Chapter 208 First Battle
"You stay here and wait for the girl inside to wake up. Tell her that I'm going to deal with some military matters and will be back as soon as possible, so she doesn't need to worry."
Wen Zhiming glanced into the inner tent, drew the curtain, asked the guard Cao Ran which direction he had left in, and then turned and left.
The moonlight was cold and deep, its silvery glow covering the ground.
Wen Zhiming personally led a thousand elite soldiers, mounted his steed, and chased after Cao Ran in the direction he had left.
At this point, Cao Ran was already besieged on all sides.
He was originally very confident. The enemy was not numerous and did not seem particularly powerful. He originally thought that he could annihilate or capture the enemy within two miles.
However, although the enemy did not seem to be fleeing very fast, they were always a few hundred meters ahead of them. At this distance, it was difficult to hit the target with an arrow, and they could not catch up with them in a short time.
Cao Ran slowly realized something was wrong, but he had already made the decision. It was one thing if they were too far away to catch up, but it was hard not to feel resentful that they were retreating when the enemy was so close.
Relying on the fact that he outnumbered the enemy by more than two times, he gritted his teeth and ordered his men to continue the pursuit.
By this time, both sides had traveled about seven or eight miles and arrived at Dongjing Pass. The two sides of the pass were sloping, and only a narrow path in the middle was passable. Seeing the enemy soldiers rushing into the path ahead, their speed immediately slowed down. Cao Ran was overjoyed, thinking that the best time to attack had finally arrived.
He shouted "Charge!" and led his men into the path.
As a result, just as his men had charged halfway, countless arrows rained down from the slopes on both sides, and the fleeing soldiers in front turned around and charged at them.
Cao Ran then realized he had been ambushed. It was too late to retreat. The path was narrow, and the enemy on the slope fired a volley of arrows before circling around to encircle him from the rear, forming a pincer movement with the people fighting back in front.
Although the number of troops on both sides is not much different at present, the enemy has a geographical advantage and high morale. After some of Cao Ran's men were shot dead, their morale collapsed and they were in disarray, putting them at a disadvantage for a time.
Enraged, Cao Ran grabbed a silver spear and charged forward, charging towards the enemy general, a burly man in a blue robe.
He fell into the trap and lost the lives of his men. Only by capturing the enemy general can he boost morale and atone for his sins.
Cao Ran has some real skills; otherwise, given his impulsive personality, he wouldn't have survived to this day.
He quickly carved a bloody path through the narrow trail, killing more than a dozen enemy soldiers before reaching the blue-robed general covered in blood. The blue-robed general, however, remained calm, sitting on his horse with a cold smile, seemingly waiting for Cao Ran.
Cao Ran interpreted this posture as a provocation. Without saying a word, he thrust his spear forward, but the blue-robed general leaned back and easily dodged it, not forgetting to mock him, "I thought I could catch a big fish, but I got a brute like you instead!"
Wen Zhiming now commands nearly 100,000 soldiers. In addition to Ren Yang, Cao Ran, and General Liu, who initially joined him, he has promoted five or six more officials. However, he still values and trusts the first three the most.
In particular, Cao Ran, the former general of the Tiger Soaring Army, was considered the most influential person in the military camp besides Wen Zhiming, but now, in the other party's eyes, he was just an insignificant brute.
Cao Ran wanted to refute, but considering that his actions today were indeed reckless and impulsive, if he failed to capture the enemy general, his thousand elite soldiers might all perish here.
I am truly sorry to have failed the trust placed in me by the King of the Northern Frontier.
Feeling both ashamed and guilty, he cursed, "You scoundrel, you've gone too far!" and then charged forward again with his spear, his movements rapid and fierce, as if he wanted to pierce dozens of holes in his opponent.
But the blue-robed general remained calm and composed, merely dodging Cao Ran's attacks without making any moves himself. He even occasionally expressed his dissatisfaction and opinions about Cao Ran's spear technique, like a master directing an incompetent disciple.
This was a blatant provocation. Cao Ran was so angry that he lost all reason. Seeing that he couldn't hurt the other party, he turned his silver spear down and thrust it straight at the warhorse of the blue-robed general.
We're going to knock this scoundrel off his horse first, and then take his life.
However, at this moment, the blue-robed general made his move. He used a longsword, and his attack was as fast as lightning. In a flash of silver light, he was above Cao Ran's arm. Cao Ran was shocked. He was in a state of full-force attack, and it was too late to retreat and dodge. Seeing that he was about to lose an arm today, he hardened his heart and still thrust his spear straight at the eye of the enemy's warhorse.
"hiss……"
The warhorse reared up and neighed, then wildly reared up and shook its head, restless and agitated.
The unexpected pain of losing his hand did not come to Cao Ran. The tip of the blue-robed general's sword pierced through his clothes and touched his skin. At that moment, he was lifted up from behind, barely escaping the sword, and was thrown down, landing right in the arms of a soldier.
The soldiers were in the midst of a fierce battle when they suddenly embraced him tightly, and the two of them felt a little awkward as their eyes met.
After recognizing that they were his own men, Cao Ran quickly tidied himself up and joined the soldiers in rejoining the battle to attack the equally stunned enemy troops on one side.
His skills didn't fare well against the blue-robed general, but he dealt with these soldiers with ease, and even while killing the enemy, he could still keep an eye on the blue-robed general.
As a result, Cao Ran saw a man in a silver-white robe fighting fiercely with a blue-robed warrior. The man looked extremely familiar, and his moves were sharp and fierce. The blue-robed warrior was being beaten back step by step, and he didn't even have a chance to catch his breath, let alone talk.
Cao Ran was thrilled, wondering when his army had acquired such a formidable figure. He vowed to report this to the King of the Northern Frontier after the battle and promote him accordingly.
He knew that the person who had just saved him from the longsword must be this man. He was already quite tall, and sitting on horseback, he was even more difficult for ordinary people to approach. Yet this man was able to easily lift him by the back of his collar and throw him off, which showed his great strength and unparalleled bravery.
He has now defeated the blue-robed general without any chance to fight back, which shows his agility and fierce moves, truly befitting a great general.
At this moment, the blue-robed general had nowhere to retreat and was completely suppressed. His eyes turned cold, and he simply rolled off his horse. In a few rolls, he broke free of control and pretended to escape. The moment the man in the silver-white robe caught up with him, he suddenly retaliated with his long sword.
Cao Ran's heart sank as he watched, regretting that he was too far away to help his savior.
But the man in the silver-white robe remained expressionless. He met the sword with his spear, and with a forceful thrust, he knocked the sword away, while his spear pressed against the blue-robed general's throat.
Cao Ran cheered and fought his way closer to the enemy. At that moment, the man in the silver-white robe also turned to look in his direction.
This sight gave Cao Ran a huge fright.
This man had bright, shining eyes and a face as fair as jade. He stood at the front of the formation, holding a long spear, his sharpness fully revealed.
What surprised Cao Ran was not the man's appearance, but that he recognized him as the Northern Frontier King to whom he served!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
