ALL NOVEL
Chapter 50: A Leap of Faith
【My host, are you there? Is it safe now?】
System 12345 fought its terrifying latency issue while enquiring about the Shu Yichao’s situation.
【What are you doing now?】
The screen flickered and froze on the sight of Shu Yichao galloping alone under the radiant sun. System 12345’s eyes twinkled with stars.
【Whew, it looks like you’re out of danger.】
【Wawww, my host! Who’s this dashing man on horseback! Many will fall heads over heels for you if you gallop into a city like that. Padam! Padam! I can already hear the beating hearts and excited screams; some might even faint!】
【Whew~ An Empire Bewitcher indeed!】
System 12345 lavished compliments on Shu Yichao as it made an eerily accurate prediction.
【You will stir a storm no matter where you go!】
…
The dust outside the city slowly approached.
Those in the coastal city didn’t pay any heed to it at the start, since it was just a single person galloping over. They reckoned that someone was just in a rush to settle their business.
The guard stationed at the gates yawned as he prepared to step forward to ask the person to stop when he came closer.
Seconds later, cold sweat rained from his forehead.
The guard furiously rubbed his eyes, thinking that he might be seeing things, but there was no mistake at all. A blood twin-headed eagle flag had indeed appeared at the horizon!
“NO!” He screamed in despair. “CLOSE THE—”
Shoosh!
Shu Yichao and his dashing white steed was faster than the guard had expected, passing the latter by in the blink of an eye. With a thrust of his spear, the guard’s words choked in his throat.
Galewind boasted an incredible speed of 400, after all.
It happened so fast that the other guards didn’t have time to react till their comrade had already collapsed on the floor. They belatedly took in his dashing face and the blood twin-headed eagle flag at the horizon—
“It’s the blood twin-headed eagle flag! IT’S THE KHITAN CAESARRRRRRR!”
“The Scourge of God is here!”
“It’s over, it’s over!”
Those near the city gates panicked. They screamed in fear while running in all directions.
A few of the braver guards stepped forward with their spears and tried to stab Shu Yichao off his steed.
“Don’t panic! He’s alone!”
“This is our chance to get rid of him!”
【Hehehe! What did I tell you, my host?】
System 12345 laughed gleefully.
【I told you everyone would be stunned by you the moment you enter a city!】
The screen was still frozen at Shu Yichao galloping outside the city, but the System could still perceive what was going on from its innate senses.
【Oh? My guess is still too conservative. Over half of the city is stunned by your beauty!】
【Well well, it can’t be helped. What can we do when my host is that good-looking?】
System 12345 chortled in glee.
【My host, you should take a walk around the city first. I’ll check the data in the meantime. Hmm, this city appears to be one of Venice’s colonies in the Balkans. Let me see if there are any capture targets here…】
“Fly, my steed! To the foe!”
Shu Yichao’s spear gushed forth like a soaring dragon, eliminating all the enemies at the city gates with ease. With this, he opened a road into the city for the Elite Horse Archers behind.
He sped down the streets, not bothering with the flustered civilians trampling on one another or the Venetian mercenaries trying to encircle him. No, he had a clear target in mind: the ships flying the golden lion flags at the port.
“Count, what do we do?!”
The servant panicked when he saw the blood twin-headed eagle flag rushing through the city. He anxiously turned to the count, hoping that the latter had a solution in mind.
However, the count’s brain had jammed up.
What the fuck is wrong with you, Khitans?! Granted that we’re the ones who made the first move, but shouldn’t you at least send some envoys first or something? Only lunatics draw their swords right away!
“Count! Count!”
The count only snapped out of it after the servant slapped him. He began racking his brain to figure out his next step.
Fighting it out with the Khitans?
Please, I only have a hundred soldiers. There’s no way I can defeat the Khitans with this many people.
Initiate a negotiation?
I can try that, but not now. The Khitans will slaughter my envoys before they even get close.
In the end, he shouted, “Gather the oarsmen! Have them row the boat to the sea, then we’ll send someone to negotiate with the Khitans. Tell everyone not to panic. The Khitans don’t have any ships yet, so we’ll be safe once we’re out in the sea…”
His subordinates quickly gathered the oarsmen lingering in the vicinity to row the ships away.
“Hurry up! Row my ship to the sea first!”
The oarsmen leaped into action. Bit by bit, the ship was rowed into the sea.
As he fled to safety, the count looked at the city’s tragic plight and felt like crying. Many of his businesses were operating here, and this incident surely spelled huge losses for him.
On top of that, he would no longer be able to climb the political ladder once the Senate learned that he, the newly appointed chief supervisor of this city, had lost this territory to the Khitans on the first day of his arrival.
The oarsmen who had run to the tavern didn’t even have time to drag their merrymaking mates out before Shu Yichao arrived at the scene.
Shu Yichao single-mindedly charged straight at the count’s boat like a rabid dog, not paying heed to anything else.
“Hm?” The count was commanding the ship when he noticed Shu Yichao’s lone figure and was taken aback. “He’s alone?”
A smile slowly emerged on the count’s lips.
All kinds of crates and goods were littered around the port, making it hard for a cavalryman to exploit their steed’s momentum to take down their enemies. In contrast, the count had over a hundred seamen on his side.
Surely a hundred men are enough to take down a lone Khitan Caesar! By then, even the provincial governor would be full of praise for me!
“Stop!” the count turned to the soldiers under him and ordered with a confident smile. “Go, and take down that audacious—wu!”
He nearly bit his tongue off trying to stop his words.
In the time it took for him to issue the command, nearly thirty of the oarsmen who hadn’t gotten onto a ship yet had already been massacred…
That’s not a human at all; that’s a monster! It’d take an entire army to take him down!
“Quick, row faster! Faster!” the count shouted in fright.
Even though the oarsmen on the port weren’t a match for Shu Yichao, they at least bought some time for them. The count’s ship was able to get a considerable distance away from shore.
Thinking that they were out of danger, the oarsmen on the ship began insulting Shu Yichao, who had stopped by the shore.
“Are you surprised, Khitan dimwit? We, Venetians, have ships!”
“What a useless oaf. You can’t even catch us!”
Some of them even took off their pants and shook their asses at Shu Yichao.
“…”
Are they scolding me right now?
Shu Yichao turned his sight to the ships that were still docked in the port. He pulled the reins, and his steed leaped onto the closest ship and began picking up pace.
“He’s able to charge even on a ship?”
The oarsmen were stunned.
Even humans wouldn’t have to tread carefully on the ships’ slippery deck lest they fall, let alone a galloping horse. It was inconceivable how the Khitan’s steed was unfazed by it!
And what in the world is he planning to do?
Wait a moment, he can’t be thinking of leaping here, is he? That’s impossible! That would be too big of a distance to cover… right?
The oarsmen soon got their answer.
Shu Yichao used the ship as a launching pad and soared across the sky as a silver silhouette.
“Trying to escape? A futile attempt!”
Bam!
Shu Yichao landed on the deck of the count’s ship, showing the Venetians that they should never underestimate him.