ed towards the door while keeping his gaze on the window.A gray figure flashed past the window in a blur; the middle-aged man’s eyes widened in shock, only to see a streak of silver dart into the room...Battlefield Decision

The Battlefield Choice

"I… it's Mo Xiuyao! The scouts ahead reported that they spotted the banner of Prince Dìng!"

"Mo Xiuyao!" Lei Tengfeng suddenly turned around, accidentally kicking over an incense burner placed beside his foot. He glared at the messenger soldier and asked sharply: "Are you certain it's Mo Xiuyao!"

The soldier looked somewhat troubled as he watched the slightly uncomposed Crown Prince. All he had heard was what the scouts returning from ahead had said; how could he be sure After some thought, he replied: "The scouts are certain they saw the banner of the Mo Family Army." The black silver-banded dragon flag of the Mo Family Army was only flown when Prince Dìng led his troops personally.

Lei Tengfeng collected himself and said, "Let the scout in. I want to ask him myself."

"Yes."

The scout who had been gathering intelligence outside soon entered, bowed toward Lei Tengfeng, saying: "Your subordinate greets Crown Prince." Lei Tengfeng waved his hand and said hurriedly: "Forget about the formalities. You said you saw 800,000 troops from the Mo Family Army heading in this direction"

The scout nodded and replied, "Reported to Your Highness, there's no mistake. The number of troops is more than 800,000 but less than a million. When I saw them, they were still over a hundred miles away. Judging by their marching speed, by the time I hurried back here… at most in another hour, the vanguard will meet up with the troops under Prince Mùgōng and Marquis Nán."

Lei Tengfeng asked gravely: "Did you see the banner of the Dìng王府"

"Yes. Your subordinate didn't mistake it for anything else, so I sped back here as soon as I saw the banner," the scout affirmed with a nod. Lei Tengfeng waved his hand and said: "I understand. You may leave."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

After his subordinate left, Lei Tengfeng fell into a daze and sat down on the chair. He murmured softly, "Mo Xiuyao... How could Mo Xiuyao still be alive" General Yang looked at Lei Tengfeng with concern and said repeatedly, "Young Master... Young Master, should we notify His Royal Highness I'm afraid he doesn't know about it yet." They only got the news when Mo Jiajun was already approaching, which showed how secretive Prince Ding's movements were. Once they acted, their actions would be swift. It was very likely that His Royal Highness was still kept in the dark.

Upon being reminded by General Yang, Lei Tengfeng snapped back to his senses and said, "Right... Hurry! Send someone on horseback to deliver all news here to my father. We..." Lei Tengfeng took a deep breath and continued, "We need to stop Mo Jiajun first. At least, we have to give our father time to react."

General Yang frowned and disagreed, saying, "Young Master, that's not possible. Prince Ding now has more than ten times the number of troops you do. Once his forces join up with those of Murong Shen and others, he'll have over a million men at his disposal. Then..." At that time, there was no need to fight; Prince Ding could crush them just by numbers alone. After some thought, General Yang said, "I'm willing to stay behind and intercept Prince Ding. Please let Young Master leave for His Royal Highness's troops."

"No!" Lei Tengfeng firmly rejected it. Even if he wasn't Mo Xiuyao's match, he wouldn't retreat without a fight.

General Yang anxiously said, "Young Master, think carefully! Whether it's me alone or the two of us against Prince Ding, there won't be any difference in outcome. Why must you... make such unnecessary sacrifices As long as His Royal Highness and Young Master are still here, we have a chance to turn defeat into victory."

"General Yang..." Lei Tengfeng sighed softly. Lei Tengfeng was the heir of Prince Nan's household; if there were no unexpected events, he would be the future ruler of Xi Ling. How could he not understand what it meant to make choices But his character made it extremely difficult for him to abandon soldiers and flee on a battlefield.

General Yang resolutely said, "Young Master, time is limited. I don't know how long I can hold off Prince Ding; please leave as soon as possible!" Lei Tengfeng closed his eyes and took a deep breath before bowing deeply to General Yang: "Lei Tengfeng is unworthy of your trust. Please accept my salute." Both were fully aware that in recent years, no Xi Ling or Bei Rong officers captured by Mo Xiuyao had fared well. By staying behind, General Yang was choosing a path with certain death.

