Chapter 1531 – Taking Down Nie Liang and Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Pointing at the World (Seventy)
“I’ve heard for ages that Liu Xi’s camp is filled with elite warriors, but I never expected they couldn’t keep their ground like this.”
Fan Chen watched the enemy, who was retreating while still fighting, his heart filled with a mix of anxiety and indescribable helplessness. If it were the troops of any other lord, they would have been thrown into chaos by such a sudden ambush. They’d be lucky to retreat without losing their entire army. Comparing people just makes one feel worse. Is Jiang Pengji born to teach other lords how to behave?
Jiang Pengji was not just a so-called “perfect child”; she was the “perfect lord” of others, and that was something to be envious of.
The confidant general in charge of the ambush rode up, looking grave as he sought Fan Chen’s opinion. “Military adviser, should we pursue?”
“Of course we should chase. Zishun over there has issued a strict order to delay them as much as possible.” Fan Chen wiped away the sweat beading on his forehead; his inner clothes were already soaked through. “Jiang Pengji’s troops are all sly as foxes. By now, they’ve likely realized our ambushers are outnumbered. Just thinking about it with your toes tells you we’d pull troops to ambush Zhanjiang Pass—”
“I will obey your command!”
The commander dared not waste a moment and quickly rallied the soldiers to chase after the enemy. They absolutely could not let the enemy ruin their plans.
“General, they’re closing in on us!”
The deputy general was covered in blood, but his dark eyes were still clear.
“Stay calm; just fight and retreat,” Qin Gong commanded, his demeanor resolute, a smattering of blood on his face making his brown scar look even more sinister. “Is that the Nie camp over there? It wasn’t burning this bright when we left—”
“The meaning of the general is—there are enemies over there too?”
Qin Gong’s expression turned serious. “Our lord must have encountered an ambush over there. Whatever happens, we need to hurry and regroup!”
According to the scouts sent by the lord, she had been ambushed at the Nie camp, but the Nie camp was already deserted; where did the ambushers come from?
After contemplating, Qin Gong thought of underground—most likely, the enemy was hiding underground, sneaking past our troops’ surveillance.
However, how did they dig so many pits to hide, and how did they conceal the soil from our scouts?
The planner of this ambush was indeed frightening; with intricate calculations and arrangements, it was nearly flawless.
Hearing this, the deputy general felt the situation was dire. Their lord was ambushed in the enemy stronghold; that was a major “oh no!”
“What about Zhanjiang Pass?”
The deputy general worried not only about the lord but also about their own stronghold, fearing it might be taken down.
Qin Gong confidently replied, “Zhanjiang Pass has adequate forces and several military advisers stationed. We won’t lose it!”
As the enemy relentlessly pursued them, Qin Gong’s side suffered some casualties while managing to shake them off, only to run into Bai Ning leading remnants of his troops.
If they hadn’t reacted quickly, they might have ended up in an unexpected fight in the dark.
“Qin, old buddy, you didn’t bite the dust, did you?”
Qin Gong forced a smile as he pulled an arrow from his arm, using a strip of cloth to bind the wound and stem the bleeding.
He winced, his face pale, but he asserted, “I’m not dead, still kicking around!”
Bai Ning said, “Let’s regroup and then turn back to deal with those pesky pursuers!”
Qin Gong panted, “The lord has encountered an ambush, so it’s better for General Bai not to fight too hard.”
Bai Ning waved his hand casually. “No problem, old buddy Qin will take half the troops to support the lord, and I’ll hold off the pursuers.”
With no better options left, Qin Gong clasped his hands. “Take care, General Bai.”
“Absolutely.” Bai Ning grinned, “If I don’t get to drink at your joyous wedding or your precious daughter’s wedding, I’ll stir up trouble in front of Yama himself!”
Qin Gong then took half the troops to support Jiang Pengji, and once Bai Ning saw him leave, he spat out a mouthful of blood and gripped his blood-soaked weapon, the thick blood still warm in places, and he roared in the direction of the advancing enemies.
“Form up, everyone!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a soldier nearby raised a horn, blowing it to convey the military order. With the command given, the soldiers bearing shields lined up in the front rank, forming a thick defensive wall, while those with long spears prepared to counter the first enemies charging in. The second rank of soldiers also held long spears to assist in clearing out any “fish that slipped through” and the archers took their place in the third rank, seizing every opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.
Bai Ning barked, “I’ll stand right here; nobody get past me!”
Don’t think that Bai Ning was getting old; his archery skills were still top-notch in the army, and his specialty was shooting seven arrows at once.
Using a two-stone heavy bow, one arrow could not only pierce a man’s head but could also string together the next victim.
Both sides fought fiercely, and when Bai Ning’s arrows ran out, he grabbed his weapon and charged, swinging it fiercely.
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji’s situation was much better than Bai Ning and Qin Gong had anticipated.
After the unexpected first wave of ambush, the ensuing conflict didn’t cost them much.
While humans couldn’t see the whole battlefield, Jiang Pengji had her spiritual domain; within that domain, even flies and mosquitoes were under her control, let alone people. She knew where her troops were weakest, where support was needed, and where the enemy had vulnerabilities. Under her command, the army managed to pull back from the enemy’s ambush circle. Naturally, the enemy wouldn’t let such a fat piece of meat get away; they rushed in like mad dogs, snapping at her forces.
“My lord, reinforcements are here!”
Jiang Pengji frowned slightly. “What’s going on with the reinforcements?”
There couldn’t be any reinforcements at this time.
Jiang Pengji was a very cautious person; even when she ambushed the enemy, her base was prepared for a possible counterattack.
One can never be too safe; even if the information indicated that Nie Liang had no opportunity to clear out the internal threats within the Nie Clan—something Jiang Pengji had mocked him for being too lenient on his own clansmen, which ended up backfiring on him—her last communication from the Nie Clan had been just days before Nie Liang’s passing when some of the troublesome elements in the Nie Clan were still quite active.
Based on the time of Nie Liang’s death, even if he had urgently instructed Wei Ying and others to clean up the toxic elements, it would have been too late.
For various reasons, Jiang Pengji was skeptical about both the “internal strife in the Nie Clan” and “Wei Ying withdrawing troops.”
Now, encountering an ambush proved those assumptions wrong.
Wei Ying hadn’t withdrawn at all; he might’ve even dispatched troops to ambush Zhanjiang Pass, with the ambush simply being a strategy to delay their forces.
Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Pengji’s mind when a soldier reported, “The reinforcements are led by General Qin!”
Not long after the report, a blood-soaked Qin Gong rode forward.
“My lord, are you alright?”
“All good.” Jiang Pengji asked, “Did you encounter General Bai on the way?”
Qin Gong gravely replied, “General Bai is leading half the troops to delay the pursuers—”
