Chapter 567: Desperate Breakthrough — Cai Yunzhou Pushed to the Limit |
Xia Hong and Yuwen Tao were exchanging veiled barbs high in the sky, which had nothing to do with the battlefield below. Hou Bing and Yuwen Yong were also unaware that their rash advance had caused trouble for Yuwen Tao.
Right now, the two of them only knew one thing: their gamble had paid off!
Caiqiu's seventy-thousand-strong army had been completely scattered. The entire Guangningshan camp was in chaos. Yet, the thirty thousand Xia troops were divided into six orderly groups, systematically hunting down the stubbornly resisting enemy soldiers.
Compared to them, the ninety thousand rebels were far more frenzied. Their individual combat strength couldn't match that of Caiqiu's soldiers, but they had the advantage of numbers. Swarming forward in a noisy, dense mass, the already scattered Caiqiu soldiers simply couldn't organize effectively and had no chance to fight back.
"City Lord, the situation is beyond saving. Let's go!"
Although Caiqiu's main army was collapsing, the Sun Manifestation Level experts were, without a doubt, still in a very safe position. They all hovered in the air, completely out of reach of the Xia troops. The Great Xia's Sun Manifestation Level experts, limited in number, also didn't dare get too close to them, only keeping watch in the lower airspace to prevent them from joining the ground battle.
The only remaining threat to them was the Divine Machine Crossbows positioned behind the Xia army lines. However, Great Xia's stockpile of crossbow bolts for this operation was clearly limited. Apart from the initial volley that used mass rapid-fire to force them back, there were basically no large-scale actions afterwards, only deploying them at some critical moments.
But this safe situation was only temporary.
Once the Xia army cleared the camp, those Sun Manifestation Level experts would have no worries holding them back and could focus entirely on dealing with them. With the full cooperation of the Divine Machine Crossbows by then, escaping would be much harder.
"Ninety thousand troops are currently trapped in a desperate situation, and all you think about is running away? You are unworthy of being Caiqiu's commanding generals! Fang Bo must have been blind to let you lead troops! Even if I die here today, I will never flee for my life with you cowards! Brothers of Caiqiu, don't panic! Quickly gather and break through to the north! I will carve a bloody path out for you!"
However, faced with the requests from those Sun Manifestation Level commanders, Cai Yunzhou, who had just been somewhat dazed, immediately snapped back to his senses. He then flew into a rage, responding to them with words of utmost determination.
He had only brought seventy thousand troops from Qinghua City, but later, he successively gathered over twenty thousand defeated soldiers who had fled from the Bone-Erosion Path battles. Therefore, the total number of troops garrisoned at Guangningshan was over ninety thousand.
Losing Guangningshan was bad enough. If all ninety thousand of these troops were lost here, what face would he have left to go back and see his uncle, to see Fang Bo?
"The City Lord hasn't abandoned us! Brothers, break through to the north!"
"We can still be saved! Breakout, breakout..."
"Follow the City Lord and break out, brothers!"
………………
Cai Yunzhou's words undoubtedly injected a shot of adrenaline into the retreating Caiqiu soldiers below. Their faces were filled with emotion as they roared, raising their weapons once more and swiftly turning to charge and fight their way toward the north.
Especially when they saw Cai Yunzhou, disregarding the obstruction of the two Sun Manifestation Level commanders from Great Xia, frantically charging down toward the ground on the north side of the camp, fighting desperately to open a gap and assist the breakout, the fighting spirit in their hearts surged even more violently.
Those Sun Manifestation Level experts who had been considering retreat were also shamed into blushing by Cai Yunzhou's words. Battle intent flared in their pupils as they drew their weapons and desperately charged to the ground, following behind Cai Yunzhou as they fought northward.
Clang…………
At the northern gap, Yuwen Yong was forced back by Cai Yunzhou's sword. Watching the endless stream of Caiqiu soldiers pouring in from behind, a hint of urgency flickered in his eyes.
