Elephant Enters the Game, Heaven and Earth Twist

Linyi's six thousand troops had barely left the city when they were spotted by scouts Chu Qing had sent out. The intelligence swiftly reached Shamoke and Lan Yuan.

The Cham soldiers knew the terrain well and wore simple, lightweight rattan armor. They should have marched faster than Shamoke's men, yet they seemed to be deliberately holding back their pace. At last, forty li northeast of Linyi's royal capital, they encountered Shamoke's Wuxi Barbarian soldiers.

"Your Majesty, it's them. I request battle." Fan Shanbao was itching for a fight.

After thinking it over, Qu Jin nodded with a frown and instructed, "Take two thousand men and test them. If anything feels wrong, withdraw at once."

"Understood." Fan Shanbao clasped his fists.

The Wuxi Barbarians did not have armor like the Trap-Breaking Army's, and facing an enemy ten times their number, they did not dare fight head-on. Following Lan Yuan's orders, Shamoke had the barbarian soldiers retreat the moment battle began. Fan Shanbao had pursued for only two li before Qu Jin called him back.

"Your Majesty, I was just about to kill the enemy. Why did you call me back?" Fan Shanbao asked dejectedly.

Qu Jin frowned. "They say these foreign tribesmen can fight one against ten, yet from what we have seen, they collapsed at the first touch. General Bao, don't you find that strange?"

Fan Shanbao shook his head. "Perhaps their elder brother was slain before the lines, severely damaging their morale. Otherwise, how could the army of Linyi's royal capital be so pathetic? Seeing that we vastly outnumber them, it is only natural that those tribesmen would not dare confront us head-on."

"Is that so? General Bao, when you led your troops in pursuit just now, how many fleeing soldiers did you kill?"

"Er... I have not had