The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Hearing Pei Ji and Cao Deren's confident words, Xu Mao's brows remained furrowed, but he didn't say anything more.

He sat back down in the main seat, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and suppressed his doubts.

Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Perhaps Qin An was truly desperate and wanted to fight to the death.

But that lingering unease still lingered in his heart, like a thorn, causing him a dull ache.

Three days later.

Pei Ji stood on the hilltop, overlooking the battlefield below.

The government troops' infantry had already clashed with the Wang family's vanguard. The clanging of swords and spears, the shouts of soldiers, and the cries of the wounded mingled together, making one's eardrums ache.

The two sides fought fiercely, their battles ending in a bloodbath with corpses strewn across the fields and rivers of blood flowing.

That Qin An, he really dares to come.

Pei Ji narrowed his eyes and looked towards the center of the battlefield.

There was a troop of government cavalry charging into battle. The general in charge was wearing chainmail and holding a halberd. He moved through the area as if it were empty. It was Qin An.

He had lost count of how many times Qin An had charged into battle.

Each time, that halberd would take dozens of lives.

Pei Ji watched helplessly as his soldiers fell like wheat being harvested, and his anger grew ever stronger.

Qin An is indeed brave and fierce.

He recalled Wang Chong saying that Qin An was just a lucky brute, and he sneered inwardly.

luck?

He was able to earn the reputation of "Ten Cities of Qin" on the Baekje battlefield, and he was able to take over five thousand cavalry from Zhang Xu and make a name for himself.

How could it be just luck that they were able to capture Wang Teng alive in Qingshiyu and escape unscathed?

But what good is your bravery?

Pei Ji looked behind him.

There, his 40,000-strong army was arrayed in formation.

They haven't gone all in yet; it's just a tentative exchange.

Once all the troops are deployed, even if Qin An had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to withstand the sheer number of people.

Wang's army did have many new recruits, and was not as elite as Xu Mao's army, but the number was there. Forty thousand men. Even if they stood still and let you cut them down, how many could you kill?

"Give the order," Pei Ji said in a deep voice, "withdraw the troops and return to camp."

"General?" The lieutenant was stunned. "Is it time to withdraw the troops?"

"I said we should retreat." Pei Ji's voice turned cold. "Didn't you see who Qin An is? He's a ruthless character who has truly fought his way up on the battlefield. If we continue fighting head-on, even if we win, we'll be badly hurt."

"Forty thousand men represent the Wang family's entire fortune. If we squander it all, what will we have left to compete with Xu Mao and Dou Xia?"

He glanced in the direction of the government troops, a calculating glint in his eyes: "No rush, let's wait for those two families to arrive. Then, with the three of us joining forces, Qin An will have nowhere to escape. We don't need to be the first to stick our necks out."

The lieutenant suddenly realized his mistake, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "General, you are wise!"

Qin An stood at the front of the formation, blood dripping from the crescent blade of his halberd, pooling at his feet.

He watched the Wang family rebels retreat like a receding tide, his brows furrowed slightly.

After fighting for half a day, the enemy withdrew their troops.

He had thought that Pei Ji would press forward in one fell swoop, so that he could draw the enemy's main force over according to the plan, and then take the opportunity to carry out the next step.

But Pei Ji's behavior was more cautious than he had imagined.

"General, the Wang family has retreated!" Han Quan exclaimed excitedly, his face smeared with blood that he couldn't tell if it was his own or the enemy's, a smile of relief on his face.

Xue Ju also breathed a sigh of relief, stretching his sore arms, his joints making a cracking sound.

Qin An, however, did not laugh.

Another one who doesn't want to bite the bullet themselves.

Pei Ji withdrew his troops, for the exact same reason that Xu Mao held back his troops.

They didn't want to fight head-on with their own troops, nor did they want to expend too much strength in the encirclement and suppression. They wanted to wait for the other two to come and take action together, sharing the losses.

The three rebel armies each harbored their own ulterior motives.

This is both bad news and good news for Qin An.

The bad news is that they are indeed very cautious and won't be easily fooled.

The good news is that, precisely because they each have their own ulterior motives, there will inevitably be gaps in their cooperation.

What he had to do was to stab that crack hard.

"Withdraw," Qin An ordered. "Regroup the troops and remain on high alert."

That night, at the government army camp.

There were half as many campfires as usual, a deliberate order from Qin An to make the camp appear less crowded, while in reality most soldiers were conserving their energy.

Inside the central command tent, Qin An unfolded a map, his fingertips slowly sliding along several routes.

Luo Kai and Cheng Zhiyuan sat on either side, looking tired but with clear eyes.

"Pei Ji didn't launch a full-scale attack today, which means that he, like Xu Mao, doesn't want to expend his forces alone," Qin An said in a low voice. "This is advantageous to us; the more they act this way, the worse their coordination will be."

Luo Kai leaned closer to look at the map: "What do we do if Pei Ji continues to stay put tomorrow?"

"If he doesn't come out, we'll force him to." Qin An's fingertip pointed at the Wang family's defensive line. "We'll continue fighting tomorrow, even more fiercely than today, so that he thinks we're really going to break out from the west and we'll force him to fight with all his might."

He looked up at Luo Kai and Cheng Zhiyuan: "Tomorrow you will lead the infantry in a full-scale attack, with the spirit of 'burning the boats'."

Cheng Zhiyuan said with some worry, "But if that happens, our casualties will probably be..."

