Hu!
A Tibetan commander watched Shule intently as he awaited further orders from the city.
An army of Tibetan soldiers, mages, warriors, and war slaves were hidden in the corners of the mountain ridges. They lived in simple tents, and they used glowing stones as light sources.
“Tonight’s sky looks particularly dark,” the Tibetan commander murmured.
Neither the moon nor the stars could be seen. Even Shule’s outline could be barely seen thanks to the specks of light within the city.
The Tibetan commander dared not to even blink, fearing that he might miss the signal amidst the darkness.
Ah choo!
He suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed, and that caused him to close his eyes for a brief moment. By the time he turned his attention back to Shule, he was shocked to see that the city had turned completely dark.Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)
Initially, he thought that he was just seeing things. He waited for a while, but the city didn’t reappear for him.
“...” After seconds of daze, he shoved the soldier beside him. “Oi, do you see light there?”
The drowsy soldier jolted in astonishment and hurriedly looked in the direction his commander was pointing at. However, he saw no light whatsoever.
“Sir, I don’t see anything,” he nervously replied.
“...”
Is the sky too dark?
Unsure, the Tibetan commander ordered, “Call a mage over.”
“Yes sir!”
The soldier nodded before heading off, but his face crumbled the moment he turned his head away. Mages were known for having a bad temper.
I’m going to get scolded.
It took a while before the soldier returned with a mage.
“What’s going on?” the mage asked.
“Our eyes seem to be failing us,” the Tibetan commander respectfully explained, “so I was hoping that you could help us see what’s going on over at Shule...”
“You called me here over such triviality? What are your eyes for?!” the mage scoffed with widened eyes.
The Tibetan commander and the soldier nodded with polite smiles, not daring to express their dissatisfaction.
After the mage was finally done venting his emotions, he cast Eagle Eye on himself before looking toward Shule. He was quiet for seconds before exclaiming, “Something is wrong! I can’t see anything at all!”
He thought that these brutes were stirring trouble over nothing, but from the looks of it now, something was indeed very wrong here!
Shoosh!
There was suddenly a whizzing sound, as if something was shooting across the night sky.
Weng!
As for the mages and the war slaves, they had the means to defeat skeleton soldiers too.
The mages could clear a huge area of skeletons with their AOE spells, and the mindless war slaves boasted indomitable might and knew not of exhaustion. Skeleton soldiers that went after them were either blasted into bits or rammed flying, their bones scattering in all directions.
However...
Shu Yichao was watching over the battlefield.
Wherever the Tibetans were standing their ground, he would charge there with his ghost horsemen and crush them into bits. The mages and the war slaves, given that they were fighting by themselves, had no means to withstand the ghost horsemen’s charge.
Just like that, the Tibetan troops lying in ambush outside the city, whom Asudo had high hopes for, were swiftly eradicated. Not only so, but it also further expanded Shu Yichao’s army.
...
On Shule’s city walls...
“...” Asudo frowned. He ordered the mage, “Send the signal again.”
The mage did as he was told and fired the signal again, but there was still no response.
“...” Cold sweat dripped from Asudo’s forehead.
This is impossible! The troops I stationed outside the city will not turn a blind eye to my order.
“Windwhisperer!” Asudo pointed at the dark night sky. “Over there! Can you hear anything?!”
The windwhisperer gulped down a potion and pricked up his ears.
Asudo waited nervously for his verdict.
“...” A mere second later, the windwhisperer’s face darkened. He exclaimed in shock, “An army! I hear a huge army!!!”
“Has the Tang army arrived? Did they ambush the troops we planted at the ridge?”
Asudo was shocked.
That would explain why the troops lying in ambush failed to respond, but that should be impossible! Even if the Tang army ambushed their troops, there should have been at least some signs of that.
Do the Tang army not use torches when traveling at night?
Also, the troops he had planted at the ridge didn’t bring torches either; they were relying on dim glowing stones for light. He couldn’t imagine how the Tang army could have found them.
And even if the Tang army somehow discovered and encircled them, surely their troops would have sent a signal requesting reinforcement.
So why...
Asudo felt like his mind was ringing. Slowly, he pursed his lips.
There’s no point wondering about how it happened now. The key is what we should do now.
Unfortunately, the situation was worse than he had expected.
“Yes!” the windwhisperer cried in absolute terror, “They are coming! They are right there!”
It was only now that Asudo realized that the earth was shaking.