Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 154 Sincere friendship transcends social status
The old steward snorted, and two warriors sandwiched Cao Kun between them. The Thunder Smoke Beast was very strong, making him unable to move.

Although the battle on Yun Ce's side was extremely fierce, the old steward's eyes were always on the opposite bank of the river, where a group of ambushers armed with powerful crossbows were ready and waiting for the enemy to charge.

Yun Ce saw that the dog's silvery-white tentacles had turned into a water pipe, sucking up something bit by bit, causing lumps and bumps to appear on the silver threads, which looked quite horrifying.

"You'd better not ask anymore. I'm worried your morality will backfire and you'll forbid me from doing this. But I'll tell you, this is for the more than three thousand little brats you're raising."

The most difficult part of what Zhang Min and the others were talking about, "Qi," is actually sensing it. Now, I'm extracting all of this guy's essence, which will then be implanted into the little guy's body. Their bodies will naturally have Qi, without needing to spend a lot of time sensing its existence.

As Yun Ce pulled the meteor hammer over, he said to Gouzi, "Then let's collect more."

"There aren't many left."

When Yun Ce dragged the Ghost Fang leader to him with his meteor hammer, the guy, whose face was originally dark and green, actually turned pale.

Its two big eyes were almost bulging out, and its mouth was open as if it were speaking, but no sound came out.

He said you are a demon.

When Gouzi retrieved the silver thread, he also explained it to Yun Ce.

Yun Ce drew his saber from his side and chopped off the head of the Gui Fang man with one stroke. As the head flew up, Yun Ce used his lance to hold it. He promised Cao Kun that he would get a Gui Fang man's head to study later.

For some reason, the Guifang tribe on the other side of the river did not break out of the forest; it remained silent, and the old steward dared not easily send troops into the forest.

The battle on the left side of the river ended quickly as well. Not many Guifang soldiers rushed out of the forest. After Yun Ce killed the Guifang leader, no more Guifang soldiers emerged from the forest.

The old steward was clearly a general with a wealth of command experience. Instead of choosing to confront the enemy here, he took advantage of the slight advantage his own forces had gained and ordered the grain carts to continue advancing.

Yun Ce, holding a spear with a human head stuck in it, stared at the woods to his left. Beside him was a group of cavalry from Qiuhe Prefecture. They had begun to regard Yun Ce as one of their own, and together they were watching the woods intently. If any enemy dared to come out of the woods, they would definitely rush forward to fight again.

The convoy moved slowly forward. When the old steward and Cao Kun passed Yun Ce and his group's positions, the old steward said with a smile, "Very good."

Yun Ce returned a smile, then looked at Cao Kun, who was sandwiched between two warriors, and laughed loudly: "Brother Cao, here's the toy you wanted."

Having said that, he swung his spear, and the head of the Guifang leader, which was no longer bleeding much, flew toward Cao Kun.

This time, the old steward smiled and did not stop them, nor did the warriors beside Cao Kun, allowing Cao Kun, who was so excited he was practically flying, to grab the bloody head in his hand.

"This is a ten-man general," the old steward continued to explain to Cao Kun.

"Huh? He seemed so imposing, and he even fought Yun Ce for quite a while. Turns out he's just a ten-man general."

The old steward's face darkened, and he looked at Cao Kun and said, "A young man who can kill ten Gui Fang generals in battle is comparable to a hundred Gui Fang generals. Even in Iron Enclosure Pass, he can be considered a hero."

Cao Kun smiled ingratiatingly and said, "If we still have to fight, I can kill a ten-man general and bring him back."

The old steward's face grew even uglier as he stared into Cao Kun's eyes and said, "You see how easily Yun Ce kills enemies, as if he were eating a swift beast, but you don't know how much suffering he has endured behind the scenes."

"Young master, you may envy those whose family background, status, or even appearance surpass yours, but you must never envy someone like Yun Ce, for his abilities were earned through blood and tears."

Cao Kun shook his head and said, "I'm not jealous of him, I just want to go to the battlefield too. To personally kill a ten-man general, a hundred-man general, a thousand-man general or something."

The old steward ignored Cao Kun's mutterings and directly told the two warriors guarding Cao Kun, "Keep an eye on him. If he runs onto the battlefield, no matter how the young master performs, I will kill you both."

Upon hearing this, the two warriors gripped Cao Kun even tighter.

After the grain carts passed through the two groves of trees, the Guifang troops did not continue to rush out to launch a surprise attack. Yun Ce led a group of cavalry to withdraw from the woods last.

Instead of following closely behind the convoy, they lagged behind by two miles, which made Cao Kun, who was eager to talk to Yun Ce, extremely anxious.

"This is called a rearguard scout. It is a common method used by scouts who are within the sight of the main army and whose own safety is a warning signal."

The old steward ignored the severed head in Cao Kun's hand and continued to responsibly explain to him the precautions to take on the battlefield, while also explaining Yun Ce's actions to Cao Kun.

"Why risk your own safety as a warning?"

"For the safety of the army, if they are attacked or overtaken by the enemy, the main force will be aware of the situation and make the necessary preparations. Two miles is too far for heavily armored infantry to charge, and too short for heavily armored cavalry to charge..."

