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

Xue Dingshan hadn't expected Xue Che to be so fierce, and hurriedly leaned back, but the tip of the knife still managed to cut a deep gash on his left shoulder, exposing the bone.

Both were injured and retreated at the same time.

Xue Che's right shoulder was a bloody mess, almost ruined. Xue Dingshan's left shoulder was covered in blood, greatly reducing his fighting ability.

But the battle is not over yet.

Because Xue Che knew that he was doomed to die today.

Since that's the case, let's bring this rising star of the Chu army along!

"Hahahaha!"

Xue Che suddenly burst into wild laughter, his voice shrill and ghostly: "Xue Dingshan! You think you've won? Let me tell you—even if I die today, I'll drag you down to hell with me!"

He threw away the broken sword, picked up a spear from the ground, gripped it with his still-functioning left hand, and roared:

"Come on! Let me see just how powerful your Xue Family Halberd Technique really is!"

Xue Dingshan gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain in his left shoulder, and gripped the halberd with both hands.

The final round.

The two charged forward simultaneously.

Long spear against halberd.

The injured to the injured.

The one destined to die versus the one seeking survival.

The spearheads and halberds collided in mid-air.

But this time, there was no clang of metal.

Because Xue Che's spear thrust was nothing but a feint!

At the moment the spears clashed, he suddenly let go, the spear flew out of his hand, and he pounced on Xue Dingshan like a tiger!

He wanted to use his body, his teeth, and his last strength to perish together with Xue Dingshan!

But Xue Dingshan was prepared.

The moment Xue Che lunged forward, he retracted his halberd, swept the shaft horizontally, and slammed it heavily into Xue Che's waist!

Click——!

The sound of the ribs breaking was clearly audible.

Xue Che was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a pile of corpses three zhang away.

He struggled to get up, but the excruciating pain in his waist prevented him from moving, and he could only cough up blood.

Xue Dingshan slowly stepped forward, the tip of his halberd pressed against Xue Che's throat.

"You lost." He said calmly.

Xue Che gave a bitter laugh, his smile smeared with blood and foam: "So what if I lost? I... I've already bought... His Majesty... an hour!"

He looked up, gazing towards the northeast, a final glimmer of light in his eyes: "Your Majesty, this humble general... has done his utmost!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Dingshan swung his halberd.

puff--!

Xue Che's head shot into the sky, drawing a bloody arc in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Those eyes were still open.

Looking northeast.

They looked in the direction Li Shiming had retreated.

Do not look down.

Xue Dingshan stood with his halberd, blood still flowing from the wound on his left shoulder, but he seemed oblivious to it.

He gazed at Xue Che's headless corpse, at the gradually calming battlefield around him, and at the "Tang" banner that had finally fallen, and slowly closed his eyes.

He won this battle.

But it came at a price.

This injury to my left shoulder will probably take three months to heal.

More importantly, he experienced the cruelty of war for the first time, and felt the tenacity and conviction in the hearts of those enemies who would rather die than surrender.

"General, the battlefield has been cleared."

The lieutenant rode up and reported: "The Tang army's 10,000 rearguard troops were all killed in battle; none surrendered."

Xue Dingshan nodded slowly: "Give Xue Che a proper burial. He was a worthy opponent."

"What about the others..."

"After this battle, bury them on the spot."

Xue Dingshan turned around and looked into the distance: "His Majesty should still be with Li Shiming. We should go and join him."

On the wasteland, corpses lay strewn everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

Ten thousand Tang soldiers sacrificed their lives to buy Li Shimin an hour.

But what they didn't know was—

That time might not be enough.

Because Chu Ning's pursuit was faster and more ruthless than they had imagined.

at the same time.

On the south bank of the Huai River, corpses lay strewn everywhere.

Guo Ziyi, leaning on his broken sword, knelt on one knee on a rocky beach.

He was left with less than three hundred Tang soldiers, all wounded and in tattered armor, forming a broken circular formation with their backs to the Huai River and facing the encirclement of thousands of Chu soldiers.

From yesterday until now, of the eight thousand warriors who fought to the death, only these three hundred survivors remain.

The river flowed swiftly behind them, the morning light reflecting on its surface, creating a shimmering, blood-red glow—the blood of those who flowed from the battlefield upstream, staining the entire Huai River a pale red.

"Commander..."

A captain, his face covered in blood, stumbled in, his voice trembling with terror: "It's terrible! His Majesty... His Majesty's side... has been defeated!"

Guo Ziyi slowly raised his head, his silver-white beard and hair flying wildly in the morning breeze.

His face and body were covered in blood, a broken arrow was stuck in his left shoulder, and a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his right leg was still bleeding.

But those eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's.

"Defeated?" His voice was hoarse. "Tell me in detail."

"It's...it's the Scorpion Clan!"

The captain, panting heavily, said, "Helian Hui led 30,000 cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Chu army's rear, which did cause initial chaos."

"But...but the Chu navy has joined the battle! Zhang Shijie led 20,000 naval troops to land on the lower reaches of the Huai River and launch a surprise attack on the Scorpion Clan's rear!"

"The Scorpion Clan was thrown into chaos, attacked from both sides by the Chu army, and suffered a complete... utter defeat!"

Guo Ziyi's pupils suddenly contracted.

The navy... Zhang Shijie's navy, shouldn't they be blocking the river in the middle reaches of the Huai River? How come they suddenly appeared downstream?

Unless... unless Chu Ning had laid out a combined land and water attack from the very beginning!

"And what about His Majesty?" Guo Ziyi asked urgently.

"His Majesty, under the protection of General Xue Che, is retreating northeast, but the Chu army is in hot pursuit. General Xue Che has led 10,000 soldiers to cover the rear..."

The captain's voice choked with emotion: "But the Chu army has too many troops, and General Xue's side... I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for long either."

Guo Ziyi remained silent.

He slowly stood up, planted his broken sword on the ground, and looked around.

The three hundred remaining soldiers all had exhaustion and despair in their eyes, but even more so, a resigned calm.

They all knew that they couldn't leave today.

"did not expect……"

Guo Ziyi muttered to himself, his voice filled with desolation: "I have fought on the battlefield for forty years, laid out such a grand plan, joined forces with the Scorpion Clan, used myself as bait, and risked the lives of 150,000 soldiers, yet I still failed."

He looked up at the sky, the morning light dazzling.

"Time is also fate."

Guo Ziyi let out a long sigh, a sigh that contained too many complex emotions.

There was resentment, regret, and sorrow, but more than anything, there was a sense of relief at the end of a hero's life.

"It seems that today, I, Guo Ziyi, will be buried here."

Before the words were finished, thunderous war drums suddenly resounded from the Chu army formation outside the encirclement.

It wasn't the drumbeat of a charge, but the bugle call to persuade someone to surrender.

The Chu army's lines split, and a lone rider slowly stepped out.

The general, who was about forty years old and dressed in black armor, was none other than Han Xing, a general of the Chu army.

He had just wiped out the last Tang army resistance in Jianghuai City, and now he was leading 5,000 fresh troops to besiege Guo Ziyi's remaining forces.

"General Guo!"

Han Xing's voice, amplified by his personal guards, carried clearly to the riverbank: "You are already in dire straits, why make any more pointless sacrifices?"

"His Majesty has decreed that if the old general is willing to surrender, he will be treated as a national hero, granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, and enjoy a lifetime of glory!"