The Empress’ Livestream

Chapter 642: Wrapping Dumplings (II)

The Red Lotus Group was utterly confused this time.

The soldiers standing guard at the exit waited anxiously for the “fire arrow” to appear. It would signal them to surround Thief Liu’s army from both sides.

Yet, when they charged forward, they discovered the road ahead had been blocked by a pile of stones. Arrows were fired from above the stone walls. Some Red Lotus followers were caught off-guard as the arrows shot right through their bodies. Fresh blood flowed out, dying the golden-brown earth.

From a distance, battle-cries were heard from behind the stone wall. The Red Lotus Group followers who served as reinforcements finally understood that they’d been tricked.

Qiguan Rang remained calm. While helping Li Yun to safeguard the line of defense, he also helped to direct the archers to resist their dreadful enemies.

Since the mountainous road was very narrow, it was challenging for Little White to move about. Therefore, Jiang Pengji abandoned her warhorse, lifting her long spear as she prepared to face the battle on foot.

The archers with the Vanguard Battalion killed off a wave of enemies as the distance between both sides closed. They drew their swords and engaged their enemies in close combat.

They needed to finish off this wave of enemies before the Red Lotus Group overcame the defense provided by the stone wall. Otherwise, the main army helmed by Qiguan Rang would be in danger. The people were so disordered amid the chaos that Jiang Pengji seemed to disappear.

Clearly, it was a chaotic scenario, yet she always managed to find a gap to send her spear directly at her enemies, piercing them to death. Alternatively, she stretched her hands to twist her enemies’ heads off or step on her enemies’ heads or shoulders as a springboard to propel herself further into the fray. Wherever the silvery light passed, spurts of blood erupted.

With her strong fighting spirit, they couldn’t even come close to catching her.

She cast her sight across the lands. With her long legs, she kicked someone in the chest. Then, using the strength from that last action, she did a high jump and landed on a cliff along the mountainous path. As she leaped sideways, her long spear was actively stabbing, piercing through, winding around, and blocking her enemies… Specks of bright stars appeared with the luster of silver light. The shadow of the snow-white spear carried blood with it.

The Red Lotus Group soon discovered that she was God of Death. Jiang Pengji’s attacks caused all who saw her to tremble in their hearts.

It wasn’t that they didn’t wish to kill Jiang Pengji, but the massacre had instilled fear and deterred them. It seemed like, regardless of how many flung themselves forward, they would all be killed eventually. Their bodies flowed with gurgling, unceasing streams of blood. Jiang Pengji killed in only one direction. Dian Yan, who was behind her, didn’t know how to react. Nevertheless, he could not allow her to cause trouble. He kept a lookout for danger at Jiang Pengji’s side while he led the troops forward to vanquish their enemies.

Jiang Nongqin commanded the women’s camp to provide reinforcements. Additionally, they blocked the Red Lotus Group’s escape route.

Both sides fought the battle fiercely. There were shouts of war cries, screams of anguish, moans of excruciating pain, and the deep, solemn sound of sharp weapons piercing through flesh and bones.

A pile of broken limbs and body parts lay on the ground. The faces, clothes, sleeves, weapons, and shoe covers of the fallen soldiers… Nothing was spared from being stained with blood. A strong, stinging odor spread throughout this lonely path through the mountains.

On the other side, the Red Lotus Group’s soldiers at the stone wall wanted to retreat. Those archers were too formidable, aimed very accurately, and were able to shoot from an incredible distance. They attempted to attack for many rounds, but they could never stabilize their footing. Instead, they left behind hundreds of dead bodies.

In such a scenario, what were they still unsure about?

They had fallen for their enemies’ trap!

“General… what should we do now?”

“What should we do? What else can this old man do?” The stone wall wasn’t built very tall, but for them, it felt like a great chasm. If they ignored their losses and forcefully made a breakthrough, they would be able to overcome the threat. They would also suffer great losses. Their leader had already made up his mind to retreat.

He took a few deep breaths, casting his sight with cruelty towards the stone wall. He spent half a day’s worth of time thinking.

Finally, he clenched his teeth and cried reluctantly, “Retreat!”