After leaving the woods, the old steward ordered the caravan to speed up and completely leave the mountains and forests. Looking out, all that could be seen were rough, broken rocks. Only then did he order them to set up camp at a place called Black Stone Beach. With a huge number of wagons loaded with food and supplies at their disposal, a wagon town quickly appeared on Black Stone Beach.

Yun Ce rolled some meat, vegetables, and eggs in a straw-grain pancake and ate his dinner with the cool boiled water at his waist, leaning against his chestnut horse.

Cao Kun had never eaten grass before. Seeing that Yun Ce was eating with great relish, he asked for a flatbread, and like Yun Ce, he softened it over the campfire and rolled it up with some meat, eggs and vegetables.

It tasted exceptionally good, so he rolled up another pancake and personally delivered it to the old butler.

"The old man nags all day long. If it weren't for his age, I wouldn't want to listen to him."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Knowing you're lucky, you don't need to show off in front of me all the time."

After taking a bite of the straw cake and swallowing it, Cao Kun asked in a low voice, "Do you think I can kill a general of ten men?"

Yun Ce said, "After we finish eating, let's have a match, and then I'll give you my answer."

Cao Kun said happily, "Don't let me have it. I hate it when others let me have it."

The old steward slowly finished eating the grass-fed pancakes that Cao Kun had brought, and then said to the warrior leader, "The nights at Black Stone Beach are never peaceful, and this is also the most suitable place for the Ghost Fang Clan to launch a surprise attack."

"If we miss tonight, we'll be entering the territory of the Iron Enclosure Cavalry, and I don't think the Guifang people will dare to go any further."

The warrior leader looked at Cao Kun, who was dancing and gesturing happily with Yun Ce, from afar and said, "Young Master is so eager to go into battle that he's almost possessed by lust."

I'm very worried that Young Master Yun will succumb to the young master's pleas and take him to the battlefield.

The old steward chuckled and said, "In a little while, the young master will know his own limitations, and then his desire to go to the battlefield should be extinguished."

The warrior leader still said worriedly, "Everyone says that the young master's martial arts are superb, but everyone knows in their hearts that the young master's martial arts are not good enough. If even Young Master Lianyun goes easy on him..."

Just as the warrior leader was still worried, he saw his young master being sent flying by a meteor hammer. The giant shield he was holding was smashed into eight pieces by the hammer. At the same time, Yun Ce controlled the meteor hammer and kept bombarding Cao Kun's body.

No matter what weapon Cao Kun had in his hand, it would be smashed away by the meteor hammer in the next moment. Moreover, while Cao Kun was stunned by the blow, Yun Ce would smash the meteor hammer next to him, near his head, in his groin, and in his ribs. Each blow had the power to split mountains and shatter rocks. In an instant, black dust filled the field, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

After Yun Ce put away his spoils, the meteor hammer, as the dust settled, Cao Kun, covered in black dust, coughed and yelled as he got up from the ground.

The old steward, who had been standing with his arms crossed, sighed and turned away when he saw two tear tracks on Cao Kun's dark face. He had known the outcome from the beginning and didn't know what he was hoping for.

"Brother Yun, this is the ability of the ten generals of the Guifang tribe."

Yun Ce pulled over a cavalryman whose arm was bandaged tightly and said, "You took a blow from that ten-man general. Tell me your thoughts."

The cavalryman looked at the dark-skinned Cao Kun and said, "My lord, I was riding on a Thunder Smoke Beast when I took a blow with my shield. I was knocked off my horse, and my arm was broken."

"You mean I can't beat ten generals? You didn't say that before. You said I could easily take on a thousand generals."

The wounded cavalryman's face turned bright red.

Cao Kun was not only reprimanding the wounded cavalryman, but his fingers were also trembling wildly as if he had epilepsy. Whoever he pointed at would blush and run away in panic.

When Cao Kun finished washing up and came to Yun Ce's tent clean and fresh, he was bathing the chestnut horse. Cao Kun did not disturb Yun Ce. The process of bathing the horse was only over after Yun Ce rinsed the chestnut horse's rump with clean water.

"Everyone else is fooling me, why don't you keep fooling me too?"

"I wouldn't dare. If we were at Jingkou Pass, I would definitely fight you to a standstill and make sure you don't lose face."

But what kind of place is this? This is Black Stone Beach, a place where the Guifang people and Tiewei Pass often clash. With your meager martial arts skills, I can't even imagine what it would be like if you were to swing your knife and charge at a hundred Guifang men.

"To be honest, among the sons of noble families I've met, you're one of the few I find decent people. Someone like you should probably continue living, and live as long as possible."

Cao Kun seemed completely unconcerned about the defeat, instead focusing on the word "friend" in Yun Ce's words. He leaped up to Yun Ce, grabbed his hand, and asked, "Do you consider us friends now?"

Yun Ce glanced at Cao Kun and said, "Am I being presumptuous?"

Cao Kun laughed loudly, "I am honored to be associated with you."

　There's another one being edited.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)