Chapter 221 “The length of a arrow’s throw!” (Part one)

Du Wei is gambling!

Gambling the Northwest Army won’t actually rebel in front of him and besiege his capital.

No matter how he looked at, the conditions isn’t right for them to make their move, this is his belief.

But seeing a 40,000 strong army standing at his doorstep, there must be some other reason behind their actions because such a force is already one-fifth of the entire Northwestern Army!

What are they plotting?

By the time the sun reached over the northwestern part of the horizon, the giant army down below finally made their move.

Like workers ants, the soldiers that had just finished assembling their camp began to tear everything apart piece by piece. Then with numerous carts, all the wood that were chopped down from the nearby forest were quickly removed, al the while under the careful protection of an infantry unit standing by to keep Du Wei’s forces from coming out to raid them.

With all the tents removed, a cloud of dust was kicked up by thousands of soldiers as they methodically stepped back.

Seeing this scene, even Du Wei standing atop of the rampart was secretly relieved.

It seems he made the right call with his gamble!

As expected, the Northwestern Army isn’t ordinary. Even with such a large force, their formation was structured and clean as they leisurely organized themselves in their retreat.

It was at this moment, a squad separated from the main body and the one leading in front is flying a black flag. Embroidered with a gold emblem in the middle, this is the “infamous Gold Fire Black Flag” of the Northwestern Army.

The Northwestern army likes to use black flags for their banner and is even known to have the nickname “black flag army”; however, to be able to hold a gold fire flag, that person should at least be a general in their ranks.

Sure enough, the dozen or so heavily armored riders came right up to the city wall. With the flag bearer in the middle, the rest encircled this person like he was the leader. Before long, a deep voice thundered out from this individual: “Direct subordinate of General Rugaard, Major General Guhuaduoluo of the Northwestern Army, Duke, please respond!”

From his appearance alone, this person should be about 40 years old. Though he looked smart and tough, his long noise was an exception because what should have been a handsome face is ruined by the crooked nose. Then there’s that armor…. Pure black like the night, it’s clearly made out of black iron of extreme purity. Aside from this, the spear he carried behind his back looked like a cross, but unlike the holy relic shape you get from the Christian cross, this spear gave off a reddish hue like it had drank too much blood.

While Du Wei assessed this self-proclaimed Guhuaduoluo person, Longbottom suddenly came up from behind and said: “Humph, it’s this Guhuaduoluo guy again.”

“You know him?” Du Wei smiles surprisingly.

“Of course.” Longbottom licks his lip with his tongue as a gleam of killing intent crossed his eyes: “This guy is one of my old acquaintances! Whenever I return from the prairie with my men years ago, we would always get into trouble with his men. Even if we didn’t fight a hundred times, we must have at least brawled somewhere close to that figure. This guy isn’t much, just very cautious in his methods. Because of this reason, it’s not easy to get any advantage out of him.”

Du Wei laughs with delight: “Oh, he’s a careful type eh? If so, things will be easy then!”

Truthfully, Du Wei was afraid the guy before him is a reckless buffoon that would disregard everything. Since this guy is known to be rational and dispassionate, then things are much simpler to handle.

Standing atop of the city wall, he coughs once to clear his throat before leaning out to peer down at this Guhuaduoluo: “General Guhuaduoluo, I am Du Wei, also known as-Rudolph by my title name.”

Guhuaduoluo looked grim as he gently thumped his chest: “Duke, I’m afraid I cannot properly salute you while on horseback. I’m here to ask your lordship why you decided to choose this land for your experiment despite it already being taken by the Northwestern Army for their annual spring drill….. Although the military and magic academy isn’t part of the same command chain, but we must at least reach to the same conclusion.”

Du Wei lightly spoke his next words: “And General’s meaning is?”

Guhuaduoluo immediately replied: “The annual spring drill is an iron clad rule of the Empire; this part cannot be overridden no matter what! Our Northwestern Army is just following this law. After coming all this way, you can’t expect us to just pack up and leave based on one word from your lordship, right?”

