Chapter 464: A Tiger Ahead, a Wolf Behind

When Wei Wenlie's battered troops finally dragged their exhausted bodies to the foot of the Jian Ge Pass, the gateway of Chuanshu, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

The steep pass rose between two mountains, but the banner fluttering on the gate wall was not Xiliang's wolf flag; it was an unfamiliar general's banner embroidered with the character "Zhao"!

On the wall, the armored garrison stood in strict formation, bows drawn, presenting a scene of open hostility toward Xiliang.

"What's happening?!"

Wei Wenlie ripped open the carriage curtain, his face ashen, "Where is the Jian Ge garrison commander Zhao Kun?! Why isn't the pass opened to receive the king?!"

Fei Tingxiong spurred his horse forward, his expression equally grim: "Your Majesty! I have sent a messenger! The garrison commander who calls himself Zhao Kui is… is a member of the Zhao clan, a prominent family of Chuanshu! He said… he said…"

"What did he say?!" Wei Wenlie felt a surge of anxiety.

"He said… that Chuanshu recognizes only Chuanshu people, not the Xiliang king! He begged… begged Your Majesty to return to where you came from!" Fei Tingxiong struggled to utter the words.

"Scoundrel!!!"

Wei Wenlie roared in fury, "Where is Zhao Kun?! Where is that dog Zhao Kun?! I have not treated him poorly! How dare he betray me?!"

Si Wushuang's face darkened completely; the thing he feared most had happened!

Jiang Jinshi's hand moved faster than he had imagined! The prominent Zhao clan of Chuanshu had indeed been turned!

"Your Majesty!"

A blood‑soaked cavalryman galloped from behind, dismounted with a rolling stride, his voice trembling: "Bad news! Luo Feng… Luo Feng's cavalry has caught up! They're less than ten li away! Zhang Honghong's infantry is also closing in fast!"

A formidable pass blocks us ahead, while pursuers seek our lives behind!

The soldiers glanced at each other, fear and bewilderment in their eyes.

Wei Wenlie staggered out of the carriage and looked up at the Jian Ge Pass that barred his entry.

"Jiang… Jin… Shi…"

Wei Wenlie muttered to himself, his hoarse voice laced with deep hatred and despair.

He finally understood completely.

From the moment he abandoned Luoyang, he had already stepped onto the death trap Jiang Jinshi had meticulously laid for him.

What "release the tiger back to the mountain"? What "rise again"? All jokes!

Jiang Jinshi intends to drive Wei Wenlie, together with the last remnants of Xiliang's power, like a herd of livestock, all the way to this desolate corner of Chuanshu, and then… slam the gate shut on a dog! Let him be buried in these towering peaks!

"Pfft!"

A surge of angry panic, combined with days of jolting and fear, forced a mouthful of fresh blood to spurt from Wei Wenlie's mouth.

"Your Majesty!"

Si Wushuang and Fei Tingxiong were horrified, rushing forward to help him.

Wei Wenlie pushed them aside, swaying as he stood upright.

"Well… well done, Jiang Jinshi! What a place to be buried!"

His eyes were veined with blood, growing frantic: "You think you can trap me to death?! Not that easy! Si Wushuang! Fei Tingxiong! Give me… seize Jian Ge!!"

"Yes!" Fei Tingxiong knelt on one knee and pledged.

They had thrown away everything they could along the way, so there were no siege engines now; Wei Wenlie, aware of the situation, immediately ordered Fei Tingxiong.

"You take your troops and start felling trees at once! One hour! I need only one hour! Make me something that can smash open the gate!"

Wei Wenlie's finger nearly jabbed Fei Tingxiong's face, "If you can't, bring your head before me!"

"Understood!"

Fei Tingxiong sprang up, not looking back as he charged toward the chaotic rear lines: "Anyone still breathing! Follow me! Cut trees! Fell timber! Quickly!"

Si Wushuang watched Wei Wenlie's blood‑veined, frantic gaze, then looked at the steep Jian Ge Pass.

A chill settled in his heart; this was no siege, but a desperate push of exhausted, starving soldiers against an iron wall!

But he knew that any counsel now would only pour oil on the fire.

Wei Wenlie had been driven completely mad; he needed to vent, even if it meant smashing his head open and bleeding, to prove he was not a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Your Majesty!"

Si Wushuang still persisted: "For a strong assault on Jian Ge, we must guard against a rear attack by Luo Feng. I request a detachment of troops to deploy in the rear, to delay the pursuers and buy time for the siege."

Wei Wenlie turned, his eyes fixed on him: "Fine! Si Wushuang! I entrust the rear to you! If that madman Luo gets behind me… you know the consequences!"

He no longer looked at Si Wushuang, drew the sword at his waist, and staggered toward the chaotic front line: "Xiliang lads! Do you see this?!"

Those Shu dogs! They've seized our pass! Blocked our way out! Behind us! The madman Luo, with wolf cubs from Beijiang, is chasing! We have no retreat!

Either we smash this broken pass, charge into Shu, feast and drink! Or… die on these barren hills, our corpses fed to wild dogs! Which do you choose?!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The soldiers, driven to the brink, were incited, igniting the last spark of bloodlust.

"Give me… kill!"

The order was given, but the assault descended into chaos.

The hastily assembled "ram cart" was merely a few massive logs crudely bound with leather ropes, shouldered and lifted by dozens of sturdy soldiers, stumbling toward the sealed gate under the officers' whips and shouts.

Without shield carts for cover, they were laid bare in the gate wall's line of fire.

"Loose the arrows!" Zhao Kui ordered ruthlessly from the wall.

A dense rain of arrows rained down, and the Xiliang soldiers bearing the ram cart fell in a heap, their screams tearing the air.

The massive logs thudded down, crushing the wounded.

Those behind, eyes reddened, stepped on their comrades' corpses, roaring as they lifted the logs again and surged forward.

With each step, someone fell.

"Ladders! Up the ladders!"

Another Xiliang officer brandished a battle blade, driving another squad forward.

The so‑called "ladders" were even more crude, just a few hastily cut long ladders stripped of branches, with no fixed hooks.

The soldiers carried long ladders, sprinting for their lives amid a rain of arrows, trying to place the ladders against the city wall.

"Rolling logs and stones! Smash!" Zhao Kui's order sounded again.

Xiliang couldn't even produce a decent siege engine, so it was impossible to mount an effective assault on the city; it was more like a reckless suicide mission!

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

Wei Wenlie stood on a slightly higher earthen slope, watching helplessly as wave after wave of attacks were easily repelled by the enemy.

"Advance for me! No retreat! Those who fall back shall be cut! Cut!"

The combat squad brandished long swords, slashing the few routed soldiers who had retreated in fear to the ground.

But this bloody suppression failed to boost morale; instead it intensified the panic.

Si Wushuang halted his horse on a high slope behind the rear lines, expressionless as he watched the scene ahead.

Beside him were only about two thousand still relatively intact cavalry, the last bit of mobile force he could barely rally from the routed troops.

"Military Advisor! Luo Feng's vanguard cavalry! Less than five li away!" a scout, drenched in sweat, scrambled up the slope, rolling and crawling.

Si Wushuang closed his eyes for a moment; his heart was already filled with desolation. He knew... perhaps the road to Xiliang ended here!