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

"Retreat quickly, retreat quickly!"

Amidst the hail of bullets, watching the most valiant Ironclad Cavalry of the Great Jin Dynasty die meaninglessly from seemingly insignificant bullets, Wanyan Zongbi felt his heart bleeding, his only wish being to preserve the last seed of the Great Jin Dynasty.

However, in a chaotic environment, no matter how elite the army is, it is not so easy to retreat smoothly.

Turning a cavalryman around is extremely difficult in itself.

Not to mention the heavily armored cavalry, both men and horses.

One cavalryman after another fell from their horses, and all that could be heard were the endless cries of agony as they fell to the ground.

"Ha! Ha~"

A troop of cavalrymen frantically spurred their horses, finally managing to turn them around and gallop back the way they had come.

Bang~

A gunshot rang out in the distance, and a cavalryman was instantly shot through the neck.

"Uu——"

As the cavalryman slowly rolled to his side, his warhorse neighed and fell to the ground, also crushing his companion to the ground.

The remaining cavalrymen didn't care about anything else. They dropped their thick lances, spurred their horses, and galloped forward in a frenzy.

Having barely escaped, before they could even catch their breath, they encountered foot soldiers blocking their way.

The Ironclad infantry, also clad in heavy armor weighing dozens of kilograms, moved slowly along the road.

Upon seeing the cavalry ambushed ahead, they instinctively dropped their weapons and fled towards Xiangzhou.

However, their heavy bodies were already panting heavily after running only a dozen steps.

"Go away!"

Seeing the infantry blocking their way, the cavalrymen didn't hesitate and charged into them with reckless abandon.

boom--

A loud bang echoed, and the crowd surged forward like a tidal wave.

"Ah~"

A scream rang out, and swarms of infantrymen were flung high into the air.

Bang~

The moment they landed, they all coughed up blood, their bodies convulsing as they lay face up in the air.

With that heavy fall, their internal organs were also shattered.

Even so, the fleeing Iron Pagoda soldiers were blocked by a massive number of infantrymen until they completely blocked the official road, creating a completely impassable situation.

"attack!"

Seeing that the enemy was in complete disarray, Han Ming immediately gave the order to launch a desperate counterattack.

Instantly, the resounding sound of bronze whistles echoed across the battlefield.

More than a thousand soldiers from the independent brigade immediately rushed out of the trenches and advanced towards the enemy in an orderly manner with their rifles in hand.

Wherever the gunfire passed, even without careful aiming, Jurchen soldiers would fall in pools of blood, wailing in agony.

"Fight them!"

Seeing no hope of escape, a Jin general decided to take a gamble, untied the carved bow from his back, and fired at the soldiers of the Independent Brigade.

Draw the bow, pull the string, nock the arrow, and release the string.

It was done in one go, like a shooting star chasing the moon.

In an instant, a barrage of arrows was unleashed.

"Pfft-"

One unfortunate soldier from the Independent Brigade was shot directly in the chest with an arrow.

The moment the cold arrow pierced his body, it seemed to drain all the heat from his body.

He sat down slowly against a tree, panting heavily, his eyes filled with fear and confusion.

But soon, a pair of large hands pressed down on his shoulders, and another person gripped the arrow shaft in his chest, cutting it off with a dagger before pulling him away for treatment.

These are military medical officers, recruited from the northern border of Song territory. They are highly experienced in treating arrow wounds and can do their utmost to ensure the survival of these soldiers.

In less than a minute, the infantryman, using a thick tree trunk for cover, had fired thirteen arrows in succession, killing four soldiers from the Independent Brigade.

However, his good luck came to an end.

Just as he was about to fire his fourteenth arrow, a grenade landed at his feet.

boom--

The moment the grenade exploded, the enormous impact sent him flying.

As the shrapnel swept through the area, seven or eight more people were affected.

"Grenade!"

"Blow those sons of bitches to death!"

At the company commander's command, dozens of grenades flew in perfect parabolic arcs along the official road, finally landing amidst the Jin army...

Boom boom boom——

A series of explosions blasted a gap in the Jin army's ironclad cavalry.

"Burn them!"

Another shrill scream rang out, and two soldiers carrying iron shells and wearing heavy iron mesh gloves, each holding a pipe gun muzzle, leaped to a high place.

call--

As the trigger was pulled, a whooshing sound rang out, and a blazing fire dragon directly engulfed the chaotic golden figures.

This is a newly developed weapon of the Great Chu, an oil gun, a single-soldier incendiary weapon based on the principle of a powerful incendiary device.

"Ah~~"

Immediately, the fiery Jin soldiers began rolling around on the ground, plunging the Iron Pagoda into an even deeper vortex.

Clapping~

Just then, Yue Fei personally led five hundred cavalrymen and suddenly charged out of Yancheng, heading straight for the battlefield.

puff-

Yue Fei wielded a long spear that moved like a dragon, its sharp armor-piercing spike piercing the throat of a Pagoda soldier before piercing the back of another.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

The five hundred guards behind him were all heavily armored, and they all drew their bows and fired arrows the moment they got close to the enemy.

Within five meters, apart from the cumbersome shield, no armor, even plate armor, can withstand a rain of arrows from a composite bow.

Despite being fully armored, the Ironclad Cavalry fell instantly to the ground in pools of blood under the barrage of mounted archers.

Yue Fei was a martial artist, and his cultivation foundation had already reached the Innate Realm.

Wherever his spear swept, no one could withstand even a fraction of its force.

With the help of his skilled horsemen and archers, Yue Fei fought his way through the Iron Pagoda troop.

"attack!"

"Yes!"

In less than two minutes, all twenty-five arrows were shot out by the guards.

The next moment, all the guards took a crescent-shaped axe from the side of the horse.

"Pfft!"

With a sharp crack, a fleeing infantryman was struck through the forehead by an axe, helmet and all.

As brain matter splattered, the last thing the foot soldier saw was the cavalry galloping away.

Before his consciousness faded into darkness, he couldn't believe that such elite cavalry existed among the enemy.

"Kill! Capture Wanyan Zongbi alive!"

"Kill!"

The battle situation has become one-sided, with the Independent Brigade having completely seized control of the war.

Seeing the Jin soldiers fleeing in panic, all the soldiers roared and divided them up, encircling them one by one...

The war continued until nightfall.

Along the official roads and paths fifty miles from Xiangzhou to Yancheng, one could see the Iron Pagoda Cavalry and their horses overturned everywhere.

The pungent smell of blood wafted in the wind, and the churning blood quickly froze.

Looking at the corpses scattered all over the mountains and fields, Yue Fei let out a heavy sigh.

The last major force of the Jin army, the Iron Pagoda, was completely annihilated.

Unfortunately, Wanyan Zongbi was not captured on the battlefield and was forced to flee back to Xiangzhou Prefecture in a sorry state with his hundred or so personal guards.

Just then, the military supplies sent from Bianjing arrived in Yancheng.

Two 105mm heavy artillery pieces were also transported along with the cargo.

This was Lin Fei's initiative to analyze the situation in Xiangzhou with Shen Lang and request the transfer.

With 105mm heavy artillery, the city walls of Xiangzhou would no longer be a threat to our advance.

Just as Yue Fei was preparing to launch a general offensive against Xiangzhou, the Taiji Kingdom and the Goguryeo army on the other side also clashed for the third time.