The defending general of Fallen Immortal Slope, Cui Feng, was a veteran commander. Li Yan had the utmost confidence in him, which was why he had entrusted this vital location to his defense.
Cui Feng was indeed shrewd. Despite being caught in a pincer attack from two sides, he had not lost a single inch of ground by the time Li Yan arrived. His troops had suffered considerable casualties, but in Li Yan's view, they could hold out for another day without issue. This brought great relief to his heart.
Seeing Marshal Li Yan arrive with reinforcements, Cui Feng also breathed a long sigh of relief. This time, the State of Meng had attacked from the west at great cost. Although they had never been negligent about the west side of Fallen Immortal Slope, the attack had still caught them off guard, throwing them into disarray and nearly leading to a breach.
Li Yan stood shoulder to shoulder with Cui Feng, listening to the old general's account, his gaze ultimately falling on the enemy troops to the west. He had just heard General Cui say that the State of Meng had come from the west with no regard for casualties, and now, with just a glance, he already had a guess.
The number of enemies on the west side was pitifully small, yet every one of them fought with a death-defying ferocity. After nearly two hours of fierce battle, both sides had left the ground littered with corpses, but the Imperial Dynasty's casualties were even greater.
At this point, fewer than two hundred enemy soldiers remained on the west side, and every one of them was wounded. The bandages on their bodies were old and tattered, clearly not from today's injuries.
Li Yan could tell with a single look that these were all hardened veterans. Fewer than two hundred men were still launching fearless attacks, each one fighting with the might of ten.
This kind of assault had truly put Cui Feng in a tight spot earlier. If not for his vast experience in battle and rigorous command, Fallen Immortal Slope would have likely been lost.
"My lord, only a little over three hundred enemies came from the west. They appeared like ghosts in an instant. It was only because they were overly fatigued that they inevitably revealed their tracks. By the time we discovered them, they were less than fifty zhang away. A moment later, and the outcome would have been truly uncertain."
Cui Feng, seeing that Li Yan was focused solely on the west, knew the Marshal had taken an interest in this army. He spoke with lingering fear. Even now, with reinforcements having arrived, his back still went cold every time he thought about it. His lifetime of fame had nearly been ruined here.
The west side of Fallen Immortal Slope had been regarded as an impassable cliff and natural barrier since ancient times, which had led them to relax their vigilance. However, Cui Feng was a strict disciplinarian. Any guard found slacking would be severely punished, so patrols had never been neglected.
But no enemy had ever appeared from the west. Over time, the soldiers patrolling the west side had inevitably fallen into a state of semi-laxity. This time, if the enemy hadn't made a sound when they got too close, the situation would have been disastrous.
"Only a little over three hundred?" Li Yan asked in return, his gaze still fixed on the enemy.
"Yes, Marshal. From this, we can see that the west flank intended to win with a surprise attack. However, they must have dispatched at least a thousand men to cross the perilous cliffs. A rough estimate would be that at least sixty percent of them died along the way," Cui Feng said, knowing what Li Yan was thinking. He had guessed as much himself.
If the State of Meng wanted to make a flanking maneuver from the west, too many people would easily expose their movements and slow their advance. With too few, they might all perish on the way before even getting halfway.
A thousand-man team, slightly dispersed at the beginning, could maintain good concealment in the early stages. They could then gather quickly at a certain point in the mountains to make the treacherous crossing of the cliffs.
"Fighting and fighting, what is the point? In the end, it is only the soldiers who die." Thinking of the young faces struggling along the cliffs, who at any moment could misstep and fall into the abyss with a piercing shriek; then looking at the blood-soaked ground before him, littered with severed limbs, with the occasional dying roars and heart-wrenching screams.
Suddenly, Li Yan felt very tired. He was a little lost. Fighting and killing all day long, what was it all for in the end? Would his own children have to endure years of war in the future, or perhaps inherit his responsibility?
Sighing softly in his heart, Li Yan knew that even though he was a high-ranking official in the court, a figure who could practically hold up the sky with one hand, he still couldn't escape the worldly struggles for power and profit.
Seeing the Marshal fall silent after his words, Cui Feng didn't know if he had said something wrong and could only shut his mouth, not daring to speak further.
Just then, Li Yan's gaze, fixed on the west, suddenly sharpened. A white figure had appeared there, holding a long spear.
Though the narrow path on the west prevented him from riding a horse, with each tap of his toes on the ground, he would cross several zhang to enter a battle. He was clad in silver helmet and silver armor, a single red tassel on his silver helmet fluttering in the wind with his movements.
The great spear in his hand swung wide and open. A single sweep would shatter the bones and tendons of the Imperial Dynasty's soldiers. With every thrust and stab, no one he faced could withstand a single exchange.
On the Imperial Dynasty's side, soldiers were dying almost as soon as they met him. He was truly invincible. But the Imperial Dynasty would not let this man run rampant. Several deputy generals had already charged forward to meet him. Surrounded by several men, they barely managed to hold him off.
"Marshal, that man is the commanding general of the State of Meng's western ambush force. He is truly valiant. If not for his presence among the enemy, we would have annihilated them long ago. Every time our counterattack pushed them to the brink, this man would charge out with his spear. On our side, besides myself, no other general is his match. I was unable to leave my post earlier as I needed to command the troops to defend the east, so I could only have several generals team up to contain him. Hmph, but he's not made of iron, after all. He is of flesh and blood. After a fierce battle, he would retreat to rest. He would only charge out again when their situation became critical. By entangling us like this, he has tied up nearly half of our forces on the west side. If not for your reinforcements, Marshal, I fear the east would have been in grave danger. Now that you are here, Marshal, the entire situation is under your command. And since he has appeared, this humble general will go and kill this fellow. The crisis on the west will then be resolved."