"A necessary price." Qin An interrupted him, a complex look flashing in his eyes. "We need to make Pei Ji believe that we're fighting desperately, that we really are going west."

"He believed it, so he passed the message on to Xu Mao and Cao Deren. They believed it, so they were mobilized."

He suddenly drew a line on the map: "Once their forces start to move, I'll lead my cavalry to deal with Xu Mao."

At dawn, before the thin fog had dissipated, the government troops launched another attack on the Wang family's defenses.

This offensive is several times more intense than yesterday's.

Cheng Zhiyuan personally led the charge, his great axe flashing like the wind, splitting open the head of a rebel soldier. Blood splattered all over his face, but he only fought harder, howling as he charged forward.

Luo Kai remained steadfast, keeping the follow-up troops firmly under control and giving the rebels no opportunity to exploit the situation.

His soldiers advanced cautiously, with archers and swordsmen working in perfect coordination, their arrows and blades clashing as they reaped the lives of the rebels.

The government troops launched a relentless offensive, wave after wave, relentlessly assaulting the Wang family's defenses.

The wounded soldiers charged forward recklessly, some biting their knives with their teeth, others using their spears as crutches. Their bloodthirsty appearance terrified the rebels.

Pei Ji stood on the high platform, his face ashen.

These guys are insane!

He had thought that after yesterday's probing, Qin An would have become more restrained and would look for another opportunity.

Unexpectedly, the other party not only did not back down, but fought even more fiercely.

This is clearly a desperate stance.

"They really want to break through from our side!" the lieutenant exclaimed urgently. "General, push forward! If we don't push forward now, the first line of defense will fall!"

Pei Ji gritted his teeth and did not give the order immediately.

He is waiting.

Waiting for news from Xu Mao and Cao Deren.

Just then, a fast horse rushed into the camp, and the messenger on horseback dismounted and almost rolled in front of Pei Ji.

"Report! General Cao has sent word that he has led his troops out and is heading south. They are expected to arrive in five days!"

Pei Ji's eyes lit up.

Immediately afterward, another rider arrived on horseback: "Report! Marshal Xu has sent word that he has dispatched 10,000 reinforcements, who are moving south and are expected to arrive in three days!"

Pei Ji let out a long breath and a smile appeared on his face.

"Good!" He drew his sword sharply, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Pass on my order: all troops, attack!"

Now that the other two companies have started moving their forces here, Qin An is trapped and his death is imminent.

The longer you fight now, the more credit you'll receive when it's time to share the rewards later.

He had a very clear understanding of this matter.

The Wang family rebels launched a full-scale attack, engaging in a larger-scale battle with the government troops.

The battlefield was filled with the deafening sounds of battle, piles of corpses, and a heavy stench of blood.

Casualties on both sides are rising sharply.

But Pei Ji didn't care. There was only one thing he cared about: Qin An's head.

What Pei Ji didn't know was that just as he was about to confront Qin An head-on, the latter had already quietly left the front lines.

He only took two thousand cavalrymen with him.

Night is the best cover.

The warhorses of the two thousand cavalrymen were wrapped in cotton cloth, and the sound of their hooves was suppressed to the extreme.

They quietly retraced their steps back.

Qin An, riding on the Snow-Treading Black Cone, glanced back at the direction behind him.

There, Luo Kai and Cheng Zhiyuan were commanding infantry, fighting against the Wang family's 40,000-strong army.

Although such a major battle cannot be ended in a short time, the time left for ourselves is destined to be short.

Every moment of delay was bought with the blood of our brothers.

But he had no other choice.

"Speed ​​up." Qin An's voice was hoarse but firm. "We must reach our destination before dawn tomorrow!"

Two thousand cavalrymen galloped through the moonlight like ghosts in the night.

The horse's hooves trod over gravel and weeds, making soft, rustling sounds.

No one spoke; only the horses' heavy breathing and the slight clatter of armor could be heard.

Their target was the Ligangzhai camp to the south.

After a night of rapid advance, the east began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

In the morning light, the outline of the Ligangzhai camp gradually became clear.

The camp was sparsely lit, indicating that the inhabitants were still asleep.

Qin An reined in his horse, his eyes sharp as knives.

Behind him, two thousand cavalrymen had already formed ranks, their long spears gleaming coldly in the morning light.

"Brothers," Qin An said without turning around, his voice low but clear enough to reach everyone's ears, "General Zhang died at their hands."

Two thousand men gripped their weapons tightly at the same time, the hilts of their swords creaking under their grip.

"Today, I will avenge General Zhang." Qin An raised his halberd, its cold gleam flashing in the morning light.

"kill!"

Two thousand cavalrymen shouted in unison, their voices shaking the plains like thunderclaps from a clear sky.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves thundered, and the warhorses charged towards the Ligangzhai camp like arrows released from a bow.

The sentry at the camp gate had just rubbed his sleepy eyes and poked his head out when Qin An pierced his throat with a halberd, and blood splattered on the wooden pillars of the gate.

"Enemy attack—!" A piercing shout shattered the silence of dawn.

The next moment, two thousand cavalrymen had already charged into the camp.

Qin An took the lead, wielding his halberd like a whirlwind.

Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, he broke through three gates and felled seven captains, his gleaming armor stained with blood.

The snow-covered crow's hooves flew, its neighing deafening.

"Qin An is here! Qin An is here!" The rebel soldiers in the camp scattered and fled, losing their composure.