Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 396 Night Attack
Chen Qingzhi's dispatch of Ren Yuan to drive away and capture Wei scouts had another important strategic purpose: to create conditions for the secret operation of two thousand elite cavalry, helping them to move undetected to the vicinity of the Wei army's camp.

Yuchi Bei and Ji Buli led two thousand elite troops, lying in ambush in the reeds of a river ditch two miles from the Wei army camp until midnight. They then received Commander Chen's order: arrive at the Wei army camp before dawn, and attack immediately once the camp is lit!
So the two thousand elite soldiers, gagged and with their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth, stealthily snaked their way to within a hundred paces of the Wei camp. They encountered not a single Wei scout along the way, clearly having been dealt with by Ren Yuan's scouts.

The soldiers held their breath, concealed themselves in the darkness, and patiently awaited the signal from within the camp.

~~
Inside the Wei army camp, Ren Yuan and the others had already made preparations and were waiting for the appointed time.

'Bang...bang...bang...bang...' The watchtower sounded to signal the time, which was the agreed-upon signal!

Chen Baxian immediately formed hand seals, gathering a powerful flame in his palms!

Once his ultimate move was fully charged, he suddenly raised both hands to the sky, and a dazzling fireball, like a small sun, roared into the sky, illuminating the camp as bright as day.

The small sun exploded in the sky, turning into thousands upon thousands of flames that rained down like a fiery storm, instantly igniting countless tents, haystacks, watchtowers, and stables...

Soon flames soared into the sky, and the entire Wei army camp was engulfed in flames.

Don't let his reputation as a nobody in the capital fool you; once he steps onto the battlefield, he becomes a mighty fire god!

At the same time, Ren Yuan and A Yao rushed into the officer's tent.

The tent reeked of alcohol, yet the officers remained seated around the card table, their eyes glazed and their reactions sluggish. Even as a fire raged outside, they hadn't put down their dominoes…

Ren Yuan and A Yao naturally didn't hold back. Yao Guang and Zi Wei unleashed their swords, and with a flurry of flying swords, they took their lives.

Among the dozen or so officers were many with extraordinary abilities, yet they offered almost no resistance and all became victims of the two men's swords...

~~
"Kill!" Seeing the flames rising in the camp, Ji Buli and Yuchi Bei immediately gave the order in a deep voice. Two thousand cavalrymen immediately mounted their horses, spurred their steeds forward, and charged straight into the enemy camp with their commanders!

Two thousand elite cavalrymen rushed to the trench in the blink of an eye, only to find Yang Zhong already waiting there. He slammed his hands on the ground! A layer of dark light emanated from his body, and a stone wall quickly rose across the trench, forming a passageway.

The soldiers, without stopping, stepped over the road paved by Yang Zhong and rushed into the Wei army camp through the gap in the camp wall that Chen Baxian had blown up!
~~
The Wei soldiers were awakened from their sleep by the sudden shouts of battle and the towering flames. They fled their tents in panic, many without even having time to put on their shoes, let alone pick up their weapons.

Even worse, the mid- to high-ranking officers had vanished without a trace. The lower-ranking officers were completely clueless about how to deploy their troops. Helpless, they watched as the Liang army's iron cavalry swept through the camp like an uninhabited land, slaughtering and killing indiscriminately!

On the other side, the elite Liang cavalry wore full armor in the style of the Gouchen Division. In the firelight, their armor gleamed with a cold, eerie light—a defensive spell carefully enhanced by the imperial craftsmen.

The sabers they carried were all made of black iron, possessing not only powerful physical damage but also powerful magical energy.

As they charged into the enemy ranks with overwhelming force, their sabers flashed with a cold light! Wherever the blades passed, Wei soldiers fell like harvested wheat, none of them able to withstand a single blow.

Faced with such a powerful onslaught, the Wei soldiers were utterly powerless and could only scatter and flee. The entire camp descended into chaos, quickly escalating into a massive rout. Even those few soldiers who attempted to resist were forced to follow the tide of fleeing comrades, their morale shattered, as the main force's forces crumbled. They too had no choice but to flee the scythe of death...

Every soldier knows that when defeat is imminent, the only thing you can do is run faster than your comrades. That's the only way to survive...
In the central army camp, in the tent of King Anle.

Yuan Jian was having a wonderful dream... He dreamt that tomorrow, with the help of his men from both inside and outside, they would capture Pengcheng, and his subordinates would seize Yuan Faseng and bring him before him. He then proceeded to mock the old man to his heart's content.

"You think you can be emperor?! You're not worthy! Bah!" He was only halfway through his ramblings when he heard the chaos and turmoil outside.

His personal guards rushed in, yanking him out of bed. "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Our camp has been raided! If we don't leave now, we'll be trapped!"

"Huh?!" Yuan Jian was shocked to hear this, but he was stronger than Xiao Hong, so he forced himself to calm down and broke free from his personal guards, saying, "I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How can I abandon the army and run away like that Xiao Niang? Quickly issue the order to all generals to gather their troops and assemble in the central army to reorganize the defenses!"

"We can't get in touch with any of the generals!" His personal guard poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"Huh? Are they all dead?!" Yuan Jian was dumbfounded.

"You're right." Before the words were finished, a cold laugh rang out from outside the tent. A young couple, looking like a match made in heaven, arrived together—Ren Yuan and A Yao.

The two were known for their ruthlessness and taciturn nature. As they spoke, their twin flying swords shot towards Yuan Jian!

Although Yuan Jian possessed unparalleled supernatural abilities, he was similar to Xiao Hong, both being noble princes who had been forcibly nurtured with external elixirs. They had no combat experience whatsoever, nor had they ever faced a life-or-death situation.

Seeing the flying sword shooting towards him, he was so frightened that he scrambled to avoid it and ran barefoot out of the tent at a speed he had never experienced before... No matter what, a nine-aperture man is a nine-aperture man, and his escape speed was even faster than the flying sword.

However, seeing their commander turn tail and flee, the Wei soldiers had no more scruples and followed Yuan Jian in his escape...

The white-robed army followed behind, slaughtering their way through the enemy lines, and arrived at Pengcheng at dawn.

"Open the city gates quickly!" Yuan Jian shouted towards the city wall.

The soldiers guarding the city were puzzled. Aren't we enemies? Why should we listen to you?
"Didn't you want to abandon darkness and embrace the light?" Yuan Jian asked anxiously, flying up to the city wall.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Yuan Faseng had already received Zhu Yi's notice and was fully armed and supervising the battle from the city wall. Upon hearing this, he threw a punch at Yuan Jian.

Yuan Jian was in mid-air and had no choice but to take the punch head-on, which blasted him off the city walls.

As he struggled to his feet with the help of his personal guards, he saw the city wall defenders drawing their bows and nocking arrows, a dense array of arrows already aimed at the city below.

"Then can I abandon the darkness and embrace the light?!" Seeing that he was blocked in front and pursued from behind, with no way out, Yuan Jian immediately changed his mind. The preferential treatment that the Great Liang Dynasty had given to the surrendered officials of the Northern Dynasty played a significant role at this moment.

(End of this chapter)