Grinding to Martial Emperor from the Border Army

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Combat Array

The army marched on. After more than ten days, they finally neared King Yan’s Camp. It was clear the other side had long been prepared.

Their objective was much like that of the main army’s right flank: to pin down the imperial court’s forces here and prevent the three armies from joining.

Within the vast encampment, King Yan sat inside his command tent.

A faint, murderous aura emanated from him, and his square-jawed face was expressionless.

He wore a suit of Fine Copper Armor.

His gaze swept across the generals arrayed below him.

"How far are the Dayong forces?"

"Your Highness, they are less than five li from our camp and have begun to make their own. I fear they will attack tomorrow," a general immediately replied.

This man’s name was Sun Xing. He was the one who had strongly advocated defecting to the Northern Barbarians after King Yan was framed.

He was now King Yan’s Vice General, and his cultivation had reached the Innate Early Stage.

"Prepare for battle, then. Our objective is to hold them here, so we just need to stall for time. Once their main army is defeated, this flank will naturally withdraw."

The Northern Barbarians had just crowned a new ruler, and the court was rife with factions. He himself was viewed with suspicion from all sides. The thirty thousand men under his command were the trump card guaranteeing his position; he was unwilling to lose them so easily.

"As you command!"

His men replied at once.

They then withdrew to make the necessary arrangements.

After the others had departed, King Yan was left alone in his tent. A moment later, a figure emerged from the shadows.

The man wore a black robe, his hair tied back loosely.

His youthful features had an uncanny air about them.

He was from the Divine Concealment Sect. His name was Tie Yin. After betraying his sect years ago, he was saved by King Yan and had served him ever since, responsible for covert intelligence gathering.

"What’s the situation in the Royal City?" King Yan asked, his voice low.

"The new king is in poor condition. His meridians were shattered in that battle, and it’s feared he won’t last much longer. However, the Crown Princess has returned. She successfully undid the seal on her power in the ancestral lands.

She should ascend the throne before long," Tie Yin said softly.

"Ascend the throne? Then His Majesty..."

"According to the National Preceptor’s diagnosis, His Majesty won’t last past this summer." Tie Yin’s voice held a note of lament.

In Tie Yin’s mind, this new king was a formidable figure.

He lay low for over a decade before launching a fatal strike to seize power in the north. But fate had other plans; he suffered grievous injuries, beyond the help of any medicine.

Otherwise, the Northern Barbarians would have grown powerful again in less than a decade.

"I wonder if this Crown Princess will be easy to deal with," King Yan sighed. He said nothing more, simply waving a hand to dismiss Tie Yin.

The Northern Barbarians were now beset by troubles both internal and external.

The new king’s foundation was unstable. If he were to pass away, one could only imagine the difficulties the Crown Princess would face after her ascension.

Externally, it wasn’t just Dayong looking to take advantage.

The neighboring Great Yu had no intention of letting this opportunity slip by either.

It was said the Yu Emperor had already ordered soldiers to be garrisoned at the border.

In the Wasteland, besides the Northern Barbarians, two other great tribes—the Shi Man and the Shengman—refused to submit to their rule and had always remained independent.

And just as King Yan was growing anxious over the situation, Lu Yuan and the Dayong army arrived not far from the Northern Barbarian camp and began making their own.

As Zhou Hongling’s Army Centurion, his tent was right next to hers.

After completing his patrol of the camp, he returned to his tent, planning to get an early rest.

After all, battle would begin the next day, and it was best to conserve his strength.

However, just as he was about to enter his tent, he saw Zhou He and several other Centurions drinking by a bonfire.

"Have you all mastered the Military Arrays?"

Lu Yuan called out upon seeing them.

The Centurions immediately shot to their feet, their faces tense.

Zhou He, however, just grinned. "Sir, we’ve been practicing every day on the march. We’ve long since mastered them. We definitely won’t disgrace you on the battlefield."

"Good. Drink for a bit, but get some rest soon. The battle starts at dawn."

"Yes, sir!" Zhou He replied.

After watching Lu Yuan step into his tent, he turned to the Centurions beside him. "Drink up, drink up! Let’s keep going!"

The lively atmosphere returned.

The night passed uneventfully. At dawn the next day, the army began its march toward King Yan’s Camp.

Summer had arrived, and under the blazing sun, their armor became scalding hot to the touch in mere moments.

The Marquis of Jiuse’s Central Army Commander’s Banner was raised high amidst the troops.

