Chapter 62: Bloody Battle, Dirong Faces Imminent Peril!

"What is it?"

Zhao Zheng quickly locked his eyes onto the person before him, who was dressed in the attire of the Di-Rong people.

The man fell heavily to his knees in front of Zhao Zheng, panting anxiously, "The Yiqu have launched a sneak attack against us! They outnumber us greatly, and our clan chieftain sent me to beg for reinforcements!"

"What?"

Zhao Zheng felt as though he had been struck by lightning, his entire body violently shuddering.

He had calculated every possible scenario, yet he never anticipated that the Yiqu's actual target would be the Di-Rong!

"What is the situation now?" Zhao Zheng asked urgently. A sudden, inexplicable panic welled up within him, as if some terrible disaster was about to unfold.

The man blurted out, "The Yiqu launched a surprise raid directly on our central camp. The chieftain fought desperately to create a chance for us to break out and seek help. As for the current situation there, I have no idea!"

"Quickly, mobilize the troops!"

Zhao Zheng whirled around abruptly, grabbed his sword, and bolted out of the tent.

"What... is going on?" Ying Shu could not fathom why Zhao Zheng's demeanor had changed so drastically upon receiving the news of the sneak attack on the Di-Rong.

Wu Mu gave her a deep look and said, "A matter of deep affection, perhaps..."

Leading a thousand elite cavalry and three thousand horsemen of the Wushi clan, Zhao Zheng rushed toward the Di-Rong territory at top speed.

"Listen up, split off ten men and head to Mianzhu City to order Jian Ping to lead his troops in reinforcement!" He suddenly turned back and roared at the ten riders behind him.

"Understood!"

The ten riders acknowledged the command, and led by two Wushi cavalrymen, galloped rapidly toward Mianzhu City.

Back in the city of Yuanwang, Ying Qian was pacing back and forth anxiously in his manor.

At that moment, a soldier rushed into the tent breathlessly.

"Reporting! We encountered a messenger on the way who was sent to Mianzhu for reinforcements. They said the Senior General is leading four thousand men to aid the Di-Rong!"

"Four thousand men?" Ying Qian's expression stiffened. "Four thousand against twenty thousand?! Has this brat lost his mind?"

Ying Qian slammed his fist heavily onto the desk, making it creak loudly.

Most of the garrison forces in Yuanwang City had already been drawn away by Zhao Zheng. To maintain stability within the city, Ying Qian had no troops left to spare.

"Quickly, tell that brat Jian Ping to dispatch troops immediately!" Ying Qian roared at the soldier. "If he's late, I'll skin him alive!"

"Yes!" The soldier acknowledged and immediately sprinted out.

"This reckless fool... Is a mere Di-Rong tribe... truly worth risking his life like this?" Ying Qian looked toward the north, feeling utterly baffled.

Elsewhere, Zhao Zheng had only a single thought in his mind: Fast! Faster still! Reach the Di-Rong at all costs.

Fortunately, the Wushi encampment was not far from the Di-Rong territory. At full tilt, they estimated they could reach it in three hours.

In the Di-Rong settlement, rivers of blood already flowed.

Di Yuan and Di Huo were leading their clansmen in a desperate, last-ditch resistance.

Di Ning was also embroiled in bitter combat, but the Yiqu were as numerous as a swarm of bees, and the Di-Rong clansmen were too scattered to concentrate their superior forces.

"Hold on! The Great General is coming! These Yiqu whelps won't get away with this!"

Covered in blood, Di Huo continued to rally his tribesmen.

Yet, no matter how much burning passion the Di-Rong warriors possessed, they could not reverse the tide of battle.

"Charge!"

At this critical juncture, battle cries shook the heavens from the rear.

Beneath the glow of surrounding fires, a banner bearing the character for "Qin" could be faintly seen fluttering in the wind.

"It's the Qin army! The Great General has arrived!" shouted one of the Di-Rong warriors excitedly.

"The Great General is here! We are saved!"

"Kill them!"

The arrival of the Qin army doubled the morale of the Di-Rong people.

"That's not Zhao Zheng..." Di Ning parried a strike from a Yiqu soldier and shook her head.

"Not the Great General? If this Qin army isn't led by him, then who else could it be?" Di Huo looked at his daughter in confusion.

While fending off the Yiqu soldiers, Di Ning replied, "This isn't Zhao Zheng's style of warfare. Zhao Zheng is accustomed to alternating between bows and crossbows, but this wave of arrow rain is clearly a volley from massed crossbows."

Having fought alongside Zhao Zheng recently, Di Ning had long grown familiar with his tactical habits.

Indeed, this detachment of the Qin army was not led by Zhao Zheng.

