Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 585 Killing Three Birds with One Stone (Part 2)

Chapter 585 Killing Three Birds with One Stone (Part 2)

Half an hour ago, on the battlefield between the two armies.

After Sun and Huang appeared with their banners, they immediately ordered the Yuan army behind them to beat the war drums.

Seeing this, Feng Manlou thought that the other side was finally going to launch a "full-scale attack", and he became a little nervous.

Unexpectedly... then, Shuang Xie ordered the Yuan army to remain still, while the two of them leisurely rode forward, trotting all the way to the front of the army.

"General Feng, may I step forward and have a word with you?" When he reached a position roughly between the two armies, Huang Donglai used his "internal force amplification" technique to shout this to the Ming army.

Feng Manlou was taken aback when he heard this, wondering what they were up to now. Surely they weren't trying to lure him over to fight them?

Speaking of "fighting generals", the book implies that Feng Manlou fought quite a few battles when he was young, and he won every single one. However, after he became the "Great General of Heavenly Might", he almost stopped fighting. After all, it would be too reckless for the commander-in-chief of a large army to go up and fight one-on-one with people all the time.

But right now, the other party isn't calling him over for a duel, but rather asking him to come up and "have a chat." This situation is rather delicate—who knows if the other party genuinely wants to chat, or if they're planning to suddenly attack you two-on-one?

However, after weighing the options, Feng Manlou still came.

He gave a few instructions to his generals and then rode off into battle. Like Sun Huang, he didn't even carry a weapon when he went into battle.

There's no other reason than that Brother Feng felt that with his martial arts skills, and with proper precautions, even if he were to fight like this, even if he were to be ambushed by the opponent... he was still confident that he could escape unscathed.

"Gentlemen, it's been several days. How have you been?" Upon approaching, Feng Manlou greeted Shuang Xie first.

His words were carefully chosen; they could be interpreted as a veiled greeting to the "undercover agent," or as a provocation and a test.

"Damn it, what the hell am I doing!" But Sun Yixie's reply was completely uncompromising, starting with profanity. His second sentence was, "We agreed to be undercover for three days, then another three days, then another three days... Let me tell you, if I keep going undercover, I'll really become the commander-in-chief of the Yuan army."

"Yeah, and what about that ambush a few days ago, Brother Feng? What are you trying to do? You even included me in your plans? If you're going to pull off a scheme, you could at least give me a heads-up first. Or do you have some misunderstanding about us and want to take us both down with you?" Huang Donglai directly questioned him.

With the sound of war drums providing cover, no one could hear them speaking at such a low volume. Listening to the shouts of the two men and observing their expressions, Feng Manlou was genuinely a little confused.

“I have indeed heard some rumors about you recently, so I have some doubts about who you are and what you want to do.” After thinking for a few seconds, Feng Manlou replied, “Or rather, from the beginning, I never really believed the story that Faning helped you make up… After all, I dare not and cannot believe the story of ‘two people suddenly appearing in the Yuan army camp, and one of them just happened to escape to my place to seek refuge’ based on your own words.”

He paused, then continued, "After learning more about you, I even suspected that you were just two charlatans who knew some strange and magical arts. You put together a show, then resolved it yourselves, thus deceiving the current emperor and receiving the title of 'Guardian Celestial Master'."

From Feng Manlou's perspective, there's nothing wrong with his way of thinking; although his martial arts skills come from the Jianghu (martial arts world), he is actually very distant from those Jianghu people, and there's no question of trust or goodwill between them.

“However, I don’t know why, although you two seem extremely suspicious to me, I always have a vague feeling that I hope you are indeed on my side.” Feng Manlou continued, “Perhaps… I’m just being paranoid. You two might really be ‘loyal ministers’ of Da Ming, but your words and actions are strange, and your loyalty seems like treachery… making you hard to fathom.”

“Alright! Since you’ve said so, Brother Feng, then there’s nothing else…” Huang Donglai then seized the opportunity and added, “Trust your brother one more time today… I guarantee that after today, you will have no more doubts about us.”

“That’s right!” Sun Yixie chimed in, echoing Huang Donglai’s words, “Actually, we don’t even need to wait until today is over. As long as you cooperate, Brother Feng, everything will be clear in an hour or two.”

