Berserk God of War

Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Go Big or Go Home

Bang!

Leading the charge, Lan Zhuanghe violently collided with the city gates.

The horses wailed mournfully, smashing into complete disarray, and of course, the city gates remained immovable. Then the fifty thousand soldiers behind him, maintaining their momentum, crashed into a chaotic mess.

The entire 96th Legion was thrown into disarray!

Lan Zhuanghe was completely dumbfounded, and then he roared like a madman, ”What’s going on? Why are the gates closed again?”

He couldn’t figure out why the few hundred knights inside hadn’t kept it secured.

But still, no one provided him with an explanation, and Sikong Jing’s order rang out, ”All soldiers, on command, fire arrows at the horses!”

The twenty-seven thousand warriors of the 99th Army, ready and waiting, pulled their bows and released the arrows.

Thud, thud, thud...

The arrows sliced through the air, striking the horses of Lan Zhuanghe and his men. Waves of arrows poured down, and the soldiers in disarray had no preparation, leaving their horses open to a barrage of arrow strikes.

In front of the city gates, the horses cried out in panic, causing utter chaos.

In the blink of an eye, at least half of the 96th Legion’s horses lay fallen. Lan Zhuanghe was utterly shocked; without their horses, how could they fight? If the men of the 99th Army came out, they would be completely finished.

”Quick, everyone retreat, protect the horses!”

Hearing Lan Zhuanghe’s order, the fifty thousand men quickly pulled themselves together and started to fall back...

However, Sikong Jing’s cold voice once again filled the air, ”Ready the second volley of arrows, target the horses again!”

At this command, a fresh hail of arrows streaked down once more.

More horses cried out, yet this time not as disastrously as before, because Lan Zhuanghe and his men managed to deflect the arrows with some preparation, but injuries were still sustained, and more horses fell.

”Open the gates wide, mount up and attack the enemy.”

But before Lan Zhuanghe and his men could react, Sikong Jing issued another command.

On hearing this, Lan Zhuanghe shuddered severely, realizing that only a third of their horses remained, and a cold dread surged within him.

Without the horses, they would stand no chance against the assault of the 99th Army.

”Retreat, everyone retreat to Ninety-Six Castle.”

Upon this command, they retreated towards Ninety-Six Castle, almost three men per horse.

Defeated, they had once again suffered a complete defeat!

At least they hadn’t been annihilated; upon returning to Ninety-Six Castle, they could figure out a way to strike back. Ning Jingjing wasn’t in the city, and Lan Zhuanghe refused to believe Sikong Jing could be that formidable.

However, Lan Zhuanghe had no idea that atop the city walls, Sikong Jing’s lips had already formed a faint cold smile.

After Lan Zhuanghe and his men had gone a distance, and three thousand Black-armored Soldiers of the 99th had mounted their horses, prepared to give chase...

Suddenly, Sikong Jing waved his hand and said with a light smile, ”Send out three thousand cavalry to pursue and make sure they make a lot of noise; make Lan Zhuanghe think that thirty thousand cavalry are chasing him.”

The two Deputy Generals were utterly shocked, staring at Sikong Jing in bewildered silence.

Still, they followed the order, sending out three thousand cavalry to chase after Lan Zhuanghe, yelling wildly and thundering fiercely as if to signify greater numbers.

After the matter was settled, the two Deputy Generals returned their gaze to Sikong Jing, needing an explanation.

They couldn’t understand why they were deliberately letting Lan Zhuanghe go. Wasn’t this tantamount to releasing the tiger back into the mountain?

And what was the reason behind having three thousand cavalry pretend to be thirty thousand?

”It’s simple, I want to completely take down Ninety-Six Castle, and I don’t just want his castle, I want his soldiers as well,” said Sikong Jing.

”If we’d just captured Lan Zhuanghe right away, where would the fun be in that?”

”When Yan Shun arrives, we’d only have to obediently release him, which would be pointless.”

”If we’re going to strike, let’s make it a big one.”

