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Chapter 66 The Lion Fights the Rabbit
That evening, a royal envoy arrived at the Liu family and delivered a final letter of surrender.

This book was clearly written for Liu Shuyue, repeating the same old lines over and over—the current emperor is merciful and willing to give the immortal master one last chance. As long as he swears allegiance and returns to the capital with the vanguard, the Liu family and the local people will be pardoned. Otherwise, the entire Yunzhou will be stained with blood, and all of this will be the fault of the rebels.

Liu Shuyue tore the letter of surrender in two.

The envoy left in a huff, not forgetting to throw out a harsh threat before he left: the three-state allied forces would launch an attack on Jiufeng City starting tomorrow.

Unbeknownst to him, earlier, the two groups had already quietly left Jiufeng City, sneaking around from the north and south towards the encirclement army's encampment.

Each of the two groups consisted of six hundred men, all of whom were Qi Sensing cultivators from Mala Village. They did not light a single torch, nor did they ride a single horse; they advanced entirely by sensing the spiritual energy of their companions using the Heart-Cleansing Mantra.

The northern group was led by Fujiaolu, while the southern group was handed over to another hunting captain, Du Niu.

Their mission was to attack the armies of Baizhou and Cangzhou from the flank and rear.

The vanguard force located in the center of the formation is undoubtedly the main force for the encirclement and suppression, and this force will be handed over to Liu Shuyue to deal with personally.

Although the training time was very short, and most people only learned to fire and reload, Liu Shuyue thought it was enough. The enemy's strength was increasing daily; in other words, the moment the villagers received their new weapons would be the moment when the disparity in strength between Spicy Village and its opponents was at its greatest.

Once the combined forces of these three states are defeated, and the governors and prefects of various states realize that the disciples of the sect will never compromise with King Qi, it will be extremely difficult for the latter to gather a large-scale punitive army.

It was 6:30 a.m., just as dawn was breaking.

The vanguard soldiers have begun to leave their camps and assemble.

According to the plan, they will launch a probing attack on Jiufeng City today, hoping to capture the outer perimeter of the city.

Gong Lingwu was the deputy commander of the vanguard army.

"This day has finally come." He looked at the fully armored elite troops lined up with a sense of triumph, as if a fire was burning in his heart.

The fuel for this fire is Master Liu.

The rule that sect disciples serve as advisors to the kingdom has been maintained for over a thousand years. He never expected that the other party would dare to disobey the sect and defy the emperor's will.

Upon returning to the capital, he not only incurred the wrath of the emperor but also became a laughingstock among his clan members, unable to hold his head high for a long time.

Now he finally has a chance to redeem himself through good deeds.

"You seem to be in high spirits." Someone walked up from behind.

"Uncle Jiang!" Gong Lingwu turned around and respectfully clasped his hands in greeting to the newcomer.

“Don’t call me ‘uncle’ when we’re on the march or fighting. Address me by my military rank. Have you forgotten that?” Gong Jiang said indifferently. “Besides, I know you’ve been tricked by Liu Shuyue before. Let me make this clear: if the vanguard manages to capture Liu Shuyue, you can’t be rude to her.”

"Why? Isn't she a traitor?" A hint of displeasure flashed through Gong Lingwu's mind. "Am I supposed to treat her to a feast and good wine?"

“She’s a traitor, but also a disciple of the sect. Only His Majesty the Prince of Qi can punish her.” Gong Jiang repeated the warning, “This is for your own good, understand?”

Having served King Qi for a long time, he naturally knew the other's temperament. No matter how badly King Qi demoted Liu Shuyue or how furious he was, he would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on the Immortal Master. As the saying goes, thunder and rain are both the king's grace, and no one outside the king even has the right to vent their anger.

No matter how bold Gong Lingwu was, he dared not contradict the elders of his clan. He could only reluctantly agree, "...Yes, this subordinate understands."

Just then, a lieutenant trotted up to Gong Jiang and reported, "Commander, the scouts have spotted something unusual at the west gate of Jiufeng City. It seems that quite a few people are lining up to leave the city."

"What?" Gong Jiang raised an eyebrow. "Bring me my horse and come with me to the front lines to take a look!"

Soon, the generals gathered on a small earthen mound nearby, which was slightly elevated and offered a clear view of the entire countryside.

When they saw what the other person was doing, everyone was shocked!

Liu Shuyue's militia seems to be planning to leave the city and engage them in open battle!

