The Human Emperor
The Human Emperor - Chapter 209: Retaliation!

“Wang Chong, what are your thoughts?”

Zhao Qianqiu’s face was pale and his body was completely soaked in blood. The other people that came with him were injured as well. They had to fight all the way here, and there were even two victims in the midst of their journey.

The situation on this mountain peak was much more dangerous than everyone thought.

“Is this the student you spoke of?”

At this moment, the master archer instructor turned to Zhao Qianqiu and asked.

His breathing was extremely heavy, and his forehead and clothes were drenched with sweat. It seemed as though he had exerted himself greatly. Only he knew how close he had come to death just a moment ago.

All of the enemy master archers seemed to view him as an eyesore and half of all the arrows came flying toward him.

No one could imagine the pressure he had undergone then.

Only a master archer could deal with another master archer. With forty master archers eager to strike him down, his chances of dying were much greater than anyone else here.

Zhao Qianqiu nodded to the master archer instructor’s words.

Aoo!

The ferocious howling of a wolf suddenly echoed from just outside the room. However, it was silenced barely after it had begun.

“Hurry up! We don’t have much time left!”

The anxious voices of two Imperial Army guards echoed from the entrance. Beside them were the bodies of seven or eight recently slain wolves.

The situation here was highly disadvantageous to them. An army of wolves and Goguryeon warriors were currently stomping through the entire White Tiger Peak.

On top of that, they were backed by the arrows of the master archers.

The pressure swiftly fell onto the crowd in the room. Everyone turned their eyes to Wang Chong.

Gathering the Imperial Army guards and master archer was Wang Chong’s idea so everyone bore some expectations of him.

“Chen Burang, come over!”

Wang Chong beckoned to Chen Burang. The urgent matter at hand wasn’t to deal with the Goguryeon warriors and wolf packs outside but the Turk master archers and Goguryeon condor snipers.

As long as they were allowed to continue providing supporting fire unopposed, the Imperial Army wouldn’t stand a chance.

When dozens of Turk master archers and condor snipers were aimed at a single person, even if that person was Zhao Qianqiu, the only plausible fate was death.

——That was how fearsome a team of master archers was!

“To think that there would be such a thing!”

Upon hearing about Chen Burang’s talents from Wang Chong, the master archer instructor was astounded. There wasn’t a single master archer who didn’t possess superior senses, but even for them, perceiving sounds several li away was an impossible feat; not to mention, discerning a person’s exact position.

Even he, as a master archer himself, was unable to say for sure how many master archers were hiding in the dark.

This youth hunter had truly left him astounded this time around. But of course, amidst the surprise was delight as well.

“I understand your intention. This is indeed a good fortress.”

The master archer scanned the surroundings. Due to the momentary illumination from the candlelight at the start of the assault, this location had drawn frenzied attacks from the master archers, resulting in innumerable wolf fang arrows being pierced into the floor.

But this was going to play a crucial role for them to make a comeback. With such huge quantity of arrows here, they need not fear running out of ammunition.

“…However, it’s useless. Just the defense from these tiger carcasses isn’t sufficient. I am different from the rest of you. If one of you were to make a move, it would just draw the attention of one or two of their archers. However, when I act, the arrows of every single one of the enemy’s master archers will come my way. When wolf fang arrows fall from all directions, there’ll be nowhere safe for you all.”

The master archer instructor couldn’t help but feel impressed by Wang Chong’s wits. To build a fortress on the spot and have Zhao Qianqiu and the others escort him here to prepare for a retaliation, it was indeed a thorough plan.

As long as he had a suitable ‘fortress’, he would surely be of much greater use than Zhao Qianqiu and the others.

It wasn’t that he had never considered looking for a shelter so that he could counterattack, but such a place simply didn’t exist on White Tiger Peak.

“These tiger carcasses are definitely insufficient, but it’ll be a different matter if we include those metal cages outside!”

Wang Chong finally revealed his thoughts.

The twelve cages that Zhao Qianqiu used to house the tigers previously were quickly brought into the room. These metal cages were placed in a line, flushed against the walls, covering the entire room. When all of these empty cages were filled with tiger and wolf carcasses, and large quantities of granite rocks and pebbles, the sturdiest fortress on the entire peak was created.

In that instant, the gazes that everyone, including Zhao Qianqiu, Chen Burang, and the master archer instructor, looked at Wang Chong with became vastly different.

Chen Burang was a hunter of the mountains, and he specialized in creating traps and camouflage. Yet even he, who was taught to make use of the resources around him, never considered using these metal cages to create a fortress for the only master archer on the mountain.

For an archer, this was the most important condition to bring out one’s full firepower.

“The Turk master archers and Goguryeon condor snipers are capable of high trajectory shots, and of them, the Goguryeon condor snipers are exceptionally skilled in that. Chen Burang, you’ll assist Instructor Zhou. The moment you hear any high trajectory shots, inform him immediately so that he can take cover in the cage at the center!”

