Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2649 Reinforcements
"Guichen, what happened?"

Late at night, after Ying Baoyue and the high-ranking generals finished discussing the next day's attack, Gui Chen remained in the military tent and did not leave.

“That’s the question I should be asking,” Gui Chen glanced at Ying Baoyue, “What happened?”

Ying Baoyue was taken aback. "You received the message?"

“Message? I haven’t received anything,” Gui Chen frowned. “It’s just that you’re acting strange.”

"How could you tell?" Ying Baoyue smiled wryly. "You shouldn't be able to tell, right?"

“Yes, they probably can’t tell,” Gui Chen sighed, “but I’m your iron guard.”

Ying Baoyue was always one to keep her emotions hidden, and after becoming a divine child, her control over her aura reached a state of perfection; she showed no change whatsoever.

But he could just sense it.

Ying Baoyue was stunned. She remembered the time when Guichen carried her younger sister and chased after her in Yunmengze.

She returned to the border of Southern Chu once again, but just like before, she was not alone.

"Thank you," Ying Baoyue said softly, slowly sitting down at the table.

Gui Chen sat down next to her. "Is it something you can't tell me?"

“No, not exactly,” Ying Baoyue recounted the story of the letter sent to the Epang Palace.

Gui Chen was stunned. He took a deep breath to control his emotions. "Bao Yue, do you think this letter is real?"

"I don't know, but..."

Ying Baoyue stared at her palm. "Aji must have been in trouble."

Gui Chen's eyes widened. He couldn't understand how Ying Baoyue could bring this up so calmly. "What is it? Could it be that He..."

“He’s still alive,” Ying Baoyue interrupted Gui Chen’s speculation. “He is a god; if he were to perish, there would be a cataclysmic change in the world.”

The demise of the Azure Dragon God will cause unimaginable upheavals in the world.

"That's good," Guichen breathed a sigh of relief. "But what exactly happened to Him? And how did you know?"

“I can’t feel his presence anymore,” Ying Baoyue said. “There is a part of him in my body. No matter how far apart we are, I can always sense him. But just ten days ago, that feeling disappeared.”

Ten days?

Gui Chen simply couldn't understand how Ying Baoyue could hide her emotions. "Didn't you say that Lord Zhaohua was alright?"

“He should indeed not be dead,” Ying Baoyue said, “He just unilaterally severed my connection with Him.”

"Wait, you're saying that Lord Zhaohua cut it himself?"

Gui Chen didn't understand. "Isn't it because of some external influence?"

“Even with external influences, my connection with him will not be severed,” Ying Baoyue said. “It has never happened before.”

"What if we really encounter an extremely powerful being?" Gui Chen asked tentatively, "Like an evil god..."

He didn't understand why Ying Baoyue was so certain.

Ying Baoyue was silent for a moment, then said, "No."

She is just so certain.

“Even in this life and the next, I cannot sever my connection with Him,” Ying Baoyue said, looking at her palm. “Even when I was rejected by the gods in this life, He never abandoned me.”

If even such a powerful curse couldn't be broken back then, then now nothing but life and death can separate them.

Gui Chen fell silent, his heart filled with shock.

He realized that this was a connection that he couldn't understand, but which truly existed.

"Now that Lord Zhaohua has severed your ties with him, what are you planning to do?" he asked worriedly. If something really happens to Li Ji, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“I have no choice,” Ying Baoyue said, closing her eyes. “If he won’t let me find him, I can’t find him.”

She couldn't sense his current situation.

But he didn't let her know; he just didn't want her to come to him.

“I must completely wipe out this rebel army,” Ying Baoyue opened her eyes and stood up. “After the crisis in the south is completely resolved, I will go north to find him.”

“Your Majesty understands,” Gui Chen’s gaze became more serious than ever before. “Your Majesty will go and make preparations immediately. Our army will surely win tomorrow’s battle.”

……

……

At dawn, Chen Yan led 5,000 Southern Chu cavalry to join forces with the Former Qin army.

Previously, in order to pursue the fleeing Northern Wei rebels and Western Rong army, Ying Baoyue ordered the baggage train and infantry to march behind, while only leading elite light cavalry to the front line for pursuit. At this time, the forces gathered on the shore of Lancang were only three thousand.

“A total force of eight thousand,” Chen Yan said, surveying the menacing troops behind Ying Baoyue. “How many are on the enemy side?”

“Less than five thousand,” Ying Baoyue said. “About half of them are combat-ready, the rest are just remnants.”

After she killed Wu Chanlu in the reed marshes, Zhou Fu led his remaining troops southward, fighting as they retreated. Although they numbered quite a few, their morale had completely collapsed, and less than half of them were still able to fight.

"You're really something," Chen Yan laughed heartily. "The enemy was outmaneuvered and you still managed to defeat them like this. With eight thousand troops, you could easily wipe them out in one fell swoop."

“We still need to be wary of whether there will be reinforcements,” Ying Baoyue stared at the map in her hand. “I have a feeling that something is not right.”

To be honest, the three thousand cavalry she led were all elites. Although they were outnumbered, they were almost certain to defeat Zhou Fu's remaining troops.

But the reason she waited for Chen Yan's 5,000 reinforcements to arrive before starting the battle was because of this unease in her heart.

What puzzled her was why Zhou Fu didn't surrender.

As Chen Yan said, his remnant army was deep in enemy territory, and defeat was inevitable. Continuing to resist would only result in the annihilation of the entire army. He had no cities to defend, so why didn't he surrender?
Even if they were to flee, they should have fled north. Why were they fleeing south? Where else could they have gone?
Zhou Fu's behavior made it seem as if they would receive reinforcements.

“The entire border of Southern Chu is under martial law,” Chen Yan said solemnly, knowing what Ying Baoyue was worried about. “There is no possibility that anyone from the Southern Chu army will be there to meet them.”

"They won't have any reinforcements."

Ying Baoyue took a deep breath. At this point, she couldn't let the entire army be held back by just one person's speculation.

She gazed at the reeds ahead, where she could vaguely see the figures of the Northern Wei rebels and the Western Rong people.

"Shout to that group of people, if they don't surrender, the whole army will attack in fifteen minutes."

"Order!"

Fifteen minutes later, the battle began.

At the same time, the bugles of the Former Qin army and the Southern Chu army sounded. Chen Zichu led 3,000 Southern Chu cavalry and Gui Chen led 2,000 Former Qin cavalry to encircle the rebels from the east and west. Ying Baoyue and Chen Yan each led 1,000 Former Qin soldiers and 2,000 Southern Chu soldiers to guard the central army, forming a three-sided encirclement.

The reeds were stained with blood, and shouts of killing and surrender rose and fell. Almost no Northern Wei rebels or Western Rong cavalry could escape from the stranglehold of the left and right armies to the central position. Even if two or three people managed to escape, they were all killed by the vanguard.

"It seems we won't have a chance to make an appearance."

Chen Yan observed the battle situation from his horse, then turned back to Ying Baoyue and said with a smile, "Once Zhou Fu is captured alive, this battle will be over."

Ying Baoyue, who had been tense, breathed a sigh of relief and released her aura to locate Zhou Fu's position.

However, the next moment, her breathing stopped.

She couldn't find Zhou Fu's presence, but suddenly sensed a very familiar aura.

That was the scent of someone she would never forget.

he came.