Cui Feng stroked his short beard, took a pair of burnished bronze maces from his back, and held them together. After respectfully requesting leave from Li Yan, he was about to rush off. "Old General Cui, please wait!" But just then, Li Yan's voice rang out. Li Yan took a deep breath, dispelling the gloom from his mind, and spoke in a deep voice.
Cui Feng, who was about to step forward, paused and looked back at his Marshal in confusion. Before he could ask, Li Yan continued, "Old General, you are most familiar with the situation here. It would take me time to assess before commanding. Therefore, you should stay here and continue to hold the line. I will personally take care of that man."
After speaking, Li Yan extended his right hand, his gaze still fixed intently on the white figure on the battlefield.
Two soldiers who had been waiting by his side saw this and quickly and strenuously lifted the great halberd that was slung across a horse's back and brought it over, placing it in Li Yan's palm.
As Li Yan took the halberd in hand, a sense of heroic pride surged through him, sweeping away the earlier unhappiness. With a series of whooshing sounds, he casually twirled the halberd.
Since the western path was too narrow for a horse, he strode forward on foot.
With the gait of a dragon and the stride of a tiger, Li Yan roared, "This man's martial arts are extraordinary! Let this Marshal kill him as a sacrifice to our borderland sons!"
Behind him, a dozen or so personal guards, who had been standing silent and unmoving like iron statues, followed closely behind Li Yan, their faces solemn as they drew their weapons with a clang.
Seeing this, Cui Feng could only put away his maces with a sigh of resignation. This lord of his was always like this, never allowing others to go against his will.
Especially when he saw an enemy with exceptional martial arts, he would be itching for a fight. However, with Li Yan's skill, which was already at the pinnacle of the Transformation Realm , Cui Feng knew there were few opponents left in this world for him, so the danger of him being harmed was virtually nonexistent.
It was already rare for anyone to pique the Marshal's interest enough for him to act personally. But once he decided to fight, none of his generals dared to vie with him for the honor.
But Cui Feng still didn't dare to be careless. Although he saw the Marshal's personal guards follow on their own, he still turned to the twenty men who were supposed to be protecting him and said, "What are you standing there for? Do you want a taste of the military baton? Quickly, go and protect the Marshal."
After speaking, he saw that the deputy general leading the twenty men was hesitating. After all, if they left, only General Cui and three or four messengers would be left.
"Damn it, are you deaf? Is the Marshal more important, or am I? If anything happens to the Marshal, you can all just go and kill yourselves first."
Seeing this, Cui Feng's hair stood on end with fury. The large contingent of soldiers Li Yan had brought had already been deployed to both sides of the battlefield, leaving only a dozen personal guards by his side.
The soldiers Cui Feng was reprimanding were those who had been protecting him all along, old hands who had been with him for seven or eight years. Of course, they were also worried about their own commander's safety.
The two deputy generals among the twenty had intended to leave a few men behind, but seeing the murderous intent in General Cui's eyes, they knew that any further hesitation would result in General Cui unceremoniously cutting them down. They quickly grabbed their weapons and charged forward as well.
"Listen, stay away from the Marshal. Spread out around him. Just prevent anyone from shooting a stray arrow or launching a sneak attack. If anyone tries to attack Marshal Li with hidden weapons or stray arrows, I don't care how you do it, use your bodies to block every single one!" Cui Feng yelled after them, still worried.
Li Yan, clad entirely in black iron armor, strode rapidly onto the battlefield. The great halberd, weighing one hundred and eighty jin, felt as light as a feather in his hand. He dragged it behind him, kicking up a shower of sparks on the hard mountain rock, leaving a deep groove in its wake. The sight was utterly astonishing.
His arrival was clearly seen by everyone on the battlefield. The morale of the Imperial Dynasty's soldiers instantly soared. The veterans among them hadn't seen Marshal Li fight personally in many years.
Seeing him now descend like a demon god, they were reminded of the days they fought alongside him, and their blood boiled with renewed fervor.
Some, holding their sabers with both hands, let out a wild roar, their strength several times greater than before, as they fiercely chopped at their opponents' heads. Others gave a strange cry, their spear tips flashing like snowflakes, dotting the enemy with crimson plum blossoms.
The Imperial Dynasty's deputy generals had already seen their Marshal striding over. Their attacks immediately lessened, but they did not retreat. They simply surrounded the silver-armored general, circling him like a spinning lantern, preventing him from leaving the battlefield.
Li Yan quickly reached the battle group. Without a word, his dark face an icy mask, he raised his right hand, lifting the nearly two-hundred-jin halberd. To someone of his martial prowess, so-called forms and stances were long gone. He simply lifted the halberd and brought it crashing down on the silver-armored general's head.
The silver-armored general, facing the encirclement of four deputy generals, had already earned the scorn of the soldiers and deputy generals of the State of Meng. But they also knew their general was a peerless master. Moreover, they were already at a numerical disadvantage. If they rushed to help, not only would their general be displeased, but it would only increase the casualties elsewhere on the battlefield.