Chapter 10 Black Stone City_1

Chapter 10

"...Just arrived at Frog Ridge, a troop of cavalry suddenly trotted out, over a hundred men. Leading them was a man wielding a great axe, who called himself the 'King of Frogs'..."

Black Stone City, the City Lord's mansion. Huang Sanyuan rushed back to Black Stone City overnight, vividly recounting his journey. Sitting across from him was a man in grand robes, with a round face and corpulent figure.

This man was none other than the City Lord of Black Stone City, Han Huju. Behind him stood two maids, one in green and one in pink. Both were around sixteen or seventeen years old, of average height and looks. Interestingly, they were a rare pair of twins.

Listening to Huang Sanyuan's words, Han Huju didn't even raise his head, his heavy eyelids remained shut.

"Old Huang, feeling scared inside, but attempting to hide it, pulled out his waist knife and shouted at the robbers: 'If you want to rob our young lady, you'll have to step over my dead body first...'"

"... I was about to fight the robbers, when another group attacked us from behind. The man leading them claimed to be the 'Jade-faced Scholar, Xu Shenji'....."

"Eh!" A middle-aged man with a pale face at Han Huju's side interrupted: "There are so many bandits on Frog Ridge?"

"The Think Tank is unaware. There are more than two hundred of them. From a diagonal direction, another group of people attacked. The leader of that group claimed to be 'Yongchun Ye Wen'…" Throughout the journey, Huang Sanyuan had been contemplating his excuses. He had crafted his story carefully, exaggerating the number of bandits to three hundred."Despite my desperate efforts to protect the young lady, the number of robbers was too great. I was left badly injured, and the young lady was nonetheless taken by the robbers..."

"I have committed a grave sin. A grave sin indeed…" Huang Sanyuan fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly like pounding garlic: "I admit my guilt, please grant me a hundred soldiers, City Lord. Let me avenge this foul act and rescue the young lady. Then, I will face my punishment…"

Blood covered Huang's body. His clothes torn and crumpled. Tears fell like a heavy rain. The soldiers who followed him back from Frog Ridge kneeled on the ground as well, their faces ashen, trembling with fear.

"Kill." Han Huju raised his head, uttering a single word.

"City Lord..."

The men kneeling on the ground were suddenly grabbed and dragged away from the hall. Huang Sanyuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Having delivered his well-crafted lie, he still couldn't escape from his inevitable fate.

"Wait!"

Just as they were being dragged away, a young man walked into the hall, addressing Han Huju: "Father, Steward Huang knows about the bandits. We can't kill him yet."

Almost all the men who'd been brought back with Huang were swiftly beheaded. Heads rolled, blood splattered, and Huang was in such shock that he felt as though he'd lost his soul.

Then, he was dragged back to the hall. He saw a young man had joined Han Huju's side. He was clean-shaven, in his twenties, wearing spotless white clothes, and emanating an exceptional aura.

This young man was Han Xuanzhi, the young Lord of Black Stone City.

"Steward Huang, can you repeat what happened on the journey?"

Huang Sanyuan shivered, wondering if there were any chinks in his tale and if Han Xuanzhi was about to expose him publicly. Yet, it wouldn't make any difference. He was doomed either way.

He stutteringly repeated his story. As he spoke, Han Xuanzhi kept nodding, his eyes filled with apparent excitement.

"Father, Miss Su is in the hands of the bandits. I ask for the Tiger Talisman to come with me to Frog Ridge, crush the bandits and save Miss Su." Han Xuanzhi's voice was firm and resolute.

"Good boy, after falling into the hands of bandits, isn't her fate sealed? She'll either be violated or killed. If the girl is dead, then she's dead. I'll find a better one for you, how about that?" Han Huju asked earnestly.

"Father!" Han Xuanzhi knelt down: "If a man cannot protect his wife, how can he stand between heaven and earth? I beg you, let me lead the soldiers!"

"So..." Han Huju lifted his wine glass: "How many soldiers do you need?"

Han Xuanzhi stood up and calmly uttered: "Two thousand."

Splutter!

Han Huju spat out the wine he had just taken a sip of. Everyone else in the hall widened their eyes, their faces radiating disbelief.

"Young Master, do you understand the implications of commanding two thousand men?" The middle-aged man with a white face asked tremulously, "Young Master, have you considered the huge consumption of resources, the number of wagons needed to transport these resources, the allocation of troops, the marching route... most importantly, the bandits are only three hundred in number. Is it really necessary?"

"Of course, I have taken all of that into consideration." Han Xuanzhi replied calmly: "I just prefer to annihilate my enemies in overwhelming force."

The man with a white face was speechless.

"Black Stone city only has a total of five thousand soldiers. You're taking away half of my forces, no, absolutely not, you can't have two thousand. I can give you one thousand at most."

"One thousand it is, though it seems a bit less," Han Xuanzhi said regretfully.

"I know the young master has the aspiration to lead an army. How do you plan to attack?" the middle-aged man with a white face asked.

"I've already devised a plan."

"So quickly, my son really is amazing." Han Huju said contentedly: "Go on…"

"I will request two hundred Light Cavalry, two hundred archers, three hundred large sword soldiers, one hundred Heavy Armor Soldiers and two hundred spear soldiers, making a total of one thousand. The cavalry will perform the raid, the archers will kill from a distance, the heavy-armored soldiers will withstand the enemy's charge, the spear soldiers will kill from behind them, and the sword soldiers will destroy any remaining threat." Explained Han Xuanzhi confidently: "Frog Ridge is 150 miles from here, it will take approximately a day's travel. A long-distance raid will catch the enemy off guard, and the bandits will be wiped out."

Han Huju slammed his palm on the table, "Not bad, my son. Since you have this dream of leading an army, let this be your trial."

Huang Sanyuan was already petrified. He'd always heard that the young city lord had been studying military tactics since he was a child and was a born military genius. However, as he listened to him confidently laying down his plans, Huang Sanyuan had an uncanny feeling that, "Your reasoning sounds valid, and I don't know how to refute it, but something just doesn't seem right."

Furthermore... Huang Sanyuan suddenly recoiled. The bandits were just two men. What if the spirited young lord reached Frog Ridge... Huang's body broke out in cold sweat. Perhaps, he thought, being beheaded is not a bad way to die after all.

"Huang Sanyuan, you'll accompany the young master to eliminate the bandits and redeem yourself."

"Yes, thank you for your great mercy, city lord. Thank you, city lord..."

Han Xuanzhi, brimming with confidence and wielding the Tiger Talisman, left the hall. Judging by his zest, he was likely to stay up all night arranging for this military campaign.

Inside the hall, Han Huju turned to the middle-aged man with a white face, "Counselor Xue, what do you think of Xuanzhi's plan?"

This middle-aged man was named Xue Banchuan. He reluctantly shook his head, "In the woods, the uses of cavalry are limited. If they'll be traveling long distances, why bring Heavy Armor Soldiers? Moreover, bandits often use the favorable terrain for their defense, so attacking them hastily might not necessarily work. The young master's plan is not perfect, but… I understand, my lord, that you have already seen the shortcomings of his plan. Yet you are allowing him to take this risk. Why?"