Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Xiao Che organized every refugee into squads.
As the sky gradually darkened, every man in Blackwind Fort followed Xiao Che toward the town he had marked during the day, aside from Ye Ba and the fifty people left behind to guard the fort.
Xiao Che bundled Jin Bao warmly and seated her on a sled.
With local refugees guiding them, it took only three hours to reach the outskirts of the town.
The bitter wind howled. Nights were even harder to endure than the days.
When everyone learned they were going to raid the town’s grain storehouse, not one person backed down.
The grain would feed them all. Rather than fight random people for scraps along the road, it was better to attack in an organized force under Xiao Che’s leadership.
“Ye Qi, scout the town.”
“Daddy, Baby wants to go too.”
Inside Xiao Che’s cloak, Jin Bao pulled open a little hole and poked out her head.
Xiao Che now possessed a clear understanding of Jin Bao’s abilities.
He was not worried that she would encounter danger, but Jin Bao was young and easily acted on impulse. That still concerned him.
Only after repeatedly instructing Jin Bao to return and discuss everything with him before taking action did Xiao Che allow her to leave.
Jin Bao did not need Ye Qi to carry her. The two raced toward the town, one behind the other.
The town was indeed heavily guarded, just as everyone had described.
But in such frigid weather, few soldiers patrolled outside. Most hid indoors, drinking to keep warm.
Jin Bao and Ye Qi entered the town without difficulty.
Judging by its size, the town was relatively prosperous for the Northern Frontier.
It contained six streets.
The east-west and north-south roads intersected.
The two climbed onto one of the taller rooftops.
Only then could they take in the entire town.
The southwestern corner had nearly become a ruin. The darkness made details difficult to see, but there appeared to be no human activity and not a single light.
Rows of low thatched cottages had collapsed beneath the heavy snow and lay buried under the thick white drifts.
Several warehouses with triangular roofs stood in the southeastern corner, their structures below shaped like cylinders.
Each warehouse was enormous and resembled a place for storing grain.
It was the only brightly lit area in town. Troops carrying torches patrolled back and forth from time to time.
A district of blue-brick houses occupied the northwestern corner, with dim yellow light shining from every home. Darkness fell early in the Northern Frontier, and poor families usually went to bed early. Only the wealthy held evening banquets, and this was precisely when they ate dinner.
Jin Bao and Ye Qi went first to the northwestern corner, which appeared to be the wealthy district.
Relying on his experience, Ye Qi led Jin Bao to the largest estate.
They flew over roofs and walls, entering the main courtyard without obstruction.
Outside, the wind was bitter enough to freeze breath in the air. Inside, however, warmth filled the room.
A singing girl dressed in flowing, feathered robes swayed gently atop a great drum, earning smiles from her hosts.
Musicians accompanied her with languid, decadent melodies.
Cups passed back and forth throughout the hall, and one fat, broad-faced guest after another drank until flushed.
Dish after dish of delicacies arrived from the kitchen.
Whatever the hosts could not finish was tossed to the Snow Mastiffs in the hall.
Ye Qi clenched his fists. The refugees outside were treated worse than the dogs of rich families.
“Report!”
At that moment, a servant hurried inside, holding a letter aloft.
The fat man in the seat of honor raised one hand slightly. Everyone in the hall fell silent, and even the song and dance stopped.
“What is it?”
The servant hurriedly presented the letter.
“Master, this letter came from Bei’an City. They said it was for you to open personally.”
The man accepted the letter, glanced at its contents, and rose from his seat.
“It’s from the Deputy Commander.”
Everyone else stood as well.
“What does the letter say?”
Only after hastily reading it did the man sit down again.
“It says Xiao Che has left the mountains with the Star Maiden and is very close to us. We must capture him. We also need to strengthen the defenses around the grain storehouse. They fear he left the mountains in search of food.”
The others exchanged glances, then looked toward the man in the seat of honor.
“Brother Cheng, what should we do now?
“I heard Xiao Che is no ordinary man. He’s the War God of Great Xia. I also heard that the last time the Deputy Commander pursued Xiao Che into Black Pine Forest, he brought two thousand men and fewer than five hundred returned. Even the Deputy Commander himself seems to have lost the use of one arm.”
Everyone was shocked. They stared at the man above them and waited for his decision.
“Tomorrow, every family will contribute another fifty household guards to strengthen patrols. I refuse to believe that no matter how powerful Xiao Che is, he can cause any real trouble on our territory.
“As long as he dares come here, we can hold him in place.
“The Deputy Commander said he will arrive within days. This time, he intends to avenge the arrow wound from their last encounter. If we help the Deputy Commander capture Xiao, won’t we claim the greatest merit?
“Then all of us will have influence before Prince Cheng in the future.”
The others found his words reasonable. To celebrate Xiao Che’s capture in advance, they resumed their songs and dances, exchanging toasts and drowning themselves in pleasure. They had no idea that every word they spoke had been overheard from the roof.
After Jin Bao and Ye Qi finished eavesdropping, they headed to the southeastern corner.
They even slipped inside the warehouses and confirmed that the buildings truly contained grain. Along the way, they mapped the patrol arrangements, troop distribution, and routes before returning to the outskirts of town.
The round trip took almost an hour.
When Ye Qi returned, he recounted everything he had seen and heard to Xiao Che.
Xiao Che frowned. He had not expected Lu Dachang’s intelligence network to be so effective. The man already knew he had left Black Pine Forest and would arrive soon. They needed to retreat into the forest immediately.
Only within Black Pine Forest would Xiao Che have any chance of defeating Lu Dachang.
Out here, his people possessed no ability to fight the man’s army.
“In that case, we’ll exploit their lack of preparation tonight and seize the grain storehouse in one stroke.”
Ye Qi drew a simple map in the snow, showing the distribution of troops and the routes around the grain storehouse.
Using Ye Qi’s map, Xiao Che immediately deployed the force he had brought.
One squad would remain at the town entrance to stand lookout.
Everyone else would follow Xiao Che and seize the grain.
Xiao Che had brought fifteen hundred people in total.
According to Ye Qi’s investigation, fewer than a thousand guards defended the grain storehouse.
But all of them carried weapons and were trained soldiers, completely unlike the hastily assembled force of refugees under Xiao Che.
Xiao Che’s people were little more than a rabble that would scatter at the first blow. Therefore, he chose a rapid assault rather than a prolonged battle.
Xiao Che selected six hundred people to seize the grain, led by three Shadow Guard captains. Their task was to avoid extended fighting and run toward Blackwind Fort the moment they obtained the supplies.
He positioned the remaining eight hundred in four directions. Once the battle began, they would attack simultaneously from every side, sowing confusion and making the enemy believe they were surrounded so their morale would collapse.