After Scheming Against the Enemy Nation’s Emperor, I Got Pregnant Chapter 86

Zhang Kui raised his double axes and roared, “I will!”

His voice boomed like thunder. He glared at the others. “None of you better try to take this from me! I’ll chop that little b*stard Duan Wang in half with one swing!”

Xiao Yun laughed loudly. “Good! General Zhang is determined to go—truly valiant. Then let General Zhang take the vanguard!”

Zhang Kui was overjoyed and clasped his fists. “This subordinate accepts the order—I’ll leave nothing of them behind!”

…

Inside the city, in the main command residence, a deputy general was reporting on the situation outside to Jiang Huaichu. Seeing Jiang Huaichu glance repeatedly toward the city gate, clearly distracted, he joked, “Wangye, if you really want to go take a look, I’ll take you there. Sitting in the command room all day isn’t ideal either.”

Jiang Huaichu paused, looked away from the gate, and stared at his own belly. He replied calmly, “I don’t want to. Continue your report.”

…

Outside the city, Zhang Kui led several hundred cavalrymen across the bridge over the moat, boldly entering the city gate. Seeing Nanruo citizens watching him, he even returned their gazes with an intimidating glare, frightening many into backing away.

Behind him at the bridge, Xiao Yun stood lazily, eyes full of disdain and composure, exuding confidence that was hard not to believe in.

Xie Zhe, who hadn’t managed to get a word in earlier, finally found a moment to speak. He moved in close to Xiao Yun and asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, how are you so certain there’s no ambush in the city?”

“I’m not certain,” Xiao Yun replied matter-of-factly.

“Not certain?!” Xie Zhe almost shouted.

“Nope,” Xiao Yun said with a straight face. “Which is why you didn’t see me taking the lead.”

“…” Xie Zhe was silent for a long moment, then asked, “Then General Zhang…?”

“Well, he insisted on going,” Xiao Yun said lazily. “I couldn’t hurt his feelings by refusing, could I?”

Xie Zhe’s mouth twitched. “…But what if there is an ambush and he gets captured?”

“That’s exactly why I shouldn’t go,” Xiao Yun said idly. “If he gets captured, I can negotiate to get him back. If I get captured, do you think your lot has the brains to rescue me?”

“…” Xie Zhe’s mouth twitched uncontrollably for a long while. “Your Majesty is…wise.”

“Seriously though, there’s always risk,” Xiao Yun continued with a grin. “No such thing as a pie falling from the sky. It’s just a gamble. If we win, we profit big. If we lose, we figure out how to get him back. Anyway, better him than me. If he wins, he earns glory. If he loses, suffers a bit, I’ll compensate him—promotion, wealth, no problem. I’d never abandon him.”

Xie Zhe took a long time to digest that and sighed.

Something that could’ve sounded proper, always came out sounding so…shameless from His Majesty.

“I still think there’s no ambu—”

Before he could finish, Zhang Kui spurred his horse and charged into the city, swinging his twin axes.

Nanruo civilians stood on both sides, looking at him with strange expressions.

Before he could react, the ground beneath him suddenly collapsed. His horse’s legs buckled, and it fell into a pit. Zhang Kui was thrown off and landed in the ditch, nearly hitting himself with his own axe.

The cavalrymen behind him also fell in, and disguised Nanruo soldiers posing as civilians pounced and captured them.

Outside the city, Xiao Yun stared at the scene in shock. “D*mn… is this still that high-and-mighty Duan Wang?!”

Xie Zhe: “…”

Xiao Yun: “So dirty! I’m starting to wonder if I came up with this trap… This is really dirty!”

Xie Zhe: “…”

Xiao Yun: “Did they change commanders? This doesn’t feel like Duan Wang’s handiwork at all.”

Great Ning soldiers stood stunned. The noisy crowd outside the city instantly fell silent. Nanruo soldiers were elated and full of morale.

Xiao Yun blinked and quickly composed himself, expression darkening.

The Great Ning troops finally recovered and started cursing the enemy. The Nanruo soldiers shot back, and soon a chorus of insults filled the air again.

Meng Heng stepped up, his face grim. “Your Majesty, there’s an ambush in the city. We should retreat for now and find a way to recover General Zhang.”

Victory or defeat on the battlefield was normal. Nothing was decided until the final moment. One bad decision couldn’t shake the immense authority Xiao Yun had built over the years.

Besides, Nanruo and Great Ning weren’t at a point of total war yet. They wouldn’t kill Zhang Kui—he’d definitely be kept for negotiation. His life wasn’t in danger.

Xiao Yun sneered, “Retreat? General Zhang already cleared the traps for us. If we retreat now, how can we face him?!”

The generals were stunned for a moment, then suddenly overjoyed, thinking to themselves how foolish they had been—nearly falling into the enemy’s trap.

Others, when ambushed, would panic and immediately order a retreat to regroup. But now that the traps had already been sprung, if they didn’t advance now, when would they?

His Majesty was still the clearest-headed among them.

Xiao Yun watched coldly.

He didn’t believe in this kind of trick. Wasn’t it clear that Duan Wang was trying to force him to retreat? But being tricked once, Duan Wang surely wouldn’t expect him to advance again after falling into a second ambush, right?

This was the perfect opportunity to press the attack.

Another junior officer stepped forward to request orders. After Xiao Yun gave his approval, the officer led several dozen cavalry across the bridge, charging into the city, carefully avoiding General Zhang’s pit, heading straight for the Nanruo soldiers.

Then, the horse’s hooves stumbled.

His expression changed dramatically. A sense of dread surged in his heart. He yanked the reins with all his might, but it was no use—the ground ahead caved in, revealing another hidden pit, and he fell in.

