Dusk.
Four hundred thousand human armors broke through continuously. Nearly fifty thousand cavalry from Ningzhou and Yanzhou fought their way out, finally carving a bloody path. A steady stream of armors began to march north, reinforcing the Yunzhou cavalry.
Heavy snow fell.
In the snowy wilderness, the eleventh-realm great demon Yu Zhi donned a fiery red female general's cloak. Beside her stood Bai Lan, a thirteenth-realm demon race sword cultivator, his figure stark against the wind. The group watched from a distance as the Ningzhou and Yanzhou forces desperately broke through the defense line, their expressions impassive.
"My Lord!"
A demon race centurion spoke in a deep voice, "Are we just letting them break through our defense line like this?"
"It doesn't matter."
Yu Zhi's red lips parted slightly, and she said calmly, "Only the infantry and horses have passed. The grain and supplies have all been cut off by us in the rear. So even if these infantrymen reinforce the Yunzhou cavalry, it will only increase their grain consumption. At that time... Humph, I'm afraid the Yunzhou cavalry will collapse even faster. That will be the time for us demon race to advance unimpeded."
"Yes!"
At this moment, a ninth-realm demon race cultivator swooped down from the forest like a crane, landing rapidly. He cupped his fists towards Yu Zhi with a frown.
"Something happened?" Yu Zhi asked.
"Yes!"
The ninth-realm demon race cultivator said in a deep voice, "We've just received news from the west. A military tent we set up in the rear is being charged by human cavalry. The enemy is fierce, with about twenty thousand troops."
"Hmm?"
Yu Zhi suddenly turned around, her delicate eyebrows knitted. "How could this be? The Yunzhou cavalry has already been surrounded by us on the eastern side of the battlefield. There should be no human cavalry appearing... Could it be..."
Her delicate body trembled slightly. "Has someone from Snow Region Heavenly Pool arrived?"
"That's right!"
The demon race cultivator said in a deep voice, "They are flying the banners of the Snow Region Heavenly Pool's Heavenly Pool Army and the garrisoned Vermillion Bird Camp. Judging by the flags and armor... all three thousand cavalry of the Heavenly Pool Army have been dispatched. Additionally, over ten thousand are from Young Master Yu's Vermillion Bird Cavalry. This force of twenty thousand cavalry is quite elite, and as soon as they engaged our military tent, they broke through like a storm, their offensive fierce."
"Who is leading the army?" Yu Zhi asked.
"A young man. According to the spies' reports, he is the newly appointed commander of the Death Warriors Battalion, a young man named Lin Zhao."
"It's him?"
Yu Zhi gritted her silver teeth and said, "Guards, relay orders to the two military tents in the rear not to act rashly. I will immediately proceed to the rear battlefield and personally command the hunt for these twenty thousand cavalry led by Lin Zhao!"
"Lady Yu Zhi?"
Bai Lan, who had been squinting, couldn't help but smile slightly. "Don't forget, the main battlefield is here. There are still at least three hundred thousand Yunzhou cavalry and nearly four hundred thousand human armors here. If you're not here, and instead go to hunt down these twenty thousand scattered troops from Snow Region Heavenly Pool, wouldn't that be a bit impulsive?"
"It's precisely because I'm impulsive!"
A murderous glint flickered in Yu Zhi's beautiful eyes. "If I don't kill Lin Zhao, it will be hard to quell my hatred. Moreover, the overall situation on the main battlefield is already decided. With the six demon race military tents, plus the million-strong cavalry of the demon race, even if Yue Hao grew wings, he probably couldn't escape!"
"Humph..." Bai Lan snorted lightly.
Yu Zhi smiled slightly. "Lord Bai Lan, please remain at the main battlefield and oversee the offensive here. As for... your mission, there's nothing else. Just don't let Yue Hao leave here alive. This battle, we can let twenty thousand human cavalry go, but Yue Hao must die in this snow forest."
"Rest assured."
Bai Lan sneered, "Not a single one will escape. Lady Yu Zhi, go ahead and hunt your prey. I hear that young man Lin Zhao is very cunning. Make sure you don't miss this time."
"You don't need to worry about my affairs!"
Yu Zhi spurred her horse and led a vanguard of personal guards westward.
...
The Blazing Pine Forest, a sprawling forest running east to west. The woods were filled with fiery red pines and cypresses, which even the heavy snow couldn't conceal. Thus, it was known to the world as the Blazing Pine Forest. At this moment, a twenty-thousand-strong cavalry from the south of the Blazing Pine Forest was charging through, having already pierced the vanguard camp of a demon race military tent.
"What do we do?"
After Chen Yu punched a demon soldier into a rain of blood, he shouted, "Lin Zhao, should we turn back now?"
"No need!"
Lin Zhao held the reins in one hand and his blood-stained long sword in the other, galloping at the forefront. His clear eyes rapidly scanned the surrounding terrain. The topography of this forest and the snowy region appeared clearly in his mind. He had studied maps countless times on his way here and now understood it perfectly. He pointed his sword tip eastward and shouted, "Keep charging forward. While the enemy is unprepared, launch a fierce attack on the central camp of this demon race military tent!"
"Alright!"
At Lin Zhao's command, the twenty thousand cavalry from Snow Region Heavenly Pool swiftly turned east and charged. There, at least one hundred thousand demon race troops were standing ready. However, facing the formidable human cavalry, and with experts like Huang Tingyu guarding them, this demon race infantry force might not be able to withstand the assault.
In the snow forest, horses galloped, raising countless amounts of snow with their hooves, and snow swirled in the air.
