“Commander, Song Sanhu is gone. What about the breach?”

Yuwen Xing's furrowed brows relaxed slightly. Song Sanhu must have intruded into the Immortal Master’s battlefield.

Since he had entered the Immortal Master’s battlefield, no matter if he possessed innate divine strength or was a martial arts grandmaster, he was destined to die in there.

Thus, the tide of the battle might just turn.

Even if the Left and Right Vanguard Camps of ten thousand men crumbled, he still had ten thousand men under his command.

Furthermore, in the initial stages, Yuwen Xing had already ambushed ten thousand men in Jiangyun Valley. Wen Yue intended to pierce through ten thousand men with three thousand. In the absence of Immortal Master level intervention, it would be soldier against soldier, general against general, everyone and clash of flesh and blood.

Ten thousand men were enough to swallow up the three thousand led by Wen Yue.

If the Left and Right Vanguard Camps were rendered useless, they would have to rely on the front vanguard and central army for combat.

“What are the casualties for the vanguard?” Yuwen Xing asked his deputy general.

The cavalry scouts interspersed across the battlefield reported rough intelligence to the deputy general, who was busy consolidating information.

The central army camp was pitched at a high point in Jiangyun Valley, giving them an unobstructed view of the situation.

“Commander, the vanguard deployed in Jiangyun Valley has at least twenty percent casualties.”

“The central army camp has already deployed eight thousand men. Now you only have two thousand guards with you.”

Yuwen Xing pondered. He always felt insecure without enough men by his side.

Now that Sanhu had vanished, and without a fierce general capable of slaying enemies amidst ten thousand troops, a pincer attack from within and without would surely consume Wen Yue’s forces and the four thousand reinforcements.

“Go, issue the order: recall three thousand men from the central army.”

“Five thousand men can press forward.”

Since there was no longer any obstruction, they didn’t need so many hands.

The Jiangyun Valley did not have enough space to deploy such a large military force anyway.

Now, with ten thousand men blocking the narrow pass in front of Jiangyun Valley, it would be a stroke of luck if they weren't trampled to death by their own comrades, let alone slaying enemies.

Yuwen Xing had also hidden an ambush in the central area of Jiangyun Valley.

Since Wen Yue had already been lured in, there was no need for the Annan Marquis, who was at the bottom of the valley to remain alive. It would be better to have the ambush troops kill him.

“Order the Swift Thousand Camp in the valley to kill Song Hao.”

Upon receiving Yuwen Xing’s command, the deputy general let out a sharp whistle, and an arrow-hawk circling overhead landed on his shoulder.

He placed the command scroll into the small tube attached to the arrow-hawk’s leg.

The arrow-hawk flapped its wings and soared high, directly piercing through the clouds, then swooping down, flying over the heads of the numerous soldiers.

The long cliff pass, from end to end, was filled with intermingling soldiers.

The red and black colors had long blurred, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe, except by the cotton armor they wore.

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, intertwined in fierce combat.

Dismembered limbs piled up to form walls.

Flesh and internal organs were trampled into the snow, mixed into the mud.

The bloody, muddy slush was almost forming a quagmire, and countless soldiers had fallen into it.

The arrow-hawk’s keen eyes searched for the banner of the Swift Thousand Camp.

Screech!

Upon spotting the upright banner, the arrow-hawk let out a long cry and landed on the general’s shoulder.

This man was burly, with a resolute face. He took the command scroll from the small tube on the arrow-hawk’s leg and scanned it.

Then he looked towards the depths of Jiangyun Valley behind him.

“Prepare the troops.”

Accompanied by the general's resonant voice.

The clang of armor sounded, as the thousand soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, gripped their weapons tightly.

A chilling aura emanated from their breaths, casting a grim pall over the narrow Jiangyun Valley.

“Whoever slays the Annan Marquis shall be promoted three ranks, rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, and two hundred mu of land.”

“Kill!”

The roar of battle shook the heavens.

A thousand soldiers in neat armor against the sick and wounded at the bottom of the valley was as easy as picking things up.

With a flap of its wings, the arrow-hawk soared high, disappearing into the clouds.

The biting cold wind, carrying the scent of blood, surged into Jiangyun Valley.

At the bottom of the valley, most were remnants of a defeated army. If not for still wearing their padded armor, many more would likely have frozen to death.

They had no means to collect the corpses of their frozen comrades, only hastily burying them under the snow.