"Hou Bing, quickly send men to reinforce the north side! Block them! With such a big commotion, the main tent at Valley Village must have received the news already. The main force will arrive soon. We just need to intercept them!"
"Understood! Brothers, ignore the east side! Charge and fight toward the north! Block the Caiqiu defeated troops! Don't let a single one escape..."
Hou Bing was already teaming up with Yuwen Yong to deal with Cai Yunzhou. Hearing this, he almost instinctively responded.
Capturing this easily defensible terrain of Guangningshan certainly held strategic significance for Great Xia. But compared to that, annihilating Caiqiu's effective combat strength was undoubtedly more important.
In the two battles at the Bone-Erosion Path, Caiqiu's two hundred thousand troops weren't completely wiped out. The number of enemy soldiers the Xia army killed on the battlefield, plus those captured, totaled just over ninety thousand. The remaining hundred thousand or so were scattered. Later, he led troops to eliminate another batch in the surrounding areas, but that only added up to a little over ten thousand.
Guangningshan had taken in over twenty thousand defeated soldiers. By that calculation, at least sixty thousand scattered Caiqiu troops were still hiding in the areas south of Guangningshan. Blocked by the defensive lines set up by the Xia army, these soldiers couldn't join up with the troops at the Guangningshan camp. But later, the Xia army would definitely have to spend great effort to slowly clear them out.
Considering the complex environment of the Ice Abyss, they might not be able to completely wipe them all out. Once these soldiers returned to Qinghua City, they would become enemies of the Xia army again on the next battlefield. Moreover, having already fought the Xia army once, they would become formidable opponents.
Adding it all up, Great Xia had won the previous two battles, eliminating just over a hundred thousand Caiqiu soldiers in total. In this current major battle, although Great Xia had secured victory, a closer look would reveal that Caiqiu's overall losses weren't actually that large—at most twenty percent, which is less than twenty thousand men.
Think about it. Although the ninety thousand laborers had high fighting spirit, limited by their strength, it was hard for them to even wound the fully armored Caiqiu soldiers, let alone kill them. The main force killing enemies on the battlefield was still the Xia army.
But the Xia army only had thirty thousand men. How many could they kill?
Cai Yunzhou's loud shout had boosted the morale of the remaining seventy thousand soldiers. If they all gathered and successfully broke out to the north, allowing this entire group to escape, the battle achievements would undoubtedly be greatly diminished.
Hou Bing still hadn't forgotten that this active attack on Guangningshan was a high-stakes gamble. The current result was that they had gambled correctly, but the final scale of the battle achievements would undoubtedly influence the Lord Leader's attitude toward them.
Therefore, they could not be allowed to succeed in breaking out!
"Ah…………"
Seeing Yuwen Yong being forced back again by Cai Yunzhou's sword, and the northern gap widening by several more meters, Hou Bing let out a furious roar. He raised the long staff in his hands and fiercely smashed it toward Cai Yunzhou.
Whoosh…………
"You're seeking death!"
Cai Yunzhou let out a sinister laugh. The reason he had been held up for so long ultimately came down to fighting one against two. If not for Hou Bing and Yuwen Yong teaming up, how could he have been so constrained?
Yuwen Yong had already been forced back. Hou Bing, losing control of his emotions, actually charged at him alone. This was simply seeking death.
The Restraining Heaven Sword Art was unleashed once more. The brilliant light drawn by Cai Yunzhou's sword tip instantly shot up from the ground, streaking like lightning toward Hou Bing's throat. The distance of several dozen meters was covered in almost an instant.
Clang!
Hou Bing had come prepared. The moment he felt the chilling intent of the sword tip at his neck, the silver long staff in his hand abruptly swung upward.
Unfortunately, even after activating his Sacred Mark and Martial Arts, his strength was still far, far inferior to Cai Yunzhou's.
Therefore, his long staff only managed to deflect Cai Yunzhou's sword tip upward by a few inches.
