Loser System and Berserker Me

Chapter 133: Night of Unease

It had previously gone over the vice city lord’s head, but Asudo’s reminder made him aware of something.

Those people had concealed themselves well, and they came from a variety of backgrounds too, be it Sogdia, Turgesh, Khotan, Shule, or Boli. They were dressed as merchants, civilians, nomads, and herders, and their disguises were convincing—that could have been their primary occupation…

But they had revealed a fatal opening.

There were too many youths among them! What else could they be up to if not causing trouble?

“The city lord was right. It’s only been a short time, but someone is already getting restless,” the vice city lord said with a sigh.

He knew what his son was getting at, and he felt like he had already grasped the truth.

So many sentry posts wouldn’t lie at the same time. A Tang army must really be making its way toward Shule.

Some Tang must be using some method to rally an army. They must have found a mage to cause a phenomenon to lure the city lord and her army away. At the same time, they secretly slipped some of their men into the city to spy on their movements.

That would lay the foundation for them to claim the city once the bulk of their army arrived!

“Tsk, I nearly got fooled. The person behind this plan has some brains,” the vice city lord sneered.

He realized that the plan might have worked if not for his son alerting him. Once Shule fell in the hands of the Tang, it would be yet another decade of bitter war!

He still remembered those white-haired veterans of the Anxi army. Their Tibetan army had to pay a heavy price to bring those tenacious bastards down. If the Tangs were to occupy a city and use it as their fortress once more…

He dared not even imagine the consequences!

That won’t do. We can’t lose this city!

“Take note of their movements,” he quickly called his aide over and instructed. “Tell our soldiers to prepare themselves. It’s time to go on a massacre.”

The vice city lord paced around the city wall as he tried to figure out a countermeasure.

“We need to deal with the spies in the city first. Just get rid of all the suspicious ones; this isn’t the time to be fussing over evidence. After purging all unstable elements within Shule, we’ll look at the situation and deal with the Tangs accordingly.”

It would be free merit for them if they could win the battle, or else they would just have to guard the city till the city lord returned. The Tangs would surely fall in defeat if they launched a pincer attack from both sides!

“Father, that won’t do!” Asudo hurriedly dissuaded his father upon learning that the latter intended to go on a massacre. “You’d be alarming the enemy! It may look like a safe move on the surface, but this will make things highly disadvantageous for us in the long run!”

“Go on,” the vice city lord said.

He felt inclined to listen to his son’s viewpoint, knowing that the latter had a better head.

Asudo nodded before slowly deciphering the situation for the vice city lord, “The chances are that we won’t be able to capture all the spies in the city if we make a move now. Even if we get some of them, that might not be enough to intimidate the others to lie low. If anything, the deaths of their comrades might harden their determination.

“And if we fail to capture all the spies before the Tang army arrives, with those spies wreaking havoc on the inside and the Tang army threatening our city walls…”

Asudo didn’t continue on, but the vice city lord already knew what he was getting at.

“That makes sense, but…” the vice city lord asked with a frown, “Asudo, you completely overlooked the city lord and her army. The Tang army may be formidable, but they will be crushed once the city lord returns. Or do you think that the city lord has already…”

“Father, I didn’t say that,” Asudo replied with a smile, “but don’t you think that we should prepare for the worst?”

“…” The vice city lord fell silent.

Indeed. If the Tang army can suddenly appear out of nowhere, it’s definitely possible for a mishap to have befallen the city lord too.

“What do you think we should do?” the vice city lord asked.

“It’s simple.” Asudo chuckled. “We’ll go fishing.”

…

Shule was one of Great Tang’s four towns in Anxi, but for some reason, a tense and heavy atmosphere had settled in the city tonight. There were no anomalies, but everyone keenly sensed the brewing storm.

Most houses closed their doors and windows.

In one of the residences, a white-haired man solemnly put on the clothes he had stowed away for a long time. Then, he led his nephews into a secret chamber. In there was an altar filled with their ancestral tablets.

A couplet was written with powerful brush strokes by the sides of the altar.

Descendants of the Han taking on barbarians’ name—shameful!

Sons of the Great Tang must restore their homeland—never forget!

The old man walked up to the altar, kneeled down, and kowtowed loudly to the ancestral tablets. He hit his head so hard that it immediately bruised.

“Ancestors!” he cried with a hoarse voice, “Your unfilial descendant, Zeng Lu, is here to pay respects to you. For decades, we had been forced to take on barbarian names, speak the tongue of the barbarians, learn the barbarians’ culture…

“We did all these just to survive as lowly ants. Our lives had been no different from that of livestock! We could only speak our Han tongue, don our Han clothes, and offer incense to our ancestors in the dead of the night…

“How ridiculous is that? How humiliating is that?!”

The old man wiped off his tears before continuing on, “We don’t want to keep our heads low anymore. There has been an opening in Shule’s defense in recent days. We have liaised with the people of the other races to strike at the Tibetan. Tonight, we shall strike and restore glory to Great Tang!

“Ancestors, please look after us! Forgive us if we fail to return and pay respect to all of you!”

With that, the old man stepped forward with his juniors and offered an incense stick to the altar before leaving the room.

They wrapped a piece of cloth around their heads and picked up their spears, bows, and arrows before walking out with resolute footsteps.

Moments later, they disappeared under the cover of the night.

…

“What’s that sound?”

A few patrolling Tibetan guards suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.

“Who is it?!” they questioned.

“It’s us,” the other party replied. “We’re here to change shifts with you.”

“Ah?” The Tibetan guards shone their torches over to take a closer look. The other party was indeed wearing clothes similar to theirs. That put their hearts at ease. “You’re early, unlike those fellows yesterday. They were so wishy-washy that I…”

The Tibetan guard was blinded by a brilliant flash of light before he could finish his words.

Shoosh!

Blood splattered.

“What are you doing?!”

“Wait a moment, you people…”

The Tibetan guards realized that the few standing in front were normal, but there was something amiss about the faces of those standing behind.

“This is bad! The Tangs have rebelled!”

That exclamation signaled the horns of rebellion.

Countless figures with white cloths wrapped around their heads, dressed in armor and holding weapons and torches in their hands, rushed out from the streets, alleys, houses, and taverns. Among them were the Tangs, the Sogdians, the Turgeshs, the Khotanese, Shules, and Bolis…

These were the people who had been enslaved by the Tibetans and had suffered much under their tyranny. Their eyes blazed with the flames of vengeance.

“Kill them!”

“Kill those bastards!”

They howled loudly as if venting the hatred that had built up over the years.

The city blazed with raging flames. Cries of agony, metallic clashing of weapons, and the whirring of spells filled the city.

“These damned slaves!”

The vice city lord stared at the huge commotion that had overtaken Shule in shock. He had already made preparations according to his son’s advice, so this rebellion wouldn’t pose a huge problem; they were just waiting for all the troublemakers to spring forth before eliminating them in a single swoop.

Who could have thought that the commotion was bigger than they had expected?!

“But it’s fine.”

The vice city lord had stationed troops, including mages and war slaves, at the city’s critical areas, which meant that the rebels wouldn’t be able to deal significant damage.

These rebels were no different from fish thrashing in a net. Once they reeled in the net and dragged them to shore, these fishes would slowly suffocate to death!