“Even I don’t have the confidence to subdue her. If our operation fails and we leave behind any evidence, the situation might backfire on us!”
Abutong replied. He was clearly wary of Marchioness Yi. Different from Wang Chong, she was a true expert who was reputable even among the geniuses of the capital.
“But young general, do we just let this matter go?”
The Tongluo youth replied indignantly. Tongluo men had always prided themselves on their feral and aggressive nature, and tolerance wasn’t their style of doing things.
“Hmph, let the matter go? How is that possible! Why do you think I chose this Kunwu Training Camp when I could have gone to Shenwei Training Camp instead? The days are long, and there will be plenty of chances to deal with this Wang Chong in the future!”
Abutong sneered as he flung his sleeves backward and returned back into the hall on top of Black Tortoise Peak.
The battle at Azure Dragon Peak ended around the same time as that of Black Tortoise Peak. And by the time Wang Chong arrived, the attacking Goguryeons and Turks had already received the news and left.
The four peaks of Kunwu Training Camp were built from the very start with the intention of supporting one another.
In truth, the battle had already ended from the moment that White Tiger Peak triumphed over their enemies! At the time, the tides had already changed, and no matter how indignant the Goguryeons and Turks were, they could only flee in disappointment.
“It’s finally over!”
Below the Azure Dragon Peak, Wang Chong wore a pallid appearance. He panted deeply as he supported himself with his hands on his knees. The battle had lasted a long time, while he’d been running around without a break the whole time. Now that he could finally take a breather, he found his Origin Energy and stamina were nearly depleted.
Were it not for the additional benefit of enhancing his Bane of the Battlefield slaying the Goguryeon warriors, he wouldn’t have pushed himself so much.
However, it was all over now. All that was left was to sweep the entire area.
…
A strong mountain wind blew across the night sky.
While Wang Chong, Marchioness Yi, Wei Hao, and the other camp members were clearing the corpses and carcasses from the four peaks, no one knew that a pair of eyes had been silently observing their actions and the entire Kunwu Training Camp from the shadows.
No one knew exactly how long he had been standing there, but without a doubt, from the start to the end of the assault, there wasn’t a single detail that had managed to escape his notice.
“Are the preparations complete?”
In the darkness, a shadowy figure was standing atop a rocky prominence with his hands behind his back. His voice was authoritative and cold, and it was impossible to discern any emotions from it. A slight star-lit radiance shone upon him, allowing one to vaguely see the shape of Great Tang’s uniform.
“All preparations are ready! Quill, Imperial, Serpent, Dragon, Tortoise… All six armies stand ready. Not a single one of those master archers, warriors, or wolves will get away!”
A young man moved to kneel before that figure respectfully. His tone was composed but the content of his words was shocking.
If Wang Chong was here, he would definitely be astounded. Quill, Imperial, Serpent, Dragon, and Tortoise—they were all regiments under the Imperial Army.
Wang Chong and the others thought that the master archers had sealed all news from getting out, but the royal palace somehow seemed to have had advance knowledge.
“Very well! Relay my orders! Kill every single one of them, especially the master archers! Since the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates and Goguryeo sent us so many master archers and condor snipers, it’ll be a little embarrassing if we don’t accept them properly!”
The figure ordered coldly and callously.
If Zhao Qianqiu was here, he would be even more astounded. The person standing here issuing orders was the very same one who said that he would return to the capital to report to the Sage Emperor! Instead of returning to the royal palace, he was hiding here instead!
The command was swiftly relayed, and in all directions, in places where none could see, another battle raged on. This one ended much quicker than the previous assault. There was no stalemate. It was a completely one-sided slaughter.
Or perhaps, calling it as a battle was a little inaccurate. To be more exact, it was a prepared harvest.
“Lord, are we being a little too heartless here?”
The young kneeling man finally questioned after relaying the orders.
“Heartless?”
That figure perched atop a towering prominence appeared taken aback, seemingly unable to comprehend the meaning behind the young man’s words.
“Over a hundred master archers and several hundred Goguryeon warriors… In truth, this assault could have been entirely prevented. So why did we keep the news from them despite receiving earlier warnings? Those recruits are still children; they aren’t at an age to enter a battlefield yet. Aren’t we being a little too callous to them?”
The young man was involved in this matter, so he was aware of the entire proceedings.
It was due to the lack of preparation that this sudden assault caught so many off guard, resulting in massive losses. The Goguryeons and Turks had concealed their movements well; their planning being also very thorough; and their sense of timing was, in addition, excellent.
But to the Great Tang, an operation of this level wasn’t in their blind spot yet.
The Three Great Training Camps were just twenty to forty li away. At such a distance, how could the capital possibly be completely unaware of the happenings here?
In truth, there was no secrecy behind this assault in the first place. Even though the Turks were extremely careful, and the wolves were slowly slipped across the border one by one over an extremely long period of time, it was still insufficient to hide from the eyes and ears of the royal court.
