Kill the enemy and get a wife? I'll single-handedly slaughter my way through the Northern Barba

Night falls on Elephant Trunk Hill.

As Lin Feng departed from the deep pool, Li Ping'an and the others also ceased their search and rescue efforts.

On the night of the fierce battle, Raymond Lam and Zheng Yan both disappeared.

After Li Ping'an and Lü Zheng led the Daqian Army to defeat Zheng Yan's troops, they immediately devoted themselves to the search and rescue of Lin Feng without even having time to pursue the enemy.

However, the truth is cold and cruel—Lin Feng has disappeared!

They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.

More than two thousand soldiers conducted a thorough search of the combat zone, but ultimately found nothing.

Feng Qing's tears flowed incessantly as she searched day and night without ever stopping.

Li Pingan and Lü Zheng searched day and night, but to no avail.

In the end, the two had no choice but to accept the reality that Raymond Lam had likely passed away.

It is likely that during his battle with Zheng Yan, the two perished together, falling in some remote corner of the deep mountains.

The vast mountains stretch endlessly. If the two men had really run too far outside the battle zone, Li Ping'an and his men would have had no way of finding their bodies.

Left with no other choice, Li Ping'an and Lü Zheng erected a cenotaph for Lin Feng in the mountains before leading their troops back to Zhenyuan County.

Overwhelmed with grief, Feng Qing fainted during the memorial service and was escorted back south by the crowd...

Three days later, in Zhenyuan City.

Inside the temporary palace in Zhenyuan City, Prince Qin, Li Yan, looked exhausted, his brows furrowed with worry.

Today marks ten days since he besieged Bayan Mengke.

However, Boyan Mengke continued to resist stubbornly, and the Qian army suffered losses every day, but still failed to break through the Northern Barbarian army's camp.

"Your Highness, our army has suffered another thousand casualties today!"

In the silent council chamber, Su Mo was the first to break the silence.

"If we continue our offensive, our losses will only become more and more severe."

"Your Highness, I humbly request that you postpone the attack and allow the soldiers to rest for a day."

Su Mo's heart was bleeding as he said these words.

The fierce attack on the Northern Barbarian camp resulted in the loss of all the elite troops of the Liaodong army.

When the 50,000 Liaodong troops arrived at Zhenyuan City, what a magnificent sight it was!

In just ten days, more than 15,000 people have already died in battle.

He grieved for the fallen soldiers and was even more worried about the future of Liaodong.

If this kind of attrition continues, how will Liaodong resist the Great Liao Kingdom in the future?

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, a surge of anger rising on his face. He slammed his hand on the table: "Lord Su, the war has reached this point, and you want me to stop?"

"Our army is exhausted and heavily wounded. Don't the northern barbarians feel any pain or fatigue?"

"We will continue our attack tomorrow; I will personally lead the army to break through their camp!"

During these ten days of fierce fighting, Li Yan did try to personally lead his troops in a surprise attack, hoping to boost morale with his own momentum.

However, the generals of the Northern Barbarian army were by no means incompetent. They held their ground and repelled his surprise attacks twice.

The resilience of the northern barbarians far exceeded his expectations.

If we say that Li Yan won the Battle of Niujiaoyuan.

In the subsequent offensive and defensive battles, Bayan Mengke could be said to have a slight advantage.

This was truly frustrating for Li Yan, who was determined to achieve his goal in one fell swoop.

Zhang Liao's deputy general, Bian Xi, hesitated for a moment before rising and bowing: "Your Highness, I have an idea. Since we cannot break through the camp by force, why not try another approach? Send troops to reinforce Jiming City and cut off the enemy's retreat?"

No news had come back from Jiming City for many days, and Bian Xi, Qiao Ping, and others were all worried about the safety of Zhenyuan Army.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan's expression darkened instantly, and his eyes turned icy cold.

Bian Xi had touched a raw nerve.

When Li Ping'an and Lü Zheng led their troops to follow Lin Feng out of Zhenyuan City, Li Yan was already furious.

He not only confined Prince Li Ji of Zhou to his quarters and whipped his deputy general Bi Fang, but even the jailer guarding the prison was not spared.

"Never mention Jiming City again!"

Li Yan waved his hand dismissively, his tone icy: "I care not for the fate of Jiming City, I only know that we must breach the enemy camp!"

"Tomorrow, the entire army will go into battle. I refuse to believe we can't break through Bayan Mengke's 'tortoise shell'!"

When the King of Qin spoke, everyone had reservations but could only bow and accept the order.

Just then, Li Yan's personal guards rushed into the council hall and loudly reported, "Your Highness, the army from Jiming City has returned!"

What?!

Li Yan's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly stood up, staring intently at his personal guards: "They've lost Jiming City?"

