si-mexico Chapter 2272 Everyone Withdraw!
Chapter 2272 Everyone Withdraw!
"Report! Your Majesty! Urgent military intelligence!"
The scout practically tumbled off his horse and knelt on one knee in front of the makeshift command platform. He was still breathing heavily, but his speech was as fast as popping beans.
"Emperor Li Shimin of Tang seems to be making unusual moves! His elite cavalry, numbering over a thousand, are secretly converging on his dragon banner, while his infantry formation is tilting eastward, suggesting that he intends to concentrate all his forces for a breakout to the east!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning turned around abruptly.
His dark cloak billowed in the night wind. His face showed little surprise, only a chilling mockery that slowly crept up to the corner of his mouth in the flickering torchlight.
His gaze was like lightning, sweeping towards the area to the east where the firelight was sparse and the shouts of battle were weaker, as if he had already pierced through the night and seen Li Shiming's little dying struggle.
"Trying to break through?"
Chu Ning repeated the sentence softly, her voice not loud, yet it caused the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.
He slightly turned his head, and to the messenger waiting beside him, and to the thousands of troops standing ready in the night, he clearly and distinctly issued the order that would end everything:
"Order Zhao Yu to ride the white horse eastward and block the breach."
"General Xue, advance your infantry eastward to compress their space."
He paused, then the cold smile on his lips finally bloomed fully, carrying an undeniable sense of control and chilling killing intent:
"Trying to break through? Do you think it's that easy?"
The night was as dark as iron, and the flames of war were as red as blood.
The fighting at Changtingpo did not cease with the arrival of darkness; instead, driven by the flickering firelight and the pressure of despair, it became even more intense and brutal.
However, for the three allied forces trapped in the encirclement, the real chill came not from the night wind, but from the constant stream of terrifying defeat reports.
These messages, like an invisible plague, quietly spread among the opposing camps, eroding the last vestiges of fighting spirit and catalyzing drastically different plans and decisions.
The Scorpion Khan's Fury and His Determination to Head North
Helian Hui stopped his horse on a slightly higher mound, surrounded by his most elite "Wolf Scorpion" guards.
They were all dressed in leather armor, their faces painted with hideous greasepaint, and in the firelight they looked like ghosts from the underworld.
The scimitar in Helian Hui's hand was still dripping blood, after he had just repelled a probing attack from the Chu army.
The Scorpion Khan, known for his bravery and greed, was now filled with rage and a vague unease.
The battle dragged on far beyond expectations, with the Chu army's resistance proving incredibly tenacious.
The addition of Xue Huaide and Zhao Yu made him feel as if he had run into an iron wall that was constantly closing in.
"Khan! Urgent report!"
A scorpion scout practically tumbled up the hill, bringing news that his companions, who had ventured in from the outer perimeter, had given their lives in the process.
The scout lay prostrate on the ground, his voice trembling with fear and exhaustion: "North...the north is confirmed!"
"Lord Gongsun Yi... encountered Feng Mulan's army at the foot of Jianghuai City, and being outnumbered, he... has already died in battle! Almost all of his warriors were wiped out!"
"what?"
Helian Hui's copper bell-like eyes suddenly widened, and the scimitar in his hand trembled violently.
Gongsun Yi was not only a trusted general, but also his brother-in-law, and an important link between the royal court and the front line!
This loss is not only in terms of military strength, but also a double blow to prestige and family ties.
Before he could recover from the devastating news, the scout's next words plunged him into an icy abyss:
"And...and also, after annihilating Lord Gongsun's forces, Feng Mulan did not linger. She is leading her army at breakneck speed, heading...to Changtingpo!"
"Furthermore... it seems that the morale of Emperor Li Shimin's army is wavering, and there are indications that he may... may want to break through the encirclement and head east alone!"
"Li Shiming! That faithless, treacherous coward! That idiot!"
Helian Hui's roar was like the howl of a wounded beast, exploding in the night sky, and all the guards around him were terrified.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes burned with the fury of betrayal and deep contempt.
"They swore an oath of blood to jointly conquer the State of Chu, and now that things are not going well, he wants to abandon his allies and run for his life? Does he think Chu Ning will let him go? Dream on!"
After the rage came a rapidly spreading, chilling sense of crisis.
Feng Mulan is on her way, which means that the last force outside the encirclement that could have interfered with Chu Ning or even restrained them has been eliminated, and Chu Ning can tighten the noose without any worries.
If Li Shiming were to flee eastward at all costs, it would not only immediately attract the main force of the Chu army to pursue him, creating an opportunity for the encirclement, but it could also completely undermine the already fragile mutual trust among the allied forces.
The Chu army might even deliberately leave the eastern flank open, inducing them to distrust each other and flee for their lives, thus making it easier to divide and annihilate them.
We can't wait any longer! We absolutely cannot entrust our fate to Li Shiming's "perseverance" or Chu Ning's "negligence"!
Helian Hui gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, his knuckles turning white.
He looked around and saw that those who had followed him deep into Chu territory were all warriors of the clan, the bloodline of the Scorpion Clan royal court.
He could take risks, but he couldn't let these elite troops perish here. Otherwise, the royal court would be left vulnerable, and the covetous tribes on the grasslands would pounce on him and tear him apart in an instant.
North! His gaze fell upon the pitch-black north.
That was the direction we came from, although the journey was long and we had to get through possible interceptions by the Chu army.
However, compared to other directions, the north is an extension of the grassland, with relatively open terrain.
Once a breakthrough is achieved, it will be easier to utilize the mobility of cavalry and to receive support from scattered scouts along the border.
More importantly, he was absolutely unwilling to go south or east—that would only plunge him deeper into the heart of Chu, or bring him closer to that unreliable fellow Li Shiming.
"Listen!"
Helian Hui's voice lowered, but carried an iron-like resolve as he surveyed the centurions around him.
"Li Shiming is unreliable, and Chu Xuan is a useless person who can't even take care of himself."
"Feng Mulan is coming soon, and Chu Ning will do everything in his power to wipe us out. If we stay any longer, we will only face death!"
He suddenly brandished his sword, pointing north: "Gather all the warriors who can still mount their horses! Throw away unnecessary baggage, take only bows, arrows, swords, and spears! We'll break out to the north! Back to the grasslands!"
“But Khan, Zhao Yu’s white horse is patrolling to the north…” a centurion said hesitantly.
"Then let's charge!"
Helian Hui grinned maliciously, his face contorted with greasepaint: "The White Horse Cavalry has just been through a major battle, and Zhao Yu is distracted by intercepting Li Shiming. The north cannot be a united front."
"Concentrate all our strength and tear open a gap! This is our only way out! Issue the order: in a quarter of an hour, wherever the wolf-head flag points, charge with all your might!"
The order was given swiftly, and a restless yet resolute atmosphere began to rise among the Scorpion Clan cavalry.
They silently checked their horse tack and organized their weapons, suppressing their exhaustion and fear, transforming them into a final frenzy to break through and survive.
Helian Hui stared at the boundless darkness to the north, his eyes fierce as a wolf's.
He couldn't just sit and wait to die. Even if the road ahead was full of dangers, he had to carve out a bloody path for the Scorpion Clan and for himself!