Chapter 162: The Outbreak of War Between Song and Liao (Part Two)

The messenger standing before Tong Guan could not help but feel a crushing wave of majestic presence washing over him. Shivering, he quickly recalled everything that had transpired in the main camp at that time.

Having listened to the messenger recount the sequence of events from beginning to end, Tong Guan let out a breath of relief. "It is fortunate the camp guards were careless. The camp was not yet fully secured, and the cloud energy had not completely formed, which allowed Lin Chong to exploit the opening. As long as we face them in formation, Lin Chong could never pull off such a feat!" Yet, judging by the situation described by the messenger, Lin Chong would truly be an unstoppable force when the two armies clashed in a real battle!

However, he could not share these thoughts with Gao Qiu; if he did, Gao Qiu would likely be too terrified to even take the field. Should that happen, the sole responsibility for defeat would fall squarely on his own shoulders! Furthermore, without Gao Qiu, the other side might never agree to the court's terms of amnesty.

Gao Qiu, of course, had no idea that Tong Guan was undermining him behind his back. Letting out a sigh of relief, Gao Qiu immediately ordered, "Instruct the vanguard camp to hold their positions firmly and strictly forbid them from sallying forth!"

The vanguard battle had ended before it even officially began. Although he had long anticipated a loss, this defeat was far too disgraceful to behold!

At the thought of this, Gao Qiu suddenly flared with anger. By what right was he destined for utter ruin? In a decisive clash between grand armies, could the imperial troops really fail to defeat a band of grass-cutter bandits?!

The Liangshan encampment was now fully established. Seeing the enemy head that Lin Chong had brought back, Qin Ming and Suo Chao could not help but feel a deep sense of admiration welling up within their chests.

During the previous ranking ceremony, everyone had received their inheritances, and their strengths had begun to erupt in explosive growth. Their current power had already stepped into the third tier, and they had initially thought Lin Chong was not much stronger than them. But now, it was clear that Lin Chong far surpassed them. At the very least, they could never have achieved such a feat!

"Brother Lin Chong, given how things stand, the imperial forces must have lost their courage by now. Why don't we lead the grand army out and directly shatter their encampment?" Qin Ming suggested.

Nicknamed the Fiery Thunder, he possessed an impatient temperament. Seeing that Lin Chong had secured such a massive advantage, how could he not want to press the attack and win glory? Not seizing this chance felt like a terrible loss.

On the other side, although Suo Chao also had an impatient streak, he understood the art of war far better. Known as the Hasty Vanguard, it was hardly surprising that he frequently served as a vanguard officer, giving him a thorough understanding of how vanguards typically reacted to various battlefield situations.

"Right now, the imperial camp is likely to hunker down and defend to the death. Our numbers are not large, and a direct assault will not be so easily accomplished."

"Could the three of us combined fail to take down an encampment that doesn't even have a main general?" Qin Ming asked. In his understanding, the imperial troops ought to be suffering from plummeting morale right now. Coupled with the formidable strength of the three of them, they should be able to conquer the stronghold in a single battle.

After all, following the enhancement of their powers during the ranking ceremony, they had sparred with their close brothers just to adapt to their newfound strength. They had a rough idea of their own power levels, but what they were truly capable of achieving in actual combat remained unknown. Naturally, they could not test their prowess using Liangshan's own troops!

Suo Chao looked toward Lin Chong. "Brother, why don't we give it a try so the brothers can test their skills?" Though he had previously pointed out that the enemy might hunker down, as a vanguard general, not fighting a battle simply did not fit his character!

Lin Chong glanced at the two eager men. "Very well." With the three of them present, nothing untoward was likely to happen anyway.

The three generals led their troops out to challenge the enemy before their camp gates. Yet, exactly as Suo Chao had predicted, the enemy's response consisted solely of soldiers along the ramparts staring vigilantly down at the Liangshan forces without a single person speaking a word.

The two sides stood locked in a standoff characterized by an unusual, heavy silence.

Finally, Qin Ming could no longer contain himself. Striding forward, he marched right into the range of the enemy archers. "Your granddaddy is right here! Why aren't you attacking?!" he bellowed, stepping forward pace by pace.

The soldiers along the ramparts found their hands trembling more and more violently.

"Rebels! Insolent rebels, do not be arrogant! With a single command of mine, ten thousand arrows will fly together and pierce you into a hedgehog! Withdraw immediately, and I shall spare your life!" The adjutant poked half his head out, flanked by two soldiers holding shields to cover his upper body, leaving barely enough room for one of his eyes to fixate on Qin Ming.

"Ha! Is this the best the imperial army has to offer?" As Qin Ming spoke, his internal aura surged forth, manifesting into something resembling a blazing fireball.

"Take this!"

The fireball hurtled toward the top of the camp gates. Every soldier instantly hit the dirt, while the adjutant snatched the shields from the flanks to cover his head and leaped straight down into the interior of the camp.

