Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 225 The names of the Guifang people are really nice.
Yun Ce guarded the burning coal pile all night, but not only did the Ghost Fang scouts not come, neither did the chivalrous heroes who liked to ambush the Ghost Fang scouts in the wilderness.

He thought that the fire he set last night wasn't big enough, and that the people hadn't seen it.

The dog told him that many people had actually seen the bonfire, but the Guifang people probably thought it was a trap set by the Han people, and the Han people also thought it was a trap set by the Guifang people.

The two groups fought back and forth for many, many years. No matter how strong they were, they would not easily step into the trap. In any case, entering the trap meant that they had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

This caused Yun Ce some distress. Based on his experience from his last visit to Ghost King Mountain, as long as he lit a fire in the wilderness, curious scouts would immediately come to take a look. Now, none of them were willing to get close; they would just take a look from afar and run away.

It seems I went too far with the fishing last time, and they're not willing to fall for it again.

With no other option, Yun Ce could only wander the wasteland on his chestnut horse, which was covered in coal dust and had turned black. If this suicidal behavior still couldn't find the Gui Fang expert, Yun Ce planned to try his luck at a Gui Fang military camp.

The chestnut horse carried Yun Ce around the wasteland for a whole day. They didn't see a single Gui Fang person, or even a single Han person. It was as if the two opposing groups had completely disappeared.

On the third day, Yun Ce was considering whether to raid a Ghost Fang military camp to see if there were any Mad Bull Knights or something, and to capture a few of them. The dog's tentacles pointed straight to the left.

Yun Ce walked less than five miles to the left and saw a burly man carrying a pair of large axes walking alone on the ridge. Although the mountain was not high, the ridge was very obvious, making the presence of this tall man stand out.

Upon seeing the burly man, Yun Ce couldn't help but laugh, because this guy was fishing just like him.

Yun Ce didn't catch any Gui Fang people, and naturally, the Gui Fang people didn't catch any Han people either. So, the two people who liked fishing naturally met each other.

As Yun Ce walked straight over, the burly man had already lit a fire at the foot of the mountain. Seeing Yun Ce approaching, he tossed over a leg of some kind of wild animal and said to Yun Ce, "Eat your fill before we fight."

Yun Ce thought what the man said made sense. Eating well before fighting was a sign of respect for life. So he took the wine gourd off his waist and tossed it to the strong man, saying, "Take a sip. It's good wine from the Han region. You Guifang people can't get your hands on it."

The beast's leg was already roasted, so it could be eaten after being heated up a bit. Yun Ce put the beast's leg over the fire to roast while watching the burly man drink.

Neither of them asked whether the food and wine were poisoned before they began to eat and drink.

Yun Ce used his knife to peel off the sizzling, oily crust of the grilled meat and took a few bites. He glanced at the leather bag next to the burly man and laughed, "What, no luck?"

The burly man shook his head and said, "Recently, you Han Chinese have become smarter and are unwilling to get close to me. It seems your harvest is not good either?"

Yun Ce said regretfully, "We lit a bonfire at Ghost King Lake, thinking that your Ghost Fang scouts would definitely come over to take a look, but who knew we would wait all night for nothing."

The burly man returned the wine jug to Yun Ce, sighed, and said, "The way we fight is changing dramatically. In the past, the bravery of our soldiers was the key to victory. But now it's different. The role of the individual is becoming less and less important, and we are beginning to emphasize the power of the collective."

Yun Ce said, "In the past, wars were about killing a lot of enemies. In the future, wars will be about how much material resources and potential resources are captured. No matter how strong an individual is, he cannot take away more material resources. Therefore, the scale and frequency of collective battles will definitely increase greatly in the future."

The burly man looked at Yun Ce for a while and nodded, saying, "What you said makes a lot of sense. The winters on the Qingshui Plateau are long and cold, and the land is barren and rugged."

Over the years, the number of people starving to death among the Guifang tribe has been steadily increasing, which is not a good sign.

Yun Ce sighed and said, "It's the same here among the Han people. The number of commoners is decreasing day by day, while the number of slaves is increasing. If this continues, the Han Dynasty will also face big problems."

The burly man laughed and said, "War is inevitable."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Only through large-scale wars can you Guifang people effectively reduce your population, and only then can the produce of the Qingshuihe Plateau supply your people."

The Han people also hoped to reunite the fragmented Han people through a brutal war.

To be honest, both of us need war, but I just can't understand why our high-ranking officials are still hesitant and unwilling to launch a war immediately.

The burly man laughed and said, "I heard that your Grand Marshal and the Emperor are fighting a bloodbath in Chang'an. The three hundred prefectures outside the capital are all ambitious. This must be the reason why your Emperor is reluctant to launch a war."

Yun Ce said, "The Black Wind King's feet are getting more and more holes. This must be why your High Priest is unwilling to send troops immediately, right?"

