Chapter 49 : Feigned Attack and Flanking Maneuver
Chapter 49: Feigned Attack and Flanking Maneuver
Loulan County — the famed “Pearl Beyond the Frontier” of Anxi Prefecture.
Stretching far and wide, countless lakes shimmered like emeralds scattered by divine hands.
Along the lush, grassy shores, herds of cattle and sheep drifted like clouds, while the songs of herdsmen carried with the morning breeze.
Among the ten counties in the eastern region of Anxi Prefecture, only Yili could slightly surpass Loulan in ecology; the others were far inferior.
Moreover, Loulan sat at the central artery of Anxi Prefecture, connecting the north and south, east and west — its roads flourishing and trade abundant.
Merchant caravans came and went without cease, the sound of camel bells echoing day and night, making this “Pearl Beyond the Frontier” second only to Yili in prosperity.
Northeast of Loulan County.
The Prefectural City Army, Luntai Army, and Bandit-Subduing Army advanced from three directions, pushing in from the northeast toward the central region.
Meanwhile, the Queshe Army and the Black-Armored Army moved between these three routes, providing protection and support for the advancing forces.
Over the past ten days, the Blue Wolf Army had dispatched cavalry to launch several raids against the three main infantry corps.
However, because of the hawks raised by the Queshe Army, their surprise attacks had failed repeatedly.
The reason lay in those Queshe warriors from the grasslands — or rather, in the hawks perched upon their saddles.
That day, after fishing out the Iron Cavalry of Guan Ning, Jiang Zhaoming had once again searched through the River of Fortune, hoping to find something that could reduce his army’s casualties.
As a result, he spent one strand of Green Fortune and obtained a Divine Artifact Summoning Card.
【Divine Artifact · Skyhawk Nest】: A breeding nest from the Great Mong Plane, housing five hundred adult hawks at the Fourth Layer of the Tempering Bones Realm. These hawks possessed high intelligence and remarkable speed in flight.
Since the Queshe warriors already had experience in raising hawks, they swiftly took charge of them, turning the birds into the eyes of the army.
The Blue Wolf Army, unaware of this, was still shrouded in confusion, filled with suspicion and infighting, believing there was a spy among them.
After several failed ambushes that cost them many elites, they had no choice but to abandon their outer defenses in humiliation.
The three-pronged allied army of Cangbei finally pressed upon Loulan County’s northeastern defense line.
The Prefectural City Army, Luntai Army, and Bandit-Subduing Army each formed one route, like three sharp blades stabbing straight toward the Blue Wolf Army’s outer strongholds.
Meanwhile, the Black-Armored Army and Queshe Army maneuvered along the flanks, ready at any time to intercept the Blue Wolf Army’s raiding cavalry.
As the army approached the city, the frontline reports were delivered to Jiang Zhaoming.
“Your Highness, the Blue Wolf Army has stationed heavy forces in Ironbone City, Bloodsand Fort, and Wolfthroat Pass. Each stronghold holds no fewer than fifteen thousand troops, and each has a Divine Power Realm general in command!”
Jiang Zhaoming’s gaze turned cold as he tapped lightly on the table, deep in thought.
“So, the Blue Wolf Army intends to use these three strongholds to stall our advance, waiting until we’re exhausted from siege before launching cavalry raids and infantry assaults to crush us?”
“What a fine plan — feigning weakness to lure my army into a trap.”
Jiang Zhaoming let out a cold laugh.
Since the Blue Wolf Army wished to defend their cities, he would do the opposite.
At once, Jiang Zhaoming issued orders through the Communication Talisman.
“The Prefectural City, Luntai, and Bandit-Subduing Armies are to feign siege, using fire arrows and flaming stones to wear down enemy forces. Surround but do not assault. Wait for the enemy to emerge on their own. Meanwhile, the Black-Armored and Queshe Armies shall bypass Ironbone City, Bloodsand Fort, and Wolfthroat Pass, and strike directly at the rear cities — Jinsha County and Huangping County.”
As the Communication Talisman slowly burned away, Jiang Zhaoming’s command reached the frontlines.
