Chapter 42: Enemy Attack, Enemy Attack!

Meanwhile, Su Wu closely observed the opposing side. From three to four hundred paces away, he could clearly see the messenger talking to Dong Ping, though he could not hear the exact words being exchanged.

Over there, having received the address, Dong Ping beamed with joy. "That scoundrel Cheng Wanli is truly a petty man, racking his brain to try and take advantage of me. Hmph! I'll let him witness my methods!"

The men on his left and right chuckled as well. "It's still the General who is a move ahead. That prefect is nothing more than an old fool muddled by too much book-reading."

Dong Ping glanced once more at Suo Chao's thousand-odd men in the distance, then shouted to his guards, "Wait here. I'm going to fetch the man, and once he's brought over... I imagine there will still be some haggling! Haha..."

Fetch what man? The man they would bring back would be a corpse. How would he die? He would already be dead by the time they reached him!

Would Suo Chao be furious?

Let him be furious. Would Suo Chao dare to use troops to attack a prefectural city? If he truly did, it would surely shake the imperial court, and wouldn't that make Suo Chao a rebellious subject?

Feeling rather pleased with his scheme, Dong Ping cast one more look at Suo Chao's battle array, turned his horse around, and rode off.

In the distance, Dong Ping, clad in armor and wielding dual spears, could be seen heading toward the rear of the battle formation.

Suo Chao immediately spoke up, "Just as my brother predicted, the opportunity has truly arrived!"

Suo Chao reached out to stop him. "Not yet. Let him walk a bit further away, and let those soldiers grow a little more lax."

"You certainly have the patience, brother. You are truly a man meant for great undertakings. If you lead troops in the future, you will surely be an extraordinary military commander!" Suo Chao said with heartfelt sincerity.

"This concerns success or failure, life and death; I dare not be the least bit careless." These were Suo Chao's true thoughts. At this moment, his heart was pounding uncontrollably with tension, and cold sweat was breaking out on his hands and feet.

It wasn't a matter of whether he was afraid or not; it was simply his first time experiencing this, and he couldn't suppress the nervous turmoil within.

Beneath the city walls, before long, the hundred-odd cavalrymen who had been neatly aligned began to shift restlessly. The riders in the saddle seemed to be whispering to one another, talking and laughing.

Some leading soldiers even turned their heads to look at the sun...

Many foot soldiers also began to stretch their limbs and chat among themselves. Viewed from afar, the formation that had once been strict and stern suddenly erupted into a slight commotion.

Suo Chao suddenly shouted aloud, "Right now! Charge!"

Suo Chao did not hesitate in the slightest, as if he had been waiting precisely for these words. He raised the golden-dipped axe at his horse's flank high into the air.

Then, with an angry roar, he shouted, "Brothers, follow me and charge!"

In an instant, the thunder of hooves roared. Though there were only a hundred-odd riders in the vanguard, they seemed capable of making the earth tremble, their rumbling noise echoing back and forth through the air.

The infantry behind rushed forward at a run, shields and broadswords in front, a forest of spears in the middle, and arrows nocked at the rear.

At that very split second, as Suo Chao spurred his horse into a gallop, he even felt a momentary sense of unreality.

This... was this war?

This was clearly war!

Beneath the city walls, pair after pair of dazed eyes turned to look.

Those with quick reactions shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Those whose reactions were not slow either yelled, "Quick, quick, quick! Go forward and block them! Charge, charge!"

Others, equally quick to react, screamed, "Don't charge, don't charge! Back into the city, back into the city! Shut the gates at once!"

Chaos.

Utter chaos.

Some riders had already surged forward, some were still looking around hesitantly, and those in the rear ranks were actually turning back to enter the city first.

Someone instinctively drew a bow to loose an arrow, while some charging horsemen looked left and right and abruptly reined in their mounts.

The hundred-odd horsemen from outside the city came rushing on like a tidal wave. Three or four hundred paces was a distance covered the moment it was spoken of.

A single golden-dipped axe truly began to reap lives. With one sweep of the axe, men and horses were sent flying in disarray.

Suo Chao held a long spear in his hand. Though he wasn't very skilled in using it, he had sharp eyes and quick hands. Fixing his gaze on a single target, his horse moving like the wind, he brushed past and thrust forward with his hands...

He didn't even have time to see what kind of damage the thrust did; he only felt a massive jolt of force that almost knocked the spear out of his grip.

Wu Song, riding beside him, called out as a reminder, "Brother, once you thrust, you have to release the impact force!"

If not for this encounter, how would Suo Chao have known such a thing? Since he was not someone trained in martial arts, how could he have imagined that cavalrymen needed to release the impact force when charging and thrusting with a spear?

On the second attempt, he targeted another man. That fellow was already riding away with his back to Suo Chao, but his horse's speed had dropped from the charge and couldn't pick up.

Suo Chao arrived swiftly on horseback, spear in hand, aiming for the man's back. The moment he felt the massive shock of impact, Suo Chao immediately pulled back his outstretched arms...

Suo Chao, catching it out of the corner of his eye, smiled and said, "Brother learns truly fast!"

Even as he spoke, Suo Chao's golden-dipped axe continued to sweep left and right, hacking and smashing until countless men had already fallen to the ground.

