Commander Long Kun could feel a bit of warmth from the fierce night wind.
Lifesaver Spring was located in the western desert of Xiaoyao Lake, about ten days’ travel from the Dragon King’s stronghold, Willow City. As the only water source, it was extremely important to the Dragon King.
Fifty Dragon army soldiers guarded it under the leadership of Commander Long Kun.
Long Kun was a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain. Three days ago, he had received a secret order to be on alert because the Golden Roc Fort could attack at any time.
From that day on, he had remained vigilant and patrolled every night.
Three days had passed, but nothing had happened. He had sent scouts to collect intelligence, but they had not discovered any signs of the enemy.
But something seemed different tonight. He had never felt such a strong uneasiness. His hairs were standing up and he had goosebumps as if invisible killers were hiding in the air around him.
It might have been that the moonless windy night was the perfect time for the killers to take action, or perhaps he was too tired, for he had seldom slept in the past few days.
He stared at the spring from under the watchtower, and then knocked on the wall with a small hammer. “Even with the howling wind, the soldiers below should be able to hear the sound, ” he thought to himself.
A moment later, he heard the same knock through the wall.
“It’s time to take action,” he thought.
Long Kun picked up a stone and threw it towards the mouth of the spring. He kept his heavy sword against the wall and shouted, “Fall in, fall in…”
The Golden Roc killers had finally come, and they had already killed at least one guard.
When he knocked on the wall, instead of knocking back, the men below were supposed to strike their weapons.
Long Kun had received the Dragon King’s order, so he did not intend to fight against the killers. Though he shouted “Fall in”, the soldiers all knew that they needed to retreat immediately.
The killers had appeared in advance, but they could not defeat dozens of well-trained soldiers. Their task was to poison the spring and then escape to Willow City.
Wind and darkness were the killers’ consorts, but now they concealed the escapees.
Located at the border of the Hui Kingdom, Willow City was the only pass in the western part of Xiaoyao Lake. There were 1,500 Dragon army soldiers guarding it and vice commander Wu Zongheng was in charge.
Wu Zongheng was from An Kingdom. He was a former low-ranking guard leader from the capital. Later, he had been entrusted with an important task- guarding the western border of Xiaoyao Lake.
Wu Zongheng was nervous. He feared the upcoming troops from the Golden Roc Fort. But he was even more scared of disappointing the Dragon King.
A soldier ran to him hurriedly and reported that the dust beyond the wall had appeared. Wu Zongheng’s anxiety disappeared instantly. He strode towards the gate and gave a series of orders.
The visitors were not the Golden Roc Army, it was a team of outpost soldiers. Noticing the dust on their faces, he deduced that they had had little rest on the way.
“The killers came and poisoned the spring,” Long Kun reported calmly.
The small Willow City became busy.
The enemy army arrived soon after Long Kun and his troops. More dust rose in the desert beyond the wall. When the dust fell to the ground, an army of thousands of soldiers appeared.
The arrival of the Golden Roc Fort’s army marked that the war had begun. The ice had not completely thawed, and boats could just barely cross Xiaoyao Lake.
The capital of the Hui Kingdom, which was about two day’s journey from Willow City, was a mess. The new King of the Hui nation had made his decision.
News of the battle at the border had reached the capital. The Dragon Army in Willow City had withstood the enemy’s first-round of attacks. However, everyone in the Hui Kingdom knew that the Dragon army would cross the Xiaoyao Lake and go south sooner or later, and the capital would be under siege again.
The King of the Hui nation held an invitation letter from the Dragon King. The letter commanded him to head for the An Kingdom by boat.
The young king had almost lost the throne. However, with the Dragon King’s help, he had escaped being killed and having the throne stolen by the Queen and his younger brother.
“But as a king, I have to be ungrateful,” he reminded himself.
“Close the gates. A strict curfew begins in the capital. Tell the soldiers who are guarding the gate that over the next three days they may leave freely; but after that, the rest must obey the king’s order.”
The old Prime Minister had sided with the Queen. But just before the Queen had been killed, he had changed his stance. He had left the capital and gone far beyond the wall to welcome the crown prince’s return himself.
“Wise decision, Your Majesty. The Hui Kingdom should not side with the Dragon King. I heard that the King of the Sha nation and the King of the Kang nation will not go south either.”
Although the king had made his decision, he was still anxious. He could not forget that he had a brother being held captive in the Dragon Army camp and that the Dragon King could declare a new King of the Hui nation at any time.
The old Prime Minister understood the king’s concern. “Please do not worry, Your Majesty. I heard that the younger Prince joined the rebellion and the Dragon King is going to kill him. Even if the Dragon King lets him live, the troops of the Golden Roc Fort will have no mercy for him. I received news that the Supreme King has made up his mind to kill all the Dragon King’s followers.”
“You received news?” the King repeated. He suddenly realized that the cunning prime minister had already sided with the Supreme King.
“Your Majesty, all I have done is for the sake of our realm. The Dragon army is doomed to fail, so we have to make a wise choice. Side with the strong and do not fight for nothing.”