General Yang quickly held Lei Tengfeng up and said, "Young Master speaks too highly of me. As an officer of Xi Ling, it's my duty to die for the country. Besides... fighting Prince Ding is worth dying for. Please leave quickly."

Fleeing without seeing their enemy wasn't a glorious act; but years of lessons taught Lei Tengfeng that if he didn't leave now, he might not be able to later. More importantly, while he had the courage to die for his country, he couldn't abandon Prince Nan's household due to a momentary impulse. This battle would be bloodless to him, yet it was destined to haunt him for life.

On the mountain path near Xi Ling's camp, Lei Tengfeng looked back at the still peaceful encampment and finally turned his horse around with determination: "Let's go!" The guards and soldiers following behind him silently followed their young master on horseback. They didn't know why he suddenly left the camp, but as subordinates and soldiers, they had no choice but to follow.

Lei Tengfeng and his group rode hard; a few hundred miles away, they arrived in the early morning of the next day. Lei Tengfeng's sudden arrival surprised Lei Zhenting as well; he knew something big must have happened, for otherwise, with Lei Tengfeng's personality, he would never leave his camp easily. He quickly got up to meet him and saw that Lei Tengfeng was covered in dust and had bloodshot eyes, clearly exhausted.

"Tengfeng, what's going on" Lei Zhenting asked with a frown. Upon seeing Lei Zhenting, Lei Tengfeng quickly got up and walked unsteadily forward to grab him: "Father... Mo Xiuyao, Mo Xiuyao..."

When Lei Zhen霆's heart sank, he grabbed Lei Teng風 firmly and sternly said, "Teng風, calm down! Tell me slowly..." Lei Teng風 looked at Lei Zhen霆, took a deep breath, and in a hoarse voice said, "Father... Mo Xi堯 is still alive."

Lei Zhen霆's heart shook but he did not lose his composure. Since the moment Lei Teng風 mentioned Mo Xi堯 with such a soulless look, Lei Zhen霆 had already suspected something might have happened. Lei Zhen霆 looked at Lei Teng風 and asked calmly, "Mo Xi堯 is still alive, so you ran back"

Perhaps it was Lei Zhen霆's calmness that influenced Lei Teng風, who gradually calmed down as well. Closing his eyes briefly, Lei Teng風 said with a slight twitch at the corner of his eye, "Mo Xi堯 led at least eight hundred thousand troops from Linyang. With Prince Meng and Southern Duke’s armies… Father, behind us, we have at least one million Mo family soldiers."

Lei Zhen霆 sighed softly and patted Lei Teng風's shoulder. "Father understands, you did the right thing." He could lose the over twenty thousand Western Capital troops, General Yang could die, even he himself, Lei Zhen霆, could die, but not Lei Teng風. He was already old; it was up to Lei Teng風 to be the hope for the future of the Western Capital. Lei Teng風 looked at Lei Zhen霆 with guilt. He understood everything, yet felt guilty for his own incompetence. If he had been able to resist Mo Xi堯, what difference would it make if Mo Xi堯 were resurrected

Seeing that Lei Teng風 was gradually calming down, Lei Zhen霆 walked over and sat down. The sudden resurrection of Mo Xi堯 was also a significant shock for him, forcing him to start rethinking everything. Mo Xi堯 couldn't possibly fake his death without reason, even at the cost of all the advantages the Mo family had gained before this battle. At this point, Lei Zhen霆 could see through it somewhat. If they continued with the original situation, it would take at least three to five years before a victor emerged. Now, Mo Xi堯's fake death was obviously aimed at resolving such an impasse quickly. And it seemed very effective; otherwise, Mo Jing黎 wouldn't have been dealt with so swiftly. Not to mention that huge army… those troops must be what belonged to Mo Jing黎 originally.

"That useless Mo Jing黎! I really overestimated him," Lei Zhen霆 muttered deeply.

