The Demon Lords

Chapter 497 15 Brain_2

Zheng Fan turned his head to look at A Ming.

A Ming pulled out a handkerchief, silently wiped the corner of his mouth, and said, "I've been drinking too much blood recently; I feel bloated."

At this moment, Fanli's voice suddenly sounded in Zheng Fan's mind: I think that's not a knight, but actually Supreme Treasure.

Only then did Zheng Fan realize that the blind man's mind-link was still active.

A Ming could no longer hold back. Since he'd been found out, he simply squatted down, clutching his stomach, and laughed so hard it ached.

"..." Zheng Fan said.

...

The wolf cub was busy running back and forth, delivering arrows. Despite his small arms and legs, he possessed considerable strength and didn't appear tired from the strenuous task.

The sword boy sat silently to the side, watching.

Finally, he could no longer hold it in and asked, "Aren't you tired?"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the wolf cub replied, "We're at war!"

"What does war have to do with a little squirt like you?"

The wolf cub looked at the other child, who was barely half a head taller than himself, and said, "You've never been in a war, have you?"

"Who said I haven't!"

The sword boy felt that he had fought in battles before. His master had taken him to fight on the banks of the Bian River, where his master had single-handedly broken an ice surface a hundred meters wide.

Although, it was utterly useless.

But among children, one couldn't afford to lose face in a verbal exchange.

The wolf cub dismissed it, saying, "Our tribe often had to go to war. After fighting many wars, you learn a lesson."

"What lesson?"

"That there's no logic in war."

"...." said the sword boy.

"Heh heh, I learned this from Blind Uncle. He and Master often chat like this."

"And do you understand any of it?"

"I don't understand a thing."

"Then why do you try to learn it if you don't understand?"

"Even though I don't understand, it feels very profound."

"Alright then."

"I haven't had much schooling; I've only learned some words in the past half-year. I don't understand any grand principles, but I know that whether we're attacking others or being attacked, we can't afford to lose. If we lose the war, we might die."

"Sometimes, living doesn't seem to have much meaning."

"Blind Uncle once said that people who talk like that are usually the first to run when death really comes."

"You're annoying!"

"Heh heh heh, Fourth Aunt said that when a woman says that to you, it means you're in with a chance."

"Were you raised by them?" the sword boy asked.

The wolf cub pondered for a moment, then said, "I suppose so."

He was from a penal tribe, having come to Beifeng Prefecture from the desert perched on Liang Cheng's shoulder. For more than half a year, he had lived with everyone here.

"They'll corrupt you sooner or later."

The wolf cub pouted and retorted irritably, "And what about you?"

He was practically saying, 'Your master is a joke.'

The sword boy was at a loss for words. The wolf cub kept using this point to needle him, which made him genuinely frustrated.

He wasn't angry at the wolf cub, but at his own master.

If his Master had been a bit more sensible, if he hadn't tried to break some ice but had instead slain a few hundred Yan Army soldiers before falling in battle, he would have had a much better story to boast about now.

The second most renowned sword cultivator of the Qian State had died in such a... speechless manner.

The wolf cub sat on the ground, pulled a cold steamed bun from his clothes, and began to gnaw on it.

The sword boy looked up towards the sky and said, "Do you think we'll die?"

"Everyone dies eventually."

"I mean this time."

"Don't know. Probably not."

"Why?"

"Look at you, still having the presence of mind to think about all these trivial things. That proves even you don't think the Jin people outside can break through."

The sword boy nodded and said, "That makes sense. But I'm curious, why did you choose to follow them in the first place?"

"Because they promised to help us rebuild our tribe."

"And you believed them?"

"Back when our desert penal tribes were forced to fight by the larger tribes, those big tribes would tell us the same thing."

"Then why?"

The wolf cub held out his half-eaten steamed bun for the sword boy to see. "This steamed bun," he said, "it has filling."

...

