Chapter 169: The Great Battle (Part IV)

The arrow streaked like a beam of light, reaching the back of the Khitan general in the blink of an eye. Sensing the danger, the Khitan general attempted to react, but his reaction speed fell far short of the arrow's velocity.

Because it was a physical projectile, the arrow pierced straight through the Khitan general's heart, and the internal Qi attached to it churned the organs within his entire chest cavity into pulp. Carried by momentum, the lifeless body of the general was hurled forward, rolling across the ground several times before coming to a halt, face down in the dirt.

By this time, Mu Xingye had already donned his genetic nuclear-powered armor and plunged into the ranks of the Khitan army. Even without energy-attack weapons, relying solely on sheer physical might, he achieved the feat of rampaging through the Khitan forces virtually unmatched.

Not until he burst out of the enemy formation did he let out a long, invigorating roar, followed by a thunderous shout: "Surrender on your knees now!"

Just like the Khitan troops before them, these soldiers lacked the resolve to fight to the death. Surrenderers quickly emerged, their numbers cascading across the entire Khitan force.

Gazing at the mass of kneeling Khitan soldiers, Sun Meng glanced at Mu Xingye. *You said we were going to leave not a single one alive, and reinforcements will be here any minute now. Do they really think they can take on the entire Khitan main army here?!*

Mu Xingye commanded, "Gather the armor and weapons of all these men together with the supplies, and burn them!" Under the influence of the army formation's cloud-qi, ordinary flames might not have been able to consume everything quickly. But now, freed from that mystical suppression and aided by the special fuel Mu Xingye provided, a blazing inferno ignited in an instant.

Seeing their supplies set ablaze, a few of the Khitan soldiers instinctively wanted to resist, but their comrades stopped them just in time.

After all, losing these supplies would at most be deemed a dereliction of duty, and with their commanding general dead, the situation was beyond salvaging. Under the principle that the law cannot punish the masses, they would likely escape with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But if they resisted now and incurred the wrath of Sun Meng and his companions, it would mean immediate death.

Between a chance of survival and certain death, they unmistakably chose the former.

Events proved their choice correct. As soon as Sun Meng and the others confirmed that over ninety percent of the supplies had been reduced to ashes, they withdrew, because the supporting Khitan forces had already appeared within their detection range. A Khitan army of over ten thousand men, crushing down with the pressure of cloud-qi, was not something the current cyborg troops could handle.

When those Khitan reinforcements finally arrived at the scene, all they found were fields of ash, alongside Khitan soldiers covered in soot and wearing only single-layer tunics.

In truth, Sun Meng's side had shown a degree of mercy by cremating the fallen and unsavory Khitan soldiers together to prevent the corpses from festering and causing plagues. However, their previous assault had clearly left deep psychological scars on these troops. To the newly arrived reinforcements, these surrendered soldiers had lost their will as Khitan warriors and, lacking proper retraining, could only serve as logistical coolies henceforth.

***

Within the Liangshan main camp, Song Jiang received the letter sent back by Lu Junyi's messenger.

"It seems we've achieved a victory right out of the gate! Yelu Zonglin, the major general of the Khitan army, has already lost his head. Should we seize this opportunity to launch a rapid offensive and capture the remaining two border cities?" Song Jiang asked, looking toward Wu Yong.

Wu Yong nodded. "In military matters, speed is precious. It would be best to spread this news far and wide, instilling a sense of dread among the Khitan forces so that it lowers their enemy morale during our sieges."

Liangshan troops set forth, capturing two cities in three days. As the three border cities echoed and supported one another, the national destiny of the Song Dynasty began to surge upward. The national destiny of the Khitan state naturally reacted in kind; looking down from the highest skies, one could see the national fortunes of both nations condensing into phantom dragons, hissing at each other and brandishing claws in preparation for battle.

Deep within the imperial palace of the Great Song, Zhao Ji sensed the shift in the nation's fortune, a slight smile touching the corner of his mouth. He quickly reined it in, however, and issued an order for Tong Guan to lead an army on a punitive expedition against Tian Hu and Wang Qing. As for Fang La, after seizing an entire prefecture, he had ceased active outward expansion, shifting instead to a defensive posture focused on internal consolidation.

Compared to Tian Hu and Wang Qing, Fang La's actions caused Zhao Ji far greater anger. Yet given the current circumstances, he could only order local generals to hold the line and prevent Fang La from expanding further. Once Liangshan achieved some tangible results, he would recall them to annihilate Fang La's faction.

