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墨書 Inktalez
Tukeli slowly stepped out from the shadows, watching the silhouettes of Li Jue and Xu Zhen on the window paper. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he recalled what Mr. Cui had said to him, igniting a fire in his heart. He gestured into the air, and numerous personal guards swiftly moved like phantoms, gradually surrounding the entire courtyard.
Mohe had suffered under Goguryeo's oppression for several years, only escaping it by submitting to the Tang Dynasty. However, Tukeli was not someone who could tolerate such circumstances. He believed that the Mohe Cavalry was unmatched in sharpness and strength, and since they were not favored by the Tang, it would be better to ally with Goguryeo.
In Tukeli's eyes, although the Tang Dynasty was powerful, the resilience of the Goguryeo people was even stronger. As long as the war could be prolonged until winter arrived, the Tang army would not be able to withstand the severe cold. At that time, Li Shimin would follow in Sui Yangdi's footsteps, and his Mohe clan would be able to reap benefits from the chaos of war.
Initially, he was unclear about the situation of the war, but after Mr. Cui's analysis, he finally saw a future for the Mohe clan!
They were a pack of wolves on the northeastern plains; how could they submit to the Whip of the Tang Dynasty?
Goguryeo was also in a state of panic; Cheon Gae Su Mun had lost popular support. Although the Tang claimed to represent the Righteous Royal Army, to the Goguryeo people, they were ultimately just bullies taking advantage of others' weaknesses. If the Mohe army joined Goguryeo, it would undoubtedly be a significant boost!
Yet Tukeli wanted more than that. As long as he could capture Li Jue and Xu Zhen tonight and escape Hengshan City into Goguryeo, they would become meritorious subjects. This act would solidify their allegiance!
With this thought in mind, Tukeli clenched his fists tightly, suppressing a roar within: "Father, brother, although you have abandoned our kin, there is still me, Tukeli!"
"Attack!"
At Tukeli's command, over twenty top Mohe assassins crashed through doors and walls, flooding into Li Jue's room from all directions!
Li Jue was fifty-one years old but came from a wealthy family. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and maintained a robust physique with exceptional skills. He was adept with a spear and had seen life and death on the battlefield many times. When faced with this sudden crisis, he remained calm and rolled away from a crossbow bolt just as his table was shattered by a Mohe assassin's broadsword!
Xu Zhen had been targeted for assassination multiple times and was used to it. She kicked her footstool forward, and three or four crossbow bolts shot into it, piercing through to within just three or four inches of her eyes!
Furious, she threw the footstool at one of the assassins' chests. The assassin did not dodge; instead, he punched down hard enough to shatter the footstool mid-air, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere!
"Indeed a tough opponent!"
Xu Zhenxin tightened his grip and, taking advantage of the chaos, rushed to the left side of the room where the screen was. He kicked over the screen and grabbed a long knife. The pursuing assassin was blocked by the fallen screen, and Xu Zhen had already drawn her sword. She crashed through the screen, thrusting her long knife out from behind it. The assassin was caught off guard and was pierced through by Xu Zhen's blade!
The long knife was incredibly sharp, narrow, and slightly curved. Xu Zhen channeled her internal energy, lifting it with a single breath. With a sudden forceful pull, she sliced through half of the assassin's body!
The assassin's intestines spilled out onto the ground, and Xu Zhen was immediately drenched in blood. Gripping her long knife tightly, she charged forward to kill, leaving the assassin horrified!
Li Jue did not carry any weapons with him since this room belonged to Xu Zhen. His armor and bow were stored away by his personal guards. Now facing a deadly ambush from assassins, he seized a six-foot tall lamp post as a makeshift spear!
The assassins initially thought Li Jue was old and frail, unaware that this Duke had climbed to his current high position over countless corpses and bones. He gave them no chance at all!
The lamp post was made of high-quality nanmu wood, sturdy enough for combat. Although the candlestick at the top was made of cast bronze, it had a sharp floral design. Li Jue thrust suddenly, scraping half of an assassin's face with the candlestick. The assassin fell to the ground with a thud but did not die; he clutched his face and screamed loudly as blood flowed everywhere, sending chills down everyone's spine!
