Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

In close combat, the swordsmen and shieldmen from both sides clashed directly.

The deafening roar of the impact of the shields echoed one after another, and some people were injured by the force of the impact, while others were knocked to the ground on the spot.

"die!"

In the instant a Chu soldier broke through the gap in his opponent's shield, he swung his iron mace directly at the opponent's head.

Bang~

With a hissing sound of metal denting, the Luchuan swordsman's eyes rolled back and he collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Due to the high rate of iron armor adoption in Luchuan (over 80%), ordinary swords and knives have difficulty penetrating their defenses.

Therefore, as early as thirty years ago, the swordsmen and shieldmen on the front line of the infantry corps stationed in Nanzhao Guard had already switched to using blunt weapons such as spiked cones, maces, and hand axes to deal with the enemy.

puff-

Before the Chu army's swordsmen and shieldmen could feel gratified, a venomous spear emerged from the opposite formation, piercing his face and penetrating the back of his head.

Boom——

However, the fate of the Luchuan spearman was not much better. With a thunderous sound from the Chu army, a heavy barbed arrow pierced his throat on the spot.

Just as the archer drew a second arrow from his quiver and nocked it, a javelin suddenly flew out from the Luchuan formation and slit his throat.

He clutched his bleeding throat, collapsing to the ground with a face full of resentment. His dying screams were mercilessly drowned out by the even more intense shouts of battle.

"what……"

puff...

Before the Luchuan soldier could even let out a celebratory cheer, a mace smashed directly into his eye socket, drawing out a pool of hot blood and sending him to meet the King of Hell.

This hedging battle went into a fever pitch from the very beginning, without any warm-up or any so-called gradual progression.

Going into battle is a matter of life and death; it's either you or me who dies.

These Chu garrison soldiers were undeniably brave and fierce; even without widespread use of iron armor, they were still able to launch a small-scale counterattack.

Many soldiers were covered in blood from being pierced by a dense barrage of spears, yet they gritted their teeth and pressed forward bravely, showing no sign of retreat.

Although the State of Chu had many internal problems, fortunately, the fighting strength of its border troops had never been weakened.

Even though these infantrymen were at the very bottom of the military hierarchy, they were still able to fight the heavily armed Luchuan tribesmen to a standstill, vowing to defend their homeland with their lives.

Shen Lang, who was in the back, watched all of this with indifference.

There was not a trace of emotion in his eyes, only a keen analysis of the battlefield situation.

If Shen Lang had a school of thought, he would be a staunch believer in physics, a man whose emotions wouldn't be easily swayed by feelings.

Through analysis and comparison of the battles between the two armies, he concluded that, in terms of individual soldier skills and tactics, the Luchuan Army was far inferior to the Nanzhao Guard.

However, the border troops of Nanzhao were far less well-equipped than their opponents, and their numbers were too small. At its peak, the entire Nanzhao garrison did not exceed 20,000 men.

However, these 20,000 men, due to geographical factors, had to face the pressure of over a million armored soldiers from the entire Luchuan Dynasty.

The current Luchuan Dynasty, in particular, is at its most powerful in history and has already dared to extend its reach to the southern border of the Chu Kingdom.

The strategy of protecting one aspect from another is very common throughout history.

Constantinople in Byzantium and Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty fell repeatedly because they only had one prefecture or county to defend against barbarian invasions, and there was simply no time to mobilize troops from other regions to launch a concentrated counterattack.

The only thing we can rely on is our unique geographical environment.

Byzantium was by the sea, while Chang'an was by the mountains.

This is the reality of the two most powerful empires in the world today.

"Kill them!"

The fighting continued, with surging blood and heart-wrenching screams filling the battlefield.

Both sides were completely bloodthirsty, wanting nothing more than to crush their enemy into dust.

Meanwhile, the Luchuan army's 3,000-strong square formations on each of its left and right flanks had already completed a flanking maneuver to encircle the Chu army that was engaged in fierce fighting.

However, due to the terrain limitations, the infantry on both flanks could not fully deploy, and some even had to climb to higher ground to gain a foothold.

Upon seeing this scene, Mu Yuanying felt worried for the soldiers fighting on the front lines and immediately prepared to order the second infantry formation to rush to their aid.

But just as he was about to give the order, he was interrupted by Shen Lang's ruthless voice: "Prefect Mu, what do you want to do?"

Mu Yuanying: "My lord, the enemy has completed the encirclement of the front-line soldiers on both flanks. If they are not rescued in time, they will be surrounded by enemies on three sides."