"Oh?" Feng Manlou's gaze swept over Shuang Xie's face again. "What are your plans? Why don't you tell me?"

"Do you see those two banners?" Huang Donglai immediately replied.

That's just nonsense. With such exaggerated banners, it's hard not to see them.

"I saw it." Feng Manlou didn't argue or complain, and simply answered.

“We deliberately left six weak points in the Yuan army’s formation, and we’ve marked each one with a flag like this,” Huang Donglai said. “We’ll go back to camp to take care of some things. In the meantime, Brother Feng, you can discreetly mobilize your troops and prepare your soldiers to attack those six points. Once we’ve done our work, we’ll give the signal, and you can immediately lead your troops in a general offensive… At that time, we can guarantee that the Yuan army will be in complete chaos internally. As long as their external formation is slightly impacted, they will quickly collapse and be routed.”

Before he could finish speaking, Feng Manlou, following his train of thought, asked, "What if... this is a trap you've set to lure me into a trap?"

“Then you can decide for yourself,” Sun Yixie said. “Whether you attack or not, when the time comes, we will still do what needs to be done, and then we will withdraw… But if you miss this opportunity to make the Yuan army retreat, whether there are other ways to deal with it is none of our business.”

…………

Time, back to the present.

Knowing she was trapped in a desperate situation, the Water Fairy launched her first attack on Sun Huang with a move called "Grab Soil and Throw Dust," in which she used her powerful strength and monstrous claw strength to dig up a handful of dust from the ground and throw it forward.

That's why they're called demonic; in despair, this is the first thing they think of.

But this trick... it's one thing to use it on others, but when it's used on Shuang Xie, it's just "a eunuch stealing" or "a grandson stealing."

The two of them knew what she was going to do almost as soon as they saw her "digging into the ground," so they immediately jumped to either side and scattered, each on guard.

A moment later, the Water Fairy scattered a handful of dust, and Huang Donglai, who was being attacked head-on, simply used his inner strength to easily neutralize the attack by waving his sleeve a few times and turning around to retreat.

Meanwhile, Sun Yixie, who had circled around to the other side, seized the opportunity to thrust his trident straight at Shui Yuanxianzi's back.

Water Fairy was also keeping an eye on Sun Yixie's movements, and she wouldn't be hit so easily. The next second, she dodged the attack from the side and rear, and she even tried to grab the handle of the trident.

Fortunately, seeing that his attack had missed, Sun Yixie immediately changed his move and swung horizontally, thus preventing his opponent from turning the tables and grabbing his weapon.

In this back-and-forth exchange, it seemed that neither side gained an advantage, but in reality, both Sun and Huang were breaking out in a cold sweat.

If it weren't for the fact that Fairy Shuiyuan is currently restrained by the great formation and unable to use any magic...

If it weren't for the "banners and light shield" outside the tent restricting her movement and slowing her down...

She could probably easily break through the encirclement and attack of Sun and Huang with just her powerful body, which she had cultivated for a hundred years through "replenishment and nourishment".

"Protect the empress!"

Just as Sun Huang hesitated for a moment, a dozen or so people suddenly rushed in from outside the tent, shouting.

These people, ostensibly servants and guards of the prince, were actually all bewitched by Fairy Shuiyuan. They were the same people who had been guarding outside when she wanted to "eat Japanese food."

Even though Sun Huang had already dispersed the troops around the tent to a certain distance when he set up the outside, these people still rushed over regardless of everything after hearing Fairy Shui Yuan's roar.

After entering the tent, they didn't even glance at Tawu, nor did they shout "Protect the Prince." They simply uttered their truest thoughts and then pounced on Sun Huang like madmen.

Helpless, Sun Huang could only deal with these people first. In any case, Fairy Shuiyuan couldn't escape for the time being. As long as he kept his distance from her and guarded against her throwing things, there shouldn't be any danger.

While Sun Huang was busy dealing with the guards, Tawu suddenly jumped up.

Although he had just been yelled at and slapped away by Fairy Shuiyuan, as the most deeply bewitched person present, this incident did not stop him from still trying to rush up to attack Sun Huang and rescue his "beloved concubine".

