Chapter 282: The Allied Forces Collapse

The self-destruction of the faceless leader and the core altar was like pulling out the last spine of the Northern Han–Iron Crow Army alliance.

Having lost the boost of the Yin Ability Field, lost the command core, and even the Nether Bone and Yin Shadow— the mid‑strength forces— being either dead or crippled, the alliance's remaining will to resist, like snow under sunlight, quickly melted away.

"We lost! Totally lost!"

"Run!"

"The venerable one is dead! The formation is broken!"

Panic spread like a plague among the remaining Northern Han soldiers.

They dropped helmets and abandoned armor, no longer heeding military orders or honor, left only with the instinct to survive, like headless flies, crying out as they fled in rout away from Jinzhou City and away from the Chen army's spearhead.

Defeated in battle, like a collapsing mountain.

The Chen army's soldiers, however, bore a spirit like a rainbow.

Although Chen Wen had withdrawn the "Broad Endowment," the sense of power they had previously experienced, and the heroic sight of His Majesty the Emperor crushing the enemy chief and destroying the evil formation, had already pushed their morale to its peak.

What's more, they burned with a raging fury to avenge General Han Tong and the countless fallen comrades!

"All units, pursue!"

"Avenge General Han!"

"Don't let a single barbarian escape!"

Chen Wen needed issue no further specific orders; the frontline commanders had spontaneously organized an effective pursuit.

Shi Dun led the Jinzhou garrison out of the city, like a tiger bursting from its gate, fiercely seizing the most chaotic flank of the routed army.

Li Hong commanded the cavalry, like a nimble leopard, continually weaving and splitting on the outskirts, cutting large groups of fleeing troops into countless pieces, then handing them to infantry for mop‑up and capture.

Chen Wen stood in place, not joining the pursuit.

His internal power was somewhat disordered from the earlier all‑out burst and the blast shock, needing time to settle.

More importantly, the shock from the information fragment and the heaviness of Han Tong's fall made him need a moment of silence.

He gazed upon the battlefield before him, which was like hell.

Corpses lay strewn across the field, blood flowed in channels.

Tattered banners fluttered weakly in the wind, burning camps belched rolling black smoke, and the air mingled with the stench of blood, scorched flesh, and a strange, indescribable residue of energy.

The price of victory was too cruel.

"Your Majesty," Li Wu, dragging his wounded body, reported after arranging care and guard for the personal guard, "Preliminary tally: our casualties exceed ten thousand. Han Tong's unit, tasked with defending the Ministry of Works position, has… almost all died in service."

Chen Wen closed his eyes and drew a deep breath of air heavy with the smell of blood.

Over ten thousand youths, and a talent like General Han Tong.

These are the cornerstones for Great Chen's future pacification of all under heaven and restoration of the state.

"Have you found General Han's… remains?" he asked in a low voice.

"We're searching. The blast‑center area… is severely damaged." Li Wu said gravely.

Chen Wen nodded silently.

He opened his eyes, his gaze once again firm.

The war had not yet fully ended; he could not yet indulge in grief.

"Pass the order," he said in a deep voice, "mobilize full efforts to treat our wounded, properly gather the bodies of the fallen soldiers, register them in ledgers, to await postwar compensation."

"Captured Northern Han soldiers are to be strictly guarded, officers separated out. Those who stubbornly resist shall be executed on the spot; those who lay down arms and surrender shall have their lives spared for now."

"Order Zhao Lao Nian to lead a team to carefully inspect the blast‑core area, seeking any valuable debris or clues, especially… anything related to that crystal and the Iron Crow Army."

"Order all units: in the pursuit, do not overextend; focus on dispersal and capture, and guard against the enemy's desperate counter‑attack by setting ambushes."

Order after order was issued clearly, showing that Chen Wen, even while his mind was tumultuous, still maintained the calm and meticulousness of a sovereign.

"Will obey, General!" Li Wu received the command and immediately arranged for messengers to deliver it in four directions.

The orders were swiftly carried out.

The clamor on the battlefield gradually changed.

