Chapter 193: Fighting with One's Back to the River_2
...
You State.
"How long until the reinforcements arrive?!"
Fan Hailing paced back and forth on the city wall, dragging a long saber, which made a grating noise.
"General Fan."
Pei Tiannan, unable to bear it anymore, said, "Can't you stay quiet for a while?"
"How can I stay quiet?"
Fan Hailing pointed towards the Luotian Mountain Range, "Watching the barbarian armies continuously station themselves, if they refine Liangzhou next, won't we be next? Those flying demons in the sky have said they want to refine us all into elixir pills!"
Those who assisted the barbarians.
Were definitely not real "Immortals."
Because from a distance, one could feel the bloodlust and evil Qi from them, heavier than that of seasoned warriors like themselves.
Moreover, beneath the black robes of the "Immortals," every face was covered with vine-like purplish-red veins.
They were clearly demons!
"Your worrying is useless."
Pei Tiannan said, "Moreover, counting the days, the reinforcements from Huqiu Mountain have already set off. Look..."
He pointed at the Hai Dongqing appearing in sight, "A message has arrived."
Fan Hailing whistled to call the Hai Dongqing down and hurriedly tore open the letter to read its content.
"General Fan, how are things? I told you there's no need to be too anxious."
Pei Tiannan asked, "After the three camps arrive in You State, along with our own two camps, that makes nearly eighty thousand soldiers. With General Lu and General Chen here, if we unite and fight to the death, we can still seize a sliver of hope."
"It's gone, General Chen is gone!"
Realizing the ambiguity in his words, Fan Hailing quickly clarified, "Hongze Camp isn't coming!"
"Not coming?"
Pei Tiannan couldn't sit still, asking urgently, "If not coming to You State, where else could they go?"
"Northern Desert!"
Fan Hailing's hand trembled as he held the letter, "General Chen has led Hongze Camp to march directly to the Northern Desert; it seems he's aiming for a direct assault on the Barbarian Capital and aims to destroy Langju Xu Mountain."
Behind them was the watchtower.
Xu Wencai, previously resting inside, couldn't contain himself any longer and walked out holding a feather fan. He didn't speak; instead, he took the letter and read it through once again.
"The Barbarian Capital, if I remember correctly, is ten thousand li away from Huqiu Mountain, right? And from Liangzhou to You State is only four thousand li. Why divert an extra six thousand li? This would only waste more time, and the difficulty of attacking the capital is only going to be greater, right?!"
Pei Tiannan spoke with some hesitation, "This this this, what kind of tactic is this, Mr. Xu, what do you think?"
"The map!"
Xu Wencai ordered, "Bring the map quickly, General Fan, repeat the route mentioned in the letter to me again."
The subordinates brought the map.
Fan Hailing also repeated the information, "Mr. Xu, just talking about their current position, say no more, just a few hundred li ahead there's a barbarian checkpoint which is nearly impossible to pass quickly."
Based on the route of Hongze Camp.
Xu Wencai's feather fan eventually stopped near a large river.
The Agate River!
"Here, this is the massive challenge General Chen will soon face!"
Pei Tiannan frowned as he spoke, "The area around the Agate River has fertile pastures and has always been an important pass for the Yuwen tribe. If I remember correctly, there are currently at least forty to fifty thousand soldiers stationed there."
"The Four Sage Kings of Yuwen, Yu Wenjingwen is here, and he is a Martial Saint."
"The military power, combat capability are both far superior to General Chen, his only option is to waste time by detouring. If he lingers too long, he will be surrounded by armies from all sides and then... his entire army will be wiped out!"
"This General Chen has always liked taking risks!"
Fan Hailing said, "This time, he is going to suffer a major setback!"
"Mr. Xu?"
Pei Tiannan asked, "What is your opinion?"
"This man is arrogant, he deserves such a major defeat!"
Xu Wencai stated, raising his eyebrows.
But in his heart, he felt more relieved once again.
The way the adults were acting.
Indicated...
There was still hope!
Liangzhou still had hope!
...
Agate River.
Yuwen Great Village.
"Uncle Four!"
Prince Yu Wenxin, sword slung at his waist and carrying a dusting of snowflakes, stepped out of the large tent, "News from the front has come back!"
"Hmm."
Yu Wenjingwen calmly said, "They should have all gone to You State by now, right?"
"They did go, but it seems not everyone went!"
Yu Wenxin pointed at the letter, "We have a few tribes on the eastern side of Huqiu Mountain; using the terrain, they monitored Sheng people's movements and indeed spotted a large army heading to the frontline of You State, but the numbers don't amount to three camps, it's roughly only two camps, led by Lu Ji; that damned Chen Sansi and his Hongze Camp have disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
Yu Wenjingwen, considering this very important, stood up and went to the sand table.
"Uncle Four."
Yu Wenxin, puzzled, said, "After they left Huqiu Mountain, currently, there are only two paths they could take.
"Either towards the western Yan State, which isn't controlled by the Blood Sacrifice Array, simply put, it's a retreat! But I believe, given Chen's temperament, he wouldn't likely cowardly flee.
"Or...
"Only heading north!"
"They neither have enough soldiers, nor a Martial Saint, nor supplies, nor time; why would they do this?"
"My nephew analyzed it well,"
Yu Wenjingwen said, "But we can't underestimate the enemy, let's assume they're heading north for now, instruct the tribes to be on alert, and keep a close watch on Hongze Camp's movements; report back to me immediately at any sign."
...
The Great Desert.
A gale.
A blizzard!
A cavalry troop advanced amidst the severe extreme weather.
"Brother!"
Cao Zhi, following at his side, his face covered in frost, said, "I have a question I'd like to ask you."
Chen Sansi responded indifferently, "Ask."
Cao Zhi, draped in a marten fur cloak, also rode a precious Exotic Beast warhorse, "General Lu's four questions earlier, you haven't answered yet, could you clear up the confusion for your little brother?"