Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

After retrieving the spirit stones and glancing at the emaciated enemy flesh and blood engulfed in flames, Xi Heng led his troops back.

After a brief day of rest and recovery of her internal energy, she led her cavalry almost without stopping to another enemy camp.

But when they arrived at the location, all they could see was an empty, flat area.

In the open space, all that remained were torn pieces of cloth, an extinguished campfire and a standing torch, as well as broken-down car wheels and small pieces of grain scattered on the ground...

Clearly, the camp had already moved to a new location before she arrived.

"..." Xi Heng sighed, rubbing his forehead.

To avoid going to waste her time, she followed the trail of the retreating troops, but after running for an hour, she still couldn't find any clear traces.

The enemy camp must have dismantled their tents and fled overnight after hearing the news of the elite troops' defeat. A whole day has passed, and it is unknown where they have gone.

She had no choice but to return and search for other enemy camps or supply routes.

Despite searching in several places, they still couldn't find many people.

It seems that the enemy has completely abandoned this large area surrounding Xingzhou City.

"After the elite troops were defeated, they gave up and ignored me?" Xi Heng sighed, rubbing his forehead.

The enemy didn't want to fight her and just went around her, so she really didn't have a solution in the short term.

"Yan Meng has not gathered any more troops to attack, perhaps because he has shifted his strategic focus to the south. He will deal with my army only after he has concentrated his forces to capture a city..."

Now, Xi Heng has no intelligence on enemy camps or supply lines.

To continue the previous flanking invasion, it would be necessary to send troops to scout around, which would take a lot of time.

We don't know where the enemy army is right now. If we don't do some reconnaissance first and rush directly into the other territory occupied by Yan Meng, we might get surrounded by their army.

Now, the army she leads has achieved enough merits. First, they destroyed many enemy camps along the supply lines, then they rescued more than a thousand friendly prisoners, and finally they killed a local expert and defeated elite cavalry in battle.

Since there's nothing to do for the time being, let's make a prudent plan and return to the south first.

She then ordered, "Return to camp."

Three days later, the camp was closed, and the 7,000-strong army returned south along the original route to reinforce Kezhou and Qiming.

During this time, Xi Heng received war reports from Kezhou City:

The army of Zhao Qiming City has clashed with Yan Meng's army at Heilongtan and battle has begun. Yan Meng's three armies are rushing to the scene as quickly as possible, and General Zhao Wanli has also led his entire army to provide support.

Please urge her to join the battle at Black Dragon Pool as soon as possible.

……

Chapter 111, Setting the Mountain on Fire

Black Dragon Pool is located between three mountains, near several large cities, and has a precipitous terrain.

Although it is called Tan (潭), it is actually the fork of a wide river. There are two small fortresses on the riverbank near the mountains. They are named Shoushui Pass and Boshui Pass, which are important places that the Great Zhao must defend.

If both passes are captured, the enemy can use their navy to invade and plunder southwards, or send a large army to circle around to our rear and form an encirclement.

Although Yan Meng, as a nomadic people of the northern grasslands, did not have many ships or naval forces, they should not have needed to worry about this under normal circumstances.

However, the enemy used advanced weapons such as smoke bombs when they attacked the city before. They may have a navy hidden in the rear for this battle, so we must be on guard.

Previously, while Xi Heng was fighting behind enemy lines in the north, He Jiedushi, who was stationed in Qiming City, led his troops out of the city to inspect. His scouts saw a unit of Yan Meng's army camped around the Black Dragon Pool area, seemingly eyeing the two passes there covetously.

He then led his troops there, but on the way they were harassed by another enemy cavalry force. By the time they finally reached Shoushui Pass in the north, the enemy had already begun a strong siege. The few thousand or two garrison troops inside Shoushui Pass could hardly withstand the attack of the enemy's elite troops numbering in the tens of thousands.

Even though the situation had weakened, when Governor He arrived to reinforce, he still managed to confine the enemy forces around Shoushui Pass for a long time, using his greater familiarity with the terrain to hold them off for more than ten days.

However, Yan Mengjun's second wave of troops arrived quickly, seemingly determined to take over Black Dragon Pool.

With the enemy's strength increasing, General He, who was already barely able to resist, could no longer hold the pass and had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat, surrendering Shoushui Pass.

Although the first checkpoint has been breached, there is another, more defensible camp behind it that can be garrisoned for defense.

Now, the main forces of both countries' militaries have gathered here, and they are locked in a difficult tug-of-war.

