Naturally, an army on the march would not cut straight through Sunset Forest, but the routes they could take were likewise surrounded by mountains and rivers, thick with coniferous woods—perfect terrain for the Red Scarf Soldiers.
Even if Xue Ye already knew how the Red Scarf Soldiers fought, what could he do?
He could only grit his teeth and force his way through the mountains and forests!
Winter had now passed, yet the weather had not warmed. Instead, the cold had turned biting. Among the accompanying soldiers, even some members of the ten-thousand-strong Royal Knights, all of them Soul Masters, rubbed their hands and breathed into them for warmth, let alone the other forty thousand ordinary troops.
But the Red Scarf Soldiers were different.
Silvis IX had formed an everlasting friendship with the Red Assembly and had long prepared supplies along the route Zhou Qing and the others had to take, ensuring the Red Scarf Soldiers ate well and dressed warmly. Tang San had also stored a large quantity of medicinal pills for treating illness and injuries in his Inner Scenery. Compared to the Heaven Dou Army pursuing them, they were worlds apart.
One side was exhausted, their men and horses worn down by the spring chill. The other was warmly clothed, high-spirited, and full of morale. Moreover, they had always fought smartly, rarely confronting their enemies head-on. They darted through the forests and excelled at guerrilla warfare.
Thus, after half a month of marching, the fifty thousand troops led by Xue Ye had dwindled. Of the ten thousand Royal Knights, only eight thousand remained. Of the other forty thousand troops, only twenty thousand remained.
Of those remaining twenty thousand, some were dead and some were wounded. The dead were left exposed in the wilderness, while the wounded were simply