Shouts of killing were replaced by the groans of the wounded, the cries of medics, the clatter of collected weapons, and the pleas of prisoners.

The order of victory was being rebuilt bit by bit on this bloody ruin.

Chen Wen stepped forward, under the protection of his personal guard, walking across the battlefield.

He passed beside the fallen Chen soldiers, looking at their young faces now devoid of life, at the weapons they still gripped in death, his heart feeling as if weighed down by a huge stone.

He passed before the Northern Han prisoners, seeing their fearful, numb gazes, even a hint of bewildered relief at having survived, his heart feeling little joy, only a faint sorrow for the fate of chaotic times.

He finally arrived before the Ministry of Works position.

This was once one of the fiercest battlegrounds, and also the place where General Han Tong fell.

The ground was soaked with blood, turning dark red.

Broken shields, snapped weapons, and shattered scale armor lay scattered everywhere.

Zhao Lao Nian was leading Ministry of Works artisans and some soldiers, carefully sifting through the wreckage.

Seeing Chen Wen approach, Zhao Lao Nian hurried forward to salute, his face showing sorrow and fatigue.

"Your Majesty."

"Any findings?" Chen Wen asked, his gaze sweeping over the blood‑stained land.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Zhao Lao Nian said in a low voice, "we have found some relics of General Han's personal guard… but the general himself… has not yet been found. The blast's power was too great; in the central zone… many traces are hard to discern."

He paused, then continued: "As for the Iron Crow Army's remnants, we have collected fragments of that black bone armor and a few pieces of the Yin energy crystal not completely destroyed; they have been sealed away for later study. The altar and the core crystal… have been utterly obliterated, leaving no tangible trace."

Chen Wen silently nodded.

This was within his expectations.

That self‑destruction blast contained power at the level of rules, aimed at erasing all traces.

He instinctively touched the cold information fragment in his chest.

Perhaps, this is the only and also most important "spoil" of that explosion.

"Your Majesty!" a scout came riding to report, "General Shi Dun sent word that our forces have pursued to thirty li beyond, capturing over three thousand enemy troops; the routed army has lost all formation, scattering and fleeing into the mountains. The banner of Northern Han's commander-in-chief, Liu Jun, has vanished—he likely fled early under the protection of his personal guard."

"Understood." Chen Wen waved his hand, "Order Shi Dun not to advance further, gather the troops, tally the spoils, and withdraw to the outskirts of Jinzhou to rest and regroup."

"Yes!"

Another officer came forward to report on the progress of clearing the battlefield.

Chen Wen listened to each report and issued orders.

He stood here, like a hub, handling the victorious aftermath's complicated affairs in an orderly manner.

The setting sun dyed the horizon a grim, blood‑red hue.

The lingering sun, like blood, shone upon this battlefield that had just endured a great battle deciding the fate of Zhongyuan.

Corpses, gunpowder smoke, broken halberds, and tattered banners formed a bleak and desolate scroll.

Chen Wen stood firm in the afterglow of the setting sun, his dark cloak stained with dust and blood, yet his silhouette grew ever more straight and towering.

The Battle of Jinzhou, the overall situation is settled.

The Great Chen dynasty, with blood and life, won the most crucial victory since its founding, utterly crushing the joint counter‑attack of Northern Han and the Iron Crow Army, and firmly establishing its foothold.

Yet Chen Wen's heart held little joy.

Han Tong's figure lingered in his mind, impossible to dispel.

The icy feel of the information fragment in his chest constantly reminded him.

The mist behind the Iron Crow Army, and the words "Clearing Agreement," "Variable," and "Terminus," brought a heavy pressure far more suffocating than the clear‑sword enemies on the battlefield.

The allied army collapsed.

But the true challenge may have only just begun.

He lifted his gaze northward—that was Northern Han, Khitan, and the unknown, vast expanse of heaven and earth.

…and also the direction toward the deeper secrets that the information fragment might point to.

"Convey my decree," he spoke slowly, his voice carrying through the dusk, "reward the three armies, mourn the fallen heroes."

"Three days hence, we shall return to the capital."