When Xi Heng arrived, the enemy army and the Zhao army were facing each other in the mountains and rivers.

The two armies were separated by a wide river and could be seen from afar.

However, the enemy has already captured Shoushui and occupied a bridge across the river. The Zhao army not only needs to guard against the enemy troops crossing the river, but also needs to pay attention to the direction of the northern mountains and forests, as the enemy troops may cross the bridge and cross the forest to attack.

Unwilling to be trapped in a stalemate of defending the city, the Great Zhao has already dispatched many reconnaissance troops to various parts of the mountains and forests.

The army was also encamped outside the pass, ready to be deployed at any time.

With their richer combat experience in the mountains and forests than Yan Mengjun's, they used small squads of guns and shields, and swords and shields, to fight against the enemy.

Now, Xi Heng has also led nearly 7,000 elite troops to the battlefield, further expanding the advantage of the Great Zhao.

Seeing that her own military headquarters was still intact and had not fallen into defeat, she felt that since she had led her elite troops into the battle, she should be able to launch a counterattack and win.

But then, the other two generals delivered some less-than-good news—

Yan Meng's three armies have all gathered at Blackwater Pool, and the total number of troops may now be as many as 100,000.

While the Great Zhao's northern frontier is said to have an ever-victorious army of 150,000, only about 50,000 to 60,000 of them are truly capable and skilled in battle.

Other soldiers were only trained and had few battlefield experience, making them not much different from the prefectural and state armies in the south of the Great Zhao.

Sending these ragtag soldiers to the battlefield would only mean their deaths.

That's not all—Yanmeng Kingdom, outside the border, is still organizing troops, and as time goes on, more and more enemy troops will move south.

The longer the battle lasts, the greater the enemy's strength will become.

Once they conquer Heishui, they may launch a large-scale southward offensive to plunder inland cities.

Furthermore, now that autumn has arrived and winter is approaching, the Yanmeng ethnic group, with their greater experience and equipment in keeping warm, will have an even greater advantage.

At the general's garrison at Boshui Pass, Zhao Wanli, while recounting the current battle situation, analyzed:

"The longer it drags on, the worse it will be... But the problem is that the enemy has already established a foothold. If we rush into a large-scale attack, we will only suffer a major defeat."

"We need reinforcements, money and provisions, and we also need to arm the new army with weapons," said He Jiedushi, whose face looked even older.

Xi Heng silently looked at the map, pondering whether twenty spirit stones could unleash a smaller version of the Blood Sea Overturning Technique.

But after a moment he shook his head; one-fifth of the spiritual energy was simply not enough.

"At most, I can only gather a few powerful but unsustainable blood surge spells..." she muttered to herself.

If she could use the Blood Sea Technique, she could sweep tens of thousands of enemy soldiers into the Blood Sea and devour them, just like when she annihilated the Tianliang army, and also dye the entire Blackwater Pool a large area of ​​blood.

"Reinforcements..." Zhao Wanli sighed.

“I had previously sent messengers to the capital by fast horse, but the court kept sending back messages that there was a shortage of funds and supplies, the situation was unstable, and we were told to continue to hold our ground and wait.”

Xi Heng suddenly asked, "Has the Dark Heavenly Cult in the southeast already rebelled?"

Zhao Wanli turned his gaze down, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a moment, he nodded and said:

"Not only that, the Western barbarians have also gathered a large army to attack, and many outlying towns have been attacked... Bandits from all sides of the capital have also regrouped, and it seems that Donghuangmei Mountain is involved... They are unwilling to directly intervene, but instead support these mountain bandits."

“In that case, I only need a thousand cavalrymen to return south and pacify them one by one,” Xi Heng said.

"Your Highness, you cannot leave now. The reason the enemy can continue to hold out against our army is because of the power you displayed by defeating several Transformation Realm experts earlier. If Your Highness leaves, the deterrent effect will be lost, and with one less powerful Transformation Realm expert present, the enemy will surely launch a full-scale attack." Zhao Wanli shook his head.

"If the Blackwater Pool Pass is breached, the consequences will be far greater than the disasters caused by the various rebel armies in the south."

But I want some corpses and flesh... Xi Heng thought.

But what the other party said was true. If she left, the fighting force would be reduced, and this place would be even more difficult to defend.

If we want to leave the city, we must first inflict sufficient damage on the enemy.

However, Xi Heng's spiritual energy was insufficient to accomplish this...

It seems she's stuck in this situation.

"So, all we can do is slowly wear down Yan Mengjun?" she muttered to herself.

