Chapter 539: Decisive Battle at Five Passes Plain

Yu Kuang raised his bow, aimed at the Great King, who seemed to sense it, lifted his head and stared straight at Yu Kuang, his expression unchanged.

Yu Kuang secretly admired the Great King's sharpness, but he was confident in his own archery, firmly released the arrow; the Great King continued his hand movements, eyes only on Yu Kuang without reaction, as if he hadn't seen the arrow aimed at him.

The arrow arrived in an instant; joy flashed across Yu Kuang's face as he wondered… had it hit?

The next moment he was filled with astonishment: "How is that possible?!"

His specially made blue‑marked arrow feather struck the Northern Border King's chest; the Great King did not dodge, and that powerful, heavy arrow hit his left shoulder but left no mark on the armor, then fell straight to the ground.

The Northern Border King's not‑yet‑adult shoulder didn't even tremble.

That guy let out a proud laugh, seeing Yu Kuang's ashen face, unexpectedly reached out and made a… heart gesture?

Wei Shen and Ling Yin, who had witnessed the whole thing: ……

Just absurd.

Wei Shen had ten thousand things to say, but no time.

Yu Kuang was dumbfounded—could it be an illusion? How is this possible! How are we supposed to fight?!

He didn't understand the Great King's heart sign, but he knew it was a provocation.

This trick of the Great King is very useful—his armor, forged at great expense, is far superior to the Owl Cavalry's Owl‑Bird Mystic Armor; by taking an arrow head‑on he shattered the enemy commander's morale.

The arrow didn't damage the armor, but the force was still great; the Great King, whose shoulder had been struck, cursed, "Ow~! It hurts so much~! My shoulder must be bruised……"

Wei Shen: ……I feel sorry, but not much.

The Great King's personal guards: ……Feeling guilty. The pain even echoed!

Yu Kuang looked around blankly; obviously only his soldiers from Everlasting Peace had fallen, their spears, halberds and arrows seemed useless against the Northern Border Cavalry, and he felt a wave of dizziness.

The solid spear formation, drilled countless times, was quickly broken by the Northern Border Cavalry; once this line fell, the so‑called three‑hundred‑thousand decisive battlefield was already lost to him.

Feng Xiang was the first to shout at Yu Kuang, "General! The Northern Border Cavalry is stronger than the steppe cavalry you fear; even the Xiongnu still tribute their whole nation—you have no chance to win! Since that's the case, why must we slaughter each other here for a false emperor's usurpation? Look, the fallen are all subjects of Great Jin—don't you feel pity? General, don't be obstinate, surrender!"

Yu Kuang recognized the Luoyang garrison commander Feng Xiang and began to berate him, saying surrendering the city outright made him a traitor.

Feng Xiang felt anyone could call him a traitor, except Yu Kuang. "Compared to you, what kind of traitor am I, old man? You are the traitor of Great Jin! The Northern Border King is the former emperor's son, a meritorious feudal prince who recovered the four northern provinces from the Xiongnu, while the Jiangxia King, that false emperor, is the usurper who killed his nephew! The Taihe Emperor's fate is unknown; the Northern Border King's southern expedition to aid the state is wholly justified!" Even if it weren't, no one could defeat him; letting him cut through the chaos with a swift blade to seize the realm would be the best policy for all under heaven.

The Great King also quickly declared, "I, the Great King, promise not to kill prisoners! Lay down your arms and surrender; I will pardon you, let you return home to reunite with your families!" He thought keeping them was useless—these conscripts he didn't much value as soldiers; if needed later, he would recruit the best anew.

This bun, it's so big and round!

Of those fighting here, ninety‑nine percent are peasants forcibly conscripted—who wouldn't want to go home alive?

Anyone with sense would look at the Northern Border Mystic Armor Cavalry's bearing—do you even know your own weight? Countless hearts swayed at that moment. In their minds, the Northern Border was also a barbaric land, no different from the steppe cavalry, in fact even more brutal.

Yu Kuang is one of Bai Li Jun's fathers‑in‑law; his daughter has been made a lady, so the shared interest makes it hard for him to defect. But these soldiers are truly afraid—the frontline regular troops are Bai Li Jun's direct lineage, the rear are forcibly conscripted, and they really don't want to fight.

Watching the Northern Border Cavalry's central force break through the gap, with flanking maneuvers on both sides, morale began to collapse. Most of them were ordinary peasants who had never fought the Xiongnu, never seen such iron cavalry that could choke one's breath; even the bravest started to falter in the face of a one‑sided massacre.

The Bai Li clan fights for the throne, yet must they pay with their lives?!

Although deserters are beheaded, … but that's not up to whoever wins to decide, is it!

The Owl Cavalry charged past the first two lines, then advanced as if entering an uninhabited land! "By order of the Northern Border King: surrender and not be killed, you are pardoned!"

"Put down your weapons and kneel! Surrender and not be killed!"

"Surrender and not be killed" echoed across Five Passes Plain.

Black horses, black armor—the Owl Cavalry with owl‑bird masked faces charged into Yu Kuang's infantry formation, like a goshawk descending among chickens.

Wu San fumbled to dodge and clear a path for the cavalry; when it was right before his eyes he couldn't even think of cutting, he didn't dare meet the cavalry's gaze. Their black warhorses bore riders who pointed a blood‑dripping lance at him, shouting, "Kneel! I'll spare you!" Wu San didn't think, he dropped to his knees……

No chance at all to let the Owl Cavalry rack up kills……

He crouched on the ground, legs trembling, afraid the rear cavalry would trample him, but after kneeling he found the rear warhorses would nimbly avoid him, this surrendering one. Then another warhorse passed, the cavalry bellowed, "Throw away your weapons!" "Gather and kneel!" He hastily tossed his thin‑iron‑sheet knife two or three meters away; the warhorse avoided him again and went on, and he shuffled sideways while still kneeling……

Having knelt in surrender, the Northern Border Cavalry wouldn't kill him, but he began to fear that his own side's archers would really execute those who had surrendered. Wu San anxiously glanced back and saw that the rear archery camp overseeing these new recruits had been scattered, large groups of people like him had dropped to the ground—good, this way perhaps they couldn't shoot over?

He dared not rise and dodge wildly, fearing to make things worse; this little group began to huddle together, imitating those nearby by squatting and covering their heads, hoping the Northern Border's heavily armored warhorses would continue to skirt around him……

The stubborn Yu Kuang soon despaired—this wasn't a back‑and‑forth clash but a one‑sided slaughter; he knew the tide had turned, the three hundred thousand were only a matter of time. He knew the Northern Border Cavalry was formidable, but no one in the south had witnessed it, so no one knew just how formidable they were.

Wei Shen, fighting his way closer, said, "This young master will go meet him!"

The Great King nodded, "Sure." The cousin also needs to grow! He glanced at the beast under his horse that served as a tripod, "Xiao Jin, go help!" He pointed at Wei Shen, "Xiao Jin, protect the cousin!"

This creature can't speak, but its pedigree is awesome; it understands human speech just fine. Following the meal‑ticket's orders, it trotted after Wei Shen, bouncing along to serve as his tripod and pet.

Wei Shen stepped forward, crossed his blade to block a Snow Cavalry fighter engaged with Yu Kuang, "Make way! Let this young master learn a thing or two—are you the leader of this rabble?"

Snow Cavalry soldier: ……

Those unaware thought the Second Young Master was seizing the hill to contend for the Great King!