Chapter 1269 – Defeating Huang Song, Unifying Dongqing (Part 11)
From a distance, Jiang Pengji couldn’t see what was happening behind the enemy lines, let alone know that Nie Xun was struggling at the brink of life and death.
While Nie Xun fought for his life in the rear, the soldiers at the front were clashing, and with each passing moment, someone was losing their life far from home.
Momentum is a tricky thing; it surges at first, then diminishes until it’s almost gone. Once it starts down that slope, it’s tough to rally back up.
Jiang Pengji had just taken down Yuan Xin, snatching away his five thousand troops and thus shattering their morale with a swift slap.
She tightened her grip on the blade of the God-Slaying Knife, like someone itching for a smoke desperately trying to resist the urge to rush into battle.
Seeing her struggle to hold back, Yang Si felt a pang of pity for her, though he could only muster a sigh at the sight.
“If the lord doesn’t mind, why not let me take a turn?”
Look at him, such an understanding strategist is hard to find, showing such care for his lord.
Poking fun at such a cute little angel, doesn’t Jiang Pengji’s conscience hurt?
Jiang Pengji’s eyes sparkled, wanting nothing more than to take a bite out of Yang Si—
This guy has a way with words!
Yang Si: “…”
He wasn’t about to let Jiang Pengji take a bite out of him; he felt like it would be akin to being kissed by a man. Plus, he feared that if she calmed down, she’d take revenge, and he definitely didn’t want a jealous Wei Ci getting involved—single life is bliss!
Jiang Pengji tightened the reins on Xiao Bai, who seemed to understand her intentions and was full of battle spirit.
“Go, Xiao Bai!”
Jiang Pengji tightened her grip on the reins, pressing her legs against the horse’s belly, and Xiao Bai darted off to take a roundabout way toward the front line.
Yang Si didn’t have time to say anything; all he could see was the dust raised by Xiao Bai as the pair sped away.
“Ah—having such a lord means gray hairs will come early; I really should drink more black sesame porridge—”
With the scales of victory starting to tip in their favor, Yang Si finally allowed Jiang Pengji the freedom to cut loose.
【Demon Queen’s Crimson】: Charge forth on horseback, let Hachi strike!
【Sparrow】: You guys are simply toxic! Can’t you let me watch the live stream in peace? Under your violent brainwashing, my mind is now filled with images of a husky riding Xiao Bai, waving the God-Slaying Knife like a pro! The streamer is just so charming—
The bizarre imagery sticks much more than serious ones. When many idle viewers think of Jiang Pengji, what springs to mind isn’t her delicate face or carefree smile, but rather a husky in red clothes and silver armor, sticking out its tongue.
Thankfully, Jiang Pengji had already blocked the barrages in the live stream; if she accidentally saw them, she’d undoubtedly lose her cool.
Yang Si’s command style differed from Jiang Pengji’s; she employed straightforward strategies while he preferred playing dirty behind the scenes.
Sneaky and crafty, he always gave the feeling of being wrapped in a chilly, venomous snake.
At the front, Jiang Nongqin noticed the command had switched. Unsurprisingly, the one holding the reins of command now was Yang Si, right?
“Not pleasant—”
Jiang Nongqin, having studied under Jiang Pengji, favored bold combat strategies, and with Yang Si taking over, she felt an unsettling discomfort, believing only by killing more enemies could she find peace. Wiping the blood off her blade, her brow was furrowed in intensity.
“Where’s the lord?”
Jiang Nongqin reined in her horse, glancing back for Jiang Pengji, yet she couldn’t find that familiar figure anywhere.
Of course, she couldn’t see her because Jiang Pengji was far away.
“Not a shred of a chance—”
Jiang Pengji felt every blood pump boiling, and what looked like horrifying blood to the audience was like a drug stimulating her nerves.
Galloping and slicing down foes, she left a trail of bodies behind.
【Illusory City】: Ten paces for each kill, with not a trace left behind. However, the streamer kills ten with each step, machines them into mere souls.
