Chapter 1564

The goose-feather blade chopped toward Yan Huacheng with the speed of thunder, leaving no time to cover one's ears; Yan Huacheng pulled the reins, the black horse suddenly slowed, Yan Huacheng leaned back, the blade grazed past his nose tip, and in the instant the two horses' hooves crossed, his iron snake spear, like a flood dragon leaping from the sea, puffed—piercing Xu Guangdi's left rib, piercing his armor and deeply penetrating his chest. Accompanied by Yan Huacheng's loud shout, he heaved Xu Guangdi's body aloft with his right arm; Xu Guangdi's mount let out a mournful wail, turned, and fled toward their own camp.

Yan Huacheng raised his long spear with one hand, hoisting Xu Guangdi's body aloft, like a deity descending, and roared: "Who dares to fight?"

With a single move Yan Huacheng cut down Xu Guangdi, causing the entire Xichuan camp to be shaken; in an instant morale soared, and all the soldiers shouted in unison.

Su Yuchi furrowed his brows; life-and-death combat on the battlefield was nothing unusual, and he had long heard of Yan Huacheng's fame, but he had not imagined Yan Huacheng's martial prowess could be so great; Xu Guangdi ranked among the top ten fighters under his command, yet even so he was no match for Yan Huacheng in a single exchange—defeat had been expected, but not such a swift and clean loss.

Yan Huacheng stood proudly on the battlefield and roared: "Who dares to fight?"

Yuan Qing Shan, clad in silver helmet and armor, spurred his horse to Su Yuchi's side and volunteered: "General, I will go slay him to avenge General Xu."

Su Yuchi did not speak, but said in a low voice: "Jia Qing, you go!"

The officer named by him, Jia Qing, felt his heart sink; Jia Qing's martial ability was roughly equal to that of Xu Guangdi, whom Yan Huacheng had just slain—sending him would be tantamount to sending him to his death. Su Yuchi certainly understood that, if it came to martial strength, the only one among his commanders who could match Yan Huacheng was Yuan Qing Shan, yet he had not called Yuan Qing Shan forward immediately. What scheme does this commander have in mind?

Many officers, including Yuan Qing Shan, looked at Su Yuchi in puzzlement, not understanding why he would make such an arrangement—sending Jia Qing was tantamount to letting him die pointlessly, and it also meant risking a second defeat; perhaps Jia Qing would fall like Xu Guangdi at Yan Huacheng's hands. If two commanders were lost, our side's morale would surely suffer a severe blow.

Su Yuchi's expression, however, remained calm; his eyes quietly fixed on the battlefield ahead.

Jia Qing spurred his horse forward out of the ranks.

Seeing another opponent step forward from the enemy camp, Yan Huacheng gave a shake of his arm, tossed Xu Guangdi's corpse beneath his horse, urged his black steed forward, and shouted: "Who are you? I, Yan Huacheng, do not kill nameless foes with my spear!"

As Jia Qing advanced, he had already nocked his bow, aimed at Yan Huacheng, and let loose three arrows in succession with a series of whoosh sounds. Facing an opponent many times stronger than himself, he had to strike first.

Yan Huacheng deflected the incoming feather arrows with his iron spear, striking them all down.

Jia Qing had resolved to die from the moment he charged out of the ranks; seeing Yan Huacheng's valor, he realized he could not possibly match him. Yet on the battlefield one cannot show the slightest retreat; after expending his three arrows, he snatched up his halberd, roared violently, and charged at Yan Huacheng.

Yuan Qing Shan looked at Su Yuchi. Seeing Su Yuchi's right hand unconsciously tighten on the reins, Yuan Qing Shan suddenly understood. Su Yuchi's decision to send Xu Guangdi out first was certainly no coincidence; after Xu Guangdi was slain, he did not send himself into battle, knowing Jia Qing would surely lose yet still sending him out. There must be some hidden motive. Perhaps he intended to sacrifice a few to numb the enemy, lulling their guard so he could launch a full-scale attack swiftly.

The halberd and the eighteen-foot snake spear collided, producing a loud "dong!" Jia Qing felt numbness in both arms, blood welled at his tiger's mouth, and he could no longer grip his halberd; it flew from his hand into the air. By then there was no time to flee. Yan Huacheng's iron snake spear struck with an uncanny move, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, viciously piercing Jia Qing's throat. The spearhead pierced his neck, its tip protruding from the back, a flash of cold light—Yan Huacheng had already withdrawn the spearhead. Jia Qing's throat spurted blood, his body collapsed to the ground, one foot still caught in the saddle, and his mount bolted, dragging his corpse northward at a gallop.

Yan Huacheng had consecutively slain two enemy commanders, naturally boosting the Xichuan troops' morale; even Li Yan was excited, his face flushed red. Although he did not like Yan Huacheng, he could not deny his martial prowess—choosing him as vanguard this time was indeed the right choice.

War drums thundered, the Xichuan soldiers' cheers rose wave upon wave, and morale had been raised to its peak.

Su Yuchi slowly turned to Yuan Qing Shan, nodded, and said: "Allow defeat, not victory—lure them in!"

