Chapter 470: We’re Looking for Someone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the Fortress of Resilience, Fu Baoguo's dulled, bleary, eyes were radiating excitement as he watched buckets of water being poured onto the wall. It was only a short while before they froze into solid ice in the wintery weather as if they were suiting the wall up with a layer of armor. Repeating the process, it was only an hour later that the Fortress of Resilience's outer wall was embossed with an additional layer of ice – a wall that was crystal-clear and slippery to touch, yet exceptionally strong!
All the damage that had been dealt to the Fortress of Resilience that tore at everyone's hearts were covered by the layer of ice; there was no more breaches or loopholes to be found.
Fu Baoguo stroked it, thrilled before he used his sword to hack at it harshly, to personally test the newly formed wall's endurance. Frost and snow flew into the air, but the wall itself saw no traces of damage.
The wall was obviously not the sturdiest that could be found, but it was up to par. What was most important was that any damage on such a wall could be easily repaired with a few buckets of water. It just took some waiting time for it to be considered done!
"Great idea! What a great idea indeed!"
Fu Baoguo was shaking from ecstasy while his eyes gleamed and he chortled, "Old Marshal's idea is really divine. Why didn't I think of such a good method before this? Han Sanhe, I'd like to see how many lives you have to give up to take the Fortress of Resilience! Indestructible ice wall, indestructible ice wall it is!"
However, Qiu Jianhan's expression was a direct contrast to Fu Baoguo's delight. Old Marshal Qiu was grim and worried, looking like he was burdened with negative thoughts.
Fu Baoguo said in surprise, "Why this long face, Elder Qiu? The Fortress of Resilience is akin to a steel wall. Even if Han Sanhe is almighty, he can barely triumph over this. With such an ice wall, we can repair the wall within a night at most, even if he damages the outer side today. It's absolutely invincible; the Fortress of Resilience is the least of our worries now!"
Qiu Jianhan chuckled bitterly, "If others had such an observation, I won't be bewildered, but you, Fu Baoguo, should not be thinking like this."
Fu Baoguo was shocked upon hearing him; he was a smart and astute man, a marshal who was proficient in warfare. He immediately thought that the old marshal's ice wall tactic must have some sort of shortcoming, but what was it? Upon being thrilled, he had also thought of the cons of this method, but he did not manage to come up with any countermeasures. It was because he had put himself in the opposite position and thought about it that he was so ecstatic. Could it be that something had escaped his thoughts?
Looking at Fu Baoguo's contemplative expression, Qiu Jianhan's expression fell even more as he said, "Baoguo, pass the commands immediately. Order the supporting personnel to prepare lots of kerosene and flaming arrows. Also, prepare plenty of backup water sources. We can attack with fire in the war to defend against Han Sanhe. Then, order the Steel Cavalry and the Serving Troop to rest well and be ready at all times for a battle to the death!"
He went down, still burdened with worries.
"Fire attack?" Fu Baoguo was still confused by the marshal's orders.
Water and fire were always each other's nemesis; this was the simplest theory that everyone knew about. When he thought about the countermeasures for the ice wall just now, he had considered attacking with fire, but to use it against an ice wall in this season?
How could it be any easier than that?
Therefore, he had negated the thought the moment he thought about it.
In spite of this, what could be the explanation behind the old marshal's serious orders? Furthermore, even if their enemy were to attack with fire, their side should only be prepared with lots of water and sand; why the kerosene and flaming arrows?
Were they afraid of the enemy's weak flames, and were to add more oil to their fire?
The order was mystifying and mind-boggling. Fu Baoguo could not help thinking more about it; it seemed that he still had a long way to go to become a top marshal!
…
As he went down the wall with Qiu Jianhan, Fu Baoguo was still musing over this, unable to figure out where his judgment had gone wrong.
It was then that he heard a commotion.
Following the source of the noise, twelve strong-looking youths, who looked like twelve young calves, seemed to be arguing with a few veterans on the street and the argument was turning somewhat physical. The one leading the fight was struggling with a flushed face as he yelled, "We're only looking for people, how did it suddenly become breaching the law? We're all Yutang's citizens, what right do you have to treat us like this?"
The veteran who was clutching the youth laughed menacingly, "How dare you! You have no respect and are speaking impolitely; who else should we catch if not you? This is no longer just about breaching the law, your crime is unforgivable!"
The youth looked utterly maligned as he said, "Who am I being disrespectful to? We're really here to enlist in the military and serve the country! The twelve of us are here to defend against Dongxuan! Why are we unforgivable? We're not spies! Open your eyes and look at us! We're Yutang's citizens!"
