their designated location, the squad members kept looking around.

"It looks like our spot is near the very front."

"As expected, they must recognize our squad's capabilities."

Hearing the squad members whispering, Il-gwang snorted and barked, "Are you idiots? In a siege, the soldiers in the front rows are the first to die! You have to serve as arrow shields and scale the walls under a hail of fire. Do you really find that so appealing?"

Compared to the younger squad members, Il-gwang had picked up a lot of common knowledge over the years.

This battle was not a field skirmish, but a siege.

Since the vanguard in a siege suffered extreme casualties, that position was usually reserved for penal conscripts in exchange for pardons, or desperate soldiers who had been promised heavy payouts for their families if they died. The strongest, most elite forces were placed in the middle, not at the front.

Seeing the squad members grow sullen after his explanation, Il-gwang puffed out his chest and spoke.

"If you don't want to die, don't go cockily running off on your own. Just stick close to me."

"As expected, there's no one like you, Brother Il-gwang!"

"Thank you, Brother!"

Listening to their exchange, So-mu chuckled. Even here, Il-gwang was acting like a back-alley boss.

Turning his head, So-mu scanned the camp formations.

'The security is incredibly lax… and the layout of the camp is completely disorganized.'

He did not like what he saw. The army was massive, but it was riddled with vulnerabilities.

Moreover, they had encountered fewer than ten allied scouts on their way here. This was a stark contrast to the Hanzhong forces, which always dedicated ten percent of their troops to scouting and reconnaissance.

"Wait here and remain on standby until orders come from headquarters," the guiding officer said before promptly turning around and disappearing.

The spot they were assigned was a clearing of about fifty pyeong near the front of the camp. Several squad members began unpacking their bundles to set up their tents and stakes.

It took about a quarter of an hour to complete the work. By then, dusk had settled over the plain. Though the temporary barracks were cramped and uncomfortable, they were sufficient to spend the night. Elsewhere in the camp, soldiers from other units were also preparing to sleep.

"We don't know when the march will begin, so rest up. Just to be safe, do not take off your armor."

"How are we supposed to sleep with armor on?"

When one of the squad members complained, So-mu chuckled softly.

"I know you guys won't sleep anyway."

When did the Wolf Fang Squad ever sleep at this hour? Naturally, the members claimed their spots and began sitting cross-legged to cultivate.

None of their faces showed the nervousness they had felt during their first deployment. Seeing the massive army filling the plain seemed to put them at ease.

Still, So-mu could not shake a lingering sense of unease.

'For now, we have no choice but to wait.'

He lay down with his hands clasped behind his head. Cultivating internal energy was meaningless to him anyway.

'I hope she is doing well.'

His daughter's face flickered in his mind.

So-so was a bright, social child who was loved by everyone. There was no need to worry about her. If anything, he should worry about whether she was making life difficult for the General. Thinking of So-so brought a smile to his face.

About two hours later, So-mu's expression suddenly hardened.

A turbulent flow of energy was approaching from the distance, accompanied by a faint, unrecognizable noise that was growing louder. Since there were a hundred thousand people in the camp, it was difficult to discern the sound clearly.

Focusing his senses and listening closely, he could hear it distinctly after another breath. It was the thud of galloping hooves and the clashing of weapons. His ominous premonition had proven correct.

'A surprise raid? And a cavalry unit at that.'

If a camp on an open plain was ambushed by cavalry, the entire army could be wiped out depending on the enemy's size. He had to get the squad members to finish their breathing exercises immediately.

"Everyone, stop and get up!"

Cheong-hae quickly wrapped up his cultivation and asked, "What is it?"

There was no need for So-mu to answer.

At that moment, terrified screams erupted from the distance.

"Wake up, everyone!"

"Enemy raid!"

Blow~!

The blare of horn trumpets began to echo throughout the camp.

The Wolf Fang Squad rushed out of their tents and scanned the surroundings.

Fire was spreading from the far end of the camp. The Song soldiers were running around in utter confusion, completely disorganized.

In short, it was absolute chaos.

The enemy cavalry swept through the camp, tearing the defensive lines to shreds. They shot arrows with practiced ease from horseback and thrust their long spears mercilessly at the fleeing soldiers. Each rider had a torch attached to the back of their saddle, using them to set fire to the tents whenever they had the chance.

