Chapter 6: Mock battle, Part 3 of 5
“Yes.” They took a step forward, Leng Xiao’s face was deadpan, but Ge Jing Yun looked really vexed.
Walking over to the middle of them, Gu Yun coldly asked: “What were you two doing?”
As Gu Yun’s voice dropped, Ge Jing Yun began to rant: “He didn’t follow the rules, obviously he was the defensive side, but he didn’t defend the camp well, ambushing us on the way to the camp, he wanted to cheat us first!” Clearly they were a.s.signed either offense or defense, he committed a foul!
“Baloney!” Ge Jing Yun’s justification infuriated Gu Yun so much that she couldn’t help but roar loud, “all’s fair in war! Did I forbid taking the initiative to attack? On the battlefield, there’s never absolute offensive and defensive side. Role swap can happen at any time. You simply didn’t regard this drill as a real battle. Don’t tell me when you face the enemy, when your enemy can’t wait to kill you, you’d honestly wait for him to attack you first?!”
Ge Jing Yun felt wronged being roared at, raising the already wrinkled commander’s banner he was holding, he said: “I got the commander’s banner.” Although Leng Xiao cheated, regardless, he won!
Grabbing the banner from his hand, Gu Yun sardonically asked: “Do you think you’ve won?”
His eyebrows slanted upwards quizzically, Ge Jing Yun anxiously replied: “Didn’t you say that the team who has the commander’s banner is the victor?” Is she going back on her words?!
Delicate hands ruthlessly grabbed his shoulders, pushing him hard, making him turn around, Gu Yun ordered: “Count your men, how many soldiers do you have?”
Ge Jing Yun glanced around, some of his men were covered with mud, some were holding feather arrows in their hands, they were not captured, but were considered “dead” already, he looked behind him standing scattered here and there a dozen or so of his men, Ge Jing Yun’s confidence a moment ago, has now wilted.
He stayed silent for a very long time, Gu Yun not giving him face at all, berated him: “eighteen! You only have eighteen men left! In tonight’s raid, your casualties are high! Now count Leng Xiao’s men. How many soldiers are alive?! One hundred thirty-eight! In an actual battle, do you think the moment you seized the commander’s banner you already won?! When these soldiers all have returned to the camp, facing them, only nineteen men, why did you take the commander’s banner? And why were your lives preserved?! Because of your rash moves, you let slaughtered many men, and now you dare claim victory?!”
Inflexible, a rigid mentality, a foolhardy! Ge Jing Yun p.i.s.sed her off so much ah!
Each time Gu Yun said something, Ge Jing Yun dropped his head a bit, a tough guy like him never before has he bowed his head this low, but when he saw the muddy faces before him, his shame was difficult to bear.
A mad Gu Yun didn’t bother to glance at him, turned her head towards Leng Xiao who kept quiet throughout, Gu Yun’s facial expression still looked sour, “Leng Xiao, do you know why you’ve lost?”
This time, Leng Xiao did not answer he didn’t know, he just stood silent, he dared not look at that pair of sharp eyes. Although she spoke harshly, compared to the dull-witted Ge Jing Yun, Leng Xiao’s strategy satisfied Gu Yun quite well, “your initiative was not wrong, on the battlefield, the skill to strategize is your strength, but for your blind confidence, underestimating the opponent, you suffered a crushing defeat!”
“I did not.” Leng Xiao denied.
“No?” Leng Xiao’s quick denial incited Gu Yun’s fury, “I can’t believe you left behind only thirty men, which is one-eighth of your total forces. The camp is stocked with the army’s food supplies, water, weapons, military maps and all other reserve resources, I ask you, with an eighth of your troops, how can you defend your camp?”
Leng Xiao kept silent, Gu Yun sneered: “I’ll help you answer, because you thought highly of yourself, you already a.s.sumed sending men to block, you need not worry over the camp’s security, because you underestimated the opponent, arguing that even if some can successfully breach through, they cannot overpower here, an eighth of your army is more than enough to meet them head-on, isn’t it?”
Leng Xiao adamantly remained silent, Gu Yun unable to put up with his reticence any longer snapped and growled: “Answer me!”
“Yes.” For the first time, the indifferent Leng Xiao replied forcefully, at the same time fully acknowledging his over-confidence.
The two commanding captains were castigated, behind them all the soldiers inwardly trembled in fear. When Gu Yun slowly walked into their midst, every person’s heart was in his throat.
Gu Yun approached one whose body was wholly plastered with mud, just a while ago he and the men around him greatly rejoiced and laughed, she asked: “what do you think, it was fun, wasn’t it?!”
The young lad was too frightened to answer, he also didn’t dare look down, he just stood stiff in place. Gu Yun’s cold gaze swept on the young soldiers’ faces, and asked: “What do you think you were doing? Taking a stroll, perhaps playing a game? Look at yourselves, who looked like a soldier even a bit, who looked like he had just gone through a battle?”
Gu Yun’s fury tonight is not easy to appease, are these the elite she took a lot of trouble, expend a great deal of effort to train for half a month?!
Gu Yun felt exasperated and resentful towards them for failing to meet her expectations, her voice trembled in rage, “On the actual night raid battle, you will face off against someone who has fought many battles, without exception every strategy and tactics of Su Ren are outstanding, your opponent is the brave and fierce, invincible Su Yu, to go into battle with such mentality, the outcome is certain defeat! On the battlefield, when you confront a vicious enemy, to fight with such att.i.tudes, without any doubt you’ll die!”
Under the moonlight, the slender figure of Gu Yun stood in the midst of brawny young men, her chest heaved up and down manifesting her wrath and abject disappointment.
For a long time, Gu Yun ignored them, then she strode to leave. When finally she walked out of their midst, all the soldiers turned around together, loudly they cried out: “Give us the chance to do it one more time!”
The simultaneous and powerful shout of men, in the middle of the night in the vast, open field, it can quite touch and move a person, but Gu Yun did not turn back this time, “life is only one! Not in everything you get another chance. The day after tomorrow, that’s your last chance, do your best!”
After coldly uttering such words she left without looking back. Helplessly they looked on her figure gradually fading into the night, they felt unworthy to stop her, under the moonlight, the st.u.r.dy figures stood still for a long time, no one moved and said a word.
Ge Jing Yun suddenly turned to the nearby Leng Xiao, his face already devoid of anger and opposition, instead he looked extremely calm. “Let’s drill one more time!”
Leng Xiao and he looked at each other, he readily replied: “Okay!”
They turned round together, facing the morale dejected soldiers together they loudly asked: “We will drill one more time, do you agree?!”
The group was taken aback for a second, but soon after they yelled in unison: “Yes!”
Behind her the simultaneous cry echoed like the roar of an angry tiger, the morale surged up high, Gu Yun’s steps slowed down, but she did not turn back, rather she continued walking towards the General Manor, the corners of her lips gently lifted, and her pace got brisker.
Youngsters enduring a setback is a good thing, right?!