Chapter 827 - Ambush, the Black Wolf Yabgu!
Chapter 827: Ambush, the Black Wolf Yabgu!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Black Wolf Yabgu didn’t have to wait for long. A few days later, a large eagle came flying from the direction of the capital like a bolt of lightning, crossing the Great Steppe to land within the Black Wolf Yabgu’s tent. There were only a few lines on the letter it delivered.
‘The information is accurate. Wang Chong’s second brother Wang Bei was released from the imperial prison several days ago and then suffered a bout of madness and began to randomly kill people on the street. The incident created quite a stir, and the Court of Judicial Review is already involved. In addition, this matter truly does involve an imperial princess.’
Beneath these words were additional bits of related information.
“Hahaha, good!”
The Black Wolf Yabgu’s brow relaxed, all his worries swept away. He felt so energized and refreshed that he couldn’t help but roar with laughter, his voice resounding over the steppe.
“The heavens are truly assisting me. Since we have this chance, there’s no need to wait for anything else. Pass on my order for the army to assemble. Tonight, we will completely destroy the Great Tang’s Qixi Armory!”
The Great Tang’s massive armory had always been like a fishbone stuck in the throat of the Western Turkic Khaganate. The Black Wolf Yabgu had long desired to destroy it. This was not just some idea that he had thought up in the last two days, or even the last two years. Now, the time was right to realize his dreams.
“Yes, your subordinate will go!”
The guard quickly left.
Rumble!
Like a stone sending ripples through a lake, the Black Wolf Yabgu’s order caused the neighs of horses to rise from the steppe as countless Turkic warriors answered the call. At the same time, the black wolves howled as the pack gathered.
In a flash, the steppe was tinged with the somber air that came before a battle.
……
It was the Zi Period, late at night. At the border of Qixi and the Great Steppe, what was once a heavily guarded place packed with soldiers was completely empty.
“Hahaha, using wealth to avoid calamities, these fellows truly are reliable!”
In the darkness, a rough and crude voice spoke in Turkic tongue and laughed, then the scout horseman quickly left. Suddenly, the earth began to tremble as hundreds upon thousands of cavalry began to emerge. At the very front of this army was a muscular figure, riding a mighty steed that was even taller than a man. This man’s hair and clothes were flapping in the wind, and his body exuded a wild and savage aura.
“Keep up, everyone! Attack quickly to end a battle quickly! Anyone who falls behind or messes up will be punished accordingly once we return!”
The Black Wolf Yabgu’s voice drifted through the darkness.
“Hahaha, relax, Milord can do no wrong!”
“We’re just setting a fire in Qixi and turning the place upside down.”
“Hahaha, how can we just set a fire? We have to at least kill one or two people. Anyone who stops us will die! If we can’t even do this, we should just go back and suck our mothers’ milk!”
The dark night was instantly filled with laughter as the cavalry galloped through the gap and headed toward the Qixi Protectorate. Behind them, the black wolves silently followed, their eyes shining with a dark green light. After entering through the steppe, they began to head northwest, taking care to keep a distance from Wushang’s City of Steel.
The late-night winds howled across Qixi, drowning out much of the noise made by the horse hooves.
The five thousand Turkic soldiers traveled through the night like ghosts, silently galloping in the direction of the Qixi Armory. Surprisingly, they encountered no lookouts or defenses. The many sentries and lookouts from Fumeng Lingcha’s tenure seemed to have utterly vanished. The Black Wolf Yabgu carefully inspected the surroundings before giving a satisfied nod.
The wealth of the traitor Hulayeg had proved useful. The Hu commanders had taken these bribes and done just as expected, withdrawing all their sentries.
As long as he could burn down the Qixi Armory, everything would be worth it.
Rumble! The five thousand cavalry continued to ride through the blustery winds. Around an hour later, they finally spotted that massive building, looming over the horizon like some primordial beast, visible from several dozen li away. Even at this distance, it was still possible to sense an enormous and suffocating pressure. In the face of that massive building, all palaces and towers were like insignificant ants.
The Qixi Armory!
The sight of this massive silhouette only galvanized the Black Wolf Yabgu. This massive armory contained hundreds of thousands of various types of ballistae, suits of armor, sabers and swords, spears, and halberds. Ten-some years ago, the Black Wolf Yabgu had disguised himself as a merchant from the Western Regions and viewed it during the day. Just a glance of that magnificent scene had left him deeply shocked.
The building had been constructed by the architects of the Imperial Palace. The outer walls were all built of metal and were extremely tough, with countermeasures against arson already being considered.
