Chapter 385: The Twenty-eighth Day in the Struggle for Supremacy World

Chapter 385: The 28th Day of Wearing Into the Hegemony Novel

"Yes, it seems the people in Zhaozhou intend to use others to do their dirty work, and Diezhou is itching to make a move." Bai Ji analyzed, a hint of coldness in his voice.

An Yi smiled, and that smile carried a peculiar meaning under the dim light: "They've done the math well enough. Works in our favor—saves us the hassle of drumming up an excuse when we campaign against Diezhou later. Now we've got the moral high ground."

He walked over to stand before Bai Ji, a step closer than usual.

Bai Ji could pick up that faint, calming scent of his, and his heart couldn't help but race.

"This trip might get dangerous, Ruzhi—scared?" An Yi asked, looking at him.

Bai Ji raised his head to meet An Yi's gaze, his eyes blazing with resolve: "To stand at my Lord's side and watch traitors fall and borders expand—I'd die without a single regret. What is there to fear?" Half of that was a vow of loyalty, the other half straight from the heart.

An Yi held his gaze for a long moment, then just nodded, saying nothing. He simply reached out and gave his shoulder a light pat.

"Let's go."

Comments section:

"Yosh~ looks like the next target is Diezhou!"

"Time for the real deal! I'm a sucker for land-grab arcs!"

"LMAO, Lord: Diezhou's a fine place—smash the big shots, bait the snakes, two birds with one stone! ML: Lord smells amazing!"

"Dude, you smell incredible!"

"The ML's acting like a total simp."

"I get this weird vibe that An Yi treats Bai Ji differently from his other civil and military officials! It's never said outright, but the vibe is totally different!"

"If it were the same, that'd be a disaster—this wouldn't be a war epic, it'd be Emperor An's harem! Can the ML even be compared to them?"

"The ML is obviously crushing on the Lord, but the Lord's a total enigma!"

"Does the Lord know about the ML's feelings and is just playing dumb?"

"Ew ew ew~ You morons! The Lord definitely knows! He's known since the ML showed up at his study half-naked! How could he not? He's totally doing it on purpose!"

"Ew-ge, you've got some nerve! You're calling us morons? I'm putting you in a smut fic!"

"Ew! What's a smut fic?"

"Heh heh~"

"..."

An Yi caught the ruckus in the comments and shot Bai Ji a glance—what do you guys think?

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The convoy rolled out again, heading for the northern dam.

Right before they left, Bai Ji stepped in front of An Yi again: "My Lord, do you really have to go yourself?"

An Yi sighed and patted the back of his hand: "Don't worry, Ruzhi... Truth is, no one in this world can beat me."

Bai Ji's brow furrowed: "My Lord..."

An Yi stepped ahead: "Let's move."

The escort was about fifty strong, all elite troops handpicked by Cha Jiang. They weren't in full armor, but they had on padded armor underneath and hidden blades.

A few nimble-looking clerks were actually An Yi's handpicked close-combat and recon specialists.

The mountain road got rougher, ridges looming on both sides and the woods closing in.

The early spring wind cut through with a chill, sending the banners snapping overhead.

They hit a nasty stretch called Yuwai Ravine—cliff on one side, bottomless gorge on the other, the road barely wide enough for two carts.

Just as most of the convoy rolled into the kill zone, all hell broke loose!

Up ahead, at the bend, boulders and logs came crashing down with a deafening roar, sealing the road!

At the same time, the same racket erupted behind them—their escape route was gone!

"Ambush! Protect the Lord!" Cha Jiang's voice cut through the air.

From the woods on both slopes, shrill whistles and war cries exploded!

Figures poured out from behind trees and boulders, swords, spears, and bows in hand, swarming the trapped convoy like locusts.

Their clothes were a hodgepodge, but their moves were vicious and their eyes were killers—they'd disguised themselves!

"Thwip thwip thwip—" Arrows rained down from both sides!

"Shields up!" The guards, drilled to perfection, tightened ranks, using the carts for cover and raising round shields to guard An Yi's carriage.

The clatter of arrows striking shields rang out without pause.

Seeing the arrows were useless, "Kill—!" The enemies howled as they charged down the slopes, clashing blades with the outermost guards. In an instant, steel flashed and blood flew!

On the narrow mountain road, the battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

Inside the carriage, An Yi's expression remained unchanged. He even had the leisure to straighten a slightly wrinkled sleeve from the jostling.

He glanced at Bai Ji across from him, whose face was stern but whose eyes were sharp as knives, observing the battle outside through the gap in the window curtain.

"They came, just as expected." An Yi's tone was calm.

Bai Ji withdrew his gaze and looked at An Yi. Despite the deafening battle cries outside, his voice was remarkably steady: "My Lord, the rebels are numerous and hold the terrain advantage. Commander Cha and his men are brave, but the ground is unfavorable."

Before he could finish, An Yi suddenly smiled and cut him off: "No matter. The timing is about right."

As if to confirm his words, from the higher forests on both sides of the mountain pass, a different sound arose—not the rebels' whistles, but a more orderly, sonorous blast of war horns!

Then, as if descending from heaven, a large force of soldiers in uniform gray outfits and leather armor struck out from the flanks and rear of the enemy's ambush positions!

Their formation was tight, crossbows firing in volleys, instantly tearing a gap in the enemy's flank as they focused on attacking the convoy!

At the lead was a general wielding a long lance, unstoppable—none other than An Shu!

This ambush force she commanded had, based on intelligence from Bai Ji and orders from An Yi, secretly moved into the forests near Yuwai Ravine in advance, waiting precisely for this moment!

The banner bearing the character "An" unfurled in the mountain wind!

"Reinforcements! Our reinforcements are here!" The guards' morale soared. They had known beforehand, but seeing the reinforcements arrive in person settled their hearts completely.

Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the enemy's formation instantly fell into chaos.

They had expected only to deal with a small inspection party, never realizing they were the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole waiting behind them!

At the same time, at the blocked points ahead and behind the mountain road, the engineer squads An Yi had positioned in advance appeared, swiftly clearing the obstacles.

In an instant, the tables turned!

But a cornered beast will still fight to the death.

Some of the fierce enemy leaders, realizing they had fallen into a trap, charged even more recklessly at An Yi's carriage, trying to cut off the head of the snake, or at least stir up chaos.

"Bang!" A thunderous crash—a black-faced enemy general smashed a huge hole in the side of the carriage with a heavy axe!

Amid flying wood splinters, the general grinned savagely and lunged inside to grab at whoever was in there!

The guards cried out in horror and scrambled over!

What a terrifying, dark-faced brute!

In the blink of an eye!

Bai Ji, who had been sitting quietly in the carriage, suddenly had a cold glint flash in his eyes—his usually pale, bookish face suddenly twisted into something almost savagely ruthless!

From his sleeve slid a short sword, over a foot long, its blade gleaming with a faint, icy blue light—a fine steel blade specially made in An Yi's workshop, thin, razor-sharp, and easy to hide.

The moment the bandit's hand was just about to graze the hem of An Yi's robe, Bai Ji moved!

He moved like lightning—sidestep, dodge, thrust! All in one fluid sequence!

"Thud!"

The short sword pierced precisely into the bandit's throat!

Blood gushed forth like a fountain, splattering half of Bai Ji's face and his plain-colored robes.