Chapter 628 Breakthrough

"yes!"

The lieutenant immediately went down to relay the order, and soon the archers in the ranks all obeyed and went to the high ground on both sides of the valley entrance, with all their arrows aimed at the valley entrance.

The narrow entrance could only accommodate one or two riders at a time, while there were dozens of archers. Once someone rushed out, no one could escape from such an encirclement.

After settling these people in, the deputy general then directed several other teams to guard the valley entrance.

What these people were most worried about was that the people in the valley would break out at night, so they would stay up all night to defend the valley. Last night was no different. They were tired after staying up all night, so they could only extinguish the campfires and stagger towards the valley entrance with their swords in hand.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the silent mountains.

Yuan An immediately looked up and saw that the morning light had already appeared. In the deep blue sky, a large area of ​​bright orange-red had spread out. Suddenly, a flock of birds took off and flew over from the other side of the valley, their chirping echoing throughout the entire mountain range.

Seeing this, one of the soldiers exclaimed, "Good heavens, even the birds know we're about to make our move?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan An frowned.

Looking again in the direction the flock of birds had come from, he suddenly seemed to understand something. He widened his eyes and said to his deputy, who was still directing the men at the foot of the earthen slope, "Light the fire!"

The lieutenant was taken aback, after all, the manpower had not been arranged yet, and there was no need to be in such a hurry.

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Yuan An frown, glance at the birds in the sky, and then say, "The people inside are about to break out!"

"ah?"

The lieutenant was startled. He looked up again at the flock of birds that had already flown far away, and immediately understood. He shouted to the soldiers guarding the haystacks and woodpile in front of him, "Light the fire!"

The exclamation echoed through the mountains. The soldiers dared not delay and immediately threw the torches they were holding high into the pile of firewood. The firewood had been doused with tung oil, and as soon as the oil met the fire, a fireball suddenly rose up, billowing black smoke into the air. It formed a ring in the air, rolled a few times, and then suddenly dispersed.

Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind swept the black smoke towards the entrance of the valley.

Just then, another sound came from afar, but unlike the noisy sound of birds flying by just now, this time the sound was deep and resonant, like thunder, as if rolling black smoke was mixed with thunder and lightning. Even the cold, wet ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.

Everyone was startled and before they could react, a rider suddenly charged out of the valley!

"careful!"

Yuan An shouted, but before his voice reached the valley entrance, the man on horseback raised his long sword and cleaved through the haystack blocking his way!

With a loud "boom," the haystack split in two, scattering burning hay and firewood everywhere. The soldiers who had been preparing to surround them were startled and hastily retreated, making way for him. The man, quick-witted and agile, immediately spurred his horse and galloped away, about to break through the crack in the haystack and escape.

Just then, a sharp sound rang out from the sky!

A cold glint of light shot from the upper left. Just as the man was about to rein in his horse, an arrow struck his chest. It was the archer who had just been positioned on the nearby high ground!

Immediately afterwards, there were several whooshing sounds as more than a dozen arrows shot over at once, flying towards one place like meteors.

Before the soldier could even utter a sound, his entire body was riddled with thorns. He stood stiffly on his horse's back, his hand gripping the knife tightly. When the horse was startled and charged forward, he finally gave way, collapsing headfirst into the nearby fire. The galloping horse, however, was burned by the scattered sparks and the burning firewood beneath its feet. With a long neigh, it reared up, and immediately another arrow flew by, striking the horse squarely in the neck.

The piercing shriek was abruptly cut off as if slashed by a knife!

The horse's forelegs kicked a few more times in the air, but finally gave way and its massive body collapsed.

However, Yuan An's soldiers had piled the firewood very tightly, almost one next to the other, so when the horse fell, it landed right on another firewood pile that had just started burning.

With a loud crash, the pile of firewood was shattered, sending even more bits of grass and firewood flying. The surrounding soldiers were so frightened that they retreated in panic. However, the fireball, along with thick smoke, drifted into the valley. This time, those outside could hear more clearly the deep, thunderous sound of horses' hooves and the coughing sounds of people being choked by the smoke.

