Chapter 1544 – Cutting Down Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Aimed at the World (Eighty-Two)
Despite the sounds of battle drowning out the sharp whistle of the fireworks shooting into the sky, when they bloomed, they still caught the attention of many. Wei Ying was among them, watching the dazzling crimson fireworks with an ominous premonition swelling in his heart.
“Guangshan, we will win, right?”
Wei Ying murmured as he stared at the disappearing fireworks, these words heard by no one but himself.
Even with his uneasy feelings, Wei Ying didn’t order a retreat or anything else.
That would be ridiculous; both armies were in a situation where they couldn’t retreat, locked in a deadlock. Whoever showed signs of weakness would lose.
Suppressing his anxiety, Wei Ying focused on the changing battlefield, commanding the soldiers to stay alert against potential sneak attacks.
Little did he know, a psychological phenomenon called Murphy’s Law exists—what you least want to happen is most likely to happen.
In less than a quarter of an hour, a blood-soaked messenger rushed over, nearly hoarsely declaring, “Report!”
Wei Ying’s heart raced even faster. “What is it?”
“The enemy army suddenly emerged from the rear, numbering tens of thousands!”
The rear?
Wei Ying’s heart pounded even harder as he turned abruptly to look towards the Zhanjiang Pass, which they had just breached. Indeed, a vast enemy force was appearing there, ambushing their weak defenses at the rear. With the enemy attacking fiercely from the front and tigers lurking at the back, the Nie army was actually besieged.
There were only a few exits out of Zhanjiang Pass, meaning the Nie army had no way to retreat—they were trapped.
The enemy’s timing was remarkably cunning; not only did they engage in a pincer attack, but they violently broke the Nie army’s formation, throwing the entire army into chaos. Seeing this, Wei Ying couldn’t help but clench his fists, his knuckles turning white, as his grinding teeth quivered from the intense turmoil boiling within.
The Nie army was focused on the enemy in front of them, since the two armies were locked in a standoff, they didn’t suspect the enemy had forces set aside for ambush.
Who would have anticipated the enemy would be this ruthless and patient, waiting until Zhanjiang Pass was breached before revealing their trump card? Forcing the Nie army into Zhanjiang Pass, they didn’t strike until the two armies engaged in combat? Such mastery of patience had Wei Ying truly convinced of his defeat.
Despite being caught in the enemy’s pincer, the Nie army was in disarray, but Wei Ying didn’t give up just yet. He attempted to break through, but Qi Guanrang and others were dead set on holding the Nie army back, leaving them no way out. The slaughter continued from dawn until dusk, resulting in nearly two hundred thousand soldiers lost from the Nie army, leaving only twenty to thirty thousand survivors.
These poor survivors weren’t lucky either; upon retreating, they ran straight into Jiang Pengji, who was returning from the battlefield, and got a good beating.
Jiang Pengji led her troops back, and the five hundred thousand stowaway viewers were still giggling, but they quickly stopped laughing.
Zhanjiang Pass was drenched in blood, and what was once a majestic city wall now lay pockmarked, every inch stained with the blood of friend and foe.
Jiang Pengji seemed not to see this, riding straight through the gate and into Zhanjiang Pass.
Drip!
Drip!
The stowaways horrifiedly realized the depressions on the ground were pooling with bright red blood, and Big White’s hooves splashed the blood as they stepped into the shallow pits.
Stowaway Non-Money: “Host, did it… rain last night?”
Dine-in Foot Locker: “Doesn’t look much like rain to me…”
The stowaways typed cautiously; some of the more perceptive ones sensed something was off about the host today.
This feeling of unease unleashed their primal survival instincts, causing them to fall silent.
For instance, it was somewhat like “low atmospheric pressure”?
Just being in her presence carried a heavy sensation, pressing on the heart, making it hard to breathe.
Genius Guo Fengxiao: “That’s not rain, it’s all blood. What happened at Zhanjiang Pass last night? Why is there so much blood? The Nie army attacked again? Host, you’re really unfair; you should have streamed live last night, what a shame to miss out!”
While the stowaway viewers complained, Jiang Pengji had a tendency to “eat alone” during such sneak missions; several key battles had been fought at night, yet she stubbornly refused to stream live. This led many stowaways to wake up the following day and find the world turned upside down.
Jiang Pengji tightened her grip on the God-Slaying Sword, her eyes narrowed, ignoring the chatty barrage from the stowaways.
As they moved forward, the stowaways saw many soldiers transporting corpses and cleaning the battlefield, the dismembered limbs pricking their sight.
Everywhere was a scene of devastation, bodies laid out in all directions, some still smoldering.
Even though the stowaways had seen their fair share of chaos, they could hardly bear this sight, with some turning away to vomit.
Bai Ning followed behind her, his dry eyes bloodshot, his gaze skimming over the corpses, suddenly filled with some deep sentiment.
“This battle, I wonder if it’s considered a great victory or a tragic one…”
Clearly, the enemy’s losses were far greater, nearly an entire army wiped out; however, their own side suffered four to five thousand casualties as well.
Jiang Pengji’s expression was cold as she said, “No matter if it’s a great victory or a tragic one, it’s still a victory.”
Bai Ning chuckled wryly, “What the Lord says is correct; I was just momentarily emotional. In this chaotic world… how many times will we see such scenes repeat?”
His injuries were serious, but after an emergency treatment from the military doctor, he was in no immediate danger; however, he still needed a good month or two to recuperate.
Though he was able to ride steadily, he was really just holding on. He wasn’t made of iron; after continuous combat for over twenty-four hours, sleepless and wounded, a normal person would have long since collapsed. Ha! Their leader could hardly be considered “human”!
“How is Fengjing?” Jiang Pengji asked.
Bai Ning replied, “Today’s young men aren’t as resilient as we were. Fengjing was hurt quite badly, but he supposedly just collapsed. The military doctor reported that the situation is not dire, but he was deeply wounded and needs to rest for two months; careful care of the wound is necessary, or it might fester.”
Jiang Pengji said, “Better to take two months to recover in the tent than to lose a life on the battlefield.”
Bai Ning felt a bit sour hearing this.
Though he and Qin Gong were not fools, they hadn’t caught on to some things at the time, but after the fighting paused and reflecting on it later, they could piece together a general idea. They can’t grasp all the details of the larger strategy, but they understood the general direction. If they weren’t mistaken, the Lord along with their thirty thousand soldiers were thrown out as bait. Realizing this, Bai Ning didn’t know what to say, nor did he have the standing to say anything—after all, their leader had wagered her life as collateral; what did Bai Ning and the others count for?
Not to mention salvaging a life, even at the cost of five thousand lives for twenty thousand enemy soldiers was a profitable trade.
Bai Ning silently sighed, suddenly spat, cursing, “This damned chaotic world!”
Jiang Pengji acted as if she hadn’t heard.
