My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Sun Xiang immediately ordered the remaining imperial troops to provide support and form a battle formation to resist the enemy.

However, whenever he ordered a change of formation, the opposing side seemed to know that he was going to use the Bush-Yao formation and had a very good understanding of this formation.

They can always pinpoint the fleeting weakness in a formation just before it's fully formed, and deliver a devastating blow.

Wang Meng stood on the city wall, looking down at the entire battlefield.

He saw the flag signals from Sun Xiang's rear guard and a cold smile crept onto his lips.

Formation?

He understands things better than Sun Xiang now!

"Pass on the order!" he shouted without turning his head.

"Left flank, attack their right flank! Right flank, outflank them from the rear! Center, press forward and cut them in half!"

The flag officer waved his flag repeatedly, and the drumbeats on the city wall changed tone, becoming increasingly urgent.

The Northern Army on the battlefield responded to the order.

Soldiers wielding steel bars were like heavy iron hammers, smashing them into the gaps that hadn't yet been closed.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Steel bars pounded on armor, weapons, and soldiers wearing different types of armor.

The dull thuds of impact echoed one after another, each blow accompanied by the cracking sound of bones breaking and a piercing scream.

They tried to form a defensive formation as ordered, but as soon as they gathered, steel bars came crashing down from different directions at the same time, tearing their formation to shreds in an instant.

Their swords and knives would break when they were used to strike.

Their armor was hit and couldn't withstand the blow.

Their agile movements had no chance to be displayed in the face of the dense forest of steel bars.

On the battlefield, the one-sided massacre continued.

At the very back of the imperial army's formation, Yao Jingyuan's face was deathly pale.

He watched as elite troops and imperial soldiers fell one after another in front of him, and as those fearsome weapons and armor were smashed to pieces in front of the dusty iron rods.

My calves felt weak, and my whole body started to tremble.

"waste……"

His lips trembled as he forced out two words through clenched teeth.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Yao Jingyuan's voice was extremely low, only He Jin beside him could hear it, but the fear and anger in his voice were almost overflowing.

It's been spread like wildfire!

What is invincible? What is never defeated?

The results of it?

They couldn't even beat a bunch of peasants wielding iron bars!

Yao Jingyuan's clenched hand was trembling, and his knuckles were white from excessive force.

The plans are all messed up.

He originally planned to let these elite troops and Wang Meng's border guards fight to the death, so that he could reap the benefits.

Even at the very least, these elite troops should have worn down Wang Meng's main force to a great extent.

But now?

The so-called elite troops were like paper in front of those iron bars; they were easily broken!

Once these five thousand people are slaughtered, he'll be next!

No!

We can't stay here any longer!

He has to run!

Must run!

"He Jin!" Yao Jingyuan lowered his voice even further, his throat tightening with fear.

"Send the order for our men to retreat. Let's get out of here before those people are all killed!"

He Jin nodded and gestured to his trusted confidants behind him.

The 60,000 soldiers that Yao Jingyuan brought were already following orders and were prepared to hide in the rear and fish in troubled waters.

Later, seeing those elite troops and imperial soldiers being swatted away like flies by the northern soldiers and then coughing up blood, they were terrified and wanted to hide as far away as possible.

Upon receiving the order to retreat from the rear, these soldiers felt as if they had been granted a pardon and almost immediately turned around and retreated in unison.

Thus, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield—

Ahead, Shu Jingwei's elite troops in black armor and the imperial army in silver armor are being unilaterally crushed by the drab Northern Army.

Following them, a large group of soldiers dressed in the old armor of the imperial court threw down their weapons and hurriedly turned and ran away.

Sun Xiang did not notice the unusual movements behind him for the time being.

He kept a close eye on the situation at the scene.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead and dripped into my eyes, stinging and painful.

His hand holding the sword was trembling slightly, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.

Can't lose!

He can't lose here!

Sun Xiang gritted his teeth, his brain racing, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

At this moment, his attention was entirely focused on the battlefield, and his awareness of the surrounding area was minimized.

He didn't notice that a dark shadow pounced on him from the side like a cheetah.

Zhao Wujun had been eyeing him for a long time.

He mingled with the Northern soldiers on the right flank and joined the encirclement, with only one objective—

Slay the general!

Holding a steel bar, he strode forward, each step leaving a deep crater in the ground.

Sun Xiang's bodyguards nearby tried to stop him.

"Protect the general!" He had barely shouted it out when the general swept him away with a stick, sending him and his armor rolling far away.

By the time Sun Xiang heard the shouts and noticed the danger, Zhao Wujun had already rushed within ten paces of him.

The soldiers in front heard the noise and tried to rush back to protect him, but it was too late.

Zhao Wujun roared, his legs slammed into the ground, and he leaped into the air, raising the steel bar high in his hands.

The sunlight shone on the gray-black steel bar, reflecting a cold luster.

Sun Xiang suddenly raised his head, his pupils reflecting the approaching steel bar.

He drew his sword to parry, but his sword shattered upon contact, and the steel bars, carrying an immense force, struck his chest.

"Bang!"

The stick fell.

Sun Xiang's body flew sideways and crashed to the ground, lying on his back with large gushes of blood and shattered internal organs gushing from his mouth.

His eyes were wide open, staring at the gray sky, with a deep sense of resentment lingering in them.

Don't rest your eyes!

"The general is dead—!"

Terrified screams erupted among the imperial army.

The remaining soldiers instantly collapsed and began to scatter and flee.

The Northern army's morale soared, and the shouts of battle as they pursued the enemy were deafening.

Wang Meng stood on the city wall, his gaze sweeping over the routed imperial army before settling behind them.

Almost simultaneously, a vast crowd of people separated completely from the battlefield and moved rapidly backward, led by a white figure on horseback.

"Yao Jingyuan is running away!"

Wang Meng's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sharply, "Order—send more troops! Pursue! Intercept Yao Jingyuan!"

But it was too late.

After giving the order, Yao Jingyuan rushed ahead, accompanied by his trusted confidants and guards, who were also riding fast horses.

They didn't care whether the infantry behind them could keep up or not; they just kept whipping their horses' rumps, wishing they could sprout wings.

When the soldiers on foot saw that the person they were following was running faster than anyone else, the situation became even more chaotic. They pushed and shoved each other, and countless people were trampled to death or injured.

But it was these chaotic, routed soldiers who, by a twist of fate, stopped the Northern army's pursuit, which was delayed by a step.

By the time the Northern Army had slaughtered all of Shu Jingwei's elite troops, gathered the remaining surrendered soldiers, and cleared the road, Yao Jingyuan and his confidants had already vanished without a trace.

"Damn it!"

Zhao Wujun slammed his stick into the ground, creating a deep crater, his face full of resentment.

Wang Meng walked down from the city wall, his face ashen.

He stared at the direction Yao Jingyuan had fled in, and after a long while, he slowly spoke: "Send people to search in that direction, and keep a close eye on the towns along the way. He will definitely reappear."

"This subordinate obeys!"

-

Before the Heavenly Mirror, Lin Ye watched Yao Jingyuan's disheveled escape, lost in thought.

He had Tianjing follow Yao Jingyuan's perspective, his gaze landing on the trusted confidant riding closely beside him.

He Jin.

This person... looks more and more familiar?

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

I feel like I've seen his face somewhere before.

But this is the Great Flame Kingdom, and logically speaking, he shouldn't know any of the people here.

Lin Ye remained silent for a moment before refocusing his gaze on He Jin.

In the scene depicted in the Tianjing, He Jin gallops on horseback, his face gloomy but his demeanor composed, a stark contrast to the panicked guards around him.

Something's off about this person...