Shen Lang coldly retorted, "I saw it all without Prefect Mu's reminder."

"Then why haven't you ordered reinforcements to be sent?"

"The time has not come yet."

Mu Yuanying was taken aback: "The time isn't right yet? But..."

"There are no buts. Since I am your commander-in-chief, my orders are military law. No one is allowed to leave the battle formation even a step without my order to attack!"

"But the brothers won't be able to hold on!"

"Even if we can't hold on, we have to!"

Shen Lang's eyes were icy cold: "Remember this, on the battlefield, you can only obey one person's command! Anyone who dares to disobey will be executed!"

"You, sigh!"

Mu Yuanying sighed heavily, and could only continue to watch as the three square formations of the Luchuan army slowly approached the central Chu army formation.

At this moment, a junior officer of the Chu army killed a Luchuan soldier with a single blow of his hammer. With a sweep of his shield, he knocked down two more approaching enemies. Suddenly, he saw enemies flanking him from both sides and his eyes widened in surprise.

"This is bad! The barbarians from Luchuan are flanking us from both sides! We're about to be surrounded!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers who were engaged in battle were immediately startled, only to find that both flanks and the high ground were also filled with densely packed, dark masses of soldiers.

The morale of the troops immediately began to crumble, especially when they discovered that their main force in the rear remained unmoved, which made them feel that the atmosphere was mysterious.

In the past, when fighting against the Luchuan troops, if we were surrounded on three sides, our main camp would always send reinforcements to help us. But today is very unusual.

In an instant, morale began to waver, and the passion for fighting the enemy began to slowly fade.

Meanwhile, the generals of the Luchuan army keenly noticed the changes in the Chu soldiers and seized the opportunity to launch a fierce offensive.

The Chu army's formation, which had initially been able to advance, gradually began to shrink and was slowly pushed back by the enemy.

Seeing all this, Mu Yuanying's palms were sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Sir! Come to our aid quickly! The brothers are about to break!"

"shut up!"

Shen Lang suddenly roared, startling Tang Zhao as well.

"I don't need you to teach me how to do it; I'm not blind!"

After speaking, he stared intently at the battle scene ahead.

More and more Chu soldiers realized Lu Chuan's intention to encircle and annihilate them from three sides, and panic ensued, with the offensive gradually turning into a defensive posture.

At that moment, several archers at the rear could not withstand the immense pressure and turned to run away.

This run triggered a mass retreat of over a hundred people.

Upon witnessing this scene, the commander of Luchuan, Mengdao, revealed a cruel smile.

"The Chu army is about to collapse. Give the order to put more pressure on them."

boom--

Just then, a gunshot rang out, piercing the sky and startling Mengdao.

In front of the rear guard of the Chu army, Shen Lang, holding a Browning rifle, fired a shot at the feet of an archer who was about to flee into the main camp, instantly shocking the fleeing crowd.

"Those who desert in the face of battle shall be executed! But I can give you an extra chance to choose."

Before the Luchuan troops complete their encirclement, you either return to the battlefield to continue fighting, or you die at the hands of the supervising officers. Which do you choose?

After he finished speaking, hundreds of guards raised their rifles and pointed them at them.

The Chu archers were immediately at a loss, unsure of what to do.

Shen Lang waved his hand: "I, in my capacity as the Pacification Envoy of Great Chu and the Temporary Commander-in-Chief of Nanzhao before the war, hereby order you!"

"Turn back immediately and continue the charge, and I will let bygones be bygones; otherwise, all will be subject to military law!"

For a moment, everyone stared intently at Shen Lang.

"Ugh!"

Finally, one of the archers bit his teeth so hard they almost bled.

"Forget it! Brothers, we're going to die anyway. Better to die on the battlefield than at the hands of our own people."

This way, even if we die in battle, no one will call us deserters or speak ill of us behind our backs. Brothers, let's fight those barbarians of Luchuan!

"At worst, I'll be a hero again in eighteen years!"

"Okay, let's fight!"

Knowing there was no hope of retreating to their own lines, the garrison troops immediately turned and charged back into the battlefield...

Shen Lang slowly lowered the pistol he was holding, silently saying to himself, "I know you're having a hard time, but no matter how difficult it is, you have to hold on."

Because the purpose of war is to win! If we can't win, then it's meaningless! Even if we die, we must die on the road to victory!

The reason we didn't kill the fleeing soldiers was that everyone was on edge, and pushing them too hard could lead to a mutiny, which would be counterproductive.

This was also the result of his calm analysis of the evolving battlefield situation.