He was greatly shocked. If the garrison of Jiming City had turned back to Zhenyuan, then Jiming City must have already fallen.

Once Jiming City falls, Bayan Mengke will no longer be fighting alone.

How can he possibly fight this battle?

Prince Li Zhen of Jin glanced at Li Yan discreetly, a smile he could hardly conceal creeping onto his lips.

"Did General Lin, General Li, and General Lü return together?"

Su Mo quickly pressed the guards for answers, his tone full of concern.

The guard bowed and reported, "Your Excellency, the returning remnant army numbers approximately two thousand, and the ranks are quite disorganized. The one who led the way in calling for the gate was Lord Li Ping'an; the return of the other officials was not mentioned."

Upon hearing of Li Ping'an's return, Su Mo breathed a slight sigh of relief and then addressed Li Yan, saying, "Your Highness, the brothers of Jiming City have finally returned safely. Please allow me to go and welcome them into the city..."

"No need!"

Li Yan interrupted coldly, her tone carrying a deliberate air of "importance".

"They have worked hard and made great contributions; how could it be enough for Lord Su to personally go to greet them? I will go myself!"

Su Mo had a good plan; he personally went to welcome the remnants of the army and arrange for their rest and recuperation.

If Lin Feng and the other two return safely, Li Yan might turn a blind eye and forgive the incident of the three forcibly leaving the city.

But Li Yan had no intention of turning the page easily. Judging from his posture, he clearly wanted to settle accounts with Lin Feng and the others.

Half an hour later, outside the north gate of Zhenyuan City.

Li Pingan, Lü Zheng, and the others finally saw the figures on the city wall.

Fang Hui stood atop the city wall and shouted loudly down below, "Who commands the troops below? His Highness the Prince of Qin has arrived in person! State your names!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Zheng felt a surge of anger.

They had endured wind and rain all the way to get here, and now they had to be interrogated like this.

"you--"

Before Lü Zheng could finish speaking, Li Ping'an stopped him with a gesture.

Li Ping'an shook his head slightly at him, then took a deep breath and replied loudly, "This humble general, Li Ping'an, commander of the Liaodong Army, along with Lu Zheng, deputy commander of the Zhenyuan Army, Shi Chong, general of the Righteous Army, Feng Qing, deputy commander of the Righteous Army, and brothers from the Zhenyuan, Liaodong, and Righteous Army armies, humbly request your entry into the city!"

Originally, Lin Feng had already sent Shi Chong and the other wounded back to Zhenyuan City.

However, when the group reached the southern foot of Elephant Trunk Hill, Shi Chong's injuries suddenly worsened. The group had no choice but to stop and treat him.

Once his condition stabilized, he joined forces with Li Ping'an and others who had arrived from behind.

After a moment of silence atop the city wall, Fang Hui called out again: "His Highness the King of Qin asks, why were you unable to defend Jiming City?"

Li Ping'an's eyes reddened slightly as he reported in a deep voice, "Your Highness, when General Lin, General Lü, and I arrived at Jiming City, the south gate had already been breached by Zheng Yan in a night attack. The Northern Barbarian army is too powerful, so we had no choice but to seize the city gate first and enter the city to provide relief."

"In order to cover the retreat of the main force, Zhang Tie, the deputy general of the rebel army, fought to the death in the city and was eventually brutally killed by the brothers Zheng Yan and Zheng Bin. The brothers of the three armies also suffered heavy casualties."

Li Yan slowly walked to the edge of the city wall and looked down at the city below.

"Li Ping'an, now that you have recaptured the city gates, why don't you continue to hold the line? Why don't you annihilate the enemy within the city, instead of attempting a breakout?"

Li Ping'an gave a bitter smile, his voice full of helplessness: "Your Highness, at that time, the Zheng brothers, Zheng Yan and Zheng Bin, attacked from the north and south. The combined strength of my three armies was less than half of the total strength of the Northern Barbarian Army. It was only by leading some of my brothers to break through the encirclement that we three managed to achieve this, after giving it our all."

Li Yan's gaze swept over the dirty, exhausted, and disheveled faces below the city walls, finally settling on Li Ping'an. He asked in a deep voice, "Where did Lin Feng go?"

Li Pingan's nose tingled, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

He choked back tears as he reported, "Your Highness, after we broke through the encirclement, the brothers Zheng Yan and Zheng Bin brutally murdered Zhang Tie on the city wall. Afterwards, Zheng Yan personally led ten thousand men to pursue us all the way to Elephant Trunk Mountain."

"General Lin led us to fight the enemy in the mountains and eventually killed the enemy's deputy general Zheng Bin. He also lured Zheng Yan into the valley and almost burned him to death."

"Unexpectedly, the villain escaped by sheer luck, and a fierce battle ensued between the two sides."

"After we defeated the enemy, General Lin and Zheng Yan both disappeared!"