Even if the Liangshan outlaws were reincarnations of astral spirits, and their leader Song Jiang remained loyal to the imperial court, how could an emperor ever permit such a formidable faction to exist outside his direct control?

*Judging by Western Xia's recent performance, they must have been reduced to a thoroughly vulnerable state. Should I seize this opportunity to completely incorporate Western Xia into our dominion?* Glancing at the map, Zhao Ji suddenly realized that the tribes in the directions of Tibet and the northern steppes might not be so easily subjugated either.

*Better to let Western Xia continue to exist, occupy a few of their cities, and reduce them to a vassal state instead!* Thinking of Western Xia—which had repeatedly rebelled and turned coat, only to be finally conquered by his own hand—Zhao Ji could not help but wear a smile of triumph.

With that thought, he summoned a young eunuch, placed a jade token in his hand, and instructed, "Deliver this jade token to Consort Li, and tell her to send trusted agents into the western border army. They must distinguish themselves in the upcoming conflicts, achieving at least the capability to command troops independently."

This opportunity would surely allow him to subjugate all neighboring nations. When that day came, the national destiny of the Song Dynasty would undoubtedly advance further, transforming into the one true dragon!

Marching alongside the Liangshan forces, Sun Meng experienced firsthand how ancient warfare differed from his imagination. Even with their physical enhancements, when Liangshan troops clashed with the Khitan army, there was no such thing as a general spearheading a charge to shatter the enemy like bamboo, let alone a lone warrior mowing down armies single-handedly.

Once the formations of two opposing armies interlocked, victory depended entirely on command and morale. This compelled Sun Meng to marvel at Liangshan's cheat-like trait: their morale remained perpetually high. Even when a local detachment of Liangshan forces fell into a disadvantageous position, their morale would never collapse into a rout; instead, they would cluster together to resist to the death while awaiting reinforcements.

***

Conversely, the Khitan troops they encountered along the way seemed high-spirited only when victory favored them. Once bogged down in a stalemate, as soon as Liangshan's high-combat-capability generals displayed their prowess, Khitan morale plummeted rapidly. If their commanding general happened to be swiftly assassinated, the entire force would rapidly spiral into a state of total collapse.

Having once again picked off an enemy general with precision long-range fire, the Liangshan forces launched another pursuit. Lu Junyi's cavalry detachment, lying in wait near the enemy city gates, surged forward to breach the defenses and seize control of the portals.

When the great banner of the Song Dynasty was hoisted atop the city walls, it signaled the end of this brief skirmish. Not a single Khitan soldier offered pointless resistance; every last one of them dropped to their knees in surrender.

"Along this entire journey, we owe everything to Brother Sun's divine marksmanship!" Lu Junyi removed his helmet and laughed heartily. Capturing eight cities in half a month—even if only one was a major stronghold—was an achievement for Sun Meng that could not be erased.

"Haha, it is entirely thanks to General Lu's brilliant command! Otherwise, if the enemy's cloud-qi effects hadn't been suppressed, I wouldn't have been able to score successes every single time. But I wonder where we march next?" Sun Meng replied with a smile. Throughout the campaign, he had continuously studied Lu Junyi's command strategies, reaping substantial gains.

"Next, we are to rendezvous with Brother Song Jiang. The Khitan forces are likely waiting to fight a decisive battle with us; otherwise, these cities would not have fallen so easily." As Lu Junyi spoke, the smile faded from his face. "When that time comes, I fear it will be a monumental war!"

Meanwhile, Song Jiang and the others had also perceived the intentions of the Khitan army through the ease of their recent advances. Following the capture of yet another city, Song Jiang summoned Wu Yong.

"Brother Gongming, the Khitan army isn't just gathering to defeat us in a direct confrontation; I fear they also intend to use this opportunity to deliver a heavy blow to our nation's fortune!" Wu Yong said, studying the map.

"Do we, then, possess any chance of victory?" Song Jiang asked with a furrowed brow. If this concerned Liangshan alone, he would not hesitate. But since defeat would inflict damage upon the nation's destiny, he had to tread carefully.

Wu Yong sighed. "It will be difficult, Brother Gongming! The reinforcements dispatched by the imperial court are only capable of fighting when victory is already assured. The moment our main force falls into a disadvantage, they will lose all combat effectiveness and may even shatter our own formations in their panic. There is only one way to utilize them without jeopardizing the bigger picture..."