Chapter 1685 – Capturing Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (93)
“Your Yi Da: Serving clients? Pfft, I really should let the little princesses from the princess group see how twisted their leader has become.”
“Fireworks Era: It’s not just the broadcaster who’s feeling it; I’ve been on the edge lately too. Honestly, the sword-swinging live stream content is so much more thrilling! Of course, I’m not encouraging the broadcaster to go back to being lazy, but a little spice now and then won’t hurt, right? Don’t get all pent up.”
“Qing Chen: Whenever I hear the broadcaster say ‘serving clients,’ I can’t help but picture the alluring Madam waving her fan. It’s too vivid in my mind!”
“Old Driver Alliance: I think there’s a similarity there, because both the broadcaster and Madam are deadly!”
Even the dried fish in the live stream chat have been tainted into the old salty fish of the Akina Mountain street racing scene, but a big shot is still a big shot; their speed is beyond what ordinary folks can match.
In the blink of an eye, a vehicle zipped by.
Jiang Pengji blocked the barrage of chat messages, carefully waiting for the stragglers to slam into her.
In contrast, An Huan’s situation looked much more precarious, with enemy troops lurking in front and behind.
That wasn’t even the worst of it; the morale of the troops was barely hanging on by a thread. Everyone believed this operation would succeed and hoped to relieve the food shortage before fighting back. Yet, now they faced an ambush from the enemy, and their spirit immediately deflated, leaving morale in shambles. However, faced with imminent danger, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and carve out a path for survival.
The flames of war spread, and the clash was deafening.
On Jiang Pengji’s side, morale soared like a rainbow, while An Huan’s side could only struggle to stay afloat.
As the tide turned against them and the flames of battle threatened to engulf An Huan, he felt frantic yet powerless, only to despise Jiang Pengji and Lü Zheng for offering such a “brilliant strategy.” Looking back now, it was likely that Lü Zheng used the excuse to leave, ingratiating himself with Jiang Pengji, while tricking An Huan into stepping into a trap. This guess held no proof, but An Huan couldn’t think of any other possibility.
He hated Lü Zheng while feeling conflicted, his heart ablaze with anger. An Huan had thought he treated Lü Zheng well; even if he had been neglected these past two years, he had ensured the other’s wealth and status, never pulling the rug out from under him, yet Lü Zheng had betrayed him by colluding with Jiang Pengji.
An Huan would insist he trusted Lü Zheng and treated him well, but in reality, he had favored him to the point of absurdity.
Lü Zheng’s so-called “brilliant strategy” might not even have originated from him; perhaps something had happened to Lü Zheng long ago…
Unfortunately, An Huan had no time to ponder all that.
He shouted, “Retreat! Break through with the troops!”
If he got captured, what on earth would this battle mean? The remaining territories of Nan Sheng would really fall to Jiang Pengji.
The troops realized the seriousness of the situation and could only force themselves to organize a counterattack and break through, attempting to escort An Huan to safety.
Even if Jiang Pengji’s soldiers were of high quality, they couldn’t resist the enemy’s overwhelming numbers.
An Huan’s men focused on a spot to break through, managing to create a gap, but soon enough, more enemies filled in the breach.
Quickly, the commotion alerted Fu Wang.
“Report!”
“What’s going on?”
Fu Wang spat out a mouthful of blood, hacking at a couple of bothersome enemies, slicing them in two.
The soldiers reported that An Huan was gathering forces to break through, prompting Fu Wang to decide whether to continue intercepting or to let them go.
On a battlefield this vast, it was impossible to cover every point; some areas required concentrated force while others might need to be slightly let go to alleviate overall pressure and maximize strikes against the enemy with limited troops. If troops were dispatched to stubbornly fight in one place, the strength at other locations would be spread thin. Despite An Huan’s overall weak morale and fighting ability, it didn’t mean they would just give up.
For instance, the pressure on the area An Huan was trying to break through was intense, and he lost a significant number of soldiers trying to stop them.
Fu Wang rubbed his bloodied hand over his chin, pondering.
His hands, face, armor, and even his steed were stained with an unknown blood, making him look like he crawled out of a mountain of corpses, quite terrifying. While he contemplated with a grim expression, the oppressive aura around him intensified.
“Haha, looks like we’ve hooked a big fish!” Fu Wang grabbed his weapon and spurred his horse forward, “What are you dawdling for? Grab your weapons and follow!”
Fu Wang was quite astute; despite An Huan’s army being on the brink of collapse, the troops gathering to break through nearly tore through their own defensive line. What did that mean? It meant the person they were protecting was of great importance, rousing the soldiers’ spirit and putting pressure on Fu Wang’s side. With such reasoning, would Fu Wang let this slip away easily?
An Huan’s troops were the first to sense something was amiss.
The enemy was targeting them!
Realizing this, An Huan couldn’t sit still any longer. Clenching the reins tightly while on his warhorse, his expression was as dark as night.
“Lord, the enemy is coming after us!”
Fu Wang and his men were swift, but due to the night’s cover, reinforcements couldn’t come quickly enough. For now, An Huan escaped temporarily under his soldiers’ guard. Before they could celebrate, they found the enemy was already on their heels, forcing them to split some troops to delay their pursuers.
However, this method was not a long-term solution.
While fleeing, one soldier came up with a clever idea in a moment of desperation.
He suggested An Huan take off his luxurious attire, don the tattered garb of common soldiers, smear dirt on his face, and dishevel his hair to disguise himself. Even if the enemy caught up, if An Huan blended into the chaos and didn’t reveal his identity, nobody would know he was the noble An Huan. Meanwhile, the soldier could pose as An Huan, confuse the enemy, and buy some time.
Though this plan was a bit shabby, it was better than nothing.
To save his own life, An Huan had no choice but to comply.
Once he changed, he realized something seemed off…
But time was pressing, so he had no mind to dwell on it.
“Sorry for the trouble, my lord.”
The soldier donned An Huan’s discarded clothes, ruffled his disheveled hair, and turned around on horseback to lead troops to delay the enemy.
The forces split in two: one team escorted An Huan to flee, while the other acted as bait to distract the enemy.
Fu Wang was no slouch either; in no time, he captured some of the pursuing troops.
“General Fu, this way is a big fish.”
He managed to pull out the enemy’s commander wearing the finest armor, the tallest, and well-equipped… catching one was a breeze.
After a quick scan, he identified the leader donned in An Huan’s garments.
This must be the precious big fish the enemy was trying to protect.
Fu Wang dismounted, snatched up a torch, and approached, using the firelight to distinguish who was in front of him.
“Who is this?”
Fu Wang casually thrust the torch forward, nearly singeing the opponent’s eyebrows.
The commander under An Huan’s command said, “I am An Huan, you fools!”
Fu Wang froze, holding the torch aloft.
He almost exclaimed, “Is today the day that An Huan leads the troops personally?”
Commander: “…”
It seemed he had inadvertently exposed himself…
