The ancestors of the Liang Family were ministers who followed the Great Song Ancestor to establish the empire, relying on years of battlefield experience to compile the Liang Family Military Manual by combining the strengths of various military books, passing it down through generations.

As the property of the Noble Family, the Liang Family Military Manual naturally was only circulated internally within the Liang Family, and an ancestral precept was set that every Liang Family child leading troops externally had to thoroughly study it.

Although hundreds of years of peace and stability, wealth and prosperity, made many Liang Family descendants forget their roots by only seeking pleasure.

Nonetheless, each generation had its outstanding talents.

Liang Song was one of the elite disciples to whom the Liang Family entrusted heavy responsibilities in the previous generation; he thoroughly studied and skillfully applied the Liang Family Military Manual.

This time, after guarding Zhuima City, Liang Song left five thousand troops, positioned ten li outside the city in a valley.

Firstly, to prevent any Rebel Army from finding a detour to the rear of Zhuima City and launching a pincer attack, so that this ambush force of five thousand could block them, giving ample time to notify him for preparation.

Secondly, to provide rescue in case of defeat.

Indeed, Liang Song considered the aftermath.

However, upon actually defending Zhuima City and seeing the Rebel Army sacrificing lives wave after wave, Liang Song altered his strategy.

Because he knew that if he insisted on defending Zhuima City, with the Rebel Army's method of sacrificing lives to fill the void, even if he held out, his side would suffer considerable casualties.

Therefore, when the Rebel Army launched the third round of attack, Liang Song started retreating, first withdrawing rations and supplies so they wouldn't fall into the Rebel Army's hands.

Secondly, he left a thousand Yu State Army soldiers hidden in cellars under various houses poised to become internal responders during the counterattack, close the gates, and create a pincer maneuver against the rebel forces.

To attract the Rebel Army, Liang Song even used his rear troops as bait to lure the Rebel Army into tightening their pursuit.

The saying goes; you must lose a child to catch a lamb.

Now the lamb had finally fallen into the trap.

...

"Long live the Song Army!"

"Victory to the Song Army!"

"Kill!"

Shi Meng and Qin Lang were pursued by the Rebel Army all the way, and under Liang Song's orders, couldn't counterattack, leaving both of them frustrated.

Now the sound of the counterattack horn had blown; it was time to show this Rebel Army the might of the Song Army.

"It's an ambush, we're trapped in an ambush."

A Celestial Master Army soldier with a ghastly face, his legs trembling like reeds, unable to withstand the pressure, cried out and shockingly dropped his shield and sword, fleeing backward. Several Celestial Master Army members stumbled with him, followed by several who discarded their weapons and fled; the fleeing soldiers stirred up chaos within the Celestial Master Army.

They had already been teetering on the edge of collapse after the bloodstained, life-filling siege, and just when they managed to muster some morale after breaking the city, they found only an empty city awaiting them.

Now pursuing, they encountered an enemy ambush.

Not to mention, they were not a regular army; even a strong army faced with such circumstances could not hold itself together.

"Clang!"

A sharp blade emerged, piercing through the fleeing soldier's chest, with Lu Yonggang's banner fluttering gently from the mighty chariot's turret. Standing solemnly atop the chariot, Lu Yonggang's personal soldiers resheathed their long swords beside him.

Lu Yonggang gazing at the slain fleeing Celestial Master Army member, felt his heart sink to its depths, never imagining that the enemy still had reserves at such a moment.

This reminded him of Chen Mo's words about Liang Song's cunning nature.

However, as the marshal, he couldn't lose composure; if he did, everything would be over.

He loudly commanded: "We are protected by the heavens, why fear the enemy? Do not retreat, form ranks, form ranks."

Lu Yonggang's banner danced in the wind, with rhythmic war drums resonating from the Personal Guard Battalion, as the marshal personally attended, expected to stabilize the situation.

The Yu State Army's ambush forces from both sides of the forests pressed forward, along with front, middle, and rear troops turning around, loudly cheering as they charged, like Thunderbolts, toward the surrounded Celestial Master Army.

"Charge the entire army!"

"Charge the entire army!"

"Charge the entire army!"

Commanders of all levels shouted loudly while charging, and other Yu State Army soldiers followed suit in shouting together in a thunderous voice, which had the effect of boosting morale and deterring the enemy.

The Celestial Master Army had its courage completely shattered, with soldiers dropping their weapons retreating en masse.

Like a mountain advancing forward, like a forest of spears following closely behind.

"In this battle, there is death not life, advance not retreat, Song Army mighty."

"Song Army mighty!"

"Slay!"

With urgent war drums and horn sounds, Yu State soldiers courageously advanced.

The Celestial Master Army, like locusts swarming, was swiftly crushed by the fierce Yu State Army's offensive, leaving ordinary soldiers or Ten-man, Hundred-man, and Thousand-man commanders unable to hold back even half a step, engulfed in the tide of assault.

Black Cavalry lost the advantage of their cavalry, becoming blocked before and behind, with countless dying from trampling.

"Do not retreat, do not retreat."

Song Niu killed fleeing soldiers, trying to stem the tide of collapse; however, the Celestial Master Army had entirely lost its will to fight.

Killing savagely, there were still Celestial Master Army soldiers who drew swords against Song Niu.

Song Niu swung his sword forward, slaying the attacking Celestial Master Army soldier and spat: "Damn you... You blind fool... Ugh..."

Before finishing his words, a feathered arrow shot from behind, piercing through his throat from the back of his neck.