"She...is she crazy?" Gong Lingwu asked in astonishment.

Although their analysis of the defeated army's intelligence revealed that Liu Shuyue had somehow managed to assemble a group of cultivators, their numbers were likely no more than two hundred, and their strength was quite limited. The allied forces, on the other hand, had also gathered over two hundred independent cultivators, each with greater individual strength, giving them an overall military advantage. Liu Shuyue and her family's best option was simply to occupy the city and use the terrain to their advantage, engaging in a war of attrition within its walls.

Wouldn't taking the initiative be tantamount to exposing one's most vulnerable side?
"Let me count, how many of them are there?" an officer said half-jokingly, pointing around. "...There are seven or eight hundred of them, they really do have a lot of people!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

"The seven or eight hundred soldiers who are willing to die deserve our respect, but look at their attire. They have no armor, no weapons, they're practically no different from country bumpkins. Even the yamen runners could take them down!"

"What are those things they're holding?" someone else noticed the unusual object the group was carrying. "It looks like... a stick?"

"It's interesting that everyone has one."

"That thing can't kill anyone, right?"

"Commander, please allow me to go into battle and meet the enemy!" Some of his subordinates have already volunteered.

Regardless of whether the enemy was a militiaman or a villager, their head could be used as a reward for meritorious service.

Gong Lingwu was also eager to try. He was always looked down upon and gossiped about behind his back, who said that he was good for nothing except for his surname, Gong, precisely because he had no military achievements! The position of deputy commander sounded prestigious, but it was actually a special arrangement by his family. If he could actually fight the enemy in a real battle, wouldn't that shut up those petty people?
He looked at Uncle Jiang, about to speak, but found that the latter had no smile on his face, his expression as cold and stern as a rock in winter.

"How can these sticks be made exactly the same?"

Gong Lingwu heard his cousin murmur.

Is there anything strange about it? He was a little puzzled.

"Where are the independent cultivators waiting?" Gong Jiang suddenly asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, most of them are outside the front camp."

"Let them attack. Also, General Zhou..."

"Your subordinate is here!" the general who had volunteered earlier said, clasping his hands in greeting.

"You will lead 600 light cavalry on the left flank to cooperate with the scattered cultivators in meeting the enemy. Use powerful bows to hold the line and do not launch a charge without authorization. If you discover that Liu Shuyue is also in the ranks, immediately sound the alarm."

"Leader!"

"This is clearly using those rogue cultivators as test pebble," Gong Lingwu thought to himself. "But in terms of military strategy, isn't my uncle being a bit too conservative?"
It was as if he were facing not a group of militiamen, but the main force of an enemy army.

"Commander, if the enemy is defeated, won't those unorthodox cultivators take the credit?" Gong Lingwu couldn't help but ask.

"If that's the case, then it doesn't matter," Gong Jiang replied calmly. "What I'm thinking about is another question: where did the cultivators led by Liu Shuyue come from? The people who look down on rogue cultivators the most in this world are the disciples of the Lotus Cloud Sect, and rogue cultivators shouldn't have any good feelings towards sects either."

It's not just a lack of goodwill, it's more like deep-seated hatred... The reason they are scattered in various places, living in seclusion in the countryside, and not even daring to establish a temple, is it because of the suppression by the Lianyun Sect?

How could such a group possibly obey Liu Shuyue?

Gong Jiang had also speculated whether it was a cultivator trained by the Liu family, but the result was equally unlikely—if a mere wealthy family in Yunzhou could raise so many Qi-sensing individuals, why would the current emperor bother to force a sect disciple?
No one could answer the commander's question.

"If we can't find the source, then there's no certainty. So who dares to guarantee that two hundred is the upper limit for the other cultivators?" Gong Jiang finished speaking slowly.

Everyone stopped smiling and their expressions became slightly serious.

If the commander's assumption comes true, then the situation will become a battle between 25,000 troops and 200 rogue cultivators against a sect master and 700 cultivators.

Of course, the tri-state coalition still firmly holds the advantage.

They just need to take it more seriously.

“Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, let alone when we are facing a disciple of the Lotus Cloud Sect, a once-in-a-century talent.” He then ordered, “All other units, listen up! Once the light cavalry confirms that Liu Shuyue is in the ranks, immediately mobilize the armies of Baizhou and Cangzhou to attack the city from both sides and cut off their retreat. The vanguard will attack from the front and completely surround this force. I want them to never return!”

(End of this chapter)