As for Wu Song, he wasn't showing off much, keeping himself tightly glued to his brother's side, perhaps fearing that Suo Chao might make a misstep, treating the protection of his brother as his utmost priority.

Meanwhile, back in the city, Dong Ping was just about to hurry toward Sweet Water Well Alley when he suddenly heard a thunderous rumbling from outside the city walls behind him. His horse and steps came to a halt, and he whirled around...

He listened again!

Amidst the rumbling, there were the sounds of battle cries...

"Not good! It's a trap!" Dong Ping's reaction was extremely fast, even while his surrounding attendants were still in a daze.

"Quick, quick, quick! Turn around and meet the enemy!" Dong Ping roared repeatedly, whirling his horse around. The butt of his spear struck the horse's flank directly as his legs clamped hard against its belly.

Looking down the streets on either side, countless townspeople had stopped in their tracks, all staring around in bewildered confusion as they watched General Dong gallop wildly down the street!

"What's happening? What is this?"

"What's going on?"

"I said so! I said something major was going to happen these past few days. I saw those soldiers being shifted back and forth yesterday, and I guessed it..."

"Is there a battle?"

"What battle? Where would there be a battle? How peaceful is our Great Song Dynasty—fighting a battle?"

"Run, run, run! Go home, go home! Hide first and talk later."

Then someone suddenly screamed, "A battle, a battle! It really is a battle! Fighting has broken out, fighting has broken out!"

Looking at the street once more, the panic intensified. There were running and shouting men, crying children, and screaming women...

Galloping furiously down the street, Dong Ping caught sight of the city gate in the distance. Through the gate archway, he could clearly see that a fierce slaughter was already underway outside the city. At a single glance, he spotted Suo Chao's golden-dipped axe hacking left and right, encountering not a single match in a single clash.

The hundred-odd cavalrymen following behind were charging in close, crashing through everything without obstruction.

A rain of arrows filled the air above, making the scene truly tragic.

Dong Ping was consumed by raging fury. "Suo Chao, you are truly courting death!"

An attendant riding alongside him cried out anxiously, "General, it would be wise to close the city gates first."

"It's already too late!" Dong Ping was genuinely well-versed in military affairs; looking at the densely packed crowd wedged into the gate tunnel, it was simply impossible to close the gates now.

Dong Ping declared instead, "Fear not! Just follow me and charge out! Let's see who can withstand my dual spears in a single clash!"

The surrounding soldiers seemed to instantly steady their hearts. Looking at the dual spears in Dong Ping's hands, they inexplicably felt that no matter how dire the situation, as long as General Dong was here, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Inside the city, a minor prefectural official was scurrying about in a panic, heading straight home. Bursting through the front door, he shouted, "My Lord! My Lord! It really seems like fighting has broken out outside the city..."

Lord Cheng had been sitting quietly in the main hall. Upon hearing this, without even putting on his shoes, he bolted toward the inner chambers, shouting along the way, "Quick, close the door! Don't open it for anyone, hurry and bar the door!"

The official hastily turned to bolt the courtyard gate of the residence.

Inside the inner chamber, there were quite a few people gathered. A young maiden of about sixteen or seventeen, seeing her father in such a state, remarked, "Father, why panic to this extent..."

Hearing this, Cheng Wanli stopped in his tracks and straightened up, trying to put on a show of calm as he said, "Good daughter, you don't understand..."

"Father, whether it's a rebellion or soldiers fighting, someone is bound to be risking their lives out there. We are safely hidden away, so Father needn't lose his composure."

The young maiden added, "Ah... you don't know the perils involved." Cheng Wanli offered this explanation because he felt his dear daughter truly did not grasp the danger, nor did she realize that their lives were hanging by a thread.

Suddenly, Cheng Wanli pricked up his ears and pointed westward. "Listen! The fighting is growing even more fierce. I'm afraid it's reached inside the city..."

"Father, since they are fighting that Dong Ping, wouldn't it be even better if the battle reached inside the city?" The young maiden seemed genuinely calm and collected.

"Hmm? How do you know they are fighting Dong Ping?" Cheng Wanli was extremely surprised.

"Father brought us here to hide in advance, which was clearly to guard against people in the city. Dong Ping has acted out of line several times, and Father was so angry he beat his chest. Now that such a fierce battle has broken out, it's no ordinary skirmish—if they aren't fighting Dong Ping, then who are they fighting?"

The young maiden reasoned with perfect clarity.

Cheng Wanli's mind suddenly settled considerably. "My good daughter is right, absolutely right. For the fight to reach inside the city is a good thing, truly a good thing. If they couldn't even break through the fighting outside the city, that would be the real disaster..."

"I just don't know who is so valorous. Since Father trusted him, there is no need to worry excessively." The maiden even comforted her father.

Cheng Wanli straightened up even more. Looking at his good daughter, he said, "Right, that Suo Wu is truly an extraordinary man, both courageous and resourceful. There's no need to worry... no need to worry, no need to worry... Since the plan was well-laid and action was taken only after careful deliberation, there shouldn't be any need to worry..."

Lord Cheng began comforting himself as well. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the inner chamber actually stabilized completely.