Retreat

The Golden Crow dipped westward when a burst of urgent hoofbeats tore through the camp gates, trailing dust that filled the sky as they raced straight for the central command tent.

"It's a messenger rider from the commandery seat's border."

Someone recognized the rider's identity, their face filled with alarm.

An urgent dispatch banner was strapped to the rider's back. His warhorse galloped madly, and the moment he entered the camp, he let out a loud cry that carried through half the military camp.

"Urgent border order! A military command from Xuanyang Commandery has arrived! The commander of Lakeside Station is to receive the order!"

Wang Xuanshan's personal guards rushed out and personally led the way. Without even time to catch his breath, the Messenger held the sealed military document from Xuanyang Commandery and hurried into the central command tent, placing it before Wang Xuanshan.

Wang Xuanshan's expression turned grave. He opened the military document and swept his eyes across it. His aura sank, the fingers clutching the document tightening slightly, his eyes filled with solemnity and helplessness.

The several Hundred-Man Commanders in the tent all felt their hearts tighten at the sight, sensing that something major had happened.

After a moment, Wang Xuanshan placed the order on the table and said in a deep voice, "Pass down my command! The entire army is to assemble at the Drill Ground immediately. There must be no mistakes!"

The order was relayed at once. Bronze gongs rang throughout the camp, and whether wounded soldiers or men on watch, all swiftly gathered at the central Drill Ground.

Li Xuancang led the soldiers under his command and quickly arrived at the Drill Ground.

Seeing Wang Xuanshan and the several Hundred-Man Commanders standing at the front of the field with grim expressions, an inexplicable unease rose within him.

After many battles, Lakeside Station's forces had already been greatly depleted.

Although they had received a large number of conscripts as reinforcements, their strength was far from what it had once been. Now that the commandery seat had sent an urgent dispatch, it could only mean trouble.

In less than half an incense stick's time, every conscript and Battle Soldier had assembled.

Wang Xuanshan stood atop the high platform, his gaze sweeping over the crowd as his voice carried across the entire field.

"Listen to my order! By command of Xuanyang Commandery, the Barbarians have launched a massive invasion of Great Yan's border. Several frontline passes have fallen in succession, and the enemy's main force has circled around to outflank us, striking directly at our border defenses!"

"Lakeside Station stands isolated, with no defensible terrain. Our grain and supply lines have been completely cut off. If we remain here, we will inevitably be surrounded by the enemy and the entire army will be wiped out!"

As his words fell, the entire field went deathly silent. The soldiers' expressions changed drastically, their eyes full of shock.

The passes had fallen? Supplies had been cut off?

Then their garrison here had become an isolated army!

Panic seized them one after another, spreading swiftly through the ranks.

"What? What are we supposed to do now?"

"Are we being abandoned?"

"It's over. We'll all die here."

"..."

Everyone fell into despair, all hope extinguished.

"Silence!"

Wang Xuanshan's furious roar quieted the crowd, and he continued reading the military order.

"The order demands that the garrison of Lakeside Station immediately abandon this position and burn any grain, supplies, and weapons that cannot be taken away."

"The entire army will retreat light and head to Azure Cloud Ridge, a hundred li away, where we will join the main force of the Border-Guarding Army, rebuild the defensive line, and resist the Barbarian army together."

At these words, hope rekindled in the eyes of those whose hearts had been reduced to ashes.

The Imperial Court had not abandoned them. They still had a chance to survive.

"Carry out the military order immediately. Prepare to withdraw."

Wang Xuanshan issued the command sharply. "The wounded will go first, the elite will bring up the rear. Burn all surplus camp supplies. In half an hour, the entire army will set out for Azure Cloud Ridge. Anyone who dares defy the order or flee without authorization will be executed on the spot!"

Once the command was given, the military camp instantly became a flurry of activity.

The soldiers silently packed their gear, taking what little grain and weapons remained. They supported their wounded comrades and piled together the tents, provisions, and discarded weapons they could not carry, then set them ablaze.

