Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part V - Mistress of Hidden Night City: 92. Pieces on the Board

"Do you see it?" asked the Seventh Prince, narrowing his eyes.

"Too easy," grunted Murong Yan.

"You want to make a bet?" Murong Bo pursed his lips in speculation. "If you can't shoot it, I want meat and good wine..."

The Seventh Prince smirked.

"Sure, but I want it alive and shot through the right wing...Still want to bet?"

"Alive? At that height...?" Murong Bo asked and sucked in his breath, but his lips twitched. "Mnnnnn...." he muttered noncommittally.

"That's fine, but don't regret it, your Highness..." said Murong Yan, a grin spreading over his determined face.

Without stopping his horse, he easily drew the giant jade and ebony bow to full draw, aiming at the speck crossing the sun. Pausing only for a moment, he suddenly loosed the arrow without even a flourish, watching it whizz away on its path with only a small grunt.

A few moments later, there was a high-pitched shriek as the arrow connected, shattering the wing of the eagle that was now twisting and tumbling as it fell from the sky.

The Seventh Prince squinted, following the direction of the plummeting creature.

Luo....

That single character, combined with the account books of Gao Dairen, had revealed a rather peculiar circumstance. Goods and gold from men who traded for Luo Yi Tian went West, disappeared and what came back were men. At first it had only been a few with each caravan, but Ashina Atil had grown impatient. Hiding in plain sight, about one third of Ashina Atil's army had entered into Tiansheng in the last half year. The question remained as to where the main force would make their move.

Based on information from Lao Bai, the action in the northwest was probably a feint. Although Xiyu's soldiers had overrun the outer edges of the territory with fearsome speed, Lao Bai had confirmed that the force consisted mainly of mounted tribal warriors. With their speed and the element of surprise, it had been enough to create panic and the impression of a real attack. It had been an interesting move by Ashina Atil, but Zhao Ling Xian was also no stranger to tactics, and he was willing to gamble that this was not the main event.

In fact, his little cat had not been wrong to wonder what the elite guards of the Anxi army had been doing in the capital: if Ashina Atil had split his forces, so had Zhao Ling Xian. Even if the numbers were still heavily weighted to Xiyu's side of things, the main part of the action would be on their own turf, with its own advantages.

Perhaps his ancestors were rolling in their graves wondering why he had allowed invaders so deep into the center of the kingdom, but Zhao Ling Xian had his own way to deal with them.

Coming back to the matter at hand, the Seventh Prince leaned casually in the saddle as his horse twisted under him. He smiled grimly looking in the direction of the fallen eagle.

"If I'm not wrong that's Ashina Atil's bird. Retrieve it for me...Is everything ready?"