The Lianfa Army, originally heading to Baoshan, received an urgent order from Xue Qian and rushed to Huai'en instead. This round trip added more than 400 li to their journey. If they had arrived at Baoshan first and joined the Baoshan garrison, they would have had to travel an additional 100 li. Therefore, in order to save time, they chose to come to the aid alone. As they expected, the Baoshan garrison would also come to Huai'en in another route; it was simply a matter of who arrived first.
There were still more than forty miles to Evil Wind Ridge, the only way to Huai'en. At this time, the wind and snow had clearly subsided. Luo Heng, the chief priest in charge of the troops, huddled in his cloak and squinted his eyes. A gray shadow was faintly visible on the pale sky. That was Evil Wind Ridge.
"Reporting to the High Priest, there are scattered footsteps here, it seems a large group of people have passed by!"
"I understand." Only after the scout's reminder did Luo Heng notice the footprints on the road. These footprints were left by Xue Qian's routed troops. They dared not follow the main road, and after fleeing along the post road for a while, they all fled into the fields. Most of them were farmers, and they were very familiar with walking on country roads. But this caused them to become separated from the Yuanding City Lianfa army that came to their aid. Therefore, it was only here that Luo Heng discovered their tracks.
There seems to be something unusual ahead. If these footprints were those of the Peace Army, they should be heading towards Huai'en. But now it seems they came from Huai'en and scattered into the fields. Could it be that the Peace Army has been defeated?
That's probably not the case. If the Peace Army had been defeated, they wouldn't have fled into the fields; they would have retreated along the same route. There's only one other possibility left: the Huai Enlian Dharma Army has been defeated. I wonder how Master Xue Qian is doing...
Just as Luo Heng was worrying, a scout rushed over and knelt down, saying, "Lord Chancellor, something terrible has happened! Huai'en has fallen, and Master Xue Qian has been defeated!"
"I understand." Luo Heng's face remained unchanged, uttering the same calm words. But in his heart, however, he could not remain calm. His reactions were not very quick, but his composure was rare among the priests of the Lotus Army. Therefore, even though the great change was causing turmoil in his heart, he still appeared calm and composed on the outside.
"The Master had an army of 35,000, yet it was defeated in such a short time?" He stopped his horse, frowning in thought. "Just how many men and how strong is the Peace Army? I only have 15,000 men. If I rashly advance, I'm afraid I'll suffer the same fate as the Master. It would be better to settle my men here first, tidy up the defeated soldiers, and decide whether to stay or leave after understanding the situation at the front."
If Luo Heng were a coward, he would have fled immediately, returned to the original city, and stayed inside. If Luo Heng were a reckless person, he would have been too eager to see the truth and would have advanced lightly to engage the Heping Army in battle. However, he was slow to react and too cautious, which gave Li Jun an opportunity.
"Set up camp and build fortifications on the spot, and prepare to meet the enemy here!" he ordered. While the soldiers were busy preparing, a scout rushed over again, saying, "A troop of men, disarmed and with their banners askew, is rapidly approaching our army. Please advise, Commander!"
"Archers, form ranks! Shieldbearers, raise your shields!" Luo Heng paused briefly before reacting.
Before long, the group of men approached amidst the wind and snow. After being stopped by Lianfa Army, Luo Heng carefully examined them and saw that there were two thousand men, most of them in disheveled armor and their banners were torn to shreds. However, judging from the remaining parts, they were the remnants of Xue Qian's forces from Lianfa Sect.
"Is that Master Xue Qian?" Luo Heng couldn't help but shout.
"It is indeed the remnants of the Grand Master's forces. Is the one who came from the original Dingcheng, Luo Heng, the Chief Priest?" The defeated soldiers on the other side directly revealed Luo Heng's identity, which lessened Luo Heng's wariness somewhat, but it was quickly replaced by worry about Xue Qian. Judging from the other party's tone, Xue Qian did not seem to be in this army.
"Where is Master Xue Qian? Please summon him to answer our questions!"
