vrcanaries Chapter 1375 The Empress Has Gone Mad
Chapter 1375 The Empress Has Gone Mad
Murong Yan led 10,000 men to press forward from the front.
Just as dawn was breaking and the soldiers in the enemy camp were preparing to rest, they heard deafening shouts of battle coming from outside.
"Enemy attack!"
Countless soldiers rushed out of their tents, only to find a massive, dark mass of men charging towards them.
"Array up!"
A general shouted, and the soldiers hurriedly formed a battle formation.
Murong Yan sat on her horse, looking at the enemy army ahead.
"Archers prepare."
Thousands of archers drew their longbows, the arrows gleaming coldly in the morning light.
"put!"
Arrows rained down from the sky, and enemy soldiers in the front ranks fell in droves.
"rush!"
Murong Yan spurred her horse and charged ahead.
The five-zhang-long train of the black and gold phoenix descending to earth dress fluttered behind the horse, and the golden phoenix on the skirt shimmered in the sunlight.
The Imperial Guard soldiers followed closely behind, charging directly into the enemy's formation.
The flash of swords and shadows, the shouts of killing shook the sky.
Murong Yan brandished her longsword, piercing the throat of an enemy soldier who charged forward.
The blood splattered on the black and gold Phoenix Descent Dress was quickly absorbed by the black fabric.
"Protect Your Majesty!"
Several imperial guards generals rushed to her side and blocked the surging enemy troops.
Murong Yan did not back down; instead, she fought with increasing ferocity.
She had practiced martial arts since childhood. Although she was a woman, her swordsmanship was fierce, and every strike was aimed at vital points.
The enemy camp was in complete chaos.
They thought it would just be a frontal attack, but they didn't expect the enemy's empress to personally take to the field.
"Kill her!"
An enemy general shouted, "Kill her and you'll be promoted to general and ennobled!"
Countless soldiers surged toward Murong Yan.
However, the Imperial Guards' defenses were impregnable, and no matter how the enemy attacked, they could not break through.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the right.
Lin Zhen led 10,000 men out from the flank and directly cut into the enemy's heartland.
"kill!"
Ten thousand elite troops, like a sharp knife, plunged fiercely into the enemy's formation.
The enemy troops were thrown into chaos.
They had already been tormented all night, and now they were attacked from both sides, leaving them powerless to resist.
Lin Zhen wielded his long sword, each strike taking a life.
He charged ahead, with soldiers close behind him.
"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, the enemy general immediately ordered a retreat.
But with their backs against the cliff, they had nowhere to retreat.
"General, there's a cliff behind us!"
"Then run to either side!"
The enemy troops began to scatter, some running to the left and some to the right.
However, the left side was already blocked by Zhang Xian's five thousand men, while the right side was being pursued by Lin Zhen's ten thousand men.
"Surrender without killing!"
Yue Fei's voice came from afar.
He led 10,000 men to press forward from the front, completely blocking the enemy's retreat.
Seeing that they were surrounded from all sides, the enemy soldiers finally laid down their weapons.
"We surrender!"
"surrender!"
Countless soldiers knelt on the ground, raising their hands.
The enemy general tried to resist, but Lin Zhen slashed him to the ground.
"Tie them up."
The battle ended quickly.
From dawn until now, in just one hour, out of 100,000 enemy troops, 30,000 were killed or wounded, and the rest surrendered.
Murong Yan dismounted, the trailing hem of her black and gold phoenix-themed dress dragging on the ground, stained with mud and blood.
"Clean up the battlefield and take inventory of the prisoners."
Yue Fei accepted the order and went to carry it out.
Lin Zhen walked to her side.
"tired?"
"It's alright." Murong Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I'm just a little thirsty."
Lin Zhen took out a water pouch from his pocket and handed it to her.
Murong Yan took it and drank a few sips before she felt a little better.
What should be done with these prisoners?
"Lock him up first," Lin Zhen said. "We'll talk about it after the interrogation."
Murong Yan nodded.
She walked up to the enemy general who was tied up.
"Tell me, where is your army?"
The general kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word.
Murong Yan wasn't angry. She turned to the soldiers beside her and said...
