Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Fang Zhengzhi could not figure out where he had gone wrong. The commander was Xing Yuanguo, someone who had the foresight not to stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement.
Furthermore…
Xing Yuanguo would definitely have seen the chaos in the Sagely Mountain City. He would not let such a golden opportunity pass.
Was there something that he had missed?
Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. However, he had to solve the immediate problem first/ He couldn’t just stay outside the city walls.
If the Great Xia army was still defending the Icy Monkey Settlement, then they will prevent the advance of the Southern Region army.
The Sagely Mountain City was being surrounded by 50,000 Demons, but they were in no immediate danger. However, Princess Shan Yu’s 80,000 troops could not hold out indefinitely.
Even though Fang Zhengzhi was quite sure he guessed Yun Qingwu’s plan correctly, his counter would not be effective if the Great Xia continued to stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement.
After a few days, the Demon armies would meet and become an unstoppable force.
Furthermore, the Southern Region Crown Prince can add a few hundred thousand soldiers to that force…
With two armies bearing down on the Great Xia…
The battle would be a hard fought one and any victory would be pyrrhic. If the Northern Barbarians took the opportunity to strike, the Great Xia would be in serious danger.
What was he to do now?
Even though Fang Zhengzhi was not interested in state affairs, he did not want the country to be run over.
He still cared for his family.
If the Great Xia fell…
The Northern Mountain Village would be affected as well. He did not want to see it embroiled in battle, and this was something no citizen wanted either.
As such, he had to come up with a plan.
But…
Fang Zhengzhi looked at the fires and the patrolling Demon soldiers helplessly.
They were 50,000 strong. Even if he tried his best, he would only be able to kill a few hundred. That was insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
He was immensely outnumbered.
Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall the military strategies of the past, where a significantly outnumbered army had managed to wrestle victory from the hands of the enemy.
Xiang Yu’s war against Liu Bang, Cao Cao’s battle against Yuan Shao, or even Zhuge Liang’s famous Empty City Strategy.
But, they could not be applied to his current situation.
Burn the rations?
Good plan!
But where were the rations?
The Empty City Strategy was a good plan as well. However, it would be stupid to use that plan here.
He would be completely smashed!
What about kidnapping Yun Qingwu?
Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes glimmered. However, they darkened almost instantly. For starters, he did not even know where Yun Qingwu was. Furthermore, after the incident at Feng Su, the Demons were bound to step up their defences.
A headache…
Fang Zhengzhi already had enough to deal with. Just as he thought he couldn’t get any worse, he realized he still had to deal with Princess Shan Yu.
After hearing Fang Zhengzhi reject her proposal, Princess Shan Yu decided to go at it alone.
Without waiting for an explanation, she went over the wall.
“F*ck me!” Fang Zhengzhi wanted to push Princess Shan Yu to the ground and sit on her.
However, Princess Shan Yu was someone who was used to being in control. She would never allow Fang Zhengzhi to control her.
Her wishes were orders to the Southern Region soldiers. This was how she was brought up. She wasn’t going to wait for Fang Zhengzhi’s approval.
By telling Fang Zhengzhi her plan, she was already showing him some respect.
Was he going to let the Princess go at it alone?
Or should he follow her into the city and continue to think of a plan after he was inside?
This was the dilemma that Fang Zhengzhi was presented with.
This wasn’t a difficult decision to make at the moment. Since he did not have any concrete plan at the moment, he decided to wing it.
Of course, he was also afraid that Princess Shan Yu would just leave him behind.
After all, this was her territory. The only reason why he could make it this far in without being spotted was Princess Shan Yu.
Even though he may be powerful, he still had to stay close to Princess Shan Yu if he wanted to survive.
“Wait for me!” Fang Zhengzhi followed behind Princess Shan Yu and entered the city.
His only hope was to follow Princess Shan Yu and confirm that the King and the Crown Prince were safe. Then, he would evacuate them.
The city was too dangerous.
Hang on.
Something was wrong. If he and Princess Shan Yu were able to enter without being stopped, why wouldn’t the Royal family sneak out?
Who would dare to stop them?
Oh no, it’s a trap!
Fang Zhengzhi’s expression changed instantly. The palace may have already been controlled by the Demons and everything outside was just a charade.
Did he just walk into a trap?
This did not bother Fang Zhengzhi for long. The moment he stepped onto the grounds of the palace, he was shocked by what he saw.
He saw a squad of rattan armored guards staring at him and Princess Shan Yu. They were clearly patrolling the area.
Dozens of eyes stared at the two of them in disbelief.
Fang Zhengzhi’s expression darkened.
He had always thought of himself as a specialist in sneak attacks. Yet, today, Princess Shan Yu had destroyed that reputation. She didn’t even check before she jumped!
She could have tried listening for footsteps! What if she had run into someone powerful? She was just in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State!
Awkward…
Fang Zhengzhi could tell that the sneak attack was a failure. The expression of the soldiers said it all.
What was he going to do now?
Fight, or run?
Also, were these guards the real guards, or were they Demons? Fang Zhengzhi had no idea. Their armor made it difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to see their forehead.
That meant that he could not see if they had a demonic eye.
“What are you looking at? Continue patrolling the grounds!” A peerlessly arrogant voice cut through the air and a red light beamed from Princess Shan Yu’s body.
It was a cloud pattern, and it revealed Princess Shan Yu’s identity.
Fang Zhengzhi knew why Princess Shan Yu was doing this, but he was afraid that the guards were actually demons.
Just as he was thinking about this, a miracle happened.
The guards were stunned when they saw the cloud patterns on Princess Shan Yu’s body. They looked at each other, then continued patrolling the grounds, ignoring Princess Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi still could not figure out if they were the legitimate guards, or Demons in disguise.
Both were still plausible.
If they were legitimate guards, they would recognize Princess Shan Yu and let them pass. If they were Demons, this could just be them staying in character.
Fang Zhengzhi could not tell.
He was slightly worried. However, Princess Shan Yu did not hesitate at all. She beamed radiantly.
Then, she proceeded to do something strange.
She seemed to be emboldened by what just happened. She dragged Fang Zhengzhi towards the palace.
She even took the main road!
Fang Zhengzhi was uncomfortable with this. He wanted to tell Princess Shan Yu off. He wanted to tell her to keep her identity hidden and keep a low profile.
After all, she was only in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State!
Of course…
He did not say anything. Along the way, they ran into no less than a dozen squads of palace guards.
They managed to pass through without any incidents.
However, Fang Zhengzhi still felt that they were being too conspicuous.
Even though he enjoyed the spotlight…
This was too high profile for him.
Was the palace still in the Southern Region’s control. Fang Zhengzhi continued to survey the palace guards, unsettled by the entire process.
If he had a second chance…
He would have knocked Princess Shan Yu out, found a place to hide out, and tried to gather some intel.
Barging into the palace like that…
May just cost him his life…