Chapter 60: Bloody Battle

This kind of method was something only Li Ruochen could pull off. After all, she was now left with barely two hundred men. If Zamute wanted to cross, he had to break through the defensive line laid out by Lin Changhe, otherwise crossing anywhere else would be an endless and uncertain wait.

When Lin Changhe caught sight of Li Ruochen, even as a man of iron, a surge of sorrow welled up deep within his heart.

With only half her armor left and her cloak tattered beyond recognition, there was scarcely an inch of Li Ruochen that wasn't stained in a dark, bruised red. She had long since been thoroughly soaked in blood.

Though one could palpably sense a profound sorrow enveloping her, her gaze remained fiercely burning with an unyielding fighting spirit.

Lin Changhe wore a solemn expression. He might not hold respect for just anyone, but he could not help but revere someone capable of such a feat on the battlefield, even if she was a woman.

"General Li, take your men to Qingyuan County to regroup and rest. You cannot fight anymore."

A bitter smile was forcibly cracked across Li Ruochen's face. "So it's you. Has that fellow Wang Mingyuan figured out a countermeasure yet?"

Lin Changhe found it somewhat difficult to maintain his composure. After all, Li Ruochen was only in her early twenties, while Wang Mingyuan was already in his thirties. Such a casual form of address felt rather impolite.

Yet, strictly speaking, Li Ruochen and Wang Mingyuan belonged to the same generation, and since the Li and Wang clans were both among the Eight Great Families, there was naturally no distinction of superior or inferior between them.

"Brother Mingyuan is actively dispatching personnel, though I am not certain when the reinforcements will actually arrive. I am merely holding the line here for a few days."

"We cannot retreat early. We must hold out here until the very end; otherwise, these barbarians will breach Qingyuan County like a knife cutting through bamboo."

Lin Changhe asked with some confusion, "While their numbers are indeed vast, if we fall back to Qingyuan County, it should still take them quite some time to break through the defenses."

Li Ruochen shook her head. "You underestimate them far too much. There is a traitor among our ranks. I suspect that outside of Jiangyang City, nowhere is safe, and their primary target is likely none other than me."

The moment those words left her lips, Lin Changhe instantly grasped what Li Ruochen truly meant.

The frontier garrison, combined with the reinforcements, totaled a full seven thousand men. Coupled with complete military equipment and abundant provisions, for a barbarian force of tens of thousands to attempt to devour them in a short span of time would be nothing short of wishful thinking.

Yet, since this event—which should never have happened—had indeed occurred, the existence of a traitor was certain, and such a move must carry a much deeper rationale.

Li Ruochen's situation was merely a catalyst; someone was trying to use this incident to launch a concerted attack against the Li family. After all, during this precarious and turbulent era, the Eight Great Families each harbored their own hidden agendas.

If one could seize the leverage of a rival family to suppress them and ultimately swallow them whole, the benefits to be reaped would be beyond counting.

Once he understood this, Lin Changhe felt only a burning sense of injustice, knowing how many lives would have to be sacrificed for the sake of these plots.

Yet, alas, these human lives had never been worth a straw. From ancient times to the present, how many had ever truly cared about lives as cheap as blades of grass?

Lin Changhe turned his gaze across the river. The barbarians on the opposite bank were already preparing to launch another assault. Barely an hour had passed, yet the next wave of attack had already been fully organized.

"General Li, even if everything you said is true, you must leave this place now. You have already done more than enough."

Instead of answering, Li Ruochen asked, "Do you have any wine on you?"

Lin Changhe snatched the gourd from his waist and tossed it across. Catching it, Li Ruochen poured the entire contents over her own head. "A moment ago my mind was still somewhat clouded, but now I am certain I can stand shoulder to shoulder with you to slaughter the enemy."

The dripping wine droplets were stained a bright red. Only determination remained on Li Ruochen's face, much like the two hundred-odd soldiers behind her who stood as straight as javelins, their weapons gripped tightly in their hands, ready at a moment's notice to follow her back into the fray.

Lin Changhe let out a long sigh, cupped his fists, and bowed. "It is my honor to fight alongside General Li. But I beg of you to let me act as the vanguard. When matters reach the point of no return, General, you may make your move then. Please, rest for a little while."

His response was a synchronized wave of marching footsteps as Li Ruochen led her men to mount the wooden fortifications.

Her appearance acted like a shot of adrenaline; that unwavering, unbreakable morale naturally began to infect every single person present.

An intensely brutal and bloody slaughter unfolded once more. Even as a soldier was run through the abdomen by a spear, his hands clamped desperately onto the enemy's weapon, while another soldier thrust his saber deep into the throat of his foe.

The barbarian soldier stared at the man launching this desperate, dying counterattack, a madness defying description flashing in his eyes—even more ferocious than that of the barbarians themselves.

Lin Changhe did not know how to express his feelings. If every single army of the Great Qian Dynasty were like this, how could the realm possibly face any turmoil at all?

Any words now were pale and powerless; Lin Changhe could only fight fiercely for his life. During his years stationed in Qingyuan County, he had never let his martial arts rust, and he proved quite adept at taking lives.

While this side fought desperately, over on the other side, Ning Ye encountered trouble. At that very moment, just outside Ning Ye's ambush perimeter, a troop of cavalry appeared. These were light cavalry, numbering precisely four hundred.

Judging by their formation, this unit was evidently dispatched specifically to escort the provision wagons. If they truly managed to rendezvous with the supply train, Ning Ye would lose his last window of opportunity, and his previous plans would be shattered.

Ning Ye couldn't help but sigh; one could never treat people as fools. He had hoped to pull off at least one more ambush, but he hadn't expected the enemy's reaction to be so swift, which also demonstrated just how much they valued their grain supplies.

Given their numbers and the fact that they were light cavalry—and with Ning Ye's band currently lacking mounts—leaving them all behind was an almost impossible task. Yet, it was precisely this that made Ning Ye find it all the more thrilling.

Wang Wu, standing close beside him, keenly perceived the expression on Ning Ye's face. "Commander, you surely don't intend to actually strike, do you? With so many of them, what will we do if something goes awry?"

"What, are these mere four hundred horsemen frightening you, boy? I don't recall ever training any cowards."

Wang Wu wore a long face, daring not to reply. Did his master truly have no idea how terrifying the impact charge of a cavalry unit could be? The sheer force generated by every single horse galloping into battle was unimaginably horrifying.