As Murong Xuan's army surged like a tidal wave to the center of the plain, Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er exchanged a glance, both seeing resolve and determination in each other's eyes. This was the moment they had waited for; the flames of revenge were about to blaze fiercely across this plain.
Xiao Yichen abruptly pulled on the reins. His warhorse neighed, its front hooves rearing up high before coming to a steady stop amidst the swirling dust. He raised his sword high, its blade gleaming with a chilling light in the sunlight, as if announcing the start of a counterattack to the heavens and earth.
"Release!" Xiao Yichen roared, his voice like thunder, shaking the surrounding air.
In an instant, dozens of elite soldiers hidden among the ranks sprang into action. They steadily held up the prepared poisonous bee balls and hurled them with all their might towards Murong Xuan's army. The poisonous bee balls traced arcs through the air, hurtling towards the enemy ranks like the scythe of death.
These swarms of wasps are meticulously crafted. Each ball is carefully sewn from tough, specially treated leather, and its internal space is precisely calculated to accommodate a sufficient number of wasps while ensuring that the wasps do not escape prematurely due to internal compression when released. The surface of the ball is also coated with a special substance that emits a faint odor that temporarily paralyzes the wasps' senses, keeping them relatively quiet inside until the ball breaks.
Murong Xuan was basking in the euphoria of impending victory, his mind already scheming how to flaunt his achievements and divide up Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er's territories after the battle. However, the sudden whooshing sound instantly jolted him awake from his reverie. He instinctively looked up and saw dozens of dark objects flying towards his army.
"What is this?" A sense of foreboding welled up in Murong Xuan's heart, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. But before he could react, the poisonous bee balls rained down on his army.
Immediately following, a series of dull thuds rang out, and the swarm of poisonous bees shattered the moment it hit the ground. In an instant, tens of thousands of poisonous bees surged out of the swarm like a black tide. They angrily flapped their wings, emitting a chilling buzzing sound that instantly coalesced into a terrifying roar, as if it were a howl from hell.
As soon as the poisonous bees appeared, they launched a frenzied attack. Using their keen sense of smell, they quickly locked onto their surrounding enemies—Murong Xuan's soldiers. These soldiers, who had been happily pursuing Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er's group, were now caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
A soldier stared in terror as swarms of poisonous bees hurtled towards him. He didn't even have time to raise his weapon in defense. The bees instantly enveloped him, and he felt a sharp, stinging pain all over his body, as if countless needles were piercing his flesh. He screamed in agony, frantically waving his arms, trying to drive the bees away, but it was all in vain.
"Ah! Help!" The soldier's screams echoed across the plain, his voice filled with fear and despair. The surrounding soldiers, hearing his cries, turned to look, only to find themselves soon in the same predicament.
The venomous wasps relentlessly attacked every target they could reach. Their stingers pierced the soldiers' skin, injecting deadly venom. The stung soldiers first felt a sharp pain, followed by various symptoms. Some soldiers' skin quickly swelled and turned red, as if burned by fire; others became dizzy, unsteady on their feet, and even collapsed unconscious; still others struggled to breathe, their throats feeling as if something was tightly constricting them, only able to emit weak gasps.
Murong Xuan watched helplessly as his soldiers descended into chaos under the onslaught of the poisonous bees, his heart filled with rage and regret. "What on earth is going on? Xiao Yichen, how dare you resort to such despicable means!" he roared furiously, his longsword flailing helplessly in the air, attempting to scare away the bees. However, the bees ignored his anger and continued their relentless attack on his soldiers.
Looking at the scene before her, Lin Wan'er felt a mixture of vengeful pleasure and reluctance. She knew the cruelty of war, but to protect her and Xiao Yichen's homeland, and to avenge her fallen family and friends, she had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. "This is the price you pay for underestimating us," Lin Wan'er said coldly, her eyes revealing unwavering resolve.
Xiao Yichen watched the battlefield with a cold expression. He knew that this battle was far from over. Although the poisonous bee balls had achieved great results, Murong Xuan's army was still numerous and would not be easily defeated. "Prepare for battle!" Xiao Yichen shouted, his voice firm and powerful, snapping the soldiers out of their brief shock.
The soldiers quickly gripped their weapons, ready for battle. They knew that what followed was a true life-or-death struggle, and they had to give it their all for victory and survival.
