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Chapter 837: Second Thoughts

“What’s that smell?” A guard dilated his nostrils and took two deep sniffs. Suddenly, he bent over and started vomiting.

Panicking, the other guard clamped his nose, turned around, and started running. Flustered, he ran towards the old Khan’s wing guard head-on.

With a saber slash, Mo Lin struck down the fleeing guard. He had changed his mind. Now that the Dragon King had accounted for Duodun’s plot, he decided to adopt a more proactive method to rescue his family.

As he watched the troops sent by Duodun, Mo Lin raised the scimitar above his head and yelled, “His Highness is under the coercion of outsiders. Don’t be deluded.”

The centurion who was leading the soldiers knew that things were not that simple, but he preferred to shift responsibility onto the old Khan’s wing guard. “Lord wing guard, then what do you think we should do? Should we go back and rescue His Highness?”

“No, you don’t have the numbers to do so. Go to the front and join the Middle Corps in battle. General Dugu will tell you what to do.”

The centurion and the soldiers were still dithering about what they should do. Although they revered the old Khan’s wing guard, it was still fairly difficult for them to publicly help the outsiders.

“There’s been an incident in the front, too,” a soldier yelled. “Look! It seems that the Second Consort’s army has surrounded some people.”

The circumstances were growing more and more disorderly and suspicious. Mo Lin had a scimitar in his hand, but he had no idea what he should do in his mind, and he certainly didn’t know how to mediate in a situation like this.

“The Commander-in-chief’s alive!” another soldier cried.

The only guard left remaining knelt on the ground, vomiting constantly. The old man standing between the guard and the burning tent was Mo Chu, who was paralyzed in mortal fear. He seemed to have no idea why he was standing there at all. His eyes swept around and then he lowered his head and looked at his own body, uncertain about whether he was still alive or not.

The Dragon King had secretly dispatched an excellent bodyguard here. Mo Lin felt both relieved and ashamed. This was the second time that he hadn’t told the Dragon King the truth; the last time had been when he had guided the Dragon King to dig out the fake Khan’s head.

Mo Chu finally confirmed that he was still alive. Raising his arms, he seemed to want to say something, but a piercing wave of despair washed over him from behind. He buckled at the knees and nearly fell over.

Most of the people in the tent were under the influence of knockout powder, and fire happened to be the most effective and also the most horrible antidote.

Han Fen’s interpretation of the Dragon King’s order was that she only had to save Mo Chu. With regards to the others, she was not the one who had set the fire. So, she naturally wouldn’t save them.

A dozen burning men rushed out, rolling around desperately on the ground. A couple of them ran right past Mo Chu, but this old Commander-in-chief wasn’t able to move a single step.

“Help them,” Mo Lin ordered.

“Help them,” the centurion repeated. Groups of soldiers immediately rushed over and started extinguishing the fire with the water in their water sacks. Meanwhile, the Commander-in-chief’s tent’s fire had already raged beyond their control.

The people who survived were covered in burns, and painful groans could be heard everywhere.

Mo Chu took advantage of this opportunity to collect himself. All of the guards sent by Duodun were either dead or injured. One of them was kneeling on the ground and vomiting so badly that it seemed as if he was about to vomit up his entrails at any moment. All this indicated that the circumstances had changed. “I’m the Commander-in-chief of the allied forces designated by His Highness and the young king themselves. These people, these guards are moles who have infiltrated our army. Don’t believe them!”

Mo Lin walked over to Mo Chu’s side and simply said, “Norlanders believe Norlanders.” Then, among the injured, he found someone who seemed to be able to speak. “Who sent you? I want the truth.”

“We were sent… by His Highness.”

“What?” Mo Lin let out a yell and drowned out the name, and then he cut off that man’s head. “They’re assassins sent by Luoluo. There are probably more of them in the camp.”

“Yes, this is Luoluo’s devious plot for sure.” Mo Chu shot a grateful glance at Mo Lin. “In the name of Commander-in-chief of the allied army, I absolve all of you from your guilt of negligence. From now on, you will be under my direct command.”

Mo Chu glanced at Mo Lin again as if he were asking him whether he had made the right remarks. Mo Lin nodded slightly.