It was Yuwen Cheng's men, and they were still preparing to rush out!

The crowd became even more vigilant, and just as the horse collapsed, another rider emerged from the thick smoke and flames. This time, he charged even faster than the first rider, leaping over his companion's corpse and heading straight for the third burning pile of firewood ahead.

"Stop him!"

The lieutenant shouted, and at the same time his voice rang out the sharp whistling of arrows flying through the air. Three arrows shot from different directions at the same time, piercing the man's throat in an instant.

The soldier's eyes instantly turned even redder than the firelight before him. A muffled roar escaped from his broken throat, echoing through the valley like the howl of a wild beast. He slapped his horse's rump, and the horse, already frightened by the flames, charged forward madly, crashing directly into the pile of firewood.

The flames spread out and covered the flat ground in front of the valley. The tung oil that had been poured earlier also caught fire, turning the entire entrance to the valley into a fiery red. Yuan An's men dared not approach and could only retreat.

Unconsciously, they made room for the entrance to the valley!

This is their opportunity!

Seeing this, Yuan An's eyes also turned red. He immediately waved his hand, and his deputy hurriedly brought his horse. He quickly ran a few steps down the slope, leaped onto the horse, took his sword, and galloped towards the valley. At the same time, two riders suddenly rushed out of the valley. These two soldiers no longer held long swords, but bows and arrows. They straddled their horses and charged out of the firelight, firing several arrows in the direction from which the arrows had been shot.

After a few whooshing sounds, a scream came from the hillside.

Yuan An, who was about to reach the entrance of the valley, hurriedly turned around and saw seven or eight archers fall to the ground and roll down the hillside.

Yuan An frowned, as if he sensed something was wrong, but in the blink of an eye, he didn't have time to think about it, because at the same time, another cavalry charged out from behind the two soldiers.

This time, however, the rider who charged out was quite different from the previous ones. This rider was exceptionally tall and heavy, and even the horse seemed to be running slowly and heavily. When everyone looked closely, they couldn't help but widen their eyes.

The one riding on horseback was Yuwen Cheng.

Unlike the soldiers who had just broken through the encirclement in light cavalry wearing soft armor, he was wearing heavy and imposing bright armor. At first glance, he looked like a thick iron tower standing on the horse's back. He was suppressed by the archers who had just charged out, and the few arrows that were fired sporadically from the hillside could hardly hurt him. At the same time, several screams rang out from the hillside, and several more archers fell to the ground with arrows in their hands.

The remaining archers, like startled birds, dared not focus on the valley anymore. Instead, they turned their heads to look around, as if trying to figure out where the arrows had come from. Their terrified cries echoed through the valley!

Now, the archers that Yuan An had positioned on high ground were almost no longer effective and had completely lost their suppressive power.

At this moment, Yuwen Cheng's eyes also turned red.

Having been besieged for several days, his spoiled temperament had long since reached its breaking point. Seeing that the archers were no longer of any use and a path had been cleared in front of him, he disregarded the raging flames and roared, "Charge!"

After saying that, he brandished his long sword and rushed out.

The two soldiers who had just lit the pyre in front of them hadn't even had time to retreat when they felt a gust of hot air hit their faces. When they looked up, a cold light flashed across their faces, accompanied by a chill. Instantly, they lost consciousness.

Only two heads were propelled into the air by the spray of blood, tumbling twice before falling into the newly lit pyre.

The stench of blood fueled Yuwen Cheng's ferocity. He roared and charged forward, brandishing his blood-stained blade. Behind him, Song Shiyan led a cavalry unit in a charge. Although the ground was scorching hot from burning grass and firewood, they only had this one moment. Seeing the soldiers who had been blocking the valley entrance for days startled by their own burning firewood, they frantically whipped their horses. The roar of men and the neighing of horses filled the air as the charging force scattered the still-unassembled troops outside.

Just as they had rushed out of the valley and were still a few feet away, before they could lead all their men out of the valley, Yuwen Cheng suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from the front, which abruptly stopped the momentum of his horse charging forward.

It's Yuan An!

