Chapter 412

"Weidaren Sect sent me to assist you,"Xiao Rong said.

"Assist me? That's excellent!"Ceng Hai's face lit with joy: "Our pressure has been immense these past days; Li Xin's army could attack at any moment. I was already worried about how to counter their cannons. Now that my lord has arrived, please grant us your guidance!"

"General Ceng is too modest. War is your forte, General; how could I possibly offer any strategy?"

"Weidaren Sect wishes to invite you to headquarters to personally brief Weidaren Sect on the front-line situation. As for here, do not worry; I will ensure the defense holds,"Xiao Rong said.

"I have long wished to meet Weidaren Sect, but recent intelligence indicates Li Xin will launch an attack very soon, possibly even tonight! Therefore, I cannot leave at such a time. I will write a letter detailing the situation here; please, Lord Xiao, deliver it to Weidaren Sect."

Ceng Hai said.

"Is that not improper? Weidaren Sect specifically ordered you to come, not to send a letter. Rest assured, I will guard the army here for you,"Xiao Rong said.

"But my subordinates do not know you; how can you command them?"Ceng Hai countered.

"That is simple. Please, General, hand over your great seal,"Xiao Rong said.

Ceng Hai's expression changed upon hearing this: "You want my great seal? I fear it will never be returned."

"General, what kind of words are those? I, Xiao Rong, guarantee I will return the seal to you in the future,"Xiao Rong said.

"This matter is of great importance; I cannot hand over the seal,"Ceng Hai said.

"General, are you preparing to disobey orders?"Xiao Rong said coldly.

At that moment, the hands of the six men behind him all rested on their sword hilts.

"I am not disobeying orders; I suspect you are falsely transmitting Weidaren Sect's command! If Weidaren Sect truly ordered me to hand the seal to you, he would have a letter or something similar for you to deliver to me. But now you have nothing to show; how can I believe you?"

Ceng Hai shouted loudly.

"I am one of Weidaren Sect's most trusted; you know this. Seeing me is like seeing Weidaren Sect!"

"I give you one last chance: hand over the seal!"

As Xiao Rong spoke, he flashed a signal with his eyes.

The special guards immediately drew their swords and advanced toward Ceng Hai.

Just then, several people suddenly emerged from the screen behind Ceng Hai.

Each held a thick shield.

These shields were placed side by side, forming a thick wall.

Meanwhile, people also crept in from both sides of the main tent.

Many people surged in through the entrance of the main tent.

At the same time, cries of battle erupted outside!

Xiao Rong's expression changed; only then did he realize the other side had prepared long ago!

"Kill!"Xiao Rong shouted..........

Fighting immediately broke out between the two sides within the tent.

The special guards brought by Xiao Rong were all experts, but that was only relative to ordinary soldiers.

They could not fight ten men with one.

Especially when facing large numbers of well-trained soldiers, their disadvantage was extremely obvious.

These soldiers were elite troops under Ceng Hai; some held shields, some held short swords, and others held halberds.

The shields provided defense, the long halberds launched attacks, and the short swords could deal with enemies charging up close.

Comparing the soldiers'halberds to the special guards'swords, one was long and the other short; originally, neither side could be said to be stronger.

But when large numbers of soldiers formed a halberd formation, those surrounded in the middle had no chance at all!

No matter how strong these special guards were, they only had two hands.

The short sword in one hand could not possibly reach past the opponent's long halberd, while the other hand could only grab hold of one halberd.

As for dodging, that was impossible.

Long halberds extended from all sides...

The only way to deal with large numbers of halberd-wielding soldiers was to rush up to them unexpectedly.

But Ceng Hai's side had prepared long ago; Xiao Rong and his group had no chance whatsoever.

Moreover, these halberds were not ordinary ones; ordinary halberds resemble hoes and are swung from top to bottom to attack.

The halberds of these elite troops under Ceng Hai had been improved; they featured protruding sharp points on the halberd heads, allowing them not only to "hoe"but also to thrust horizontally.

Several screams of agony rang out as several halberds pierced each special guard's body.

And Xiao Rong was also wounded.

However, those soldiers did not wish to kill him immediately, so they did not strike vital areas.

The battle outside the tent ended just as quickly.

Those dozens of special guards had no chance at all when facing hundreds of prepared soldiers.

The sounds of fighting alerted the five hundred soldiers stationed on the open ground.

Just as they sensed something was wrong, large numbers of soldiers appeared around them.

These soldiers quickly raised their shields; behind the shield formation were archers and halberd-wielders, totaling several thousand men!

"Xiao Rong's rebellion has been quelled; you must surrender immediately, or you will all be killed!"

The deputy general shouted while riding a horse.

"You killed Lord Xiao? You are the ones rebelling!"one of the special guards roared.

No sooner had he roared than dozens of long arrows arrived before him.

Puff, puff, puff—several sounds rang out as his body was pierced by long arrows, making him look like a hedgehog..

198, The Collapse of the Rebels

"I will count to three; if you do not surrender, I will fire arrows first and then attack. You will all die!"

The deputy general shouted loudly.

"One…"

When the first shout rang out, the soldiers instantly fell into panic.

They exchanged glances, at a loss for what to do.

They had to understand that Great Qin's military discipline was extremely strict — surrendering on the battlefield was a capital offense, and the soldiers beside the surrenderer had to kill him on the spot.

If they failed to kill the one who surrendered, then they themselves were guilty of a capital offense.

Therefore, soldiers on the battlefield simply did not dare to surrender.

But the problem now was that they had no way out.

Surrounded by enemies dozens, even a hundred times their number, they had no path to survival at all.

"Two…"

The vice general called out the second count.

At this moment, the formation of the encircled soldiers began to loosen.

Many of them wanted to drop their weapons, but feared the men beside them turning on them.

"Archers, ready!"

The vice general raised his hand.

Upon hearing the order, the archers immediately began to draw their bows and nock arrows, countless feathered shafts aimed at the encircled men in the middle.

"Hold on!"

At that moment, someone among the soldiers shouted loudly.

A centurion pushed his way out of the human pile, then turned around to face the soldiers under his command.

"Brothers, Lord Xiao is already dead. We failed in our protection — going back is death too! Better to surrender; that way we still have a way to live!"

The centurion shouted at the top of his voice.

They were the men Xiao Rong had brought, and now that Xiao Rong was dead, even if they survived and fled back, they would be executed.

This reasoning was clear to everyone.

They simply did not dare surrender because of the strict military discipline.

Now someone had stepped forward, and a centurion at that.

First, the soldiers under this centurion began to lay down their weapons.

And the other soldiers, seeing the situation, took the cue and placed their weapons on the ground as well.

Just like that, a conspiracy to seize power was quickly quelled.

And Ceng Hai had no way back either.

Even if Wang Lun went back on his word and refused to surrender, he, Ceng Hai, would still go surrender.