The venomous bees swept through Murong Xuan's army like a black whirlwind, leaving chaos and wailing in their wake. The buzzing of their wings sounded like a death symphony playing across the plains.
Murong Xuan's soldiers were caught off guard by the sudden attack. Their once orderly ranks crumbled instantly, and the soldiers scattered like headless flies, pushing and trampling each other.
A soldier ran frantically in terror, shouting, "Help! These poisonous bees are going to kill us all!" His face was covered in sweat and fear, his eyes revealing an extreme terror of death. However, he hadn't run far before a swarm of bees caught up with him. The bees swarmed onto him, relentlessly piercing his skin with their stingers. He struggled in agony, frantically waving his hands, trying to drive the bees away, but they only swarmed more and more. Soon, his body was covered in red, swollen welts, and he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth, convulsing a few times before becoming still.
At the front of the column, a general attempted to organize a resistance. He brandished his longsword and shouted, "Don't panic! Everyone, move closer together and use your shields to defend yourselves!" However, the number of poisonous bees was simply too great; they swarmed in from all directions, giving the soldiers no chance to form a defensive formation. Some soldiers obeyed the general's orders and barely managed to raise their shields, but the bees slipped through the gaps and launched a deadly attack.
A young soldier gripped his shield tightly, his body trembling. He heard the buzzing of wasps outside the shield, and fear gripped him. Suddenly, a wasp scurried in from under the shield and landed directly on his face. He screamed in terror, dropping the shield. Before he could react, the wasp stung his eye. He clutched his eye in agony, blood seeping from between his fingers, and rolled on the ground, screaming in agony.
Murong Xuan was both shocked and furious at the horrific scene before him. He never imagined that Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er would resort to such a bizarre and deadly method. Enraged, he charged towards Xiao Yichen, intending to kill him with his own hands. However, the poisonous bees blocked his path.
Murong Xuan brandished his longsword, attempting to scare away the surrounding poisonous bees. But the bees seemed unfazed by his attack, instead swarming at him even more frantically. His warhorse was also terrified by the bees, scattering wildly and nearly throwing him off. Murong Xuan barely managed to regain his footing, his face stung several times by the bees, burning with pain. He endured the pain and continued charging towards Xiao Yichen, but each step forward was incredibly difficult.
On the other side of the battlefield, Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er calmly directed their soldiers. They knew that although the poisonous bee balls had achieved great results, it was not enough to completely defeat Murong Xuan's army.
Xiao Yichen shouted, "Archers, prepare! Shoot down those enemy generals who are trying to organize resistance!" The archers quickly drew their bows and fired, arrows flying towards the enemy generals. Distracted by the poisonous bees, the enemy generals had difficulty dodging the arrows. One general was busy driving away the bees when suddenly an arrow struck him in the chest. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the arrow in his chest, and he slowly fell to the ground.
Lin Wan'er directed the infantry: "Don't panic, maintain formation, and advance step by step!" Under her command, the infantry cautiously approached the enemy. They gripped their weapons tightly, vigilantly watching their surroundings, ready to deal with any potential enemy attacks.
By this time, Murong Xuan's army had suffered heavy casualties. Some of the surviving soldiers, stung by the poisonous bees and rendered incapable of fighting, lay on the ground groaning in pain; others, overwhelmed by fear, threw down their weapons and fled desperately to the rear. The entire battlefield was filled with an atmosphere of death and despair.
But Murong Xuan was unwilling to accept defeat. He knew that if he were defeated today, all the power and prestige he had built up over the years would be destroyed. He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain on his face, and continued to rally the soldiers around him who were still able to fight. "Stand up! We cannot be defeated like this!" His voice was hoarse with anger and pain.
However, his shouts had little effect. The soldiers were terrified by the poisonous bees and only wanted to escape this horrible place as quickly as possible. Murong Xuan looked at the scene before him, his heart filled with helplessness and despair. He knew he had lost this battle. But his heart was still filled with resentment towards Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er, and he vowed that as long as he had a breath left, he would definitely take revenge on them.
As time passed, the attacks of the poisonous bees gradually weakened. Some bees, having exhausted their stingers or venom, began to slowly disperse. But by this time, Murong Xuan's army had completely lost its fighting capacity; the battlefield was littered with corpses and wounded, a scene of utter devastation.