He spurred his horse and galloped wildly, like a tiger unleashed from its cage. His long sword, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, slashed straight at Yuwen Cheng's head.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

Song Shiyan shouted and was about to spur his horse to join the battle, but his horse was startled by the flames, snorting and circling around in a panic, refusing to charge forward. Yuwen Cheng, having just killed two soldiers, felt invincible and did not retreat, but directly raised his sword to meet the attack.

Yuan An swung his sword down, and Yuwen Cheng raised his sword horizontally. The two swords clashed, and a muffled "clang" was heard.

"ah--!"

Although Yuwen Cheng gritted his teeth, he still couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

The moment the two blades clashed, he immediately felt his arm tremble, followed by a sharp pain in his palm, so intense that he almost lost his grip on the blade—Yuan An's strike had actually caused his tiger's mouth to split open, almost reaching his palm!

Just as his arms went numb and became somewhat unresponsive, Yuan An reacted swiftly, immediately sheathing his sword and sweeping his long arm across from the right, aiming straight for Yuwen Cheng's throat. Yuwen Cheng was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. Despite the numbness in his arms, he gritted his teeth, ignoring the excruciating pain in his palms, and forcefully leaned forward to block the attack.

Another muffled thud, and the blade struck his sword, sparking a tiny spark!

Just as Yuwen Cheng barely managed to block the attack, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Yuan An immediately changed his stance and slashed diagonally down from his left side, aiming straight for his ribs. Yuwen Cheng was so frightened that he dared not make any other reaction and could only hurriedly sheathe his sword to block.

After a few moves, he was struggling to defend himself. Although he managed to block the opponent's attacks, his clumsy state was already showing.

Just as he raised his longsword again to block Yuan An's strike aimed at his thigh, his arm was so numb that he could barely lift it. But at that very moment, Yuan An suddenly roared, spun his sword, and the sharp blade slashed straight at his throat!

Yuwen Cheng's arms went numb and he couldn't pull them back in time. As the gleaming blade was already close to his eyes, he felt a wave of despair and closed his eyes in terror.

At the same time, Song Shiyan, who was behind him, finally tamed the frightened horse and charged forward with a shout.

But it was too late for him!

Seeing that there were still more than ten feet of distance between them, Song Shiyan roared and spurred his horse to charge. At the same time, he stretched out his long arm, and the long sword in his hand was almost just touching the hilt. However, he could only barely reach Yuwen Cheng's side and could not touch Yuan An at all. Meanwhile, Yuan An's sword, which was covered in bloody wind, was already approaching Yuwen Cheng.

Yuwen Cheng is about to be beheaded!

In that split second, a sharp sound suddenly came from afar.

Yuan An was startled and hadn't even had time to react when his military instincts made him sense the approaching danger, which was overwhelming and suffocating.

Just then, he suddenly felt his hand loosen!

Immediately, a burst of blood bloomed from his arm, like the red spider lilies suddenly blooming on the shore of the underworld, dazzlingly red, with a strange, enchanting, and tragic beauty, even sharper than the arrows that had just been shot into the air, piercing people's hearts in an instant.

Yuan An was the one who was stabbed.

His eyes widened as he watched the blood-red flower bloom, and then, as the blood-red flower bloomed, his arm was severed in the middle!

A flash of cold light, tinged with blood, suddenly streaked across the sky!

"ah--"

Yuan An let out a shrill scream that shook the entire valley. At the same time, the knife he was holding, which was already close to Yuwen Cheng's throat, fell to the ground with a thud.

There was only enough time to leave a bright red bloodstain on Yuwen Cheng's throat.

At that moment, Yuwen Cheng could hardly believe his situation. His stiff body trembled, and it took him a while to wake up from the slight pain in his neck and slowly open his eyes.

Just diagonally opposite him, on a small hill.

A tall, familiar figure stood proudly. At that moment, the first rays of the rising sun fell on the mountain, as if drawn to the person, illuminating his tall and strong figure with dazzling light, like a god descending to earth.

In his hand, he held a divine bow that weighed more than a thousand pounds!