Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Huo Guang looked at Yang Yongjun's confident face, and then looked at the Chu army around him, which seemed to be retreating but was actually retreating in order and was reorganizing.

The ominous premonition in his heart reached its peak when he saw the eerily silent forests on both sides. He almost roared out in anger:

"You...you've fallen into Zhao Yu's trap!"

But his words were drowned out by the horn sound of Yang Yongjun giving the order for the general attack.

"All troops, listen! Counterattack! Kill all these Chu dogs! Whoever takes Zhao Yu's head will be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins!"

Yang Yongjun swung his sword and issued an order that he believed would end the battle.

After the reunion, the morale of the Han army was greatly boosted and they launched a counterattack.

However, just as they were entering the Falling Eagle Gorge, their formation gradually stretched and dispersed due to the pursuit—

A sudden change occurred!

Suddenly, from the originally silent forests on both sides, the sound of war drums and horns was more dense and violent than before!

Countless black flags with the word "Chu" on them suddenly sprang up like mushrooms after a rain!

Immediately afterwards, tens of thousands of fresh troops of the Chu army, who had been well-rested for a long time, emerged from the mountains and forests like ghosts, completely blocking the entrance to Luoyingjian and all the exits on both sides!

Zhao Yu appeared on a high slope, with a cold smile on his face, as if his plan had succeeded.

"Yang Yongjun, are you satisfied with this great gift from this general? Today, this place will be your burial place! Don't even think about leaving!"

Until this moment, the confidence and passion on Yang Yongjun's face instantly solidified, turning into endless fear and horror!

He finally realized that not only did he fail to "resolve the crisis", but he also sent an entire army of 10,000 into a desperate situation with his own hands!

The blood color on Yang Yongjun's face instantly faded away, and his previous confidence and enthusiasm were completely replaced by cold fear.

He looked at the countless Chu troops pouring out from front, back, left and right like a solid wall of steel, with flags flying and swords and spears everywhere, completely blocking all routes of retreat.

At this moment, he finally realized very clearly that not only did he fail to rescue Huo Guang, but he also led a whole 10,000 reinforcements into the death trap carefully woven by Zhao Yu!

Huge regret and panic instantly overwhelmed him. He turned his head sharply to look at Huo Guang, whose face was as gloomy as water. His voice was trembling with extreme fear and helplessness:

"General Huo... General Huo... I've fallen into a trap! Now... now what should we do?"

Huo Guang's eyes swept over the Chu army that was approaching and full of murderous intent, and then looked at the soldiers around him who were already exhausted after the hard battle, and the soldiers who had just rushed in but fell into despair in an instant. His heart sank to the bottom.

But he is an experienced veteran after all, and he was able to show a terrifying calmness in the desperate situation.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging blood. His voice was hoarse but clear as ice as he analyzed. "Now, we only have two paths, each leading to hell. It all depends on which one we choose, which one might leave us with a glimmer of hope for survival, or a more meaningful death."

He held up two blood-stained fingers. "First, a brave warrior cuts off his own arm! I'm going to order everyone who can still move to launch a desperate charge towards the stream's mouth, and try to attract Zhao Yu's attention."

"At the same time, immediately send out a signal and order General Li's 15,000 men in the rear to retreat at full speed without any hesitation!"

"Run as far as you can and report this military situation to His Majesty immediately!"

"In this way, perhaps we can preserve these 15,000 seeds for our Han people, and you, me, and these 10,000 brothers will die here in battle to preserve our loyalty!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Yongjun's body trembled violently, his face revealing a look of extreme unwillingness and fear. He couldn't voluntarily choose to sacrifice himself and these ten thousand people!

Huo Guang noticed his reaction, a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes, and then he proposed a second option, his tone even heavier: "The second option is to risk everything and fight to the death!"

"But before that, we must quickly find out how many troops Zhao Yu has deployed here!"

"If there's a huge disparity in military strength, the first path is the only option."

"If the enemy's forces are not overwhelmingly superior, perhaps we can attack from both inside and outside, and still have a chance of a tragic victory!"

"Check! Check it out!"

Yang Yongjun seemed to have grasped the last straw and shouted sharply to the soldiers around him:

"Quick! Send someone to check! How many people are there in the Chu army? Quick!"

One of the most agile scout captains took the order and, with several soldiers, braved the rain of arrows and rushed desperately to a slightly higher earthen slope on the flank.

They used rocks and corpses as cover, carefully observing the ranks and number of Chu troops and flags that continued to emerge below, and quickly calculated in their minds.

But in just a moment, the captain rushed back crawling and tumbling, with several more arrow wounds on his body.

He was panting, but with a hint of excitement on his face as if he had discovered a new life, he shouted hoarsely:

"General! Look carefully! The Chu army has about 30,000 soldiers... no more!"

"Thirty thousand people?"

Yang Yongjun's eyes suddenly lit up, and his originally gloomy face instantly glowed with a kind of fanaticism of having escaped from a desperate situation.

"Thirty thousand! We have ten thousand here, and General Li has fifteen thousand! A total of twenty-five thousand people!"

"The difference in military strength isn't that great! We can fight! We can definitely fight!"

He looked at Huo Guang excitedly, as if he had seen the hope of victory:

"General Huo! We have a chance! With the help of internal and external forces, we may be able to turn defeat into victory! We may even be able to defeat Zhao Yu's 30,000 men!"

Huo Guang looked at Yang Yongjun's almost insane excitement, and then looked at the soldiers around him who were surrounded but seemed to have rekindled a glimmer of hope after hearing the comparison of troop strength. He felt mixed emotions in his heart.

He knew Zhao Yu better than Yang Yongjun, and he also knew how terrifying the 30,000 elite Chu troops who were waiting for the opportunity were.

But he also knew that if he mentioned retreat at this moment, the morale of the army would completely collapse, and he might not even be able to take the first path.

He was silent for a moment, and finally let out a helpless yet resolute sigh, as if all his strength had been exhausted:

"Well, if that's the case, then let's give it a try!"

He suddenly raised his head, a trace of beast-like cruelty flashed in his eyes, and he shouted an order to the flag officer behind him:

"Fire signal arrows! Three! Red! Order General Li's entire army to advance, and join forces with us inside and outside to fight the Chu army to the death!"

"Yes!"

"Boo-boo-boo-"

Three specially made red whistling arrows, with extremely sharp whistling sounds, shot into the gloomy sky one after another, and then exploded into three eye-catching balls of red smoke, which could be clearly seen even from miles away!

In the distance, General Li, who had been closely following the developments in Luoyingjian, felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw the three red signal arrows representing "all-out assault, fight to the death."

But military orders were as firm as a mountain, so he no longer hesitated and drew his sword.