Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 652 - 597: Trapped in Falling Dragon Mountain

Chapter 652: Chapter 597: Trapped in Falling Dragon Mountain

Following Zhang San as he led the Divine Martial Army down the main road to the right to seek out the Central Army under Kaihuang’s command, the forces had just charged halfway when they saw a signal flare soar into the sky towards the northeast direction, bursting in midair.

And along with the explosion of the signal flare, Zhang San’s composure shattered as well.

Because Zhang San knew that direction was not where Wang Junwu’s Jin River Army was positioned.

If a signal flare could be released from there, there could be only one explanation.

That was Kaihuang had charged forward with his troops.

And he likely encountered the Tujue, otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent a distress signal.

"Divine Martial Army, all Martial Artists squads, follow me and charge ahead! The remaining troops maintain your current speed and advance, but be cautious of ambushes by the Tujue," Zhang San ordered.

After giving the instructions, Zhang San let Bai Dushu lead the remaining soldiers on their way while he led the Martial Artists squad of three thousand men directly towards the location of the signal flare.

Just as Zhang San arrived, he found that Wang Junwu had also brought his men to the scene.

"Brother San, what’s going on?"

Wang Junwu still had no idea what had happened.

Zhang San immediately shared all the intelligence he had received with Wang Junwu.

Upon hearing this, Wang Junwu’s complexion turned grave.

Soon, Zhang San and Wang Junwu caught up with the main forces.

At that moment, the main force was fiercely assaulting a mountaintop, but unfortunately, the Turkic people on the mountain were well-prepared, and were now showering the Sui Army with a hail of arrows, making it incredibly difficult for the Sui Army to advance up the slope.

From a distance, Zhang San saw the whole mountain split open right down the middle, creating two halves.

However, the valley in between was blocked by numerous massive boulders obstructing the path.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zhang San exclaimed.

At this time, the general leading the fierce assault on the valley entrance, to no avail, suddenly took notice of the banners of the Divine Martial Army and Jin River Army arriving from behind, looking as if he had seen his own kin.

Several generals from the Capital of higher rank than Zhang San and Wang Junwu almost slid to their knees before the two men.

"General Zhang San, save us! Distant Army Count, please save us!" they begged.

Zhang San sighed helplessly and asked, "Don’t panic! Calm down and tell me, what exactly happened?"

The generals were nearly in tears.

One of them, who was relatively composed, recounted the events from two minutes prior.

It turned out that Kaihuang had commanded the main force to accelerate their advance.

On one hand, it was because Kaihuang felt that victory in this battle was inevitable and it was merely a matter of how they would win. Thus, he had become somewhat overconfident.

After all, for many years, the might of the Tujue had been a massive stone pressing down on his heart.

Now that the stone was pushed aside, how could Kaihuang not jump for joy!

On the other hand, Kaihuang also knew that some of the generals who had come with him were keen on making merits against the Tujue during this battle.

Even within the Capital, many noble families had sent their own young men to the army, naturally hoping that they could attain some achievements in this war.

But if the battle continued according to the plan of Zhang San and Wang Junwu, it was feared that until the Tujue were driven out through Longyun Path, others would have no chances to engage in combat.

Then there were many who expressed to Kaihuang that Zhang San and Wang Junwu wished to claim the greatest merits for themselves in this battle.

After all, at the end of this war, Zhang San was certain to be ennobled.

Wang Junwu had also gained the title of Distant Army Count.

The two of them, to maintain their status as the principal parties of merit, naturally came up with a plan that prevented others from gaining achievements.

While Kaihuang had no doubts about the sincerity of Zhang San and Wang Junwu, under the instigation of Pan Hu, he also felt the need to give those generals and young men from the Capital a chance.

Moreover, Kaihuang felt that victory in this battle was already secured.

"Now that it’s steady, what harm is there in being a bit reckless!"

So, Kaihuang gave the order, and the whole army rushed forth!

As a result, the grand army joined in the pursuit, and the fleeing Tujue also sped up in front of them.

Seeing the Tujue run even faster, Kaihuang became even more certain that the Tujue had no strength left for a fight. The fear that Zhang San and Wang Junwu had spread among them had begun to take root.

If that was the case, why not seize the moment and capture all these Tujue in one fell swoop!

Consequently, the grand army charged towards Falling Dragon Mountain, and the once whole mountain suddenly split in two.

Pan Hu immediately said this was an auspicious sign, even mountains parting to make way for the Sui Army, allowing for a faster pursuit of the Tujue.

Of course, Kaihuang wasn’t foolish and naturally sent people to scout inside the valley.

Discovering it was safe inside, they promptly led the grand army forward.

The result was that when the scouts entered it was safe, but when Kaihuang led the full court of civil and military officials in, it wasn’t as safe.

As soon as Kaihuang and the troops of the civil and military officials had gone in briefly, countless rocks began to fall from above the entrance to the split valley, crushing and injuring countless troops behind them.

Then, a large number of Tujue soldiers appeared from both sides of Falling Dragon Mountain and started shooting arrows at the Sui Army trying to enter the mouth of the valley.

With the addition of countless rocks tumbling down, the Sui Army was even less able to advance.

Everyone knew that Kaihuang was inside and wanted to rescue him, yet they couldn’t get in.

Fortunately, at this moment they saw Zhang San and Wang Junwu.

Seeing these people’s plight, Zhang San sighed helplessly and said in a low voice, "Luckily, these Tujue have only trapped Kaihuang and the others, and since Kaihuang has many elite soldiers and good generals by his side, we need not worry. For the time being, Kaihuang and his men are safe. If I were the Tujue commander, I would take advantage of the exhausted troops attacking the mountain and lead a Tujue army to strike now, catching you all off guard."

The generals couldn’t help but feel grateful that their enemy wasn’t Zhang San, or else...

And just then, a great Tujue army charged over from the direction of Falling Dragon Mountain.

Zhang San and Wang Junwu looked at each other and said in unison, "Retreat!"

Upon hearing both generals speak, the officers immediately ordered a full retreat of the army.

At the same time, within Falling Dragon Mountain, Cao Demeng was protecting Kaihuang, resisting the Tujue who were pouring in like a tidal wave.

Within Falling Dragon Mountain, gunpowder smoke was everywhere at this moment.

Previously, the Tujue cultivators had released countless fireballs that exploded within the valley, and with the abundance of dried tree trunks and grass in the valley, smoke was now everywhere.

The Tujue, their faces covered with wet cloths, rode on horses and charged, slaughtering the more than forty thousand grand army that had walked in front, causing them to collapse.

At this moment, Cao Demeng was resisting with all his might against the attacking Turkic Cavalry.

Suddenly, dozens of arrows shot from nowhere.

They immediately rushed forward to shield Kaihuang, deflecting the arrows with their Horizontal Blades.

But then, an even faster arrow struck unexpectantly, aiming for Kaihuang behind them.

Feeling panic, Kaihuang sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late to dodge.

Cao Demeng moved aside to block.

Thwack!

The arrow pierced directly into Cao Demeng’s left eye.

At the same time, outside the smoke, a hundred more Tujue cavalry charged forward.

"That one is clearly a high-ranking officer! Kill!"

"He’s blinded in one eye now, even easier to deal with!"

At that moment, Cao Demeng raised his right hand, pulled the arrow from his left eye, faced the charging Tujue, plucked out his eyeball, tossed it into his mouth, chewed it up, and roared, "Who dares to fight me!?"