The attacks by the poisonous bees gradually subsided, but Murong Xuan's army was already a scene of utter devastation. The once mighty and imposing army was now like ruins ravaged by a storm, lying scattered haphazardly across the plain.
The soldiers' corpses were scattered densely across the battlefield. Some were piled on top of each other, as if struggling to rely on one another in their final moments; others lay alone to one side, weapons still clutched tightly in their hands, their faces frozen in terror and pain. Their bodies were riddled with sores from the stings of poisonous bees, swollen welts covering their entire bodies, some wounds still bearing the stingers of the bees, the venom spreading within them, turning their skin an eerie bluish-black.
In the center of the battlefield, a once-mighty general lay dead in a pool of blood. His armor was soaked in blood, its former luster gone, and the flag beside him lay broken, fluttering helplessly in the wind. His eyes were wide open, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing even in his dying moments, and his mouth seemed to still utter unspoken commands. Around him lay a group of fallen soldiers, all instantly rendered incapable of resistance by the swarm of poisonous wasps, wounded by enemy weapons, or trampled to death by their panicked comrades.
Those wounded soldiers who hadn't died fared no better. They lay on the ground, groaning in pain, their cries rising and falling, weaving into a mournful symphony. Some clutched their sting wounds tightly, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads, their eyes filled with fear of death and a desperate yearning for survival. They gazed at the sky, muttering prayers for divine mercy, yet knowing full well that their fate was perhaps already sealed.
Not far away, a young soldier was struggling to crawl towards his comrades. His legs were stung by poisonous bees, rendering him unable to stand; he could only move with difficulty using the strength of his arms. His face was covered in mud and tears, and each step was excruciating, yet his eyes revealed a resolute belief: he did not want to die alone; he longed for his comrades' help. However, his comrades were all struggling to survive, and no one could heed his pleas for help.
Murong Xuan stared at the hellish scenes unfolding before him, his heart pounding as if struck by a heavy hammer. His face was ashen, his eyes filled with despair and regret. He never imagined that a battle he had once so confidently won would be turned upside down so drastically by Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er's poisonous bee balls, leaving him with such a miserable end.
His gaze fell upon a dead soldier, one of the elite soldiers he had personally trained. They had once charged into battle together, achieving countless victories, but now, he lay fallen forever on this plain. Murong Xuan's lips trembled slightly; he wanted to say something, but felt as if something was choking him, preventing him from uttering a sound.
At this moment, only a handful of soldiers remained standing beside him. These soldiers, too, were stung and wounded by the poisonous bees, their eyes filled with confusion and fear as they looked at Murong Xuan, seemingly awaiting his next instruction. However, Murong Xuan himself didn't know what to do.
Seeing the horrific state of Murong Xuan's army, Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er felt a pang of pity, but they also understood the cruelty of war. They couldn't let the enemy go because of momentary weakness; otherwise, they would suffer even greater disaster in the future.
Lin Wan'er whispered to Xiao Yichen, "Yichen, although our poisonous bee balls have achieved great results, we still cannot let our guard down. Murong Xuan is a cunning man, and he may have some other tricks up his sleeve."
Xiao Yichen nodded slightly, a hint of coldness in his eyes: "Wan'er is right. We should first send people to clear the battlefield and treat our wounded, while closely monitoring Murong Xuan's movements."
So Xiao Yichen's soldiers began to busy themselves on the battlefield. They carefully avoided the poisonous wasps and the corpses of the enemy, searching for their wounded comrades and carrying them to safety for treatment. The medics quickly got to work, skillfully treating the soldiers' wounds and trying to drain the venom from their bodies to alleviate their pain.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Murong Xuan watched as Xiao Yichen's soldiers methodically carried out the post-battle cleanup, his resentment growing stronger. He knew he was powerless to reverse the situation, but he vowed to exact revenge tenfold.
He slowly turned his head, looked at the remaining soldiers beside him, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Let's go." With that, he led his defeated troops away from the battlefield. Their departing figures appeared so forlorn and desolate, a stark contrast to their earlier arrogance.
Xiao Yichen and Lin Wan'er watched Murong Xuan's departing figure, their vigilance remaining unwavering. They knew that although they had achieved a temporary victory in this battle, the road ahead was long, and they must always be prepared to face new challenges.
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