Outside the city, Xiao Yun watched with wide eyes as the once-confident junior officer vanished beneath the earth. After a long stunned silence, he muttered:

“…What the f*ck.”

He had worn countless expressions of disbelief in his life, but never one as intense as this.

How could someone know exactly what he was thinking? As if they were laying traps precisely in step with his thoughts?

Just enough. Not too much. Not too little. If he had hesitated one step more or one step less, he would have won. But they had predicted him with perfect precision, anticipating his every move.

Once again, the Great Ning soldiers outside the city were dumbfounded.

Two consecutive losses—Xiao Yun’s fury boiled over. He sneered coldly.

He’d never been superstitious. The Duan Wang might have caught him twice, but did he really think he’d retreat after two ambushes?

However many pits he dug, Xiao Yun would send people to fill them—again and again—until there were no more left to fall into. Then he’d crush them entirely.

For the first time, Xiao Yun took Duan Wang seriously. He sneered and asked coldly: “Any more volunteers—”

But his face suddenly changed.

“I request to go!”

“I request to go!”

Countless generals stepped forward, fearless and determined.

Yet Xiao Yun’s expression darkened. He said nothing for a long while. Those around him were filled with unease.

Finally, he turned to Xie Zhe and asked solemnly: “Based on my character, isn’t it true that no matter how many times this happens, I’d never retreat but instead keep pressing forward to catch the enemy off guard?”

Xie Zhe hesitated. Xiao Yun’s past military strategies had never followed any pattern. But based on their twenty years of friendship, he thought for a moment and said, “Most likely, yes.”

The moment the word “yes” left his lips, Xiao Yun’s expression turned dark and strange—an unsettling mix of rage, shame, disbelief… and glee.

After two seconds of silence, Xiao Yun said: “Retreat.”

He threw down those two puzzling words, put on his helmet, mounted his horse, and rode back to camp without another word.

….

Inside the command tent, Zhang Kui’s sworn brother Dong Lu had red-rimmed eyes. “Why is His Majesty retreating?! The traps have already been triggered! If we retreat now, won’t we be losing both soldiers and face?”

Xiao Yun looked at the group of generals who had come in, all unwilling to accept the retreat, and said calmly, not angry at all, “Do you all want to throw yourselves in as well?”

The generals were stunned, their anger pausing. After a few seconds, someone asked blankly, “Your Majesty, what do you mean?”

“It’s complicated, so I’ll make it short,” Xiao Yun rubbed his forehead. “Someone in that city knows me inside and out, like a parasite in my gut.”

“That means every decision I make based on my usual thought patterns is exactly what they want—every one is a mistake.”

The generals were stunned. After a long silence, someone finally asked, “How could this be?”

Xiao Yun pressed his temples harder. “Anyway, there’s at least a dozen pits in there, maybe more. If you don’t believe me, the city gates are still open—go try for yourselves. But if you fall in, I’m not rescuing you.”

“I’ll still try to get Zhang Kui and the others back.”

The generals looked at one another, and finally accepted the decision and left.

Once the generals were gone, Xie Zhe came in, watching Xiao Yun carefully and asking in a low voice: “How could this happen?”

Xiao Yun had never suffered such a defeat—not like this, being led by the nose.

Now that only Xiao Yun and Xie Zhe remained in the tent, the once calm and composed emperor instantly dropped his façade. He pulled a pure white handkerchief from inside his robe, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it over and over.

“F*ck that little b*tch Xie Caiqing is in there! I knew I shouldn’t have fallen in love like some idiot! Thinking with my dick, telling him everything—he almost stripped me naked! H*ll, he did strip me naked! Mystery? Depth? Dignity? Gone! All gone! D*mn it!! He saw through me completely!”

“Aghhh!! How dare he lead me around like a puppet!!”

“…” Xie Zhe watched the usually elegant emperor now stomping around like a three-year-old, overcome by rage, and felt a thousand complicated emotions.

“Godd*mn it—he’s good. Learned everything about me in secret, and now he’s helping Nanruo and Duan Wang, teaming up to screw me over! No wonder Duan Wang fights just like me! That b*stard stole my playbook and switched sides! Became Duan Wang’s sweet little helper!”

“No wonder Duan Wang won’t hand him over! He’s hiding in that fortress at Yeming Pass! I spent half a month getting eaten by mosquitoes trying to find him, and he’s just sitting in there, not even bothering to come out!”

“He’s probably in there right now laughing at me with Duan Wang! Aghhh how could anyone be like this—when I find him…” Xiao Yun took a deep breath, “I’m going to… I’m going to f*ck him to death!”

“Yeah! That’s right! I’ll f*ck him to death! I’ll lock him up, make him my little slave, and if I ever show him a shred of kindness again—I’m the biggest idiot alive!!”

“…” Xie Zhe watched Xiao Yun rant and rave, solving his problems through a mixture of emotional breakdown and self-directed pep talk. One benefit of being close to Xiao Yun, he thought, was that the man never needed comforting—he’d always work out his next move on his own, though whether it was the right move… was another matter.

Xiao Yun stared at the filthy handkerchief on the ground, so dirty its original color was barely visible. It was as if he could see Xie Caiqing being tormented in every way imaginable, crying and begging for mercy—finally, he felt a little bit better. A flash of inspiration struck him; after a few moments of silence, he suddenly became spirited and eager, and let out a snort of laughter:
“Does he really think he can see through me that easily? What he saw was merely the small bit I let him see on the surface. And now he’s feeling smug about it? Hah—I’m about to show up right in front of him without him suspecting a thing, catch him completely off guard, and make him see just how mysterious, unfathomable, and powerful his master truly is.”