Wang Chong gestured to the two metal cages stacked on one another in the middle of the room. This was something he had specially prepared. The cage on top was packed with wolf carcasses surrounded by granite rocks and pebbles, similar to the wall defenses, whereas the cage below was left empty.

This way, after the enemy realized that normal shots were useless and resorted to high trajectory shots, Chen Burang and the master archer instructor will be able to take shelter inside the empty cage in time.

——In order to ship the tigers, the cages were made of thick Xuan metal. Under this current threat, the sturdy material was proving to be a valuable asset.

“Hahaha, Zhao Qianqiu, you sure have an impressive student. With these fortifications, the wolf fang arrows on the floor, and this student here, I’m confident of facing all of them!”

Zhou Huang—the master archer instructor—chuckled heartily as the tenseness in his heart eased. Ever since the invasion began, it was as if a huge boulder was crushing down on his heart, but now, after seeing the location that Wang Chong had prepared, the stifling sensation vanished.

“We only need a few people here. I’ll attract the attention of all the master archers as soon as I make a move, so you all should leave first!”

Grabbing his bow in one hand and a handful of arrows in the other, Zhou Huang prepared himself.

“Zhuang Zhengping, you can just leave Chi Weisi in the cage in the middle. As for the rest, follow me!”

Wang Chong beckoned, leading the group out of the room.

As long as Zhou Huang could draw the attention of all the master archers in the surroundings, leaving the room shouldn’t pose too much danger.

They had to make use of this opportunity Zhou Huang provided them to deal with the wolf packs and Goguryeon warriors on the mountain peak.

“Let’s go! Remember the strategy I just taught you!”

Drawing his Wootz steel sword, Wang Chong advanced outward with carefully measured steps. The group following behind didn’t walk casually either—rather, they were proceeding forward in a military formation.

Even the Imperial Army guard tagging along for the operation couldn’t help but feel impressed at the sight.

Aoo!

An army of wolves swarmed toward them as soon as they emerged from the room. Individually, these wolves weren’t powerful at all. There was no one here who would lose a one-to-one fight against them.

However, the wolves of the Turk grasslands never fought individually. Rather, they knew how to cooperate with one another to strike down their prey. Whether it was Wang Chong, Zhao Jingdian, or the Imperial Army guards, if anyone was to be isolated from the group, he would be in grave danger.

This was the reason why Wang Chong advised Zhao Qianqiu to quickly head out to reinforce those outside earlier.

The situation on White Tiger Peak was rather severe. Corpses and carcasses lay all over the rugged terrain. In the short moment that Wang Chong, Zhao Qianqiu, and the others were setting up fortifications, the situation on the peak had been rapidly deteriorating.

“Kill!”

Grasping his sword with both of his hands, Wang Chong hastened his footsteps, leading the group’s charge into the packs of wolves.

Aooooo!

A dozen wolves bared their fangs and, after their howls, they abruptly pounced toward the group. Cold glints flickered in their green eyes beneath the dim moonlight.

Chi! Blood splattered ceaselessly as sword after sword were raised to intercept their pounce. Then, several wolf carcasses crashed right onto the ground before Wang Chong and his team.

At the same time, behind Wang Chong, sharp whizzes sounded. More than fifty wolf fang arrows were shot out from Wang Chong and Su Hanshan’s room. They traversed the night air, headed for the forests around White Tiger Peak.

——The only master archer instructor on White Tiger Peak had made a move. At that instant, it was as though time had stopped. This could very possibly be the turning point of the entire battle.

Wang Chong didn’t have the luxury to be looking around, but he could sense the slight difference in the airspace above him. Suddenly, the rain of wolf fang arrows seemed to have thinned considerably.

Silence.

“Yay! Three of them! We managed to kill three Turk master archers!”

A loud but slightly quavering bellow containing uncontrollable joy sounded from the room.

Chen Burang!

No one turned around to assess the situation—there was no one who could afford to have their attention diverted at this moment. However, everyone immediately realized that Wang Chong’s plan was working. For the first time since the start of the battle, there were casualties among the enemy master archers.

Everyone’s heart lightened, and they felt as though the pressure on them had been reduced considerably.

“Evacuate!”

As soon as he heard Chen Burang’s voice, Wang Chong immediately issued a command. Everyone hurriedly dashed forward, trying to get as far away from Chen Burang and Zhou Huang as possible.

Xiu xiu xiu!

A goosebump-inducing racket echoed in the air. Not too long after Zhou Huang’s stream of arrows was shot out, a dense array containing thousands of arrows converged back from all directions.

At this moment, the attention of every single Turk master archer and condor sniper was directed toward Zhou Huang and Chen Burang…