Chapter 61 Helian Yue's Calculation

Seeing how tightly knit Xue Chengqian’s men were, and hearing the robust, resonant tone of Xue Chengqian’s voice, one naturally felt a sense of reliability.

Before they could even react, they saw Xue Chengqian and his men already clashing swords with the tribe they had accused of being the "Liang Army."

The other tribes instinctively chose to believe the more confident and seemingly righteous group led by Xue Chengqian, joining them in a charge against the utterly bewildered and unfortunate tribe.

"No! We are not Liang people! We belong to the Dameng tribe! They are the real Liang people!"

Seeing his own clansmen screaming in agony and being beaten back step by step by the enemy, the leader of the Dameng tribe finally began to grasp the situation and hurriedly shouted to warn the other tribes.

However, his cries lacked conviction, drowned out as he was by the frenzy of battle, and failed to persuade anyone.

The tribal warriors aiding Xue Chengqian's assault merely hesitated for a brief moment, yet they did not turn around to help the Dameng tribe.

On the surface, Xue Chengqian seemed to hold every advantage, but in truth, they were far from out of danger.

After all, they were not genuine grassland tribesmen, and the soldiers of the Zhenyi Camp only knew a handful of very simple Northern Barbarian phrases. The longer the delay, the easier it would be for their ruse to be exposed.

He began leading his brothers to gradually disengage from the combat.

Fortunately, the damned Dameng tribe was also completely dazed by the sudden assault and failed to immediately mount a counterattack or entangle the Zhenyi Camp to the death.

"Ignore specific targets, just kill!"

"Stay as close to the burning camp as possible. Fight and shout as you go to sow confusion among the enemy and buy a chance to escape!"

Xue Chengqian muttered in a low, stern voice to remind his brothers.

Sun Fushan and the other men fighting under his command possessed exceptional situational awareness. Recognizing the extreme peril, they knew their survival depended entirely on Xue Chengqian's wits, and thus they obeyed his orders unconditionally.

"No! These people are actually... Ah!"

Finally, some of the Northern Barbarians began to notice something amiss with Xue Chengqian's men, but they were instantly ambushed.

While the barbarians still harbored some hesitation about accidentally killing friendly forces once more, Xue Chengqian and his men held not a shred of doubt. Without a trace of hesitation, they pivoted their targets and struck with raised blades.

The Northern Barbarian warriors nearby recognized how suspicious Xue Chengqian was, but hindered by the raging fires and the layout of the camp, they could not coordinate a full encirclement from all sides and could only trail helplessly behind Xue Chengqian and his men.

The Northern Barbarian troops further away had not even figured out what was happening over there.

Khan Lianlian had issued strict orders commanding them to stay put and cluster around the tribal lords they recognized.

Doing so could effectively curb a larger-scale chaos, at the cost of abandoning only a portion of the camp.

However, this also meant they dared not pursue recklessly and could not render support to engagements occurring further away—every gain entailed a loss.

Xue Chengqian let out a long breath of relief.

Though a few "tails" still pursued them from behind, the conservative response of the Northern Barbarian army meant they would not sally forth blindly, granting his men a much greater chance of escape.

Together with Sun Fushan, Kang Yu, and the others, he launched a fierce counter-charge that forced the pursuing enemies to halt, before decisively breaking away toward the exterior. At the same time, he fired a whistling arrow toward Luo Fang's direction to signal them to fight and retreat simultaneously.

They had done everything in their power to stir up chaos. Such massive turmoil would inevitably draw a large portion of the Northern Barbarian main force back to reinforce the camp, and how Commander Wei capitalized on this tactical opportunity would depend entirely on his subsequent moves.

Through a meticulous plan and multi-pronged deceptions to confuse the enemy, Xue Chengqian had ultimately achieved his tactical objectives.

However, just as they broke clear of the camp and fled at full speed toward the mountain pass of Baguzi Mountain, a rapid flurry of hoofbeats suddenly erupted from their flank.