Ssshhh…………
It was precisely these few inches of deflection that caused Cai Yunzhou's sword tip, originally aimed at his throat, to pierce into the left side of his chin. Then, with a fierce upward slash, it carved a deep gash over a dozen centimeters long on his left cheek.
Cai Yunzhou's base strength was close to 30 Jun. Striking out in anger now, plus piercing the most vulnerable area of the face—the terrifying extent of this deep gash was imaginable.
The gash started from the left side of the chin, extending upward to the corner of the eye, missing the eyeball by half an inch. Facial tissue was sliced open, and blood instantly spurted out, directly dyeing half of Hou Bing's face red.
The injury was not limited to just the skin membrane and flesh.
"Ah!"
Even the skull bone of Hou Bing's left cheek was cracked open. Dozens of shattered bone fragments shot out. The force of the fragments was too strong, their speed too fast. Surrounding Caiqiu soldiers who couldn't dodge in time had their bodies pierced through.
Of course, the one suffering the most was still Hou Bing!
Although Sun Manifestation Level experts were powerful, they were not immune to pain.
How fragile the skull was! Being directly cracked open like this, extreme pain instantly flooded his mind. Hou Bing directly let out a scream.
But his scream didn't just contain pain and panic; it seemed to also carry a trace of hysterical ferocity.
Whoosh…………
The Cai family spanned over ten generations. Just the branch in Whitewater Commandery alone had hundreds, even thousands of members. Even counting only the third-generation 'Yun' character generation, there were at least a hundred people.
Cai Yunzhou could stand out from among them and hold a high official position—was he a simple character?
He keenly detected something abnormal in this scream. The sword tip he was pressing down to finish off Hou Bing was actually, at the critical moment, forcefully pulled back.
At the same time, an extreme sound of something cutting through the air came from beside his ear. A flash of fear passed through his pupils as he swiftly twisted his body and swept his sword horizontally to block his head.
Whoosh…………
A black shadow resembling a sword tip suddenly shot from behind, violently colliding with the sword in his hand. Then, that black shadow actually ignored the sword blade and directly slashed down toward his neck.
"Trickery!"
Cai Yunzhou didn't understand the origin of the black shadow, but instantly realized it was Hou Bing's Trickery method. A flash of fear passed through his pupils as he quickly retreated to evade.
While evading, he also noticed that the source of the shadow was actually the bonfire atop the main tent of the Guangningshan camp.
"Wait, not the bonfire... it's the light source..."
The thought had just flashed through Cai Yunzhou's mind when a violent pain suddenly struck his left eye.
Ssshhh…………
That black shadow resembling a sword tip possessed extremely terrifying power, and its speed was also incredibly fast. It actually sliced off the flesh of his left cheek, along with his entire left eye.
"Hmm…………"
Half his face and an eyeball were sliced off, but ultimately, it didn't damage the bone. The pain Cai Yunzhou felt was far less intense than what Hou Bing had just experienced.
Therefore, he only let out a muffled grunt.
"Yuwen Yong, quickly join me! Kill this beast!"
But with Hou Bing's following furious shout, the expression on Cai Yunzhou's face truly became somewhat panicked.
He still had to lead his men to fight their way out of the encirclement, still had to face the counterattack of the swarming Xia army and rebels. Given the current danger level on the battlefield, losing an eye had dealt an almost fatal blow to his combat power. How could he continue fighting like this?
Clang…………
Fortunately, the other Sun Manifestation Level experts of Caiqiu weren't just watching.
Before Yuwen Yong could even charge forward, dozens of Caiqiu's Sun Manifestation Level experts frantically rushed toward him. They immediately forced Hou Bing back, and then several of them directly grabbed Cai Yunzhou and quickly ascended into the air.
"What are you doing? I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving! I must lead the brothers to break out! Fight the Xia army to the death!"
Cai Yunzhou instantly realized his subordinates' intention. He immediately swung his sword, trying to sweep away the men beside him, continuously roaring that he wanted to keep fighting.
"City Lord, the gap has been opened! The brothers have already charged out!"
