Chapter 441: Chapter 226: Different Paths to the End_3
Translator: 549690339
The situation was urgent, and he couldn’t help but carefully raise his head, glancing at the two Generals ahead.
But he saw that their faces had lost their usual dignity and determination, replaced by an ugly, somber expression.
Seeing this, the messenger couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
The Yue people outside the city were pressing their attack, but in the previous days, they had experienced this as well and never saw the two Generals in such a state.
As he thought about this, the two Generals ahead seemed to notice his gaze. The Left Pillar State Grand General Li Yanjing turned his head and coldly waved his hand, saying: “Alright. I already know the situation. As usual, command the city to strengthen its defense.
Unless the Yue people’s Inborn Grandmaster makes a move, there is no need to report to us anymore.”
Realizing his private actions had been discovered, the messenger felt a chill in his heart. But upon hearing the order, he immediately nodded: “Yes, I will go and relay the command.”
With that, the man hurried away.
After he left, only Li Yanjing and the other Grand General, Zhang Chanyi, remained in the room.
After a long silence…
Zhang Chanyi finally said: “The Yue people have launched a fierce attack.”
Li Yanjing’s expression remained cold, but his tone was full of resentment: “They launched a surprise attack on Guining and Fangling, and now they are besieging Xiangyang City, about to capture the Prefecture. Naturally, they won’t let us go.”
Zhang Chanyi said with some pain: “No one could have expected that Gui Lianyun would die at the hands of the Yue people. With his death, Xiangyang Prefecture’s western defenses have been left wide open, allowing the Yue army to march in and put us in this difficult situation.”
Indeed.
Originally, a single Inborn Grandmaster leading 50,000 troops to defend a city should have been unassailable.
But the result was beyond everyone’s expectation.
Gui Lianyun not only failed to defend Guining City, but also lost his own life there.
With his death, not only was communication between Xiangyang Prefecture and Xichuan Prefecture severed, but also a huge gap appeared in Xiangyang Prefecture’s defenses.
Now, the Yue army is making its way deep into our territory, laying siege to Xiangyang and cutting off the supply line for our front-line army at Dangyang.
At this moment, even the slightest mistake could result in the loss of troops, land, and a complete collapse.
Under such immense pressure, it was no wonder that Zhang Chanyi and Li Yanjing were feeling distressed.
“No one is to blame for Gui Lianyun’s death. Who would have thought that the Yue people would suddenly have four more Inborn Grandmasters and 200,000 more soldiers this time?
Moreover, after receiving this support, they dispatched three Grandmasters and 100,000 elite troops to launch a surprise attack on Guining City.
It’s only normal that Gui Lianyun couldn’t hold Guining City against such an enemy.”
Upon saying this, Li Yanjing paused, and then continued with a hint of disbelief and trembling in his voice: “What I didn’t expect was that even though Gui Lianyun faced three Inborn Grandmasters, with his strength, he should have been able to escape unscathed if he couldn’t win.”
However, this time he couldn’t even escape, and was directly killed in front of the entire army.
Could the person who took action be the Yue Country’s Grand General?”
Due to the difficulty in transmitting information, the front-line forces at Dangyang had also received news of Gui Lianyun’s battle.
But all they knew was that he had fought with three Inborn Grandmasters before dying in the northern part of the city, as told by the fugitive soldiers who had escaped.
But how exactly did he die, and what were the details of the battle?
They still didn’t know.
So at this moment, Li Yanjing could only make guesses based on his own knowledge and understanding.
It was the Grand General of Yue Country who had taken the action.
Only a Second Realm Inborn expert, aided by two Inborn Grandmasters, could kill an Inborn Grandmaster and not allow him to escape, decapitating him in front of an entire army.
As for Yue Country’s known Second Realm Inborn experts, there were only two.
One was Grand General Shen Qiu, and the other was Marquis of Wuan Bai Mengyang.
But Bai Mengyang had been on the front lines all along, and even had a skirmish with them a few days ago. They knew he couldn’t have gone to attack Gui Lianyun.
So the only explanation left was Shen Qiu.
What about Lu Yuan?
Don’t be kidding. A guy who had only broken through Innate a little over a year ago, you say he could kill a man who had been Inborn for more than ten years among tens of thousands of soldiers?
Are you crazy, or am I crazy?
From beginning to end, the possibility that Lu Yuan killed Gui Lianyun never crossed the minds of Zhou People.
Even now, when news from Xiangyang clearly stated that the leading Yue generals laying siege to the city were King of Changsha Lu Yuan and Martial Proclamation Marquis Yang Jing.
“Regardless of whether it was Shen Qiu or not, our current priority is to quickly withdraw our troops and lead them back to Xiangyang City.”
Zhang Chanyi couldn’t figure out how Gui Lianyun died either, but it had already happened, and there was no use lamenting it. What needed to be done now was to find a way to remedy the situation.
Therefore, at this time he said: “At present, there are only 50,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, of which fewer than 10,000 are real soldiers, and the rest are civilian workers.
If it weren’t for the timely arrival of the East Pillar State Grand General, the city would have fallen long ago.
But even so, facing the powerful Yue army, Xiangyang City remains in danger.
Moreover, our reinforcements have been cut off now, and we must return to Xiangyang as soon as possible to reestablish contact.
I’m afraid that if we don’t, the front-line army here will lose heart and be unable to continue the fight.”
Withdrawing the troops has become the most pressing matter now.”
Li Yanjing, who was well aware of the current situation, furrowed his brows and said: “We want to withdraw, but the Yue people won’t let us go. That’s why they are fiercely attacking our camp now.
It’s impossible for us to retreat with tens of thousands of front-line troops.
In the end, we may have to sacrifice some of them, cut off our tail to survive, and seek a slim chance of survival.”
Zhang Chanyi said firmly: “At this moment, making some sacrifices is better than losing everything. You go and arrange who stays behind to cover our retreat, who serves as bait, and who to take with us. Make sure everything is properly arranged.”
p>Upon saying this, Zhang Chanyi stared at Li Yanjing and said word by word: “There’s not much time left, get everything ready within the next two days. Be discreet and don’t let the news leak out in the army.”
Hearing this, Li Yanjing’s eyes flashed with pain, but he nodded: “I understand, I’ll go arrange it right away.”
Zhang Chanyi nodded, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes: “Go on.”
Li Yanjing got up, and then walked out of the room with heavy steps.
Under the rising morning sun, the golden light should have been full of vitality, but the silhouette of the Left Pillar State Grand General seemed particularly desolate.