Countless Han soldiers charged out from the city, wildly rushing toward the logistics camp outside.
Arrows rained down indiscriminately.
Step by step, they closed in.
When they drew near the tents.
They saw the panic-stricken Qin soldiers stumbling out of their tents, completely unprepared.
"Kill them, leave no one alive."
"Kill!!"
The Han soldiers roared, swinging their blades with fury, hacking down the unsuspecting Qin logistics soldiers in a frenzy.
The area outside Yang City became a scene of utter carnage.
The logistics troops were never frontline soldiers, and under such a sudden, unguarded sneak attack, it was nothing but a massacre. Many logistics soldiers were slaughtered by the onrushing Han before they'd even rubbed the sleep from their eyes.
It was a grisly sight.
A slaughter out of nowhere.
The logistics troops were thrown into chaos.
"Are there really Han soldiers attacking us?"
"How could this be?"
"Where did they come from?"
Wei Quan looked at Zhao Feng in absolute terror.
The soldiers around them were the same—completely panicked.
If it were Han remnants attacking from behind, that would still make some sense—after all, Qin's advance would leave fish slipping the net. But bursting out from Yang City itself—this took everyone by surprise; no one had prepared for it. Even the guards on patrol from the logistics force weren't stationed by the city, but outside its walls.
"It's obvious."
"This Han unit must have hidden in the city before it was breached, just waiting for our main Qin force to pursue, so they could strike," Zhao Feng said with remarkable calm.
"But Yang City's huge, and our hundred-thousand-strong army was assaulting the entire city. Where could they hide? Not that many people could be hidden in ordinary houses," Wei Quan still didn't understand.
"Not in houses? What about underground?" Zhao Feng replied, turning his head.
As soon as he said this—
Wei Quan's face turned deathly pale. "What do we do now?"
"With this sudden attack, even our generals probably haven't realized what's happened. And we're only logistics—what the hell are we supposed to do?"
"Fall back."
"Once the generals up top figure things out, they'll handle it."
Zhao Feng spoke without the slightest hesitation—he was not the commander of these logistics troops, only a mere platoon leader. Faced with this unexpected slaughter, Zhao Feng could do nothing to change their fate.
Even if his current strength let him cut down a hundred men, he was still just one person. No one knew how many enemies there were. Their own side was already in complete chaos—charging into the fray would be suicide.
Zhao Feng wasn't so foolish.
"Retreat, retreat!" Wei Quan shouted immediately, hastily rallying his men to fall back.
Nearly a hundred men fled in panic.
As for the rest—
There was nothing they could do.
In wars where thousands and tens of thousands fight, a single hundred is insignificant; perhaps Zhao Feng could storm ahead and slay a few foes, but it would make little difference. The morale of the logistics soldiers was already shattered—unless they could break away and regroup, Zhao Feng charging forward would just be a needless sacrifice.
Inside the city!
"What's the situation?"
Wang Yan rode on horseback, speartip in hand, asking coldly.
"Reporting, Army Marquis! The Han broke out through the main gate, heading straight for the logistics camp outside!" her subordinate reported urgently.
Hearing this—
Wang Yan's face changed dramatically.
"Not good."
"They weren't trying to take the city—their attack was just for show, making us believe they were here for the city, so while we gathered our elite soldiers to defend, they burst out the main gate to cut our supply lines, strike our wagons," Wang Yan said grimly.
"Army Marquis, what do we do now?"
The officers all looked helplessly at Wang Yan.
This was no trivial matter.
If the supply route was truly severed, and the wagons destroyed, the Qin campaign against Han would be gravely affected—so many new threats would arise.
"Rally the troops at once! Pursue and attack! Absolutely do not let the enemy succeed!" Wang Yan snapped.
"Yes, sir!"
The officers answered in unison.
Time pressed on!
The sun climbed higher, dawn breaking in earnest.
The Han's surprise from Yang City had dealt Wang Yan a severe blow. The logistics camp was left in utter ruin—corpses everywhere, the massacre at Yang City had come to a temporary end.
Ten li from Yang City—
The roads were thick with fleeing logistics troops, but after last night's Han raid, of the original ten thousand, perhaps half were now dead.
"At least we can finally catch our breath."
"Mr. Wei, are you all right?"
Zhao Feng took a quick look around—not as exhausted as the others. With his constitution, he could run an entire day and not wear out.
"I'm... I'm fine."
Wei Quan collapsed onto the ground, smiling with the relief of a man who'd come back from the dead.
"That's good."
"We survived."
Seeing Wei Quan unharmed, Zhao Feng managed a relieved smile as well.
In the army, the one Zhao Feng was closest to was Wei Quan.
"Who knows how many are dead this time..."
"Never thought the Han would hide inside the city," Wei Quan sighed, glancing at the exhausted survivors around him.
"Maybe the higher-ups overlooked something," Zhao Feng replied lightly, calm at heart.
On the battlefield—war changes in a heartbeat.
And at that very moment—
Shu-shu-shu.
Shu-shu-shu.
From overhead—
Suddenly, a dense volley of arrows poured down again.
"Ah…"
"The enemy's caught up!"
"Run for your lives!"
The arrows rained down, and the soldiers who had just relaxed now faced despair once more.
"Zhao, kid!"
"Look out!"
The sudden arrow storm—Wei Quan saw a cluster of arrows fly toward Zhao Feng and yelled, lunging at him, shielding Zhao Feng with his own body.
The sudden change caught Zhao Feng off guard too.
But Zhao Feng's spiritual power was already activated, and his speed was exceptional.
In a flash—
Zhao Feng yanked Wei Quan aside, dodging out of harm's way.
The arrows struck the ground where they had stood.
"Mr. Wei, what are you doing?"
Zhao Feng rushed over, yelling at Wei Quan.
He was armored, with mail beneath; with his current strength, a few arrows couldn't hurt him. He never thought Wei Quan would step in to take the arrows for him.
"You've saved my life again, kid."
"I knew it—your skills aren't ordinary. Even at this speed you could still dodge," Wei Quan laughed, relief showing through his exhaustion.
"Don't you realize you almost got yourself killed?" Zhao Feng was both moved and angry.
Moved—because Wei Quan truly treated him as a brother, risking his life for Zhao Feng; angry—because Wei Quan had disregarded his own safety.
"Enough already."
"I'm your superior—you dare yell at me?"
"No respect at all."
"Let's worry about surviving first," Wei Quan said helplessly.
Zhao Feng lifted his head, staring at the oncoming Han in pursuit, a killing intent rising in his eyes.
"At this point, you think we can still run?"
"Those bastards have no intention of letting us go."
...