Dingle was certainly aware of the problem and understood Misby's concerns, but he still gritted his teeth and said:

"Those trapped inside the encirclement still have the ability to fight. They must be aware of their current situation by now. As long as they retreat, and we focus our attack on the main road, we can break through the enemy's blockade by attacking from both inside and outside!"

"We can't just watch them get trapped! We need to get as many people back as possible!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Missy rubbed her temples and said, "But..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dingle waved his hand to interrupt:

"It has to be done."

Dingle paused for two seconds, then, her lips trembling, said to him:

"These are the troops I sent out..."

Seeing Dingle's distraught appearance, Misby suddenly felt a sense of disorientation, as if he saw a familiar figure in Dingle.

On New Year's Eve, in the command room of Port Bruno, General Bernhardt paced back and forth in his room all night, looking completely lost.

And how much the current Dingle resembles him!

Misby shook his head, clearing his mind of these irrelevant thoughts, and pulled on the reins, riding closer to Dingle.

Then he said to Dingle:

"Sir, everyone in my unit listens to me, but now I am handing over command to you."

"We will do whatever you say, and we will obey your orders unconditionally."

"Sir... just think it over."

Upon hearing this, Dingle was somewhat stunned. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze from Misby to the soldiers marching ahead.

"Hoo—" He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling extremely tired all over.

And the next moment.

"Boom boom boom!"

A series of artillery shells came from afar.

——

The shells came whistling down the Golt army's retreat route. The shells were no longer coming from the rear, but from all directions. These shells were mainly concentrated in the middle of the Golt army, which caused even heavier casualties to the Golt army, because the middle part was basically composed of infantry.

Moments earlier, when they learned that the enemy had flanked them from both sides, the soldiers at the back of the pack were gripped by fear. As they ran, they threw off their heavy loads, first ammunition boxes, then weapons, trying to lighten their load as much as possible so they could run faster.

However, when the artillery fire came from all directions, the soldiers at the rear were almost in despair, because it meant that the enemy's encirclement tactic had succeeded and the enemy had cut off their retreat route.

The first to learn that their retreat had been cut off was Lieutenant General Harbor, who initiated the evacuation. His division was at the forefront, and in their frantic run, they gradually discovered that enemy soldiers had appeared not only on their left and right flanks, but also in front of them.

Enemy troops on both flanks kept firing. They did not penetrate deep into enemy territory, but only attacked from the perimeter of their own army. Their goal was simply to kill more of their own soldiers. Lieutenant General Harbor did not want to be tied down by the enemy, so he ordered that they not stop and try to avoid being dragged into the battle.

But as time went on, more and more of their own cavalry were intercepted and killed. Lieutenant General Habo couldn't help but want to order a fierce counterattack several times, but thinking of the survival of the entire army, he forcibly suppressed his anger and only thought about withdrawing from the battlefield as soon as possible.

But when shells came flying from the front, Haber knew that his escape route was cut off and his last hope had been extinguished.

"Harbo! The Yan people have already outflanked us! What do we do now?" Lieutenant General Hopkins, who had caught up with Harbo's group on horseback from the rear, shouted anxiously to Harbo.

His troops had been gradually decimated during the retreat, with most of the infantry dying in artillery fire, while the cavalry, who had horses, suffered fewer casualties. In any case, Hopkins knew that his troops were finished.

In response to Hopkins's shout, Harper spurred his horse forward and roared back:

"Don't worry about anything else! Concentrate your forces and head straight back!"

"Break through those damned Yan Kingdom people's lines!"

Upon hearing this, Hopkins looked up and saw an alarming number of shells coming from the front; the most intense attack on the army was right in front of them.

Undoubtedly, the enemy forces that have outflanked us have set up their main defensive line on this main road back. Breaking through from here would likely result in the fiercest firepower.

Thinking of this, amidst the rumble of artillery fire, Hopkins shouted anxiously:

"No! Going back the way we came is too difficult, the shells are too dense! We can't break through!"

Harper's face turned ashen, and he roared:

"Only by focusing our efforts on one point and breaking through with all our might can we break through!"

Upon hearing this, Hopkins immediately shouted, "The attack from the north and south is weaker than from the front; perhaps we should change our route!"

"boom!"

As they were speaking, a shell landed not far away, causing people and horses to fall and sand to fly everywhere.

Harper's heart pounded, leaping into his throat. He wiped the sand from his face and shouted:

"No way! Look at our flanks, they're full of Yan Kingdom cavalry. They're just waiting for us to charge in and get shot!"

"These bastards are such good marksmen! My cavalry has already suffered more than half casualties!"

Upon hearing this, Hopkins' face fell. He anxiously turned his head and looked around, and sure enough, he saw that the number of his own cavalry on the left and right flanks had been greatly reduced.

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