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

The precious time that Huo Guang and Wang Yan bought with their lives was not wasted.

Under the desperate protection of the other generals and soldiers, the breakout team finally miraculously broke through the densest encirclement of the Chu army.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Liu Xiu fled desperately towards the west without looking back. Behind him were only about 50,000 frightened and defeated soldiers who had fled with him.

On the city wall of Hongdu, Chu Ning kept staring at the battlefield indifferently.

When he saw Liu Xiu's flag finally break through the siege and flee westward, his brows frowned slightly, and then a hint of cold sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Humph, you are quite decisive and ruthless, using the life of one of your generals to save your own life."

He snorted coldly, and it was hard to tell whether his tone was one of approval or contempt.

But he would never let the cooked duck fly away.

If Liu Xiu doesn't die, there will be endless troubles!

Chu Ning waved his hand fiercely, his voice resounding in all directions: "Pass on my order! Xue Huaide, Zhao Yu, I order you two to lead all the cavalry and give chase immediately!"

"Pursue relentlessly and make sure to take Liu Xiu's head! The rest of the troops, eliminate the remaining enemies, clean up the battlefield, and then follow up!"

"I want Liu Xiu to never see the sun tomorrow!"

At the command, the Chu cavalry, which had just experienced a great battle, quickly regrouped. Led by Xue Huaide and Zhao Yu, they rushed in the direction of Liu Xiu's escape, like a pack of wolves smelling blood!

The iron hooves trampled the earth, raising dust that covered the sky and the sun, carrying with it a murderous aura of never giving up.

An even more brutal chase and escape suddenly began on this land that had just experienced a bloodbath.

Liu Xiu led the remaining 50,000 defeated troops and fled westward along the deserted official road like a frightened bird.

The troops had long lost their organization, with flags askew and armor in disarray. Every soldier's face was filled with fear, exhaustion, and bewilderment at having survived a disaster.

The cries of wounded soldiers could be heard from time to time in the team, adding a bit of misery.

Behind him, the deafening shouts and the rising smoke and dust from the direction of Hongdu City lingered like a nightmare.

However, this brief respite did not last long.

The earth began to vibrate dully and densely, which was much more orderly and oppressive than their chaotic footsteps.

On the horizon, a moving wall of dust was approaching at an alarming speed. It was the pursuers of the Chu army!

The Chu cavalry led by Xue Huaide and Zhao Yu were like a thorn in the flesh, chasing them relentlessly.

"The pursuers are coming!"

"Run!"

Suddenly, panicked screams rang out in the Han army. The already chaotic team became even more disorganized. Everyone rushed to get ahead, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.

Liu Xiu galloped on his horse surrounded by his personal guards. He looked back and saw the Chu army flags getting closer and closer, especially the arrogant flag with the word "Xue" and the bloodthirsty flag with the word "Zhao". His heart was filled with endless humiliation and resentment.

The scene of Huo Guang and Wang Yan's tragic deaths stirred in his heart like a sharp knife.

"Your Majesty, we can't go on like this. We are too slow and will be caught up soon!" a royal guard general shouted anxiously.

How could Liu Xiu not know this?

But most of his men were infantrymen. How could they outrun four-legged war horses?

A feeling of despair began to spread among the remaining troops like a plague.

However, at this critical moment, the world suddenly changed!

The sky was originally just a little gloomy, but suddenly it became dark without any warning!

It was as if an invisible giant hand instantly pulled up the curtain of the sky.

It was not a dark cloud covering the sun, but a deeper and more palpitating darkness. The light disappeared rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the surrounding scene became blurred, as if it had instantly fallen from daylight into dusk or even deeper darkness.

"what happened?"

"Why is it dark?"

The Han army that was galloping and the pursuing Chu army couldn't help but slow down and looked up at the sky in confusion.

An inexplicable fear gripped everyone's heart.

Immediately afterwards——

“Crackle, crackle—!”

A burst of explosions so dense that it made one's scalp tingle suddenly came from the sky!

Countless white lumps of different sizes fell down like basins of rubble poured down by God, covering the sky like a torrential downpour!

It was hail! And it was an extremely rare and powerful hailstorm!

Those hailstones, some as small as eggs and some as big as fists, carried huge kinetic energy and smashed into the ground at an astonishing speed, hitting every person and every horse on the battlefield!

"what!"

"my head!"

"Protect Your Majesty!"

Screams instantly replaced the previous shouts and sounds of running.

Both the Han and Chu armies were caught off guard by this sudden natural disaster.

The hailstones hit the helmet mercilessly, making a loud bang that made people dizzy.

It hit the unprotected body, turning it into bruises and even breaking bones and tendons.

The warhorses were frightened and neighed miserably, then stood up and threw the riders off their backs. Then they ran around madly under the impact of the hail, trampling the crowd.

The whole world seemed to be filled with the sound of violent hailstones crashing, vision became extremely blurred, and it was difficult to see objects a few steps away.

A layer of hail quickly accumulated on the ground, making it extremely slippery and difficult to walk on, let alone run or charge.

The Chu army's pursuit momentum was abruptly interrupted by this sudden natural disaster!

The cavalry at the front were the first to bear the brunt of the attack. Their formation was instantly in chaos, and countless people fell off their horses.

"Stop moving forward! Stop moving forward! Raise your shields for protection!" Xue Huaide waved his halberd to block several hailstones that hit his face, and shouted orders loudly.

His voice was extremely weak amid the violent hail.

The well-trained Chu cavalry reined in their frightened horses, raised their shields to protect their heads and vital parts as much as possible, huddled together, and struggled to resist the hail attacks, no longer able to pursue.

Zhao Yu rode his horse to Xue Huaide's side. His helmet was dented by a large hailstone, and he looked quite disheveled. His face was filled with surprise and anger.

"General Xue! This... this strange phenomenon from the sky is too bizarre! If our army pursues them forcefully, we'll suffer heavy casualties. Furthermore, with poor visibility, we're easily ambushed!"

Xue Huaide's face was as gloomy as water. He looked up at this doomsday-like scene, and hailstones as big as beans hit his armor with crackling sounds.

Although he is brave, he is not reckless.

As the commander-in-chief, he had to weigh the pros and cons. Pursuit was impossible in such bad weather, and as Zhao Yu had said, the risk was enormous.

"Oh shit!"

Xue Huaide cursed unwillingly, but finally made a rational decision:

"Order! All troops, form a defensive formation and hold off on pursuit! Wait until this damn hailstorm passes! Send out scouts to carefully survey the surroundings, beware of an ambush by the Han army!"