Tukeli did not expect that Xu Zhen and Li Jue, one young and one old, would possess such combat prowess. Not only did they withstand his sudden ambush, but they also managed to kill five or six of his fellow assassins!
He tightened his grip on his curved knife and shouted inwardly as he charged at Li Jue!
He understood very well that in terms of status, capturing Li Jue, as the Lieutenant General of the Liaodong Military of Tang, would be equivalent to humiliating Tang in front of everyone. This would surely earn him a position as Nosa from Goguryeo. Meanwhile, Xu Zhen was slightly less significant; clearly, it would be much easier to deal with Li Jue than with her!
Though Tukeli was not as brave as his father or brothers, he had spent years galloping across the northeastern plains and had developed considerable skills. His curved knife whistled sharply as he swept toward Li Jue's upper body. Li Jue snorted coldly and dodged slightly before thrusting the lamp post toward Tukeli's lower abdomen!
With a sudden twist of his wrist, Tukeli forcefully halted his attack and slashed upward diagonally. The bronze candlestick at the top of the lamp post was cleanly severed!
"What a sharp knife!"
Li Jue praised inwardly as more assassins surged forward. He twisted his wrist again; the lamp post shot out like a dragon emerging from the sea, piercing through another assassin with its freshly cut sharp edge!
The assassin barely had time to utter a word before he breathed his last. Li Jue spun around, brushing past the assassin and seizing the long knife from his hand.
Watching this old man kill and take the knife right before his eyes, Tukeli was furious. With his curved blade, he struck fiercely like a sudden storm, forcing Li Jue to retreat repeatedly due to his lack of strength.
Tukeli, taking advantage of the situation, knocked the knife from Li Jue's hand with one strike and aimed another blow to sever Li Jue's wrist.
"Clang!"
With a sharp sound, the Xu Zhen rushed in and blocked the deadly strike. After forcefully deflecting Tukeli's long knife, she glared angrily and swung her long knife down with tremendous force.
Tukeli was greatly alarmed and hurriedly raised his blade to defend himself, but the curved knife was cleaved off at the tip by the Xu Zhen's long knife.
"Kill without mercy!"
Tukeli, enraged and humiliated, no longer considered capturing them alive; he only needed to bring back the heads of Li Jue and the Xu Zhen to ally with Goguryeo. He had already cut down ten assassins, and the remaining ones were terrified. After receiving Tukeli's death order, they could only brace themselves and charge forward.
The Xu Zhen and Li Jue defended back-to-back. Seeing that they were outnumbered, the Xu Zhen no longer hesitated. She pulled out a fireball from her waist and threw it to the ground with force. It exploded with a loud bang. Using the cover of firelight and thick smoke, she dragged Li Jue back quickly, suddenly bursting through a window with her shoulder and breaking out with him.
Inside the mansion, it was eerily quiet and dark. Relying on her familiarity with the terrain, the Xu Zhen led Li Jue into the courtyard of the mansion. Along the way, they saw corpses of servants scattered everywhere, clearly slaughtered by the assassins.
The Xu Zhen was filled with grief and anger, while Li Jue remained calm and composed, scolding, "To dare to assassinate a commander-in-chief, these barbarians have some nerve!"
Upon hearing this, the Xu Zhen was surprised and asked, "How does my mentor know their identity?"
From the moment Tukeli spoke, she had already confirmed his identity. She vaguely remembered from Historical Records that when the war against Goguryeo began, Mohe was a vassal army of Tang Dynasty. However, during the battles at Gaimu City and Liaodong City, Mohe had turned into a force on Goguryeo's side. She had always been on guard against this but did not expect it to come true tonight!
Li Jue coldly snorted and said, "How could the demeanor and swordsmanship of these people escape my eyes? I have already witnessed the methods of the Mohe Tribe during the campaign against the Turkic!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhen couldn't help but admire him; Li Jue truly was a general who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Jing!
"Let's go to the rooftop; I want to see what they are capable of!" Li Jue decisively commanded. Xu Zhen bent down, and the old Duke, in perfect sync, quickly stepped onto Xu Zhen's shoulder, climbing up to the rooftop. He extended his scabbard down to pull Xu Zhen up onto the wall. The cooperation between the old and young was seamless, as if they had fought side by side for many years as comrades.
