NABC Chapter 72: Capturing the Prince Alive
Chapter 72: Capturing the Prince Alive
"What's your name?"
Wu He glanced at the prince in front of him.
He looked to be in his early twenties, with skin much fairer than other Khitans. His eyes revealed a timid fear, much like someone who had been pampered and was now experiencing battlefield training for the first time.
"Yelü... Zishan."
Xiang Zeting, standing nearby, said with a smile, "This guy is the youngest son of Yelü Xuanguan, the King of Xi. He has never been to the battlefield before."
Wu He nodded slightly. He had originally intended to severely damage the Arudo heavy cavalry to eliminate any future threats, but he hadn't expected to capture the son of the Xi King, which was a truly unexpected surprise.
"withdraw."
He immediately waved his hand and ordered a retreat.
"Old Wu!"
Unexpectedly, he then said to Ze Ting, "There are still many warhorses and armored vehicles below, all of which are in high demand. Take some."
The Great Zhou Dynasty was short of horses, and most of the warhorses of the Zhenguan Army were captured. The hundreds of warhorses that had survived were truly the envy of Xiang Zeting.
However, Wu He firmly waved his hand: "We won't take it. The most important thing for us on this trip is to stay hidden. The sound of horses' hooves will give us away."
"Old Xiang, don't let a small thing cause you to lose the big picture."
"withdraw!"
Xiang Zeting could only feel regret in silence.
The battle was over, and there was no need to pursue any remaining survivors. After all, this was still Liao territory, and it was not advisable to linger. The group immediately slipped into the deep mountains, intending to return after dark.
During this time, they also took the opportunity to interrogate the son of the Xi King.
He was very weak-willed; Sun Lin scared him so much that he wet his pants and blurted out everything he knew.
The Liao Kingdom's invasion of the Great Zhou with the combined forces of the Northern Han was indeed an attempt to seize some benefits, or even to overthrow the Great Zhou in one fell swoop, taking advantage of the emperor's passing, the new emperor's youth, and the turmoil in the court.
In fact, they had already made such a plan some time ago when Wen Xin and others were causing trouble in Xiongzhou.
In his view, although Wen Xin ultimately failed to destroy the dragon vein, the Great Zhou Emperor also died quickly, so in a sense, he succeeded.
It is the Eternal Heaven's recognition of the achievements of their shamanic clan.
Therefore, the Liao Kingdom was full of confidence in this war. Yelü Zishan alone knew of no less than two hundred experts at the Open Source Five Prefectures level.
Among them was even a powerful high priest at the third stage of the Divine Transformation realm.
Such a force is no less than that of Emperor Shizong during his northern expedition.
In addition, he possessed detailed intelligence about the war, and knew a great deal about it.
After the trial, Wu He found a quiet place in the mountains.
"Advance payment!"
[Martial arts skills already pre-paid: Thunderclap Saber Technique at its peak]
[Man and blade transform into lightning, a thought suffices to strike; before the thunderous roar even arrives, victory or defeat is already decided.]
[You need to make up for the current progress before you can borrow other sword techniques and martial arts skills in advance]
After standing still for a moment, he thoroughly grasped the essence of the Perfect Thunderclap Saber Technique.
A flash of light appeared before me, but vanished in an instant!
Click click~
Immediately afterward, a giant tree three meters ahead, which would take two people to encircle, began to tilt. It had been cut off diagonally, and its huge branches swayed and the treetop crashed to the ground.
There wasn't even a single burr at the cut.
Clang~
A faint sound rang out as the sword was sheathed, and Wu He slowly raised his hand from the hilt.
His expression brightened with joy.
In that fleeting moment, I drew my sword, slashed diagonally, and then returned it to its original position in three steps.
"The Perfect Thunderclap Blade integrates the strengths of previous realms, truly achieving the effect of striking with thunder, killing the enemy in the blink of an eye."
As a sword technique practiced by assassins, the Thunderclap Blade is always cultivated around the three steps of speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.
Now that it is complete, it is truly a thunderous strike, a blade drawn to kill the enemy.
"Once I finish improving my Thunderclap Blade Technique, I should be able to accumulate some military merits to exchange for martial arts techniques from the Imperial Guard's armory."
