strictlysupreme Chapter 1997 Death in Battle, Devastating News
Chapter 1997 Death in Battle, Devastating News
"clang!"
The swords and halberds clashed, unleashing a deafening roar!
Gongsun Wei felt an irresistible force coming from the blade, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, the long sword almost flew out of his hand, his entire arm was numb and sore, and his chest felt a surge of blood and qi.
He was shocked; Xue Huaide's bravery was indeed well-deserved!
Xue Huaide snorted coldly, his halberd trembled, and like a poisonous dragon emerging from its cave, the tip of the halberd drew a strange arc, bypassing Gongsun Wei's parrying blade, and stabbed straight into his chest!
Gongsun Wei twisted his body with all his might to dodge, the tip of the halberd grazing his ribs, leaving a trail of blood, and the armor plates shattered.
The sharp pain made him pause.
That one momentary opening determined life or death!
Xue Huaide's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he used the momentum to spin his halberd, bringing it down from above with the force of Mount Tai pressing down!
This strike, imbued with all his strength and the murderous aura of years of battlefield experience, was as fast as lightning and unstoppable!
Gongsun Wei's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated. He could only watch helplessly as the shadow of death loomed over him. He struggled to raise his long sword horizontally above his head, attempting a final block.
"Crack!"
The long sword, forged from fine iron, snapped in two with a single blow!
The heavy halberd cleaved through his helmet without any resistance and continued downwards with unstoppable force, slashing down from his forehead to his chest and abdomen!
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Gongsun Wei froze on the spot, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by a deathly gray.
A terrifying line of blood spread down his forehead. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only large gushes of blood gushed out.
"boom!"
This Tang general, who chose to cover the retreat and die a heroic death, along with his warhorse, was cleaved in two by Xue Huaide's earth-shattering halberd strike.
His mangled body crashed to the ground, and blood instantly stained the earth beneath him.
With their commander killed in battle, the will to resist of the three thousand rearguard troops collapsed instantly.
The remaining soldiers were quickly slaughtered by the Chu army, with no one surviving.
Xue Huaide reined in his horse and stood before Gongsun Wei's corpse, his halberd pointing diagonally at the ground, blood dripping down its blade.
He glanced to the northwest; the remnants of the Tang army had already fled far away and were out of reach.
He snorted coldly. Although he had not achieved complete success, killing one of the enemy's generals was still a victory.
After this battle, Gongsun Wei led three thousand soldiers to cover the rear, but almost the entire army was wiped out.
They sacrificed their lives to buy Liu Hongji and about 20,000 Tang soldiers precious time to escape, allowing them to temporarily shake off the Chu army's pursuit and flee in panic toward the possible location of Wang Zhongsi.
The Battle of Luoxia Mountain finally came to a close, ending in a crushing defeat for the Tang army and a complete victory for the Chu army.
Xue Huaide slammed his halberd to the ground, and looked around to see corpses everywhere.
However, the large flag bearing the character "Chu" fluttered in the wind.
On the contrary, the Tang army's flags had been smashed to the ground and were in pieces!
He took a deep breath and ordered in a deep voice: "Immediately take stock of the battle losses and return to camp!"
At a command, the Chu army began to clean up the battlefield.
The setting sun, like blood, dyed the western sky a poignant orange-red, reflecting the disheveled and defeated army.
Liu Hongji led nearly 20,000 remnants of the Tang army who had managed to break out of the Luoxia Mountain camp, fleeing westward along the rugged mountain path for more than two hours.
Exhausted and with morale at rock bottom, every man's face was filled with the shock of surviving a disaster and the grief of losing his comrades.
The column stretched on endlessly, the groans of wounded soldiers, the hoarse urging of officers, and the heavy, disordered footsteps mingling together to form a lament for defeat.
Just as this remnant army was about to exhaust its last bit of strength, a large cloud of dust suddenly rose from the road ahead.
An army with relatively neat military bearing and carrying the banners of the Tang Dynasty was heading towards them.
Leading the group was Wang Zhongsi, the commander-in-chief who had retreated from the direction of the Black River Valley, with a somber expression, and Tuwu Jin, the Scorpion Clan general beside him, whose face was equally grim.
When Wang Zhongsi saw this routed army, which resembled frightened birds, from afar, his heart sank.
When he realized that the leading general was Liu Hongji, who was supposed to stay behind at the Luoxia Mountain camp, a strong sense of foreboding instantly gripped him.
He immediately spurred his horse forward and demanded sharply, "General Liu! Why have you come here? What is the situation at the Luoxia Mountain camp? Where is Gongsun Wei?"
When Liu Hongji met Wang Zhongsi, he felt as if he had found his pillar of support, but he was also filled with shame.
He dismounted, knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with exhaustion and grief:
"General Wang, this humble general...this humble general is incompetent! The Luoxia Mountain camp...has fallen!"
Despite having some suspicions, Wang Zhongsi still felt a wave of dizziness upon hearing the devastating news, and his body swayed on his horse.
He suppressed his churning blood and qi, his voice as cold as iron: "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail!"
Liu Hongji dared not hide it.
He quickly and clearly recounted how the Chu army suddenly launched an unprecedentedly fierce attack, how they committed all their reserves, how frantic the offensive was, how they judged that Helian Wujiu's troops might have met with misfortune, and how they were ultimately forced to abandon their camp and risk a breakout.
When he mentioned that Gongsun Wei, in order to cover the main force's retreat, resolutely led three thousand soldiers to stay behind and block Xue Huaide's pursuing troops, his voice choked with emotion.
"General Gongsun... in order to buy a chance for my subordinates and these 20,000 brothers, he personally covered the rear. At this moment... at this moment, I am afraid that he is in grave danger."
After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.
Only the wind howled, blowing the tattered flags and making a mournful sound.
Tuwu Jin gasped in shock. Helian Wujiu's 40,000 troops had been wiped out, and now even the long-established Luoxia Mountain camp had been lost. In addition, a great general like Gongsun Wei had been lost. This battle was a complete defeat!
Wang Zhongsi remained silent, mounted on his horse, like a frozen statue.
His usually calm and resolute face twitched slightly, and a tidal wave of emotions surged deep within his eyes—shock, anger, regret, and an unfathomable sense of defeat.
Gongsun Wei, his right-hand man, died so heroically in battle.
Luoxia Mountain, a strategic stronghold that could be attacked or defended, changed hands in a very short time.
All of this stemmed from that woman, Feng Mulan, who actually devoured Helian Wujiu with lightning speed!
The bitter fruit of failure burned through his internal organs like poison.
But now is not the time to wallow in grief and regret.
As the commander-in-chief, he had to make an immediate decision to lead this defeated and exhausted army to a way out.
Right now, he faces two paths, each fraught with thorns, risks, and uncertainties.