"Father, Mo Jing黎 was never a match for Mo Xi堯 in the first place," Lei Teng風 said with a frown. Lei Zhen霆 sneered, "Opponent If my guess is correct, that useless man couldn't even fight back against Mo Xi堯 and got defeated by him. Otherwise, do you think where did those hundreds of thousands of troops come from Mo Xi堯 isn't a god either; the north has been at war for years with sparse population. How could he muster such an army in such short time" An army wasn’t just any collection of people who could fight. It needed young and strong men, and basic training as well. Otherwise, with so many untrained soldiers on the battlefield, they would trample each other to death before even engaging the enemy.

"Father, you mean Mo Xi堯’s eight hundred thousand troops were taken from Mo Jing黎" Lei Teng風 was shocked.

Lei Zhen霆 sneered and said, "What other possibilities are there You just mentioned… Prince Meng and Southern Duke aren’t in the army" Lei Tengwind nodded. Although he didn't understand clearly himself, associating it with Mo Xi堯's sudden appearance made him feel something was wrong. He reported everything to Lei Zhen霆 in detail. Lei Zhen霆 frowned; not only did Lei Tengwind but even he couldn't figure out why Southern Duke and Prince Meng hadn’t returned to Feihong Pass together with Mo Xi堯. For the things that were hard to understand, it was better to put them aside for now. After instructing his officers and advisors to keep an eye on Mo Xi堯’s movements as well as those of Mo Jing黎 in South Chu, Lei Zhen霆 refocused his attention back onto Feihong Pass. At this point, with Mo Xi堯's speed, they were too late to retreat. Besides, where would the face of Western Capital be placed if they withdrew Moreover, if Mo Xi堯 chased them relentlessly, it wouldn't benefit Western Capital at all. Furthermore, Lei Zhen霆 had a premonition that this time… it might be his last battle against the Mo family.

On top of Feihong Pass, the Mo troops were still dressed in mourning clothes and on high alert. Below the pass, the Western Capital army was likewise poised with hostility. On the city wall, Ye Li and General Yuan Pei stood side by side, accompanied by Feng Zhi遙, Leng Hao宇, Han Ming月, Qin Feng, and others. General Yuan Pei chuckled, "It seems Lei Zhen霆 is determined to capture Feihong Pass. With this formation… he won't retreat until he captures it."

Feng Zhi遙 frowned, "What medicine did Lei Zhen霆 take Isn’t his injury far from being healed"

Ye Li nodded and said calmly, "He can't be fully recovered without two or three months."

"Look over there…" Han Ming月 pointed in the distance with a hand and said softly. Everyone looked at where he was pointing. In the back of the army where flags were fluttering stood a resolute man in armor and war clothes. Feng Zhi遙 frowned, "That's… Lei Teng風, how could he be here Shouldn't he have been with General Meng and Southern Duke Could it be…" Ye Li cut him off firmly, "No, Lei Tengwind couldn’t handle the combined forces of Southern Duke and Prince Meng. Lei Tengwind looks bad; something must have happened." Han Ming月 raised an eyebrow, "Madam has such confidence Then why haven't General Meng and Southern Duke returned" Ye Li frowned and shook her head, "This… I don’t know."

Han Mingxiao leaned forward and groaned, pointing downwards. "What I mean is that shouldn't we be worried about those people down there With over 600 thousand troops... even if we use stones to smash the city gate open, it would still work."

Yuan Pei glanced at Han Mingxiao disapprovingly and said, "What nonsense is this, young man As long as I am alive, Fenghong Pass will not fall!"

"Then you must live a long life." Han Mingxiao pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

The people on the city wall were all in high spirits. However, the Western Capital generals below were not feeling well at all. Especially when they saw those large patches of white clothing, which had originally seemed desolate and heavy to the Western Capital people, now appeared to them as an obvious mockery. An irascible Western Capital general charged out first with a spear pointed towards the city wall shouting, "Troops from the Mo Family Army, don't come down to meet your death!"

