Chapter 78 - 75: Like Splitting Bamboo
"What did you say?" Cao Xun stared daggers at the messenger kneeling below, his young, handsome face twisted with ferocity.
"Say that again!"
The messenger, trembling like a leaf, repeated in a tearful voice, "Your Majesty, Shuozhou City has fallen! Chen Ye’s army... they took Shuozhou City in just... just two days."
Two days!
A mighty city, supposedly impenetrable, had held out for only two days!
Cao Xun’s face was ashen. He hadn’t expected Chen Ye to move so fast, so ruthlessly!
The great hall fell deathly silent. No one dared to speak.
After a moment, Cao Xun took a deep breath, then looked toward an old general with salt-and-pepper hair and beard standing at the back of the ranks.
"General Li, what are your thoughts?"
The old general, Li Xian, stepped forward when his name was called. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard of this Chen Ye. He spent five years training his troops in Great Liang, and his men are all battle-hardened veterans who cannot be underestimated. While the fall of Shuozhou was partly due to the element of surprise, it also proves just how formidable his forces are."
He paused, then continued, "However, rebels are still rebels. Their numbers are limited, and their supply lines are weak. I believe the most urgent task is to immediately dispatch an elite force to seize the vital passes leading to the Central Plains, trapping Chen Ye in the Shuozhou area. At the same time, we should mobilize heavy reinforcements from all regions to encircle them and settle this in one decisive battle!"
His words were measured and prudent, his reasoning clear.
The coldness on Cao Xun’s face eased slightly. He nodded. "General Li’s words are reasonable. In your opinion, then, who is suited for the vanguard position?"
Li Xian looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes, his voice ringing out firm and strong. "This old servant is unworthy, but I wish to bear this burden for Your Majesty. I need only thirty thousand Capital Camp Elite Soldiers to halt Chen Ye at Shuozhou!"
Although he spoke of Chen Ye with respect, the pride of an old general deep in his bones meant he didn’t truly see this mud-legged rebel commander as a threat.
’In his view, Chen Ye had just gotten lucky and won a few easy battles.’
"Excellent!" Cao Xun decided on the spot. "I will give you an army of fifty thousand. March immediately!"
...
「Meanwhile, inside Shuozhou City.」
"Your Majesty, our morale is sky-high right now! Why don’t we strike while the iron is hot, march straight for the Capital City, and flip that dog Emperor’s Throne over!" Wang Xing said, spittle flying.
But Chen Ye simply took a cloth and methodically polished a colossal weapon in his hands—a lance nearly half again as long as a normal one. Without even looking up, he said, "What’s the hurry? Our guests will be arriving soon."
"Guests?" Wang Xing was taken aback.
Chen Ye set aside the lance, now polished to a chilling gleam, and walked over to a sand table. He tapped a finger on a narrow valley outside Shuozhou City.
"Cao Xun isn’t a fool. He knows how strong we are, so the next army he sends will be the Court’s elite. Rather than wait in the city to be besieged, why don’t we go out and prepare a grand gift for them?"
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over his generals, and his voice turned icy.
"This time, I want them to come and never return."
「Five days later.」
Columns of dust billowed outside Shuozhou City.
A large ’Li’ banner fluttered in the wind. Fifty thousand of Great Yong’s Capital Camp soldiers, in neat formations and gleaming armor, advanced on Shuozhou City with steady steps.
In the Central Army, the old general Li Xian gazed at the distant silhouette of Shuozhou City, a murderous glint in his eyes.
But just then, disaster struck!
WOOO!
The mournful sound of a horn echoed from the forests on both sides.
"It’s an ambush!" Li Xian’s expression changed, but he didn’t panic.
’Of course he knew this terrain was ideal for an ambush, so he had already prepared for one.’
In an instant, countless soldiers in Black Armor poured down from the hillsides on both flanks like a tide. They didn’t shout, they didn’t roar. There was only the sound of their silent, synchronized footsteps, as if they were a Death God Legion crawling out of Hell.
The next moment, arrows rained down!
"Shields up! Hold the line!" Li Xian roared.
The Capital Camp soldiers proved their elite status. Though startled, they did not fall into chaos, quickly raising their shields to form a Turtle Shell formation.
However, when the two torrents of steel finally clashed, the confidence on Li Xian’s face instantly froze.
His soldiers were the elite of Great Yong, well-trained and well-equipped.
But the so-called rebels they faced... they didn’t seem human.
A nearly insane Flame burned in every one of their eyes, and they showed no fear of death.
When a regular soldier was struck by a blade, their first reaction would be to scream and retreat. But these men seemed to feel no pain. Even when a Long Spear pierced through their bodies, they would use their last breath to plunge their Steel Saber into an enemy’s chest.
Empowered by the Dragon-Commanding Army Talent, Chen Ye’s soldiers not only had their combat power soar, but they also gained an indomitable, death-defying will.
They were like a pack of tireless, deathless war machines, madly tearing apart the Capital Camp’s lines.
Watching from the Central Army, Li Xian felt his eyes might split from rage and disbelief. In all his years of campaigning, he had never seen an army so valiant it was almost unnatural!
Just then, with a thunderous CRASH, a burly figure nearly three meters tall, mounted on an equally massive warhorse, smashed into the densest part of the Capital Camp’s formation like a moving mountain.
Every swing of the enormous lance in his hand brought a storm of blood and gore. In front of him, armor forged from fine steel was as fragile as paper.
Men and horses were shattered alike!
That was not the strength of a mere mortal!
Chen Ye was like a colossal deity descended to the mortal world, rampaging through the army at will. Wherever he passed, no one could withstand a single blow. He single-handedly tore a gaping hole through the Capital Camp’s formation.
"KILL!"
Seeing this, the morale of Chen Ye’s soldiers soared to its peak. They let out a heaven-shaking roar, and their assault grew even more frenzied.
’It’s over.’
Staring at the Purgatory-like scene before him, only those two words remained in Li Xian’s mind.
The Capital Camp’s line finally collapsed. Soldiers threw down their weapons, screaming and crying as they fled in all directions.
Li Xian’s Personal Guard tried to escort him out of the encirclement, but Chen Ye had already spotted him. Before he could escape, Chen Ye let out a furious roar and hurled his lance.
The lance flew with the force of a thunderbolt. Li Xian’s Personal Guard tried to block it but were instantly shattered by the immense impact. As for Li Xian, he only had time to let out a bloodcurdling scream before the lance pierced straight through his body, pinning him to the ground.
’What kind of monster is this?’ was Li Xian’s last thought.
Li Xian was killed in action. Of the remaining fifty thousand soldiers, some died, and some surrendered. The entire army was annihilated.
When this news reached the Capital City, the entire Court fell into a deathly silence.
Upon hearing the news, Meng Yi was silent for a long time before sighing. "Li Xian was too proud. He thought Chen Ye was a mere brute, which is why he volunteered to be the vanguard. In the end, it cost him his life."
"Father, is Chen Ye really that powerful?" Meng Xu asked, shocked.
Meng Yi chuckled. "Heh... His power is secondary. The crucial thing is how terrifyingly fast this young man is growing."
With that, he said to Meng Xu, "From this moment on, I will see no more visitors. If anyone asks, you are to tell them that I am gravely ill and do not have long to live."
Meng Xu was startled at first, but then he understood the stakes. He bowed his head and said, "Yes."