Song Niu looked down, attempting to speak, but blood gushed out from his mouth.

"Kill..."

Around him, Yu State Army soldiers surged, with long spears piercing into his chest, then extracting them.

Song Niu slowly collapsed to the ground, unwillingly gazing at the dim sky, with his entire life flashing before him like a film reel.

At the last moment before dying, a flash of a blade was seen, the cold Great Saber severed Song Niu's head.

Song Niu's personal soldiers, seeing their general dead and beheaded, roared in sorrow and charged at the Yu State Army Captain who had decapitated their general.

"Great shooting, sir." The personal soldiers surrounding Liang Song cheered.

Although Song Niu was not the chief commander, he was a general of the Rebel Army, and it was he who had broken through the gates of Zhuima City this time.

Song Niu's death greatly boosted the morale of the Yu State Army.

A large number of Yu State soldiers rushed towards Lu Yonggang's position to attack.

Liang Song knew that to capture the enemy, you must first capture their leader, and led his personal soldiers straight towards Lu Yonggang.

The Celestial Master Army began a massive rout, with few resisting.

Liang Song quickly fought his way to the front of Lu Yonggang's formation.

Lu Yonggang also knew that capturing the leader was crucial and realized that the only chance to reverse the defeat was to kill Liang Song.

However, he was no Chen Mo and had no hacks to gauge the opponent's power. He knew Liang Song was a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist like himself.

Yet, he did not know that Liang Song's personal power was as high as 1071, with an additional force of 43.

Charging towards Liang Song would result only in death, no survival.

In just a few short exchanges, Lu Yonggang was cut down by Liang Song.

Lu Yonggang did not die immediately, and his surrounding personal soldiers rushed in madly attempting to save him.

But Lu Yonggang knew his fate was sealed. A fatal wound marred his chest, life slipping away from his body, and he mournfully recited: "To think I'd die first, a lifetime blown away in this harsh wind. Celestial Master, the peace you depicted, in this life, Yonggang will never see... My heart returns to the void, not by my will..."

Lu Yonggang was a true believer of the Celestial Master Sect, yearning to end the world of chaos and cannibalism, longing for the peace depicted in the Celestial Master Sect's teachings.

But all this seemed to have become an unattainable dream.

Liang Song's personal soldiers decapitated Lu Yonggang, then raised his head high on a Long Spear, after which Liang Song shouted loudly: "The rebel commander has been slain by me, Liang Song."

Shi Meng, along with Liang Song's personal soldiers, had also slaughtered Lu Yonggang's personal soldiers and cut down the Rebel Army's great banner.

With the banner fallen and the rebel leader killed, the Yu State soldiers around Liang Song raised their weapons in cheer for their leader.

The Celestial Master Army, seeing this, lost the last bit of their resistance.

The defeat crumbled like a landslide; now all they knew was to flee for their lives.

"Surrender and you will not be killed."

Liang Song gave the order while leading the Profound Leopard Cavalry in pursuit.

The ordinary soldiers could be spared or allowed to escape, but among them, the captains, especially the remaining Commanders, must be cut down.

Otherwise, if they managed to escape, they could reorganize their forces and strike back again.

The sound of drums echoed.

The tide of the battle had completely turned, from the pursuit by the Celestial Master Army and the retreat of the Yu State Army.

It became the Yu State Army pursuing while the Celestial Master Army fled.

...

At this same time.

Chen Mo was leading the Three Guards, slaughtering the Yu State Army within the city and capturing a few live ones to interrogate where they had come from.

Upon learning they had crawled out from cellars in various civilian houses on Liang Song's orders, Chen Mo immediately sensed the danger.

Before he could make any move, the sound of hooves drifted in.

Sun Meng hurried over.

"What happened?" Chen Mo frowned.

Sun Meng said, "It's the Black Cavalry, but judging by their looks, it seems like they've suffered a defeat."

At this time, the Three Guards were still cleaning the battlefield, the Mystic Gates were not closed, and the Thousand-Pound Gate had not been lowered.

The routed Celestial Master Army, with the Black Cavalry who had horses, naturally fled at the forefront, entering the city first.

Chen Mo quickly ordered the Three Guards to stop them and ask what had happened.

Upon finding out it was an ambush, and the Yu State Army had counterattacked, Chen Mo's face changed.

Soon, Zhao Ye led his troops, also retreating in defeat, heavy with casualties, bringing back news that made Chen Mo's heart sink.

Lu Yonggang had been cut down by Liang Song.

Song Niu was also dead.

Three out of the Four Directions Commanders were already dead.

The members of the Three Guards were also shaken upon hearing this.

Zhao Ye was terrified to the core and screamed to continue fleeing after entering the city.

Yet, he was stopped by the Three Guards.

"Get out of the way, if we don't flee, when the enemy catches up, none of us can escape, even Marshal Lu is dead," Zhao Ye roared at Chen Mo.

"Can you outrun the Profound Leopard Cavalry? Now that Zhuima City is in our hands, we can defend from here." Chen Mo said.

"You're crazy, even Marshal Lu couldn't defeat them, how can we hold this place with this few people? The city gates are already breached?"

"Calm down, the Mystic Gates and the Thousand-Pound Gate are still intact, we can hold." Chen Mo said.

"You can stay and hold if you want, but I'm not dying with you, brothers, we..."

Before Zhao Ye could finish, he was split in two by Chen Mo's blade from the back.

Chen Mo's face was stern: "Those who desert in battle will be executed without mercy!"

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