Chapter 132: Friend or Foe (1)
Wuan County, Hubei Province. This was where Liu Guangshi’s army had established its encampment. From here, it was a distance of a two-day journey to Xiangyang Fortress, where the war was raging in full force.
So-mu and Il-gwang were waiting near the entrance of the military camp. Already, about half an hour had passed.
His patience wearing thin, Il-gwang huffed and puffed continuously.
“These bastards. If a messenger has arrived, they should guide us in quickly. Are they keeping guests standing outside?”
“Calm down. Nothing good will come from causing a scene.”
“Whew… I’d love to just crush these ragtag soldiers.”
The appearance of the soldiers visible here and there was clumsy to the extreme.
According to intelligence, the troops here numbered fifty thousand. Although it was twice as many as the total forces in Shaanxi, the difference in quality was like heaven and earth.
“I wonder if they are even being trained properly. What on earth have they been doing all this time…?”
The original army of one hundred and fifty thousand led by Liu Guangshi had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Wanyan Hui’s forces. As a consequence, Anhui Province was breached in a single stroke, the capital fell, and even Xiangyang Fortress, defended by Han Shizhong, was completely besieged.
Since then, Liu Guangshi had gathered soldiers again under the pretext of launching a counteroffensive, but he had been delaying his march for months.
Only after a full hour had passed did an administrator soldier finally approach them.
“You two, please follow me.”
A look of slight discomfort appeared on So-mu’s face. He had never imagined that a mere low-ranking administrative soldier would come to greet them. It was mind-boggling how insignificantly Liu Guangshi regarded them.
Yet, what fault did the administrative soldier before them have?
So-mu and Il-gwang followed him in silence.
About fifteen minutes later.
Il-gwang’s expression gradually turned suspicious. This was because they were heading toward a corner of the camp rather than the center where the commander’s barracks would be.
“Where are we going now? Why are you guiding us this way?”
The administrative soldier glanced at Il-gwang. Il-gwang had his face contorted in a frown, looking as though he might strike at any moment.
“Since the General is currently busy with work, I will guide you to a place where you can stay for a while.”
Il-gwang was about to snap back but forced himself to hold it in.
“How much further do we have to go?”
The soldier’s steps stopped before long. In front of him stood a single, shabby field barracks.
“We have arrived. Please wait here for a moment.”
In any case, they had no other choice. So-mu nodded and opened the barracks door.
“We will do so.”
The administrative soldier vanished quickly without looking back, terrified by Il-gwang’s fierce expression.
Although the exterior appeared run-down, the interior was decently equipped. With a small table, two chairs, and even a wooden cot, it was more than sufficient for a brief stay.
Lying down on the cot, So-mu interlaced his fingers behind his head. Time was the only thing he had plenty of.
Il-gwang muttered with an absurd look.
“Our chief lives a grand life indeed. Taking a nap in a place like this.”
“You should rest up too. We will probably have to wait a long time.”
Il-gwang sat in a chair and crossed his arms.
“No way. Would they really make us wait here again?”
So-mu’s prediction was not wrong.
Even after half a day had passed and the sun was setting, there was still no news. As time went on, Il-gwang’s patience reached its absolute limit.
“Are these bastards insane?”
“It seems they have no intention of meeting us at all.”
Il-gwang, too, had ended up lying on the wooden cot at some point.
“What on earth are they doing?”
Instead of answering, So-mu stared blankly at the ceiling. He fell into deep thought, remaining silent for a long time. At some point, a low whisper escaped his lips.
“Pitiable.”
“Who?”
“Our messenger who came here before us. We military officers are being ignored like this, so I cannot even imagine how much suffering he must have endured here.”
Il-gwang nodded in agreement.
“He must have been harassed even worse than us. In the end, he probably met Liu Guangshi and said something to him, which got him killed.”
“It seems so. In a way, he is more vicious than the enemy.”
“Anyway, what are we going to do? If we go on like this, we’ll end up returning without even meeting him.”
“We’ll have to find a way. We can’t keep wasting time here.”
