noffsinger Chapter 2065 The front line also collapsed.
Chapter 2065 The front line also collapsed.
Sensing the wavering morale of his troops, Liu Hongji abruptly raised his long spear, his gray head held high. Though his voice was hoarse, it carried an undeniable resolve and power, resounding throughout his own ranks:
"Soldiers! Do not listen to the nonsense of the Chu traitor! The marshal's retreat is to preserve our core troops so that we can rise again! It is by no means an abandonment of us!"
"We are ordered to cover the rear; this is a soldier's duty and our honor!"
"Behind us lies the lifeline of our comrades and the prestige of the Tang Dynasty! How can we grovel before the enemy?"
His gaze swept across the young and weathered faces around him, and his voice suddenly rose, carrying a tragic and moving power: "A true man is born between heaven and earth, and death is death! What is there to fear! To be wrapped in a horse's hide is a soldier's duty!"
"Today, I, Liu Hongji, am here to live and die with you all! I will never retreat! I will never surrender!"
"For the Great Tang Dynasty—!"
"General..."
His personal guards choked back tears, then burst into a furious roar: "For the Tang Dynasty! Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"
The previously somewhat demoralized troops were rekindled by Liu Hongji's resolute stance and words.
The surviving Tang soldiers roared like wild beasts, their eyes burning with renewed frenzied fighting spirit.
surrender?
No! They are soldiers of the Tang Dynasty; they have their pride and their principles!
Even if you know you're going to die, you should die standing up!
Ran Ming, watching from the opposite side, saw that the morale of the Tang army was rising instead of falling, and his brows furrowed. He knew that there was no hope of persuading them to surrender.
He snorted coldly and swung his longsword forward fiercely: "Stubborn fools! Then so be it! All troops, listen to my command—attack! Crush them!"
An even bloodier and more brutal battle erupted once again.
Liu Hongji and his 30,000 rearguard Tang soldiers, with their own flesh and blood and will, wrote the final stubbornness and tragic song of the Tang army spirit on this desperate battlefield.
They knew the outcome was inevitable, but they chose to end their final journey in the most heroic way.
Ran Ming's thunderous appeal for surrender still echoed across the battlefield, but the response he received was Liu Hongji's resolute roar and the Tang army's renewed, tragic fighting spirit.
Having failed to persuade Ran Ming to surrender, the last trace of patience on his face vanished, replaced by a cold killing intent and the fierce courage of a warrior provoked into submission.
"Since you all desire death, I will grant your wish!"
Ran Ming's voice was as cold as iron, and he suddenly swung the huge Mo Dao in his hand forward, drawing a cold arc of light in the torchlight.
"All troops—attack! Crush them!"
With the final shackles broken, the Chu army, like a completely enraged tidal wave, launched a general offensive against the Tang army's already dilapidated positions with even greater ferocity and disregard for cost.
Under Liu Hongji's command, the Tang army unleashed the last of their strength, like wounded beasts, launching a desperate yet still fierce counterattack.
The battle raged from the dead of night until the darkest hour before dawn.
Liu Hongji took the lead, and the long spear seemed to come alive in his hands. Every time the spear tip protruded, it was precise and deadly, and the fierce Chu soldiers who tried to get close were knocked off their horses one after another.
He was like a pillar of strength, firmly anchored under the commander's flag; his very existence was the spiritual pillar for all the Tang army troops covering the rear.
He kept roaring, adjusting the formation, filling gaps, and using his rich experience and fearless courage to delay the fate of total annihilation.
Amidst the chaos of the army, Ran Ming kept his eyes fixed on Liu Hongji.
He knew that if he didn't execute this colleague, the Tang army's will to resist wouldn't completely collapse.
He spurred his warhorse, replacing his giant axe with a long-handled broadsword, slashing left and right like cutting through waves, carving a bloody path through the chaotic crowd and heading straight for Liu Hongji's central army.
"Liu Hongji! Ran Ming is here. Do you dare to fight me?"
The sound arrived as soon as the person appeared. The heavy long-handled sword, accompanied by a piercing whistle that tore through the air, slashed down towards Liu Hongji's head like a collapsing mountain!
Liu Hongji's pupils contracted, but he showed no fear. He trembled with his long spear, and the tip of the spear shook, turning into several cold stars.
He actually adopted an offensive strategy, aiming straight for Ran Ming's throat, heart, and other vital points, a fighting style that would result in mutual destruction!
"clang--!"
A deafening clang of metal rang out, sparks flying everywhere!
Both were formidable warriors of their time, and now, amidst this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, they were locked in a fierce battle, unleashing their martial arts skills and valor to the fullest.
The shadows of spears were like dragons, and the light of blades was like bolts of lightning. Within a radius of several feet, the wind was fierce, and ordinary soldiers could not get close at all. They could only fight each other more fiercely.
Time slipped away amidst the bloody battle, and the eastern sky gradually turned a pale white, the faint light beginning to dispel the heavy darkness and illuminate this hellish battlefield.
Corpses lay strewn across the fields, blood flowed like rivers, and tattered flags fluttered helplessly in the morning breeze.
After fighting fiercely for half the night, Liu Hongji, being of advanced age, had exhausted his strength and suffered several new injuries, inevitably slowing his movements slightly.
Ran Ming, on the other hand, was in his prime, possessing great strength and becoming increasingly courageous in battle.
Just after a head-on clash, Liu Hongji's arm went numb, and the moment his long spear was deflected, an extremely tiny opening was revealed.
For a master like Ran Ming, this is more than enough!
"die!"
Ran Ming's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, he changed his slashing motion with a thrusting motion.
The blade tip, like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, pierced through Liu Hongji's parry with lightning speed and plunged deep into his chest!
"puff--!"
The knife tip pierced through his back, drawing out a spray of scalding hot blood.
Liu Hongji's body stiffened abruptly, and the long spear in his hand clattered to the ground.
He looked down at the longsword that pierced his chest, then looked up and gazed northward.
That was the direction Li Jing had retreated in. There was no fear or regret in his eyes, only a trace of regret for not being able to complete the mission, and a sense of relief.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only gushing blood came out.
Finally, his imposing figure slowly fell from the horse's back, crashing heavily onto the cold, blood-soaked ground.
Liu Hongji, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, died on the battlefield!
"General!!!"
The surviving Tang soldiers around them, witnessing this scene, let out heart-wrenching cries of grief.
The fall of the banner and the death of the commander became the final straw that broke their already strained nerves.
In an instant, the Tang army's previously organized resistance completely collapsed.
Some people dropped their weapons, knelt down and begged for surrender, their faces filled with numbness and despair.
Someone shouted and turned to flee for their life away from the battlefield, desperate to get away from this land of death.
Some of Liu Hongji's loyal guards and veterans had bloodshot eyes and looked like madmen.
Shouting "Avenge the general!", they launched a suicidal final charge against Ran Ming and the Chu army.
Then, like moths drawn to a raging fire, they were quickly swallowed up and killed by the tide of Chu troops.