Chapter 196: Chapter 196: 117: The Fight Begins, The Jiang Family Has Arrived - Part 2

“`

“Are you still sulking?”

After a long silence, Jiang Taiqian once again quietly asked Jiang Yan who stood in front of him.

Jiang Yan did not verbally respond.

He simply nodded silently.

“I see, I will have a good talk with Xiao Yue later.”

“As for you…”

“Try to maintain the current situation.”

“Our Jiang Family really can’t afford any losses.”

Finishing his words, Jiang Taiqian quietly walked toward the distance.

Jiang Yan watched this scene.

Jiang Yan looked at Jiang Taiqian’s slightly curved, somewhat desolate figure.

A myriad of thoughts flashed through his eyes.

After a long while, those myriad thoughts turned into a helpless sigh.

The current situation seemed to dictate that the Jiang Family had no choice but to sacrifice a daughter in marriage to ensure their own safety.

This decision was indeed not pleasant.

But did the Jiang Family really have any other options?

It seemed that apart from clinging desperately to the Luo Family as a lifeline, there was no other means of preserving their family.

…

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.

As one of the Five Great Families of Shang Heng District, the Jiang Family’s convoy was now slowly approaching the Luo Family Ancestral Land in Huai Shui County.

The armored bandit soldiers from White Lotus Stockade in Yellow Mountain County, who were extremely skilled in archery,

were also silently closing in toward Huai Shui County.

“Have they arrived?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

On the border between Huai Shui County and Yellow Mountain County,

Luo Yong, the one in control of the military, was in his Commander’s Tent, asking Tang Jian, who was beside him, with relentless inquiry.

“They’ve come…”

Tang Jian replied in a low voice.

“What? They’re here already? You keep saying soon but never give an exact time…”

As Luo Yong spoke, he suddenly froze.

Eh, he seemed to have misheard.

That big bluffer Tang Jian hadn’t said ‘soon,’ had he?

What exactly had he said?

It seemed… he said ‘they’ve come?’

Realizing this, Luo Yong’s eyes widened, and his face gradually showed an intense excitement.

Even his breathing became noticeably heavier.

They’ve come, they’ve finally come.

Luo Yong had waited for such a long time, those little bastards from White Lotus Stockade… had finally arrived.

It wasn’t easy, truly not easy!

“Do you know how many bandits White Lotus Stockade has sent?”

After taking several deep breaths and gradually calming his excitement, Luo Yong quietly asked Tang Jian.

“Four hundred thousand?”

“Four hundred and fifty thousand?”

“Or… five hundred thousand?”

Tang Jian responded quietly, not very sure himself how many people White Lotus Stockade had actually sent.

“Damn it, that many?”

“All five hundred thousand came out?”

“Are you serious?”

Luo Yong turned his head, widened his eyes, and gave Tang Jian a look that seemed to say, ‘Are you kidding me?’

“On the battlefield, numbers don’t decide everything.”

“The gap between elite troops and normal soldiers is vast.”

“The difference between armored and unarmored is also considerable.”

“So what if it’s five hundred thousand? What’s there to worry about?”

“Shouldn’t you, Brother Luo, know better than I do what kind of rabble these bandits usually are?”

As Tang Jian spoke these words,

Luo Yong’s shock gradually subsided.

That big bluffer Tang Jian was indeed right.

Even if White Lotus Stockade deployed five hundred thousand troops, so what?

War is not decided solely by numbers.

Besides, to deal with this war, he had kept an ace up his sleeve.

That ace was a cavalry composed entirely of Cultivators.

The cultivation level of the cavalry started at least from the Refining Stage of Skin Refinement.

About one third were in the Bone Refinement realm.

The number of cavalry was only about a hundred.

However, the terrifying power that could be exerted by the combination of Cultivators and the dark jade qilin on the battlefield, naturally, needed no further explanation by Luo Yong.

…

After approximately half an hour of waiting,

the bandits from White Lotus Stockade within Yellow Mountain County

finally began to come into view for Luo Yong.

In terms of quantity, the number of bandits from White Lotus Stockade was indeed surprising.

They covered the mountains and plains, densely packed and endless in sight.

Their sheer number and scale were immensely daunting.

In comparison to Luo Yong’s forces, they were at least seven or eight times greater in number.

Yet, no matter.

For the naked eye could see that most of these bandits appeared to be unarmored.

Many of the bandits considered themselves lucky to wield a machete.

Such bandit soldiers, if fighting with the wind,

would indeed be invincible.

But should they face the wind in battle…

they would probably run faster than anyone.

Of course, there was a reason why White Lotus Stockade was ranked third among the bandit forces in Yellow Mountain County.

Look at the very center of the bandit army.

There, one could see a group of elite bandit soldiers dressed in shining silver armor, with steel sabers at their waists, and bows and arrows in their hands.

On their backs, they carried at least several quivers each.

Surrounded tightly by the ordinary bandits, they stood in the center.

If one were to make a rough estimation with the naked eye…

The number of those elite bandit soldiers in shining silver armor, with steel sabers and bows and arrows,

each carrying several quivers on their backs,

was at least not less than thirty thousand.

“Looks like this group of bandit soldiers is my main focus, the rest of the bandits…”