Just as Il-gwang was about to reply, So-mu suddenly sprang up from the cot.
“What is it?”
Startled, Il-gwang soon noticed the sign himself and shut his mouth. Faint screams of women were echoing from outside.
They opened the barracks door and checked what was happening.
It was on a path about thirty Zhang away. A group of soldiers armed in silver fish-scale armor could be seen. It was the Yongmu Regiment, known as the elite unit under the direct command of the General-in-Chief.
About a hundred soldiers of the Yongmu Regiment were forcibly dragging away dozens of women.
“S-save me…”
“Please let me go, please… My mother is home alone.”
The soldiers even had bundles slung over their shoulders. It was obvious what was happening without even asking.
Watching this, Il-gwang asked in disbelief:
“Aren’t those our own citizens?”
“It seems so. Even when they lack the strength to fight the enemy, they are committing such acts against their own people. And with their elite forces, no less.”
In the past, when they were dispatched to the allied forces, the Wolf Fang Squad had also been ordered to plunder. Of course, they had evacuated the villagers instead.
“Are we just going to watch?”
So-mu’s stomach was also churning with rage. However, they could not just charge in recklessly.
“If we act now, all our plans will go awry.”
“Those son of a… Whew.”
Il-gwang barely held back the curses bubbling up.
Right then, a woman’s scream pierced the air.
“Kyaah!”
A soldier threw a woman onto the ground.
“Stop resisting pointlessly! If you don’t want to die, follow quietly.”
The fallen woman was dragged away by her hair.
Watching this, Il-gwang’s hands trembled violently. If not for So-mu, he would have charged out long ago.
“Chief… do you see the expressions on those bastards’ faces? I know what the plan is, but if we don’t save them now, it will be too late.”
Every single soldier wore a lecherous, sinister grin. What that implied was all too clear.
So-mu’s eyes sank deeply.
‘There is no such thing as an unavoidable sacrifice. How can we build a better world while turning a blind eye to such sacrifices?’
His calm, focused gaze scanned the surroundings.
No matter how many ordinary soldiers were stationed around, they did not matter. While the soldiers of Shaanxi were trained to fight superhuman martial artists, the forces here were not. The only unit that could pose any threat was the Yongmu Regiment before them.
The commander of the Yongmu Regiment was known to have reached the Transformation Realm, but he was not present here. The rest were far inferior to the members of the Wolf Fang Squad.
“It seems we must alter the plan slightly.”
A cruel smile blossomed on Il-gwang’s face.
“Good decision, Chief. We have to save them first.”
“But you must not kill them.”
Rescuing the women from the middle of a military camp without killing a single person was a rather absurd demand, but now was not the time to argue.
As if he had been waiting for this, Il-gwang charged toward the Yongmu Regiment. So-mu followed behind with his hands clasped behind his back. His pace was leisurely.
“Let go of those hands unless you want them ripped off.”
The soldier who was dragging the woman by her hair stopped in his tracks. He saw a massive military officer staring with eyes wide like a lion’s, wearing the official uniform of a Commander of the junior sixth rank.
Though he felt displeased, he could not speak rashly since the officer held a higher rank than him.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, Il-gwang glared with eyes like a raging beast.
“As imperial soldiers, instead of protecting your own citizens, what kind of dog-like behavior is this?!”
Startled by the sudden roar, the soldiers flinched.
After a brief silence, an officer stepped forward.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
Confidence leaked from his voice. However, he had not yet realized that the man before him was the vice-commander of the Wolf Fang Squad and a master of the Transformation Realm.
Il-gwang took a few steps toward him. Then, without warning, his hand shot out like lightning, seizing the officer by the throat. It was a terrifying speed that could not be followed with the naked eye.
“Urgh…”
It was the vice-commander of the Yongmu Regiment. To think that even though he was off guard, he could not even resist before being captured. Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
Il-gwang lifted the officer into the air by his throat.
“I didn’t hear you clearly. Say that again.”
“Urgh… The G-General-in-Chief’s… command…”
The officer could not finish his sentence as Il-gwang tightened his grip. The veins in the officer’s neck bulged as his face turned crimson.
