Chapter 268: Captain Ghost and Captain Wolf
Unfolding in Chapter 264 of "The Great Ming in the Box": âDamn it!â Fang Wushang cursed under his breath. âHeâs doing this deliberately.âLiang Shixian asked, âWhat?... Keep reading!
âDamn it!â Fang Wushang cursed under his breath. âHeâs doing this deliberately.âLiang Shixian asked, âWhat? Deliberately how?â
Fang Wushang explained, âHe intentionally rode out to shoot you. Had you been hit, Chengcheng County would have collapsed instantly, and heâd storm the city at once, ensuring its fall. Even missing didnât trouble himâhe even anticipated my arrow and dodged it with a swift, decisive move, all to demoralize our defenders here.â
Liang Shixian gasped, âWhaâ?!â
Had they crossed blades just now? His life hadnât even flashed before his eyes yet.
Only then did he realize: these military officers werenât fools.
Their minds just worked differently from his own.
True enough, Captain Wolfâs display proved effective. The rebel troops outside cheered loudly, but the militia local gentry manning the walls turned pale. Everyone thought: So this is the border army? Damn formidable.
Chengcheng Countyâs militia local gentry had fought Bu Zhan Ni twice at Fengyuan Town and clashed with Fan Shanyue at Quangou Village. Back then, theyâd simply aimed their colorful plastic bows and unleashed chaos with flurry of arrows, scattering the rebels without a fight.
Now, guarding the city with superior numbers, theyâd felt quite confidentâuntil Captain Wolfâs move. Only then did they remember: This enemy isnât rabble. Theyâre the border army!
The Ming Dynastyâs most elite forces, hardened by years on the frontier battling northern tribesâthis was power forged in blood, not empty boasts.
Li Daoxuan thought to himself: This oneâs skilled! His soldiers must be as fierce as he is. Someone like Seventh Teamâs Captain Ye Bu Shou from Bu Zhan Niâs ranks? Captain Wolf probably has dozens just like him under his command.
Tch!
He began worrying for his militia local gentry.
Hurriedly, he readied the Infinity Gloves, placing them near the edge of the crate where theyâd be easiest to grab. He might need them very soon.
Captain Wolf retreated into his ranks and raised a hand. âBehead Li Ying.â
Li Ying gasped, âHuhâ˝â
No plea even left his mouth before a border army soldier swung a waist knife. Thud. His head soared. Blood gushed from his neck like a fountain, drenching the air. His headless corpse toppled from the saddle as dust bloomed.
Eight hundred rebels roared: âOoorah!â
Inside the city, all ten thousand soldiers and civilians shuddered, their fighting spirit crumbling. Another blow to their morale.
Cutting down Li Ying was deliberateâkill the chicken to scare the monkey. Frighten the cityâs people into surrender and sap their will to fight.
Captain Wolf laughed coldly. âOpen the gates now. Hand over every ounce of silver from the county treasury, and your wretched lives might be spared. Refuse? When these walls fallânone live.â
Liang Shixian trembled violently, frozen even from issuing commands.
Fang Wushang bellowed, âStand firm! Donât panic! This is the enemyâs trickâ!â
But his shouts did little. Hundreds of refugees shook in terror.
Some already debated surrender. Just give the treasury silver away. It wonât cost us a cent, anyway.
âLook! Over there, lookâreinforcements!â
Shouts suddenly rang out from the northeastern watchtower.
They were all standing on the south city wall, too far to see northeast. Fang Wushang rushed to the east wall and peered north. His face lit up. âCaptain Ghost has come.â
Cheng Xu arrived just in time!
But Fang Wushang took a careful look at Cheng Xuâs troops and furrowed his brow. He muttered in a low voice, âSomethingâs wrong.â
Liang Shixian asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
Fang Wushang replied, âIsnât Commander Ghost stationed at Huanglong Mountain? After receiving our plea for aid, he led his troops from Huanglong Mountain. They marched over forty miles, fully armored, in just a few hours. And not a single one of them looks exhausted. How is that possible?â
Liang Shixian exclaimed, â!â
Indeed, how could they have achieved that?
What they didnât know was that Cheng Xu had first taken the train at Bai Family Fortress to Gaojia Village. From there, he and his men boarded public sun chariots and cargo sun chariots bound for the county seat.
A road was under construction between the county seat and Gaojia Village, with crews building from both ends simultaneouslyâone team working from the county seat toward the village, and another from the village toward the county seat.
Therefore, when departing Gaojia Village, though several miles of road hadnât yet been paved into cement road, it had already been leveled. The public sun chariots and cargo sun chariots could traverse it at a slightly reduced speed.
This transported them close to the county seat.
Cheng Xuâs group only needed to hike a short distance to the withered forest northeast of the county. He had arrived long ago but deliberately waited inside the woods, letting his soldiers rest. Only after they were fully recovered did he make an appearance.
Popping out suddenly like this was bound to startle Fang Wushang and Liang Shixian.
Cheng Xu also knew he couldnât enter the city. Liang Shixian certainly wouldnât fully trust âCommander Ghostâ yet. Allowing him into the city now risked an inside-out attack coordinated between Commander Ghost and Commander Wolf, leading to the cityâs immediate fall.
Therefore, Cheng Xu generously bypassed the city and soon arrived south of it, positioning his troops directly facing Commander Wolfâs border army.
Commander Wolf was dumbfounded!
He saw this force of five hundred men, all perfectly uniformed and equipped with elite gear. If anyone claimed they werenât border troops, even Commander Wolf wouldnât believe it. But where in the Guyuan border army did such a unit come from?
Commander Wolf roared, âWho exactly are you lot?â
Cheng Xu shouted back boldly, âThe Old Ghost from Guyuan! You can call me Commander Ghost!â
Commander Wolf angrily retorted, âThatâs bullshit! âOld ghostâ in the Guyuan dialect is an insultâno one uses it as their own name! Who the hell are you really?â
Cheng Xu rolled his eyes. âAre you out of your fucking mind? Right now, Iâm asking who you are. Would you dare answer me? Bet your damn familyâs nine generations lose their heads if you yell out your name.â
Commander Wolf: ââŚâ
Li Daoxuan was delighted, internally laughing: Ha ha ha! This Cheng Xu sure knows how to spar verbally. Commander Wolfâs about to lose it.
Sure enough, Commander Wolf started to rage. Shit! Would I not know a Guyuan commander whoâs rebelling with me? Even masked, youâd recognize a guy by his build and voice, right? How the hell donât I have a single clue who this bastard is?
Cheng Xu boomed, âChengcheng County is under my protection! Iâm counting on this magistrate to help me extract payment from the imperial court! Captain Wolf, I advise youâscram! Unless you wanna show ill grace.â
Commander Wolf snarled, âDamn you! We agreed to rebel together, smash the court to pieces! Now you little bastard flip back to their side?! I look down on your sorry ass!â
Cheng Xuâs eyes flickered upward. The Deityâs low cloud was right overhead. He felt not the slightest fear. Throwing his head back with loud laughter, he taunted, âCut the crap! Letâs fight! Winner calls the shots!â