vncnus Chapter 46: Ambush by Unknown Forces
Chapter 46: Ambush by Unknown Forces
Ye Chengfeng and Fan Xian outwitted each other and eventually agreed on a price of 30,000 taels of silver per game of chess.
The next morning, the team continued their journey, but before crossing the border, Li Chengze's troops were still nowhere to be seen.
The two have basically decided that Li Chengze will not make a move.
Unfortunately, the two forgot that Li Chengze was a very rational person who would weigh the pros and cons before doing anything.
But there is one person who will not forget; they should not forget.
When the group arrived at a canyon, Fan Xian temporarily stopped the delegation.
Inside the carriage, Fan Xian lifted the curtain with interest and said to Ye Chengfeng beside him, "Do you think this canyon is suitable for an ambush?"
"It would be perfect, but this is your Nanqing territory. Li Chengze probably wouldn't dare!"
"Besides, given the strength of his men, an assassination attempt would be impossible."
Ye Chengfeng joked without any concern.
What Ye Chengfeng said was true. Fan Xian was now a ninth-rank official, with his guards, Ye Chengfeng, and his eight sword servants.
To intercept Fan Xian, at least a heavily armored cavalry force comparable to the Black Riders would be needed.
Moreover, this cavalry unit must have at least five hundred men.
"You're right, Li Chengze wouldn't be that unwise."
Fan Xian thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.
"Old Wang, let's keep going!"
"My lord, shall I go and explore the mountains on both sides?"
Wang Qinian felt uneasy and made a suggestion.
Fan Xian thought that with Wang Qinian's lightness skill, it wouldn't take too long to investigate, so he agreed.
"Okay, go ahead, but come back quickly."
Wang Qi's skills were indeed remarkable; below the level of a Grandmaster, no one could compare.
Even a grandmaster would probably have to go through a lot of trouble to capture Wang Qinian.
In addition to his exceptional lightness skills, Wang Qinian was also remarkably adept at tracking and counter-tracking.
He had only been on the mountain for a short while when he realized something was wrong.
"Hiss, there really are people lying in ambush here? There are probably no fewer than a thousand!"
Wang Qinian used to be a clerk in the Censorate, so he could at least roughly guess the extent of the power wielded by the Second Prince, Li Chengze, if not know it all.
"This is definitely not a force the Second Prince can mobilize. No, we must inform the Master as soon as possible."
Wang Qinian's expression was solemn. With the current escort force of the delegation, it would be extremely difficult to deal with such an ambush, or even a head-on confrontation.
Fortunately, Wang Qinian's investigation did not alert the people lying in ambush.
"Sir, is there an ambush?"
After Wang Qinian returned from his investigation, he went directly into the carriage and reported the results to Fan Xian.
"There really was an ambush? How dare Li Chengze?"
Fan Xian didn't quite understand, but he wasn't worried at all.
"My lord, this is unlikely to be the work of the Second Prince. The people who laid the ambush are mostly martial arts practitioners, and there are many of them. From my observation, there are at least over a thousand."
"What?"
This time, not only Fan Xian was surprised, but Ye Chengfeng also looked grave.
"Old Wang, tell me in detail about the approximate strength of these people!"
"Most of them are sixth-rank, and there are quite a few seventh-rank martial artists as well. I didn't dare to go deeper, but I did find six or seven eighth-rank ones. There are probably many more that I haven't found yet."
Even though Wang Qinian usually likes to joke and has a carefree personality, his face was serious at this moment.
With this lineup, if they had actually entered the encirclement just now, they would probably have been in grave danger.
"What should we do about Old Ye?"
"Um, my husband's calling me home for dinner, so I'll head out now."
As he spoke, Ye Chengfeng tried to get out of the car and then called for the Eight Swordsmen to leave.
They haven't entered the encirclement yet. Ye Chengfeng and the Eight Swordsmen are small targets and have fast horses. Even if the enemy has a large number of people, it would be extremely difficult for them to catch up.