One is the carefree swagger of a knight, while the other is a butcher’s ever-growing blood debt.
They couldn’t criticize Jiang Pengji for her ruthlessness, nor could they dare say a word about the enemy soldiers’ deaths being deserved.
Who, pray tell, is the real culprit?
The world!
While the idle viewers entertained themselves, some deeper thinkers leisurely turned over, continuing to spectate.
Jiang Pengji’s gaze seemed to pierce through the throng, searching for the enemy commander.
Shoot the horse before the man, capture the thief before the king.
If she could just snatch the enemy general’s head from among thousands—
Jiang Pengji felt a stir of temptation, but before she could act on it, she reluctantly put down this enticing challenge.
Never mind, it’s more important to deal with a bunch of little princesses stepping into their middle age or elderly years.
Even so, Jiang Pengji remained unstoppable, a killer of gods and a slayer of men.
Under the God-Slaying Knife, not a body remains whole!
On Jiang Pengji’s side, everything surged forward like a raging tide, while on Yuan Xin’s end, the situation grew increasingly bleak, their morale hit rock bottom, and the soldiers lacked the courage to continue fighting.
Seeing the battle couldn’t be salvaged, Yuan Xin spat angrily, unwillingly giving the order to retreat.
He had thought this bunch of enemies would be easy to crush; who knew that after a few bites, he’d find they weren’t mere flesh and bones, but rather steel!
Bite down hard enough, and guaranteed, he’d shatter his teeth!
After chasing for a bit, Jiang Pengji took home the MVP award but returned reluctantly.
She knew full well that her army’s disadvantage was too blatant; forget about chasing after enemies, just prolonging things wouldn’t work either.
“Pack up the leftover supplies they left behind, reward the army well, and take care of the wounded. Today’s efforts were commendable.”
Jiang Pengji wiped the blood off her face and casually tore a piece of cloth off a corpse to wipe her God-Slaying Knife.
Yang Si replied, “My lord, we should rest for a day and then leave this place. Yuan Xin took a huge loss today and surely won’t let it go easily.”
Yuan Xin was on home turf, with his supply lines assured. On Jiang Pengji’s side, though, she had to fight to sustain her troops.
While three to five thousand troops could manage without much effort, the pressure of fifty thousand was too heavy; they’d have to carefully ration their food, not daring to indulge.
Jiang Pengji said, “I think so too. It’s not that I’m afraid of anything else, but I am worried about Nie Xun advising Yuan Xin on some extensive scorched earth strategy.”
What does “scorched earth” mean?
It certainly isn’t what those idle viewers think, it’s a method specifically designed to deal with a strong invading enemy while sustaining the war.
Fortify defenses and clear out the wilderness, making it impossible for the enemy to seize points or gather resources.
Jiang Pengji didn’t need to besiege cities or take territories, but she did want to plunder food supplies!
If Yuan Xin followed Nie Xun’s advice and launched a scorched earth strategy that kills a thousand of his own while taking out eight hundred enemies, Jiang Pengji and her people could only starve.
Once fifty thousand troops ran out of food, within four or five days, they wouldn’t survive ten days to half a month.
The worst-case scenario would involve butchering war horses to fill their stomachs.
Speaking of which—
Jiang Pengji instructed, “Also, have someone count the enemy’s war horses. Keep the usable ones and butcher the unusable ones for a plate of meat.”
Yang Si asked, “What about the cadavers of the fallen soldiers?”
Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes at him.
“You want to eat people too?”
Yang Si: “…”
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Damn, who wants to eat people!
Jiang Pengji said, “After burning our soldiers’ corpses along with their clothes, pack the ashes to take home. As for the enemy, just burn them by the river.”
After many wars, to clean the battlefield conveniently, corpses are directly tossed into rivers, and when things get bloody, it can even block river flows, turning the water a vivid red. If doing so simplifies things, Jiang Pengji wouldn’t mind making it a tad easier.
But she knew very well that rotting corpses would taint the river and could cause widespread epidemics in nearby villages.
Burning corpses was undoubtedly the best option right now.