This action seemed to bring Li Jue back to the days of campaigns, and he patted Xu Zhen on the shoulder with a nod of appreciation. The two hid behind the ridge, stealthily moving like shadows.
Tukeli led the remaining assassins out in pursuit. Not seeing Xu Zhen and Li Jue, he sighed in frustration and had no choice but to leave the residence, mounting his warhorse that had been prepared earlier, galloping towards the South City Gate.
"They are trying to defect! We must stop them; casualties are minor, but affecting troop morale would be disastrous!" Li Jue furrowed his brow in analysis. Xu Zhen naturally agreed. They split up; Li Jue went to mobilize troops while Xu Zhen rode alone towards the South City Gate!
Tukeli's barracks were just two miles outside the South City Gate, only a few miles away from the Xibu troops. Once they passed through this gate, they could change direction and head towards Gaimu City!
Mr. Cui had already informed him that the City Wall Garrison was also on their side. Although Tukeli was hesitant to fully trust this information, he had no choice but to brace himself and proceed.
Han Fuqi had just enjoyed a night of drinking with Zhou Cang; many of the Garrison soldiers were drunk and fast asleep, with Zhou Cang snoring loudly as he lay on the ground.
Seeing that the Mohe Chieftain indeed led troops out of the city, Han Fuqi felt a sharp pain in his heart. He was a reckless man but understood loyalty to his country. How could Zhang Jian collude with the Mohe Tribe? That was not how a minister should act!
However, Zhang Jian had shown him immense kindness, and he felt compelled to betray his conscience. Just as he was about to open the city gate, Zhou Cang's snoring suddenly stopped. This man had grown accustomed to living dangerously; any slight disturbance would wake him up. Seeing a group of soldiers rushing towards the city gate left him puzzled.
Han Fuqi explained with an odd expression, "Brother Zhou, this is Mohe Chieftain Tukeli, newly appointed General Gui De. He needs to exit the city to inspect the barracks. Please help me open the city gate and let them pass."
Zhou Cang, disturbed from his dreams, wiped his mouth and kicked three or four Garrison soldiers awake. A few of them helped Han Fuqi open the city gate.
As the city gate opened halfway, a sharp whistle suddenly echoed through the city, and a bright red firelight shot into the sky, exploding into a myriad of fireworks against the night!
"This is the unique signal cannon of Lord!" Zhou Cang was greatly alarmed and hurriedly ordered Han Fuqi and Garrison to lower the city gate. He drew his halberd and rushed down from the City Wall, standing alone in front of Tukeli's Riding Team!
Tukeli was about to exit the city when he saw a tall figure, nine feet high, dragging a massive halberd, blocking his path. Furious, he shouted at his subordinates, "Charge through!"
The leading cavalryman was fierce and swift as the wind. Zhou Cang remained unfazed, gripping his halberd tightly. The muscles and veins in his arms bulged like coiling dragons. He roared like thunder and suddenly leaned forward, advancing instead of retreating. He sprinted toward the cavalryman!
The Mohe Cavalry was renowned for their might, and the attacker was full of confidence. With their horses charging forward, they would not take Zhou Cang seriously. Leaning forward, he swung his sword!
Zhou Cang paid no attention to him; the halberd dragged along the ground, sparking like an enraged rhinoceros charging forward. He leaped high and swung his weapon horizontally!
"Thud!"
The horse's head along with half of the cavalryman’s body was severed, blood spraying into the air. The severed horse and cavalryman were dragged forward, leaving a long trail of blood before finally coming to a stop!
Zhou Cang's arm was grazed by the cavalryman's blade, but he remained undeterred. Covered in blood, he pointed at the incoming cavalrymen and roared, "This road is mine; this tree is mine!"
These words expressed the soaring spirit of the Green Forest heroes. Han Fuqi, who was originally from Green Forest and shared a bond with Zhou Cang, could not resist the call of his heart. He jumped down from the City Wall to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Cang and shouted as well, "If you want to pass through here, leave your toll behind!"
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