When the commanding officer of the demon race military tent confirmed the loss of the vanguard camp, he thought the enemy would surely taste victory and retreat, never to return. But then, Lin Zhao led his twenty thousand cavalry in a surprise attack from the snow!
As night fully descended, the twenty thousand cavalry charged relentlessly. Illuminated by the magic of the accompanying cultivators, their gleaming swords, spears, and sabers flashed with cold light, cleaving down demon soldiers who had just rushed out of their tents. The armored cavalry charged like a battering ram, sometimes even crashing through demon tents. Dozens of cavalry charged in waves, as if entering an uninhabited land. The central camp of this demon race military tent, with at least one hundred thousand soldiers, appeared somewhat vulnerable.
...
Eastern Side of the Battlefield.
Torches flickered everywhere in a temporary camp of the Yunzhou cavalry. The supplies had long since run out. It had been almost three days since the army marched out of Guyao Pass. The concentrated horse feed carried by the Yunzhou cavalry was almost depleted. There were hardly any soybeans left in any trooper's pouch. At this moment, the Yunzhou cavalry horses could only rely on their own strength and endurance to continue fighting, with no source of replenishment.
Marquis Yue Hao sat on a stool in the snow, holding a piece of freshly cooked horse meat. His face was smeared with blood, all of it belonging to the demon race. His left fist was a bloody mess, the work of an eleventh-realm demon race sword cultivator. Fortunately, with the concerted efforts of the accompanying cultivators and troopers, they had finally killed this formidable upper-five-realm demon race sword cultivator.
"My Lord."
Military Governor Li Xuanji stepped forward, knelt on one knee in the snow, and said in a deep voice, "The horses' feed has run out. Furthermore, the dry rations for the Yunzhou troopers... have also been eaten. Now, we can only rely on slaughtering horses for sustenance."
Yue Hao frowned. "Many warhorses were lost during the frontal assault. Surely there's no shortage of horse meat?"
"Not necessarily."
Beside him, Military Governor Lin Wuyang sneered. "Great Demon Yu Zhi, a character who has calculated everything. When the demon race military tents launched their counterattack and retook the position, they began burning the corpses of the warhorses. By the time our cavalry charged back and regained the ground, only ashes remained, and the meat was inedible."
Li Xuanji gritted his teeth. "The demon race is deliberately trying to cut off our food supply!"
Yue Hao licked his dry lips. "Yu Zhi is the demon race's strategist. The moment she appeared in the demon race military tents, the remaining eight demon race military tents seemed to have found a soul. Their subsequent attacks and defenses have been orderly. Their intention is merely to cut off our retreat, blockade the supply lines of the Yunzhou cavalry, and finally starve us to death."
"Now, there is only a fight to the death!" Lin Wuyang said.
"Mm."
Yue Hao said calmly, "What are the casualties on the front?"
Lin Wuyang frowned. "The casualty reports from the seven divisions of the Yunzhou cavalry have been delivered. Some have lost over half, some have lost ten to twenty percent. Overall... out of five hundred and thirty thousand Yunzhou cavalry, twelve thousand have died. Additionally, nearly thirty thousand cavalry are so severely wounded they can no longer fight. We are setting up a temporary infirmary to treat them."
"Understood."
Marquis Yue Hao clenched his iron fists and frowned. "In fact, when I led the Yunzhou cavalry out of Guyao Pass, I had already anticipated this moment. But it doesn't matter. My old brothers, we have killed enough demons. We have destroyed six demon race military tents. Even if all my Yunzhou cavalry perish, we will have done justice to the people of Yunzhou!"
"Yes!"
Lin Wuyang and Li Xuanji nodded in unison.
Just then, a cultivator responsible for receiving the flying fish messages floated down and said, "My Lord, a response from a scout on the west reports that the two rear military tents of the demon race have been tied down."
"Hmm?"
Yue Hao's eyes lit up. "Someone has tied down two demon race military tents. Who is it?"
"It's the Heavenly Pool Army from Snow Region Heavenly Pool, and the Vermillion Bird Camp stationed at Snow Region Heavenly Pool," the cultivator said in a deep voice. "The leader is named Lin Zhao, the commander of the Death Warriors Battalion of the Heavenly Pool Army. He is currently leading twenty thousand cavalry to charge the central camp of a demon race military tent, seemingly to relieve our predicament from that battlefield, in the hope of giving the Yunzhou cavalry a glimmer of hope."
"Only twenty thousand cavalry..."
Li Xuanji frowned. "A single demon race military tent has at least two hundred thousand elite soldiers. I'm afraid Lin Zhao's twenty thousand cavalry may not be of much use, like ants trying to shake a tree."
"..."
Yue Hao's expression deepened. After a long while, he stood up and said to the accompanying cultivators, "Contact Lin Zhao's unit as soon as possible with the flying fish message and tell them... the Yunzhou cavalry doesn't need to be saved, but they themselves must not get trapped. I, Yue Hao, marched north with the determination to die. Tell Lin Zhao that he doesn't need to save me..."
"Yes, my Lord!"
"Wait..."
Yue Hao called out, his expression complex. "In the flying fish message, on behalf of the Yunzhou cavalry, on behalf of the four hundred thousand armors from Ningzhou and Yanzhou, and on behalf of myself, Yue Hao, thank him."
"Yes, my Lord..."
...
Eight chapters finished. Brothers, please give Sword Immortal your recommendation tickets. Look how well Sword Immortal writes!!! [Dog emoji]