To say that this number one warrior of the Northern Yuan was not an empty boast was an understatement. Compared to his servants and guards, his combat strength was more than ten times stronger. He took three steps at a time, blending into the group of soldiers. Seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward and successfully captured Sun Yixie, who was entangled with the soldiers. Then, relying on brute force, he pushed his way through the gap in the tent and onto the open ground outside.

"Damn it, can't you see your concubine is a demon? Get out of here! Or I'll..." Sun Yixie was still cursing when...

bang——

In that instant, a burly black figure appeared out of nowhere and struck Tawugan unconscious from behind with a blunt object.

Sun Yixie looked up and saw that the person who had attacked him was none other than Yibula.

"Wow~ what are you..." Even Brother Sun was a little surprised. He almost blurted out, "Commander, could you be a Ming Army spy too?"

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not entirely doing this to help you." Fortunately, Yibula spoke first. He glanced deeply at the tent and said, "Although I'm away fighting, the fact that the prince has been bewitched by this woman is already known throughout the country. I've heard about it before, but I never imagined she was such a bewitching woman..."

As Yibula finished speaking, he helped the unconscious Tawu to his feet and then turned to look in the direction of the front line.

At this moment, the other side was completely engulfed in shouts of battle and the clash of weapons.

“Just now, Feng Manlou launched a surprise attack on our army in six directions, and our army’s formation almost collapsed at the first touch. I suppose… this was also your doing?” Yibula said. “Hmph… now I can’t tell whether you are a despicable villain or someone who is hiding your true strength… In any case, the victor is king and the loser is villain. This time, I, Yibula, can’t outmaneuver you, so be it. I will withdraw my troops and take the prince back to await the Khan’s judgment… We can settle our scores if we meet again in the future.”

As Yibula spoke these words, several Yuan soldiers who had been routed from the front lines ran past them, and the sounds of fighting in the distance grew ever closer.

After saying this, Yibula simply waved his hand, signaling several of his trusted generals and soldiers to come and carry the prince up, before turning and leaving.

He didn't have time to chat with Sun Yixie any longer, because he still had to direct the remaining, scattered Yuan troops to retreat in an orderly manner.

Watching the departing figures, Sun Yixie seemed to understand that people like Yibula and Feng Manlou were indeed beyond the comprehension of ordinary people or those in the martial arts world.

Right now, compared to personal grudges, what Yibula should do first is to maintain the last shred of dignity for Tawu, a member of the royal family. No matter how incompetent or absurd the other party is, or how the other party has treated him before, he prioritizes saving Tawu's life and bringing him back first. He can even let Sun and Huang, who are basically clear of being spies, go unpunished in order to get rid of the "monster" around the prince.

Secondly, if we look at the worst-case scenario, if Yibula returns and Ta'u pins all the charges against him, such as "relying on spies" and "returning in defeat," it's not hard to guess whether the Khan will help his own brother or him... In the end, he might even lose his head.

He must have thought of this himself, which is why he said things like "waiting for the Khan to decide his fate" and "if we can meet again."

But this did not shake his resolve.

This person, who was persecuted to the point of "lying down and not coming out" by Tawu just a few days ago, has now quietly stepped forward to clean up all the mess left by the prince, and is mentally prepared to take on all the blame.

Sun Yixie asked himself, he could neither compare to such a person nor do such a thing.

"what--"

Although our story is long, in the context of the story, from the moment Sun Yixie was pushed out of the tent by Tawu to the moment he watched Yibula leave, it was less than a minute in total. And just one minute later, a scream suddenly came from inside the tent.

This time, the voice calling "Brother Sun" was very familiar; it was Huang Donglai calling out immediately.

So he rushed toward the tent again, but after taking only two steps, he saw Huang Donglai's figure fly out of the tent like a cannonball and fall rapidly toward him.

"Damn it—" This time it was Sun Yixie's turn to scream.

Unable to dodge in time, he became Brother Huang's human cushion.

A second later, the two fell to the ground, both cursing loudly, but fortunately they were both unharmed.

After getting up again, Huang Donglai was still swearing: "This is fucking wrong! It seems like the formation power can't hold her down anymore!"

