荔枝影院

"Haha, as of now, only we can build these steel fortresses, with the city in Wushang being the greatest proof. These modular cities have our distinctive brand, and Fumeng Lingcha would never be such a fool that he would try and take them. Even if he had a mind to, not a single one of the many ministers in the court would believe that Fumeng Lingcha and his Qixi Protectorate army had constructed this fortress."

Wang Chong smiled as he looked at the confused expressions on the faces of his subordinates.

"Moreover, the fortress was damaged after the battle. Without our help, Fumeng Lingcha would never be able to repair it. In addition, only we understand how to operate the many mechanisms of the fortress and understand what sort of maintenance needs to be done. Fumeng Lingcha is a smart man. Even if he wants to snatch it from us, it wouldn’t be now. By sending people into the fortress right now, Fumeng Lingcha probably has other plans... Speak—what’s going on?"

These last words were aimed at the scout who had given the report.

The scout didn’t dare to be slow, quickly explaining the situation. It turned out that when Wang Chong was gathering the army, around twenty people from the Qixi Protectorate army had snuck their way. The movements of these people were rather strange. They did nothing except look around as if searching for something.

The strangest thing of all was that these weren’t ordinary scouts. Although they had removed their emblematic armor, experienced scouts could tell at a glance that these were army officers.

"Very well, you’re dismissed. As for the Qixi Protectorate army officers in the fortress... Cheng Sanyuan, bring some soldiers with you and drive them out. Although I’m not a person who would quibble over every small thing, the Qixi Protectorate army is acting far too arrogantly here," Wang Chong said.

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

Cheng Sanyuan quickly gathered forty-some Wushang Cavalry and went to carry out the order. The teamwork of the Wushang and the power of their formations meant that if these Qixi soldiers still refused to leave, they would only be looking for trouble.

There was a trotting of hooves and a whispered voice at Wang Chong’s ear. "Lord Marquis, Fumeng Lingcha’s people couldn’t be looking for Dayan Mangban’s corpse, could they...?" Li Siye, riding his Ferghana steed, stood like a guardian god at Wang Chong’s side. As he watched Cheng Sanyuan’s group leave, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

"Mm."

Wang Chong didn’t turn his head, only giving a subtle nod, his expression turning serious.

"Fumeng Lingcha probably didn’t know at the start, but he should have captured a few Tibetans by now and realized what happened to Dayan Mangban. On the battlefield, there are far too many eyes and mouths. When I was dealing with Dayan Mangban, probably no small number of Tibetans who had charged witnessed him being captured by Elder Fang and Elder Du... There’s nothing that can be done about that."

"But as long as Fumeng Lingcha can’t get his hands on Dayan Mangban’s corpse, he’ll find it very difficult to snatch the credit for this hard-fought battle from Lord Marquis," Li Siye whispered as he trotted his horse another few steps forward.

"Haha, this is why I was never afraid that Fumeng Lingcha would take the credit for these deeds. There are some things that you can’t take credit for just because you want to. Dayan Mangban arose from the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple, was a Tibetan Brigadier General, the Asura War God of Ü-Tsang, and he had quite the accomplished record in the Western Regions. As long as we have Dayan Mangban’s body, Fumeng Lingcha will find it very difficult to claim the credit for this battle."

Wang Chong broke into a grin. It wasn’t that he was an incredibly tolerant and open-minded person that could allow Fumeng Lingcha to take any credit he pleased, but that Fumeng Lingcha had never been able to take the credit away in the first place.

Dayan Mangban was one of the commanders of the Tibetan side of this battle. Presumably, when Fumeng Lingcha saw Wang Chong come out empty-handed, he thought that Dayan Mangban had escaped. After all, if a Brigadier General put all their mind into escaping, their chances were rather high.

However, Wang Chong had stepped onto the plateau already ready to deal with Dayan Mangban, so how could he have allowed him to escape?

"Let’s go! If all goes as expected, Fumeng Lingcha should be paying us a visit very soon."

Wang Chong gave the order, and shortly afterward, all the Wushang Cavalry entered the fortress. Not long after Wang Chong entered, the ten-some Qixi officers who had infiltrated the fortress were driven out.

"What are you doing! We’re from the Qixi Protectorate army!"

"Do you really think this is your territory! You dare touch us! This is rebellion!"

"Arrogant! Release me!"

All the people from the Qixi Protectorate army had their arms tied around their backs and were being pushed out of the city. Although they were being forced to walk forward, they continued to curse, their words growing more and more profane.

