Chapter 765

First Volume, Chapter 765: Dawn Breaks

At this moment, the eastern sky had begun to pale with the first light of dawn; the once pitch-black Yan'nan Pass now had increasing visibility, allowing clear sight of conditions over a thousand steps away.

Moreover, as visibility improved, the infantry's advantage gradually emerged—facing the Raiding Cavalry's ambushes, they began to counter with Step Bows, their accuracy steadily rising.

Often, the Snow Wolf Brigade's cavalry would charge forward, only to be blocked by the Beixi Light Cavalry, then struck by a volley from the Bow Infantry behind, leaving dozens of corpses in their wake. Even the most elite cavalry could not withstand such attrition; Ning Hu, who had originally rushed to retreat from battle, gradually calmed down, while Chen Mou's brow grew ever more tightly furrowed.

Messengers continuously reported casualties.

"General, our forces have already lost over five hundred men! One Guerrilla Captain has fallen, two Gate Generals are dead…"

Hearing the repeated grim reports, before Chen Mou could respond, the Adjutant beside him could no longer sit still and urgently pleaded.

"General, withdraw at once—there's no time left!"

"I know the General is heartbroken over the death of Commander-in-Chief Chen Mou, but as the saying goes, a gentleman seeking revenge need not hurry—why rush to clash with Qin Feng over a single day?"

"With our numbers still strong, we can fight while retreating and still withdraw back to the Camp. If we wait until our troops are utterly exhausted, we won't be able to create distance from pursuing forces, and will inevitably be worn down by attrition—the consequences will be unimaginable."

Chen Mou's face turned ashen; inwardly, he cursed—Old Heaven had not sided with him. If only he had another Envoy, he could crush Ning Hu. But dawn had broken.

After such heavy losses, to retreat in disgrace—let alone Chen Mou's spirit in the afterlife would never rest, even Chen Mou himself could not answer to his superiors.

Just as Chen Mou found himself caught between advance and retreat, a joyful report suddenly came from the Rear.

"General, Feng Chen has arrived with reinforcements!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mou was overjoyed. He immediately dismissed the Adjutant's advice to retreat and shouted toward the nearby battlefield: "Reinforcements have arrived! One-Strike Victory—crush the Enemy Army!"

With Feng Chen's troops joining the fray, the battlefield once again tilted decisively—one-sided. Faced with an enemy force that was both elite and three times their number, Ning Hu could not hold.

Unbeknownst to them, at this very moment, Xu Mo had also arrived at Yan'nan Pass with reinforcements. But Xu Mo did not rush into battle; instead, combining intelligence from scouts and messengers, he roughly assessed the battlefield situation and led his reinforcements in a Yuan Hui maneuver toward the western flank.

Xu Mo ordered his soldiers to make no sound, silently lying in wait in the low ground until he confirmed Feng Chen's forces had fully engaged—then he led his entire army to cut off the enemy's retreat and encircle them from behind.

On the other side, Qin Feng also received word that Xu Mo had severed the enemy's escape route. Without hesitation, he gave the order: "All troops, listen! Immediately engage the enemy—launch a frontal assault!"

The cavalry, previously withdrawn to rest, had fully regained their strength and immediately charged back into battle. On the main front, Chen Mou and Feng Chen's armies were tightly locked in combat with Ning Hu's troops, while Qin Feng and Xu Mo led their forces to strike from both front and rear.

Although both sides had nearly equal numbers, Chen Mou's army, now facing attack from both front and rear, quickly lost all advantage.

Not even Feng Chen's ordinary soldiers, let alone the elite Snow Wolf Brigade, could hold against such desperation.

As casualties mounted, Chen Mou himself began to waver—but retreat was now impossible; he could only grit his teeth and press on.

As morning light bathed the land, the night of Sai Bei ended, and the battle neared its conclusion.

Chen Mou and Feng Chen's troops now numbered fewer than two thousand, while Qin Feng's army still had over four thousand. Beyond the widening gap in numbers, what filled Chen Mou with utter despair was that the Snow Wolf Brigade, after a night of brutal combat, had long since exhausted its strength—combat effectiveness had plummeted.

Not even the men could hold on—warhorses collapsed one after another, lying on the ground, refusing to rise.

As the collapse of the Snow Wolf Brigade spread, the remaining Feng Chen troops could no longer resist—the outcome of this battle was sealed.

Qin Feng, too, was mentally drained from the night's battle—but every time he saw the enemy's will to resist weakening, he grew increasingly exhilarated.

He shouted repeatedly: "One-Strike Victory—defeat the enemy! After battle, every soldier gets one old hen—go home and recover well!"

"For all fallen soldiers, compensation will be increased by one-tenth above the standard rate!"

Though Qin Feng knew full well that his own losses would be immense, the pride of the Northern Di—the Snow Wolf Brigade—would be annihilated!

This feat would not only remove one of the greatest obstacles to Jing Qianying's return to the imperial clan, but its value to the entire Shedynasty was incalculable.

Just as Qin Feng was about to secure victory, sudden cries erupted beside him.

"Protect the Marquis!"

"Quickly protect the Marquis—stop the enemy!"

What?

Qin Feng frowned and turned toward the noise—astonished to see Chen Mou leading a group of twenty men in a suicide charge directly at him.

Chen Mou's eyes were bloodshot with rage and hatred—he had never dreamed that not only had he failed to avenge his brother Chen Mou, but had also doomed himself and the entire Snow Wolf Brigade.

"Damned Qin Feng—give me your life!"

Chen Mou's veins bulged; he raised his spear and charged at Qin Feng without fear. In his mind, if he killed Qin Feng, this battle would not be a total loss.

Since most of Qin Feng's troops were already engaged in battle, only a dozen bodyguards remained near him—and they stood motionless. Facing Chen Mou's high-speed charge, they could not possibly stop him.

In an instant, screams erupted all around.

Just as Chen Mou was about to succeed, a shadow flashed past—Jing Qianying!

Jing Qianying tapped her toes lightly, stepping directly into the path of Chen Mou's charge.

Chen Mou's gaze was full of contempt—he saw this woman daring to block him as utterly futile, like an egg striking stone. He didn't even aim his spear at her; he simply rode forward, intending to crush her beneath his horse.

But when the warhorse was only a dozen steps from Jing Qianying, Chen Mou saw a blur—Jing Qianying had evaded him at an impossible angle from the side.

The warhorse passed her by, and at the same moment, her sword slashed out—not at Chen Mou, but at the horse.

The Golden Sword sliced cleanly through the horse's belly; blood and entrails splattered onto the ground.

With a mournful cry, the warhorse collapsed heavily; due to momentum, it rolled with Chen Mou for over twenty yards, leaving him severely injured, vomiting blood uncontrollably.