Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 260 Was he too late?
Su Qingwan was exhausted. Every swing of her sword seemed to use up all her strength, but with a tenacious belief, she continued to fight bravely on the bloody battlefield.

She grabbed Chenfeng beside her, her voice slightly hoarse from exhaustion, yet filled with unwavering determination: "To catch the thief, catch the king first. You, Green Bamboo, and Green Cloud don't need to worry about me. Focus all your efforts on killing General Zhuge!"

"Yes!" Chen Feng nodded heavily in response. Chen Feng was originally a secret agent, extremely agile, and skilled in assassination. At this moment, General Zhuge was focused on how to kill Su Qingwan, so his guard against Chen Feng, Qingyun, and Lüzhu would be much looser, which undoubtedly gave them an excellent opportunity to assassinate General Zhuge.

Although General Zhuge's formation was shattered by the Huainan light cavalry, he was a seasoned warrior and quickly regrouped his troops. Astride his horse, his expression stern, he loudly commanded, "All soldiers, listen to my order! Whoever takes the life of the Princess of Huainan will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and a promotion!" For ordinary soldiers, such a feat on the battlefield was a golden opportunity for rapid advancement. General Zhuge's command seemed to ignite the fire of greed in the soldiers' hearts. Like a surging tide, they rushed towards Su Qingwan, all their eyes fixed on her head, hoping to exchange it for wealth and glory.

Chenfeng and Qingyun quickly retreated. Chenfeng was truly worried about Su Qingwan, so he left Lüzhu by her side to protect her, while he, along with Qingyun, rushed towards General Zhuge's location, preparing to carry out the assassination. At this moment, everyone on the battlefield was fighting with all their might, trying to break through the encirclement.

However, the terrain in this area is flat and level, with no natural defenses to rely on. The Huainan army could only rely on their own flesh and blood to withstand the enemy's fierce attacks.

General Zhuge, spear in hand and warhorse neighing, charged menacingly toward Su Qingwan.

In his view, if he could kill Su Qingwan, the entire Huainan army would be thrown into chaos, and Huainan City would be completely under his control. The Huainan army now numbered only a few thousand, and they were surrounded by him; killing Su Qingwan would be a piece of cake.

The thought of victory was about to be achieved filled General Zhuge with an irrepressible excitement.

Su Qingwan gripped her twin swords tightly and charged forward to meet General Zhuge's spear.

With a nimble flick of her wrist, she seized the opportunity and stabbed General Zhuge's warhorse with her sword. The horse, in pain, reared up, forcing General Zhuge to dismount and fall to the ground.

Seeing this, the Xilin soldiers swarmed forward, surrounding Su Qingwan and unleashing a barrage of deadly attacks. Undeterred, Su Qingwan fought with both hands, her longsword flashing like lightning as it sliced ​​through the throats of her enemies. In the fierce battle, her light armor was already soaked in blood, making her look like a war goddess emerging from a pool of blood.

Suddenly, Green Bamboo shouted anxiously, "Princess, watch your back!"

Green Bamboo was currently being held tightly by two Xilin soldiers and was unable to break free to return to their aid. Suddenly, a Xilin general, wielding a long spear, viciously lunged at Su Qingwan.

Su Qingwan was surrounded by numerous enemies and had no time to turn around and defend herself. In the nick of time, Zhang Huaining appeared like a black lightning bolt. Without hesitation, she used her own body to shield Su Qingwan from the fatal spear. The spear pierced straight into Zhang Huaining's shoulder, and blood gushed out instantly.

Seeing this, Green Bamboo fought off the enemies around her and rushed to Zhang Huaining's side. With a swift stroke of her longsword, she severed the general's arm. Zhang Huaining gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and pulled out his spear. Blood gushed from the wound, and before he could even bandage it, wave after wave of enemies attacked again, seemingly endless, no matter how hard he tried. "Huaining, how are you?"

