Chapter 24: The Demon King of the Mortal World

  As the first ray of dawn sprinkled from the east, a new day began, and the world suddenly became bright, but Huang Fa's face was as black as it could be.

  In one night, they lost another thousand soldiers, which wasn't a large number. However, everyone had gone without sleep, and their mental state was extremely poor, with morale at an all-time low. Huang Fa was originally planning to launch a frenzied attack on Yangping City today, but looking at those soldiers with bloodshot eyes and exhausted faces, his heart felt chilled, and the anger in his chest couldn't be vented. He felt both furious and regretful.

  The south has many hills and rivers, which is not suitable for large-scale cavalry battles. Therefore, Chen's army did not strengthen its defense against the enemy's cavalry. The enemy cavalry that ambushed their own grain transport troops was not unexpected by Huang Fa. What they expected was the sharpness of the enemy's weapons, the strength of their shooting range, and the accuracy of their judgment.

  In Huang Fang's view, the 20,000 Chen* troops who raised their vigilance could not be easily defeated by the enemy. However, in reality, the enemy had always taken the initiative and harassed them with strong bows that far exceeded their own bow and arrow range.

  Compared to Huang Fa's worried and restless expression, he was excited with a smile on his face. Finally, after raiding Chen Jun's army, he led the crowd to retreat fifty miles under the cover of night, far away from Yangping City.

  The task of harassment is completed, and now it's time to see Wang Lin's performance. Wang Lin has been through many battles, and Chen's military camp was in chaos for a night, how could he not understand what happened? In the past few days, the soldiers and civilians in Yangping City have been like new-born babies, bursting out with strong fighting will, all because he told everyone that the wise and powerful Langling Wang had sent reinforcements, and had already destroyed the enemy's grain road.

  This is a dense forest, more than 70 miles in a straight line from Yangping City. At this time, Gao Xing and his party were resting inside.

  "General, what's next?" Dog Wa Zi Yao Zhong asked excitedly as he approached Gao Xing.

  After several days of fighting, he still looked a bit awkward, but the lines on his face were much sterner, and there was a hint of sharpness in his eyes, exuding a sense of precision from head to toe.

  "Instead of answering, he asked with concern: 'Is your wound still painful?'"

  Yao Zhong was taken aback, a hint of gratitude flashing in his eyes. He shook his head nonchalantly and said, "It's just a minor injury, no need to make a fuss! What's annoying is that I have knife wounds on me, all my credit has been stolen by them!"

  The surroundings suddenly burst into a loud whisper, and everyone turned their heads away with disdain. Yao Zhong's heart was anxious, his face flushed red with anger, and he shouted: "Don't you dare? If we talk about strength, except for General Shang and our general, who among you is my opponent?"

  "It's just brute force!"

  "Fine, when you've mastered the general's skills, come back and show off in front of us!"

  "Hmph!" Yao Zhong's face turned gloomy.

  The third batch of troops sent by Huang Fa was indeed a crack team, with strong combat effectiveness and a fierce determination to fight to the death. Under the pressure of powerful weapons such as bows and crossbows, they continued to fight tenaciously. In the final close-quarters battle, many cavalrymen were injured, and Yao Zhong's abdomen was almost pierced by Chen's long spear. Fortunately, Gao Xing reacted quickly and threw out his long gun, knocking the long spear out of the soldier's hand, but Yao Zhong's abdomen was still slashed open with a large gash over half a foot long.

  With a happy smile, he said seriously: "Alright, hurry up and eat, rest, there's still a task later! Whoever doesn't rest well and gets hurt at that time, I'll definitely give him a good scolding when we get back!"

  Everyone immediately fell silent and conscientiously performed their own duties, everything was in order.

  "General, you said Chen's army will retreat?" Shang Buqi asked, sitting beside Zhang Heng.

  Gao Xing laughed and said: "Whether Chen Jun's army retreats or not, the initiative is not in their hands, but in ours." Gao Xing paused for a moment, then continued: "We've been making trouble for Huang Fa all night, so Chen Jun probably won't attack the city today. Unless he wants to let his remaining 20,000 men die here too. But Huang Fa will definitely not retreat willingly, tomorrow he'll probably fight to the death!"

  "What to do, the defending troops in Yangping City are less than three thousand, after several months of war, both the military and civilians are exhausted, the supplies in the city are probably scarce too, and the city walls are also broken and on the verge of collapse, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for much longer!" Shang Buqi's tone was slightly heavy.

  "Rejoice! You can now put your mind at ease. General Wang Lin has been fighting in the south and north for decades, he was able to single-handedly hold off Huang Fa's three months without falling. Now that external aid has arrived, Chen's army morale is low, it will only take three days for Chen's army to collapse due to lack of food! Moreover, have you forgotten about us? We are the final straw that crushes the camel!"

  He didn't give up, and the worried look on his face dissipated. He regained his calm demeanor. After dinner, except for those who were on necessary watch, everyone else quietly rested, and in just a few breaths, the forest was filled with the sound of snoring.

  No matter what the occasion, this thousand cavalry can quickly enter a state of sleep and wake up immediately when needed to join the battle. Three months of high-intensity training, as well as the actual combat in recent days, have made everyone understand that maintaining good physical condition at all times is an important capital for survival.

  Suddenly, the delighted person who was meditating with his legs crossed opened his eyes, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The sound of horseshoes echoed, and soon a beggar in tattered clothes strode into the forest, walking quickly towards the delighted person.

  "General."

  "Come on, have a drink first and then sit down." With a warm smile on his face, he handed the water bag to Zhang Shun, who was sitting next to him.

