"Old man, rob the horses. The ones who know what's good for you should get off the horse and scram, or else it's your lives!" When the city guards still couldn't figure out why Ye Lang and the others were charging towards them, Ye Lang brandished a horse knife he had somehow obtained, exuding a full bandit vibe.
"..."
Am I being hunted or are we the ones hunting him? Is this kid confused, or am I the one who doesn't understand the situation?
Furthermore, is he really here to steal horses?
"Hehe, if you want to die, then I'll grant your wish!" Ye Lang took out something the size of a basketball, not revealing what was inside, and threw it directly at them.
Escape...
At first, the city guards' intention was to avoid it first. Everyone knew that whatever was in Ye Lang's hand could be something very strange.
But after a while, they found the object had no reaction. After turning a few times on the ground, it stopped!
"What on earth is that?" Everyone's attention was focused on it, but they didn't approach, maintaining their distance.
Meanwhile, Ye Lang smiled faintly. This was the effect he wanted. He quickly drew a small alchemy array in the air with one hand and then imprinted it on the thing.
"Dad, grandpa, close your eyes!" Although they didn't know what Ye Lang was up to, both Ye Yi and his son immediately closed their eyes. After closing their eyes, they felt a strong flash in front of them!
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
In an instant, there were continuous cries of misery, filling the ears of Ye Yi and his son. They were now waiting for Ye Lang's words, wondering if they could open their eyes.
"It's okay, we can leave now!" Ye Lang's voice rang out. When Ye Yi and his son opened their eyes, they found that the city guards ahead were all covering their eyes, looking very distressed. Some were still on horseback while others had fallen to the ground.
Clearly, the thing Ye Lang had just thrown was a flash bomb. It was as big as a basketball, and those who were staring at it were lucky to have avoided blindness. Temporary blindness was inevitable.
Some might find it strange that if flash bombs were used, wouldn't the horses also be affected, making it ineffective? But horses would not be affected because their eyes were covered, so they would not be afraid!
As for the others behind, thanks to Zhen Xiaoyan's reminder, no one was injured. When Zhen Xiaoyan saw the thing, she already knew what Ye Lang was up to.
This thing was once prepared by Ye Lang for her, to add some dazzling effects to her extraordinary performance, and he had also used it to prank her. So she knew its function very well.
Now, the situation was easier to handle. Ye Yi and Ye Chengtian quickly cleared the group of "blind" individuals, and with the help of others, each person got a military horse.
Initially, they wanted each person to have two horses to alternate riding, but Ye Lang stopped this plan. He had a way to keep the horses vigorous, so it wasn't necessary!
"Um... " When everyone was ready to gallop, Ye Lang stopped there again, not taking action.
"Ye Lang, what's wrong with you again? Have you come up with a way to escape?" Ye Yi, holding the reins on horseback, looked at Ye Lang with some anticipation.
When everyone was similarly eager for Ye Lang to propose a surprising plan, he made a statement that almost made them fall off their horses.
"Well... I... I don't know how to ride a horse!" Ye Lang scratched his head, feeling very embarrassed.
"Ah!" Everyone's mouths widened in disbelief. It seemed like this kid could do everything, but he didn't even know this most basic skill.
In this continent, horses were the most common mode of transportation, and everyone, even pampered young ladies, knew a little bit of riding!
"Why are you looking at me? Haven't you ever seen such a handsome person?" Ye Lang raised his head, saying with "pride".
"Son, are you serious or just joking? You really don't know how to ride?" Although Ye Chengtian wanted to hit Ye Lang's prideful head, he knew there was no time for that.
"I really don't know, can I still joke at this time?" Ye Lang shrugged, somewhat helplessly. "You guys have better riding skills, so just give me a lift."
"Come with me!" Almost simultaneously, Ye Lanyu, Zhen Xiaoyan, and Seventh Princess all said.
Faced with such a choice, it was a joy for regular people. Three beautiful young girls wanted to ride with you. But after the joy, the pain of choosing would follow. Whom should he choose?
If he chose one, the other two would feel uncomfortable. But under these circumstances, he could only choose one. What to do?
Many people would find this a headache, but Ye Lang didn't. He was straightforward and treated all three equally. He chose none of them!
"No, I don't trust your riding skills. I trust dad. Dad, let's fight together, we'll be the rearguard later!" Ye Lang jumped onto Ye Chengtian's horse and rode backward.
Yes, backward!
"Hey, son, why are you riding like that? What if you fall off?" Ye Chengtian frowned.
"Don't worry, I can't ride a horse, but I'm not silly enough to fall off! This way is convenient for guarding the rear. You guys go ahead, we'll stay behind!" Ye Lang said nonchalantly.
At the moment, the immediate priority was to flee, so everyone did not continue to fuss; instead, they all began to --
"Go!" With a loud shout, they spurred their horses and galloped away!
As the group of people galloped away, there were still many pursuers behind on horseback. However, with the military horses, it was difficult to encircle them again.
"Son, why don't you know how to ride a horse?" while galloping, Ye Chengtian couldn't help asking. He was very concerned about this. Just imagine, he, a general who had led thousands of troops into battle, had a son who didn't know how to ride. Where could he put his face!
"Why? I've never had the opportunity to ride. Of course, I don't know how!" Ye Lang replied nonchalantly, taking out a "telescope" from his hand to observe the pursuers.
"No opportunity--" Suddenly everyone remembered that from a young age, Ye Lang either had a carriage pick him up or he walked and then called for a carriage. It was true that he never had the chance to learn to ride!
Not only that, there was an important reason. When Ye Lang was younger, with his clumsy nature, no one dared to let him ride. Tiger Lady would never let him ride!