"Oh..." Sun Yixie then suddenly realized and asked, "Is it because Brother Feng attacked ahead of time?"

"What?" Huang Donglai craned his neck in astonishment. "I haven't even given the signal yet, and they've already attacked?"

He's right, that's exactly what Feng Manlou did.

Since Feng Manlou neither completely believed nor completely disbelieved Shuang Xie, he naturally chose a compromise in the end—I will send troops to the location you suggested, but not at the time you suggested.

This led to a major problem... the power of the formation began to dissipate prematurely.

Of course, we need to explain here: the formation that Huang Donglai set up today is not something that can be activated instantly once all the troops and the necessary items are placed in the designated places, nor is it something that will instantly become ineffective if even a single soldier moves a few meters after activation.

The entire formation's "formation" and "force," whether it's rising or falling, takes a certain amount of time to develop; it's not like a light switch that turns on and off in an instant.

Therefore, although Feng Manlou attacked ahead of time and disrupted the formation, there was still some time before the formation's power to suppress Shui Yuanxianzi completely dissipated.

But... there wasn't much time.

In other words, Sun and Huang must act quickly at this moment, otherwise their chances of winning will only become increasingly slim.

However, even though the Water Fairy had only recovered some of her abilities, her strength had already exceeded their expectations.

"Hahahaha..." As soon as she was told, the fairy appeared. Now that she was able to leave the tent, the Water Fairy naturally felt the array power weakening visibly. So she immediately made a judgment that the situation had reversed. It wouldn't make sense if there wasn't a villain's laughter and a self-revealing statement. "It's really heaven's blessing..." she said, turning her head slightly and casually glancing at the corpses scattered on the ground inside the tent. "Fortunately, this fairy is usually 'generous and hospitable' and 'makes many friends,' so today I had a group of scapegoats to help me hold them off for a while."

As she spoke, she took steps forward, slowly approaching Sun Huang.

"What? Got scared now?" Seeing that neither of them dared to step forward, she looked smug and said, "You two little bastards think you can kill this fairy? You're dreaming!"

As the final word "dream" was uttered, a burst of black light erupted from the Water Fairy's body, and a surge of demonic energy shot forth from her.

A moment later, her loose clothes slowly floated up, and as they fluttered, demonic energy overflowed, causing the wind and clouds to change color, creating a small area that seemed to be covered by dark clouds in the midday sun.

As darkness fell, the Water Fairy's once jet-black hair turned white, and her muscles and skin began to writhe rapidly like maggots, quickly forming countless wrinkles resembling tree bark. Her fingernails also grew and curled wildly, taking on claw-like shapes.

In the blink of an eye, the Water Fairy, who was originally as beautiful as a celestial being, transformed into a humanoid demon that looked extremely old but had an extremely strong body.

"Damn it, we're in deep trouble... Are we going to die here?" Seeing that the other party had revealed its true form, Huang Donglai, who was still quite knowledgeable, was already somewhat desperate.

But, right now!

Amidst the chaotic killing formations around them, a lithe figure suddenly flashed out like a gust of wind.

Before Sun Huang could react, Feng Manlou had already rushed past them and headed straight for the Water Fairy in front of them.

Shui Yuan Fairy didn't take Feng Manlou seriously either. Her thinking was simple: What can you martial arts practitioners do to me?

However, when Feng Manlou approached her and pulled a long sword from its dragon-shaped golden sheath from her waist, Shui Yuan Fairy was immediately terrified.

Unfortunately, by then it was too late for her to do anything.

As the saying goes, "First comes the Heavenly Sword, then comes the title of Great General."

Sun Huang only learned later, when he heard Feng Ge bragging, that just as a few elites in the Embroidered Uniform Guard could receive the "limited edition flying fish robe and embroidered spring knife" bestowed by the emperor, Feng Manlou, the "Great General of Heavenly Might," also had a set of exclusive equipment bestowed by the emperor in addition to his title and corresponding military power; and among them was a sword left behind by the national advisor during the reign of Emperor Taizu (the one mentioned in Chapter 35 of Volume 2)... the "Heavenly Might Sword."