Loser System and Berserker Me

Chapter 215: On the City Walls

The old man knew right away that he had made a grievous slip-up.

“Hmph!” Sotri Bohey sneered. “Admitting to it on your own accord.”

“…You!!” Realizing that he had fallen for his son’s trick, the old man shot to his feet, only to be immediately held down by the Tibetan soldiers.

“Drag them down to the prison!”

“Yes, sir!”

After the Tibetan soldiers arrested everyone in the manor, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the courtyard. The arrogant Sotri Bohey quickly kneeled and greeted, “Holy Envoy!”

“You have done well,” the black shadow said. “You have both wits and decisiveness. It’s only a matter of time before you become one of the pillars of our Tibetan Empire.”

“I’m grateful for your compliment, Holy Envoy!” Sotri Bohey’s face glowed in delight.

“Take this.” The black shadow took out an edict. “This is an order from the Tsenpo herself. From this day on, you’re the general of the Lionheart Army.”

The Lionheart Army was a formidable army comprising outstanding youths picked from households in the nearby provinces. The Tsenpo must have a high opinion of him if he was picked to become the general of such an army.

He could already see the bright future ahead! Who knows? He might even rise to become the Tibetan Empire’s next prime minister!

After Sotri Bohey gleefully left, the Holy Envoy quietly chuckled.

“Pitting the Tangs against the Tangs; I’m in awe of the Tsenpo’s wisdom. What a vicious tactic to crush the enemy’s morale.

“Hmph! Shazhou’s Shu Yichao? Anxi’s ghost horsemen? Do you think that you are saving your brethren? What a pity. I don’t think they agree with you.”

The Holy Envoy looked forward to seeing how those demons would react when they saw the Tangs cussing them out from the city walls.

He had experience dealing with vengeful ghosts; those were beings driven by their unquenchable resentment. Once their resentment vanished, they would dissipate out of existence.

“I should continue investigating Shazhou’s Shu Yichao for now.”

There were many conflicting rumors out there.

Some claimed that Shu Yichao was a ghost who had possessed his mother’s corpse, but the letter they had intercepted from Old Man Suo disputed that. In the letter, Old Man Suo feigned to be a mother writing to his son, wanting to take him back to take care of him.

According to the information provided by Sotri Bohey, the Suo Clan had been secretly providing the Shu army with resources.

This was perplexing.

The person whom Old Man Suo wanted to take care of should be Shu Chuanfeng’s son, but that would also mean that Shu Yichao was alive.

“What a headache.”

Even so, the Holy Envoy was confident that it was only a matter of time before he uncovered the truth. Old Man Suo might refuse to speak, but the other Suo Clansmen might not be as tight-lipped. Through interrogation and torture, they might just obtain vital clues to the mystery.

【EHH?!】

System 12345 stared at the map.

【How are those two fellows so close to each other? My host, this isn’t good!】

System 12345 exclaimed.

【Sotri Bohey? I remember that fellow appears in Ballad of the Sand Desert too. Let me quickly search it up… Found it!】

【Yup! Sotri Bohey, born of a foreign race, is a young warrior blessed with brawn and wits. Despite the wariness of the empire’s nobles, he slowly won others over through his loyalty. He accrued military accomplishments and eventually brought generations of peace to the desert.】

【He is deeply in love with the Deer Girl, but he buries it in his heart and quietly watches over her instead…】

【I knew it!】

System 12345 howled in anger.

【It’s a love rival! And the two of them are going to meet soon…】

System 12345 began to panic.

【This isn’t good. Sotri Bohey has a straightforward personality that appeals to the candid Uyghurs, which is how he became rivals-cum-friends with the intelligent and brave Chongde Khan.】

Is my host going to simultaneously make enemies out of Sotri Bohey and the Chongde Khan? That will be tough to deal with even if he has a bunch of loyal female capture targets on his side.

And it’s obviously much better to be a person’s devoted lover than to become a member of someone’s harem.

