Chapter 138: Midstream Pillar

"Jing'an Army! Forward!"

Chen Wen's command was like thunder splitting the chaos.

The Jing'an Army, long poised, was like a tiger finally breaking free of its chains.

Taking Shi Dun's vanguard battalion as the spearhead, the entire army formation began with unprecedented speed and resolve.

They surged wildly toward the right-wing gap that had become a meat-grinding mill!

The direction of their charge was not straight into the most chaotic center where fleeing and pursuing troops intertwined.

Instead, they cleverly cut in at an angle, aiming directly at the temporary stronghold formed by Chai Rong's personal guard joining the battle.

But the junction of the central army, where the flank remained empty!

There, it was precisely the key route where the flood of defeat and Khitan cavalry tried to expand their gains, straight for Yellow Dragon!

Form up! Arrowhead formation! Shi Dun, clear the way!

Chen Wen roared while galloping, and without hesitation, for the first time in actual combat,

He covered the entire vanguard battalion and the core combat troops following closely with 'Broad 2x Ability Granting'!

Hum—!

An invisible force instantly swept over the hundreds of soldiers who had been covered.

It did not directly increase their strength, but made their breath more enduring and their muscles more coordinated.

Their understanding and execution of commands became a bit faster, and their coordination with each other became more tacit!

This boost in overall efficiency, on the chaotic battlefield, produced astonishing effects!

Shi Dun felt a warm current surge through his body; his already bear-like strength seemed to condense further.

He roared, waving his heavy iron mace, like a humanoid battering ram.

He slammed hard into the flank of a Khitan cavalry unit trying to outflank Chai Rong's personal guard from the side!

Get lost!

The iron mace came down with a vicious wind, smashing a Khitan cavalryman and his horse, breaking tendons and bones; he screamed as he flew back, instantly tearing a gap in the enemy formation!

The enhanced vanguard battalion heavy infantry advanced like a red-hot spear cutting into butter, closely following Shi Dun.

With a forest of dense spears and sturdy shields, they bluntly blocked the Khitan cavalry's vicious hook punch!

Archers! Forty-five degrees! Launch! Cover the enemy's rear echelons!

Wang Ru's clear and urgent voice sounded from the rear.

The archers, who had gained a slight efficiency boost, had their motions of drawing the string, nocking the arrow, aiming, and releasing a bit faster.

The arrow rain became denser and more precise, passing over the heads of comrades fighting ahead.

It fell among the crowd of Khitan cavalry trying to keep coming, again delaying their momentum.

Chen Wen himself remained steady in the formation, his sixteenfold senses fully extended.

Like a precise hub, he continually received sporadic reports from Qian Gui the scout and his own observations of the battlefield.

Every swing of his saber in hand precisely deflected the incoming cold arrows.

Or he cut down lone enemy riders who had closed in, right off their horses.

He was not only fighting, but also 'sensing' the 'airflow' of the entire battlefield.

He could feel that, because of Chai Rong's personal campaign and the Jing'an Army's timely intervention,

The right-wing collapse, which had been like an avalanche, was finally forcibly checked!

The scattered soldiers saw the Envoy's golden armor and the Jing'an Army's familiar, unfaltering flag.

Like finding their backbone, they began to spontaneously gather under the flag.

And because the central army's flank was protected, the commander system gradually recovered from the chaos, beginning to deploy troops more orderly to support the right wing.

Jing'an Army!

Just like a massive reef thrown into a rushing whirlpool.

They stubbornly used their own flesh and blood to hold a crucial point on the verge-of-collapse front line!

However, withstanding the pressure.

It meant bearing the fiercest impact!

The Khitan also discovered this suddenly appearing force, whose fighting style was tenacious.

And it seriously hindered the Zhou army unit that was trying to expand their gains.

More cavalry, like wolves smelling blood, began to converge on the Jing'an Army's line.

They launched a more frenzied, all-out charge!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of warhorses striking shields was like a drum.

Each impact made the front-line shield bearers' bodies shake violently, blood pouring from mouth and nose, yet they held fast, not retreating a step!

Spears continually thrust out from the shield gaps, piercing warhorses and riders.

The archers' arms were already sore and numb.

Yet they mechanically repeated the motion of drawing the string and releasing the arrow, their quivers emptying at a visible speed.

Casualties began to appear and quickly increased.

Familiar comrades fell beside them, blood staining the ground beneath their feet.

Wails, clashing weapons, and the groans of the dying composed a hellish movement.

Chen Wen's heart bled, but he could not show the slightest sign.

He constantly moved within the formation, boosting morale with the briefest words and plugging gaps in the line with precise dispatch.

He saw Shi Dun like a blood-soaked man, yet growing braver with each battle;

Seeing Wang Ru's face pale, yet she still calmly commanded the long-range strikes;

Seeing Zhang Cheng hoarsely organizing the wounded to retreat, replenishing the fresh troops to hold the front line……

Pressure! Unparalleled pressure!

Not only bodily fatigue, but also extreme mental torment!

Guard the commander, hold the line, maintain this critical balance……

Every decision could mean life or death for countless souls, and decide the outcome of this battle of national fate!

In his sea of consciousness, that 99% growth progress bar.

Under this immense, relentless, almost crushing pressure.

Bursting forth with unprecedented brilliant light!

The power beyond that membrane frenziedly assaulted the barrier.

The entire progress bar violently trembled, emitting a strained hum, as if it would shatter completely the next second!

【Personal Power Multiplier: Lv. 4 (16x)】

【Growth Progress Bar: 99%】 (Radiant brilliance, violent trembling, already at the limit of endurance!)

【Fortune Momentum Vortex: Forged in the fires of war and belief, it did not dissipate but instead condensed further, like a red-hot brand, emitting a scorching aura!】

Just a little more! Only the last bit left!

Chen Wen could feel that the membrane had become as thin as a cicada's wing.

He could even clearly "see" beyond it the vast new realm representing thirty-twofold power!

A sudden realization welled up—this final opportunity!

It came not from greater external oppression, but from within his heart.

Stemming from his will to guard order and defend belief, could he, in this ultimate trial of blood and fire, achieve the final sublimation!

He suddenly lifted his head, his blood-stained gaze sweeping past the layers of enemy cavalry.

He once again locked onto the distant golden banner still defiantly fluttering amidst the myriad troops.

"The commander still fights—what face do we have to retreat?!"

"The Jing'an Army—"

"Fight to the death, never retreat!"

"Fight to the death, never retreat!"

All fatigue and fear seemed to be swept away by that roar.

The surviving Jing'an soldiers expended their last strength, unleashing a earth-shaking roar.

Like the dying roar of a wounded tiger, tragic and decisive!

The progress bar, in the burning of belief and will.

Finally reached the absolute limit of 99%!

Upon that barrier, cracks now covered it!