Chapter 166: Hold On A Little Longer
“You’re sure you aren’t pulling my leg?” the king of Little Patola asked in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe that the Tang army would come all the way here, despite all the challenges, just to deal with him.
“It’s true!” His aide gestured for him to listen to the ruckus outside.
Now that the king was paying attention, he could vaguely make out the sounds of horrified screams, the clanging of armor, amd the clashing of weapons. On top of that, the ground was shaking ever so slightly.
It did seem like a huge army was at their doorstep.
“…Follow me to the city walls!”
The king quickly returned to his room to put on his clothes.
Despite having mentally prepared himself along the way, he nearly fainted when he saw the countless terracotta soldiers gathered under the moonlight.
“Just how many soldiers did they bring?!”
“Your Majesty, what should we do? Should we…” the aide asked with a pale face.
He had nearly blurted out the word ‘surrender’, but…
“Oh?”
A graceful figure stepped onto the city walls. Weryomahners looked at the terrifying army gathered outside the city with a faint smile. “What a frightening line up. The Tang necromancer sure knows how to intimidate his enemy, sending so many puppets at once.”
Weryomahner’s arrival brought relief and courage to the king. Feeling much calmer than before, he asked, “Holy envoy, what are those things?”
“It’s a type of combat puppet. Nothing special,” Weryomahners placidly replied. “They must be pathetically weak if the enemy mage is simultaneously controlling so many of them. That being said, even ants can pose a threat in huge numbers.”
Weryomahners then turned to the king and asked with an enigmatic smile, “So, what do you intend to do?”
This…
The king of Little Patola felt a chill run down his spine. He understood that if he gave the wrong answer here, he would lose his life, and the entire ciy would fall under the control of the Tibetan garrison troops!
“Rest assured, holy envoy!” He pointed to the sky and vowed, “Shahis Patola will never turn its back on its allies! We’ll hold back the Tang bandits even if it spells our deaths! We shall halt their footsteps here!”
“Hm.” Weryomahners let out a soft chuckle before leaving.
It was only after she disappeared from view did the king take out a handkerchief to wipe off his cold sweat. Then, he hollered at the troops, “Pull yourself together! Guard the city with your lives on the line! Don’t let any of those Tang bandits in!”
For some reason, he suddenly felt an urge to fight the Tang army to the death.
It was also around the same time that the soldiers fending against the terracotta soldiers on the frontlines exclaimed, “Woah! These soldiers are weaker than I thought!”
The king glanced over and saw one of his soldiers hacking down fifteen terracotta soldiers in a single swing of his battle axe. The soldier stared at his battle axe in shock, as if he could hardly believe how he managed to take down so many enemies at once.
The other soldiers soon realized the same too.
“It’s true! These things are only at the level of a militia army!”
“Eh, I killed three of them just like that?”
Following the initial astonishment, smiles emerged on the soldiers’ faces.
“HAHAHA!!!”
“They are just for show. There is no substance to them.”
The king breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that they had the upper hand here.
What the hell? I got scared for nothing. It was the right decision to affirm my loyalty to the Tibetan Empire, after all!
Right now, I should focus on effort on taking down the Tang bandits’ weak puppets. I might just be able to accue some military merits here even.
The king was even glad that this had happened, since this could be a golden opportunity to raise their standing in the Tibetan Empire.
Oblivious to him, Weryomahners’ face darkened as soon as she turned around. She descended from the city walls and quickly found the commander of the Tibetan garrison troops stationed in Little Patola.
“I don’t care how you do it, but you have to hold on for at least half a month. Reinforcements will only arrive half a month from now.” Weryomahners got straight to the point.
“Huh?” The Tibetan commander was confused.
“This is an order!” Weryomahners coldly uttered. “Do you get it?”
“Yes!” The Tibetan commander knew that Weryomahners, as an archmage’s disciple, was not someone he could afford to offend.
“I don’t think you grasp the severity of the situation, so I’ll make it clearer for you.”
Weryomahners pointed outside the city.
“Those undead puppets out there are mindless beings. They don’t know fear. They don’t waver. And they don’t show mercy. They will tenaciously carry out the Tang necromancer’s orders until it is fulfilled. They might be weak, but even ants can bite an elephant to death.
“You and your soldiers will be locked in a gruesome battle. You are to fight those undead puppets to the very last soldier. Don’t think about surrendering just because it’s a hopeless battle.
“Those puppets are made out of dead people. Why don’t you fathom a guess what the Tang necromancer will do to you once he breaches the city?” Weryomahners sneered.
The Tibetan commander shuddered in fear. He hurriedly vowed that he would fight the undead troops to his dying death.
“Good. All you have to do is to lock those undead troops down here. Do your job well, and I’ll recommend you to the Tsenpo,” Weryohmaners said.
“Thank you, holy envoy!” The Tibetan commander was overjoyed.
Good. I have also successfully placed them under my control.
Weryomahners left Little Patola and quickly rushed to Great Patola to request reinforcements. Along the way, she couldn’t help but feel bitter inside.
“Damn it! I underestimated the Tang army!”
How am I to know that the rumors are true? Judging from the number of terracotta soldiers I saw earlier, there might really be a million of them.
Furthermore, those terracotta soldiers looked extremely familiar to her.
Aren’t those the combat puppets my master created? Those human-shaped monsters are even more frightening than war slaves!
Those terracotta soldiers are of extremely poor quality, maybe due to the Tang necromancer’s lacking skills, but their sheer number is enough to drown everything!
“I can only pray that those fellows in Little Patola can hold on till then.”
Master ordered me to defend Little and Great Patola by hook or by crook. I have only just arrived here, but it looks like I’m already on the verge of failure…
Hu, hu!
“It’ll all be fine,” Weryomahners consoled herself.
I might be late, but the situation is not beyond salvation yet. As long as I reach Great Patola in time and deploy their soldiers over, we should still be able to hold our ground against the Tang army.
It can work.
It should work.
I’ll travel without resting. I’ll use all my spells to hasten my traveling speed, even if it means depleting all my potions. I’ll make it in Great Patola in time to bring reinforcements over.
Bam!
There was a loud explosion.
A brilliant lightning arrow flashed across the sky in a beautiful arc before blasting Little Patola’s city gates apart. All the garrison troops standing in its path were instantaneously vaporized.
“Kill them!”
The terracotta soldiers surged into the city, drowning out the resisting garrison troops.
“…YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME?!” Weryomahners screamed in an uncharacteristic manner.
I haven’t even gotten far yet, but the city is already breached? What kind of lousy battle is this?!
Forget it, I don’t care anymore! I need to escape!
【Wait wait wait! I found the perfect target for you! Not only is she close by, but she’s also close to the main storyline…】
After some searching, System 12345 found yet another capture target for Shu Yichao.
【Drumrolls please… The Witch of Seduction, Weryomahners!】
【She might not be the strongest mage out there, but she’s highly skilled at manipulation. Countless people have been unwittingly reduced to her slaves. All it takes is a single glance or a smile from her, and her enemies will drop their weapons and armor and bow at her feet.】
【But my host…】
System 12345 chuckled.
【Hehehe. Do what you have been doing and hurl her a straight ball! Show her terror. Make her fear. Plunge her into despair. Then viciously seal her lips and… WHAT THE HELL!】
【My host, what happened?!】