Broken Chains Sink Bridge, Blocking Retreat; Flying Smoke and Falling Rocks Trap Twin Foes

The sunlight of a quarter past the hour of the Snake spilled across the wilderness. At the far end of the horizon, billowing clouds of dust suddenly rose, rolling like surging waves.

Within the dust, countless black specks could vaguely be seen moving at high speed—the distinctive sight of cavalry on the charge.

Looking closely, one could see that it was Yan's thirty thousand cavalrymen, being relentlessly pursued by an equal number of Donghu vanguard troops behind them.

The Yan cavalry's formation was in disarray. They were clearly at the end of their tether, able only to fight as they retreated, fleeing miserably in the direction of Pinggang City.

The Donghu cavalry pursued them all the way beneath Pinggang City's north gate. Looking up, they saw that the floating bridge outside the city remained perfectly intact, its wooden planks swaying faintly in the wind.

The heavy city gates stood half-open, and behind them, several flustered Yan soldiers could vaguely be seen.

On the open ground outside the city, stacks of grain and fodder had been neatly piled up, giving off an enticing scent.

As for the Yan troops arrayed outside the city, their formation was loose and ragged. Panic covered the soldiers' faces, and they bore none of their usual elite bearing.

Seeing this, the Donghu vanguard commander was overjoyed. He immediately issued the order and led thirty thousand iron riders in a fierce charge toward the remnants of the Yan army.

The Yan army's thirty thousand cavalrymen seemed to have noticed as well that the defenses of Pinggang City's northern outer city were weak. Gritting their teeth, they faced the Donghu vanguard head-on outside the northern outer city for two exchanges.

The Yan troops had no will to fight to the death to begin with, and their combat strength