"Yes!" Yuan Qing Shan spurred his white dragon horse, which shot out like a bolt of white lightning from the camp. Su Yuchi's deployment of troops had indeed required careful thought; if he had lured the enemy deep from the start, they would not have fallen for it so easily, but by using this method, losing two commanders in succession only then drew out the enemy's full assault—was the cost too great?

Su Yuchi turned to Wu Guo Xing and said: "Qing Shan should be his equal; when Qing Shan withdraws, that will be the moment they launch their full attack—are you ready?"

Wu Guo Xing nodded, seeming to have some reservation, and said softly: "What if General Yuan cannot withdraw in time?"

Su Yuchi narrowed his eyes at Yuan Qing Shan, who was charging toward the battlefield like a whirlwind, and said softly: "Everyone has his own fate and destiny; if he does not return, he can only blame his own lack of skill." Since once a decision is made it will not change for any person or matter, Su Yuchi's ability to become a famed general of Dakang is closely tied to his unshakable, steadfast will.

One black, one white—two fierce generals charged at each other with astonishing speed. Yan Huacheng's iron snake spear was like a black flood dragon churning the sea, while Yuan Qing Shan's bright silver spear resembled a silver dragon soaring into the sky. They clashed, a true meeting of equals in skill; because their moves came too fast, the distant camps could not make out their techniques, only hearing the constant clatter of weapons striking.

Only then did Yan Huacheng realize that Su Yuchi's commanders also possessed such formidable individuals; earlier, they had hardly represented the enemy's true strength. After exchanging more than twenty moves, Yuan Qing Shan feinted with a spear, turned his horse, and rode off, calling out: "Indeed formidable! Today I will spare your life—let us meet again another day..."

Yan Huacheng roared, "Where are you fleeing?" Yet he did not hastily give chase; from their earlier exchange, no one knew Yuan Qing Shan's strength better than he, and the opponent showed no sign of defeat—his sudden flight must be a ruse.

At this point the Xichuan side's morale had reached its peak; seeing Yuan Qing Shan retreat while Yan Huacheng did not pursue, Li Yan could not help but sigh: "Opportunity must not be missed, for once lost it never returns!" As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a mountain; the enemy had suffered three consecutive defeats, their morale at its lowest, while our side's vigor was like a rainbow. If we did not seize this moment to defeat the enemy, once they fled into Yunyang City and laid siege again, the cost would be many times greater; he decisively ordered the three armies to launch a full-scale assault.

Amidst the rolling war drums, battle flags waved, and the hundred-thousand-strong army advanced like a blanket covering the sky and earth to overwhelm the enemy!

The battle formation surged like the Yellow River's waters rushing a thousand leagues, the cries of slaughter like heaven collapsing and earth splitting; the Xichuan hundred-thousand army's momentum was like a rainbow, poised to sweep a thousand leagues—before such a spectacle, few could remain composed.

Su Yuchi, however, was one of the few; he said in a low voice: "Hold steady! Hold steady!"

Qin Yangming galloped back alone to his own camp on a single spear; behind him, the Xichuan army surged like raging waves and terrifying torrents. Once the enemy forces entered effective range, Su Yuchi raised his red triangular command flag and swung it forward decisively; the flag snapped in the wind like a blazing flame. Upon the walls of Yunyang City, two hundred pre‑readied sky‑shaking crossbows fired in unison, emitting a series of booming "ka!" sounds. Each iron‑tube‑like strange object was launched skyward by the crossbow mechanism, climbed to its apex, then traced a parabolic descent; when the iron tubes struck the ground they burst apart, spraying out foul‑smelling poisonous liquid and black poisonous powder.

The Xichuan soldiers initially did not know what was happening; many lifted their heads to look skyward. The poisonous liquid splashing on their faces immediately revealed its astonishing corrosive power—contact with skin caused instant ulceration, and even tough iron armor began to melt rapidly under the poison. The field filled with wails and anguished cries.

Wave after wave of the sky‑shaking crossbows struck; heaven cooperated, and just then an east wind arose, carrying the poisonous liquid and powder farther. The Xichuan troops fell into panic—countless soldiers collapsed after contacting the poison, some because their armor corroded and they hastily removed it, others because their skin touched the poison directly, their flesh putrefying at a visible pace. The air reeked of scorched flesh, inducing nausea; men and horses overturned, chaos reigned.

Su Yuchi split his two yellow triangular flags to the sides; his formation swiftly shifted outward. A thousand sturdy bulls, driven by the soldiers, advanced to the front of the ranks, their horns fitted with specially forged steel blades that flashed cold light. At Su Yuchi's command, the tails of the thousand bulls were simultaneously ignited; the beasts bellowed in pain, eyes reddened, and charged into the enemy army's formation.

This was Su Yuchi's second wave of attack; the sky‑shaking crossbows had only effectively struck the enemy's vanguard, still unable to halt their full advance, yet the ferocious onslaught of the thousand bulls had already left the Xichuan soldiers trembling with fear.

Behind the rampaging bulls, a vanguard of five thousand troops under Yuan Qing Shan's command escorted one hundred two turtle‑shell chariots as they launched another wave of assault against the enemy formation.

Today I'm going to meet with fellow readers; we don't know when we'll finish, but I'm rising early to bring the first update! (To be continued~^~)