The soldiers under him could no longer just stand and watch. The soldiers of the Yongmu Regiment began to surround and close in on Il-gwang.
“Hurry and call the Commander!” someone shouted, and one soldier quickly dashed away.
Even at a glance, the opponent’s martial prowess was extraordinary. There was no room for doubt that he was a master of the Transformation Realm.
“What are you doing?! Are you just going to stand there and watch?”
Although Il-gwang taunted them, they could not move easily. Fighting recklessly would surely bring disastrous consequences. The Yongmu Regiment kept Il-gwang surrounded to buy time, waiting for their commander to arrive. And this was exactly what So-mu had intended.
About seven minutes later.
A peculiar ripple of qi was felt from somewhere in the military camp.
A shadow rushed in like a bolt of lightning, unleashing a brilliant flash of light behind Il-gwang’s back. The sudden sneak attack was enough to send a chill down Il-gwang’s spine. Just as he hurriedly turned to defend himself—
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the rushing shadow was pushed back several steps. The figure stumbled slightly. It was Sima Zhe, the commander of the Yongmu Regiment and the most valiant general of the army.
He wore an expression of disbelief.
“You are the commander of Shaanxi’s Wolf Fang Squad, whom I have heard rumors about.”
He had guessed the opponent’s identity with a single clash. If not for So-mu, Sima Zhe’s attack could not have been blocked so easily.
So-mu stood between Sima Zhe and Il-gwang with his hands behind his back.
“If you wish to continue, come. But in the next clash, I will strike back.”
Sima Zhe rotated his wrist, trying to ease the numbness. He still could not believe that he had been so overwhelmingly pushed back. One thing was certain: this was an opponent he could not face alone.
“Do you intend to fight every soldier in this camp?”
“Only if you do not release those women.”
“This is an action carried out by the order of the General-in-Chief. How do you plan to handle the consequences?”
“Then we can simply report it to the General-in-Chief. After all, we are messengers who came here to meet him.”
Sima Zhe sighed. Without the General-in-Chief, this situation could not be resolved.
“A report has already been sent, so he will arrive shortly. But since you have provoked his temper, you had better prepare yourselves.”
This was the exact situation So-mu had engineered.
The tense standoff continued as both sides remained on guard.
About fifteen minutes passed.
The soldiers surrounding them began to part to the left and right. Finally, the long-awaited figure arrived.
Clad in magnificent golden armor, General-in-Chief Liu Guangshi approached, escorted by his elite guards. As one of the four great generals of the Song Dynasty, he was also known to be a master of the Transformation Realm. His stride overflowed with overbearing energy.
“These damn bastards… Where do they think they are?”
Grinding his teeth, he strode toward So-mu and stopped exactly one step away.
So-mu clasped his hands together first and said:
“I am Commandant of Loyal Valour So-mu, who has come as a messenger for the Regional Commissioner of Anxi.”
His face expressionless, So-mu introduced himself with dignity. At this, Liu Guangshi’s expression contorted violently.
Right then, his palm moved like lightning, whipping toward So-mu’s face. It was a strike imbued with enough internal energy to snap a tree.
The moment the attack reached his face, So-mu’s upper body swayed.
Whoosh!
The wind generated by the palm swept past So-mu’s face. He had avoided it by a hair’s breadth. To Liu Guangshi, it felt like a stroke of sheer luck.
“You dodge?”
His malice fully provoked, Liu Guangshi raised his foot. A kick packed with internal energy shot toward So-mu’s abdomen. Instead of dodging, So-mu crossed his arms and blocked it.
Thud!
With a heavy clash, So-mu retreated a step. In that instant, Liu Guangshi’s expression contorted like a demon’s. He felt as though he were being toyed with.
“You bastards will die here today.”
“Please calm your anger. Interfering with their looting was all for your sake, General.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Scanning the surroundings, So-mu sent a sound transmission to Liu Guangshi.
– Are you not destined to become the emperor of this country, General? Therefore, you must cultivate your virtue and reputation starting now.