Chapter 37: Old Song, the Talkative One

"Where should I go from here?" Su Yao muttered to himself.

Having breached the fortress and neutralized all the sentries along the cliffside, Su Yao now faced three options.

First, kill them all.
Second, kill them all.
Third, kill them all.

You ask what the point of these options is? None. The point is that these red-named enemies have to be cleared out eventually anyway, so why not just charge through and be done with it, instead of going through the trouble of choosing some roundabout path?

With that thought, Su Yao immediately began a banquet of slaughter, turning Huanglu Fortress into a blood-soaked hellscape. By the time the morning sun rose and cast its light upon the gate tower, the heavy doors swung open, and a gleaming, tranquil-faced Su Yao walked out of the castle, leaving the onlookers in shock and awe.

Well, fantasy time is over. Back to reality. Let’s just say that life rarely goes according to plan.

Trapped at the entrance of a barracks, having just killed sixteen soldiers to clear the room, Su Yao stood bathed in blood, gasping for air while leaning on his blade. He decided to change his objective, reflecting that this dungeon clearly wasn't designed for a solo run.

Why change his objective? Was his strength lacking? Could he no longer hold his own? Certainly not. Su Yao had already grasped the layout of the enemy stronghold through his actions. The defense was clearly tight at the front and loose at the rear. With the majority of the night guards stationed on the walls, it was no exaggeration to say that his stealth skills made the rear area like walking through an empty field.

Take this barracks, for instance. Even though the Hu soldiers were sleeping with their weapons in hand and armor on, Su Yao had easily assassinated nine of them in their sleep. It wasn't until then that someone finally awoke in alarm, but in those few moments, Su Yao had launched a massacre, his blade flashing as he cut down five more.

By then, only two Hu soldiers remained in the barracks, trembling and scrambling to reach the door in a desperate bid to escape. Their fate, however, was sealed by a pair of flying daggers that arrived before they could flee, piercing through the backs of their skulls.

Therefore, in Su Yao's view, if he played it steady and continued the slow process of assassination, clearing this fortress was not impossible. But for one, it would be difficult to fulfill his wager of capturing Huanglu Fortress before sunrise, and for another, his physical condition was beginning to sound the alarm.

As his heavy breathing began to subside, Su Yao glanced at the debuff in his status bar—a 30% reduction in maximum stamina—and curled his lip. It made sense; even an iron man couldn't handle a full day of non-stop exertion. For Su Yao, it had already exceeded his physical limits. Between the furious riding during the day, the lack of rest at night, and the grueling climb up the sheer cliff, his stamina was completely drained. If he didn't rest soon, the stamina reduction effect would continue to stack until he collapsed from exhaustion.

"It seems it's time to use my head and let those cannon fodder play their part."

...

After Su Yao departed, the Han soldiers in the mountain forest leaned against tree stumps with their weapons, sitting in feigned sleep. Their officers, after a long silence, began to bickering once more.

Song Xian and several other squad leaders and platoon commanders were especially insistent on withdrawing.

"It’s been so long, and there hasn’t been a single sound. You don't really believe he managed to climb over, do you? And even if he did, how is he supposed to open the gate?" Song Xian said, looking at them with exasperation. "We must retreat as soon as possible—right now would be best!"

Su Yao’s personal guards, led by Cheng Lian, insisted on waiting, though they couldn't provide a clear reason why.

"Trust the Commander? If the power of 'trust' worked, I’d be a Great General by now!"

"Old Song!" Hou Cheng grabbed the increasingly agitated Song Xian and urged, "That's enough, say less."

"What? Don't tell me you're being naive too, Old Hou?"

"No, but we can't be certain that the Commander is dead yet, can we?" Hou Cheng was indecisive.

"We can't go down the mountain to search for his body. By the time we know for sure he's dead, we’ll all be reunited in the underworld."

"That is true..." Hou Cheng wavered.

"Leave if you want, but I will never be a deserter!" Cheng Lian declared.

"Deserter? You’re just waiting for death! I won’t be a part of this, Song is leaving!"

In the stalemate, the withdrawal faction held the upper hand, but due to Cheng Lian's stubbornness, a split was inevitable. Just then, Wang Ling shouted:

"Hey—look there! In the castle, it looks like there’s a fire!"

"What?!"

The arguing group turned to look and indeed saw thick smoke billowing from within the fortress, rising toward the sky.

"Could the Commander have succeeded?!"

"This... how is this possible?"

In that short moment, they noticed that half the guards on the wall had vanished, presumably summoned to fight the fire.

"Quick, wake everyone up! Get them up!"

This sudden shift caused a stir among the men. Compared to the overjoyed Cheng Lian and his group, Song Xian, who had just been so insistent on leaving, now looked like a clown. His face flushed red, and he stubbornly retorted:

"What are you panicking about? It’s just a fire, it doesn't mean anything. It could be an accident."

"Exactly. You don't even have scaling ladders. Do you intend to climb the walls with your bare hands?"

The person with the most complex feelings was Jin Fangyan, who had spoken. He couldn't even decide whether he wanted the Han soldiers to win or lose. This conflicted stance made his perspective more objective: "Unless you can open the main gate, you won't be able to achieve anything."

"Open the gate? That’s impossible," Song Xian said firmly.

He was right. The operation of a gate in a fortress like this could not be handled by one person alone. It required both the operation of complex mechanisms within the gate tower and the removal of heavy internal bolts. Even if one had the strength, if it were that easy for a single person to operate, the castle would essentially be empty and open for anyone to come and go.

This was exactly why Song Xian insisted on retreating. He wasn't opposing out of spite; he knew clearly that even if Su Yao got in, it would be useless. He couldn't open the gate, and he certainly couldn't take the walls! It was nothing more than the reckless bravery of a young man.

However, before Song Xian could finish pouring his cold water on them, right before their eyes...

"The gate! The gate is opening!" Wang Ling exclaimed.

"How is this possible?!" Jin Fangyan stared in disbelief; he couldn't comprehend it.

"This... it couldn't be the Hu soldiers opening the gate themselves, could it?" Song Xian wondered.

And yet, that was exactly what was happening. They watched as the heavy doors slowly swung open, and dozens of Hu soldiers poured out.

For a moment, Song Xian felt his face burning with intense heat. "Could it be... does Commander Su know some kind of sorcery?"

"Haha, Old Song, your tongue is sharp—say a bit more, I love hearing it!" Cheng Lian laughed aloud, waving his sword. "Brothers, prepare to charge!"

Though they didn't know what had happened inside the city, they could not let this opportunity slip by. Opening the gate took time, and they were determined to seize every second to cross this road of death ahead of them.

Yes, a road of death. For them, the fire-lit path ahead remained fraught with mortal danger.