Yang Gong raised his teacup, sipped the scalding tea, and said slowly, “Dealing with the flying beast unit isn’t particularly difficult—we could have Zhang Shen coordinate with our military experts to defeat them one by one.”
While ordinary soldiers and low-tier martial artists couldn’t handle the flying beast unit, Tier 4 experts who could ride the wind would have no trouble dealing with them.
Li Mubai glanced at his friend and reminded him, “The flying beast unit has its experts. Besides, if we can think of such a simple countermeasure, wouldn’t the rebel army have anticipated it? It might be another trap to lure us in.”
A Tier 4 expert leaving the main camp to fight alone in the air would be extremely dangerous—they might never return.
“If only we had our flying beast unit,” an advisor sighed.
“Perhaps we could request aid from the Beast Tribes, asking the Wing-Spider clan of the Wood Tribe to assist us from the south.”
The speaker meant it casually, but one advisor on the left took it to heart, though the idea was quickly dismissed: “How is your suggestion any different from requesting the court to mobilize Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles? Besides, the Northern Border is ten thousand li from Qing Province—how could they arrive in time?”
“What about asking Sun Xuanji for help? He’s a Tier 3 artificer. If he could handle the ‘transportation,’ it might be feasible.”
“If Sun Xuanji leaves, who will keep Ji Xuan in check? Sigh, who would have thought the Cloud Province rebel army would have such a young Tier 3 warrior?”
“Still, seeking aid from the Beast Tribes is viable, but following protocol, we’d need to petition the court first, then have them send envoys north. Even if the Beast Tribes agreed immediately, their flying beast unit wouldn’t arrive for battle until after spring.”
“Distant water can’t quench present thirst.”
“You gentlemen are too shortsighted. The flying beast units were disbanded back then because it was peacetime with no use for them. But after the Jingshan City battle, you should have been more vigilant.”
“If Minister Wei were still here, he would have already started cultivating flying beast units.”
“If only we had flying beast units…”
Li Mubai knocked on the table, interrupting this helpless discussion, and said gravely, “Dongling has fallen. Under Sun Xuanji’s leadership, the garrison has switched to field battles with the rebel army, facing off north and south. Wan County is surrounded, and the rebel forces plan to use their flying beast unit’s reconnaissance capabilities to intercept reinforcements. This is a war of attrition—there won’t be changes in the short term.
“But if left unaddressed, Wan County will eventually run out of ammunition and provisions.”
He paused, looking around at the advisors with furrowed brows, and said, “If we can’t find a way to resolve Wan County’s predicament, we must find a way to protect Songshan County.”
The advisor beside him was stunned momentarily before reacting, turning to look at Yang Gong: “Master, if I remember correctly, we’ve received neither victory reports nor requests for aid from Songshan County so far.”
Yang Gong nodded: “Compared to Dongling and Wan County, Songshan County is of secondary importance. The Cloud Province rebels would attack the first two places first.”
Li Mubai made a sound of agreement: “Songshan County occupies strategic terrain, has sufficient provisions, and has Zhu Jun and the Second Young Master stationed there—they should be able to hold it. However, given the current situation, with Dongling fallen and Wan County surrounded…
“Songshan County will be the Cloud Province rebels’ next target.”
Just then, a clerk hurried in with a confidential letter, announcing loudly, “Governor, an urgent report from Songshan County.”
Yang Gong quickly said, “Bring it here.”
The clerk handed over the confidential letter.
Yang Gong’s expression darkened instantly upon reading it.
Seeing this, Li Mubai and the others felt their hearts tighten: “What does it say?”
Yang Gong read word by word: “Flying beast unit launched a surprise attack on Songshan County. Second Young Master requests reinforcements.”
He paused, and then his expression suddenly turned ugly: “This letter is from three days ago.”
Even riding at full speed, would take three days from Songshan County to Qing Province City.
…
Songshan County.
The sun hung high but brought no warmth. Second Young Master Xu stood on the city wall, grabbing a handful of rubble mixed with the defenders’ blood and gunpowder smoke.
He looked around expressionlessly at the walls riddled with shell holes, showing decay and patchwork, with barely a section intact.
Soldiers wrapped in hemp and fine cloth were scattered in small groups, not one of them uninjured.
And those remaining on the walls were the least injured among Songshan County’s defenders.
Of the original two thousand garrison troops, only five hundred remained—the rest had died in the brutal siege.
Three days had passed since the flying beast unit’s surprise attack.
Their attack method was simple: they dropped shells and oil containers onto the walls, treating the defenders just as ground troops would treat attacking forces.
Simple, but deadly.
The garrison lost nearly a thousand men on the first day, with the walls left pockmarked by shells and stones scorched black.
At dusk, the enemy withdrew.
After such a desperate day, the garrison’s morale collapsed. Believing the city would fall the next day, panic spread.
Second Young Master Xu had people collect bronze mirrors from every household in the city overnight and gathered craftsmen to modify ballistas, converting them for anti-air firing.