"Luckily, I had the foresight to kill Yan Xiaoyi beforehand. If he had been there during this ambush, escape would have been extremely difficult."
Faced with this situation, how could Fan Xian let Ye Chengfeng leave?
Although Fan Xian could escape with his trusted followers like Ye Chengfeng.
But of the more than one hundred people in the mission, it is likely that none of them will escape unscathed.
"Brother-in-law, please help me, you don't want Ruoruo to be crying all the time in the future, do you?"
"You've got to be kidding me. Over a thousand people! And that's just the known number. There are countless more hiding in the shadows. Even if I stay, it won't make a difference."
Ye Chengfeng remained unmoved; at worst, he would just comfort Fan Ruoruo more in the future.
Even if Fan Ruoruo complains about him, Ye Chengfeng will not stay.
Faced with the choice between love and his own safety, Ye Chengfeng naturally chose to protect himself.
There's a saying that goes something like this!
Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately. He hasn't even married Fan Ruoruo yet!
Moreover, it wasn't Fan Ruoruo who was in danger, but her brother-in-law.
However, Fan Xian's strength broke through, and he became a ninth-rank martial artist. When Ye Chengfeng was caught off guard, he directly controlled him in place.
"You can't escape, brother-in-law! If you're thinking of running away, believe me, I'll just order the delegation to be surrounded!"
"You're fucking inhuman!"
Ye Chengfeng was a little defensive and subconsciously cursed.
Fan Xian noticed immediately!
"Huh? This kind of swearing is not something that should be used in this day and age."
Fan Xian leaned close to Ye Chengfeng's ear and whispered something.
"That bastard, he's still worried about this at a time like this?"
Ye Chengfeng's face darkened further, but he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
"Then what do you suggest we do? Are we just going to let this delegation of about a hundred people fight against their more than a thousand?"
Not all members of the mission were combat-capable; there were also dozens of civil officials. The mission's guards would definitely have to allocate some of their personnel to protect them.
The delegation likely has fewer than two hundred combat-ready members.
"Old Wang said that those thousand or so people are all martial arts practitioners. Although they are all at least sixth rank, if we set up a battle formation, we should be able to hold them off for a while."
The mission's guards were all elites, and there were also more than a dozen Tiger Guards, who were the elite of the elite.
If they could rely on favorable terrain, they could actually hold out for a little longer.
"So what? Is holding out a little longer any different from waiting to die?"
Fan Xian ignored Ye Chengfeng and instead asked Wang Qinian.
"Old Wang, how far is it from here to the border garrison? How long will it take you to get there at your speed?"
"Sir, do you mean I should go to the border troops for reinforcements?"
"That's right."
Wang Qinian recalled the location of the border troops' garrison while calculating his own speed.
"My lord, at my speed, it will take at least half an hour to reach the border garrison. But it will also take time for them to arrive from the border. Conservatively speaking, it will take at least two hours for you to hold out."
Ye Chengfeng scoffed, "Two hours? With our numbers, we can barely hold out for even one hour."
How could Fan Xian not know?
But he has no better option now, so he has to take a gamble!
"I'll try my best to hold on, Lao Wang, you set off immediately."
"Alright, sir, you must be safe and sound. I, Old Wang, will give it my all."
Wang Qinian no longer hesitated; this was the first time he had fully utilized his lightness skill.
Because before, no one had ever been able to force him to use his full strength.
How fast is Wang Qinian?
The people in the delegation were so close that they could no longer see him clearly.
"Gundam!"
"My lord, what are your orders?"
"Find a suitable defensive location immediately."
Seeing Fan Xian's serious expression, Gao Da immediately realized that something serious had happened.
"Yes, sir!"
Gundam was born into the Tiger Guard. Although he never actually experienced a major battle, as a member of the Tiger Guard, he must have learned military tactics and warfare.
He quickly determined the closest and most advantageous terrain to them.