"Huh, you actually know about the Black Devil." Yun Ce took a bite of a beast leg and said, "I don't even know your name yet. My name is Liu Chang'an."

The burly man laughed and said, "A member of the Liu Changsheng family? My name is Shen Tingyu."

Holding the beast leg, Yun Ce seemed lost in memories. After a long while, he said, "Some time ago, I slept with a Guifang woman named Shen Lexi in Pingzhou. She also had a maid named Liu Ruyan with her. It was quite nice; she used up more than twenty of my fish bladders in one night..."

Before Yun Ce could finish speaking, a giant axe came crashing down on his head. Yun Ce grabbed the beast's leg and took several steps back before he could create distance between them.

The burly man was panting heavily. Yun Ce, holding up the beast's leg, asked in confusion, "For us Han people, it's no secret that Guifang women are promiscuous. When Guifang women sleep with Han men, you are the ones who benefit. Why are you so angry, brother?"

The burly man forcibly suppressed his anger, trying to calm himself down completely. He could tell that the guy in front of him, named Liu Chang'an, was not easy to deal with.

Yun Ce tossed aside the beast's leg, took the lance from the chestnut horse, and held it in his hand, saying, "If I had known that Shen Lexi was related to you, I wouldn't have used the fish bladder; I would have left it for your Shen family..."

A short-handled axe spun and swung down without making a sound. One moment it was in Shen Tingyu's hand, and the next it was in front of Yun Ce's face. Yun Ce dodged to the side, but as the axe flew past him, it changed from a slash to a horizontal slash. Yun Ce quickly used his horse spear to deflect the axe.

Just as they were about to attack, another giant axe spun and slashed horizontally.

Helpless, Yun Ce had no choice but to continue retreating. Unexpectedly, the giant axe that he had just knocked away came chasing after him again. Yun Ce roared and smashed his lance into the giant axe. With a crack, the originally extremely flexible lance shaft split into a twisted shape. The giant axe that had been knocked down kept bouncing on the ground like a frog, as if it would fly up again in the next moment.

Yun Ce broke his horse spear and threw the blade at Shen Tingyu. While Shen Tingyu dodged, Yun Ce took out two new meteor hammers from the dragon ball.

This is a high-quality steel meteor hammer specially made for him by Huo Liao. Not only has the entire surface of the hammerhead been hardened, but the menacing spikes have even been blued. It is Yun Ce's favorite main weapon at present.

Seeing his elusive giant axe being smashed away by Yun Ce's hammer, Shen Tingyu, holding his only remaining giant axe, asked, "Do you know Le Xi?"

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Now you know how to stall for time?"

Are you no longer angry about me sleeping with your sister?
What are you pretending for? You're clearly a stupid pig, but you insist on saying things that only a real man would say. All you want is for your buddies to come over sooner.

If you had been patient enough to finish telling me about your romantic escapades with your sister, I might have at least praised you for your patience.

"I have the utmost contempt for fools like you who can't even tolerate half of what they want. No wonder everyone says the bestial nature of the Ghost Fang Clan is still hard to conceal; now it seems that's true."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Tingyu swung his giant axe at Yun Ce. Before Yun Ce could close the distance, the meteor hammer slammed down like a meteor. Shen Tingyu exhaled and raised his giant axe high, using all his strength to strike the meteor hammer, which was then cleaved off the axe.

The moment the giant axe touched the meteor hammer, Shen Tingyu knew something was wrong. He looked up, but the other meteor hammer had already struck his left shoulder with tremendous force, smashing half of Shen Tingyu's body into a bloody pulp.

Without Yun Ce saying anything, the dog's tentacles eagerly plunged into Shen Tingyu's intact half of his body.

It was clear that Shen Tingyu's mouth was opening and closing repeatedly, as if he had something very important to say. Yun Ce ignored him; what was important to him was not important to Yun Ce. He should save his energy so that the dog could sniff him a little longer.

In the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the once rough and rugged Shen Tingyu had become a half-dried corpse. Yun Ce picked up the axe that Shen Tingyu had smashed away, chopped the corpse up casually, and then threw it into a pit and buried it.

After carefully examining the giant axe and seeing the transparent silk thread tied to its handle, Yun Ce finally understood why this guy's giant axe could fly around freely.

It was the final, powerful blow from the meteor hammer that snapped the silk thread.

Even so, such a tough silk thread is an extremely rare treasure, and it should come in handy for ambushes and such in the future.

Shen Tingyu's reinforcements were slow to arrive, but Yun Ce wasn't in a hurry. He retrieved the lost animal leg and continued to roast it over the fire. Shen Tingyu wasn't a very good person, but the wild animals he hunted tasted really good.

"One thousand-man general isn't enough." Gouzi's voice rang in Yun Ce's mind again.

"Don't worry, we have reinforcements. I reckon this guy is just bait they've laid out, waiting for the Han people to fall into their trap. Maybe to be on the safe side, they've made the encirclement a bit too big."

(End of this chapter)