Chapter 126 - Negotiation

Chapter 126: Chapter 120: NegotiationFu Tinghan turned his head and grabbed the flag next to him, signaling the distant area with a battle flag. Captain Chen, who had been waiting, immediately said, "All soldiers, hear the order, go to battle——"

Infantry also burst out from the mountains and fields, heading toward Zhao’s Fortress.

Zhao Ju heard the drumbeats, and after a charge, brought people with him to continue the attack, following the drum’s indication to turn and weave through. After two turns, he reached Zhao Hanzhang...

Zhao Hanzhang and Shi Le were fiercely battling each other. Zhao Ju saw Zhao Hanzhang’s palms were covered in blood and, without a word, swung towards Shi Le’s head.

Shi Le had his back to Zhao Ju, but his heart skipped a beat as if sensing something. He suddenly unleashed a burst of strength, cutting Zhao Hanzhang’s weapon in half and knocking her off the horse, while ducking forward to evade the incoming slash...

He turned to see Zhao Ju and cursed, "Despicable scoundrel!"

With that, he feinted an attack towards him, but after swinging the blade, he redirected the edge down toward Zhao Hanzhang on the ground.

Knocked off the horse, Zhao Hanzhang sensed danger. She rolled on the ground to stand up, dodging a slash from a chaotic soldier, swiftly grabbed the attacker’s wrist, and with a side glance caught sight of the blade. She pulled the person fiercely to shield herself. A warm stream sprayed forward, and her vision went red...

She shoved the person away, grabbing the opponent’s knife as a result, realizing then that he was almost cut in half by Shi Le...

What a ruthless person.

Zhao Hanzhang looked up at Shi Le, turned around to block incoming blades, killing them with one strike each.

Shi Le was about to continue his pursuit when Zhao Ju already stepped in to block, and the two instantly clashed.

These two were evenly matched, blade against blade, clashing loudly. Shi Le had strength but lacked technique, while Zhao Ju, not only strong but also systematically trained, gradually gained the upper hand.

However, with Zhao Hanzhang dismounted and surrounded by enemy forces, Zhao Ju had to keep an eye on her, prompting a temporary stalemate.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t want to be a burden, planning to approach her horse, when cavalry once again maneuvered nearby. Qiu Wu saw the lady trapped in enemy forces, immediately deviated with two cavalrymen, reaching out and shouting, "Lady——"

Zhao Hanzhang saw, kicked one person away, used the force to leap onto someone’s head, stomped hard, grabbed the outstretched hand, and flew onto the horse, sitting behind him.

Zhao Ju saw this and breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to focus on confronting Shi Le.

Fu Tinghan saw Zhao Hanzhang mounted the horse, but enemies were all around them. Hence, he realized Qiu Wu deviated to catch Zhao Hanzhang.

He quickly surveyed the battlefield, calculated the best route, then instructed Zhao Ming to beat the drums to signal the cavalry for another maneuver, while directing Qiu Wu and his team to turn...

After nearly a quarter of an hour of fighting, Qiu Wu broke through the encirclement, successfully reuniting with the cavalry. Zhao Hanzhang’s fallen horse was not far away. Zhao Hanzhang flipped over and jumped towards it as the infantry arrived.

Zhao Hanzhang shouted loudly to Zhao Ju, "Retreat!"

Zhao Ju, avoiding prolonged combat, repelled Shi Le with one strike, and without waiting for him to catch up, kicked his horse’s belly, joining with Zhao Hanzhang to charge out.

Before they could fully escape, the infantry unleashed a barrage of arrows from the rear.

Zhao Hanzhang and the others deflected several arrows, dashed out of the enemy’s encirclement, but the chaotic forces weren’t as fortunate; they were densely packed, and most arrows struck them.

Shi Le knocked down the incoming arrows, his eyes red with anger. He turned his head to look at Zhao Hanzhang, swearing to capture Zhao’s Fortress and use the entire fortress for a blood sacrifice.

While venting his rage, Zhao Hanzhang suddenly called out, "General Shi, do you want to keep fighting? Why don’t we settle down and talk?"

Shi Le said, "Talk my ass!"

"Those men under General Shi don’t come easy, do they? If this fight continues, more than four thousand of them will be lost here!" Zhao Hanzhang shouted, "You’re after food, and we want peace. Let’s each take a step back. I’ll give you some food, and you retreat with it. How about it?"

While knocking down the arrows, directing his men to fight their way out and clashing with her infantry, he managed to retort, "Damn woman, you’ve cheated me twice!"

Zhao Hanzhang: "All’s fair in war, so deception is allowed, but if it’s negotiations, I swear on my ancestors’ name not to deceive General Shi! I also ask General Shi for sincerity."

Shi Le pondered, his movements slightly paused, Zhao Hanzhang noticed and immediately shouted, "Ceasefire!"

The battlefield was noisy, the distant infantry naturally couldn’t hear, but Fu Tinghan did, communicating it down with drumbeats.

The arrows slowly stopped, and the other attacks halted as well. Seeing this, Shi Le also shouted, "Stop——"

His voice was like a bell, resonating throughout the battlefield, causing everyone to gradually halt their actions though tightly gripping their blades, glaring fiercely at each other.

Zhao Hanzhang then rode forward, with Zhao Ju and Qiu Wu on her left and right.

Shi Le also rode up, facing her across a trench, "If you want me to withdraw, food alone won’t do."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "If General Shi desires, I can also offer you some jewels and glass as military funds."

"You’re generous, but will the Zhao Family agree?"

They did kill a lot of the Zhao Family members.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I am a Zhao myself."

Shi Le was surprised, sizing her up, then asked, "Who is your grandfather?"

"The late Shangcai Marquis Zhao Changyu."

"No wonder," Shi Le gazed at Zhao Hanzhang, his anger cooling significantly. His eyes scanned the battlefield, seeing not many of his soldiers could still stand, around a thousand or so, and though he could still fight, and given time, he believed he could breach Zhao’s Fortress.

But by then, he wouldn’t have many men left and would also incur a blood feud with a great family like the Zhao. Not worth it.

A great man can rise and bend, so he decided to bend a little and said, "Fine, bring out the goods."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Please have General Shi’s men retreat beyond the trench."

Inside Zhao’s Fortress, Shi Le’s forces had already breached the gate, reached the main street, and half climbed the city walls. Now being asked to withdraw completely, some complained, "We’re almost in."

Shi Le wasted no words, slashing anyone who objected, saying, "Are you blind? Don’t you see the cavalry and these hundreds of infantry outside? Even if we took the fortress, we couldn’t hold it, no time to loot. What’s the point in taking the fortress?"

Shi Le shouted, "Everyone withdraw!"

The chaotic forces inside the fortress reluctantly retreated, while the clan elders hiding in the inn by the wall saw the outside situation through the windows. Seeing forces withdrawing who had breached the inn, they immediately slumped to the ground.

So close, so close. Just a little more, they would’ve been found and slaughtered.

All chaotic forces retreated beyond the trench, only then did Zhao Hanzhang turn back and loudly shout to Zhao Ming on the city gate, "Bring the food!"

Zhao Ming nodded to Fu Tinghan, instructing him to continue guarding the guard tower, then turned to go downstairs.