"Oh no, it's the Northern Barbarian cavalry!"

"Great Liang dogs, where do you think you're going?"

Alarmed and angered, Xue Chengqian looked up at the newly arrived enemy cavalry while calculating the distance remaining to Baguzi Mountain.

Why?

Why was there a detachment of Northern Barbarian cavalry here?

Before their operation, the Northern Barbarians had indeed deployed numerous scouts for reconnaissance.

Yet when Luo Fang led his forces to trample the camp, virtually all the Northern Barbarian cavalry should have been drawn away.

With their grand camp assaulted and engulfed in such massive flames, the resting barbarians should have been running around in frantic panic.

In such a situation, no barbarian could possibly remain indifferent; they should either have been fighting the fire with all their might or clustering around their tribal lords to prevent further disorder. Instead, had they been lurking on the periphery all along, simply waiting to hunt them down the moment they tried to escape?

In their eyes, was the safety of the main camp really more important than a mere few hundred Liang soldiers?

Xue Chengqian had no time to ponder what the enemy commander was thinking; he only knew they were in deep trouble now!

How could infantry possibly outrun cavalry?

They were still some distance away from Baguzi Mountain, far too close to shake off the enemy horsemen.

Furthermore, they had spent the night infiltrating, setting fires, engaging in close combat, and fleeing for their lives...

By contrast, the outer circle of Northern Barbarian cavalry was fresh and waiting in full strength. No matter how one looked at it, they had been driven into a desperate, inescapable doom.

A surge of relentless defiance rose within Xue Chengqian's heart. Brandishing his weapon, he roared at the top of his lungs:

"Our life and death today hang upon this single battle! Only by beating back this Northern Barbarian cavalry do we stand a chance of survival! Follow me and charge, brothers!"

Though everyone was already exhausted and weary, not a single man was willing to be hunted down and hacked to death by the barbarians right before reaching the safety of the deep mountains. Driven by the instinct for survival, they mustered their remaining strength, preparing to fight the Northern Barbarians to the death.

Although that detachment of Northern Barbarian cavalry had not expected the Liang soldiers to display the courage to resist when suddenly ambushed, they held an absolute advantage and had no reason to feel fear.

Especially since... they were commanded by Helian Yue, a renowned military prodigy of the younger generation among the Northern Barbarians!

Instructed by Yu Tiancheng, Helian Yue understood that a Liang army—peering like tigers eyeing their prey—might be hidden within Baguzi Mountain to threaten their camp.

Though this was merely Yu Tiancheng's personal conjecture, Helian Yue held deep conviction in it.

She also had her own strategic insights.

While the Battle of Dongping demanded total reliance on the Great General's command, the Liang commander who dared to employ diversionary tactics at such a moment and create an opening for a surprise assault was undoubtedly bold, meticulous, and an exceedingly troublesome adversary within the Liang army.

Her own tribe's strength was not formidable, and staying back at the camp would yield little help. However, if she could seize the opportunity to intercept and kill the enemy's commanding general, she could rid the Northern Barbarians of a major menace!

Only Helian Yue could have maintained such unwavering composure after the camp caught fire, patiently biding her time until she finally secured the chance to deal Xue Chengqian's band a fatal blow!

"Charge!"

Seeing this remnant of the Liang army attempt a counter-attack, Helian Yue sneered coldly, raised her blade, and spurred her steed into a gallop.

Though she commanded only a thousand cavalrymen at present, a single charge would be enough to trample this overconfident Liang force into dust!

Yet, at that exact moment, a drastic change occurred out of nowhere.

Helian Yue abruptly heard the thunderous roar of a massive force of cavalry suddenly galloping fiercely from the flank.

At this crucial juncture, Luo Fang had managed to shake off his pursuers behind him, racing to rendezvous with Xue Chengqian and appearing at the exact, critical moment on the flank of Helian Yue's cavalry!