The next day, when the flying beast unit attacked again, the mirrors arranged along the walls reflected sunlight, nearly blinding both riders and beasts.
The defenders seized the opportunity to launch crossbow bolts, shooting down twelve flying beasts and repelling the unit. This victory greatly boosted the garrison’s morale.
But Xu knew this trick would only work once through surprise—after dusk, the mirrors would be useless.
So after the enemy withdrew, he had the defenders hurl insults at Zhuo Haoran, specifically targeting his female relatives. They shouted for an hour, provoking Zhuo to lead an assault. Both sides fought to mutual devastation.
Zhuo retreated in defeat. At dusk, due to heavy infantry losses, the flying beast unit only launched a brief bombardment before withdrawing.
That night, Xu forcibly recruited a militia, gathering over a thousand men. He ordered Zhu Jun and Miao Youfang to lead a sortie against the enemy camp. Only three hundred returned.
By this point, both sides had lost almost all their elite forces.
“I’ve sent men to request reinforcements from Qing Province City. Now it’s a matter of whose reinforcements arrive first,” Xu said softly.
Beside him, Miao Youfang hadn’t smiled in three days. Carrying a bow on his back, he gave a low grunt of acknowledgment, then frowned as something occurred to him: “Although Zhuo Haoran’s army is decimated, with only a few hundred men left, the flying beast unit remains intact. If they attack every night, we can only endure the beating. We might not last until reinforcements arrive…”
His eyes suddenly widened as he seemed to realize something.
Xu smiled and said, “If our reinforcements arrive first, then even if Zhuo Haoran takes Songshan County, he’ll be forced to withdraw due to lack of manpower. Songshan County will still be ours.”
*But the garrison and civilians here would become sacrificial pawns…* Miao Youfang’s lips moved slightly, “If it comes to that, I’ll help you withdraw first.”
Xu said softly, “How embarrassing that would be. My elder brother held Yuyang Pass alone, while I could only flee with my tail between my legs.”
Miao Youfang frowned, thinking to himself that the decision wouldn’t be left to Xu—if he refused to leave, Miao would knock him unconscious.
Then he heard Xu give a bitter laugh: “I’m just lamenting, I won’t be stubborn about it. Victory and defeat are common in war. Even the Founding Emperor suffered repeated defeats when he first started his campaign.
“If he had been stubborn, there wouldn’t be today’s Great Zhou. A true man should know when to bend and when to stand firm.
“But I can understand those heroes in the history books who chose death over retreat. All these soldiers who fought alongside me are staying here—what face would I have to live on?”
As he spoke, a large flock of birds appeared in the distant sky.
The flock approached rapidly, followed by deep roaring sounds, chaotic and loud.
Miao Youfang and Xu’s expressions changed dramatically. The wounded resting on the walls also noticed the disturbance in the sky and rose in panic.
They all stared at the dark mass of flying beasts, their eyes filled with despair and faces pale.
“They’re coming again, they’re coming again…”
“There are so many—how can we defend against this?”
Despair spread among the defenders.
“Lord Xu, another flying beast unit is coming. Songshan County can’t hold—we should withdraw!”
A centurion rushed over in panic.
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Xu, his gaze complex with pleading, despair, and hope for survival.
Xu’s vision darkened and his head throbbed with pain.
Indeed, when it came to reinforcements, what unit could match the speed of a flying beast unit?
He had been foolish to think of competing with the Cloud Province army in terms of speed—how could they possibly compare?
“Bang!”
Xu slammed his fist against the wall furiously, grinding his teeth: “If we don’t eliminate the flying beast unit, we can’t hold Qing Province.”
He realized these lightning-fast flying beast units were one of the key factors that would determine the outcome of the Qing Province campaign.
Miao Youfang took the bow from his back, nocked an arrow, and drew the string in one smooth motion. While aiming at the flying beast unit, he said, “I’ll take Lord Xu away first. Let me shoot down a few of these beasts to make it worth my while.”
Just then, the flying beast unit entered his range.
Miao Youfang’s pupils contracted as he pushed his eyesight to the limit, aiming at the leading flying beast.
He suddenly froze, because this flying beast unit was different from the previous attackers.
The Cloud Province rebels’ flying beasts were crimson giant birds, their bodies covered in tufts of brilliant fire feathers.
But the monsters this unit rode had bodies covered in black scales, long necks, and slender bodies like lizards. Instead of feathered wings, they had membrane wings.
Moreover, the riders weren’t armored soldiers, but people wearing strange clothes, some even in beast hide garments.
The leading flying beast carried a man wearing blue-green clothing, with dark skin and naturally curly hair. He was smiling broadly and waving his arms at the people on the walls as if greeting them warmly.
Miao Youfang made a surprised sound and released the bowstring.
“What is it?”
Xu’s eyesight wasn’t as good as a martial artist’s. Seeing this, he frowned and asked.
Miao Youfang replied with a puzzled expression: “These people seem rather strange.”