Just that, the royal court intentionally concealed the matter. Not only so, they even allowed their enemies free reign, and this assault on the Three Great Training Camps was the result.
“You’re sympathizing with them?”
That person replied indifferently.
“Yes!”
The young man grit his teeth and affirmed.
“Heh, do you know of the death quota of the Three Great Training Camps?”
Weng!
The young man was initially confused when suddenly a ghastly comprehension dawned on him and his body trembled. He abruptly raised his head.
“Lord, you mean that…?”
“Hmph, do you think that I have the right to make a decision for such a huge matter?”
That person replied.
“So that means that the Sage Emperor…”
The young man’s face turned pale.
“It’s good that you understand! Only after the quota is exceeded will we step in, and currently… the number of deaths is still within the permissible range!”
The figure replied nonchalantly as he continued to observe from above. On the other hand, the young man listening to these words trembled violently, as though he was struck by a bolt of lightning.
Tongluo Tribe -> Toŋra Tribe -> They are a part of a nomadic tribe classified under Tiele.
are Turks coming from the heritage of Xiongnu.
Xiongnu is a confederation(alliance) of nomadic people who formed a powerful influence in the third century BC to late first century AD.
Note: As China has a more organized method of recording history and their records are more complete, most of the history of these tribes are transliterated and passed down in Chinese. According to Wikipedia(Chinese), in the original language, Tongluo should refer to Toŋra. However, for the sake of convenience, I’ll use the transliterated version.
Chapter 219: King Sosurim
Chapter 219: King Sosurim
The assault that night had caused a minimum of fi
fty deaths each for the four peaks of Kunwu Training Camp. As for Shenwei and Longwei, their death tolls were similar. The trainees’ deaths added up to a hulking sum of more than five hundred. With so many recruits dying in the battle, the damage caused by the assailants was tremendous!
Yet, the lord before him said that this number was within the acceptable range for the death quota!
In an instant, the young man felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
The existence of the death quota was no secret at all, but he had always thought it would just be a maximum of twenty or thirty. However, from the looks of things now, he had severely underestimated it.
For some reason, when the lord he respected from the bottom of his heart spoke these words, he suddenly felt incomparably terrified.
“The will of the heavens was indeed scary!”
(The emperor is known as the Son of Heavens)
This was the only thought he had in his mind now.
“… What the royal court needs are wolves; not sheep! In this, I share the same thoughts as His Majesty. War isn’t a game. Our actions may seem callous to you, but in both His Majesty and my eyes, this is already utmost benevolence.”
That lord’s voice sounded from the darkness.
“A hundred master archers, a few hundred Goguryeon warriors, and a handful of Turk wolves… This is nothing compared to what awaits them on the callous battlefield. If they cannot even survive this ordeal, then they are even less likely to survive on future battlefields!”
“Dying here is at least much better than dying on the battlefield. At the very least, their corpses will be intact and they will be buried here!”
“The faster they understand their situation, the faster they will learn. This is the reason why His Majesty and I allowed the enemy to attack as they please. Even though more than five hundred recruits died in the Three Great Training Camps today, more of them will remember today and survive future battlefields!”
“This is a lesson that His Majesty and I are conducting for them!”
The lord’s words were calm and confident.
“You know that Zhao Qianqiu requested some tigers from His Majesty to teach his students a precious lesson, right?”
“AH!”
The latter was astonished.
“These are the ‘tigers’ that we prepared for all of the recruits!”
That figure spoke with a deep tone, and the young man found himself unable to utter a single word in response.
“Report!”
As the conversation lulled, a voice suddenly came from the surrounding forest, breaking the silence. A heavily-armored Imperial Army commander stepped forward from the lush woodland with widened strides. Strong bloodthirst emanated from his body.
A gust of mountain wind blew past. Even before he could reach them, the duo could already smell an overwhelming stench of blood wafting from him.
“Reporting to the two lords, all of the Goguryeons and Turks have been cleared. Other than a single Goguryeon who managed to escape our encirclement, not another one remains!”
The Imperial Army commander kneeled forcefully to the ground; viscous blood dripped down from the gaps in his armor, staining the grass crimson.
This battle had ended much faster than anyone could have expected. Six Imperial Army regiments had worked together, and under such might, no one could survive. The Goguryeon and Turk master archers had barely begun to retaliate before they were cleared out entirely.
“He could still escape!”
A deep sigh echoed from above. However, a moment later, that figure recovered and issued his instructions.
“Relay my orders, clean up all traces of the battle. Make sure not to leave behind any clues, including blood. No one must know that we made a move!”
“Yes, lord!”
The Imperial Army commander replied and swiftly left.
“Li Tong, you should leave as well. Inform His Majesty that that person has escaped!”
Turning around, that figure looked back down at the young man kneeling below.
“But lord, isn’t it still unconfirmed?”
Li Tong raised his head. He knew that on top of clearing away the Turks and Goguryeons, the mission tonight also involved capturing an important target.
“Hmph, an encirclement formed by six Imperial Army regiments, yet a person still manages to escape. Do you think that this is a feat ordinary martial artists are capable of? There’s no need to check, our target must have surely escaped. That Goguryeon is cunning!”