Qiu Jianhan and Fu Baoguo heard them from afar and exchanged curious glances.
"Go ahead and have a look," Fu Baoguo ordered his janissary forward.
Fu Baoguo and Qiu Jianhan would not go over personally.
No matter how confused they were, it was a sensitive time right now. If the other party were really spies, what could happen if they were killed in an ambush? Even if the ambush failed, just the incident taking place would sway the military morale which was already unstable.
Yutang's military morale, that had just been secured, must never be swayed again by something like this again!
A few janissaries wandered over and were quickly clear about the situation with just a few words being exchanged.
The process of the incident was actually very simple.
The twelve youths who had stated very clearly that they were here to join the military each had a good warhorse with them, while their horsemanship was rather profound as well. The general of the cavalry was thrilled to see such talents, while the general of the Steel Cavalry looked bright-eyed at the prospect of new recruits.
Of course, what delighted them most were the twelve warhorses, as each of them was an exceptionally noble steed. A few of them were even fantastic steeds that were tall, over eight feet in length, and fit. They did not need too much drilling; only a bare amount of training could already turn them into vanguard weapons on the battlefield.
The cavalry general who loved horses went over to chat at once, wanting to recruit the entire group of teenagers.
These youths were children coming from one of the more isolated villages, so each of them was earnest and innocent, flushing at the prospect of being questioned. Laughing, everyone liked them even more. Soldiers who had been through so many wars preferred honest, innocent young men compared to overly smart alecs.
Unfortunately, the good vibes ended when one of the children asked curiously, "May I inform these older brothers that we have another important task to fulfill upon coming here; we have to find a few people and send a letter to them."
An aged soldier said chuckling, "Who? Let us know. Even if we don't know them, we'll surely ask around for you all. There will surely be news soon enough!"
The teenager answered innocently, "There is a total of three people who can receive the letter. One is called Qiu Jianhan, one is called Fu Baoguo, and the last one is called Shangguan Lingxiu, a female general. Any one of them would be alright."
Once the names were listed, the atmosphere fell into a strained silence.
When the veterans looked again at these teenagers, their gazes were no longer friendly but filled with killing intent. Their calloused hands had crept slowly to the grips of their sabers.
How bold!
They had just gotten here on the first day to enlist the military but had asked about Old Marshal Qiu, Marshal Fu and Shangguan Family of Generals right away. Not only were they very bold, their ulterior motive was clear as day as well!
These twelve youths looked earnest and innocent, but each of them was equipped with an extremely well-built charger. It did not match their background stories of being isolated villagers. Something was very obviously wrong!
One military officer scoffed coldly and said, "May I ask who asked you to look for these three people?"
The teenager scratched his head before replying, "That would be our teacher. Before we left, our teacher wrote a letter and asked us to pass it to one of these three people, any one of them."
The officer's tone turned even more hostile. "Your teacher? Who is your teacher? Does he actually know all three people that you've mentioned or any one of them?"
His words were purely sarcastic, mocking the possibility that their master could actually gloat that he knew the three great characters; even if it were only one of them, it was still a large boast!
The teenager, who did not discern the officer's sarcasm, was at a loss for words as he tried to answer and stuttered, "I… I can't tell… I have to meet these three people first."
The officer smirked, "You can't tell? Very well, since you can't tell, men, capture this spy!"
The veterans surrounded the dozen younglings, prepared to catch all of them.
They did not expect that these children were lithe in a handful of skills. Even when they were surrounded by the veterans who had been through plenty of wars, they could defend themselves well, not at all appearing to be at a disadvantage. It was even discernable that they did not wish to retaliate and hurt anyone, or else the veterans' initial tricks would have ended in the hands of these teenagers.
Upon careful observation of their tactics, the officers were even more enraged. These were obviously life-saving techniques that only soldiers who had been through life and death from a warring troop could have possessed; where did these teenagers learn them from? Could they say more?
The ulterior motive was clear to see!
"Catch them! Seize them all!"
"If anyone protests, kill them!"
"What are you doing? We are already being reserved in our actions! We are truly here to find someone and there is really a letter we have to deliver! We've only asked for the names of Qiu Jianhan and Fu Baoguo, what sort of crime have we committed?"
The officials were infuriated, thinking, "F*ck, you've exposed yourselves, but you still dare to act dumb in front of your father! Did we ask you to act in a reserved manner?"
Just as the head was about to issue the order for them to be killed, an authoritative voice rang out, "Stop!"
It was Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan.