With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

As dawn broke and the morning mist had not yet dissipated, the Northern Xiongnu scouts outside the city finally noticed the unusual situation in Lulong City.

Although the banners on the city walls were still there, the defending troops were noticeably sparse, and the arrows used for counterattacks were far less dense than before.

The probing attack immediately turned into a full-scale offensive.

The 20,000 Northern Han soldiers who remained behind already knew their fate.

The warhorses had been taken away by the retreating army, leaving them with nowhere to retreat and nowhere to escape.

Facing the Northern Xiongnu, surrender only meant certain death and slaughter; only by fighting to the death could one take a few more down with them in their final moments.

"kill--!"

Despair fueled the final ferocity.

These 20,000 "sacrificial pawns" left behind unleashed astonishing fighting power.

They held their ground on every section of the city wall and every street, building lines of defense with their own flesh and blood.

When they ran out of logs and stones, they dismantled houses and destroyed beams; when they ran out of arrows, they raised their spears and swords and engaged in the most brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Northern Xiongnu soldiers who had scaled the city walls.

Blood stained the bluestone city wall, and corpses piled up layer upon layer at the crenellations.

Although the Northern Xiongnu army was numerous and powerful, its progress was extremely slow due to the defenders' suicidal tactics.

The Left Grand Commandant, watching from the central army, was furious. In one day, he beheaded three centurions who had failed to capture the city. With the help of shaman warriors, he finally managed to breach the last line of defense as night fell.

As the last rays of the setting sun fell upon the walls of Lulong, this formidable pass of Beiyuan County finally fell.

Lin Ye led the Lin family army, struggling to make their way south along the official road as part of the massive retreat.

As dusk fell, several communications soldiers flew swiftly from the direction of Lulong City in the north, skimming over the ranks and heading straight for the central army. Lin Ye's heart sank; there was no need to ask further, for it must be the devastating news of the city's fall.

Those 20,000 garrison soldiers who voluntarily stayed behind in Kitahara have probably all turned into heroic souls by now.

Rumors were circulating in the army that the soldiers who stayed behind to cover the retreat were mostly local men from various cities in Beiyuan County. Their homes had been trampled by the iron hooves of the Northern Xiongnu, and their relatives had been massacred. They had an irreconcilable blood feud with the Northern Xiongnu.

That is why they were willing to stay behind, using their own flesh and blood to buy the army a final chance to retreat.

"They're all good..." an old soldier murmured, but was immediately stopped by the stern look of an officer.

Grief is useless; only by quickening our pace can we live up to the time that our comrades bought with their lives.

Under the silent pressure, the marching speed of the team increased even more without them realizing it.

Fortunately, Lin Ye's troops benefited from the spoils of the Jingbian campaign and had plenty of horses. All three thousand soldiers had been replaced with horses, making them far more mobile than other lords' armies that were still mainly composed of infantry.

Looking around, in the long marching column, many of the lord's infantrymen had begun to fall behind, their faces filled with exhaustion and despair.

"The general has ordered us to hold out for one more day! Reinforcements are approaching and will soon join us!"

Once we rendezvous with reinforcements and deploy our forces, the Northern Xiongnu cavalry will not dare to attack! Then we can set up camp and rest!

Messengers from General Zhenwei's mansion rode swiftly back and forth on both sides of the column, conveying this crucial order with hoarse voices.

This news was like a shot in the arm, injecting a much-needed boost into the morale of the troops, which were on the verge of collapse.

After all, they retreated early, and the Northern Xiongnu army that had surrounded them from Zhenbei and Shuofang was still far away. The only force that could catch up with them was the Left Grand Commandant's troops, who were also exhausted after breaking through Lulong City.

After days of fierce fighting, their forces are estimated to be less than 80,000.

As long as our side can successfully rendezvous with the reinforcements and rely on the infantry formation to hold their ground, the Northern Xiongnu cavalry will find it difficult to gain any advantage.

"Hurry! Speed ​​up! Reach the reinforcements!"

The urging voices of officers at all levels rang out again.

Exhausted soldiers gritted their teeth, squeezed out the last bit of strength from their bodies, and continued their desperate escape southward, towards that faint but only hope for survival.

Finally, at noon on the second day, the worst news arrived along with the rising dust in the distance: two vanguard cavalry units of ten thousand men each from the Northern Xiongnu had approached within twenty miles, and the sound of their hooves could be faintly heard.

The army was hastily eating when they heard the news and were thrown into chaos.

If these 20,000 fresh cavalrymen catch up with them and harass and delay them with constant mounted archery, their marching speed will be greatly reduced, and they may even be completely tied down, waiting for more of the Northern Xiongnu's main force to arrive.

Looking up, the massive army of 80,000 reinforcements could be faintly seen on the horizon, their banners fluttering and ready for battle.