It would have been better if he hadn't asked. But the moment he did, someone in the army burst into tears. Xue Qian had always treated his soldiers like his own children and was deeply loved by the Lianfa Sect's officers and soldiers. The soldier's weeping intensified Luo Heng's ominous feeling. Even a man of his usually mild temperament couldn't help but become agitated and shouted, "Speak quickly, what's wrong?"
"Master...Master...has been summoned by the Great God..." One of the people choked up as he uttered this devastating news that shattered Luo Heng's heart. Although he was mentally prepared, he still felt a wave of dizziness.
“Come here and tell me in detail, I want to avenge my master!” he said in a hoarse voice.
The defeated army of the Lotus Sect slowly moved over. At this moment, Luo Heng was completely preoccupied with how Xue Qian had died in battle, and did not notice that although the defeated soldiers' armor was in disarray, their weapons were still intact. By the time he realized this, it was too late.
A battle cry erupted instantly, but it didn't come from within the fleeing army; rather, it came from behind them. A large group of soldiers charged straight towards them through the snowstorm. The fleeing soldiers, terrified, cried out in unison, "It's terrible! The Peace Army is coming! Run!"
Seeing the defeated troops rush into his ranks as if they had lost their courage, instantly breaking down the previously completed defensive formation, Luo Heng shouted, "Don't panic! Don't lose your composure!"
But the routed soldiers ignored him; they even brandished their swords and slaughtered any Lianfa soldiers who dared to block their way. For a moment, Luo Heng's men were in chaos, unsure whether to fight back or let their "own men" escape.
Even if Luo Heng was slow to react, he realized the true nature of the fleeing soldiers. He roared, "These fleeing soldiers are fake! Kill them!" But it was too late. The fleeing soldiers had infiltrated his army, using some kind of mark unknown to the Lianfa army as a symbol to specifically kill the real Lianfa soldiers. The Lianfa soldiers, seeing people dressed similarly to themselves everywhere, could only desperately defend themselves and had no chance to stop the enemy.
The morale of the Lianfa army, already dampened by Xue Qian's defeat, crumbled in an instant. Adding to this, the Peace Army, infiltrated among them, kept shouting for their escape, causing their spirits to waver. Luo Heng himself could no longer maintain his composure and turned his horse to flee without a second thought.
But he was already a key target for the Peace Army. As his horse passed by, a Peace Army soldier leaped up, grabbed him tightly around the waist, and threw him off. He turned and kicked the Peace Army soldier away, but his horse had already galloped far away.
At this moment, the pursuing Peace Army dispatched about a thousand cavalrymen from each flank, who then advanced diagonally to encircle the fleeing Lianfa Army in a goose-like formation. The Lianfa Army, lacking both fighting spirit and command, ran aimlessly across the battlefield. Under the unstoppable charge of the cavalry, corpses littered the battlefield.
Luo Heng, struggling to his feet, could only watch helplessly as the Peace Army cavalry charged through his ranks. All around him rang out screams of battle, cries of pain, shouts, and wails. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and all he could see was a blood-red blur…
Section 2
Just as Li Jun led the Peace Army, disguised as defeated soldiers of the Lianfa Sect, to infiltrate Luo Heng's troops and wipe them out with lightning speed, Meng Yuan's five thousand cavalrymen also broke into the Lianfa Sect reinforcements coming from Baoshan.
At this moment, Meng Yuan had completely forgotten the sorrow he felt in the canyon. The massive 72-pound broadsword in his hand gleamed coldly, just like his cold, gleaming eyes. In terms of troop strength, he only had 5,000 cavalry, while the Baoshan Lianfa army that had come to his aid numbered 20,000. However, Meng Yuan's 5,000 soldiers were highly motivated cavalry, while the Lianfa army consisted of demoralized infantry who had traveled a long way to reinforce him. Having learned of Huai'en's fall and Xue Qian's suicide, they were in a state of disarray when Meng Yuan arrived.