The King waved his hand impatiently. He knew these theories and could tell who was stronger. When he had returned to take the throne from the Stone Kingdom, the Dragon army had been in a state of disunity. He was sure that the Supreme King would win the war.
“Tell your friend that I want to negotiate.”
“As you command,” the Prime Minister answered. He bowed and stepped back, with an obsequious smile on his wrinkled face. “There is no negotiation with the Golden Roc Fort. A so-called negotiation is to make surrendering sound good.” He thought to himself.
The King of the Hui nation had made up his mind. However, another family in the Sha Kingdom was still wavering.
Two sons had joined the Dragon army, leaving an old couple, their daughter, two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren at home.
“What should we do? Are we leaving or not?” The old woman had repeated this question to her husband all day. However, she had not received an answer yet.
Lost in thought, her husband squatted on the ground. He ignored his wife.
“I heard that a family on the front street was robbed last night. They have a son in the Dragon Army. The bandits threatened to kill all of them if their son stayed in the army in the name of the Golden Roc Fort.”
“I heard,” the old man replied in a hoarse tone.
Word of the entire Dragon army going south had spread widely, triggering a division throughout Xiaoyao Lake.
Some had come to the conclusion that the Dragon army was too weak to fight against the Golden Roc Army. They were going to retreat to the Land of Fragrance soon and never return to the Western Region again. With this in mind, it was a good chance for them to rob and threaten the civilians in hopes of pleasing the Golden Roc Fort.
Emerging bandits haunted from the countryside to the capital, causing trouble everywhere. No matter how hard the Dragon army tried, there were still countless strong men who had dodged the recruit. Those people had given up their former jobs and become bandits.
Families involved with the Dragon army or who had men in the Dragon Army were being looted and threatened.
This was why many civilians had decided to follow the Dragon King south. Some families had already left and headed for the land that the Dragon King had promised them.
The old man had not made his decision yet because he had many estates in the Sha Kingdom.
“Why did those two idiots join the army?” the old man murmured angrily.
“They had no choice,” the old woman replied. She was angry too. “The King recruited soldiers; when it was our turn, you refused to pay; you said that the Dragon King would not be defeated. Now our sons are stuck in the Dragon Army and they can not even come home.”
The more the old woman spoke, the angrier she got. The old man got up suddenly and shouted at her, “That’s enough. I will go ask the Prime Minister’s butler for help…”
“The Prime Minister is in trouble now. What could his butler do?”
“No one can help us. What do you think we should do?”
“Our family should be with our sons. We’ll go wherever they go.”
“That’s why I called them idiots. Why didn’t they escape from the Dragon army?”
When the old couples quarreling ended, their teenage daughter ran in with a panicked look on her face. “We’ve got trouble. Someone posted this on our door.”
It was a white paper with four words on it. The old couple stared at it for a long time, but they did not understand the words.
Their six-year-old grandson ran to them. Showing off what he had learnt in school, he read aloud, “Dragon— King— must— die. It says that the Dragon King must die. Haha, I know them all.”
The old man’s face turned pale. Realizing that they had become the next target, he said firmly, “Pack up our stuff. We’ll leave in the morning.”
“Property is not as important as our lives.” He thought. As the head of the family, he had to make this decision. “Damn it. Once we cross Xiaoyao Lake, I will have to ask the Dragon King who will compensate us for our loss.”
There were many people who did not care about compensation or even profits.
The capital of the Kang Kingdom was in the east of Sha Kingdom. The manager of the rice shop treated several soldiers from the Dragon army in a civil manner. But no matter how much the soldiers tried to reason with or threaten him, he only said, “We’re out of rice and noodles. I’m not lying. You can see that the rice bags and noodle bags are empty.”
The soldiers knew he was lying. They had heard a rumor that the Meng family of Jade City had promised that any businessmen who refused to do business with the Dragon army would get double compensation after the war.
The Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family had taken over Xiaoyao Lake for years. Although the Dragon King occupied the place, they still had influence here, especially the Meng family who had a huge influence among merchants in Xiaoyao Lake.
If they had not received orders from the Dragon King, the soldiers would have burnt the entire street down. They had spent a whole day trying to buy rice and noodles, but in the end, they had nothing.
“Take care. If you come tomorrow, we may have more in stock,” the manager said civilly. But to the soldiers he sounded sarcastic.
When they walked on the street, the soldiers felt hostility from the shops on both sides. One kind manager reminded them as they went by, “Why didn’t you escape? The King of the Kang nation will avenge the Prince.”
The soldiers wanted to leave, but the troops in the capital of the Kang Kingdom were waiting for orders.
It was not easy to go south. The troops needed to be sent in batches.
There were five ports in the north shore of Xiaoyao Lake. Countless boats were being used to carry resources and personnel day and night.
The easternmost port was within the Stone Kingdom territory.
Most of the Dragon King’s followers were from the Stone Kingdom, so naturally it became the most crowded port. Many days had passed, but less than half the followers had left the port. A rumor came that the Golden Roc Fort’s vanguard had arrived at the border.
“Don’t worry. The Dragon King is still in the north.” That was the civilians’ only comfort.