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Chapter 511: Collapse

Like all legends, the two portions of the battle were largely exaggerated by the story-tellers. The audience, regardless of gender, loved even more to hear about how ferociously the female combatants charged into their enemy, as if they were divine soldiers who had come down from heaven, and hacked their way through an opposing force many times larger, defeating them. As a result, the ferocity of the women from the Land of Fragrance became so widely known that even the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were slightly less on par with them, much less the ordinary men from their own nation.

Reality was much more different; the female soldiers from the Land of Fragrance did not leave their high ground to engage the enemy in melee combat for the entire battle. They were archers and had to rely on the distance between them and their enemy as cover. It was the regular Dragon army troops, including the male soldiers of the Land of Fragrance, who engaged the Golden Roc Army in bloody close combat.

Even so, they gave a huge shock to both armies. Western Region consisted largely of flat ground, and the nations in it usually relied on cavalry as their main force. It was hard to ensure the safety of stationary archers when facing a cavalry charge, thus, no power in the region had built up a crossbow unit which traveled on foot of such a scale. Even Norland, whose soldiers specialized in the use of the bow, had their archers on horseback.

When the 7,000 or so female archers released their arrows at the same time, it was akin to a torrential downpour. Each corpse of a slain Golden Roc Army soldier had at least three arrows stuck on him; even a peerless kung fu master would have unable to escape from such an attack.

The female archers held the high ground and in this way, they evaded the attack of the Golden Roc Army’s cavalry, which was its greatest strength. They had received the Dragon King’s strict orders to never leave their position at the start of the battle.

After breaking the defensive posture of the enemy’s right flank, the archers advanced by only slightly more than 100 steps and halted once they reached the halfway mark of the seaside slope, before continuing to unleash volley after volley of arrows on the enemy. They only came down to join up with the main body of the Dragon army after the battle was over.

The Golden Roc army still stood a chance originally. Shangguan Jianyi could have ordered his left flank to retreat out of the effective range of the enemy archers, so that they would be rendered meaningless to the battle if they insisted on remaining on the seaside slope. If they came down from their high ground, they would be forced to engage in melee combat, thus exposing their lack of physical strength.

However, at that time, Shangguan Jianyi was unable to give out any orders.

Rumors about his death sounded even more implausible. Some suspected that it was caused by the Dragon King, but no one could understand how he could have arranged for the enemy commander’s death by never showing himself. It made him seem as though he had some otherworldly ability to slay someone without even coming into contact with him or her.

It could be confirmed, though, that Old Man Mu was not the killer. He hid in the wine barrel for nearly 12 hours and kept to his promise, refusing to kill. His sudden appearance gave everyone a shock and he quickly melded into the scores of soldiers, scampering between the countless legs in the battlefield; he was incredibly agile and hard to capture.

Of course, he could not have continued fleeing like this forever, but no one paid him any attention after the collapse of the Golden Roc Army.

He had successfully created chaos nearby Shangguan Jianyi, and as nearly all of the 100 killers chased after him into the throng of soldiers, they found that they could not use their kung fu and thus remained stationary and ordered the panicking soldiers back to their stations harshly.

It was during this time that the advisors and high-ranking military officers beside Shangguan Jianyi noticed that Commander Yi, who was usually quick to react, was unexpectedly still. He seemed to have not noticed the chaos unfolding around him and that his troops were routing.

“Commander Yi…” whispered his most trusted advisor, as he touched him lightly. It was at that moment he realized that the commander of the Golden Roc Army had died. The shock caused him to make the biggest mistake of his life, as he lost control and shouted in surprise, “There’s an assassin!”

The chaos around them, which had just died down, now began spreading incredibly quickly toward their surroundings again. After the advisor’s exclamation, even the person who held the most senior rank or was able to improvise the quickest would have no way to calm the soldiers of the Golden Roc Army down.

The killers who were supposed to protect Shangguan Jianyi were now in big trouble, but it was them who remained calm. Two blademasters worked together to salvage the situation, as one of them protected Commander Yi’s corpse while the other drew his saber and ordered loudly, “Everyone remain where they are. Those that disobey will be beheaded!”

His authoritativeness worked its magic, and the area surrounding the commander’s flag returned back to calmness after about 15 minutes.

This, however, laid waste to the Golden Roc Army’s battle plans. The killers only had one goal: to apprehend the assassin. Old Man Mu’s tactics could not fool them, and they knew that the actual assassin was someone else. They also knew that he or she had not escaped and was currently hiding amongst their own soldiers.

In such dire situations, the most urgent need was for a leader to emerge, a leader who could replace the commander and give out orders to salvage the desperate situation of his collapsing army. Even if defeat was inevitable now, this leader could still organize an orderly retreat, thereby preserving what was left of the Golden Roc Army’s main body.

There were three deputy commanders in the Golden Roc Army who had such skills. Two of them were organizing their troops at the frontline, while the last one of them remained beside Shangguan Jianyi. Logically, he could have openly took over as temporary commander, but before he could say more than “I”, he was stopped by the killers.

There was an uncontrollable panic hidden behind the calm of the killers. According to the customs of the Golden Roc Fort, killers had to be buried along with their masters, and there was no way that their lord would let them off after the death of such an important figure such as Shangguan Jianyi.

Other than their kind, the killers did not trust any high-ranking military officer, advisor, guard or attendant anymore.

The two blademasters had their back up against a wall now, and the only way they could possibly avoid their fate would be to capture the assassin. At this moment, they were like beasts in death throes, and rank, title and war meant nothing to them anymore. Even if the sky came collapsing down, or even if the earth caved in, they were bent on finding the assassin.

