Chapter 151: Reversing the Tides of Destiny

This veteran general, renowned for fighting hundreds of battles and never showing fear when charging into enemy lines, was now actually ordering his subordinates to flee the battlefield.

With a nearly distorted expression, Xiao Tong made it clear to his hesitant subordinates that he was not talking nonsense, nor was his order a joke!

"General, we want to stay and fight side by side with you!"

"General, even if we must retreat to the main camp, we will go with you."

Xiao Tong coughed heavily a few times and then sternly rebuked, "Still don't understand? This man is not someone you can defeat. Get the hell out of here right now!"

"When I die in battle, I certainly don't want so many people watching!"

Just how terrifying must Jiang Chen be to make Xiao Tong utter such words?

His subordinates clenched their teeth. On one hand, they felt deeply unreconciled, believing that the reason they had suffered so many casualties earlier was entirely due to Jiang Chen's sneak attack. In a head-on clash, they were convinced they would never lose to this mere individual enemy!

On the other hand, they were compelled to obey Xiao Tong's military orders. Even if it meant executing a disgraceful retreat, they had to obey.

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Under Xiao Tong's repeated reprimands, the few subordinates had no choice but to take their wounded comrades and extremely reluctantly retrace their steps.

Jiang Chen watched them silently, his resolute and icy face exuding a terrifying aura of slaughter in the bitter, howling wind. Suddenly, he abandoned Xiao Tong and charged forward.

"Jiang Chen, your opponent is me. Do you look down on me that much?"

Xiao Tong gave chase with all his might. Intense pride made it impossible for him to watch his subordinates being slaughtered like pigs and dogs. However, his current physical condition made it completely impossible to keep up with Jiang Chen's speed, and he was soon left far behind.

It was clearly just a single kick, and his other injuries were practically negligible, yet it was this very kick that left Xiao Tong unable to gather his inner breath. It felt as though something was blocking his meridians, rendering him completely incapable of performing at his full potential.

"That bastard is coming after us!"

"Damn it, let's take him down and then go find the General!"

The men tightened their grips on their sabers, turned around, and charged straight at Jiang Chen. They were the brave warriors of Northern Yan brought up by Xiao Tong, and they had taken the heads of many Great Gan soldiers on the battlefield.

There was already a deep sense of grievance in their hearts; fleeing ran entirely counter to the honor of Northern Yan's warriors. Now, seeing that Jiang Chen dared to actively pursue them, they felt they were being completely ignored.

This was beyond tolerance!

These Northern Yan warriors launched a charge. But the moment they clashed, they were shocked to find that Jiang Chen's figure was like a ghost, shifting and moving with phantom-like speed amidst the frozen snow, completely unpredictable and untraceable.

"Ah!"

A miserable scream rang out, followed closely one after another by men falling to the ground. Bright red blood quickly stained the snowy earth.

When Xiao Tong finally caught up, only the last remaining subordinate was collapsed at Jiang Chen's feet. He hadn't been attacked physically; rather, sheer terror had caused his entire body to freeze out of control.

"You... exactly what are you, human or ghost?"

Jiang Chen replied indifferently, "Consider me as coming to claim lives on behalf of the fallen soldiers of Great Gan."

With that, he raised his foot, kicked up a saber from the ground, and pierced it precisely into the man's chest. Before the latter could utter a sound, only a few wet gurgling noises echoed with the wind.

If anyone were to meet Jiang Chen for the first time, they would surely assume this young man possessed the refined air of a scholar, looking entirely like a harmless, down-and-out scholar. Although well-read in moral texts and knowledgeable in worldly affairs, he certainly did not look like a ruthless figure capable of wielding a blade to kill.

Yet at this very moment, Jiang Chen completely shattered that stereotype.

Xiao Tong witnessed everything with his own eyes. Several strictly trained Northern Yan warriors, proven on the cruel battlefield, were being slaughtered by this terrifying man like mere weeds.

The entire process was nothing short of a massacre. There was no mutual struggle whatsoever—it was purely a one-sided slaughter.

"Not sparing a single one, ruthless and decisive, without a shred of mercy. It's easy to foresee that you will undoubtedly become a massive threat to Northern Yan in the future."

Looking at his subordinates' rapidly cooling corpses, Xiao Tong acknowledged Jiang Chen's formidable prowess in a way he could never have imagined.

"Hmph, what a joke. Setting aside the Great Gan soldiers who died in battle, just how many ordinary civilians have you slaughtered? When you committed those inhuman atrocities, you should have understood that one day, someone would come to collect the debt!"

Jiang Chen bent down to pick up a saber, pointing it straight at Xiao Tong, who was now entirely incapable of posing a threat.

"Before you die, do you have any last words?"

Xiao Tong laughed up to the skies: "Jiang Chen, I have lost this round to you. But you must know, even if you kill me, you still cannot turn the tide of the overall situation!"

"With over ten thousand men at Qiwu Mountain accompanying me in death, what do I have to complain about? For a soldier, dying on the battlefield is only natural. Do it!"

Xiao Tong assumed a fearless posture. Though dying at Jiang Chen's hands was hard to accept, the spearhead of Northern Yan was unstoppable. Great Gan ultimately lacked the power to reverse its decline, and after his death, the Northern Yan royal court would surely fly into a rage, unleashing a total, all-out war upon Great Gan.

If his death could further accelerate the demise of Great Gan, then his death would be worthwhile.

However, Jiang Chen did not intend to let Xiao Tong die in peace. He wanted to spell out the cruel truth; everything would begin with Xiao Tong's death.

"Great Gan can certainly change the tide. Not long after you die, the more than ten thousand men at Qiwu Mountain will cross the Quzhao River and rendezvous with the Great Gan forces in the east. Meanwhile, you Northern Yan will fall into chaos and panic due to the death of your commanding general."

Jiang Chen raised a hand to point in the direction of Liaocheng, and continued, "Let me share my subsequent plan: first, launch a surprise attack on Qiwu Mountain. The Northern Yan army, having lost its commander, will inevitably lose the will to fight, and their only option will be to retreat and fortify Liaocheng."

"But what if an elite force is dispatched in advance to ambush them halfway?"

Jiang Chen curled the corner of his mouth, returning Xiao Tong's usual arrogant demeanor back to him with interest.

"What did you say?"

Xiao Tong knew all too well that if things unfolded as Jiang Chen described, Northern Yan would suffer a massive defeat on the battlefield, and the root cause of that failure would be his own death.

Yet what Xiao Tong could not fathom was that to execute the plan Jiang Chen spoke of, those ten thousand-plus men at Qiwu Mountain had to be able to withdraw safely. But the Quzhao River was impossible to force-cross—what possible method could save those men?

"Jiang Chen, don't try to deceive me. There is no way out of Qiwu Mountain; it is a dead end, a burial ground I prepared specifically for those ten thousand Great Gan soldiers!"

"With the Quzhao River in my hands, it will turn into a smooth, wide highway." Jiang Chen looked down at Xiao Tong with utter contempt, even tinged with a trace of pity.