…But this is futile. There is nothing in the world that can’t burn.
While riding, the Black Wolf Yabgu glanced at the leather bags and wooden tubes hanging from the side of his horse, a harsh light in his eyes. They did not contain water, but Arabian oil. Each of his five thousand soldiers carried a few of these bags and tubes, and once they poured out the oil, even steel would burn.
More importantly, the Black Wolf Yabgu had requested a Hu commander of Qixi to place a great deal of hay in the armory.
“Everyone, follow me!” the Black Wolf Yabgu suddenly bellowed as he accelerated.
The five thousand Turkic cavalry kicked up a cloud of dust as they closed the distance with the Qixi Armory. After thirty minutes, the Qixi Armory was very close, not even one thousand zhang away. In the distance, the guards at the armory gate seemed to have noticed them and were shouting.
“Haha, it’s too late now!”
A cruel and savage smile appeared on the Black Wolf Yabgu’s face. He was seeing the effect of his plans. The Qixi Armory still had some guards, but not even one-tenth of the usual force. Just these men alone were simply no match for his hand-picked Turkic elites.
“It’s about time; kill them all! Destroy the Qixi Armory!”
The Black Wolf Yabgu pulled out his scimitar and swung it forward. In an instant, the five thousand Turkic warriors began to roar and bellow, all of them enthusiastically charging forward.
“Kill them all!”
“Hahaha, that guard yelling by the gate is mine. No one else better take him from me!”
“Kill these Tang! Now is the time for us Turks to counterattack!”
The five thousand cavalry pulled out their weapons and pushed their speeds to the limit, galloping to the gate of the Qixi Armory. With Qixi leaderless and rife with discord, there was no one left that could threaten them. Tonight, the blood of the Qixi Protectorate army would spill by the bucketload.
Clangclangclang!
The Turkic warriors began to unleash their war halos, which descended to their feet with a metallic clattering. With their five thousand halos released, the five thousand cavalry began to merge into one, a massive wave that swept over the earth, threatening to engulf the Qixi Armory.
In the face of this wave of energy, the Qixi guards were like fireflies before the full moon, and they fell into further chaos as they panicked.
The Black Wolf Yabgu was responsible for the western border, and he had battled with the Qixi Protectorate countless times. For this night raid, he had brought nothing but elites who had fought with him for many years. Even if they were not comparable to Dayan Mangban’s White Braves, they were definitely not too far behind, and they were definitely more than enough to deal with the armory guards.
Rumble! The earth quaked, and as the five thousand Turkic cavalry emerged out of the darkness like ghosts from the abyss, the Qixi Armory guards fell into utter disarray. But just when these people were about to be pulverized beneath Turkic horse hooves…
Bang!
Without any warning, the several dozen Turkic warriors at the very front suddenly dropped down along with their horses. The surrounding earth had suddenly given way, revealing a massive pit, the bottom covered with sharp iron spikes.
As these warhorses dropped down, their bodies were stabbed by the spikes, and some of the Turkic warriors who were thrown from their steeds fell into the pit and were left heavily injured. Neeeigh! The screams of the horses echoed through the air. The exultant and charging Turkic army instantly fell into chaos.
“What’s going on?!”
The Black Wolf Yabgu was greatly alarmed by this sight. His machinations had caused most of the guards around the Qixi Armory to be transferred away, leaving only one-tenth the original force, no threat to his men. Moreover, he had bribed more than half of the Hu commanders in the Qixi Protectorate army. He couldn’t think of a reason for the appearance of this large horse trap.
“Careful!” the Black Wolf Yabgu called out, his eyes flying open as an intense unease seized his heart. This was not what had been agreed to, and he had a feeling that something had gone wrong. But before the Black Wolf Yabgu could give the call to pull back and have his army go around, shrill whistles suddenly filled the sky.
Thwishthwishthwish!
Fire arrows left dazzling arcs in the night sky as they dropped down around the soldiers. Fwoomp! Wherever a fire arrow landed, a massive fire would erupt, flames licking the sky. The raging fires were scattered all about, completely enclosing the Turkic army.
The night became as bright as day.
“Shit, it’s an ambush!”
The Black Wolf Yabgu suddenly found it impossible to breathe, his heart even seeming to miss a beat. In his rush to destroy the Qixi Armory, he had failed to notice anything, but now that the surroundings were brightly lit by the fires, he could see that hay and dried leaves had been piled up on the ground, as well as scattered piles of torches.