I Became a Sugar Mama to an Ancient General during a Famine! - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Run! Zhan Chengyin is Coming to Kill

When Zhan Chengyin decided to personally lead the troops into battle, the deputy generals tried to stop him.

Zhan Chengyin could not have any accidents.

If he were to die, no one could communicate with the god anymore.

The god’s blessings upon the Zhan family army would cease abruptly.

They couldn’t afford to gamble with his life!

Zhan Chengyin’s brow showed youthful arrogance.

“I’ve been fighting since I was sixteen and have participated in numerous battles.”

“Now that we don’t have explosives to rely on, as the commander, I must lead by example.”

“How can I hide behind the lines when we’re killing enemies on the battlefield!”

“Don’t worry, with body armor and regular armor, I’ll be fine.”

The others still wanted to persuade him, but Chen Wu and Chen Kui held them back.

The general had more combat experience than all of them combined. He was the Marquis of Ningguan, a title he had earned through his military merits.

Even though they were vastly outnumbered…

With superior equipment and the barbarians lacking a main commander, the Zhan family army was certain to win.

“Very well, General. We await your triumphant return!”

All the soldiers knelt down: “General, we look forward to your victorious homecoming!”

Zhan Chengyin shouted loudly: “Good!”

He quickly donned his bulletproof vest and silver-white armor, and strapped on the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword given by Ye Mumu.

Mounting his warhorse, the imposing young general was about to embark on his campaign.

Tian Qin and Xu Ming also changed into their equipment to accompany him.

Everyone was ready.

The generals leading troops today were Zhan Chengyin, He Hong, Chen Junlin, and Jiang Yuan replacing Mo Fan.

Just before the army set out, Mo Fan rushed over.

Panting, he looked at Zhan Chengyin sitting majestically on his tall horse.

He said somewhat awkwardly: “Don’t you dare die!”

“I won’t!”

Mo Fan then looked at Jiang Yuan, who was riding a chestnut-colored horse.

“You better come back alive too.”

“If you make it back, I’ll have my aunt remove your death soldier status and let you join the army to earn merit!”

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan was overjoyed. He jumped off his horse and knelt deeply to Mo Fan.

“Thank you, Young Master. I will return alive!”

“Hmph, you’d better!”

Zhan Chengyin led two teams to set out.

All of the Zhan family army came to see them off.

Civilians knelt on both sides of the road, tearfully watching Zhan Chengyin go to battle. They called out loudly:

“We beg the general to return alive.”

“We pray to the heavens to protect the general!”

“The general is a good man, he will surely return victorious!”

The civilians now had water to drink and food to eat.

This was all thanks to the general’s efforts.

The entire city was immensely grateful to him!

*

According to the plan, He Hong and Chen Junlin went to the south gate.

Zhan Chengyin and Jiang Yuan went to the north gate!

He Hong was a deputy general promoted by Zhan Chengyin, formerly a capable subordinate of his father.

He had rich combat experience.

Chen Junlin was also from a noble family.

His family background was not as prominent as the Chen brothers or Mo Fan’s family.

He also came from a martial arts family, his grandfather and Zhan Chengyin’s father had both been generals of the previous dynasty.

Later his grandfather died in battle, and his father really wasn’t suited for martial arts, so their family gradually declined.

When the young emperor selected a group of people to come to Ningguan and seize Zhan Chengyin’s military power, he squeezed Chen Junlin in.

Chen Junlin kept a low profile. Unlike the Chen brothers who came to Ningguan so ostentatiously and confronted Zhan Chengyin.

He was also unlike Mo Fan, who had an illustrious family background but spent every day drinking and idling.

He went to the military camp to train every day.

He had a martial arts foundation, was low-key and quiet, but had never been to the battlefield.

Zhan Chengyin told He Hong to guide him more, and that the two needed to cooperate well.

He humbly agreed, grateful to Zhan Chengyin for letting him go to the battlefield.

The two teams each took 2,500 men and left the city through secret passages.

Outside the city…

Yellow sand filled the sky. The barbarian encampment’s tents were in disarray as their forces retreated.