Looks like my host will have to take forceful measures!

【My host, I’ll indicate their locations for you! Chase them!!!】

…

At Shazhou…

“You aren’t allowed in here.”

“Audacious!”

Exclamations echoed from a manor.

“Hm?”

Sotri Bohey, who was busy organizing Shazhou’s military force, raised his head and saw his maid rushing in, gasping for air.

“Bad news, general! A mysterious woman has barged into the manor, demanding to meet you! We tried but we couldn’t stop her.”

“Who’s so bold as to dare trespass on military grounds?!” Sotri Bohey roared.

A beautiful figure entered his line of sight.

“Jinyu?” Sotri Bohey was momentarily stunned before he turned to the maid and roared, “Insolent! She’s our esteemed guest! She can go wherever she wants. How dare the likes of you stop her? Kneel!”

The astounded maid hurriedly kneeled and kowtowed till her forehead started bleeding.

Ignoring the maid, the Deer Girl stepped forward with tearful eyes and said, “Brother Suo, I have caused the deaths of so many people. I was planning to seek refuge, but little did I know…”

She became so choked up with emotions that she couldn’t continue speaking.

The sight of his crush tearing up left Sotri Bohey flustered, but he awkwardly stood by the side, not knowing how he could console her. Only when the Deer Girl finished recounting what had happened at Yizhou did he find something to console her.

“Jinyu, it isn’t your fault,” he said firmly. “You don’t have to take responsibility for the actions of those demons. Those demons wouldn’t have spared those kind souls even if you hadn’t gone to Yizhou. I believe Yizhou’s populace in the afterlife will be relieved to learn that you, the Desert Fairy, have survived that ordeal.”

“Is that true?” the Deer Girl murmured in uncertainty.

“Of course!” Sotri Bohey smacked his chest confidently. “Jinyu, you’re too kind. The Anxi Protectorate-General is a monster. He’s an aggregation of the world’s resentment; he was born in this world to slaughter! Something like that won’t listen to reason. The only thing he knows is bloodshed!

“Rest assured, Jinyu. The Tsenpo has bestowed me the commanding rights of the elite Lionheart Army. I’ll aid you in slaying that demon and avenging the innocent Yizhou populace!”

“Thank you, big brother Suo.” The Deer Girl lowered her head shyly.

“I’m doing this because I want to.” Sotri Bohey turned his head away. “You can look for me whenever you’re in a quandary. I… want to be your pillar of support.”

“Mm,” the Deer Girl shyly replied.

The two of them fidgeted on the spot.

Time seemed to have frozen in this instant, but it was quickly shattered by the cries of the guards outside.

“General, the demons are here!”

“Prepare for battle!” Sotri Bohey shouted. He turned to the Deer Girl and quietly said, “Jinyu, I’ll be heading off first.”

“Mm,” the Deer Girl softly replied. “Brother Suo, you must be careful. Those demons are terrifying.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t die easily. I still have to protect you for a lifetime.”

With that, Sotri Bohey confidently made his way to the city walls. When he reached the top and saw the fighting happening outside, he suddenly felt a surge of vertigo.

“General!!!”

Horror could be seen on the Tibetan soldiers’ faces.

It was a gross misrepresentation to say that their enemy was an undead army; it looked more like a flood of undead that could drown the entire Yizhou!

Before the Tangs’ undead army, the Tibetan soldiers felt like they were standing before a roaring river. Even the slightest waves could drag them into its rapid currents and devour them for good.

But Sotri Bohey remained undeterred.

He roused the troops’ morale with a shout, “Brothers, do not fear! Don’t forget that right behind us are our parents, our wives, and our children! We must fight to our dying breath for their sake. Let’s show those demons what we, the sons of Yizhou, are capable of!”

“Long live our general!”

The Tibetan soldiers were skeptical, but the Lionheart Army responded resoundingly.

“We shall live and die with the city!”