Su Qingwan turned around, only managing to ask a hurried question.

"It's just a minor injury, Your Highness, don't worry!"

Zhang Huaining answered, forcing a calm expression. But in reality, it was far from a mere flesh wound; the spear had nearly pierced her shoulder, the wound deep enough to expose the bone. Yet Zhang Huaining knew in her heart that Su Qingwan absolutely could not die; if Su Qingwan fell in battle, this battle would be lost forever. Although they both understood that the chances of winning this decisive battle were extremely slim, as long as they had a breath left, they had to hold on until the very last moment.

On the battlefield, the two armies were locked in fierce combat, the situation was chaotic, and there was no time for much conversation. Swords flashed, and deadly danger lurked everywhere.

Blood streamed down Su Qingwan's body; she and her soldiers were cornered. Su Qingwan had multiple wounds: two gunshot wounds, one sword wound, and one penetrating wound, from which blood flowed continuously. Due to excessive blood loss, her vision began to darken, and her consciousness gradually faded.

“Miss…” Green Bamboo held his sword with one hand to fend off the enemy, while his other hand tightly supported Su Qingwan. One by one, the soldiers around Su Qingwan fell, using their own flesh and blood to build a last line of defense for her, desperately shielding her from the enemy's swords.

General Zhuge, observing the scene before him, let out a triumphant laugh, confident of his victory. Holding his spear, he pointed it at Su Qingwan and shouted, "Even cornered beasts will fight to the death! You have no strength left to resist. Charge in and take the princess's head!"

"Yes!" The soldiers of Xilin shouted in unison, their voices loud and clear, filled with murderous intent. They pounced on Su Qingwan like hungry wolves.

At this critical moment, a flash of cold light appeared, and a dart shot towards General Zhuge like a meteor.

General Zhuge reacted with remarkable agility, quickly dodging the dart. Seeing the dart miss, Chen Feng inwardly cried out in alarm, realizing he had missed his best opportunity to assassinate General Zhuge. He and Qingyun were too far from General Zhuge, separated by countless Xilin soldiers; breaking through the encirclement would be no easy feat.

Chenfeng and Qingyun exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly, and nodded. Qingyun spread her arms, and Chenfeng used her palms as leverage, leaping forward like an arrow, rushing towards General Zhuge.

The Xilin soldiers, seeing this, were terrified and cried out, "General, be careful!" Zhang San, on the other side of the battlefield, also roared and hurled his spear at Chen Feng. Chen Feng caught the spear precisely in mid-air and then thrust it at General Zhuge with overwhelming force. General Zhuge and his soldiers raised their spears to parry. Spears clashed and sparks flew as they struck. General Zhuge, while defending, laughed loudly, "Ignorant brat, overestimating yourself..."

However, before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly froze. A flash of cold light appeared before his eyes, and the short knife in Chen Feng's sleeve shot out like a venomous snake, instantly slicing through his neck. General Zhuge's eyes widened in horror, and he instinctively reached out to cover his neck, blood gushing from between his fingers. He stood frozen in place, his body swaying precariously.

Chen Feng's attack was merely a feint with his spear; his true killing move was the short sword hidden in his sleeve. However, he was too close to General Zhuge, and while he successfully killed Zhuge, he couldn't escape the enemy's attacks. Seeing this, the Xilin soldiers thrust their spears at Chen Feng. Countless spears pierced through Chen Feng's body in an instant. The broken blade in Chen Feng's hand clattered to the ground, and his body slowly collapsed, blood spreading on the ground. "Princess... I did it!"

With his last ounce of strength, Chen Feng called out in Su Qingwan's direction.

Qingyun witnessed this scene and was heartbroken. She fought desperately, tears streaming down her face. In truth, when Chenfeng decided to assassinate General Zhuge at close range, they were already prepared to trade their lives for his, knowing full well that Chenfeng was doomed. Overwhelmed with grief and rage, Qingyun shouted, "General Zhuge is dead! Kill them all! Avenge our soldiers!"