Inside the Jin Army camp outside the fort, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Situ Jianguo hadn't gone to find Yu Huacheng, because he had watched the entire siege that had begun that morning. He knew that sometimes, defeat was truly not the fault of the soldiers themselves. Lacking sufficient and adequately threatening siege equipment, breaking through a fortification garrisoned by many elite soldiers in a short time was very difficult.

Situ Jianguo believed that even if he were the commanding general, he couldn't have done better than Yu Huacheng. Therefore, he wouldn't show up just to add to Yu Huacheng's troubles. It would be exceedingly dull to go over just to offer sarcastic remarks or make indirect digs.

Yu Huacheng sat quietly in his command tent, a map spread before him. On the map, this fort appeared minuscule, almost as small as could be. However, he knew that the previous night's raid and that morning's siege had taught him one thing: it was now nearly impossible to breach this fort quickly.

Unless...

"I will not make a move."

Seemingly having seen through his younger brother's thoughts, the Sword Saint stated directly, "If I make a move, the nature of the situation will change. The Yan State might genuinely become enraged, and they might even drag our Yu Clan into it, facing destruction as well."

Yu Huacheng subconsciously rubbed his temples; he truly had a headache.

If his older brother were willing to act, breaking this fort wouldn't be difficult at all. He didn't even need his older brother to single-handedly kill all the defenders inside. If his brother merely swept the fort wall with his sword, creating an opening for the soldiers to follow up steadily, the fort could be taken.

However, he also understood that people of the street have their own rules. It wasn't that one couldn't wield a sword for one's country in this manner, but once that line was crossed, it might anger the Yan State and shatter the tacit understanding both sides were aware of.

At present, this seemed entirely unnecessary.

The Sword Saint then asked curiously, "Brother, I don't understand military matters, but last night, it looked like the soldiers scaling the walls were very close to breaching the fort. So why was there so little progress when we launched a formal attack today?"

"Brother, perhaps it's because the Yan Army soldiers in the fort aren't accustomed to siege defense. They were naturally somewhat panicked last night. However, the Yan Army general on the opposing side, the one named Zheng Fan, truly understands warfare. He managed to adjust their defenses overnight.

"Moreover, Zheng Fan has many Barbarian soldiers under his command. Many of our soldiers who retreated after today's assault reported that the Barbarians defending the city were exceptionally skilled in both melee combat and archery.

"Currently, unless I spend another ten days building siege towers, battering rams, and other such equipment, attempting to attack the city again as we did during the day would be far too costly."

"I see," the Sword Saint nodded and said.

"Then don't rush, take it slowly. I can see that the walls of this fort aren't very high."

Yu Huacheng replied with a bitter smile, "Brother, it's still uncertain whether the Yan court will honor this tacit understanding of ours and let us use this opportunity to eliminate Emperor Jin.

"Even if the Yan court does acquiesce, if we, with several times their numbers, spend so much time besieging a single fort and still can't take it, it will be enough to make the Yan people laugh their heads off."

"The scabbard is never as important as the sword itself."

Face, sometimes it's priceless, other times worthless.

"Brother, you are right. Should I proceed slowly then?"

"But you can't be too slow either, or it will reflect poorly on both sides."

"I understand, Brother. You don't need to confine yourself to my military camp all the time."

The implication was: since you don't intend to intervene, you might as well find somewhere else to amuse yourself.

But the Sword Saint shook his head and said, "You don't understand."

"What do you mean, Brother?"

"Do you think I want to stay here?"

"Could it be... could it be there's something unusual within this fort?"

"I'm not sure what it is exactly. Just don't mind me staying in your main tent, neither interfering nor leaving."

"Brother, you're being too serious."

"No, I'm not being overly serious. Huacheng, although there are hardly any Martial Cultivators in this world capable of withstanding an army of thousands, if such a Martial Cultivator truly exists—someone like your brother, for instance—who wishes to take the head of an enemy general from amidst a chaotic battlefield, it's not entirely impossible."

Saying this, the Sword Saint stretched out his hand, touched his younger brother's head, and slowly said, "This head... I still haven't had enough of patting it."