Chapter 78 - 78 78 The Entire Army is Annihilated

Words : 1530 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Entire Army is Annihilated Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Entire Army is Annihilated Zhan Family Army is on the mountain, occupying the geographical advantage, while the Western Rong army is in the canyon, at a disadvantage. Tuoba Hong faced the giant rocks falling from the mountain and saw swathes of Western Rong warriors smashed to death. He couldn’t contain his rage as he raised his scimitar and bellowed, “Break out, break out now!” Retreating with the entire army now is too difficult! The path they had just passed had been blocked by huge rocks. Above their heads, arrows continued to rain down like a dense shower, relentlessly killing Western Rong soldiers. Clad in armor, Zhan Hui watched the scene before him with surging emotions; their first battle was indeed very smooth. He had prepared twenty thousand troops here to intercept, and they would certainly annihilate this Western Rong force! “Kill, keep throwing stones, shoot!” As he watched large groups of the Western Rong Vanguard Army fall, Zhan Hui was determined to win. It was at this moment that Tuoba Hong realized he had been fooled! The battle map of Nanjin he had obtained was fake! Furious, he yelled, “Form up! Kill the Zhan Family Army!” The Western Rong soldiers were naturally brutal; they relished killing deep in their bones. Shielding their heads with shields, they created a passage underneath just wide enough for one person to quickly pass through, successfully moving Western Rong soldiers and avoiding attacks from the Zhan Family Army. Even as some were struck by the falling rocks and fell, more Western Rong soldiers climbed over the bodies of their comrades to take their place. Zhan Hui’s palms sweated; these Western Rong troops were terrifying! His blockade from the mountain suddenly seemed feeble! Even though they had anticipated Tuoba Hong’s sneak attack, they hadn’t expected him to come with such a large force. Tuoba Hong was cunning indeed; the battle map showed his vanguard only had fifty thousand troops, but including those from the main citadel, there were at least a hundred thousand! Just the attackers alone, Zhan Hui estimated, numbered at least in the tens of thousands. As Zhan Hui watched the Western Rong soldiers steadily break through the encirclement, he quickly composed himself and immediately dispatched troops to rush to the back door of Fengyu Pass to intercept. There were only a few hundred soldiers on the back city tower, and they would be no match for the vicious Western Rong soldiers. From a high vantage point, Zhan Lan saw the Western Rong soldiers heading towards the back city tower. She rode down from the mountain quickly and arrived at the back door, shouting, “Quick, go and report, the Western Rong army is coming, we need reinforcements at the back door!” The two soldiers on the city tower recognized Zhan Lan right away. They had been chasing her all this time without catching up, but thankfully she came back on her own! “Miss Zhan Lan, please come up to the city tower quickly!” one of them called out anxiously. If anything should happen to Zhan Lan, General Zhan would certainly hold only them accountable. Zhan Lan’s countenance was grave; she could already faintly hear the commotion of the Western Rong army. The Guard Captain on the city tower was the one who detained Zhan Lan last night. He urgently shouted, “Miss Zhan, come up quickly, hurry!” As the situation grew more urgent, Zhan Lan swiftly made a decision—her last resort. She looked up at the guards on the city tower and said, “Everyone, hide yourselves, I have my own plan! No matter how desperate the situation, you must not make any noise!” Worried they wouldn’t listen to her, Zhan Lan added, “This is a secret order from General Zhan!” The Guard Captain knew Zhan Lan’s identity; as a member of the Zhan Family, she conveyed General Zhan’s secret order, and he dared not delay. The Guard Captain immediately had everyone hide, and still a bit worried, he specifically arranged for someone to wait behind the city tower’s door to open the small gate for Zhan Lan any time. Zhan Lan untied her horse’s bridle, and the horse sensibly went off to graze. She stood alone in front of the city tower with a silver spear, took out a jar of wine, and quietly awaited the approaching Western Rong army. Several thousand soldiers escaped