With General Zhuge's death, the Xilin soldiers instantly fell into chaos. This border army had always been centered around General Zhuge; with his death, the entire army's formation collapsed instantly, and the soldiers were plunged into confusion and panic.

However, a young general in the Xilin army reacted quickly. He shouted, "Princess Huainan is also dead! Soldiers, don't panic! Avenge the general!"

He managed to quell some of the army's morale amidst the chaos. At this moment, Su Qingwan lay in a pool of blood, barely alive. Green Bamboo knelt before her, her body riddled with stab wounds, her clothes stained crimson with blood, yet she still fiercely protected Su Qingwan, enduring the enemy's merciless swords striking her delicate body.

Qingyun turned her head and saw this horrific scene. Her eyes instantly turned bloodshot, almost bursting out of their sockets: "Princess, Green Bamboo..."

On the battlefield, everyone surged towards Su Qingwan's location. General Xiao Ning felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this scene. The battle, which had just begun to turn around due to General Zhuge's death, was now in complete chaos again.

At this critical moment, a deafening sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the direction of the city gate. A battle flag of the Huainan Army fluttered high in the night wind, extremely conspicuous.

A dense mass of light cavalry surged toward the Xilin army camp like a black tide. The long spears they carried, held in perfect unison, gleamed with a chilling light in the firelight.

Lu Jing, clad in black armor, rode his warhorse with imposing grandeur, charging into the battlefield like a god of war amidst the flames.

"It's the Regent..." General Xiao Ning's voice trembled with excitement as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's the Regent! Reinforcements are here! Brothers, reinforcements are here!"

The troops from Zhongzhou arrived a day and a night ahead of schedule. This was undoubtedly the most encouraging news on the battlefield at this moment. Although the generals on the Xilin border had never heard of Lu Jing, they knew he was the regent of Dayuan and no ordinary person. They were trying to calm their panicked soldiers and prepare to organize a counterattack when they suddenly saw Lu Nianqing beside Lu Jing.

Lu Nianqing was dressed in light armor but without a helmet, revealing a youthful yet handsome face. That face was almost identical to that of the Prince of Huainan's heir. Any veteran soldier of Xilin who had witnessed the Prince of Huainan's former glory was terrified upon seeing Lu Nianqing.

The former heir apparent of the Prince of Huainan, at the young age of fifteen, led 5,000 troops in a surprise attack on the Xilin army camp, achieving the remarkable feat of 5,000 soldiers fighting against 30,000 enemy troops and successfully capturing the head of the Xilin general. He was brave and skillful in battle, decisive and fearless, and his brilliance shone even brighter than that of the Prince of Huainan.

"It's... the Prince of Huainan... it's him! He's back!" A veteran from Xilin trembled with fear, muttering to himself, his steps involuntarily taking a step back. In that instant, the entire battle situation was completely reversed.

The Xilin border army was plunged into unprecedented chaos. Lu Jing, wielding his embroidered spring knife, moved across the battlefield as if it were empty, killing anyone in sight. Lu Nianqing and General Li from Zhongzhou quickly took command of the battle and soon brought the entire battlefield under control.

After killing several people, Lu Jing nimbly dismounted.

He spotted Qingyun at the very front and asked anxiously, "Where is the princess?"

Qingyun didn't know if Su Qingwan was still alive. She used all her strength to point to the right, and the long sword in her hand fell to the ground with a "clang". Then everything went black and she fainted.

Lu Jing was frantic. He pushed through the crowd and ran towards Su Qingwan's location. When he saw Green Bamboo, who had been stabbed multiple times and was already lifeless, his heart ached.

Further on, he saw Su Qingwan lying on the ground. Su Qingwan's light armor was completely soaked in blood, and she was already unconscious. Lu Jing felt his breath catch in his throat, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot and bulging.

Was he late?