The territory of Blackwater Pool is mostly mountainous and riverine, with few wide areas where large armies can be assembled and deployed to fight each other.

When the two armies are locked in a stalemate, they usually do not engage in a decisive battle. Instead, they send troops to attack each other and slowly deplete each other's strength.

"At present, we can only wait for the situation within the country to stabilize and for the imperial court to send troops to rescue us... or we can take a risk and defeat the enemy with a surprise attack or a unique strategy," Zhao Wanli said.

"Is there any ingenious plan?"

"We should look for an opportunity to use fire to break through the enemy's camp, destroy the bridge, and burn the mountain to stop them." He swung a red flag around the map on the table and dropped it towards the area occupied by the enemy.

……

A few days later, at nightfall.

Wearing perfect light armor, Xi Heng led his 500 elite soldiers away from the three mountains of Blackwater Pool, circled around for a hundred miles, and slowly climbed upwards in the treacherous mountain paths and sparsely populated areas behind them.

The soldiers trudged through the dry leaves and damp soil, holding onto the dense trees around them, advancing step by step in this place where there was no path at all.

The team was almost entirely composed of Ming Jin (a type of martial arts) practitioners, each of whom had learned some lightness skills. It wouldn't be difficult for them to run quickly on this hillside, but that would make too much noise.

Even though she had circled around to a rather remote location, it was still behind enemy lines and enemy troops were still patrolling. If she were discovered, all her previous efforts could be wasted, so she had to proceed with caution.

Xi Heng was at the forefront, using his excellent eyesight and hearing to look around for the enemy. He spotted a small group of enemy troops at a high mountain pass in the distance.

There were only a few people at that sentry post.

It was because of the dense canopy and shrubs that the Zhao army was not discovered.

But if they continue to explore, the team will inevitably come into their view.

Since there were enemies on the way, Xi Heng concealed his presence and groped his way forward silently.

The only sound underfoot was the crunching of a few leaves.

Before long, she walked alone for hundreds of meters to reach the cliff below the sentry post.

The pale, straight wall, three or four meters high, could not stop her; with a light step, she arrived behind the sentry post.

In the middle of the sentry post, a bonfire burned in the open space. Several enemy soldiers surrounded it, using sharpened branches to skewer meat and roast it. The branches slowly rotated, and flames flickered upwards, creating a sizzling sound as oil dripped from them.

A few pinches of salt are sprinkled on, mixed with oil and water, and the aroma of the meat is released.

The soldiers chatted and laughed with each other in the slightly somber tone of the Yanmeng ethnic group, occasionally making sounds and singing together.

"The sun weaves a beautiful sunset glow—ten thousand horses gallop in pursuit of her..."

Reaching out to pick that bouquet of flowers, the path ahead is fraught with obstacles.

The four sentries sang together, and cheers filled the air.

Meanwhile, Xi Heng swiftly advanced while the enemy was enjoying the roasted meat and lowering their guard.

With a flash, he drew his sword and parried the attack.

The two enemy soldiers closest to her immediately raised their heads, but had not yet swallowed the pieces of meat in their mouths.

Without hesitation, she pressed forward. The enemy soldier in front of her roared, and just as he drew his sword, his ribs, heart, lungs, and spine were all sliced ​​open by the red thread.

The severed half of the body crashed into the fire. To prevent the other from screaming, Xi Heng turned his sword and pierced the head again.

Within three seconds, four sentries were killed.

Xi Heng calmly returned to his team and led his men to continue climbing through the damp soil.

Along the way, they destroyed five or six outposts and killed three patrol teams. After rounding the mountainside, they could see Shoushui Pass, which was occupied by the enemy, in the distance.

Outside the checkpoint, a small open area was also occupied by a large number of military tents, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

This place is near water, and a simple fire attack would likely be quickly extinguished by a large number of enemy troops.

For a fire to be effective, it must be large enough and cover a wide enough area.

From a high vantage point, one can vaguely see the battle brewing in the mountains and forests on the opposite bank.

To coordinate with her sneak attack, two other generals were leading their troops to make a show of force in front, drawing the attention of the enemy general.

The war has now begun, and faint shouts of battle can be heard echoing through the valley.

Meanwhile, she needs to hurry up and find a good location to start fires in all directions.

……

Dark clouds obscured the moonlight, making the night even darker.

Xi Heng traversed numerous mountains and forests, assassinating his way through, and finally led his troops to the vicinity of Shoushui Pass.