"Crossbow volley, first wave! Infantry, advance! Keep a distance between the crossbowmen and the infantry, and stay ready to fire at any moment!"

The officer commanding this Qin army was none other than Meng Ming, who had come to deliver supplies.

Meng Ming had originally traveled to the Di-Rong to deliver goods, but happened to run into the Yiqu invasion. He had decisively led his troops into battle to assist the Di-Rong.

With the addition of Meng Ming's five thousand troops, the battle lines for the Di-Rong were quickly stabilized.

"Scum of the Di tribe, stop your futile resistance and meet your deaths!" shouted a Yiqu commander loudly.

However, the only response he received was a barrage of bolts from Qin crossbows.

"Prefect Meng, why are you here?" Di Yuan asked in surprise when he saw that the newcomer was Meng Ming.

Meng Ming furrowed his brow. "What is going on here? Why did the Yiqu suddenly launch a surprise attack?"

"We don't know. The Yiqu launched a sudden night raid," Di Huo replied helplessly.

Meng Ming frowned deeply. "Hold the line! Fall back into the stronghold. We have plenty of crossbows; we must hold out until the Great General arrives."

At Meng Ming's command, the Di-Rong and Qin troops coordinated to retreat back into the stronghold.

True to their reputation as the elite warriors of Qin, the Qin infantry formed a solid wall at the front, cooperating with the crossbowmen to keep the Yiqu at bay for the time being.

However, the Yiqu simply possessed overwhelming numbers.

Before long, they breached the Qin defense and swarmed into the stronghold.

The Qin formation shattered into chaos as soldiers began fighting individually.

Their sole advantage was that the Qin crossbowmen remained structured as a cohesive unit, continuing to inflict effective casualties upon the Yiqu.

The slaughter dragged on for a prolonged period.

"We can't hold out much longer... Why hasn't the Great General arrived yet?"

Di Huo was already severely wounded, and Di Yuan had several arrows embedded in his body.

"Zhao Zheng, just when on earth will you get here..."

Di Ning's wrists trembled, her vision blurred, and her heart was filled with despair.

Looking at the Yiqu, their numbers only seemed to grow...

Despair weighed heavily upon the hearts of every single Qin and Di-Rong soldier.

"Charge!"

At that very moment, another battle cry erupted from behind the Yiqu lines.

A dozen-odd horsemen cut swiftly through the Yiqu formation, galloping fiercely toward the stronghold.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"

Instantly, the fighting spirit of the Qin and Di-Rong warriors reignited.

Those dozen-odd horsemen soon fought their way to Di Ning, rescuing several surrounded Di-Rong soldiers along with Di Ning herself.

However, these riders were not the person Di Ning had hoped for.

It was Yuan Long.

"We are late," Yuan Long said, looking at Di Ning with an apologetic expression. "Fall back and rest; we are taking over the battlefield."

"Where is he...?" Di Ning asked, using the last of her strength.

Yuan Long shook his head. "The Great General is coming from Shanggui. It's a long journey; I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet."

"However, our Mianzhu City has dispatched an army of fifteen thousand. That should be more than enough to give them a taste of hardship."

As Yuan Long's words faded, the Yiqu forces visibly began to show signs of collapse.

The trapped Qin and Di-Rong remnants fought with growing ferocity.

Meanwhile, scattered Di-Rong troops stationed in the surrounding areas learned of the situation at the main camp and rushed over from all directions.

Caught in a three-pronged pincer attack, the defeat of the Yiqu was sealed.

"It's the Qin!"

"Damn the Qin! Fall back!"

"Retreat to Chencang!"

Realizing the situation was lost, the Yiqu commander ordered a retreat.

Yet, at that exact moment, battle cries erupted from yet another direction—the very route the Yiqu army intended to use to retreat toward Chencang.

"Kill them! Leave none alive!"

The leader surged ahead, using his repeating crossbow to shoot down three Yiqu soldiers before charging straight toward the main stronghold.

Who else could this person be but Zhao Zheng?

The Qin army led by Zhao Zheng consisted of true elites, reinforced further by the elite warriors of the Wushi clan.

Caught in a three-pronged encirclement, the remaining Yiqu soldiers were trapped tightly on all sides.

"Great General."

Seeing Zhao Zheng, Jian Ping spurred his horse forward rapidly.

"What should we do with these Yiqu soldiers?" Jian Ping asked, seeking Zhao Zheng's orders.

At that moment, the Yiqu commander shouted out in surrender.

"We surrender! You Qin cannot slaughter us."

A dark shadow fell over Zhao Zheng's face as he spoke coldly:

"Have you forgotten Mount Qi?"