Retreat?

The people around him were stunned.

If they were to retreat, what would happen to their brothers at the other end?

“If we don’t retreat, do we then continue to court death? Are you all blind? This is a trap that was prepared for us! If we continue to fight stubbornly, we are courting our own doom!” Importantly, the loss was irreversible. If they continued to attack aggressively, their losses would be even greater. What would happen if they were held accountable later?

Unexpectedly, those Red Lotus Group followers who’d seen the “fire arrows” signal to assemble had not been successful in their attacks. Instead, they’d left behind hundreds of corpses and retreated.

Qiguan Rang received the news and was appalled. At the same time, he calmed his nervous heart back to its original state.

If they continued to attack aggressively, when the main troops met their enemies, the pressure to defend themselves would be heightened.

He was confident of persevering, but the number of soldiers who were badly injured or dead was hard to count.

If they retreated, it’d signify they had given up completely on the 3,000 Red Lotus Group followers who were hiding. It also meant they could rest without worry.

Without waiting for him to assign someone to spread this news, a series of loud shouts were heard.

“The enemy’s general has been beheaded!”

Observing the crossfire between both armies, Jiang Pengji didn’t know how many corpses they’d abandoned along the way as they charged straight for the headquarters of the Red Lotus Group.

Her silver garments had been dyed red, the color of blood. It was as if she’d soaked in a lake of blood overnight. Moreover, splashes of viscous blood covered her face.

She went in for a kill aimed at her enemy’s commanding general.

Initially, she didn’t know who their leader was. However, it could not be helped that they were so foolish. With commotion all around, they gathered their forces to protect him, revealing to her who their leader was. Immediately, she used the body of her spear to fend off the soldier in her way. Then she flicked her palm to allow the long spear to leave her hands. It flew forward and pierced his throat.

Even to his last breath, his eyes were wide open. As he died, one could still see the remains of disbelief and anxiety in his eyes.

Dian Yan led men from behind to attack. Coupled with the reinforcement from the women’s camp, they made swift moves with their mighty axes that made their enemies fall, one by one, along the way.

Jiang Pengji killed with an artistic flair. Dian Yan killed his enemies brutally

To quote the words used by the viewers of the live stream — “With my ax aimed at you, it’s highly likely your body parts will be scattered.”

As for Jiang Nongqin, she still maintained her cruel methods of killing.

Compared to fighting on horses, she was more suited to fighting on her feet.

Her voice rang through the mountain paths.

From the start, the Red Lotus Group had been killed at such a rapid rate that they lost all motivation. The army’s fighting spirit wavered and they lost all will to fight. Additionally, Jiang Pengji’s war cry caused them to discard their helmets and to abandon their armor. They had no determination to continue the battle. Once one soldier chose to surrender and save his own life, his downcast energy was like an infectious virus that spread throughout the army.

After one surrendered, there would surely be a second and third person.

The Red Lotus Group’s soldiers did not have any sense of pride, let alone the will fight to their last breaths. Now that all was lost, surely, they wouldn’t struggle to fight on. If they surrendered, they would have a chance to survive. If they stubbornly rebelled to the end, all that awaited them was slaughter by their enemies.

Predicting a certain victory as the outcome of the battle, he heaved a long sigh of relief.

They captured their prisoners of war and cleaned up the battlegrounds. These affairs were delegated by Jiang Pengji to the others.

Qiguan Rang delegated the task to everyone. He tidied his appearance before he greeted Jiang Pengji.

“My lord.”

She glanced at Qiguan Rang, then laughed as she asked, “Did the episode just now instill fear in Wenzheng?”

Truthfully, the main army whom Qiguan Rang commanded served as bait with the purpose of delaying those reinforcements from the Fenghu District.

If any mishap occurred, it might cost him the lives of his entire battalion.

Qiguan Rang remarked, “That was such a small scene, what was there to fear?”

Even if he gambled with his life, he never once revealed his emotions and anxiety.

He had a strong mental state of mind.

“Clean up the war zone, there is no time to let the soldiers rest. We must hurry to Jinmen District.”

After suffering such a huge setback, the Red Lotus Group would discover where the problem had originated.