Without even trying to be polite, Du Wei openly repremended the guy: “General Guhuaduoluo, you need to be reasonable!! Even if your army traveled from afar, it’s merely eighty something Li from your headquarter to here. Do I need to remind you that the magic academy is in the capital? If your army can’t go back, then do you expect these wizards here pack up their bags and head back to the capital which is hundreds of kilometers away?”

(500 meters = 1 Li)

Guhuaduoluo became speechless.

The status of a Magician in the empire is beyond compare, yet he’s asking dozens of magicians to move aside for his men? Unless it’s absolutely necessary, no one in their right mind would dare go offend a magician, much less 30 something mages.

And … … Prior to coming, General Rugaard clearly gave the order not to fight! Especially the “no” word, the general emphasized that part very clearly without any chance for confusion.

Thinking things over, Guhuaduoluo cries out loudly: “Duke, the Northwestern Army’s already noticed you of our coming three days ago. Though these distinguishes Mages are not subject to imperial law, but there should still be order in who comes first!  Such flagrant violation of military regulation just won’t do!”

Instead of playing into the other side’s hand, Du Wei simply became unreasonable as he bellowed out a laugh: “General, I show deep empathy towards your opinion…… But I must make one point clear! I may be the lord of this land, but doesn’t mean I’m confident in ordering these magicians. As you know, magicians are known to act based on their preference and neither do I have the power to constrain them to my will……. Moreover, it doesn’t look like their tempers are exactly on the good side. If we infuriate these esteemed guests and your men end up getting hurt in the process, I can’t shoulder the responsibility. And….. Even if the matter is taken to the court, I highly doubt even the high command back at central will actually go confront the magic union, right?”

Guhuaduoluo is frowning now because he really didn’t know what else to say when this Duke keeps using the “magicians” shield.

After all, if they really end up in a conflict with the magicians, they won’t have anyone to go reason with. It’s well known that even the royal family is unable to suppress the magic union, let alone the Northwest Army. Win or lose, the one to suffer in the end will just be themselves.

Thinking up to here, Guhuaduoluo simply kicked the ball back to Du Wei: “Duke, you are a lord of the empire and the master of this land; above all else, you are also a magician. In this case, what’s your view in solving this problem?”

He’s already made up his mind by now. If this young Duke really keeps using the same excuse and demand his soldiers to retreat, then even if the situation deteriorates into a battle, then so be it!

Du Wei smiles and said, “Since your army already sent an emissary to inform me three days ago, I can’t make things too difficult for you. Let’s do this then. Since I’m a member of the magic society and a dean of the magic academy, I should also bear some responsibility for this situation. Fine then, I’ll give you some face…… My demand isn’t too high, as long as your army retreats back to the length of where my arrow lands, then that’s good enough!”

The length of a arrow’s throw?

Contemplating this idea, Guhuaduoluo is still somewhat skeptical. How far can one arrow be? Even a powerful archer can only shoot a couple of hundred meters at best, so let’s not mention the giant military crossbows that can shoot up to 1 kilometer.

General Rugaard’s order was just to encircle and not fight, so even if he does move back 1 kilometer, it’s not like they can get out even if they fly!

The Northwestern Army is well aware of how many soldiers there are inside Loulan City. At best a few thousand troops, so what can they possibly do, right?

Remembering these points, Guhuaduoluo made a smirking smile: “Alright, let’s do as your lordship say! I’ll have my men move back 500 meters!”

“Hold on!” Du Wei suddenly exclaimed: “Dear General, I said a arrow’s throw. Whether it is more or less, we will have to see after I give it a try. I will personally make the shot and the length of my shot will be the standard!”

Guhuaduoluo is relieved. This Duke may be a powerful Magician … … But archery is all about arm strength! It’s well known mages are physically weak, so how far can this kid shoot?

It’s a shame Though … … This General is destined to be eat his words.

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