Thick smoke billowed upward, soaring into the clouds.

As the army of Lakeside Station retreated, the Barbarian army was charging toward them at full speed.

"Trying to leave? It won't be that easy. Chase them down!"

The Barbarians mobilized in force. They had received orders from above to swallow up the army at Lakeside Station.

Lakeside Station had intended to retreat without a sound, but barely an hour after leaving, they were caught by the Barbarians.

"Roar!"

A beast's roar suddenly rang out from deep within the mountains and forests, shaking the heavens.

Immediately afterward, hoofbeats approached from afar, rolling like muffled thunder and growing clearer by the moment.

"It's the Barbarians! They've caught up!"

A soldier at the rear of the formation shouted in terror.

Li Xuancang's heart sank as he raised his head and looked toward the distant horizon behind them.

At the end of the wasteland, a vast black mass of Barbarian troops swept toward them like a tidal wave, numbering well over a thousand.

They wore armor made from various beast hides and carried massive axes and curved blades. Savage blood-red totems were painted across their faces, and their eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty madness as they charged straight at the retreating Great Yan border army.

Within the Barbarian ranks, several enormous, pitch-black Shadow Wolf Demonic Beasts ran with all four paws flying. They were far faster than warhorses and were constantly accelerating as they closed in.

Their sense of smell was extraordinarily keen. Following the scent, they had locked firmly onto the retreat route of the Great Yan army.

Everyone understood in an instant that this retreat had never been hidden from the enemy.

The Barbarians not only had heavy forces in pursuit, but Demonic Beasts skilled at tracking. By scent and footprints, they could easily locate the army's route and even predict its direction to intercept them in advance.

"The entire army, increase speed and maintain formation. The Conscripts' Camp will bring up the rear."

Wang Xuanshan's face was deathly pale, yet he forced himself to remain composed as he shouted the order.

He intended to sacrifice the Conscripts' Camp to buy enough time for the Battle Soldier Camp to retreat.

"Why us?"

"You're sending us to die for nothing! I'm not doing it!"

"Brothers, the Imperial Court doesn't see us as people. Why should we die for them?"

"..."

The moment they received the order to hold the rear, the Conscripts' Camp erupted.

They had always been treated as expendable cannon fodder. Now they were being told to stay behind and die again, and the resentment they had bottled up finally exploded.

"Pfft!"

"Ah!"

"Urgh!"

"..."

Several conscripts had barely stepped forward and raised their arms in protest when Hundred-Man Commander Feng Long cut them down.

"Form up immediately and meet the enemy. Those who disobey will be killed without mercy."

Feng Long's face was savage, and dense Sha Qi poured from his body, instantly cowing everyone in the Conscripts' Camp.

The conscripts did not dare resist. Trembling, they picked up their weapons and formed a flimsy defensive formation that could not withstand a single blow.

"Advance at full speed."

With Wang Xuanshan's order, the Battle Soldier Camp retreated at its fastest pace. No one cared whether the Conscripts' Camp lived or died; they only hoped the conscripts could buy them more time.

"What do we do? Are we going to die here?"

"The Imperial Court wants us dead. If you don't want to die, come with me!"

"Everyone, run for your lives!"

"..."

The moment the Battle Soldier Camp departed, the Conscripts' Camp lost all control. They no longer maintained their defensive formation and scattered in all directions, fleeing in blind panic.

Most fled into the mountains and forests, unwilling to die for nothing.

"Hahaha, kill!"

"They can't escape!"

"Kill all these Great Yan pigs and take back Lakeside Station!"

"..."

The Barbarians howled madly, their laughter arrogant and overbearing.

"Ignore these conscripts. Charge straight at the main force of the Great Yan army."

Watching the conscripts flee in every direction, the Barbarian commander did not order his men to pursue them.

These conscripts were incapable of withstanding a single blow. From beginning to end, their target had been Lakeside Station's Battle Soldier Camp.

Only by destroying the Battle Soldier Camp could they claim a complete victory.