Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 284: One-Lady Army

Assassinating Ubalu itself was not difficult, but escaping unscathed was another matter.

At the beginning of the war, both Chi Li and Yue Hongling had taken the heads of leaders amidst their guards. Back then, defenses were lax, and the fights they fought were essentially duels. But after those assassinations, everyone had become much more vigilant.

Ubalu either stayed hidden in the well-guarded beast ring or traveled with an entourage of troops.

Beheading him was very much within their abilities, but escaping from a sea of soldiers afterward was a bit of an issue.

Batu believed that Yue Hongling and Zhao Changhe would not be able to pull it off without trading their lives, and Yue Hongling actually thought the same.

The assassins who carried out such operations were typically not expected to return alive. Even Jing Ke[1] declared that he would never return before setting off.

However, while this operation might prove difficult to someone on the Ranking of Man, what about someone on the Ranking of Earth?

If Black Tortoise, who was ranked second on the Ranking of Earth, was willing to act, the operation could be said to have a very high likelihood of success. It might not even warrant a mention by the Tome of Troubled Times, as it was expected of her to be capable of such actions.

Lady Three was not truly worried about the Tome of Troubled Times exposing her.

As Ying Five’s subordinate, Ying Five would never allow her to kill Ubalu and disrupt their search for the secret realm. If she were to kill Ubalu, she would have to wear a mask and do it as Black Tortoise.

But if Black Tortoise mysteriously appeared at Huangsha Market to assassinate Ubalu, any witnesses who saw that Black Tortoise was a woman would easily be able to deduce that she was Lady Three. She had been undercover for years, and she did not want all that time and effort to go to waste and have her identity as Black Tortoise be revealed.

So, although Lady Three had always wanted to kill Ubalu, she did not dare to act rashly. She kept on trying to convince others to do the dirty work for her, but no one was foolish enough to risk their life for nothing, leaving her at an impasse.

This time, however, things were different. When Zhao Changhe’s message reached Ying Five, she would not even need to wear a mask. She could kill Ubalu openly as Lady Three.

With the help of others, she would not even need to display her full strength, making it the perfect opportunity.

This little man is quite the genius, hehe.

At that moment, Ubalu was by the lake at the beast ring, surrounded by people.

“Yue Hongling actually appeared outside. This goes to show that the lake has nothing to do with the secret realm.” Ubalu was speechless. “Why was it called Black Tortoise Lake then? That only led to everyone being misled for so many years!”

If there was anyone from the south present, they would tell him that even Jinling had a Black Tortoise Lake and that names don’t necessarily mean anything.[2]

Even Lady Three, who was from the south, had been misled.

“Third Lady Yuan has coveted this lake for years, but it turns out that both of us are nothing but fools.” Ubalu sighed. “Too bad. Now she likely knows that this lake has no connection to the secret realm. I can’t use it to manipulate her anymore, and many things become impossible to do in the future....”

A subordinate standing nearby smiled and said, “Why not just capture her? The temple may not truly be protecting her; they’ve just been cooperating with her backers out of necessity to find the secret realm. Once it’s found, they’ll turn on her. In fact, now that the secret realm is confirmed to be in the mountains, this is the perfect time to turn on her.”

Ubalu’s eyes shone slightly. “That makes sense... but not now.”

“Hm?”

“Yue Hongling suddenly challenging Chi Li has caused the experts of the temple to rush out. My intuition is telling me that there’s something off about this. It feels like she’s a diversion. For now, we shouldn’t act rashly; we must move carefully.”

There was a reason Ubalu was entrusted with a leadership role by Timur. Clearly, he had a sharper sense for such things than Chi Li. As a military commander, his thinking differed from that of normal martial artists or combatants.

His subordinates shouted, “We swear to protect the commander with our lives!”

Ubalu laughed. “Once this blows over, I’ll show that bitch a thing or two. When the time comes, I’ll reward you all with her. There’ll be plenty to go for everyone!”

Just then, a subordinate rushed in to report, “Commander, Batu’s forces quietly departed last night. The camp’s empty, and we don’t know where they went.”

Ubalu was stunned. “There’s so many of them. How could they all have vanished overnight?”

He paced back and forth, frowning. “Investigate further. If they’re attacking other tribes, that’s one thing. But if they’re heading toward Yanmen, we must report to the khagan immediately and prepare to attack the Batu from the rear.”

No longer wanting to stay by the lake, he turned and left. “Let’s go to the military camp.”

Their military camp was just north of the beast ring, only a few arrows’ distance away. They would reach it just by turning the corner on the street.

Leaving the heavily guarded, enclosed beast ring, Ubalu was followed by hundreds of his personal guards, all of them riding swiftly toward the military camp.

The streets, once bustling with vendors, was now deserted. Shops were closed, and as hooves clattered along the street, the cold wind swept up scattered debris on the ground, creating an eerie and solemn atmosphere.

An enchanting figure slowly walked toward them from the end of the long street.

“Third Lady Yuan?” Ubalu’s mind raced. Before Lady Three could speak, he ordered, “Capture her!”

Seeing the charging soldiers, Lady Three was taken aback.

She had intended to stop him openly to “have a word with the general,” planning to make use of his lustful tendencies to have him get close to her and kill him then.

But instead of being driven by lust, he simply had his soldiers charge forward to capture her as soon as he saw her.

“Ubalu, you really are a piece of work.” Lady Three laughed wryly. “It seems that I came at the perfect time. If I had been any later, your troops would have surrounded my inn.”

She did not mind the approaching soldiers. She was meant to handle the battle, while Zhao Changhe would take Ubalu’s head.

