Chapter 591: Geniuses

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

King Chu Feifengs 60,000-strong army led a sneak attack on the city gate. He had received news that King Lan Ruozhu was not in the prefecture and could not gather all his military forces.

Chu Feifeng figured he could go straight in and annex Dingzhou if he could take down the prefecture. He was highly ambitious with his actions but never expected Lan Ruozhu to know about the attack and make preparations.

Lan Ruozhu disguised himself and discreetly returned to the prefecture to mislead Chu Feifeng. Moreover, the former had already gathered his army.

Suddenly, the city wall lit up, and thousands of archers appeared as Chu

Feifeng led his army to attack. The archers aimed at Chu Feifengs army. Without giving Chu Feifengs army time to react, someone ordered, “Fire!”

Swoosh! Swoosh, swoosh!

Countless arrows flew toward Chu Feifengs army.

“Ahh! Argh!’

The archers were accurate. Some even shot two arrows at once to graze their enemies’ neck arteries and kill them. Chu Feifengs army had no time to react, and many of his men fell.

He was in a carriage not too far away with a general named Jiang Bao, who was excellent at commanding troops. Jiang Bao also led the troops when annexing other states and territories.

“Shields up!” Jiang Bao roared, and the army quickly reacted. Since they could no longer advance and attack, they could only raise their shields to defend against the opposing army.

Even so, Lan Ruozhu’s side brought out giant crossbows. His men pulled the crossbows with carriages while shooting large, heavy arrows.

“Fire!” The arrows tore through the air at breakneck speed and hit the shield-holding enemies standing in the front row. The enemy forces could not block the massive arrows, even if a group raised their shields.

The arrows were too powerful, causing the enemy forces to fall with their shields. Immediately after, those behind the defenders got shot with the giant arrows, causing them to fly backward.

Chu Feifeng watched the battle from his carriage, and his frown deepened. “W-What’s happening?! What kind of arrows are those?!”

‘I’ve never seen such massive and powerful arrows. Even my men’s shields were useless.’

A person was sitting behind a curtain in the carriage, and outsiders could not see his appearance. He heard Chu Feifengs words and responded, “Those should be the arrows the Gongsun family developed!’

Chu Feifeng roared, “Isn’t the entire Gongsun family dead?! It was only right that my father annihilated them. If they’re still alive, they’ve joined King Lan

Ruozhu!”

Chu Feifeng had never seen such a bow and thought it was too formidable.

Even though he sat far away, he still felt the giant arrows’ strong wind. Moreover, his army’s shields were useless.

Jiang Bao’s face paled as he stared at the arrows. He raised his head, looked under the torches, and saw the troops on the city wall. Then he finally realized that Lan Ruozhu had long known about the attack and made preparations.

Jiang Bao knew Lan Ruozhu would not retreat. Even so, the former had made many preparations to take down the prefecture and annex Dingzhou. Jiang Bao gritted his teeth and yelled, “Flying Wing Formation, advance quickly and siege the city! Fire!”

He gave a series of orders, and Chu Feifengs army began to attack. Those on the front lines fell while the people behind quickly caught up and charged forward.

Chu Feifeng saw the many casualties before him, and his expression turned grim. “Can we take them down like this?”

The man behind the curtain said, “It’s pointless for Lan Ruozhu, even if he has prepared for our attack. We’ve already arranged for many troops to attack from all sides. We’ll find a weak spot eventually.”

“It’s good that we’ve gathered many troops, but I heard Lan Ruozhu has a secret army.” Chu Feifeng was doubtful.

The man scoffed. “Then let’s see if Lan Ruozhu will dispatch his secret army. You will have even more reason to attack if he mobilizes them. You can tell people you have evidence of Lan Ruozhu’s rebellion.”

Chu Feifeng did not look too good. “Things won’t go well for us if he has a secret army. Are you sure you’re on my side?!”

The man said faintly, “Of course I am. We have a similar goal: to kill King Lan

Ruozhu!”

Chu Feifeng stiffened. “Do you find Lan Ruozhu that dangerous? His body is weak, and…

“Dead people are the least threatening,” the man said coldly.

Chu Feifeng raised his brow, thinking, ‘Lan Ruozhu’s ancestors and the deceased royal’s family fought together, so King Lan Xiyao should have been the one who became the emperor.

‘However, Lan Xiyao gave up the throne, and the previous emperor was grateful for his kindness, bestowing upon him the title of King and the deceased royal’s mansion.’

The previous emperor even gave Lan Xiyao a golden medal for avoiding violence. Still, as generations passed, some started to fear Lan Ruozhu, including Chu Gujian, the current emperor.

Although Lan Ruozhu was not in good health, Chu Gujian’s fear was still apparent. After all, the people of the deceased royal’s mansion were geniuses.

‘l wouldn’t have allowed Lan Ruozhu to live until now if he was in good health. Even other countries fear him. The annexation of Dingzhou is secondary. Our priority now is to kill Lan Ruozhu.’

Chu Feifeng called one of his personal guards over, saying, “Send a signal to the rest and act according to the plan.”

“Yes, sir!”

Although Lan Ruozhu had recovered, he had to pretend he was weak to mislead his enemies. Hence, he sat in his chair, occasionally coughing so the enemy would remain clueless.

Even some of his subordinates knew he had recovered. Only a few trusted aides and Shadow Guards knew about it. After all, Lan Ruozhu was unsure if any spies were among them. He could only take the enemy by surprise by confusing them.

Ji Xingye was Lan Ruozhu’s trusted general who knew the latter had recovered. When the former was only a few years old, Lan Ruobing took him in and made him a member of the deceased royal’s mansion. Hence, Lan Ruozhu trusted and treated him like family.

Ji Xingye commanded the army this time as they defended the city wall. He did not know Princess Lan Ruobing was alive, and his heart burned with hatred. Therefore, he used the blood of his enemies to vent his frustrations.

‘Finally, I can fight and avenge Princess Lan!’

“Place boulders on the catapults, douse them in oil, and light them ablaze,” Ji

Xingye ordered. He wanted to annihilate Chu Feifeng’s army so they could

never return.

Chu Feifengs army suffered severe casualties in such a short period. Even if he only considered his men as pawns, seeing so many casualties still hurt him badly. After all, they were members of his army.

“Are you sure we won’t face issues if we continue attacking?” He asked.

The man behind the curtain looked at the city wall before him and noticed a particular person. “Who is that youth?”

Chu Feifeng could not understand why the man was so focused on the youth and looked over. Since there were brightly lit torches on the city wall, Chu Feifeng could not see very clearly.

Still, he said, “I’ve never seen that person. Why is Lan Ruozhu trusting someone so young to lead his troops into battle?” ‘l must admit that youth is quite formidable.’ Chu Feifeng gritted his teeth nervously..