Chapter 351

"Quick! Everyone, speed up!" Mu Mu Feihang, drenched in sweat, kept urging the soldiers behind him to quicken their pace and retreat urgently toward the west.

At this very moment, he only thought of quickly evading Jiang Jiang Mingyu's pursuing army and breaking out first via the small paths of Jizhou. As for the smoke-filled Guizhou City behind him, he dared not think about it any further.

"Commandant! There's an ambush ahead!" A soldier suddenly cried out in shock. Mu Mu Feihang looked up and saw Li Goudan, wielding a long blade, leading a group of iron cavalry leap out and block their path.

"What! How is Li Goudan here!" Mu Mu Feihang was terrified; he had clearly just seen Li Goudan chasing relentlessly behind, yet how had the man suddenly appeared in front!

Li Goudan let out a cold laugh: "Didn't expect this? The mountainous terrain around Guizhou is far more familiar to the Shouzhou garrison than to you or me. Just now, Song An pointed out a shortcut for me, allowing me to intercept you rats a step ahead!"

Mu Mu Feihang forced himself to calm down and said, "A mere twelve men—what can you do to me? Everyone drop your weapons, kneel and surrender, and I will spare your lives!"

"Have you grown tired of living? It should be you who kneel and surrender!" Li Goudan roared. The iron cavalry immediately loosed arrows and crossbow bolts together; Mu Mu Feihang's Southern Border troops were instantly thrown from their horses, with the dead and wounded littering the ground.

Mu Mu Feihang's face turned deathly pale; he knew better than anyone that this place bordered Guizhou City, and Song An was far more familiar with the local terrain than he was. He had indeed used deception, specifically instructing Li Goudan to take a different route and circle ahead to intercept him!

"Hahaha..." Just then, a series of clear mocking laughs suddenly came from behind. Mu Mu Feihang's heart chilled, and he immediately understood: this was Jiang Jiang Mingyu's fierce general, Tuke Tuke Siluo, leading the iron cavalry in pursuit!

"Commandant, we have lost now," a staff officer beside him said in a trembling voice. "It would be better to surrender quickly with the crowd; perhaps we can still escape with our lives!"

"Surrender?" Mu Mu Feihang narrowed his eyes and let out a cold sneer. "When has Mu Mu Feihang ever bowed his head to an enemy? Rather than become a prisoner, I would rather fight to the death! Issue my order: counterattack on all fronts!"

"Yes!" The generals shouted in unison and turned to relay the order. Just then, an old man stepped forward boldly; it was Mu Mu Feihang's trusted deputy general, Du Yi. With a solemn face, he urged in a low voice: "Commandant, this move is too risky! If we fight on, survival is unlikely. Let me impersonate the Commandant and lead a few people to draw Jiang Jiang Mingyu and the others away, so you can break out and escape!"

Mu Mu Feihang glared fiercely at him and scolded, "When has Mu Mu Feihang ever fled like that? Du Yi, your courage is far too small!"

Du Yi sighed and retreated into the crowd. He knew Mu Mu Feihang's temper was fierce; if he was determined to defend the Great Wall to the death, you could not make him flee from the battlefield.

Just then, a Southern Border soldier galloped up on horseback and reported that Song An was personally leading eighty thousand troops to attack, currently merging with Jiang Jiang Mingyu's iron cavalry three li away. Mu Mu Feihang's face turned ashen; he knew better than anyone that in this battle at Guizhou, he had already fallen into a massive encirclement.

"Ha, it seems our Commandant Mu is preparing to die together with us!" Tu Tu Kesiluo scoffed, drew the sword at his waist, and pointed fiercely toward Mu Mu Feihang. "Listen well, everyone, charge! Leave not a single one alive!"

"Ah—" A deafening roar of killing cries erupted as the iron cavalry advanced as if through an empty land. Soon, blood splashed three feet high, and the Southern Border soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

"Commandant, there is no time to lose; we cannot hold out much longer!" Du Yi leaned against his horse and sighed deeply, his eyes full of pity. "If you still wish to seek a sliver of survival, I beg you, leave this place quickly!"

Mu Mu Feihang's face turned red; he bit his teeth tightly and finally shook his head fiercely. "I will never flee from the battlefield! As long as I have one breath left, I will fight Jiang Jiang Mingyu to the death!"

Du Yi finally gave up all hope; he knew that in this battle, Mu Mu Feihang was determined to fight to the death.

Mu Mu Feihang threw his head back and let out a long, hoarse roar, shouting with all his might: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu! Remember this clearly: I, Mu Mu Feihang, will never fall beneath a reckless young man like you! All troops, listen to my order: charge!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu arrived with his army, and Mu Mu Feihang finally realized there was no retreat left and the tide had turned against him. But deep down, the rebellious man felt no fear; instead, he gripped his double-bladed great sword tightly, his eyes burning with intensity.

"Alright, brothers!" he shouted loudly. "Today is the moment of life-and-death struggle! The day we serve our country with loyalty is today! Follow me and carve out a path to survival!"

These bold words made Li Goudan narrow his eyes. "An arrogant fool who overestimates himself! Watch how I deal with you!" He waved his hand and roared: "Iron cavalry, listen to my order: kill!"

Eight hundred thousand elite troops responded and attacked; Li Goudan led from the front, sweeping all before him. In no time, dark red blood splashed all over his face. Yet Li Goudan only laughed wildly and pressed on.

"Hahaha..." Song An also urged his warhorse on the side, sweeping through thousands of enemies. The day-and-night bitter defense had piled up too much anger within him, and now he would vent it on each one.

"Die, Southern barbarian!" Song An shouted, and with one slash, he cut down head after head that flew through the air.

Under the attack from three sides, the Southern Border troops quickly retreated. Mu Mu Feihang charged left and right but could not change the course of the battle. Just then, a cold voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"What escape route did I give you?"

Mu Mu Feihang turned in horror and saw Tu Tu Kesiluo holding a long sword with chilling light, pressing it against his throat, the distance mere fractions of an inch.

"You... when..." Mu Mu Feihang was terrified and lost his composure.

"Farewell, old friend." Tu Tu Kesiluo moved his sword calmly, and Mu Mu Feihang's head instantly separated from his shoulders, rolling into the dust.

The sight of their commander's gruesome death caused the scattered Southern Border soldiers to lose heart immediately, throwing away their armor and helmets as they fled. In this battle, the outcome was now decided!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked down coldly at Mu Mu Feihang's fallen corpse and sneered: "A mere grasshopper trying to stop a chariot, daring to block the sharp edge of One Da Jiang? Simply overestimating oneself!"

Li Goudan wiped the deep red blood from his blade and laughed: "Yes, yes, this kid was still thinking of claiming the first merit, but he was killed before he could even taste a drop of our anger!"

Tu Tu Kesiluo calmly sheathed his sword: "Tch, mere scattered soldiers and wanderers; they couldn't even last the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Such opponents are simply not worth mentioning."

Looking at the Southern Border defeated troops fleeing in panic without knowing where to go, Jiang Jiang Mingyu waved his hand slightly and ordered: "Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Tu Tu Kesiluo, confused, frowned and said: "Big Brother, these fools just tried to kill us; what use is their surrender now? Better to execute them one by one as a warning to others!"

Li Goudan and Song An also nodded silently, clearly agreeing with Tu Tu Kesiluo's view.

However, Jiang Jiang Mingyu waved his hand to stop them and said calmly: "Keep them; they will be useful. Capture them all alive and bring them back to the city!"

The generals looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why, but they could only relay the order to arrest them.