The centurion was caught in a dilemma now. Seeing that the soldiers around him had lowered their bows, he finally made up his mind. “Follow Commander-in-chief Mo and rescue the prince.”

“Follow Commander-in-chief Mo and rescue the prince!” all the soldiers yelled together. They had believed the old Khan’s wing guard’s words earlier than the centurion.

“Join hands with General Dugu,” Mo Lin reminded him in a low voice.

Mo Chu hadn’t figured out the context of this whole situation, but he firmly believed one thing — since Mo Lin had dared to save him, then he must have a series of plans to deal with Duodun. So, all he had to do was follow Mo Lin’s lead.

Shangguan Ru was still trying to persuade the Second Consort’s army to her side, and she even made use of her identity of the Second Consort’s friend. However, Azheba’s previous remarks proved to have a greater influence on the soldiers. They didn’t shoot, but they also had no intentions of backing off.

The two sides were caught in a deadlock. More of the cavalrymen remained in their original positions and were whispering in each other’s ears. One of the options they were considering was to stand by, and another, more tempting option was to flee. The enemies were still on the front line, but they were fighting amongst themselves — many people could already see the signs of defeat.

It was at this moment that Mo Chu and Mo Lin arrived, followed by the 1,000-men army sent by Duodun.

“The Commander-in-chief’s here,” someone yelled. The Second Consort’s cavalrymen made way immediately — they knew even less about Duodun’s plans, so they were still in awe of the Commander-in-chief.

Mo Chu’s eyes swept around and saw Kuke’s body and Azheba sitting on the ground, trembling. He instantly received a general idea of what had happened. Becoming even more convinced that the Dragon King and Mo Lin had formulated an in-depth set of plans, Mo Chu was emboldened. He loudly proclaimed, “Luoluo’s assassins infiltrated into our camp and we’ve already eliminated most of them. Azheba…”

Defining Azheba’s deeds was a problem. Mo Chu paused, waiting for Mo Lin’s indication, but Shangguan Ru said, “General Azheba is also a victim.”

“Yes. A couple of assassins abducted Prince Duodun and issued a fake order. Azheba was deceived.” Mo Chu came up with an explanation immediately. “Everybody go back to your original position. Azheba won’t be able to fulfill his duties, so all of the Middle Corps troops are now under General Dugu’s command.”

The Second Consort’s soldiers retreated gradually, but the look on their faces was becoming more and more suspicious. Dugu Xian’s heart was beating like a drum. The Dragon King had guessed that Duodun would play dirty, but they had considerably underestimated the extent of his conspiracies. It turned out that not only did Duodun want to retreat to the Heaven’s Pass, but he also intended on eliminating the Dragon King.

Their chances of defeating Luoluo had become even slimmer, but Dugu Xian couldn’t abandon the soldiers who were fighting on the front lines, especially when the Dragon King had probably had already charged into the headquarters of the enemies.

“Luoluo’s scared!” Dugu Xian said aloud. “That’s why he sent assassins here, but his attempt failed. Commander-in-chief Mo will keep Prince Duodun and the Second Consort safe. All the others! Follow me to the battlefield! And prove to Luoluo that our Norlanders’ strength lies in horses, bows and arrows! Not despicable assassinations!”

Holding onto the reins with his only hand, Dugu Xian led the way and rode towards the battlefield in the east. This was a gamble. He couldn’t give the soldiers too much time to think, so he himself had to directly enter the battlefield, even though this went against his usual principle of directing operations.

A small number of Shulitu’s troops followed him immediately. Red Bat and Tie Linglong were also eager to go. Shangguan Ru said to Mo Lin, “Tell all the troops to launch their attacks. This is the final battle.”

The female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance handed Azheba over to Mo Lin and started chasing after Dugu Xian.

The Second Consort’s captain also looked at Mo Chu.

“Left Corps, Right Corps, attack! All units attack!” Mo Chu issued an order.

The 10,000-men army advanced towards the battlefield. Without any prodding, Duodun’s centurion also ordered his men to follow.

“Now what?” Mo Chu asked as he watched the cavalry units pass by. He had no further plans.

