Chapter 266 - Prisoner

It raised its front leg, creating sudden force that throw her to the back.

'An arrow?'

That was the only thought within Wei Liuying's mind as her body crashed on the ground. She tried to correct her position midair, but the time was not enough, so her weight pushed her legs to the ground and hurt her.

Her eyes looked at the horse before her that had an arrow sticking at its back. It neighed once more before it fell down as several more arrows hit the horse.

Swish!

"You can't leave anymore, Liu Ying."

A sword was placed near her neck. With her body still hurting due to the fall, Wei Liuying didn't expect herself to be able to move properly too. She only sent a glare at the man as another soldier took away her sword.

"I can't believe Strategist Liu is really as small as they say he is," a soldier remarked.

"We have to hurry and go to Prince Ji Sheng's City. With this, the war will be in our favor."

"Hell yeah!"

The soldiers tied her hand to the back along with her legs before they put her on top of the horse. Wei Liuying was silent all the time as she focused her attention to her own condition. If they rushed with horses, they should be able to reach Prince Ji Sheng's City by evening's time.

'I wonder how's the war condition.'

Wei Liuying rested and tried not to move her body too much. The position was clearly uncomfortable, but it was better than having them tied her to the horse. Besides, she was only momentarily disabled because of her fall and not because of bleeding.

It was a good news for her.

The time passed swiftly.

With nothing to do, Wei Liuying could only spend her time thinking about the situation of the war and everything. At the same time, she knew that her existence in the battle might shift the entire war's situation.

"He's quiet."

"Do you think that Strategist Liu has given up?" the soldier on the side asked with a sneer. "Well, he's nothing more than a brat. It's not that weird if he's afraid after having to face so many talented soldiers."

Talented soldiers?

Wei Liuying wanted to laugh. If it was not because of repeated battle and fatigue, she was sure that these soldiers wouldn't be able to defeat her. If she could survive from this, she wanted proper meal and rest. 

It was so tiring over here.

Her dark eyes finally saw the familiar shape of Prince Ji Sheng's City. There were many soldiers surrounding it with several types of robes. That information alone was enough for her to guess that Xiong Tribe must have asked several other tribes to help them in this war.

'Let's see, Yu Tribe, Mi Tribe, Hu Tribe, and I don't know the names.'

Wei Liuying did study the tribes under Yang Xian's teaching, but she still didn't know all the tribes at the north. Each of them have their own signature clothing that would differentiate them from each other, but she still didn't know some of them.

Still, this information was enough for her.

'I see, Xiong Tribe is cooperating with tribes that was living even more north than them. I thought those tribes are already self-sufficient despite living in such a harsh weather, but I guess I'm wrong. If they have the chance, they still want to take advantage of Han Shi Kingdom and the warmer territory.'

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"We're here to deliver Strategist Liu."

"Well, keep going then."

Keep going?

Wei Liuying's eyes narrowed when she saw the soldiers brought her pass Prince Ji Sheng's City. She glanced up and noticed that Gao Ling was the one leading the soldiers. She didn't seem to realize the existence of small squad bypassing Prince Ji Sheng's City with so many other soldiers were going against her.

At the same time, she noticed that the most conspicuous person in the entire place, Prince Lian, was nowhere to be seen. 

'If the one leading here is Lady Gao, it means the one who's facing Prince Lian must be both Prince Ji Sheng and Yang Xian. Eh wait, Yang Xian had already regrouped with Prince Ji Sheng, right?'

Thinking about the soldiers who have different clothing because they came from different tribe, Wei Liuying was sure that Yang Xian must have used the chance to regroup with Prince Ji Sheng and the others. After all, he could sneak as their soldiers and then mix with people with different clothing.

They would not think too much and allowed him to come because in the war where they have to cooperate, they just needed to pay attention to what they have to do. The soldiers from other tribes were there to help them and that was all. The lower ranked soldiers would not even know the detailed plan from their leaders.

Swish!

As the sound of arrows slicing through the air was sounded, Wei Liuying could finally see the area of the battle. Her eyes widened when she saw the neat formation Han Shi Kingdom had formed on the hills with Xiong Tribe below them.

The horse stopped, but Wei Liuying didn't pay attention to them. She was looking on top of the hills where she could see Prince Ji Sheng and Yang Xian standing with their soldiers near them. Behind them, a smoke pillar was slowly formed.

'Ah, that message…'

"Liu Ying?" Prince Lian asked as he came forward. His hand clasped the young girl's jaw and lifted her head to look at him. It was then he could see her expression better. "I never expect that the upcoming strategist is actually a pretty boy, or are you a girl?"

The voice pulled Wei Liuying's attention as she looked at Prince Lian. She kept her mouth shut and simply stared back at the prince with no emotion apparent in her eyes. There was no way she wanted to show her weakness at times like this.

Tsk.

She could hear the prince clicked his tongue before he looked at Prince Ji Sheng who was staying up above. His hand grasped Wei Liuying's shoulder roughly as he pushed her to the front.