Morning arrived over the besieged capital. The imperial army had already surrounded the city completely throughout the previous day, yet not a single assault had been launched.
The walls remained untouched. Inside the command tent, the emperor of Yue sat around a large campaign map with a cup of warm wine in his hand. Across from him sat Jin Quan and General Bian, his two most trusted commanders.
Several wooden pieces rested upon the map, marking the city's walls, towers, and gates. The Emperor sighed. "We have surrounded the capital, now tell me how we're supposed to enter it."
General Bian rubbed his forehead. "A siege would at least take months." Jin Quan nodded. "A direct assault is even worse. Our cavalry is nearly useless against walls."
"The Crown Prince still has tens of thousands of defenders." The emperor slowly swirled the wine in his cup. He was thinking of a plan to capture this city, but it was not as easy as it first appeared.
The Emperor of Yue, Jin Quan, General Bian, and Shu Kang had spent the entire morning discussing a single question.
How could they breach the capital?
The city was surrounded, but being surrounded and capturing it were two entirely different matters. Shu Kang broke the silence. "What if I climb the eastern wall myself?"
General Bian immediately shook his head. "You are a Transcendent. You may actually succeed in reaching the battlements." Shu Kang remained expressionless.
"Then I carry all twenty Grandmasters with me and clear a path." He said, proving he follows the classical approach of kicking any problems Infront of him until they disappear.
"You may enter." General Bian admitted. "You may even kill dozens of defenders. But you cannot open the gates alone."
Shu Kang frowned. "And if I fight my way to the gatehouse?" He argued.
General Bian sighed. "Then the Crown Prince sends his own Grandmasters." The atmosphere grew heavy. "If he has enough of them waiting." General Bian continued quietly.
"They will surround you. Even a Transcendent cannot fight forever." The emperor of Yue let out a bitter chuckle before finishing the thought himself.
"Then this rebellion ends with my death."
The emperor said confidently. Because the moment the crown prince won the battle of the martial artist then he's won the war.
His men will come assassinate the defenceless emperor at night. Silence settled over the tent once again. No one objected. The eastern gate remained their only practical option.
It was also the plan with the greatest risk.
Outside the command tent, the morning camp bustled with activity as soldiers sharpened weapons, fed horses, and prepared for whatever orders coming.
A harsh caw suddenly echoed overhead.
Several soldiers instinctively looked toward the sky. A lone black crow descended through the air. "...A crow?"
Instead of circling aimlessly, it flew directly toward Fei, who stood quietly outside the tent. The bird landed neatly upon his shoulder as though it had returned to an old friend.
Fei calmly reached up and untied the small bamboo tube fastened beneath its leg. One nearby officer stared.
"What's that?" He asked.
"A message." Fei replied.
"From whom?" He asked.
"From my Master." Fei said.
"The Count?" He asked of confusion.
Fei simply ignored him without answering.
Ever since returning from the Northern Isles barely weeks earlier, Luo He had once again astonished everyone around him.
The northern tribes had relied upon messenger birds for generations, patiently training them through countless repetitions until they remembered specific routes.
Luo He had observed their methods for only a few days before remembering an ability he had nearly forgotten. Animal Taming.
Rather than forcing birds to remember roads, he simply communicated with them. He introduced a handful of crows to the faces of his trusted subordinates, asking only that they remember people instead of places.
The birds understood with astonishing ease. Those first crows then began teaching younger crows in turn. Within only a few days, an organized network of messenger birds had quietly come into existence.
What the northern tribes had perfected over generations, Luo He had refined in less than a week. Fei removed the rolled paper. Only six words were written.
'Open the gate. Enter the city.'
Nothing more. No explanation. No strategy. Just an order. Fei folded the letter and entered the command tent.
The Emperor looked up. "You have something to report?" He asked.
Fei gave a respectful bow. He did not kneel. He never did. That had been one of Luo He's earliest teachings.
"A man's dignity rests in his spine, not upon his knees. So only kneel when it benifits you, not because everyone else does so." And he never asked people to kneel before him as well. "A bow would do." He kept on saying.
Fei had never forgotten those words. "My Master has sent his orders." The Emperor rubbed his forehead. "What does that boy want this time?" He asked mildly offended.
The emperor was already too tired of Luo He's antics, he is not even going to hold Fei in regard for not falling to his knees.
