Mercenary Princess - Chapter 92
Faced with the first confession of love in her life, Rongyue felt not excitement or emotion, but an indescribable sorrow. Her delicate eyelashes trembled, and a layer of mist appeared faintly in her clear eyes, a poignant sadness tugging at the heartstrings.
Tuoba Chen's brows furrowed, his voice filled with unbearable sorrow: "Little mistress, does my love cause you so much pain?"
Not wanting to explain further, she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and forced back the tears in them: "I'm sorry."
"Mistress, that's not what I want!" Tuoba Chen almost cried out, wrapping his arms around Rongyue.
"sorry."
"Don't apologize to me, I don't need it, I don't need it, you mistress!"
"sorry."
"Mistress, do I have absolutely no chance? Not even the slightest chance? Mistress, tell me, is that right? Tell me!" Tuoba Chen looked anxiously into Rong Yue's eyes, breathing rapidly, his face tense, and his palms sweating.
Her eyelashes trembled again, and she slowly opened her eyes, a deep sense of guilt surfacing in the depths of her clear, watery pupils. Without a word, Tuoba Chen immediately understood her rejection; his handsome eyes dimmed, and the hands that had been resting on her shoulders slid down limply…
"You're so cruel, mistress..." With almost all his strength, Tuoba Chen barely managed to get off the ground. He took a steady step and staggered towards the tent.
But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared intently at Rongyue, whose expression was complicated. His tone was almost pleading: "Xiao San, don't be so heartless. Please give me a chance."
Knowing that matters of the heart, if not severed, will only become more tangled and complicated, she hardened her heart, her cold voice carrying an unyielding resolve: "Second Prince, I will not see you off further!"
The distant tone and cold voice struck Tuoba Chen like a thunderbolt, causing him to sway slightly and almost lose his balance. He seemed to use immense strength to support himself, and after a long while, he managed a bitter smile: "Yes, it's time to go, it's time to go. Staying here any longer will only annoy people… In the next life, may you never be a lovesick fool, never be a lovesick fool…"
Only after Tuoba Chen's tall figure disappeared outside the tent and into the black night did Rongyue withdraw her gaze, quietly lying down, her eyes wide as she stared blankly at the blue tent ceiling. He should never have been born a love-struck fool… Tuoba Chen, had she truly hurt him this much…?
I spent a sleepless night.
Forcing himself to stay alert, he put on the military uniform draped over the counter, rolled up his sleeves, hastily wiped his face, and ordered the soldiers outside the tent to strike the gong and assemble the army.
Fifteen minutes later, all the soldiers stood respectfully in the training ground, at attention, waiting for Rongyue to give orders.
He nodded in satisfaction at the soldiers' good morale. He then gestured to the three guards, who immediately understood and each led a group of soldiers in an orderly fashion to begin their daily routine—a 5,000-meter run around the training ground.
"Down with the Rong traitors! The Southern Sha Kingdom will surely prevail! One, two, three, four!"
"Down with the Rong traitors! The Southern Sha Kingdom will surely prevail! One, two, three, four!"
...
Hearing the thunderous slogans, Rongyue couldn't help but be infected by the magnificent and heroic spirit, and her previous frustration vanished. Taking a deep breath, Rongyue quickly caught up with the group, and from the outside, she gathered all her strength and shouted: "Serve the country with utmost loyalty! Defend our land! Go, Nancha Kingdom!!"
The powerful shouts greatly boosted morale. At the top of their lungs, they all roared with fervor: "Serve the country with utmost loyalty! Defend our land! Go, Southern Kingdom!!"
Not far away, Tuoba Chen's gaze lingered on that slender figure, unwavering for a long, long time. A gentle breeze rustled through the clouds, and a warm stream flowed through his heart. It was as if being able to see her was the greatest happiness in the world to him...
Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines, Chapter Twenty-Five: A Different Kind of Tuoba Chen
Three days passed in a flash, and they were getting closer and closer to the northern border, constantly reminding Rongyue that the day of battle was fast approaching. They moved with even greater caution, personally instructing the sentries on duty each day not to be careless and to report any movement to her immediately.