The enemy force appeared to number in the thousands. After watching their movements for a moment, So-mu easily discerned their objective.

'Are they targeting the supplies?'

Scanning the area, So-mu barked orders to his squad.

"Form squads of five and gather the nearby supply wagons here! Il-gwang, Cheong-hae, Hyeonjeong, defend this spot with me!"

Following So-mu's command, the squad members split into groups of five and dispersed.

Many of the supply wagons at the rear of the camp were already ablaze. If this section fell, everything would be lost.

The cavalry unit that had initiated the raid from the rear was already closing in on their position. Two riders appeared in So-mu's line of sight.

So-mu did not rush forward. He waited calmly until the first rider closed to within one zhang. Then, his right hand shot out like lightning, striking the horse's neck with a blow infused with internal force.

Crack!

The warhorse crashed into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust as it died instantly. The rider was pinned underneath, unable to move.

The second rider flinched in surprise but calmly thrust his spear forward. So-mu could tell at a glance that the enemy was highly trained.

So-mu caught the incoming spear with both hands and anchored his feet, channeling his internal force. Unable to withstand the sudden resistance, the rider was ripped from his saddle and sent flying through the air. The sheer force tore the flesh of the rider's palms, causing him to let out a painful shriek.

"Argh!"

Before the rider even hit the ground, the spear was already in So-mu's right hand. With a powerful twist of his wrist, So-mu hurled the spear forward.

Swoosh!

Ripping through the wind, the spear skewered two approaching riders in a single line.

Thud! Crash!

As the spear pierced their chests, So-mu drew the sword from his waist.

Three more riders rushed him from the front. So-mu's body transformed into a blur of light as he charged forward. The moment he passed them, a fierce wave of sword energy erupted from his blade.

Slash!

In a single breath, all three riders were sliced in half.

A distant rider noticed the slaughter and blew his whistle twice. Hearing the signal, the cavalrymen immediately began to scatter, widening their distance from So-mu.

So-mu pursued them and cut down ten more, but he soon stopped with a grimace.

There were no top-tier experts among the enemies who posed a threat to him. However, chasing down individual horsemen on a wide plain was inefficient; he could not handle thousands of them alone.

'Phew… As expected, a battlefield is different from a duel between martial artists.'

Looking around, he saw Cheong-hae, Il-gwang, and Hyeonjeong struggling with the same issue. The enemy cavalry was intentionally identifying the high-level experts, avoiding direct confrontation, and scattering.

Meanwhile, the squad members were working in groups of five to move the supply wagons. Two men grabbed the sides of a wagon, using their light movement techniques to pull it, while the other three protected them in a triangular formation, fending off the cavalry. Most of them had already secured one wagon and were moving a second.

It was time to transition to defense.

Wagons were arriving at the designated assembly point one after another.

"Defend the wagons! The rest of you, go and grab shields!"

Near the entrance of the barracks, hundreds of shields were stacked in rows.

The first five squad members ran toward them. There was no need to carry them back one by one.

"Throw them!"

Shields flew through the air toward the wagons. Kicking off the ground, the Wolf Fang Squad members leaped into the air, catching them mid-flight with acrobatic grace.

Once most of the squad had secured shields, So-mu shouted, "Wolf Fang Sword Formation!"

They deployed the Wolf Fang Squad's unique formation, which was a modified version of the Mount Hua Sect's Formless Sword Formation. It was a versatile array that allowed them to guard their flanks while defending and counterattacking simultaneously.

Forty supply wagons were gathered in one place, surrounded by the shield-wielding members of the Wolf Fang Squad like an iron wall.

By now, this was the last of the army's remaining supplies. Naturally, the enemy's attention focused entirely on this spot. Cavalrymen from all directions turned their horses and charged recklessly toward the Wolf Fang Squad.

However, the moment they clashed, the lead riders recoiled in horror. Sharp waves of sword energy were erupting from the blades protruding through the gaps between the shields.

But their momentum was too great to stop. Both horses and riders were sliced to pieces, spraying blood into the air. They looked like moths throwing themselves into a flame.