"We’re still at war with Ü-Tsang. Tell them that if they don’t just shut their mouths, we’ll handle them like they were deserters. As a marquis of the Imperial Court, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to deal with a few deserters for Protector-General Fumeng Lingcha," Wang Chong indifferently said as he looked down from the wall at the expelled Qixi officers. This message was quickly passed on, and those officers immediately fell quiet, their entire bodies trembling and their lips tightly pursed in fear.

"Lord Marquis, Fumeng Lingcha is coming over," Cheng Sanyuan warned.

A burst of wind blew over the walls as Wang Chong turned to look. In the distance, a stalwart man wielding a large saber more than seven feet long was riding a mighty steed toward the steel fortress, his appearance like a god descended to the mortal realm.

"Hmph, have the gate closed."

Wang Chong waved his right hand and coldly laughed.

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

A messenger went to pass on the order, and quickly, gears began to grind as the two large gates of the miniature city of steel on the triangular gap slowly closed.

With a massive boom, Fumeng Lingcha was shut out from the fortress. His eyes widening, he brought his horse to a stop.

"This bastard!"

Fumeng Lingcha immediately noticed Wang Chong on the wall, and anger began to pool in the depths of his eyes.

"Milord! This brat is challenging us," a deputy said indignantly.

All of Qixi was under the beck and call of the Qixi Protectorate headquarters, and as Qixi Protector-General, Fumeng Lingcha was the undisputed commander of the region. For Wang Chong to close the gate in front of him was an absolute affront to his dignity.

"....He’s getting more and more impetuous! Milord, we have to give him a lesson, or else his arrogance will reach the heavens!"

Before the deputy could say any more, Fumeng Lingcha extended a right hand to stop him.

"Speak no further. I understand how to proceed."

Fumeng Lingcha stared at Wang Chong, his eyes shifting and mercurial. Meanwhile, on the wall, Wang Chong showed no signs of backing down.

I’ll let you enjoy this for now, but you’ll fall into my hands eventually!

Fumeng Lingcha gave Wang Chong a profound glance, but in the end, the thought of those two supreme experts backing Wang Chong gave him pause.

"Let’s go!"

Fumeng Lingcha quickly turned his horse around and left, and with his departure, the entirety of the Qixi Protectorate army charged off.

Night descended, and with all three factions withdrawing, this battle on the steppe finally concluded.

But even though the battle was over, its effects were just beginning to spread. Dayan Mangban and Dusong Mangpoje had not been ordinary experts. Both of them were extremely influential figures in the Western Regions, each with their own impressive reputation.

The fact that an army of tens of thousands of Tibetan cavalry led by Dusong Mangpoje and Dayan Mangban had actually been defeated at the triangular gap, had almost been wiped out, was enough to make the entire Western Regions quake.

The deaths of the five thousand White Braves had the largest effect. In the past, the White Braves had wreaked havoc in every direction, destroying many cities and small kingdoms. They were devilish existences that made many of these city-states tremble in fear.

But these powerful White Braves had died together with the ordinary Tibetan cavalry at the triangular gap. There was no news more shocking than this to these small kingdoms. Indeed, it was like heavenly music to their ears.

"How could this be! We’ve all seen the power of the White Braves! How could they be completely wiped out?!"

In the northwest corner of the Ü-Tsang Empire, south of the Cong Mountains, the border closest to the Anxi Protectorate, this matter was an unprecedented shock to the kingdoms of Greater and Lesser Balur.

"Quickly, investigate! I must know who exterminated the White Braves! These people are the saviors of our Lesser Balur. No matter what, I must thank them."

In the royal hall of Lesser Balur, the red-bearded King of Lesser Balur had been holding a feast when he heard the news. He was so excited that he dropped his gilded wine cup of colored glass onto the floor, where it shattered into pieces.

But in its neighbor of Greater Balur, this news elicited the exact opposite reaction.

"Impossible! No one can exterminate the White Braves! We all know how powerful they are. They couldn’t possibly be defeated, much less wiped out. This must be fake news meant to harm our Greater Balur. Pass down my decree. Anyone who dares to discuss such gossip is to be executed!"

The King of Greater Balur had an ashen expression. His thunderous bellows echoed throughout the kingdom.

And in the other kingdoms of the Western Regions—Further Beilu, Kokand, Kanjut, Kangju, Dayuan1, and others—this news also sent massive shocks running through them!

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1. Further Beilu was a city-state in what is now Xinjiang, though its existence is only noted in the Han records of the Western Regions. Kokand is a city in the Ferghana Valley. Kanjut, also known as Hunza, is an area that straddles the border between present-day Pakistan and China. Kangju is another name for the Kang Kingdom of Sogdiana. Dayuan, as previously noted, was a kingdom of the Ferghana Valley which famously warred with the Han Dynasty over the Ferghana horses.