With the mind in the heavens and the master on earth, trapping the enemy within, forcing them to surrender without a fight—this was the Heavenly Formation, Rongyue's secret weapon against the Rong bandits. She knew the Rong were skilled in horsemanship and archery, each a formidable warrior in their southern campaigns; a direct confrontation, even if victorious, would likely result in heavy casualties. To achieve maximum victory with minimal losses, the battle formations had to be ingeniously employed. Therefore, Rongyue pondered day and night, repeatedly comparing the formations in her mind, and ultimately concluded that the Heavenly Formation was the most suitable. Although the training period was short and the Heavenly Formation's effect far from her expectations, its ingenuity, coupled with their numerical advantage, meant that trapping those mere few thousand men within its formation and forcing them to surrender without a fight should not be a problem.
Amidst the soldiers' admiring gazes, Tuoba Jie's complex and unreadable expression, and Tuoba Chen's tender and adoring eyes, Rongyue held a swearing-in ceremony. Then, she stepped onto her horse, gracefully mounted, and with a powerful wave of her slender yet strong hand, the horn sounded, and the 60,000-strong army marched in a mighty procession toward the next stop—the northern border.
Facing the impending war, their excitement was more fitting than nervousness. Looking at their spirited demeanor and eager expressions, it was as if they had waited far too long for this battle, and were impatient to display their might on the battlefield. Watching the soldiers who seemed to want to accomplish in a single day what they had in two, Rongyue frowned, thinking to herself: People in this era are truly strange; it's as if fighting and killing are something they yearn for.
What Rongyue didn't know was that the soldiers' excitement and eagerness stemmed from their impatient desire to test the power of this miraculous formation. Such an ingenious and profound formation was something few, if not them, had ever seen in the entire world! People are always drawn to new things, filled with a desire to explore and a sense of wonder; how could they not be excited and restless?
Unexpectedly, before the Heavenly Formation could even be used, Rongyue's army suffered a setback at Qishan. Qishan, a natural barrier on the northern border, was divided into east and west sections. Perhaps due to recent heavy rains, the road between the two mountains was uneven and muddy. Qishan wasn't high, but it was very steep. The mountain was barren, with only low-lying reeds, and its summit was covered in jagged rocks, seemingly the work of nature. Because the two mountains were too low for an ambush, Rongyue hadn't considered it. However, this carelessness allowed the enemy to exploit the situation. As Rongyue's army passed through the gap between the two mountains, arrows and stones swarmed from the summit, catching them completely off guard. Having seen many battles, Rongyue immediately calmed down, ordered the chaotic army to stop, and instructed them to quickly move along the rock face and retreat along the original path. Fortunately, the command was timely and appropriate, so the 60,000-strong army suffered few casualties and safely navigated the dangerous situation according to Rongyue's instructions.
"Xiao San, how are you? Are you alright? Let me see if you're hurt!" Tuoba Chen rode quickly towards Rong Yue. When he got close, he threw off the stirrups, his eyes filled with anxiety, and rushed over. Without saying a word, he picked up Rong Yue and looked her over from left to right.
Tuoba Chen's overly concerned actions attracted the attention of many soldiers. Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, Rong Yue coldly pushed Tuoba Chen away, her eyes serious as she looked up at the throng of heads above. She turned to Shangguan Ping and whispered, "Shangguan Wuwei, order the three armies to retreat three she (a unit of distance) and set up camp around the mountain." Nodding in agreement, Shangguan Ping hurriedly directed the Xuanjia soldiers to surround Qishan and set up tents at the three she mark.
The empty embrace left Tuoba Chen momentarily stunned. Staring at Rong Yue's solemn and composed face, a faint sadness crept into Tuoba Chen's once bright eyes. Forcing away the disappointment in his eyes, Tuoba Chen strode towards Rong Yue and asked in a low voice, "Have you thought of a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
Holding a map of the northern frontier in one hand and pressing her other hand against her brow, Rongyue lowered her eyes in thought. After a long while, she said, "I'm afraid we can only wait and see for now."