  Zhang Shun took a deep breath and thanked him, then drank half of the water in one gulp before letting out a long sigh. He finally spoke up: "General, there are three thousand Chen troops escorting a batch of supplies heading towards Yangping City, still two hours away from here." His words were extremely urgent, with beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead, constantly dripping down.

  Laughing happily and patting Zhang Shun's shoulder, he praised: "You've worked hard, Shun, go down and rest now!"

  Zhang Shun shook his head, responded with a sound and went down to rest. Excitedly looking at the direction of the pipe outside the forest, his eyes flickered with a sharp and helpless sorrowful light.

  "General, is it time for action?" Shang Buqi came up behind Gaoxing and asked respectfully.

  Nodding happily, he stood up from the ground and softly uttered two words, "Assemble!"

  Although the sun had already set in the west, the air was still very sultry and oppressive, making people feel drowsy and lacking in energy.

  About three thousand people in the grain transport team walked slowly on the quiet and somewhat desolate official road, with the afterglow of the sunset. Although sweat had already covered their faces and soaked through their clothes, they did not dare to take off their shirts and wipe away the sweat, always keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

  "Halt!"

  Xu Feng raised his hand, and the three thousand soldiers behind him immediately stopped in their tracks, gripping their swords tightly, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

  Xu Feng is a man in his forties, with a lean face and dark skin. He has a goatee on his chin and a pair of piercing eyes that shine brightly, exuding a calm and steady aura.

  Just looking at the woods a hundred meters in front of him, Xu Feng's eyebrows furrowed tightly. It was quiet, really too quiet, eerily so. With such a big commotion from their group, not even one bird took flight in the forest, which was simply abnormal and could only mean one thing - there were ambushes hidden within.

  All the way from Shiliang City, Xu Feng's mind had not relaxed for a moment. Before coming, Wu Mingchu's reminder was still echoing in his ears, "Xu Feng, the grain-transporting troops sent to Yangping have not returned yet, and I'm afraid they have encountered some misfortune. General Huang's grain is probably insufficient, and whether Yangping can be taken depends on whether the grain you are transporting can arrive safely. You are the most reliable person under my command, and this trip cannot be done without you, but you must be careful not to disappoint my expectations!"

  Xu Feng stared at the woods for a whole minute, his brow furrowed tightly, but the enemy he had expected did not appear, and he was somewhat hesitant about what to do next.

  If it were just three thousand infantrymen, it would be easy to detour, but the heavy vehicles of the hundreds of carts behind them did not have the ability to cross mountains and ridges, and the front line urgently needed grain and fodder, so delivering late was no different from not delivering at all.

  Finally, Xu Feng made up his mind and sent out 500 shield-bearing infantrymen to scout ahead. He then arranged the baggage carts on the periphery and had all the soldiers form a dense formation, advancing step by step.

  "Halt!" Just as Xu Feng and his group reached the middle of the forest, they were forced to stop in their tracks. Tens of meters ahead, a jumble of boulders and fallen trees blocked their path, bringing them to a standstill. Xu Feng's heart sank, and he was about to give an order when a loud, coarse shout rang out.

  "Defend!" Xu Feng shouted in alarm. All the Chen* soldiers immediately stopped in their tracks and sprang into action. Amidst the clanging sounds, the shield-bearing soldiers at the front quickly formed a wall of shields, standing with their bows at the ready, their long spears protruding from the gaps between the shields, resembling a giant porcupine from afar.

  "This tree was planted by me, this road was opened by me. If you want to pass through here, leave your toll!" That rough and arrogant voice rang out.

  Xu Feng sat on the horseback, looking around and saw dozens of people coming out of the forest. The leader was a sturdy man with a foolish face, wearing a black shirt that was somewhat dirty, with sleeves and pants rolled up high, revealing limbs covered with dense hair. He seemed to be sitting lazily on the horseback, his eyes wide open in anger, pretending to be fierce, but upon closer inspection, it could be seen that his hands holding the reins and wielding a shiny steel knife were trembling uncontrollably.

  Behind the big Han, there were a group of men, all dressed similarly in tattered clothes. Half of them were riding horses, while the other half stood on the ground, holding weapons that made one dare not look directly at them, and incredibly, some even held wooden clubs and tree branches.

  These horses, at first glance, all seem extraordinary, each one tall and sturdy. But upon closer inspection, it can be discovered that on the joints of their limbs are wrapped thick tattered cloths, with faint red stains seeping through.

  Xu Feng let out a breath of relief, it's always good that the ambush wasn't set by regular troops, but just a small group of bandits who were only good for robbery, and weren't even worth considering as opponents for his 3,000 well-trained soldiers.

  Spurring his horse forward a few steps, Xu Feng pointed with the whip and shouted angrily: "You bunch of He mice, how dare you block the advance of our great army? Are you tired of living? Don't you quickly get out of my way, I'll spare your dog lives!"

  The leader of the Han army trembled all over, almost falling off his horse. If not for someone behind him holding him up, he would have fallen off and eaten dirt.

  "What are you yelling about? You scared me half to death! Have you ever heard of my name, Yao Zhong the Demon King?" The big man's eyes widened and he shouted back in an even louder voice, but secretly asked the person behind him: "Second brother, we're done for. They're regular troops, what do we do now? Dammit, I didn't think it through before charging out!" His voice was still rough and loud, not much softer, and all the Chen* soldiers clearly heard him.

  "Your Majesty, at this point, we have no choice but to surrender." The person behind him said calmly.