Chapter 952: First Volume, Chapter 952: Not an Inch to Move

First Volume, Chapter 952: Not an Inch to Move

As the battle in Changshui County reached a stalemate, a Jinyiwei messenger rode a warhorse toward Sangzhou, followed by a thirty-man detachment of Di raiding cavalry.

The messenger was covered in wounds, with half an arrow still embedded in his shoulder; before this, he had no idea how many times he had evaded Di soldiers' encirclement and interception, nor how many desperate battles he had fought against the pursuers—yet here he was, still alive, as if by miracle!

The messenger had charged through from Wang Du, and now he was less than fifty Li from Sangzhou's border—but those fifty Li, to him, were an impassable abyss.

Exhausted and bleeding profusely, his head spun dizzily; only his iron will kept him gripping the reins tightly enough not to be thrown off the bucking warhorse. At the same time, he could clearly feel his warhorse's strength had reached its limit. Fifty Li, if trotting slowly, could be crossed easily—but under full-speed flight, the warhorse could hold out for only half an incense stick longer.

The messenger was already desperate, but he recalled how many messengers fleeing from Wang Du had been intercepted—how many still lived, he could not tell. If he alone remained, and was hunted down, Qin Feng's vital war report would be blocked, and Changshui County, along with Qin Feng himself, would be trapped in utter despair.

Even with only one breath left, the messenger gritted his teeth and pressed on, refusing to give up.

Alas, the messenger had no way to escape.

Because the pursuers had locked onto him, he had no time to change horses and could only keep charging forward; meanwhile, the pursuers, once exhausted, could immediately rotate to nearby county cities to swap mounts, replenish strength, or let other cavalry take over the chase.

After all, once the messenger's general escape direction was confirmed, the speed of light cavalry would quickly close the gap.

At this moment, the thirty raiding cavalry had closed within ranged attack distance, and volley after volley of arrows rained down upon the messenger.

The messenger felt arrow after arrow whistling past his head; he pressed himself flat against the horse's back, silently praying none would strike the warhorse—this warhorse was already near collapse, clinging to its last breath, and any arrow wound would cause unbearable pain and immediate loss of stamina.

At that point, the warhorse would either collapse outright or halt dead, no matter how hard the messenger whipped it, never taking another step.

Fortunately, in their rapid pursuit, the enemy's aim was poor, and the distance was sufficient—until they exhausted their arrows, not a single one had struck the messenger or his warhorse.

But the distance between them was shrinking rapidly, now less than a hundred steps, and the pursuers' shouts could already be heard behind him.

"Frontline troops! Are you a Jinyiwei imperial spy?"

"You are Qin Feng's trusted subordinate—you must carry secret, critical documents. If you surrender now, you will earn great merit and enjoy endless luxury for the rest of your life!"

"Shi Shi Zhe Wei Junjie—why die for Qin Feng?"

"You cannot escape—stop at once and surrender!"

"Damn it, keep running if you want—but don't let me catch you, or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Ignoring the threats and bribes, the messenger pressed forward without pause; as a Jinyiwei, he knew full well what awaited him if captured—no matter how sweet their promises, if he stopped, unspeakable torture awaited.

The enemy would use every means to pry open his mouth, forcing him to reveal every secret he knew, and only then kill him once he was useless.

Thus, the moment he was pinned down, the messenger had prepared himself for death—always ready to draw his short dagger from his waist and plunge it into his chest.

He ran another five Li, drawing closer to Sangzhou's border—when suddenly, his warhorse let out a mournful cry.

Before the messenger could react, the warhorse collapsed beneath him, flinging him clear.

The warhorse had not been struck by the enemy—it had simply collapsed from prolonged, extreme exertion, overheated and dead on the spot.

The messenger was thrown senseless, stars dancing before his eyes; he clutched the war report to his chest and crawled forward toward Sangzhou by sheer willpower—only to be surrounded moments later.

Watching the messenger now utterly trapped, the thirty raiding cavalry circled him; their captain swung his whip and struck the messenger hard across the back.

Crack!

The whip's crack split the messenger's coat open, tearing through skin and flesh—blood gushed instantly—but the messenger made no sound, continuing to crawl forward.

Only then did the captain realize this Jinyiwei messenger was utterly exhausted, numb all over—not even a whip blow that laid open his flesh, nor a dull blade severing his head, would draw a scream.

The captain stared at the messenger, unable to help but marvel: "Why do none of our Di soldiers possess such willpower? What devilry has Qin Feng used to train his men? These aren't soldiers—they're Puppets!"

The captain could not comprehend why Jinyiwei, or Tianji Camp Guards alike, remained so fiercely loyal to Qin Feng—even reduced to this state, they still clung to instinct and carried out their mission.

The captain knew well: to break such a hard man's resolve, he must first be healed, then slowly broken—this would be a long, tedious process.

His mission was complete. He said no more, dismounted, drew his waist saber, and slashed once at the messenger's nape—blood sprayed several steps.

He tore open the messenger's clothes and carefully searched him, retrieving two war reports.

One was a military command to reinforce Xiongying Ridge; the other was a strategic secret letter bound for Liang Kingdom.

Intercepting intelligence of this caliber was a monumental achievement; the captain trembled with excitement, hastily stuffed the classified documents into his chest, and led his men back to camp to claim credit.

And such massacres were happening simultaneously in ten plus regions!

Not just Wang Du and Zhuozhou—the entire Di Kingdom was in a state of war. Though harsh weather prevented mobilizing regional armies, military commands had already spread across every district; counties were under martial law, on absolute alert, and every Qin Feng's spy was to be executed on sight.

How arduous was it to carry the command from Changshui County across half the Di Kingdom to Sangzhou?

Changshui County had sent out only four messengers—but after the orders reached each relay point, the number of messengers expanded.