Upon receiving the order, the generals exchanged glances and praised Jiang Zhaoming’s far-reaching strategic insight.
Before half a day had passed, allied camps had already been erected outside the three great strongholds.
Outside Ironbone City, the heavy arbalest battalion of the Prefectural City Army made the first move.
Thirty bed crossbows roared at once, siege bolts several meters long whistling into the city walls.
Flaming oil-soaked cloths wrapped around the bolts crackled fiercely in the wind, illuminating the entire wall as bright as day.
Just as the defenders atop the wall prepared to retaliate, the second wave of fire arrows soared up like a swarm of locusts — this time aimed at the granaries within the city!
“Blue Wolf bastards!”
Yan Chen spurred his horse forward, his voice booming like thunder.
“Hiding in your city — what kind of ability is that? Come out and fight your Grandpa Yan if you’ve got guts!”
As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand, a bolt of lightning striking the tower and blasting the Blue Wolf battle flag into shreds.
The defending general fumed with rage and was about to order a sortie, but his vice-general hastily stopped him.
“General, no! That Yan Chen excels in lightning arts. The Prefectural City Army likely has a Thunder Formation lying in wait outside!”
In front of Bloodsand Fort, however, was a different scene.
Ma Fei and his Luntai Army were in no hurry to attack.
Instead, they built earthen ramparts half a li from the walls.
Craftsmen worked through the night assembling twenty Huihui cannons, each stone projectile wrapped in cloth soaked with oil.
At dawn, the sky lit up with fiery red trails as the flaming stones rained down, engulfing the entire fortress in a storm of fire.
“Tuoba, you old dog!” Ma Fei stood atop the rampart, laughing loudly.
“I heard your daughter was to be married off to that dead man Wusun Tuo — why not give her to one of my Luntai lads instead?”
The words struck the commander’s sore spot — his daughter had indeed been forcibly taken by Wusun Tuo, who had been beheaded by Qin Qiong not long ago.
Arrows rained down from the battlements, but Ma Fei was prepared; a wall of fire rose before him, turning the arrows to ash before they could even reach him.
The most entertaining exchange took place at Wolfthroat Pass.
Qin Wei personally led his guards to the front, calling out for battle. The Bandit-Subduing General’s insults were unmatched — never repeating a word.
He cursed from the bald head of the Blue Wolf Army’s commander to their worshiped Wolf God, calling it a “mangy street mutt,” before pulling out a suona and playing a funeral tune.
The defending general roared in fury, swinging his wolf-fang mace as he tried to charge out, but his guards clung to him desperately.
“General! Our duty is to defend the pass — we must not act rashly!”
While the defenders of the three strongholds were being harassed to exhaustion, the true killing move was already brewing behind them.
The movements of the Black-Armored and Queshe Armies were ghostly and precise.
Whenever they approached a village, the hawks circling in the sky would cry out with specific signals.
The cavalry would then split into small squads, wrapping their horses’ hooves in cloth and gliding through the fields like shadows.
But some key checkpoints were impossible to bypass.
“Three li ahead, both sides are marshes — there’s a twelve-man outpost. We can’t go around it,” a Queshe scout in charge of the hawks whispered.
Aruba narrowed his eyes, glancing at the sky. “Then we strike. Quickly.”
Half a stick of incense later.
When the next watch of Blue Wolf soldiers arrived yawning, they found their comrades standing stiffly in place.
Upon closer inspection, each one had a crow-feather arrow lodged in his throat.
Before they could even sound the alarm, the ground trembled — and black-armored cavalry surged out from the reeds like a tidal wave…
At dusk on the third day, Tuoba Lie, the commander of Bloodsand Fort, was leisurely gnawing on a lamb leg.
The allied army’s attacks over the past three days had been all thunder and no rain, convincing him further that their threats were empty.
“Report—!”
A personal guard stumbled into the tent, tumbling over himself in panic, startling Tuoba Lie.
“Jinsha and Huangping Counties are under attack! The Black-Armored Army’s ladders are already on the city walls!”
“What?!”
The golden goblet slipped from Tuoba Lie’s hand with a clang. He snatched the Communication Talisman from his guard’s grasp — his face turning deathly pale.