“Order the Right Corps to attack.” Mo Lin predicted that Shulitu’s army at the right wing would be the easiest to control.

“But the Commander-in-chief’s seal and the other forms of identification are all in the tent…”

“Go there personally and give the order,” Mo Lin ordered some soldiers to take Azheba, planning to let the Dragon King decide how he should be punished.

Glancing at the several hundred cavalrymen he had left, Mo Chu was somewhat afraid, but his hatred towards Duodun and his trust in Mo Lin enabled him to overcome this fear, so he ultimately led the way and headed for the Right Corps.

Shulitu had refused to order Nie Zeng, who was hidden, to come out, so all of Li Shun’s previous efforts to persuade him had been in vain. At last, he gave out a resigned sigh. “Someday, you will understand my loyalty to you, Your Highness. A mere guard won’t be able to flee far away, and I can’t promise that I’ll let him live after I catch him either.”

“Nie Zeng’s kung fu is very good.” Shulitu pointed at the bodies on the ground as he said, “So I suggest you be careful, General. As for your loyalty, if stupidity also indicates allegiance, then you indeed have a lot of it, General.”

Li Shun shook his head and said to the four guards sent by Duodun, “Keep His Highness safe. But don’t touch him.”

The guards didn’t think that they needed to follow Li Shun’s order, so they answered “Yes” in a very reluctant tone.

Li Shun walked out of the tent. He still had a lot of things to deal with and one of the more important ones was to explain what had happened to the young king to those soldiers who were already suspicious.

A small group of cavalrymen rode straight at the tent. Surprisingly, they were holding the Commander-in-chief’s large flag, which aroused even deeper suspicions among the soldiers and greatly astounded Li Shun. He didn’t know about Duodun’s overall plan, but he had speculated that even if the flag of Commander-in-chief was still available, Mo Chu shouldn’t have been the man under the flag.

Mo Chu rode straight at Li Shun and asked in a severe tone, “The battle at the front line is very intense. Why is the Right Corps still in its original position?”

Startled and suspicious, Li Shun bowed and replied, “The 10,000-men Dragon Army of the rightmost wing has already entered the battlefield. With regards to the other armies, it was you who ordered them to stay put. Did you forget that?”

During the time when Mo Chu had been abducted, the seal of Commander-in-chief and the other forms of identification had all been taken away by other people, and he was unaware of the many orders that had been issued. But now, the circumstances had changed, so he frowned and declared, “All the previous orders are invalidated. I hereby order the Right Corps to join the fight immediately. I want each and every soldier on the battlefield, and you’re going to lead them yourself.”

Li Shun finally realized that Duodun’s plan had gone awry. “Er, you seem to have forgotten something, Commander-in-chief Mo. Before the war stared, we had an agreement — the Right Corps is under my command, and the young king is the only one who can order me to attack. I’ll tell the young king your words. As for…”

Mo Lin jumped off the horse, whipped out his sword, and strode straight towards the tent. “Your Highness, Mo Lin asks for permission to meet you.”

“You can’t go in. Stop him!” Li Shun yelled hastily.

Everyone around him knew that this man who went by the name “Mo Lin” was the old Khan’s wing guard. Only five or six guards actually followed the order and stepped forward, but even they were only bluffing.

After Mo Lin entered the tent, yells and clashes of weapons were heard constantly. Li Shun’s face changed dramatically. “Go help the young king…”

A head was thrown out of the tent — but not Shulitu’s. And then the second, third, and fourth head were thrown out consecutively soon after, but none of them belonged to the young king.

Mo Lin opened the tent flaps and declared, “The young king has an order to issue.”

Shulitu slowly walked out of the tent. As a twelve-year-old child, he seemed even more composed than most adults. Nie Zeng was standing by his side and nobody knew where this killer had hid himself.

“General Li Shun, you’re not the Commander-in-chief of the Right Corps any more,” said Shulitu. His voice was slightly tinny, but very loud.

Li Shun involuntarily knelt down. “Your Highness…”

“From now on, I myself will decide what loyalty is.”

Shulitu’s tone was bland. His face expressionless, Nie Zeng walked over, whipped out his saber, and beheaded Li Shun in public.