"My Master orders us to take the capital today." General Bian frowned.
"Today?" He asked in confusion.
"Yes." Fei replied.
The Emperor sighed. "And how does he expect us to accomplish that?" The emperor asked. Fei answered without the slightest hesitation. "He says to open the gate." For a moment, nobody spoke.
General Bian blinked twice before letting out an incredulous laugh. "...Open it?"
"That's exactly what we've been discussing since dawn." He said proudly.
"Does he expect our horses to gallop through solid walls?" He said sarcasticly.
The Emperor couldn't help smiling helplessly.
"That fellow..." He sighed helplessly.
"I'm sitting here losing sleep over an impregnable fortress, while he's probably relaxing in the Jin Mansion, drinking tea with his wives, and casually sending me orders."
Fei remained completely expressionless.
"My Master has never issued an impossible order." The confidence in his voice wasn't blind faith. It was pure experience.
Every impossible task Luo He had ever assigned had somehow become possible. The Emperor looked at Fei for several long moments before slowly nodding. "Fair enough." He said.
"What exactly does he want you to do?"
The emperor asked.
"Open the gate." Fei said.
"And after that?" Duke Bian said.
"Ride into the city." General Jin said.
"That's all?" The emperor asked.
"Yes." Fei replied.
The Emperor slowly placed his wine cup upon the table. "Very well. If it's him, then I'll trust him."
Fei turned without another word. Outside he mounted Black Fang in one smooth motion. The enormous black stallion pawed the earth impatiently. Jin Quan immediately understood.
He lifted his sword high into the air. "Fourth Corps! Follow!" Without the slightest hesitation, Jin Quan's four thousand cavalry mounted their horses as one without question.
Not because the emperor had spoken.
But because Luo He had. The remaining thirteen thousand imperial soldiers exchanged puzzled looks. General Bian stepped outside the tent and frowned.
"They're actually moving..." The Emperor walked beside him and watched the four thousand cavalry thunder across the plain."Let's see what miracle that boy has prepared this time."
Black Fang accelerated like a streak of black lightning across the battlefield.
The wind roared past Fei's ears. Behind him, four thousand cavalry followed in perfect formation.
The defenders atop the eastern wall quickly noticed the approaching force.
"Enemy! Archers Prepare!"
Bows were raised. Arrows were drawn.
Before anyone could loose a single volley, Black Fang came to a sudden halt only a few paces before the enormous eastern gate.
Fei dismounted calmly. He didn't rush.
He didn't gather momentum. He simply walked the remaining distance. The defenders watched in confusion.
"What's he doing?" Soldiers frowned.
Fei stopped before the massive wooden gate reinforced with layers of iron. He slowly raised one fist. There was no roar.
No dramatic gathering of spiritual energy.
No exaggerated stance.
He simply threw an ordinary straight punch.
BOOM!
The earth violently trembled. And the deafening explosion echoed throughout the capital. The gate, which had stood firm against countless sieges, exploded into thousands of fragments.
Tower-thick wooden beams shattered like twigs. Heavy iron reinforcements twisted apart and were hurled through the air. Dust and splintered timber swallowed the entire entrance.
The shockwave alone threw nearby defenders from the battlements. Silence followed. As the dust slowly settled, the eastern gate no longer existed. Only an open road remained.
The defenders stood frozen. Every imperial soldier stared in complete disbelief. General Bian's mouth slowly fell open. Even the Emperor of Yue blinked several times before finally exhaling.
He looked toward the empty entrance where an unbreachable city gate had stood only moments before. Then he couldn't help laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"I spend an entire night discussing how to capture an impregnable fortress... He sends one crow, and the gate simply disappears." He drew his sword and pointed it toward the capital.
"The way is open! Advance!"
Only then did the remaining thirteen thousand imperial soldiers scramble onto their horses and charge after Jin Quan's Fourth Corps.
Now pouring through the shattered entrance toward the heart of the capital.
Hundreds of li away, Luo He remained completely aware of the commotion he had caused.
He was calmly enjoying tea with Jin Mulan and Ning Jia, while watching Lin play outside in the courtyard with Bing and Long.
Chatting with his wives as though commanding an emperor to seize a capital were no more troublesome than asking someone to open a door.