The Glory After Rebirth [重生之尊荣]

Chapter 490- 492

Chapter 490: The South-western Army

In the south-west of the Great Wen.

A group of mysterious horsemen from the north quietly entered the encampment of the South-western Army.

This army built three years ago, after including the garrison stationed in the two south-western prefectures, had recruited a lot of new soldiers on a yearly basis and grown into a force over 100,000 strong. Everybody believed that this army had been built to deter the various tribes of complicated ethnic background dwelling near the south-western border as well as their headmen, every one of whom was itching to annex a town or two of the Great Wen. Only the commander of the South-western Army and his lieutenants were aware of the real reason why this army had been organized.

The arrival of the group of mysterious horsemen at the encampment of the South-western Army brought a change to the atmosphere in the encampment. It was like a kind of inexorable herald, or an unsheathed long knife that would make its wielder invincible.

...

BOOM!

Thunder rumbled in the sky and soon it was pouring with rain.

There was a sudden landslide on a mountain outside Yuechao City which was located in the south-west of the Wan Kingdom. A valley beside the mountain was almost filled because of it. Even people inside the city heard the almighty crash.

The Wan soldiers on night duty looked in the direction of that mountain outside the city, startled and confused. What with the inky night and the heavy rain, they were unable to see clearly what had just happened, but for some reason, every one of them had a foreboding feeling.

Before long, the ramparts suddenly quaked. It happened without warning and all the soldiers lost their footing and hastened to grab the parapet. The ramparts still quivering, they all broke out in a cold sweat. A few moments ago, when they had been gazing in the direction of the valley from which the almighty crash had issued, a section of the ramparts for some inexplicable reason had suddenly collapsed!

The ramparts had always been as substantial as though they were made of solid metal, but on this night a section of them had actually collapsed for no good reason. Nobody would believe that the rain was responsible for it. An indescribable panic suddenly spread among the soldiers on night duty. Some of them rushed off with the intention to report it to the local authorities. Some stared at the collapsed ramparts, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"The ramparts collapsed! The ramparts collapsed!"

The city began to descend into confusion. People shouting "The ramparts collapsed!" could be seen everywhere.

Before the officials of Yuechao City could give any instructions, a clatter of horses' hoofs emanated from outside the city, where the impenetrable blackness was accompanied by torrential rain. The sounds were urgent and in chorus as though countless drums were beating in the dark. The dull clattering sounded as if it were reaching into the deep recesses of people's minds, striking horror and shock into their hearts.

"Wh–What are those?" The soldiers looked in terror at the numerous black spots approaching in the dark, unable to tell what they were. However, the soldiers were all consumed with fright as though the Grim Reaper were coming. They found their legs trembling, but soon they found that it was not because of fear but because the ramparts were quaking from the drumbeat-like clattering of horses' hoofs.

"Horses. No, no, people! They're...INTRUDERS! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Finally someone made out what was approaching in the dark. It was an army of countless cavalrymen, who were galloping towards the city under cover of night. The sea of riders was even more terrifying than the pitch-black night. Nobody knew where they were from. It was as though they had descended from the sky or emerged from underground. The only thing the soldiers were positive about was that this army radiating an aura of death was here to claim their lives...