As long as the retreating troops can successfully reach the rear of the formation, relying on this impregnable infantry formation, even if the Northern Xiongnu cavalry catch up, they will hardly gain any advantage, and may even be attacked by the well-rested allied forces.

But now, these last twenty miles have become a deadly chasm.

Exhausted, the Northern Han army had no chance of safely reaching its destination amidst the harassment of two ferocious Northern Xiongnu cavalry forces.

"The vanguard shall continue at full speed! The rearguard shall send out 10,000 cavalry to turn back and intercept them!" Nangong Wan made a decisive decision and gave the order in a stern voice.

A cavalry force of ten thousand men quickly separated from the marching column, turned their horses around, and galloped away into the billowing dust behind them.

Their mission was not to annihilate them, but to hold back the two Northern Xiongnu vanguards at all costs, buying the main army a final half-day.

However, Lin Ye, who had been sending gargoyles to closely monitor the battlefield situation from high above, keenly noticed the anomaly.

The two groups of 10,000 Northern Xiongnu cavalry, upon seeing the Northern Han intercepting cavalry charging towards them from afar, did not slow down to engage in battle. Instead, they tacitly dispersed to both sides, as if avoiding a turbulent current by a reef, intending to bypass the Northern Han cavalry from both flanks!

They only sent out a small group of elite cavalry to meet the enemy and engage the Northern Han intercepting forces, while their main force continued its rapid advance towards the retreating Northern Han army!

The Northern Han's intercepting cavalry, after days of rapid marching, were exhausted. By the time they turned back, they were at their last gasp and could not keep up with the Northern Xiongnu's well-rested and rested forces.

They could only watch helplessly as the black torrent of the Northern Xiongnu, like a nimble giant python, slipped through their outstretched arms, rushing towards the unsuspecting retreating army with a deathly howl.

Just then, a messenger from General Zhenwei's mansion rushed to the side of the Lin family army's marching column like lightning.

"Lord Lin! General Zhenwei has urgent military information to discuss. Please come with me to the central army immediately!" The messenger's voice was hoarse with urgency.

Lin Ye's heart stirred slightly. This urgent summons at this time must mean something important. He immediately ordered Lin Qiang to take over command, then he himself mounted the Crimson-Eyed Tiger Guard and sped away with the messenger.

Inside the makeshift tent erected by the central army, Nangong Wan frowned, his face revealing undisguised exhaustion and anxiety. Upon seeing Lin Ye enter, he immediately waved away those around him and got straight to the point.

"Lord Lin, as you have probably seen, the intercepting cavalry I sent were easily bypassed by the Northern Xiongnu, and those two 10,000-strong cavalry units are still approaching."

Their objective was clear: to hold us back until their main force could surround us and devour us whole. But we were still some distance from our reinforcements.

He spoke rapidly, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Ye, "Sending cavalry to intercept them again will likely yield the same result; the Northern Xiongnu will continue to avoid our main force and pursue it relentlessly. Therefore..."

Nangong Wan paused, her voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of earnestness and resolve: "I implore Lord Lin to lead an elite force to hold off those two Northern Xiongnu cavalry units!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye raised an eyebrow and instinctively wanted to refuse.

Should I send my own troops to intercept them?

Wouldn't those two groups of ten thousand Northern Xiongnu cavalry just bypass them like before? Wouldn't I be wasting my energy and putting myself in danger?

Seemingly seeing through Lin Ye's thoughts, Nangong Wan said in a deep voice, "Lord Lin, you may not know this. According to repeated reconnaissance by our troops, these two pursuing cavalry units of ten thousand men are the most elite tribal cavalry under the command of the Left Grand Commandant of the Northern Xiongnu!"

He stepped forward, lowered his voice, and said, word by word, "The news of Lord Lin's assassination of the junior captain on the rainy night has already spread among the Northern Xiongnu army."

The Left Grand Commandant, grieving the loss of his beloved son, harbors a deep hatred for you! He has even offered an exorbitant bounty within the army: whoever can take Lord Lin's head will be rewarded with a third-rate monster's lair!

A third-rate lair! Even with Lin Ye's resolute will, he couldn't help but be shocked upon hearing this. This bounty was enough to drive any martial artist or tribe mad.

"So," Nangong Wan said, her eyes fixed intently on Lin Ye.

"As long as you lead your troops, those two vengeful cavalry units under the command of the Left Grand Commandant will no longer detour like they did with other intercepting forces!"

They will pounce like mad dogs, sparing no effort to kill you! Only in this way can we buy the main force of the army a final chance!

The tent was deathly silent, with only the faint sound of horses' hooves and the wind in the distance.

Lin Ye's expression changed as she rapidly weighed the options in her mind.

Refusal seems like a matter of course.

But if no one can distract those two deadly cavalry units, the main force of the army will be in imminent danger. Even if my isolated army manages to escape, how will it establish itself in the Northern Han Dynasty in the future?