Chapter 513- Tough Nut to Crack
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
As the sunset faded away, only scattered stars remained in the sky.
Even the constant red clouds, under the cover of the night sky, temporarily left the field.
The Mulan Stronghold, which was enshrouded in darkness, was like a sleeping beast. It laid in wait at the mouth of the valley, deep and silent. This was the only time that this giant human meat grinder would emit a thread of warmth.
Torch after torch lit up on the city walls, forming a fire dragon along the city wall.
The soldiers in charge of the night patrol wore iron armor, and they carried long spears. They braved the night wind. Squadron after squadron walked on the city walls. The night was long, so the soldiers gathered together to discuss their life stories and gossips.
The huge battle that ended during the day naturally became one of the hot topics of their conversation. They had never seen cannons before. Then, there was the courage of General Er'Lai, and the strength of the mountain barbarian soldiers; every one of these topics were enough to pique their interest.
"That iron pimple was so amazing. Moreover, that huge cannonball could actually blow through the city wall. I was guarding on top of the city wall and was nearly scared to death."
"Er'Gouzi, you are really useless!"
"Haha!"
The soldiers around all burst out into laughter.
The night was long and arduous, having something to tease made it much easier.
That face of the young soldier nicknamed Er'Gouzi instantly turned red. He was so angry that his back instantly straightened, and he retorted, "San'Pizi, don't show off in front of me. Why not you go and try? The blow was enough to make a person deaf, and my ear is still whirring now."
"I'll try; who's afraid of who!" San'Pizi was not old, but he was an unreasonable fellow. Filled with courage, he smacked his chest, "Tomorrow, I'll request to be moved to defend there."
"Great!"
The soldiers around him cheered out.
When San'Pizi heard their response, he felt more and more delighted; it was like he had won a battle.
"Have you all heard?"
Just at this time, a soldier came over and tried to attract the attention of everyone.
"What?"
"The mountain barbarian warriors that defended the hole in the day were promoted a rank by the commander in chief. At night, they also had good meat. Those fellows are having it good."
"Haiz, their lives are real good. When will such a good thing happen to us?" The young soldiers had never known fear; they only wanted military rewards.
"You guys ah!" An older soldier stepped out, “They exchanged for the rewards with their lives. The battle in the day was so brutal you know? Five hundred or so of those big mountain barbarians died in battle, even though they were wearing precious iron armor like the Buren Armor."
"If you were the ones that went up, the moment you got up, you all would probably be killed!"
"Hey, old man, don't look down on us."
This time, the young soldiers were unhappy. They were like wild dogs, as they barked out. Those who did not know what was happening would think that they had rushed into the enemy camp under the cover of the night.
"That's right. The mountain barbarian soldiers are amazing, but we aren't scrubs either."
The soldiers all chimed in, wanting to display their bravery.
As they would say, there was no first in culture, but there was no second in martial arts.
In the military, the various divisions and various soldier types competed with one another. These soldiers were also part of the Dragon Legion. As part of such a strong legion, their tempers and confidence levels would naturally be much greater.
Apart from the Divine Martial Guards, there probably was not another group that could make them admit defeat willingly.
When the older man saw this, he shook his head speechlessly, as his eyes flashed with a reminiscent look. Thinking back to the old days, he was also a hot blooded man that followed the Lord into such life and death situations.
Being young was truly great!
A sound that one did not know if it was a sigh or a thought about the past lingered in the cold night sky.
At the story’s location, the giant hole, loud ping, ping, pang, pang! noises rang out, even in the dead of night. Under the instructions of the commander in chief, the construction squadrons of the various divisions started to repair the walls. They were trying to block up this gaping hole in a night.
Looking over the city wall, it was line after line of tents.
Mulan Stronghold was a military fortress, so its architecture naturally emanated a thick military style. The tents were all neatly placed, and they looked really appealing to the eye.
As the stronghold was built near the mountains, they had sufficient stone. Furthermore, due to the battle requirements, the stronghold was mainly built from stone and green bricks.
On the other hand, wood was rare in the stronghold.
The architectural style of the entire fortress had a clear military style—hardy, simple, and practical. Even the commerce region and the commoner region in the stronghold were not an exception.
The most eye catching structure in the stronghold was naturally the base of the Dragon Legion.
The army was not housed in a normal area. Instead, they stayed in a five-storey-high stone tower. If one stood at the top of the tower and looked out, they could view the entire north wilderness.
The office of Baiqi was built on this level.
Naturally, this also became the command center of the entire army.
The night sky was pitched black. However, Baiqi's room light continued to burn bright. The men under him were clear that their commander was a work maniac.
It was the dead of the night, and the entire stronghold was totally quiet.
Just at this moment, the sound of footsteps sounded out in the walkway, breaking the peace and quiet of the night. Shortly after, an officer of the Military Intelligence Division walked into Baiqi's room and bowed.
"General!"
"How was it? Did he tell us anything?"
Baiqi had buried his head on his table, writing the battle report for the day. He was ready to pass it to the Lord who was thousands of miles away. Seeing the military intelligence officer enter, Baiqi placed down his brush and asked this question, as he raised his head.
"No, he's really stubborn, and no matter how much we torture him, he won't say a word." The stubborn fellow mentioned was naturally Li Xiucheng, who they had captured during the day.
"What a tough nut of crack!"
"I've failed you. Please punish me, my general!"
Baiqi did not say much, but it was enough to scare the military intelligence officer. Naturally, he thought that Baiqi was unhappy with their results.
If he was unhappy, he was naturally unhappy about the Military Intelligence Division and the officer. Thinking up to this point, cold sweat formed on the young officer’s forehead.
The entire Dragon Legion had seventy thousand soldiers, and all of them feared Baiqi. Even Er’Lai and Shi Wanshui, these kinds of famous generals, felt uncomfortable in his presence, and they did not dare to act out of hand.
It was not because Baiqi was fierce but because he was vicious.
During the Battle of Zhaoqing, his viciousness not only scared the enemy but his allies as well.
"No one said to punish you."
Baiqi waved his hand, "Since that's the case, just lock up the guy."
"Yes, my general!"