The fireball detonated, and cloud energy materialized above the encampment, forming a swirling, shield-like barrier. Many soldiers atop the ramparts were splashed by the flames, and some were even blasted straight off the wall. However, the fires failed to spread; the soldiers simply rolled on the ground to extinguish the sparks.

Witnessing this outcome, Qin Ming curled his lip in disdain, never expecting the camp's cloud energy to be so dense.

At that moment, the Liangshan army launched its assault. Soldiers surged toward the walls, and scaling ladders were rapidly hooked onto the ramparts. As the Liangshan troops swarmed up the walls, their cloud energy clashed directly with the defensive shroud of the imperial camp.

"This feeling..." Suo Chao and Qin Ming exchanged a glance before turning their gaze simultaneously to Lin Chong.

"The suppression effect of the cloud energy has increased," Lin Chong stated, "but as long as we shatter the enemy's morale, that suppression will weaken." With those words, the three of them dismounted and leaped upward in a single bound, landing squarely atop the camp walls.

Even if they could not unleash long-range attacks, shielded by their formidable internal energy, the three of them were an irresistible, conquering force amidst these ordinary soldiers.

Hidden behind a cluster of tents, the adjutant watched the scene unfolding on the ramparts, and that overwhelming sense of terror gripped his heart once more. Crouched low, he scurried cautiously toward the rear of the camp, slipped inside a tent, and hurriedly stripped off everything that indicated his official rank. Donning the armor of a common foot soldier, he merged into the ranks of the rear-guard troops.

The newly repaired gates were smashed open once more. With no one stepping forward to take command, and after all the soldiers on the walls had been cut down, the remaining troops below dropped to their knees in surrender.

Once one surrendered, the rest followed; morale collapsed entirely, and every single soldier fell to their knees begging for mercy.

Watching the surrendering imperial troops below, the Liangshan soldiers cheered as they herded the captives together, stripping away their armor and weapons before binding them tightly. Junior commanders began tallying the supplies, while other soldiers set to work repairing the gates and ramparts.

When the three leaders entered the main command tent, they naturally found that the original adjutant was nowhere to be seen—only his discarded garments remained.

"That fellow most likely disguised himself among the common soldiers. What a coward!" Qin Ming sneered.

"Such imperial troops! They are vastly inferior to those from Daming Prefecture!" Suo Chao, originally a military officer from Daming Prefecture, knew that compared to these spineless soldiers, the officers of Daming Prefecture would never act with such cowardice.

Lin Chong said nothing more. Catching sight of the vanguard general's official seal, he picked it up and tucked it away. "Have the brothers transport all the supplies back, and herd those bound soldiers into the tents."

The vanguard skirmish was over. Next came the battle of the grand armies. Thinking of the enemy marshal, a cold smile tugged at the corner of Lin Chong's lips.

Three days later, the armies of Liangshan and the imperial court faced off across the field. More than ten third-tier generals routed the imperial commanders before charging straight into the heart of the enemy formation. Buoyed by morale as fierce as a rainbow, the Liangshan troops surged forward, cutting through the imperial ranks like a hot knife through butter.

Tong Guan's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Liangshan possessed far too many formidable experts! Were the previous officials all completely blind? To think they had driven such powerful martial artists to take up arms as outlaws in Liangshan!

Seeing that the battle formation was about to collapse, Tong Guan whirled around, intending to drag Gao Qiu away with him in retreat.

Yet, there was no sign of Gao Qiu anywhere; he had already fled with a handful of trusted bodyguards!

Accursed Gao Qiu!

Tong Guan cursed inwardly. If Lin Chong failed to capture Gao Qiu, would he vent all his fury upon him instead?!

With these panicked thoughts racing through his mind, he spurred his horse to an even faster gallop.

Fleeing desperately on horseback, his personal guards struggled frantically just to keep pace with him.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "The Grand Marshal has fled!" and the entire imperial army began to rout, scattering like the tide.

As the cloud energy suppression dissipated, Lin Chong cast his horse aside and soared over the heads of the soldiers, flying toward the rear of the formation to hunt down Gao Qiu.

Before long, he caught sight of Tong Guan fleeing in the distance.

A bolt of internal energy slammed into the ground right beside Tong Guan's mount. Startled, the horse let out a long, terrified neigh and skidded to an abrupt halt. Tong Guan was thrown violently from the saddle, but fortunately, he possessed late-stage Xiantian cultivation; steadying himself in mid-air, he looked back and saw Lin Chong approaching, whereupon he dropped straight to his knees.

"Commander Lin, spare my life! Tong Guan surrenders—!"

"Where is Gao Qiu?" Lin Chong descended from the skies, the tip of his spear resting mere inches from Tong Guan's neck.

"He... he fled long ago!" Tong Guan was on the verge of tears, terrified that Lin Chong's spear would end him on the spot.

"He runs fast indeed!" With a swift strike of his spear shaft, Lin Chong inflicted internal injuries upon Tong Guan, seized him by the collar, and flew back toward the Liangshan encampment.