Up above, Feng Zhirao curled his lips and said, "It seems today that everyone in the Western Capital has taken some wrong medicine. Very well, let this young lord have a go at you." With one hand supporting himself on the city wall, Feng Zhirao descended from the top of the city wall wearing his flamboyant red robe. On the battlefield, he put away his usual fan and charged towards that general with his sword drawn. The Western Capital general was also a famous fierce general who had deep enmity with the Mo Family Army since Mo Xiuyao killed people in the Western Capital Imperial City including his family members back then. Seeing Feng Zhirao charging over, he too raised his spear without flinching and charged towards Feng Zhirao as well. In an instant, both of them exchanged eight to ten moves without either gaining an advantage. Feng Zhirao's thin lips curved slightly as he murmured softly, "This is interesting. Let this young lord see what abilities you have that make you dare to call Mo Family Army troops to meet their deaths."

"My lady, no…" Suddenly Yuan Pei narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "Quickly call Feng San back!" But it was too late. Before Yuan Pei could finish speaking, he saw the Western Capital army launching tens of thousands of arrows towards Feng Zhirao. Everyone on the city wall exclaimed in alarm, "Feng San !" When such an unexpected change occurred, although Feng Zhirao was alarmed, he remained calm and rushed forward to land on a Western Capital general's horseback who had been trying to escape from the battlefield at that moment. The Western Capital general turned around wanting to throw Feng Zhirao off his horse but found himself coldness in his neck as he fell off his horse instead. After killing that Western Capital general, Feng Zhirao did not dare to stay for a moment and flew towards the direction of the city wall. Finally, just before the arrows hit him, he threw himself into a barrier made at the entrance of a city gate, narrowly avoiding disaster.

As he lay on the ground panting with sweat drenching his forehead, Feng Zhirao had clearly felt an arrow piercing past his forehead earlier. To have dodged this sudden attack was truly good luck indeed.

Just as Feng Zhirao was breathing heavily and cursing Lei Zhenting's low tactics, the two sides' armies clashed fiercely. Very soon, the city gates opened and countless Mo Family Army soldiers charged out of it. With so many Western Capital troops, if they did not come out to resist them, once Lei Zhenting decided to use manpower to fill up the gap while persistently scaling the walls, Fenghong Pass would eventually fall no matter what. The best way was to prevent the Western Capital army from approaching the city wall of Fenghong Pass. However, such a tactic would still cause great losses for the Mo Family Army and they could not hold on for how long remained unknown. But now that things had come to this point, all they could do was to defend.

As soon as the Mo Family Army came out of the city gates, they quickly found themselves surrounded by the Western Capital army. With less than 100 thousand troops outside compared to over 600 thousand Western Capital soldiers, the disparity was truly too large. Although the Mo Family Army was incredibly fierce and brave, in such a sea of people tactics, there wasn't much chance for them to win. However, under such circumstances, another group of people suddenly emerged amidst the chaos of the Western Capital army. These people were all dressed in yellow clothing, even more formidable and fierce than ordinary Western Capital soldiers. One-on-one, they were even slightly stronger than Mo Family Army soldiers. Within a short time after joining the battle, many Mo Family Army soldiers fell victim to their ruthless attacks. Although for now it was not enough to shake the defensive line of the Mo Family Army soldiers who had formed with flesh and blood, over time the outcome was foreseeable.

"They are the Golden Guard." Leng Haoyu said solemnly. Just like the Dark Guards under the Ding Prince's Manor and the Imperial family of Great Chu, Lei Zhenting’s personal bodyguards were called the Golden Guard. Lei Zhenting even pulled out his private guards that could be considered hidden trump cards, allowing everyone to feel not only his determination to break through Fenghong Pass but also a sense of impatience.

"Qin Feng, how many people did Qilin bring" Ye Li asked solemnly.

Qin Feng replied, "Three teams are left in Licheng city. Two teams followed General Lyu and one team followed General Zhang. The remaining six teams are all at Fenghong Pass." In these years, the number of Qilin members had already reached around three thousand people, divided into twelve small squads. This time, understanding how difficult it was to defend Fenghong Pass, Qin Feng mobilized all idle Qilin units to Fenghong Pass in case of need. Ye Li nodded and said, "Very well. Four teams intercept the Golden Guard. The remaining two… decapitate!"

"Your servant accepts the order!" Qin Feng, with a serious expression, bowed to Ye Li and then turned to go down the city tower to assemble manpower.

