The two armies charged into each other, the E Army holding torches and the Shang Army swinging buckets of water.
Water ultimately outnumbered fire. Before long, every torch had been extinguished. With night fallen and the camp far behind them, there was no light anywhere around them, only pitch-black darkness.
The Shang Army's rout slowed a little, because they could no longer see.
Many of them thought, Something's not right here!
If the E Army has so many men, how did we put out all their torches so quickly?
Thinking along those lines, they realized there might not be that many enemies after all, and their fear eased.
The E Army's morale, meanwhile, was dragged down to the same level as the Shang Army's. Once darkness fell, all sorts of stray thoughts tended to creep into people's heads.
E Shun was thoroughly puzzled.
No wonder they had caught up with the Shang Army so quickly. Every Shang soldier had been carrying a bucket of water on his back. But why carry a bucket of water for no reason?
Had they brought it specifically to extinguish his torches, rendering his torch-based bluff useless?
Could it be...
E Shun started violently, nearly letting the Fangtian Halberd slip from his hand.
Could there be an ambush here?
The Shang Army's behavior was far too abnormal. E Shun knew perfectly well that they were capable of putting up a fight. He had even prepared himself for a bitter battle inside their camp.
Yet under King Zhou's leadership, the Shang Army had run.
They had abandoned their provisions and their camp, fleeing just like that. They had not even taken the dry rations needed for a day or two. All they carried was that single bucket of water.
King Zhou had held the rear alone