from the canyon, the Western Rong troops wielding scimitars and heading towards the back city tower. Finally, they assembled a few hundred meters away from the city tower and advanced toward the city gates together. Zhan Lan watched as they drew closer, with the leader being none other than Tuoba Hong! He had trampled over the corpses of Western Rong soldiers and finally arrived at the rear city gate. Tuoba Hong looked closely and saw a young Deputy General standing in front of the tower gate, with a silver spear in hand and a jar of wine in the other. Seeing them approaching, not a trace of panic flashed across the beautiful face of the young Deputy General; instead, the silver spear was forcefully plunged into the ground. Zhan Lan lifted the wine jar, took a big gulp, and then burst into loud laughter. Tuoba Hong was so frightened by Zhan Lan’s laughter that his hair stood on end. The Deputy General by his side said, “Leader, the rear gate is empty. Shall we just attack directly?” Tuoba Hong replied coldly, “No, what if it’s a trap? The battle map given to us by that Nanjin man was fake, it seems they have made all preparations – a lure into the pot!” The Deputy General spoke nonchalantly, “Leader, you shouldn’t think too highly of the Zhan Family Army. In my view, we might as well storm in and encircle them from behind!” Tuoba Hong watched Zhan Lan take another big gulp of wine and then arrogantly wiped the corner of her lips with her sleeve. Her expression was defiant, full of provocation! Tuoba Hong reprimanded the Deputy General, “Retreat quickly, I have a feeling something is amiss, perhaps their main forces are within this ’empty city’! Otherwise, why would this young Deputy General be so composed! Look at her drinking – not a tremble in her hand!” The Deputy General, looking at Zhan Lan a few dozen steps away, also felt doubts and disheartenedly said, “Then we have no choice but to retreat!” Tuoba Hong whispered, “There’s a saying in Nanjin, ‘As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.'” He quickly ordered, “All troops, heed my command – retreat!” Zhan Lan watched their figures hastily retreating and angrily threw the wine jar to the ground. At that sound, the suspicious Tuoba Hong trembled, thinking it was the signal for the Zhan Family Army to attack, and he urgently shouted, “Quick, retreat!” The Western Rong army retreated on foot at high speed, daring not to stop for fear of ambush, unwittingly entering the encirclement laid by Zhan Hui. After all the harsh struggles, the fifty thousand Western Rong troops led by Tuoba Hong were reduced to a mere few thousand! Eventually, Tuoba Hong managed to escape the encirclement with the help of these men, but before they had even covered a mile, they were intercepted by the main force of the Zhan Family Army. The remaining few thousand Western Rong soldiers all fell in battle, leaving only Tuoba Hong escaping back to his camp. Amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Tuoba Hong came to a shocking realization! He had actually been played by that young Deputy General of the Zhan Family Army! And that man who had tricked him out of silver and the Ferghana horse! Both were exceedingly cunning! “Ah, I will kill them, kill all of them!” Tuoba Hong raved, slashing wildly at the air with his curved blade. The grand theft operation by the mighty Western Rong army ended up being trapped like turtles in a jar by the Zhan Family Army! Thirty thousand out of fifty thousand Western Rong troops returning from the main battlefield and clash with Zhan Beicang managed to escape, while the other twenty thousand were completely annihilated by the Zhan Family Army. The other fifty thousand he led to attack the valley through stealth were also entirely wiped out! He had come to realize a fact – the so-called feigned attack of the Zhan Family Army’s main force was just a ruse! Now, out of the vanguard army of a hundred thousand Western Rong soldiers, only thirty thousand remained! Their two hundred thousand main forces were still marching thirty miles away. Tuoba Hong was filled with regret; if he had not been so self-conceited, thinking he had obtained the battle map, eager for success and covetous of military achievements, this great disaster would not have occurred! He did not know how the King of Western Rong would punish him for his crimes!

Chapter 78 - 78 78 The Entire Army is Annihilated

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