In the chaos of battle, a group of black-clad men appeared on the battlefield. With no more than one thousand troops, they were not conspicuous in the ranks of the similarly black-clad Black Family Army. However, when they charged into the enemy lines, their terrifying combat power was evident. The Black Family soldiers who were fighting desperately against the Golden Robe Guards were separated from them; those Golden Robe Guards who had been struggling to defend themselves against the Black Family troops suddenly seemed fragile and vulnerable in the hands of these newcomers. Their martial arts skills might not necessarily be higher than that of the Golden Robe Guards, but their methods were clearly more effective, and they knew better how to cooperate compared to the arrogant Golden Robe Guards. What had originally been an invincible force of five thousand Golden Robe Guards was quickly broken into countless small pieces and wiped out one by one when faced with over a thousand Kirin troops. Meanwhile, the other two groups charged straight towards the rear of the Western Capital forces with unstoppable momentum. Throughout this process, many fell behind or even died, but those who remained continued to charge forward without stopping.

Lei Zhenting and Lei Tengfeng sat on their horses looking at the Kirin soldiers fighting fiercely against the Golden Robe Guards in the distance, "Is that the Kirin"

Lei Zhenting nodded gravely. Even amidst the chaos of battle, he could see that his trusted Golden Robe Guards were rapidly diminishing under the blades of the Kirin troops. "Loose arrows!" Such a terrifying force absolutely couldn't be allowed to exist, Lei Zhenting ordered fiercely.

"Black Cloud Cavalry, loose arrows!" Ye Li also gave the same order from atop the city tower. Instantly, rain-like volleys of arrows fell upon the battlefield, causing countless casualties among both the Black Family troops and the Western Capital forces.

"Father, look there!" Lei Tengfeng pointed ahead in alarm and anger.

Lei Zhenting was stunned as a group of no more than five hundred soldiers, like a black arrow, pierced straight through to the heart of the Western Capital troops. On the battlefield, these few men had carved out a bloody path among hundreds of thousands of Western Capital soldiers and were charging towards them. Lei Tengfeng frowned, "They're trying to assassinate Father! Quick, loose arrows!" However, it wouldn't be that easy. As soon as the first volley of arrows was launched by the Western Capital forces, these men quickly dispersed and blended into the ranks of the Western Capital troops. If they were to shoot again, they would kill their own men along with the others; given the skills of those people, most likely the ones killed would be their own soldiers. But once the danger was averted, these men quickly regrouped at the same speed and even maintained their forward momentum throughout the process. If one observed carefully, it could be seen that they always kept formation whether dispersing or gathering.

"Father, you should retreat first," Lei Tengfeng worriedly suggested. Normally, Lei Tengfeng would never suggest such a thing, but now with his father seriously wounded and unable to fight back, if these men got close... The consequences would be unimaginable.

Lei Zhenting's eyes darkened slightly as he looked down at his wound and sighed. "No need! They won't get through!"

"Father!" Lei Tengfeng dissented. With a wave of his hand, Lei Zhenting silenced him and instructed the nearby officers, "At any cost, stop these men!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

The command flag waved, and countless Western Capital soldiers gradually moved to surround Prince Zhen. The two groups of Kirin were finally caught in a tight encirclement, but even so, they showed no signs of disarray or panic; as if only one goal existed in their sight—keep charging forward, forward...

"Duchess, we can't kill Thunderbolt Li. Let them withdraw," Cold Haoyu anxiously said from the city tower as he gazed into the distance where black figures were scattered among countless dark yellow ones.

Ye Li closed her eyes but didn’t respond.

"They won’t be able to retreat, and they won't even attempt it," Qin Feng whispered beside her. Because of these less than six hundred Divine Stags, nearly a third of the Western Capital’s troops had withdrawn from the battlefield. The Southern Marshal's influence over the Western Capital army was no less than Mo Xiuyao’s over the Black Manor forces. But now, the Southern Marshal was too weak and couldn’t afford any unexpected events. They didn't need to kill Thunderbolt Li; as long as they pretended that they were going to do so at all costs, it would be enough to make the Western Capital army nervous. And these Divine Stags were doomed to become sacrifices in this battle.

—— Interlude ——

I recommend my friend Jiaruo Feixue's new novel "Fated Wicked Consort." This author updates quickly and reliably.

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