Uncertainty in waiting is the most taxing.
Even with a nine-tenths chance of success, there remained a one-tenth possibility of unexpected complications.
For instance, Li Xiuning might not be present in the opposing army.
Three days had passed since Ge Luoyang's estimated five-day timeframe.
This meant the truth would be revealed within two days at the latest!
However, Li Shimin could no longer wait, not for a single moment, and neither could Chai Shao.
"Deploy all helicopters! Find them for me!
Each person is assigned one aircraft. Once the army's whereabouts are discovered, no one is to act rashly!
Yes, sir!"
There was nothing to do but wait in Suyeb City, so why not go out for a stroll? Perhaps they might even find the army.
During these days of waiting for Li Shimin, Fang Er had found some artisans in Suyeb City and set up an oil refining furnace outside the city, so fuel was not a problem.
After their fuel was replenished, the eight helicopters took off from Suyeb City one after another, heading in different directions to search.
Li Shimin, Chai Shao, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Fang Er, Chai Lingwu, Wang Xuance, and Xue Rengui each took a helicopter.
Sitting in the helicopters, they gazed at the boundless wilderness and oases below, but saw no sign of the army.
Only when they had just enough fuel left for the return journey did they reluctantly turn back.
Although all eight helicopters returned with nothing, they received another piece of news upon entering the city.
Another special forces team had returned to Suyeb City!
In the City Lord's mansion, Li Shimin sat in the main seat, with Fang Er and others arranged on his left and right.
"Fire Torch Special Forces, Leopard Squad, Captain Ji Shengyu reports to His Majesty!"
"Tell me what news you have."
Li Shimin looked at him expectantly.
"Reporting to Your Majesty and all the Dukes, I discovered the enemy army's movements about four hundred li west of the city.
Their numbers are around one hundred thousand, with twenty thousand cavalry, twenty thousand spearmen, ten thousand musketeers, and fifty thousand slaves!
They also have thirty very strange vehicles.
They are expected to reach the vicinity of Suyeb City the day after tomorrow."
Ji Shengyu reported the intelligence verbatim.
They had returned after discovering the enemy's position four hundred li away. While they were returning, the enemy army was also on the move, so their arrival the day after tomorrow was not surprising.
Fang Er frowned imperceptibly. "That bastard has gained two thousand more cavalry?
Did this son of a bitch snatch them from Khwarazm, or did he steal them from Khorasan?
However, since their whereabouts have been located, even with ten thousand cavalry, they are not invincible.
The twenty thousand troops of the Tocharian Protectorate, along with those two hovercraft, should also be arriving tomorrow or the day after.
Everything is falling into place!"
The next morning, before the Protectorate army arrived, the helicopters took off again to observe the enemy's situation up close.
This time, guided by Ji Shengyu, they indeed spotted the army Fang Er had been searching for in the wilderness about two hundred li southwest of Suyeb City.
The scale was exactly as Ji Shengyu had reported, though the twenty thousand cavalry were somewhat different from what everyone had imagined.
It was ten thousand camels and ten thousand warhorses.
Fang Er patted Zhang Tian's shoulder and gestured for him to lower the altitude slightly so they could carefully discern if Li Xiuning was among them.
The other seven aircraft also lowered their altitudes almost simultaneously, roaring past less than a hundred meters above the army below. Those in the cabins all raised their binoculars, searching for Li Xiuning.
Until they could ascertain whether Li Xiuning was in this army, they could not open fire indiscriminately, even if the hovercraft had arrived.
Meanwhile, the Motorola below, upon seeing the eight helicopters overhead, was utterly bewildered.
"What is going on!
Especially since one of the aircraft had square-shaped Han characters painted on it.
'Human Warrior Wei Xuancheng's Number.'
Who Wei Xuancheng was didn't matter; what mattered were these words, which told him the origin of the aircraft – a mysterious Eastern kingdom!
'Fuck! And the shape of the helicopters, they look remarkably familiar, like the Z-8 armed transport helicopters that caused a sensation in the world in my previous life!
How is this mission going to be completed?'
With a dejected expression, he opened the system panel and looked at the two constantly flashing red dots on the mission tracker, wishing he could rip the system out of his mind and kick it a few times.
'This is too damn unfair.'
'Halt the entire army!
In desperation, he had to issue the order to stop.
Even such a small border town could deploy eight armed helicopters for patrol. How tightly guarded must the Great Tang territory be?
If they plunged in blindly like this, it was likely that these one hundred thousand troops wouldn't even leave a single bone fragment.'
At this moment, Fang Er and Li Shimin and the others hovered over the army for a long time but could not find the figures they were looking for.
Finally, everyone focused their attention on the vehicles on the side of the army.
Through the binoculars, the logos of Iveco and Jinbei were clearly visible. Fang Er couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
'Isn't the other half of this system doing this on purpose?
Iveco and Jinbei, carrying the dead and then the ashes?'
Next to the convoy, Xiang Yu, the Overlord, mounted on a large rhinoceros, fell into thought as he watched the helicopters circling overhead.
"What are these things!
So enormous, yet they can fly so high?
Could it be that the Mohists have become prosperous in this era?
Thinking of this, he turned to Gao Chong: 'Little bug, what is this ghost thing above us? Is there any record of it in the history books from your time?'
Gao Chong was accustomed to this appellation, as he was hundreds of years younger than Xiang Yu.
However, he also shook his head in confusion at Xiang Yu's question, saying, 'There were no such things in my time. Not only were there no physical objects, but there were also no related records in books.'
Xiang Yu was slightly disappointed, but the next moment he thought of something and quickly called out to Hua Mulan and the others around him.
'Where is Sister Xiuning? Quickly have her come take a look!
Did she go hunting with Datou? Sister Liangyu isn't here either; they should be together, right?'
Hua Mulan scanned the crowd and, not seeing Li Xiuning and Qin Liangyu, guessed.
The seven women had become sworn sisters, and their mounts were lions captured in the Sasanian Empire.
These beasts had large appetites and a fondness for live prey, so every two to three days they had to be taken away from the army to hunt antelopes or wild horses nearby to feed the lions.
At this moment, Li Xiuning and Qin Liangyu were about three to five li to the side of the formation, hunting with their mounts, completely unaware that Li Shimin and Chai Shao were searching for them.
No one noticed that Guan Yu, standing nearby, was staring at the helicopters in the sky, seemingly lost in thought.
Fang Er and the others circled the army for a long time. Although they did not find Li Xiuning, they did confirm good news.
That is, this army seemed to have no anti-air capabilities!
With that, let alone one hundred thousand troops, even more would simply be targets below, to be shot at as they pleased!"