Unfortunately, their area of control only covered a very small radius, and the effect of their army’s collapse at the frontline came crashing back like a tidal wave.

The tens of thousands of reserve troops in the Golden Roc Army, who were standing behind the killers, had now either heard or witnessed the surprising turn of events on the battlefield and at the area surrounding the commander’s flag. The fear and panic they felt was even stronger than anyone else.

All of a sudden, they threw down their colors and weapons on the ground in unison, as if there were a voice that had appeared at the back of their minds at the same time, urging them to flee. Those on horseback turned their mounts around and galloped away quickly, while those on foot stripped off their armor as they ran, trying to reduce the load they were carrying.

The area surrounding the commander’s flag became the only peaceful zone in the entire battlefield.

One of the blademasters halted, his murderous glare fixed on one of the guards.

Under huge pressure, he suddenly understood that the assassin was the ‘messenger’ sent by the Third Young Master, Shangguan Yun. He himself had even interrogated this person the previous evening.

At that time, he felt strangely wary of the messenger, not because he had came alone and looked foreign, because everyone knew that Shangguan Yun loved to get his subordinates from outside of the Stone Castle, but because of some vague instinctive awareness. He had not caught onto his feeling and subsequently forgot about it, but now he understood.

The ‘messenger’ was a killer in disguise. Even though he disguised himself really well and there was not a hint of him being an assassin from his mannerism, it was impossible for one to get rid of some qualities that had been ingrained since a young age. Also, it took someone who was also used to killing and death to be able to sense it as well.

“He…” began the blademaster. He had wanted to call the ‘guard’ out as an assassin, but he was suddenly inspired to change it to “He’s the Dragon King”, while thinking that if his deduction was correct, both the killers and himself would have a chance of surviving.

The blademaster was so excited that he turned red. Nevertheless, before he could complete his sentence and as he was searching desperately for the assassin, the effect of collapse at the frontline was cascading back with a ferocity that no one could stop. Even if the Supreme King had appeared now, he could do nothing to help.

The soldiers standing near the commander’s flag had reached their breaking point, and they decided to flee even if the killers were holding their sabers on their necks.

The messenger ran faster than anyone else, further proof that he was no ordinary guard.

The blademaster gave chase, as if he had not noticed the utter defeat of his army. His only goal was to catch up with the ‘messenger’ and kill him to prove that he was the Dragon King. He did not even think of requesting for help from his comrades.

His steps were still light and agile, and he believed that his kung fu was on par with the Dragon King. The fleeing troops could not obstruct him. No one could escape from his unflinching gaze.

The small old man re-appeared, but the blademaster would not fall for the same trick twice. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on his target.

Old Man Mu passed by the ‘messenger’ and then rushed toward the blademaster, darting between the horde of legs and hooves with even nimbler steps. He did not strike, however. “I just came to deliver weapons,” he said smilingly before disappearing in the clouds of dust made by the fleeing soldiers.

The blademaster did not understand the meaning behind the old man’s words and did not feel that there was a need to consider them. Other than the messenger, nobody could draw his attention away at this point.

Gu Shenwei discarded the scimitar in his hand as he received his sword and saber. They made him feel at ease once again, as if he had just caught onto the breeze after enduring the worst of winter.

No matter how huge an army was, without leadership and organization, it was just a mere mob and nothing to be afraid of. He did not turn back to engage the enemy soldiers or slow down. Neither did he speed up.

Just as the blademaster was drawing close, Gu Shenwei darted underneath the belly of a warhorse galloping past and suddenly stopped. All of a sudden, the two men had exchanged positions and Gu Shenwei was standing to the right of the blademaster.

One stroke of his sword was enough. When he had assassinated Shangguan Jianyi, he did not use any weapon, and it left him feeling deeply unsatisfied. This stroke finally gave him a little of the pleasure that had eluded him.

In the ensuing chaos, no one noticed the move. The only person who had found out the truth behind Commander Yi’s death was now dead, and the Dragon King personally assassinating Shangguan Jianyi became a secret as a result.

Gu Shenwei would definitely not brag about the incident afterward, but Old Man Mu was more than willing to take the credit for it. There were instances whereby he over-exaggerated and forgot that he had sworn not to kill again.

Even though the killers knew that they would face death by returning to the Stone Castle, none of them fled or surrendered. A few of them died in the stampede of fleeing soldiers, while most of them stuck to their duties and kept Commander Yi’s corpse safe from further harm while embarking on the tough journey back to ask for the Supreme King’s forgiveness.

There were very few rumors as to how the Supreme King dealt with them; everyone were more concerned about the cause of Shangguan Jianyi’s death.

The commander of the Golden Roc Fort was killed by a rare poison; his assassin had stuck a needle at the back of his neck, and the poison took effect immediately.

The New Moon Hall became the biggest suspect, especially Maid Lotus, who had gone missing during the battle. Her skill in kung fu and the occult sciences were more than enough to carry out such an assassination.

However, Maid Lotus was not even present at the battlefield. She had brought Chu Nanping and two of the disciples of the New Moon Hall along with her to keep a close watch on Shangguan Yun’s whereabouts.

She had been captured by the New Moon Hall and later joined them. She was also drugged along with Shangguan Ru in the Land of Fragrance and was very nearly immolated, but the nation was soon destroyed. She had no way of taking revenge from either party and now, the only enemies left that she had to kill were Shangguan Yun and the second eldest of the three Xia brothers.