Standing atop the outcropping, the lord spoke. Then, with a slight sway, he disappeared into the night. Behind him, the young Li Tong hesitated briefly before departing as well.
A light breeze blew over the empty mountainside.
To the members of the Three Great Training Camps, the operation tonight would remain as a secret. The camp members and the outside world would never learn that six Imperial Army regiments had been here.
More importantly, no one would know that these three men had appeared here.
…
Peng!
Frenzied wind blew as the carcass of a wolf was thrown down a menacing cliff. At the foot of the mountain, the corpses and carcasses had already piled up to form a mountain of their own.
Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise; the four peaks were covered with the bodies of the dead. If they didn’t deal with it quickly, soon decay would set-in, and in less than three days, the entire mountain would wreak like a charnel house.
The battle may have ended, but there was still plenty of cleaning and rebuilding left to be done. Thus, everyone, including Wang Chong and Wei Hao, was currently busy at work.
Even the ladies like Marchioness Yi were included in the operation.
“Wang Chong, don’t you think that those women are terrifying?”
Amidst the crowd, Wei Hao suddenly jabbed Wang Chong lightly with his elbow and whispered.
Following Wei Hao’s gaze, Wang Chong saw Marchioness Yi and the others.
“Are you tired of living? If they were to hear your words, you will be in for a round of suffering. Try recalling her spear, do you want to try what it feels like to be impaled by it?”
Wang Chong chuckled.
Wei Hao’s face paled. Remembering how deadly Marchioness Yi’s spear was, his hair immediately stood on end.
“Bastard! How dare you scare me!”
But he soon recovered and pushed against Wang Chong angrily.
“Hey, who asked you to be so spineless? How could you leave me behind during the day?”
Wang Chong protested.
“It’s not my fault! Isn’t it because I… I’m not a match for them either?”
Hearing his friend bringing up this matter, Wei Hao could only reply sheepishly.
Wang Chong chose not to bicker with him over this. Instead, he lifted his head and looked at Marchioness Yi with a contemplative expression.
Even though Wei Hao considered Marchioness Yi and the members of Vermilion Bird as female dinosaurs—violent, arrogant, and fearless—Wang Chong didn’t share the same thoughts
Even though they were clearing the bodies just like everyone else, judging from their expressions, they were obviously discomforted. In fact, it felt as if they wanted to flee as far from the corpses as possible. This formed a stark contrast with the image of a war goddess that had been imprinted in their minds during the prior battle.
“Hm?”
Just as Wang Chong was contemplating, he suddenly caught sight of something that made his heart skip a beat.
“Wei Hao, wait a moment. Put the corpse down.”
Wang Chong suddenly stopped Wei Hao.
“Why? You are interested in corpses now?”
Wei Hao teased.
Chi la!
However, Wang Chong wasn’t in the mood to joke around any longer. Walking over, he grabbed the black pants of the Goguryeon warrior Wei Hao was still carrying and tore them apart. In the next i
nstant, a bizarre tattoo on the warrior’s right leg was revealed.
Spotting the tattoo, even Wei Hao’s expression warped in shock. Reining in his joking nature, he put down the body and examined the image closely.
It was in the shape of a circle. In the tattoo, there was a snake and a three-legged crow. The three-legged crow was above while the snake was below, and their eyes stared at one another, creating a bizarre sight.
“This is… the symbol of a certain influence?”
Wei Hao swiftly came to a realization. Wang Chong didn’t reply. He simply stared fixedly at the tattoo as his heart thumped wildly.
He recognized this symbol!
Wang Chong had thought this nighttime assault was just a normal alliance between the Goguryeon and the Turks to test and disrupt the Three Great Training Camps and dampen the Great Tang’s arrogance. Upon seeing this symbol however, he realized that he’d made a mistake and considerably underestimated the nature of the affair.
“King Sosurim!”
A name flashed across Wang Chong’s mind as he stared at the bizarre tattoo.
Even though the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganate and Ü-Tsang had consumed all of Great Tang’s attention, the eastern Goguryeo Empire had never slackened in its information gathering operations against Great Tang.
And this ‘King Sosurim’ was the top spy that Goguryeo had in Great Tang, a sharp thorn that the Goguryeon emperor, Yeon Gaesomun, had planted in the Central Plains.
Even though this top spy wasn’t born of nobility, rumor had it that the Goguryeon emperor had conferred him as a member of the royal family. His title of ‘King Sosurim’ was bestowed by Yeon Gaesomun, and this reflected how highly he regarded the former.
And the three-legged crow and snake tattoo was the symbol of his subordinates.
Even though his job scope mainly revolved around information gathering and spying, the doings of King Sosurim in the capital far exceeded that.
Destruction, assassination… Anything and everything that would be damaging to Great Tang and beneficial to Goguryeo entered his purview. What brought him the greatest notoriety was his successful assassinations of influential officials of the Central Plains.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 167