Looking tenderly at the distressed Rongyue, Tuoba Chen couldn't help but reach out his hands to wipe away the weariness between her brows. But as his hands were raised halfway, he suddenly remembered her earlier rejection and let them fall limply to his sides.
Tuoba Jie, watching from afar, witnessed this scene clearly. The subtle and strange relationship between the two deepened his suspicion. Could it be that Tuoba Chen truly harbored homosexual tendencies, as he suspected?
Three days have passed, but there has been no progress in devising a strategy to defeat the enemy.
The moon is bright and the stars are few; the clothes are black and the wind is high.
Inside the military tent, the dim candlelight illuminated her face, making her appear gentle and composed. Her fingertips lightly traced the topographical map of the Qishan area, her delicate brows furrowed, her eyes deep and unfathomable, as if she were pondering a possible scenario. When her gaze swept over a secluded valley five miles away from the towering mountains, her fingertips suddenly stopped, a surge of joy rising in her heart, her eyes flashing with a dazzling light.
"This is it!" Rongyue beckoned to the dejected guards in the tent and pointed out the valley to them: "We've finally found it! So this is their Achilles' heel!"
Upon hearing that they had found the enemy's Achilles' heel, the three guards immediately perked up and crowded around to examine the insignificant red dot.
"General, what is this..." Wu Wei Fan Luo pointed at the tiny red dot, his face, full of fat, creased in confusion.
A sharp, clear light shone in his eyes: "This was originally the bandits' lifeline, but if we block it with our troops, it will become their Achilles' heel! Three guards, please look here, here..."
As Rongyue explained, the eyes of the three guards gradually brightened, and the pent-up frustration of the past few days vanished! The impatient Fan Luo grabbed the long spear he had kicked into the tangled mess, stomped his foot, and shouted in a rough voice, "Damn it! I've had enough of that little bastard's cowardice these past few days! General, I, Fan Luo, will lead the troops to kill them! Chop those cowardly little devils to pieces! These damned little devils, let's see where you can hide this time!" He was already itching to rush out of the tent, but the moment his foot was extended, he seemed to remember something and abruptly pulled it back. He didn't move rashly, but instead looked eagerly at Rongyue to express his impatience, without moving an inch.
She nodded in satisfaction at Fan Luo's performance. Fan Luo was a good commander, brave and resourceful, but his impetuous and hot-tempered nature was a trait most taboo in military strategy. Therefore, Rong Yue had a calm and private conversation with him, pointing out his shortcomings and hoping he could somewhat temper his fiery and impatient temper. At first, the proud and arrogant Fan Luo was unconvinced; no matter how much Rong Yue pleaded, he remained stubborn and unconcerned. Rong Yue was furious at the time, and several times she almost couldn't help but shout for a retreat and have him dragged out and given thirty lashes. But in the end, she suppressed her anger. She knew that with such a straightforward person, the more forceful she was, the more counterproductive it would be, only increasing his resistance. Rongyue calmly beckoned to him with her finger, and they walked out side by side. They had a good fight on the training ground, and Fan Luo, who was beaten up and covered in bruises, was completely convinced of Rongyue's worth from then on and obeyed her every word.
“Take ten thousand Xuanjia soldiers.” A faint smile flickered in Rongyue’s eyes, but her expression turned serious: “Remember, this is only to cut the ropes off the cliff and block their retreat. Do not linger in battle. Remember, remember!”
After giving a respectful military salute, Fan Luo patted his chest and assured the general, "General, please rest assured. Although I, Fan Luo, am a rough man, I still understand the importance of things! General, please wait here for a moment. Before dawn, I, Fan Luo, will definitely bring you the good news you want!" With three hearty laughs, Fan Luo strode out of the military tent, carrying his long spear.
With a soft sigh, Rongyue shook her head with a smile. This Fan Luo still can't shake off that impetuousness!
Unfolding the map in her hand, Rongyue composed herself and said solemnly, "We are like this..."