They stripped the padded armor from their dead brothers and wore it themselves to ward off the cold.

There was no other way; the living needed to continue living.

Tears couldn't be shed, because they would freeze.

The Annan Marquis's expression was grim, as he strained to support his body.

Listening to the sounds of battle outside the valley, his heart grew even heavier with worry.

Yuwen Xing, that old fox, he was extremely timid and would never fight a battle he wasn’t confident in winning.

Since this old fox had appeared on the battlefield, it meant he had made thorough preparations.

Even if Wen Yue was an innate grandmaster with Sanhu aiding him, there must be experts in Northern Wei who could deal with them both.

Moreover, amidst a fully prepared army of ten thousand, if a volley of arrows were loosed, let alone an ordinary innate grandmaster, even an immortal master of lower cultivation would be pinned to death by the arrows.

The Annan Marquis looked around. He had less than a hundred men left by his side.

“Marquis, a well-equipped troop is heading towards the bottom of the valley,” the old personal guard hastily reported to the Annan Marquis.

The remaining injured soldiers beside him looked at the Annan Marquis. “Marquis, let’s fight them to the death!”

The Annan Marquis leaned on his long spear, drawing the longsword from his waist, his expression blank.

A thousand elite soldiers were enough to capture them alive. If they wished to avoid humiliation, they should commit suicide to preserve their dignity.

In fact, after learning that the Wei army intended to use a "surround and strike at reinforcements" strategy, the Annan Marquis had stopped sending soldiers to relay information back.

If Geng Lie intercepted the information, while this act was despairing, it also preserved his sons.

But his own sons were his sons; were not the sons who followed him also sons?

If there was a glimmer of hope, the Annan Marquis still wanted to lead them back alive.

The Annan Marquis let out a deep breath, looking at the soldiers beside him, many of whom had followed him since the pacification of the south. Now, a desire for life burned in their eyes.

How could the Annan Marquis bear to extinguish their hope? His expression suddenly firmed, and he declared resolutely, "Follow me and break through!"

“Break through!”

A hundred soldiers followed the Annan Marquis, charging out from the bottom of the valley.

They were met head-on by the black-armored Wei general and a thousand soldiers.

The general had a resolute expression, gripping his halberd. "Annan Marquis, if you surrender, I can spare your life."

The heavily wounded Annan Marquis spun his long spear, roaring, "If you want this general's head, you can try!"

“Since you are so stubborn, Jiangyun Valley will be your grave, Song Hao.”

Strong bows and powerful crossbows were already prepared.

“Fire the arrows!”

Hundreds of feathered arrows whizzed through the air.

“Protect the Marquis!”

Over a hundred soldiers raised their shields.

Only muffled thuds were heard, as most arrows were blocked by the thick wooden shields.

But some soldiers were still hit by arrows, falling into pools of blood.

“Kill them!”

Seeing that the arrows had crippled more than half of their combat strength, the black-armored Wei general immediately ordered a charge, leading the way with his halberd, heading directly for the Annan Marquis.

Although the Annan Marquis was wounded, he was also a rare expert and his spear techniques were truly superb.

Moreover, he was in his prime, his blood and qi not yet diminished. Even by forcefully drawing upon his vital energy, he could squeeze out another thirty percent of his combat strength.

“Clang!”

Weapons clashed, as dense as drumbeats.

The black-armored Wei general fought with increasing ferocity, his momentum like a rainbow. His long halberd spun like a windmill, like a rending wind blowing past the Annan Marquis, leaving behind wound after wound.

“Song Hao, you should have died half a month ago.”

“Do you know? The Commander has laid a net as inescapable as heaven and earth. Your son-in-law and son plunged right into it to save you.”

“If I’m not mistaken, their corpses should already be hanging on the great banner,” the black-armored Wei general, not only highly skilled in combat, continued to provoke the Annan Marquis with words during the fight, trying to find a weakness.

The already unsettled Annan Marquis, hearing this, felt sorrow well up in his heart, a deep and lingering melancholy.

“To die by my halberd, you can consider it a fitting end.”

“On the road to the Yellow Springs, you three can go together,” the black-armored Wei general found an opportunity, his halberd darting out like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, heading straight for the Annan Marquis’s heart.

In the nick of time.

A tall figure blocked the Annan Marquis’s path.

The Annan Marquis couldn’t help but look up.

(Chapter End)