Later, when Ye Lang improved, he was still somewhat absent-minded. Everyone was afraid that he might have a lapse of concentration while riding, leading to a fatal accident.
As a spendthrift, why would he want to ride a horse himself when he could use a carriage? This was more fitting for his spendthrift identity.
Therefore, Ye Lang proudly declared that he would only enjoy and take pleasure in luxurious carriages and never ride a horse!
"Never mind, we'll study it later. This is just a small matter for you, anyway." Ye Chengtian was speechless; he couldn't blame anyone for this situation.
Moreover, there was no time to deal with this now. It wouldn't make sense to ask Ye Lang to learn during this escape, and from the looks of it, he wouldn't feel the need to learn. Trying to convince him would probably not succeed until next year.
"We'll talk about it later! Sister, you stay back! Mom, grandma, come here!" Ye Lang put down the telescope and said.
"What's the matter?" Ye Lanyu was already nearby and quickly came over, followed by Long Anqi and Ruan Linger.
"Grandma, use your magic to create some water on the ground behind, then Mom and sister, freeze the water. The larger the area, the better. Make sure no one notices!" Ye Lang said.
As he spoke, everyone understood his intention: to create chaos for their pursuers by freezing the ground with ice, hampering their pursuit.
Although simple, it was a very practical method!
However, Ye Lanyu was puzzled: "Why do we need grandma to do it? We can directly freeze the ground ourselves."
"We need to maximize the area, otherwise how much can you do alone, you foolish sister!" Ye Lang bluntly retorted.
"How dare you call me foolish! I'll spare you this time!" Ye Lanyu threatened, extending her small fist.
"I don't want to talk!" Ye Lang wisely chose silence.
"Hmph!" After grunting, Ye Lanyu and her mother and grandmother cooperated to freeze a large area on the ground, as instructed by Ye Lang. They made long strips of ice, some narrow, even demanding some to be very narrow, and later, they were allowed to create them randomly in different areas.
The goal was to confuse their pursuers, delaying them and ideally causing them to give up pursuit entirely!
This tactic worked; the pursuit team stumbled and even lost sight of them. Dealing with the frozen ground took a long time, and they would only be able to clear it using fire magic. However, this left the ground wet, causing further trouble for them.
After that, Ye Lang and his group had already left the pursuers behind. However, this was the territory of the Sky Soaring Empire, and while the pursuers were gone, there were still ambushes and larger forces ahead.
If they were hindered there, they would be caught from behind. Therefore, Ye Lang and his group found themselves in a tricky situation and had to make a choice.
"With so many of us, we're too conspicuous. It's best to disperse and regroup in the Vermilion Bird Empire!" Ye Chengtian suggested.
"That might work, but it would weaken our strength. It might make it even harder to escape!" Ye Lang was reserved about this.
If it were just the skilled members of the Ye family, dispersing would be the best choice. However, the current situation was different; there were many people fleeing, including some with weak skills and even ordinary folks. If they dispersed, most of them would likely be captured.
While sometimes there was a need for sacrificing a small portion to save the majority, it wasn't needed at this moment.
"What should we do then?" Ye Chengtian asked. Among those present, there was a confidence in Ye Lang; they believed he could lead them to safety, and their journey so far was evidence of that.
Though they worried, fearing that Ye Lang might make a mistake, fortunately, he hadn't shown any confusion in crucial matters, so he was still trustworthy!
"Keep running. Sometimes having a large group is an advantage; it makes it harder for others to predict our movements!" Ye Lang said with a smile.
"?? How's it a good thing for others to know our whereabouts?" Everyone was puzzled as it seemed like a bad thing.
"Just knowing our whereabouts is not the same as knowing our next move. We might have a chance to leave them all behind!" Ye Lang explained with a smile.
His words awakened some present, as many of them were skilled in marching and warfare and had experienced strategists. If they were to be roused, they could even come up with a plan.
"What would you do then?" Ye Chengtian smiled, but his smile was different from Ye Lang's; it was a kind of relief.
"I don't know!" Ye Lang said straightforwardly.
"Don't know? What do you mean?" Ye Chengtian was stunned, and his earlier relief disappeared.
"It means exactly that; I don't know! These matters are something you're all better at handling. I'm not familiar with the military arrangement of the empire, so I can't come up with a strategy!" Ye Lang, irresponsibly, said as he nibbled on a pastry.
Everyone fell silent. They didn't know how to react to this young man. At this critical moment, he didn't know anything, but his suggestions were intriguing and could surprise everyone.
In fact, Ye Lang had no other choice; he wasn't familiar with these matters, not even the routes. On the other hand, those present were key figures in the empire and familiar with everything.
Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy leads to a hundred victories—everyone understood this principle!
"Actually, it's time for us to step up. We have so many people; can we rely only on Ye Lang?" Ye Yi looked at his son and grandson. What he hoped for wasn't just one person with talent; he wanted each of his descendants to have exceptional abilities.
This was the time to unleash their potential. Even if it meant some cost, as long as they grew, it was worth it!
"Thirteen just reminded me of something, and I thought of a tactic. If used well, we can pass smoothly!" The third son of the Ye family spoke.
This third son was a military genius, famous for using strategies and currently a general leading a large army of the Sky Soaring Empire at the age of thirty-three.
"Speak!" Ye Yi said.
"We should start by..." The third son began to explain his plan. Hearing this, Ye Lang felt that his decision was correct. Even if he tried to think hard, he wouldn’t have come up with such a plan.
In a short period, he had come up with a clever plan, impressive indeed!
These tactics were interlocking, taking advantage of the special circumstances of the empire, and even getting the imperial army to help them!
Even though information spread quickly, there was still a buffering period and time to confuse the enemy, allowing them to fulfill deeper plans!