"City Lord, as long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn! Many brothers have already broken out! Let's retreat to Red Tiger Ridge first. Qinghua City still has garrison troops. Little Fang Bo is already mobilizing the town and city elites. Once we regroup, it won't be too late to fight the Xia army again!"
"Brothers, take the City Lord and run! Valley Village is too close. If Xia Hong personally arrives, none of us will escape."
………………
This was already the last chance to escape. Those Sun Manifestation Level commanders naturally wouldn't listen to Cai Yunzhou. They directly endured a few sword strikes and stubbornly carried Cai Yunzhou away, flying off from above.
Cai Yunzhou, of course, wouldn't swing his sword to injure his own men. Realizing he was powerless to stop his subordinates, he could only suppress the rage in his heart. Glancing sideways, he saw that more than half of the soldiers inside the gap still hadn't managed to charge out. His sole remaining right pupil was filled with sorrow.
The Guangningshan camp originally had over ninety thousand people. Only about sixty thousand or so had managed to follow them and charge toward the north for the breakout. At this moment, at least over forty thousand people still hadn't broken out of the Xia army's encirclement.
That meant, in this battle, Caiqiu had lost at least seventy thousand men!
The key issue was, with Guangningshan lost, the scattered Caiqiu defeated troops south of it, apart from a few lucky and clever individuals, would have no chance to cross the Xia army's defensive lines on a large scale ever again.
"Two hundred and seventy thousand troops, destroyed in one fell swoop... destroyed... The entire Evergreen Valley is probably going to be handed over to others... It's over, it's over... With the Xia army advancing unimpeded, plus Chencang coordinating from the west... Qinghua City is in danger... Yunzhou has failed Fang Bo, failed my uncle... Pfft…………"
In mid-air, Cai Yunzhou looked down at the Caiqiu soldiers who had broken out but were now utterly routed. Thinking about Caiqiu's three consecutive defeats against Great Xia, and the complete loss of two hundred and seventy thousand troops, he was overwhelmed by grief and indignation. In a fit of extreme rage, he actually spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Why must the City Lord be like this? Our Caiqiu still has several hundred thousand Garrison Guard troops. Fang Bo's Silver Scale Guards haven't even been deployed yet. Although Great Xia has won three battles, when you get down to it, they've only taken this little bit of territory in Evergreen Valley. The loss isn't that significant for our feudatory."
"That's right. Once Fang Bo regroups, he can first repel Chencang, then drive the Xia army out of Evergreen Valley."
"That Xia Hong, when you get down to it, only relies on a few puppets. Once we figure out the key to his puppet secret technique, I refuse to believe a mere town-level camp can turn the world upside down!"
………………
Hearing his subordinate commanders' words, remembering their earlier disgraceful focus solely on fleeing for their lives, and now, after barely escaping, they dared to show such contemptuous attitudes toward Great Xia, Cai Yunzhou, already enraged to the point of affecting his health, felt like his chest cavity was about to explode from anger.
"You... you…………"
His face flushed red as he pointed at the several men, his lips trembling uncontrollably. But he was so angry he couldn't even get the words out. Finally, his head tilted to the side, and he actually fainted from rage.
The remaining commanders were already supporting him. Seeing him faint, they looked at each other in dismay but couldn't come up with any plan. Worried that someone from Great Xia might be pursuing from behind, they could only speed up, dragging him northward as they flew.
However, before they had flown even one or two kilometers, they were intercepted and stopped by a figure in cyan robes.
Seeing the newcomer, the group of commanders first froze for a moment, then excitement rose in their eyes. They hurriedly bowed, preparing to pay their respects.
"We pay..."
But as they bowed and had just begun to speak, the person interrupted them.
"What's with all this panic and fluster? Three of you, escort him back. The rest, go down below and gather the scattered troops. Lead them back to Red Tiger Ridge first. All matters concerning Evergreen Valley from now on will be under my full authority."
The newcomer was actually Caiqiu's Grand Steward!