On the long street, amidst the howling of the cold wind, a lone woman faced hundreds of soldiers and horses. The scene looked extremely bleak, and many who peeked from their windows could not help but sigh with pity for the woman who seemed like she was to face certain death... That was, until they saw what happened next.

The soldiers at the front had almost reached Lady Three. A soldier, grinning wickedly, threw out a noose to capture her.

Lady Three lazily stretched out her hand, catching the rope effortlessly, and then casually yanked it.

The soldier on the horse screamed as he was lifted off of his horse and into the air. Following that, he crashed into three or four other riders, causing chaos within the charging soldiers. In an instant, people were thrown off their horses and dust flew into the air.

Lady Three strolled into the midst of the soldiers as if she were walking through her own garden. She reached out and lightly tapped on the leg of one of the soldiers, which was hanging off the side of his horse.

Using some unknown technique, the force of her seemingly gentle touch severed the soldier’s leg clean off, and the soldier screamed in pain.

Her figure flashed, weaving through the horses like a ghost. Wherever she passed, screams followed, men fell from their horses, and horses bolted in chaos, turning the entire street into a tumultuous mess.

Hundreds of soldiers could not even lay a single finger on a single strand of her hair. She moved faster than the wind, her movements more elusive than a ghost’s. The more people and horses there were, the more chaos ensued. They crashed into each other and trampled everything in their path, unable to stop her.

Ubalu watched in utter disbelief.

The problem was not whether his hundreds of men could capture her or even stop her. It was how long they could last before she single-handedly slaughtered all of them!

All alone, she was overwhelming an entire unit of elite guards!

Ubalu felt a chill run down his spine. He could not help but wonder how he could have ever harbored lustful thoughts about such a terrifying woman.

Is she still human? She’s more like a daughter of Tngri!

Ubalu shouted sternly, “Sound the horn! Quickly!”

The guards directly around him snapped out of their stupor and blew the horns desperately.

The military camp opened, and thousands of troops charged toward Lady Three from behind her.

Lady Three pretended to make a dash, attempting to break through the blockade to get to Ubalu.

Ubalu was so frightened that he abandoned his horse and ran into a side alley, trying to bypass Lady Three and join the main army.

As long as they could delay Third Lady Yuan for a moment, he could get to the main army. He believed that no matter how terrifying she was, she could not take on tens of thousands of troops on her own.

If she could, what would even be the point of waging a war? I need to move a bit faster! Just a bit more and the army will surround her!

At that moment, however, a broad saber descended from above, striking the fleeing Ubalu.

Zhao Changhe, Scattering the Gods and Buddhas!

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

Clang!

Ubalu drew his blade to block the attack, using the force to leap away.

As expected, he isn’t just at the sixth or seventh layer of the Profound Gate! He’s an expert at the ninth layer of the Profound Gate!

Their blades clashed, producing a thunderous explosion that drowned out the chaos of the hundreds of soldiers behind them.

Ubalu was shocked again. This Zhao Changhe is actually so strong?!

Even as a warrior at the ninth layer of the Profound Gate, Ubalu found himself only evenly matched against Zhao Changhe. In fact, he even felt that he was slightly outmatched.

Fortunately, he did not need to just stay and wait to be killed. Just three more steps and he would have made it out of the alley.

Just three more steps and the army will have closed in, and this will all be over!

Ubalu laughed as he ran. “Too bad, you don’t have another Third Lady Yuan!”

“Is that so?” Zhao Changhe smiled slightly. He did not argue with Ubalu. He simply stomped the ground and charged forward, his Dragon Bird slashing at Ubalu’s back.

“It’s useless!” Ubalu swung his blade back wildly, and their blades clashed once more. He once again used the force to let himself be flung away. At this point, half of his body was already out of the alley.

But then, a long sword descended from the sky, the killing intent behind it so intense that it seemed to penetrate into his very bones.

Ubalu was horrified. Who is it now?!

Caught in mid-air, with no ground to draw on his strength from, along with Zhao Changhe relentlessly following up with another attack to block his path, Ubalu found himself with no way out.

Instinctively, he swung his blade to block the incoming strike from above, but he missed.

The sword and Zhao Changhe’s saber were moving in completely different ways. The sword was incredibly agile and changed direction mid-air. Then, it sliced across Ubalu’s throat.

At the same time, Zhao Changhe’s Dragon Bird slashed heavily into his chest, splitting him in half.

“I figured you might be at the ninth layer. Why would I try to kill you alone without a backup plan?” Zhao Changhe sighed as he lowered his saber. “My brother has been lurking in the beast ring for a month; he’s already gotten quite moldy from all that waiting.”

The sword light faded, revealing Han Wubing smiling slightly.

Lady Three, having broken through the military formation, arrived next to them like the wind. “Let’s go!”

As tens of thousands of troops rushed toward the alley where their commander was, the three assailants had already vanished.

The only thing left behind in the alley was Ubalu’s body, which had been beheaded and split in half.

Timur’s most trusted general in the western frontier had been killed, and the Tome of Troubled Times did not even disclose it.

A hundred li away, Batu’s army advanced steadily.

Before long, a scout rushed in with urgent news. “Khan! Ubalu was assassinated! Huangsha Market is in chaos!”

“Zhao Changhe is really reliable as an ally,” muttered Batu. Then, he took a deep breath. “Speed up! Head straight for Yanmen!”

1. Jing Ke was a wandering vigilante during the late Warring States period of ancient China. He was infamous for his failed assassination attempt on King Zheng of the Qin state. ☜

2. This is just a reminder that Jinling is modern-day Nanjing, and it does have a Black Tortoise Lake or Xuanwu Lake. ☜