Zhou Hongling and the other Garrison Generals stood beside him.

Thanks to his position, Lu Yuan was also stationed nearby.

King Yan of the Northern Barbarians had not chosen to hide behind his gates. Instead, he dispatched a contingent of troops to form ranks before the camp.

A moment later, a vivid Military Array took shape.

"Marquis, that is King Yan’s Lone Wolf Array. The one leading it must have trained the Array to the stage of Great Success."

Zhou Ming said, stepping forward with a frown.

Everyone could see that King Yan intended to challenge them with a contest of Military Arrays.

Zhao Yu took a step forward. "Marquis, my men are proficient in the Yanxing Array. We can give it a try."

This was the perfect time to earn merits. After one of Zhou Hongling’s men had stolen the spotlight last time, the scions of the Imperial City’s great General’s Mansions were naturally eager for a fight.

When it came to the depth of their Military Array knowledge, the Border Army was somewhat lacking in comparison.

After all, they guarded the Imperial City and were close to the court’s Central Hub. While difficult, they still had ways to obtain things that were out of reach for others.

For example, major auction houses would occasionally auction off Cultivation Techniques and Military Arrays, though most were incomplete manuals.

But they weren’t entirely useless.

The Marquis of Jiuse nodded after hearing Zhao Yu’s proposal.

The next moment, Zhao Yu raised his command flag, and a thousand-man unit under his command charged forward.

As soon as they reached the front lines, they vaguely formed the shape of a great wild goose.

And charged toward King Yan’s troops.

On the open ground before the camp, clouds of dust billowed into the air amid the frantic neighing of warhorses.

The two forces clashed in a dizzying, deadlocked struggle.

Zheng Tong chuckled. "Zhao, I never thought someone in your family actually managed to complete the fragmented manual for the Yanxing Array. And to think the power it unleashes is so formidable."

"Heh, it was a stroke of luck. This Yanxing Array can triple a Warrior’s combat strength and double their speed. It’s considered a very decent Array."

"Mm, it is indeed impressive," Zheng Tong nodded.

But a trace of disdain unconsciously flickered in his eyes.

’Everyone who made it here brought their family’s legacy with them.’

’Zhao Yu’s eagerness to show off isn’t necessarily a good thing.’

But even as they spoke, the situation on the battlefield took a sudden turn for the worse.

On its second charge, the Lone Wolf Array tore the wings right off the Golden Swan.

Nearly half of Zhao Yu’s men were slaughtered in an instant.

The remaining five hundred or so men fell into a panic when they saw their formation had been broken.

King Yan’s forces charged into their midst and devoured them in moments.

The Zhao Family’s Military Array had been defeated, and utterly crushed at that.

At this sight, the Marquis of Jiuse frowned slightly, while Zhao Yu’s face flushed crimson.

The Marquis’s expression quickly returned to normal, however. He continued in a level voice, "Who else can blunt the momentum of these Northern Barbarians?"

"I request permission to fight!"

"I have the Sky Walking Golden Eagle Formation and am willing to test it!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously. The first was Lu Yuan, the second was Zheng Tong.

Still fuming, Zhao Yu shot Lu Yuan a glare. "We Garrison Generals aren’t dead yet. What are you doing, trying to get in on the action?"

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhou Hongling said coolly, "He represents me. If a defeated general like you can speak up, why can’t he?"

Lu Yuan didn’t spare him a glance, completely ignoring Zhao Yu and causing the latter’s face to turn from red to ashen.

For a moment, Zhao Yu was at a loss for words.

Zheng Tong, however, spoke up again. "Marquis, while Zhao Yu’s words were unpleasant, there is some sense to them. I am confident that my family’s Array has its own unique strengths."

The Marquis of Jiuse nodded. "Then let your men have a try."

It wasn’t that he had anything against Lu Yuan. But in the Marquis’s mind, Lu Yuan had only ever been a Scout, leading a hundred men at most.

Furthermore, his personal background was limited; it was impossible for him to possess any powerful Arrays.

That was why he chose Zheng Tong.

Although this was just a small-scale clash of Military Arrays, the morale of both armies was at stake. He could not afford to be careless.

Nearby, Zhang Zhe, who served under Helian Shang, saw that the Marquis of Jiuse hadn’t given Lu Yuan a chance to perform. The corners of his mouth curled up, but a hint of disappointment also flickered in his eyes.

’It would have been perfect if Lu Yuan had been sent out to die on the battlefield.’

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