Wang Chong said, "This matter is of the utmost gravity. I cannot allow you to leave; for now, I must ask you to bear with this inconvenience.
"How many men does your Qinghe Gang have in the vicinity? Gather every last one of them for me."
Luo Dayong was dumbfounded. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined this would be the treatment he received for delivering a warning. What was more, this man actually coveted the members of the Qinghe Gang! In a low voice, he said, "Is this how Manager Wang treats men of worth with respect?"
Wang Chong gave the Qinghe Gang leader a bizarre look and said, "I could easily walk away and leave, but with the common folk of Pengshan County facing the savage might of the Jiuqu League's cavalry, what do you think would happen to them?
"In a crisis like this, you want me to be courteous to men of talent?
"Have you lost your mind!?"
Luo Dayong had indeed come to deliver the news in the hope that Wang Chong would make a swift escape, earning himself a modest measure of merit in the process. Yet never could he have foreseen that Wang Chong would choose without hesitation to protect the people of Pengshan County. With a bitter smile, he said, "This old man is a local as well. How could I not know the cruelty of the barbarians? But with barely a hundred men from the Qinghe Gang nearby, how could we possibly defend Pengshan County?"
Wang Chong said, "Your Qinghe Gang knows every inch of this terrain. You must already know that I've been recruiting men lately."
Luo Dayong's spirits suddenly lifted, and he exclaimed, "As long as we hold out for a little while, reinforcements will arrive?"
Wang Chong chuckled. Naturally, he knew there were no reinforcements, but this was hardly the time to explain.
Luo Dayong immediately called out, "Please have my men brought over, Manager Wang. I'll summon the Qinghe Gang's hands at once."
Wang Chong sighed. He took no pleasure in deceiving this Qinghe Gang leader who had come to warn him, but right now he had to muster every ounce of strength at his disposal.
The eight words—"Every battle ends in slaughter, without exception"—weighed down like a hundred thousand mountains pressing upon him, leaving him breathless!
Without delay, Wang Chong hurried to inform Monk Xuan Gang of the situation, telling him to bring everyone in the estate. First, they went to the county yamen, as in the entire county of Pengshan, only the yamen kept any weapons—even if they amounted to nothing more than iron rulers, waist sabers, and fire-and-water staves. When the magistrate of Pengshan County stammered in hesitation, his acupoints were sealed and he was thrown into the dungeon, while all the yamen's personnel were drafted into service. Next, Wang Chong led his people on a sweep through Pengshan County, conscripting every young and able-bodied man into the ranks. There was no room for niceties now; anyone unwilling had their acupoints sealed on the spot and was threatened with beheading moments later to intimidate them, though in truth they were merely stuffed into the yamen's cells for temporary shelter. They also "raided" several wealthy households, taking no money, only grain. In this manner, they cobbled together a force. The only consoling detail was that twenty to thirty percent of the young kin sent by constables from various places were armed with weapons.
When Wang Chong led his men atop the city walls of Pengshan County, he saw dust billowing in the distance as countless barbarian cavalry advanced with a clamorous roar.
He had never led troops in battle before; transmigrating here had granted him nothing more than a body of martial arts. Faced with this situation, he could only do what was humanly possible and leave the rest to fate.
Wang Chong summoned Luo Dayong, the Qinghe Gang leader, reached out to unseal his acupoints, and whispered in his ear, "You came all this way to warn me, and I cannot bring myself to doom you. There are no reinforcements. If you leave right now, you can still make it."
Luo Dayong prostrated himself on the ground in a salute, then turned and fled.
Monk Xuan Gang gazed from the battlements, looked toward the plains outside the city, and said, "It cannot be held!
"Pengshan County is just an ordinary county seat without soldiers, and its walls are low. This ragtag mob of yours is worse than mountain bandits. Outside, you face elite troops of the Jiuqu League's Yaglakar clan. Despicable as Yaglakar Yehu's reputation may be, he is undeniably one of the realm's foremost commanders."
Wang Chong countered, "And if we don't defend it, what then?
