Chapter 1472 - 1144: Surprise Attack! (2)

After speaking, he didn’t ask any more questions and turned to descend the city tower.

Shantong’er immediately followed suit, Yu Wenye hesitated for a moment and called out to him: "Shantong’er, you just—"

But before he finished speaking, Shantong’er glanced back, his gaze falling on Yu Wenye’s shoulder. Realizing his look, Yu Wenye paused in silence, saying nothing more, and Shantong’er then turned and went down.

On the side, Shen Wuzheng keenly sensed something and turned to look at Yu Wenye: "You—"

Yu Wenye walked up to him and whispered, "You go and order Gao Feng and Jiang Kesong to return."

"...!"

Shen Wuzheng took a deep breath.

He definitely understood what Yu Wenye intended to do.

But in that breath, he seemed to smell an indescribable scent of flesh being scorched by flames, causing him to frown deeply and cast a heavy look at Yu Wenye, who had already turned around to glance at Xue Lin, who looked restless and hesitant to speak. Yu Wenye said, "Just stay by my side. Today will determine if the glory and honor of the Xue Family come from the Emperor granting them to your father, or from me."

Xue Lin’s pupils dilated instantly.

Meanwhile, Shantong’er and Jue Yun and others had already mounted the horses brought by the soldiers. Without even carrying a single staff, they watched as the soldiers slowly opened the heavy gates. Shantong’er let out a loud shout and was the first to charge out of Hulao Pass, immediately followed by Jue Yun and the others galloping out on horseback.

The soldiers standing in the front rows on the opposite riverbank had originally been relaxed, sitting on the spot, but seeing someone coming out of the pass made them tense up immediately.

However, on closer look, it was surprisingly a group of monks.

They found it somewhat amusing for a moment, especially seeing the monks coming without even a single stick, and the chubby little one running at the front. They couldn’t help but laugh, turning back to say to those behind them: "Hey, look, more people are coming out over there."

The people a few rows back could barely see and burst into laughter as well: "What are they doing?"

"Is Hulao Pass out of people, sending out monks?"

"Are they coming to chant scriptures?"

Amid the jokes, the group of monks crossed the river on horseback. The splashes from the horses’ hooves almost soaked them entirely, but the commotion didn’t alert the army on the opposite side; rather, they laughed louder, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, they’re coming over."

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With an army of a hundred thousand soldiers, even when divided into formations, they stretched over dozens of miles. Xiao Yuansui in the Central Army Tent needed soldiers in the front to rush back quickly to inform him of the situation at Hulao Pass, while soldiers in the rear were almost in the dark about everything happening at the front. So even though the soldiers in the front rows were laughing uproariously, those in the back rows didn’t even know the gate of Hulao Pass had opened, let alone that a group of monks had rushed out of it.

Of course, there were indeed those who had seen this group of monks before.

Just a few nights ago, Yu Wenye led a nighttime raid on the encampment, chased to the Yellow River bank by a squad of personal soldiers led by Xiao Yuansui, finally rescued by thirteen monks, making Xiao Yuansui’s personal guards aware of these monks. However, they, being Xiao Yuansui’s trusted aides, naturally weren’t sent to the frontline but stayed around the Central Army Tent, leaving them oblivious to everything.

At that moment, the soldiers, one by one, squinted in the sun, taking a break and dozing off without supervision, unaware of what was happening up front.

Under such circumstances, Shantong’er and Jue Yun, along with more than a dozen other monks, crossed the Sishui River.

Some people became alerted, saying, "Maybe they are here to ambush us."

But immediately, someone laughed and refuted, "Ambush? Look at them, without even a stick; what ambush?"

"What can a group of monks do?"

"If they dare come over, I’ll capture them and use their heads like temple blocks."

These words provoked more laughter, and amidst the laughter, Shantong’er, Jue Yun, and others rode to within a few dozen feet of the army, but they didn’t continue forward. Instead, they turned their horses and raced from north to south.

The people in the army just watched them cross in front of their eyes.

They didn’t know what this group intended, but since they weren’t there to fight and were just a group of unarmed, bald monks, they naturally felt no need to defend themselves. Instead, they just watched them perform their aimless horseback gallop from south to north, and then north to south again, finding it even more amusing, with many even cheering them on—

"Come, make another run for me to see."

"The little bald one’s quite a runner, eh."

Listening to these teasing, mocking remarks, Shantong’er gritted his teeth, but ignored them, continuing to focus on riding.

In the past few days, the continuous rain had left the ground here muddy and impassable, but today the sunshine was exceptionally good, especially now past noon when the ground had dried. The horse hooves trampling the ground quickly loosened it, the dirt pulverized and slowly kicked up a cloud of dust, spreading across everyone’s eyes.

Soon, that cloud of dust formed a barrier.

Meanwhile, the gates of Hulao Pass, which had never completely closed, once again slowly opened.

A majestic figure on horseback burst from the city gate; this man had tiger-like eyes and a whiskered face, as sturdy as a mountain, holding a long spear shimmering with a chilling glare in the sunlight—it was Shen Tu Tai!

Right behind him were two hundred cavalry soldiers clad in armor, their eyes wide open in wrath, galloping forward. Under the cover of horses’ hooves and widespread dust, they quickly crossed the Sishui River.

One man and one horse, leaping like a dragon over the turbulent waves, Shen Tu Tai shouted towards Shantong’er and others: "Fall back!"

At the same time, holding his long spear, he charged directly into the enemy ranks that hadn’t even had time to react!