April 22nd.

Under the continuous raids of Chen Mo, they reached Luqing Mountain.

It was nighttime now. Due to the previous ambush by Chen Mo's forces at Luqing Mountain, which led to General Guan, one of Liang Song's three major generals, being shot and killed, Liang Song specially arranged scouts on both sides of the mountain road at Luqing Mountain, selecting skilled soldiers from the army.

The night in the mountains was slightly chilly. The scout looked up at the night sky, and with the help of a little moonlight, he took out a dry wheat cake from his pocket and began eating it with the clear water from his water bag.

"Drip… drip…"

The scout's ears perked up. Although he had just reached entry grade, his ears and eyes were even more sensitive than those of a middle-grade martial artist. He could hear the chirping of cicadas three hundred steps away and see objects a hundred steps away in the dark. Liang Song found his talent extraordinary and promoted him to a small team leader of the scouts.

He put down the wheat cake and listened carefully. His expression instantly changed; it was the sound of horse hooves, even wrapped hoof horse hooves.

He put one finger in his mouth, touching his cheek to imitate a bird call to alert his companions on the other side of the mountain.

"Whoosh…"

At this moment, the sound of something piercing through the air was heard, passing through several leaves and then through the underbrush, piercing into his brow.

His eyes widened, and the wheat cake fell from his hand. Before dying, he hadn't figured out how he was discovered.

The scouts at Luqing Mountain echoed each other at both ends. If something happened to one end, the scouts at the other end would immediately find out.

However, just as one scout discovered something, another feathered arrow broke through the air again, piercing through him and falling to the ground without a breath.

"Drip… drip…"

Chen Mo rode to the location where the enemy scouts had died, dismounted, and had to admit that the system's power display, combined with this archery skill, was simply divine.

He searched the scout's corpse and found a few pieces of wheat cake, a small bag of soybeans, and some jerky.

Chen Mo sat down on the spot, not caring at all about the corpse beside him, chewing the dry wheat cake with the clear water from his water bag.

This was military rations, dry and hard, hard to swallow, requiring effort to bite.

They were dry cakes made by cooking wheat kernels and then compressing them, needing water to swallow, otherwise, they would surely choke, but Chen Mo had long since gotten used to it.

After simply filling his stomach, Chen Mo fed the soybeans to Xue Ling.

He could eat simply, but the warhorse could not. Not only did the fodder have to be fine, but it also had to be mixed with soy beans and cornmeal, prepared just right, so the horse wouldn't lose weight, remain strong, and run fast.

After a day of travel, feeding Xue Ling, Chen Mo tied it to the side and lay down to take a nap.

There were only a few dozen miles left to Shiling County. Now, they just had to wait for the main forces to arrive.

...

The army's marching speed was much slower than his.

By the morning of April 24th, the Divine Courage and Divine Martial two guards arrived at Luqing Mountain.

Thousands of soldiers stood straight in place, and Sun Meng walked to Chen Mo, reporting on the march of the past few days.

Chen Mo nodded and immediately said, "Pass down the order, let the army quickly rest and reorganize; tonight, we attack Shiling County in a night raid, it must be taken in one fell swoop."

"Yes."

...

Meanwhile, at Zhuima City.

Outside the city, amidst the bloody rain, corpses were strewn everywhere, some with over ten feathered arrows stuck in them, like a hedgehog.

"Clang clang clang…"

The crisp sound of a copper gong rang from the rear.

Signaling to retreat.

The somewhat sparse Xianzhen Guard on the battlefield immediately hesitated no longer, nodding and retreating.

On the high platform of the rear barracks, the personal soldiers fanned Zhang River, while below the platform, Cui Shuang said, "Captain Zhang, it's about time. According to Marshal Chen's initial order, we should withdraw."

"No rush, wait for them to retreat, rest for a while before withdrawing," Captain Zhang waved his hand and said.

Half an hour later.

On the city wall, Liang Song listened to the rumbling war drums outside the city, his brow slightly furrowed, thinking the enemy was about to feign an attack on the city again.

Beside him, Shi Meng said, "My lord, these flies are so annoying. In my humble opinion, we should go out of the city and battle them head-on."

"Inappropriate. If we really go out for battle, we would fall into these rebels' calculations. As long as we don't lose the city, no matter what schemes they use, it will be useless; we have the advantage." Liang Song cautiously said.

Shi Meng looked a bit disappointed.

But soon, Liang Song found something amiss. The enemy's drumming had been going on for over a quarter-hour, yet he hadn't seen the attacking rebels.

After waiting another quarter-hour, the drums stopped, and an unusual silence prevailed. Liang Song's expression slightly condensed, and he ordered, "Someone, send scouts out of the city to investigate."

Previously, the scouts outside the city had disappeared these days. Liang Song knew that the scouts outside Zhuima City were likely captured or killed; he could only send scouts out from the city to investigate.

Soon, the scouts returned, bringing back news that surprised everyone.

The rebel army had retreated.

Liang Song's brows furrowed into a "川" character, and the uneasy feeling in his heart deepened, yet he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

Next to him, Shi Meng laughed, "My lord, after a month, the rebels can't hold on anymore, so they retreated on their own accord."