The ground was covered in dried bloodstains, with scattered limbs visible everywhere. A strong smell of blood assaulted the nose.

In less than a day, the barbarians had lost 50,000 men.

Of their 300,000 troops, only about 140,000 remained.

The barbarian garrison at the north gate had retreated ten kilometers, still fearing an ambush from the Zhan family army.

They tightened their defenses and began patrols.

Several Qin crossbowmen crawled forward, slowly approaching the watchtower.

Drawing their bows, they shot down the sentries atop the tower.

The main force continued advancing. As they neared the barbarian camp, Zhan Chengyin gave the order: “Prepare the Qin crossbows…”

Five Qin crossbows, each team split into groups of five.

The Qin crossbow team set up their weapons, arrow feathers resting on the bowstrings.

Zhan Chengyin loudly commanded, “Release the arrows!”

The sound of arrows tearing through the sky filled the air as a dense barrage of arrow feathers shot toward the barbarian camp.

The arrows tore through tents as if they weren’t there, piercing into the interiors.

Barbarians hiding inside the tents drew their swords to rush out, only to be shot dead in the next instant.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! Zhan Chengyin is coming!”

“Fight back!”

“Hurry, run! Zhan Chengyin is attacking again!”

Anyone who ran out of the tents was shot dead immediately.

Many who hadn’t even left their tents were already dead.

More people were running around the camp like headless chickens.

They hadn’t seen the enemy yet, but arrows rained down from the sky, giving them no place to hide.

Sharp-eyed barbarians spotted Zhan Chengyin 600 meters away, readying his blade. But before they could rush over, they were shot dead.

Some barbarian archers attempted to fire back, but their range was too short. Their arrows couldn’t reach the Zhan family soldiers.

Even when a few arrows managed to hit their targets, they couldn’t penetrate the armor or bulletproof vests of the soldiers.

After tens of thousands of arrows were fired, no more barbarians were seen fleeing.

Zhan Chengyin raised his hand.

“Stop!”

He then mounted his horse smoothly and shouted to the soldiers:

“Sons of the Great Qi, follow me into battle!”

“For each barbarian you kill today, you’ll be rewarded with a bag of noodles. The first hundred who kill the most will get a pair of sneakers!”

“Kill them all!”

Countless soldiers raised their weapons and surged forward.

“Kill them all! Wipe out the barbarians and earn some rice!”

“I’m here for the rice!”

*

Meanwhile, Ye Mumu was anxious upon learning Zhan Chengyin had gone to the battlefield.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but she feared something unexpected might happen. After all, according to the history books, he was supposed to die this year.

From 5 a.m., Ye Mumu waited until 8 p.m., trying to send him notes in between.

But the magical vase only worked for Zhan Chengyin. Since he wasn’t there, Ye Mumu’s notes couldn’t reach him.

Over three hours, she sent more than ten notes, but not one got through.

Every minute was agony.

She didn’t want Zhan Chengyin to die.

She had bought so many supplies, always planning what to purchase next and how to improve the living conditions in the town…

Once Zhan Chengyin dealt with the barbarians and united China, she would give him a globe, a world map, and buy him large ships.

She would support him in setting sail and conquering the world.

She had too many dreams and hoped Zhan Chengyin could help her achieve them.

She really didn’t want anything to happen to him!

At 8:45 p.m., she finally received good news from Zhan Chengyin.

「goddess, I’ve won! The northern garrison of 40,000 men was wiped out. Qin crossbows killed 20,000, the Mo Dao troops killed another 10,000, and the remaining 10,000 fled!」

「goddess, our Zhan family army has truly won!」

His handwriting was hurried and shaky, showing how nervous and excited he must have been when writing this.

For the past year, the barbarians had pressed him so hard he could barely breathe.

Though he had previously defeated them several times, he had almost been crushed at this border town.

For a while, he had even doubted himself.

From 200,000 men, only 20,000 were left.

Was he truly so incompetent that he couldn’t repel the enemy and ended up trapped in the town?

He had felt that he had let his father down and had failed the people of the town.

He desperately needed a victory to restore his confidence.

This battle had finally given him the release he needed.