kingnovel Chapter 2064 Death in Battle, Fierce Attack!
Chapter 2064 Death in Battle, Fierce Attack!
The Chu army's infantry launched their final and most frantic all-out attack.
As the crossbow bolts struck, Su Fang instinctively ducked low to the ground. A bolt grazed his helmet, sending sparks flying, and pinned one of his guards to the ground.
His eyes were bloodshot as he watched familiar faces fall one by one, the last stronghold being rapidly crumbled.
He knew that the final moment had come.
He suddenly stood up straight, and with all his might, he plunged the iron spear that had accompanied him in battle for many years into the ground in front of him, the shaft of the spear still trembling incessantly.
He looked around and saw that there were less than a hundred Tang soldiers still standing, and they were all wounded, surrounded by Chu troops who outnumbered them several times over.
Su Fang laughed loudly, his laughter both sorrowful and heroic: "Hahaha! Su Fang of the Great Tang is here! You Chu dogs, who will take my head!"
Before his laughter had even subsided, he had already drawn the sword from his waist and launched a desperate charge towards the most concentrated area of the Chu army.
The remaining Tang soldiers let out their final roars and, following their general, plunged headlong into the black tide like moths to a flame.
Swords and swords flashed, flesh and blood flew everywhere.
The battle continued for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
When the last Tang soldier, clutching a Chu officer, bit his throat to pieces, and was then pierced by several spears simultaneously...
The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence, except for the heavy breathing of the Chu soldiers and the crackling of the torches.
Su Fang knelt on one knee, his body supported only by the sword stuck in the ground.
He was covered in arrows and broken blades, like a shattered, blood-red sculpture.
His head drooped slightly, his breath had ceased, but his body still did not fall, as if he was still holding his ground.
Feng Anguo slowly walked to the front of the battle, looking at the extremely tragic scene before him, and at Su Fang, who had not fallen even in death.
He remained silent for a long time, and finally, facing Su Fang's remains, he solemnly clasped his hands and gave a military salute.
"Give General Su a proper burial, and to his soldiers."
He gave the order in a deep voice, his tone slightly hoarse: "They are all true warriors."
As night deepened, the Chu army began to silently clean up the battlefield.
Su Fang and his three thousand rearguard soldiers were completely wiped out; not a single one survived, nor did any of them surrender.
With their lives and blood, they composed a final, tragic elegy for the Tang Dynasty's military banner on this battlefield.
Feng Anguo knew that with this obstacle, the best opportunity to pursue Li Jing had already passed.
at the same time.
On the main battlefield, the sounds of fighting, the clash of weapons, and the dying cries did not cease with the arrival of night; on the contrary, they seemed even more tragic and desperate under the firelight.
Tang general Liu Hongji's bright armor had long lost its original luster and was covered with sword and blade marks and congealed blood scabs.
Holding a long spear, he stood tall beneath the commander's flag in the center of the formation, his white beard and hair fluttering in the night wind.
Those weathered eyes were bloodshot, yet still sharp as an eagle's, fixed on the Chu army surging forward like a tide.
He had already received the message from Commander Li Jing that the entire army had been ordered to retreat, and he was also aware that Li Jing himself had already retreated northward under the escort of his personal guards.
As a veteran of the battlefield, he understood better than anyone what a rout and massacre would occur if a large army retreated without anyone covering its rear.
The tens of thousands of soldiers under his command were the last line of defense for the safe withdrawal of the main force of the Tang Dynasty.
"Hold on! Spear formation, take three steps forward, thrust!"
"Archers, don't be stingy with your arrows, cover the enemy's follow-up echelons!"
Liu Hongji's voice was hoarse, but it remained steady and powerful as he issued clear commands.
The Tang soldiers around him were all exhausted, their eyes filled with the numbness of bloody battle and a hint of pain at having been "abandoned".
However, under Liu Hongji's command and his leading by example, they maintained an astonishing level of discipline and combat effectiveness.
Their circular formation, like reefs in a raging storm, withstood the fierce attacks of the Chu army general Ran Ming's forces time and time again.
At the front line, corpses were piled up like mountains, and soldiers from both sides lay together, indistinguishable from one another.
The Tang army's positions were slowly but steadily retreating, but each step of retreat was accompanied by huge casualties for the Chu army.
Liu Hongji was trading space for time, sacrificing the lives of his soldiers to pave a path to survival for Li Jing and the main force.
He knew that the battle was lost and the overall situation was difficult to salvage, but as long as he was still alive, Ran Ming's main force of the Chu army would not be able to easily escape to pursue them.
He can die, and these tens of thousands of soldiers can die for their country, but the marshal of the Great Tang must not be harmed here!
Just as the battle was becoming increasingly brutal, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the Chu army ranks, instantly drowning out all the noise on the battlefield.
Then, the Chu army's commander-in-chief, Ran Ming, rode his horse to the front of the battle line, surrounded by a group of his personal guards and fierce generals.
He was as tall and imposing as a mountain, wielding an exaggerated long-handled sword, and his entire body was shrouded in a murderous aura, like a demon god returning from hell.
"Liu Hongji! Listen up!"
Ran Ming's voice, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, rolled in and clearly reached the ears of every Tang soldier still fighting, carrying a terrifying power:
"Your commander, Li Jing, has already abandoned the camp and fled, like a stray dog, living in constant fear!"
"He has long regarded you as expendable pawns, using your lives to save his own survival!"
These words were like poisonous thorns, piercing the hearts of many Tang soldiers and causing them to pause in their actions.
Despite having suspected it beforehand, being so blatantly exposed by the enemy still sent a chill down one's spine.
Ran Ming continued to roar, his voice laced with mockery and persuasion: "Look around you! Look at your fallen comrades! Who did they die for? For a coward who abandoned you?"
"His Majesty the Emperor of Great Chu, with a heart that embraces the whole world and whose benevolence extends throughout the land, has long decreed that all who lay down their arms and surrender will be spared death! Not a single person will be killed indiscriminately, and they will be properly settled!"
"Those who resist will only face death! Lay down your weapons and surrender to live! Those who continue to resist will die!"
"Liu Hongji! You are a renowned general. Do you really want to let tens of thousands of loyal followers die here without a proper burial place for a coward who abandoned you?"
"Surrender now, and I will spare your life. His Majesty will also treat you with courtesy!"
Ran Ming's words of persuasion to surrender struck the hearts of the already exhausted Tang soldiers like heavy hammer blows.
Some soldiers' eyes began to flicker, and an atmosphere of despair began to spread silently like a plague.
Yes, the commander has run away, so why are they fighting to the death here?