novelraw Chapter 268: Captain Ghost and Captain Wolf
Chapter 268: Captain Ghost and Captain Wolf
“Damn it!” Fang Wushang cursed under his breath. “He’s doing this deliberately.”
Liang Shixian asked, “What? Deliberately how?”
Fang Wushang explained, “He intentionally rode out to shoot you. Had you been hit, Chengcheng County would have collapsed instantly, and he’d storm the city at once, ensuring its fall. Even missing didn’t trouble him—he even anticipated my arrow and dodged it with a swift, decisive move, all to demoralize our defenders here.”
Liang Shixian gasped, “Wha—?!”
Had they crossed blades just now? His life hadn’t even flashed before his eyes yet.
Only then did he realize: these military officers weren’t fools.
Their minds just worked differently from his own.
True enough, Captain Wolf’s display proved effective. The rebel troops outside cheered loudly, but the militia local gentry manning the walls turned pale. Everyone thought: So this is the border army? Damn formidable.
Chengcheng County’s militia local gentry had fought Bu Zhan Ni twice at Fengyuan Town and clashed with Fan Shanyue at Quangou Village. Back then, they’d simply aimed their colorful plastic bows and unleashed chaos with flurry of arrows, scattering the rebels without a fight.
Now, guarding the city with superior numbers, they’d felt quite confident—until Captain Wolf’s move. Only then did they remember: This enemy isn’t rabble. They’re the border army!The Ming Dynasty’s most elite forces, hardened by years on the frontier battling northern tribes—this was power forged in blood, not empty boasts.
Li Daoxuan thought to himself: This one’s skilled! His soldiers must be as fierce as he is. Someone like Seventh Team’s Captain Ye Bu Shou from Bu Zhan Ni’s ranks? Captain Wolf probably has dozens just like him under his command.
Tch!
He began worrying for his militia local gentry.
Hurriedly, he readied the Infinity Gloves, placing them near the edge of the crate where they’d be easiest to grab. He might need them very soon.
Captain Wolf retreated into his ranks and raised a hand. “Behead Li Ying.”
Li Ying gasped, “Huh‽”
No plea even left his mouth before a border army soldier swung a waist knife. Thud. His head soared. Blood gushed from his neck like a fountain, drenching the air. His headless corpse toppled from the saddle as dust bloomed.
Eight hundred rebels roared: “Ooorah!”
Inside the city, all ten thousand soldiers and civilians shuddered, their fighting spirit crumbling. Another blow to their morale.
Cutting down Li Ying was deliberate—kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Frighten the city’s people into surrender and sap their will to fight.
Captain Wolf laughed coldly. “Open the gates now. Hand over every ounce of silver from the county treasury, and your wretched lives might be spared. Refuse? When these walls fall—none live.”
Liang Shixian trembled violently, frozen even from issuing commands.
Fang Wushang bellowed, “Stand firm! Don’t panic! This is the enemy’s trick—!”
But his shouts did little. Hundreds of refugees shook in terror.
Some already debated surrender. Just give the treasury silver away. It won’t cost us a cent, anyway.
“Look! Over there, look—reinforcements!”
Shouts suddenly rang out from the northeastern watchtower.
They were all standing on the south city wall, too far to see northeast. Fang Wushang rushed to the east wall and peered north. His face lit up. “Captain Ghost has come.”
Cheng Xu arrived just in time!
But Fang Wushang took a careful look at Cheng Xu’s troops and furrowed his brow. He muttered in a low voice, “Something’s wrong.”
Liang Shixian asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fang Wushang replied, “Isn’t Commander Ghost stationed at Huanglong Mountain? After receiving our plea for aid, he led his troops from Huanglong Mountain. They marched over forty miles, fully armored, in just a few hours. And not a single one of them looks exhausted. How is that possible?”
Liang Shixian exclaimed, “!”
Indeed, how could they have achieved that?
What they didn’t know was that Cheng Xu had first taken the train at Bai Family Fortress to Gaojia Village. From there, he and his men boarded public sun chariots and cargo sun chariots bound for the county seat.
A road was under construction between the county seat and Gaojia Village, with crews building from both ends simultaneously—one team working from the county seat toward the village, and another from the village toward the county seat.
Therefore, when departing Gaojia Village, though several miles of road hadn’t yet been paved into cement road, it had already been leveled. The public sun chariots and cargo sun chariots could traverse it at a slightly reduced speed.
This transported them close to the county seat.
Cheng Xu’s group only needed to hike a short distance to the withered forest northeast of the county. He had arrived long ago but deliberately waited inside the woods, letting his soldiers rest. Only after they were fully recovered did he make an appearance.
Popping out suddenly like this was bound to startle Fang Wushang and Liang Shixian.
Cheng Xu also knew he couldn’t enter the city. Liang Shixian certainly wouldn’t fully trust “Commander Ghost” yet. Allowing him into the city now risked an inside-out attack coordinated between Commander Ghost and Commander Wolf, leading to the city’s immediate fall.
Therefore, Cheng Xu generously bypassed the city and soon arrived south of it, positioning his troops directly facing Commander Wolf’s border army.
Commander Wolf was dumbfounded!
He saw this force of five hundred men, all perfectly uniformed and equipped with elite gear. If anyone claimed they weren’t border troops, even Commander Wolf wouldn’t believe it. But where in the Guyuan border army did such a unit come from?
Commander Wolf roared, “Who exactly are you lot?”
Cheng Xu shouted back boldly, “The Old Ghost from Guyuan! You can call me Commander Ghost!”
Commander Wolf angrily retorted, “That’s bullshit! ‘Old ghost’ in the Guyuan dialect is an insult—no one uses it as their own name! Who the hell are you really?”
Cheng Xu rolled his eyes. “Are you out of your fucking mind? Right now, I’m asking who you are. Would you dare answer me? Bet your damn family’s nine generations lose their heads if you yell out your name.”
Commander Wolf: “…”
Li Daoxuan was delighted, internally laughing: Ha ha ha! This Cheng Xu sure knows how to spar verbally. Commander Wolf’s about to lose it.
Sure enough, Commander Wolf started to rage. Shit! Would I not know a Guyuan commander who’s rebelling with me? Even masked, you’d recognize a guy by his build and voice, right? How the hell don’t I have a single clue who this bastard is?
Cheng Xu boomed, “Chengcheng County is under my protection! I’m counting on this magistrate to help me extract payment from the imperial court! Captain Wolf, I advise you—scram! Unless you wanna show ill grace.”
Commander Wolf snarled, “Damn you! We agreed to rebel together, smash the court to pieces! Now you little bastard flip back to their side?! I look down on your sorry ass!”
Cheng Xu’s eyes flickered upward. The Deity’s low cloud was right overhead. He felt not the slightest fear. Throwing his head back with loud laughter, he taunted, “Cut the crap! Let’s fight! Winner calls the shots!”