Chapter 532

First Volume, Chapter 532: Full Army Retreat

Qin Feng didn't blink once. Since his long spear was too unwieldy for close combat, he decisively dropped it, lunged forward, and used his body weight and the mass of his heavy armor to pin the enemy beneath him, punching his face again and again. Blood sprayed continuously, yet Qin Feng seemed to have unleashed his beastly instincts, swinging his fists without pause.

Only when Ning Hu yanked him up did Qin Feng realize the enemy's entire face had been crushed flat—he was already dead.

Qin Feng pulled the long halberd embedded in his chest free; the tip, about a foot long, was stained crimson with blood.

Had he not been wearing heavy armor, that halberd would have carved open his entire chest. Even so, against the halberd's astonishing breakthrough capability, the heavy armor could not fully protect him.

Blood kept pouring from the wound, but Qin Feng paid no heed. He grabbed the halberd and stabbed it backward into the enemy's crown. Too much force— the halberd jammed deep in the enemy's skull and wouldn't budge.

Qin Feng had no choice but to shove the corpse and halberd aside, picked up a scattered shield, smashed it into the enemy's face, then swung it around to slam into another enemy's shoulder.

Since ancient times, shields have never been mere defensive tools—the impact of a shield strike rivals that of a blunt weapon.

As Qin Feng fought, drenched in blood, a thunderous crash suddenly erupted beneath his feet.

Boom—

The city gate is broken!

Damn it!

Qin Feng swung his shield, blocking enemy troops surging onto the City Wall, and roared at Ning Hu: "Hurry! Rush to reinforce the city gate!"

Ning Hu had heard the gate being smashed too. He immediately led ten Tianji Camp Guards into the City Gate Tower.

On the floor of the City Gate Tower was a square hole, directly above the City Gate Tunnel. Ning Hu overturned all the large vats piled beside the hole; fire oil poured down, then he tossed down fire torches—immediately, roaring flames erupted. Fierce tongues of fire shot up through the hole.

Ning Hu quickly led his guards out of the City Gate Tower. Fortunately, the tower was built of stone; otherwise, the raging fire would have killed a thousand while losing eight hundred of their own.

Because Ning Hu and his men kept rolling down rolling logs, effectively adding fuel, the fire burned for one Envoy before finally dying out.

The entire city gate was as hot as a furnace. Enemy troops charged fearlessly into the City Gate Tunnel, only to be met immediately by arrows and spear thrusts from the defenders. The struggle for the City Gate Tunnel became horrifically bloody. As the tunnel's temperature dropped, enemy troops stepped over fallen comrades and pressed forward. Ning Hu immediately led his guards back into the City Gate Tower, dropping stones through the hole or stabbing downward with their long spears.

Facing resistance from above and the front, the enemy suffered heavy casualties, yet never abandoned their struggle for the gate.

Meanwhile, the City Wall had already descended into chaos—enemy and ally indistinguishable.

The Former General led his personal troops, carving a bloody path, and finally met Qin Feng at the City Gate Tower.

"Qian Thousand-Household, we can't hold. Retreat into the Inner City and defend there!"

Qin Feng clutched his shield, gasping for breath. His heavy armor was dented and gouged—dents from blunt weapons, huge gashes from breakthrough weapons. The wounds beneath his armor were countless.

Just bleeding had nearly squeezed dry all his strength.

Yet when faced with the Former General's retreat order, Qin Feng refused outright.

"No retreat! Hold the City Wall—fight to the last soldier!"

"Retreating to the Inner City means surrendering the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen to the enemy. Then they can simply encircle and consume us slowly, while the Outer City gets rebuilt. We have so few men left—if we fall back to the Inner City, we'll never have the strength to retake the Outer City! We must hold the enemy beyond the City Wall!"

The Former General stared at Qin Feng for a long while, then gave the order: "You all heard him. Hold the City Wall!"

At this moment, the total number of defenders in the entire Bian Jun Zhong Zhen was fewer than eight hundred. Every ten-plus border soldiers formed a small unit, shoulder to shoulder, defending their fortified positions against the relentless enemy assaults on the City Wall.

The greatest pressure fell on the City Gate Tower: they had to repel enemy charges, fend off ranged attacks, and coordinate with troops below to protect the gate. Qin Feng's remaining Tianji Camp Guards numbered over forty; the Former General's personal troops numbered over twenty—combined, they were barely seventy men!

Yet the enemy remained countless, densely packed, impossible to count.

Everyone knew: if they kept fighting, all of them would die here—unless a miracle occurred.

Unbeknownst to them, Chen Si, commanding outside the walls, was now drenched in sweat.

"It's already Zishi Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour Hour, and we haven't taken the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen. The Liang Kingdom troops are weak—why are they showing such fierce battle will?"

At that moment, a messenger rushed over.

"General, disaster! Beixi County has launched another attack. The Cheqi and Piaoqi fronts are also stirring."

As Chen Si had feared, the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen was too close to the other three armies—the siege news had spread, and all three forces were rushing to reinforce.

Just as Chen Si hesitated whether to continue the assault,

another messenger ran back: "General, the Main General defending the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen are two men: one is the Former General of the two kingdoms; the other is Qin Feng."

"Qin Feng leads the Tianji Camp Guards in holding the City Gate Tower. Our forces attacking the gate have suffered heavy casualties."

Hearing the name "Qin Feng," Chen Si felt as if a fist had slammed into his chest—his breath choked off.

Qin Feng…

Why is it always Qin Feng?

Qin Feng was supposed to have fled to Gaoshan Country for refuge—why is he here at the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen? Even if he returned to Liang Kingdom, he should have rushed straight to Beixi County—why risk himself again?

The more Chen Si learned about Qin Feng, the less he understood him.

He was called the First Rake of the Capital, infamous among Liang Kingdom's elite, surrounded by political enemies… even the Liang Emperor distrusted him—so why would he die defending Liang Kingdom's territory?!

Chen Si clenched his fist tightly, then released it, then clenched it again.

His eyes burned with anger, hatred, determination—but slowly, they shifted toward helplessness, even confusion.

If we keep fighting, we might capture the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen and kill Qin Feng, this major threat… but Bei Di will suffer catastrophic losses.

And the three Liang Kingdom armies on the Liang Kingdom North Border have already begun moving—soon, the Bei Di forces will be mired again in the quagmire of war.

At all costs, continue the assault—or seize this final chance, retreat immediately, and preserve as much of the Da Di's fighting strength as possible.

Chen Si, always decisive and resolute, hesitated now.

He stared at the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen, engulfed in roaring flames, and let out a bitter laugh: "Qin Feng… I've lost to you after all."

"Full army! Retreat…"