The eyes of the two deputy generals glittered with excitement. Indeed, if only General Lan Zhuanghe was captured, the fifty thousand troops outside could still retreat to Ninety-Six Castle at their leisure.

And their own 99th Army simply couldn’t take it down.

Moreover, they would immediately report to Yan Shun, and the previous incident would recur.

In the end, apart from reluctantly releasing Lan Zhuanghe, they had no other options, and might even further punish Sikong Jing by claiming he wasn’t a man of the Black Burning Army on purpose.

In that case, even if they won, it would still feel like a loss, and an extremely frustrating one at that.

At this moment, Elder Wei stepped forward to inquire, ”Then sending only three thousand cavalry to pursue now would also be meaningless.”

The two deputy generals nodded gravely. Sending three thousand cavalry pretending to be thirty thousand in pursuit would only make Lan Zhuanghe run faster, and upon his return to Ninety-Six Castle, it would still be impregnable.

Sikong Jing smiled and suddenly countered, ”Elder Wei, if I remember correctly, our 99th Army’s Reserve Camp is on Lan Zhuanghe’s return route to Ninety-Six Castle, right?”

”Right.” Elder Wei nodded lightly, his eyes still filled with confusion. What’s the purpose of suddenly asking about the Reserve Camp?

”Good, now send a message to the Reserve Camp, instructing them to ambush along Lan Zhuanghe’s inevitable route. They don’t need to engage him, just scare Lan Zhuanghe with some noise,” Sikong Jing suddenly said.

Everyone still didn’t understand. What good would scaring him do?

”Scare Lan Zhuanghe into detouring, while the remaining twenty-seven thousand of us can have time to reach Ninety-Six Castle first and storm it.”

”Next, we can wait inside Ninety-Six Castle for Lan Zhuanghe’s arrival.”

As Sikong Jing spoke, everyone in the room was profoundly shaken, staring at Sikong Jing with mouths agape and eyes as round as saucers.

After a few breaths, Elder Wei, coming to a realization, promptly said, ”I will immediately pass the message to the Reserve Camp.”

Then Sikong Jing turned to the two deputy generals and said, ”You both should know how to reach Ninety-Six Castle the fastest, right?”

The two exchanged glances and nodded firmly.

They had been in the Long Night Black Burning Army for decades and knew the surrounding terrain like the back of their hands.

Without further ado, the entire 99th Army mobilized. Under Sikong Jing’s command, and led by the two deputy generals, they burst out of the castle.

They would make haste to Lan Zhuanghe’s Ninety-Six Castle at maximum speed.

Of course, the 99th Army still left a thousand men inside 99th Castle, not only to guard the several hundred prisoners and Pan Zha but also because Sikong Jing’s recent words had not been concealed from these prisoners...

They too were gaping, looking at each other in disbelief.

”Gulp...”

The several hundred prisoners swallowed nervously as they realized that releasing General Lan was a deliberate act by Sikong Jing, and that he had a terrifying plan in place, with the upcoming ordeal for General Lan being a maddening abyss.

”What do you think of my Brother Sikong? If I were to invite you to join the 99th Army, would you be willing?”

Suddenly, Sui Yu strolled forward, squinting as he looked at the several hundred prisoners.

Sui Yu and Su Yuexi, among others, naturally did not follow the army on campaign, but had stayed behind.

And Sui Yu, as Sikong Jing’s younger brother, felt it was crucial to take action to win over these captives...

But at that moment, Pan Zha, also bound, roared angrily, ”Don’t listen to him! Sikong Jing is doomed. If he dares to kill General Lan, Commander Yan will not let him off.”

At these words, the several hundred prisoners collectively fell silent, their eyes emitting a cold gleam.

Slap!

Sui Yu suddenly slapped Pan Zha across the face and snapped, ”You talk too much.”

However, he then looked indifferently at the several hundred prisoners and said softly, ”Do you think taking Ninety-Six Castle is Brother Sikong’s only goal? Absolutely not.”

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the prisoners looked up and asked, ”What else does he want to do?”