"Next, it would be best to switch to a lower-rank sword technique."
Wu He looked at the place where Yelü Zishan was imprisoned, lost in thought.
In this battle, he not only annihilated a Liao Dynasty Arudo heavy cavalry unit, but also captured the son of the Xi King alive, achieving considerable military exploits.
This should be enough to exchange for a Xuan-level martial art.
But Wu He was not content with this. The war had just begun, and he was sure he would have another chance to make meritorious contributions in the future.
Ideally, save up a big one!
As night fell, the group quickly traveled south along the original route.
……
Waqiao Camp.
"To cross the Baigou River and launch a preemptive strike? Nonsense!"
Inside the camp, Liu Qing, the deputy commander of this battle, suddenly slammed down his wine cup, his roar stunning the many generals present.
Among them, the Tiger Swift Army captain left behind by Wu He trembled and quickly explained, "General Liu, Lord Wu's actions were not rash."
"The prisoners we captured said that a troop of Liao Arudo heavy cavalry is marching towards Yuping Town. If we don't inflict heavy damage on them in the mountains, the town's army, which outnumbers them several times over, will be unable to withstand them once we return to the plains."
"So you acted without asking for permission?"
Liu Qing realized that he had lost his composure, so he suppressed his anger and returned to his seat.
"North of the Baigou River, there are still dozens of miles to the Taihang Mountains. Liao Dynasty military towns are scattered throughout this area. If anything goes wrong, how will your Waqiao Tiger Swift Army escape alive?"
"So what if they're Arudo heavy cavalry? Our Zhenguan Army isn't without its own cavalry battalion; how can we let the enemy charge and rampage at will?"
"It's because young people are in power that they act rashly and make assumptions."
Hearing the reprimand, the constable could only remain silent, feeling helpless.
Liu Qing was known for his steadiness in the Zhenguan Army. He always acted cautiously and steadily. Although he was not a fierce general like Guo Guiyuan, his prudence and steadiness made him the cornerstone of the Zhenguan Army in Xiongzhou.
It was precisely because of this ability that Guo Guiyuan appointed him to command the front lines in response to the current situation of the Liao Kingdom's large-scale invasion.
We don't expect to kill the enemy or recover lost territory; we just want to avoid making mistakes.
At this critical juncture, such a risky and adventurous approach is truly his Achilles' heel.
However, it was just talk; Liu Qing was genuinely concerned about the safety of Wu He and the others.
He waved his hand and immediately ordered, "Deputy Commander Zhang."
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I order you to lead your troops to Yuping Town and cause some trouble there, the bigger the better."
"yes!"
"Report—!"
The order had just been given when a messenger strode in from outside the tent.
"Reporting to the Deputy Commander! General Hu Jie has led his troops back!"
In an instant, everyone's expression changed, and Liu Qing even stood up from his seat.
"Were you injured?"
"You are safe and sound."
"Commander Liu".
Then, Wu He strode into the tent and glanced at the head of his subordinates standing alone to the side. He then understood what had just happened.
He immediately took off the cloth bag from his waist and threw it on the ground, along with some waist tags.
"This humble general led his troops to ambush and wipe out a cavalry unit of the Xi King's camp, killing more than 800 enemy soldiers."
"This is Yelü Wangkuang, the deputy commander of the cavalry."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were drawn to the cloth bag. One of them stepped forward and untied it, and a bloody head immediately rolled out.
"It really is him!"
Someone immediately recognized him.
"This kid has gained some fame in the Liao Kingdom in recent years; he's quite a figure."
"This face truly has the look of a wolf's gaze."
"Hehe, General Wu is quite something!"
There were many Liao spies within Xiongzhou, and similarly, the Great Zhou also sent many people to infiltrate neighboring countries to gather intelligence.
Yelü Wangkuang's name had appeared several times in the Zhenguan Army's intelligence network.
Unexpectedly, his head was ripped off and displayed in the enemy's tent right at the start of the battle.
When she looked at the young man standing next to her again, her eyes were different.
Wu He remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at the tent entrance.
"Bring it in!"