"Since the Yaglakar army marches and slaughters every city they take without exception, why shouldn't we fight back? Are we supposed to just stretch out our necks and wait for the blade?"
Monk Xuan Gang had no retort to that. He said blandly, "When matters turn dire, I will certainly abandon the city and leave. When I go, I'll take your three little maidservants with me."
Wang Chong chuckled and said, "Thank you."
Inwardly, he sighed. With Monk Xuan Gang lending a hand, and with Yu Zao, Nan Xinlan, and Tie Mingzhu possessing martial arts of their own, they should be able to escape alive.
Half a shichen later, cavalry swarming across the mountains and plains bore down upon the walls of Pengshan County. The rider at their head was imposing and tall, clad in armor from head to toe, even his face concealed behind iron plate. Pointing toward the county seat, he ordered the troops to storm the walls without even pausing to regroup.
Looking at the rider, Wang Chong thought to himself, If I had a Barrett, I'd take your head off with a single shot. Too bad this isn't Joy of Life.
He gauged the distance and was struck by a sudden idea. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Senior Brother Xuan Gang, if you strike with all your might, how far can you launch me?"
Xuan Gang recalled their previous bitter battle when the two of them had joined forces against the three prairie masters. Back then, Wang Chong had used the momentum of Xuan Gang's palm strike to shake off Wuzhumuqin, isolating Wen Ducheng in a one-on-one duel and slaying the young expert of the Yaglakar clan. Xuan Gang's heart leaped, and he lowered his voice. "Once you go out there, you might not make it back."
Wang Chong sighed and said, "What better choice do I have?" He gave himself no time to hesitate, for he feared that if he thought too much, cowardice would take hold and he would shrink from taking the risk. After all, he was no great hero—just an ordinary transmigrator.
At the first drum, morale surges; at the second, it wanes; at the third, it is spent.
Wang Chong leapt forcefully into midair and kicked a foot toward Monk Xuan Gang. Fearing that his courage would falter before his resolve could even begin to wane, he left himself no leeway to overthink. Still, he did not forget to give himself an extra buff, shouting at the top of his lungs, "General Yaglakar Yehu! I am the county magistrate, and I am willing to surrender!"
Focusing his mind, Monk Xuan Gang channeled the full measure of his skill and struck the sole of Wang Chong's foot with a palm. His internal force surged like a tidal wave, propelling Wang Chong skyward like a rocket, hurtling over ten zhang in a single leap.
Wang Chong pushed Mount Wudang's Riding Clouds and Treading Wind lightness skill to the absolute limit of his life. Suspended in midair, he saw that none of the Jiuqu League riders were drawing their bows. Overjoyed, he pressed his lightness skill to the utmost, hurtling straight toward the enemy commander.
The armored rider leading the army wore a mocking smirk as he watched Wang Chong flying toward him at full speed. Only when Wang Chong arrived right before him did he thrust his spear forward at a leisurely pace, barking, "A petty trick! How dare you show off your axe before Master Lu Ban?"
This time, Wang Chong indulged in no fancy tricks. When he had killed Nalihai, he had relied on various schemes to make his foe grow arrogant and careless; when he had killed Wen Ducheng, he had long beforehand planted a misleading impression. This time, however, he had no such opportunity. His opponent was fully prepared, and any feint would only expose a flaw. Wang Chong unleashed the swiftest, fiercest, and most explosive stance of the Holding-Candle Swordplay, pouring everything he had into a single strike—Severing the Astral River—holding nothing back.
The "candle flames" sparked by the friction of sword light against the air blazed across the sky, gathering into surging waves. Flecks of starlight merged into a dazzling ribbon of white silk, undulating with blinding brilliance!
All the painstaking effort Wang Chong had poured into this swordsmanship bore fruit at this very moment. He felt as though the long sword had become an extension of his own body, moving in perfect harmony with his will. In a mere instant, the long sword and the sharp spear clashed hundreds of times.
Relying purely on his instinctual sense of qi, he spotted a flaw. Yet as if possessed by spirits, his sword light froze for the briefest fraction of a second, hesitating for a fleeting instant before suddenly thrusting forward...
Chapter 63