But Liang Song thought it was not that simple.

"Send more scouts to see what the rebels are really up to?"

"Yes."

...

Night quietly descended.

The soldiers of the two guards, totaling over six thousand, had completed their assembly outside Shiling Pass. To maintain silence, they bit wooden sticks and wrapped their horses' hooves with cloth, waiting quietly for Chen Mo's order.

An hour passed.

The moon was dim, and stars were sparse; this was the time when people were most drowsy.

Returning alone from scouting Shiling County, Chen Mo issued the military order: "Attack!"

Divine Courage and Divine Brave Martial Guard are Chen Mo's main troops, equipped with the best gear in the entire army.

"Tap tap..."

The deep marching sound lightly echoed in the darkness. In front were over two thousand light soldiers holding long spears and wearing battle armor, escorting the cloud ladders.

Among them, more than two hundred Divine Brave Guards wielding Divine Arm Crossbows were mixed in. Chen Mo led over five hundred personal soldiers closely behind, with Xia Zhining and Sun Meng by his side.

More than six thousand warriors of the Two Guards concealed themselves in the darkness, moving stealthily like mountain cats toward the Shiling Pass nestled between the mountains.

...

Shiling Pass was the frontline checkpoint of Shiling County. Due to the narrow entrance, as long as both sides were guarded, it could serve as a barrier that a single man could defend against ten thousand.

Thus, even though Liang Song withdrew five thousand troops, leaving only around four thousand in Shiling County, they remained confident in their ability to defend the pass.

Those left in Shiling County were Liang Song's elite troops, extremely alert in their guard. Nearly a thousand soldiers kept watch each night.

On the walls of the pass, at intervals of several steps, stood bonfires. The blazing flames illuminated the walls as bright as daylight. Beneath the bright firelight, Yu State soldiers clad in iron armor stood alertly at the battlements, observing the situation outside the walls cautiously.

A copper gong hung on the walls; a soldier was always present to guard it. With any disturbance, the sound of the gong would instantly reverberate throughout Shiling Pass, awakening the resting Yu State Army in the county to come out and assist.

"Hoo..."

The wind was strong in the mountain forest at night, strong enough to blow out one of the bonfires on the wall while the others swayed, dimming the firelight considerably.

As the wind weakened slightly, a Centurion reignited the extinguished bonfire, and suddenly a large troop appeared on the flat ground outside the pass, as if shadow soldiers had surfaced from underground.

The Centurion jumped in fright.

The soldier stationed to watch the copper gong raised his hand to strike the gong.

"Swoosh!"

A piercing sound appeared behind the soldier, and instantly a feathered arrow shot through the soldier's back, piercing through his chest.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

The Centurion shouted loudly, bent over, and ran to bang the copper gong.

"Dong—Dong—Dong..."

The clear gong sound spread throughout Shiling Pass in an instant.

And the moment the gong sounded, thunderous shouts of battle entered the ears of the Yu State troops.

Two Guards warriors spat out the wooden sticks they held in their mouths, shouting in unison: "Kill!"

The next instant, under the cover of the Divine Arm Crossbows, cloud ladders were placed against the walls.

Siege vehicles were pushed from the rear army to the central, and then to the front army, finally reaching the top.

"Kill for me!"

...

Shiling County, county town.

Qin Lang had just removed his battle armor, while a personal soldier brought hot water for him to wash. Qin Lang asked while wringing the towel dry: "Hasn't any scout reported yet?"

These days, none of the scouts at the front have returned to report on the situation.

According to Yu State Army's routine, scouts in pairs should report back every two days, regardless of whether there's anything unusual. But now three or four days have passed.

The personal soldier shook his head.

Qin Lang wiped his face and then said: "Send someone out to check, make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes."

Just as the personal soldier went out, the copper gong began to sound outside.

Another personal soldier rushed in and said: "General, it's bad, enemy attack!"

"What?"

Qin Lang's expression changed, cursing the scouts in his mind. The enemy reached the face of the county, yet no one returned to report. He quickly said: "Wake all soldiers to defend the pass, do not let enemies break in.

Xiaosanzi, quickly send someone to notify the lord."

"Yes."

...

Screams echoed from the cloud ladders, arrows shot down injured Divine Brave Guards, and they rolled off, crushing soldiers below, falling over the walls.

The rain of arrows beneath the walls suppressed the Yu State archers positioned behind the wall's battlements temporarily.

With a thump, Chen Mo wielded a siege hammer, crashing three times to break down the gate. The Thousand Gold Gate behind the gate collapsed with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

"The gate is breached."

"Kill!"

"Victory!"

The Personal Guard Team followed behind Chen Mo, shouting fervently, then storming into Shiling Pass aggressively.

Qin Lang brought reinforcements and arrived just to see the gate broken, with rebel forces rushing in, shouting victory.

"Form the ranks! Face the enemy!" Qin Lang suppressed the panic in his heart and immediately issued the order.

"Where's the Personal Guard Team?" Chen Mo shouted.

"Here!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

Over five hundred personal soldiers shouted in unison.

"Charge with me!!!"

"Kill!"

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