The Human Emperor (200-400)

C351: Falling Prey

"Looks like we have arrived just in time," a full-bearded Turk said, as he emerged silently from the thorny shrubs.

"Hah, they even dare to start campfires to prepare their meals, they must think that they are on a picnic!" Another highwayman with a sturdy figure appeared from the thorny shrubs as well. Despite his unusually squarish face, his other facial features indicated that he was a true-blue Han.

"Indeed, when have the plans of our military advisor gone awry before? Hehehe, it was indeed a wise decision to have us make a long detour around the mountain to block their escape path while the main force attacked them. This way, we can instill panic among their troops while ensuring that none of them get away at the same time! However, I have an even better idea in mind." A cruel smile crept onto the lips of the Turk man as he gazed at the billowing smoke beneath them.

"Perhaps, we can make use of their unwariness at this very instant to launch a sudden assault. No matter how formidable they might be, they can't have expected us to appear from nowhere. As long as we can kill half of the troops before they can reorganize their forces, those remaining won't pose a threat at all."

"Hu Lang, are you insane?" Hearing those words, the Han highwayman widened his eyes in astonishment. "Are you trying to alter our military advisor's plans?"

"Chang Dao, you have never been to the northern borders before, so you have never seen how vicious wolves hunt. After locating their prey, they would conceal themselves behind trees, boulders, and bushes before slowly creeping up on them. And just when the prey's guard is down, they will suddenly appear from behind and launch a sudden attack. With this hunting technique, rarely have any prey which those wolves set their eyes upon escaped from them.

"There are only forty of them, and at least half of them aren't on their steeds and don't have their weapons with them at the moment. This is the ideal moment to strike, we won't get any better opportunity than this. If the Turkish army ever encountered such a situation on the plains, they would never let such a chance slip past their fingers!

"If the military advisor was here, he would surely agree with this decision as well." Hu Lang reasoned as he licked his lips savagely. Appallingly, his long scarlet tongue was able to reach up to the tip of his nose.

The Han highwayman fell into deep contemplation.

After a long internal struggle, the Han highwayman replied, "I still think that we should seek our military advisor's opinion on this matter before making any actions."

He had a deep respect for the military advisor, and this led to an instinctive reluctance to alter the latter's plans.

"I can understand why you wish to seek our military advisor's approval on this matter. He is indeed a very smart man, and I have a deep respect for him as well. But time is not in our favor, they won't be spending the entire night eating. By the time we receive a reply from him, the time would have already passed. Or do you intend to gallop down the shorter path to report this matter to our military advisor?

"But if you do so, there is a high chance that we might be noticed by the enemy. If so, all of our efforts will be wasted," Hu Lang said with narrowed eyes.

The Turks who ruled the grasslands weren't as cultured as the Han, but they had sharp instincts for anything that had to do with warfare.

And in truth, within the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, Hu Lang was also one of the rare few who had a strong intuition regarding the tides of battle, and even Chief Iron Cloak Li was filled with praise for him.

In fact, due to his ferocity, valor, and grasp of battle, he was highly respected amongst the brothers. In some sense, Hu Lang could also be considered as the third-in-command of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, ranking just beneath the Chief Iron Cloak Li and military advisor Zhou An.