"Hang him up and don't give him water for three days."
"Yes."
The soldiers dragged the general away.
The other prisoners lowered their heads when they saw this.
"Is there anyone else who doesn't want to speak?" Murong Yan's voice was calm. "I'm giving you a chance."
A prisoner raised his hand tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I am willing to speak."
Murong Yan coldly commanded, "Speak."
“We are the vanguard sent by the King of the Northern Desert.” The prisoner knelt on the ground. “The King of the Northern Desert said that he would arrive soon with an army of 200,000, including 20,000 burly, heavily armored wolf riders.”
"The King of the Northern Desert?" Murong Yan looked at Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen frowned.
"When did the northern deserts have a king?"
"I don't know either," the prisoner kowtowed. "We were just following orders."
Murong Yan remained silent for a moment.
"Separate them into different lockers and interrogate them one by one."
"Yes."
The soldiers took the prisoners away.
Murong Yan turned and looked at the distant desert.
"It seems that this matter is more complicated than we thought."
“Hmm.” Lin Zhen walked to her side. “The northern desert has always been a tribal alliance, never unified. Now that a king of the northern desert has suddenly appeared, there must be something wrong.”
"Then what do we do next?"
“Keep heading north,” Lin Zhen said. “Since they dare to come, let’s fight our way to their lair.”
Murong Yan smiled.
"Alright, let's attack their stronghold."
Yue Fei walked over.
"Your Majesty, the prisoners have been counted, totaling 67,000."
Lin Zhen asked, "What about casualties?"
"Our army suffered 300 dead and 800 wounded," Yue Fei said. "The enemy suffered 33,000 dead and wounded."
Murong Yan nodded, "Send the wounded back to Yumen Pass for treatment, and give the fallen soldiers a proper burial."
"Yes."
After Yue Fei stepped down, Murong Yan looked at the busy soldiers in the camp.
Murong Yan ordered, "Pass down the order: rest for a day today, and continue north tomorrow."
"As ordered."
The soldiers began setting up their tents and preparing to rest.
Murong Yan walked into the makeshift tent and took off her blood-stained black and gold Phoenix Descent Dress.
A palace maid brought hot water and helped her wash her body.
Lin Zhen stood outside the tent, looking at the distant sky.
“Your Highness,” Zhang Xian walked over, “during the interrogation of those prisoners, they said that the King of Mobei has a special army under his command. Those soldiers are incredibly strong, invulnerable to swords and spears, and ride war wolves at extremely high speeds. Ordinary soldiers are no match for them.”
Lin Zhen's eyes sharpened.
"Those are the ones Li Jing encountered?"
“That should be it,” Zhang Xian replied. “The prisoners were terrified of that army, saying they weren’t human at all.”
Lin Zhen remained silent for a moment.
"Strengthen security and have soldiers take turns on duty."
"Yes."
After Zhang Xian left, Lin Zhen turned and went into the tent.
Murong Yan had changed into a clean black and gold phoenix descending to earth dress and was sitting at her desk looking at a map.
"what happened?"
“Zhang Xian just said that the King of Mobei has a special army under his command,” Lin Zhen walked to her side. “It should be the same people who killed Li Jing.”
Murong Yan put down the map.
What do you think they are?
"I don't know," Lin Zhen shook his head, "but they're definitely not ordinary soldiers."
Murong Yan leaned back in her chair.
"Then we need to be even more careful."
“Okay.” Lin Zhen sat down opposite her. “Tomorrow we will continue north and try to strike at their stronghold before they are prepared.”
Murong Yan nodded.
The two sat there, neither of them saying a word.
The sounds of soldiers talking and horses neighing could be heard outside the tent.
Night falls.
Countless torches were lit in the camp, illuminating the surroundings.
Murong Yan lay on the couch, the five-zhang-long train of her black and gold phoenix descending to earth dress spread out on the ground.
Lin Zhen sat on the edge of the couch, looking at her.
"Go to sleep, we have to travel tomorrow."
"Mm." Murong Yan closed her eyes. "You should get some rest too."
Lin Zhen didn't move, just sat there watching her.
Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the tent, falling softly on the train of the black and gold Phoenix Descent dress.