Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 116 The Chase

Once the rout began, it was like an unstoppable avalanche. The remnants of the Black Mountain Army, having lost effective command and the will to fight, were completely routed by the combined counterattack of the Spark Army's infantry and cavalry. The mountains and plains were filled with fleeing soldiers, abandoning their armor and weapons, and running for their lives.

Chen Xing stood atop the city wall, his gaze calmly sweeping across the battlefield. The overall situation was settled, but victory needed to be consolidated, and threats needed to be eradicated.

"Order Murong Mingyue: All cavalry to be deployed in pursuit, with the primary target being Zhang Kuang and his personal guards! They must be relentlessly pursued and attacked, without allowing them any respite to regroup!" Chen Xing's voice was resolute. "Furthermore, notify the entire army and surrounding surrendered villages and fortresses: Take in the routed soldiers and seize their weapons; however, anyone who gathers armed groups to resist should be killed without exception!"

The order was given like the wind. Outside the north gate, Murong Mingyue's cavalry, having just completed a raid and taking a short rest, quickly regrouped. Their horses snorted, and the riders' faces bore the weariness of battle, but their eyes were sharper than ever. They knew that the real test of their cavalry's endurance and pursuit skills was about to begin.

"The lord's order!" A messenger arrived on horseback, "Pursue Zhang Kuang relentlessly, without giving him a moment's respite!"

Murong Mingyue nodded, wiping the sweat and cigarette ash from her face, and mounted her horse, her red battle robe fluttering in the morning breeze. She raised her long sword, her clear voice echoing throughout the army: "Soldiers! The Black Mountain bandit leader Zhang Kuang is fleeing ahead! Follow me and pursue him, eradicating him completely! Let the North be free from the Black Mountain threat forever!"

"Chase!"

"Kill the arrogant one!"

The cavalrymen shouted in unison, their fighting spirit reignited. Murong Mingyue took the lead, and her more than five hundred riders sped off like arrows, bypassing the infantry of the Trapped Camp who were clearing the front lines and taking prisoners. They raced northward along the ravaged roads and tracks left by the fleeing Black Mountain Army.

The pursuit has begun.

For the first twenty miles, it was almost a one-sided hunt. The fleeing Black Mountain soldiers were already terrified; many had even abandoned their weapons, only caring about running headlong. Murong Mingyue's cavalry split into several groups, sweeping past the outer perimeter of the fleeing soldiers like a comb. Where the blade flashed, blood splattered. Those who knelt to surrender or voluntarily discarded their weapons were simply shouted at and dispersed, ignored. Their primary target remained fixed on the larger cavalry unit ahead, protecting a tattered black banner as they fled for their lives—that was Zhang Kuang and his remaining personal guards!

Zhang Kuang was no longer the arrogant man he once was. His helmet was nowhere to be found, his hair was disheveled, his armor was askew, and his face was covered in cigarette ash, blood, and extreme panic. He had less than two hundred riders left with him, all of whom were his most loyal old brothers, and now they were all wounded and looked flustered.

"Faster! Faster! As long as we escape back to the Black Mountain camp and rely on the terrain, we still have a chance!" Zhang Kuang roared, whipping his mount relentlessly. His heart was filled with humiliation and fear, but even more so with bewilderment: how could his army of over ten thousand have been defeated so quickly and so miserably? Those terrifying crossbows, those tenacious defenders, that sharp counterattack, and last night's unpredictable assassination attempt and fire… Starfire Fortress, Chen Xing—just what kind of monster is he?

Looking back, billowing dust filled the air as the insidious red cavalry closed in! They were moving faster, and their horses seemed to have more stamina.

"General! We can't keep running like this! Their horses are strong, they'll catch up sooner or later! We must leave someone behind to cover the rear!" a guard captain said urgently.

Zhang Kuang's expression shifted, finally hardening into a ruthless glint: "You, take fifty men and stay! Hold them off! If you make it back alive, I'll promote you to deputy commander!"

The head of the guards turned pale, but seeing the arrogant and ferocious look in Zhang's eyes, he knew he had no other choice. He gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes! Your subordinate will not fail the commander's trust!" He selected fifty lightly wounded cavalrymen, turned their horses around, and barely managed to form a line on a relatively open earthen slope, trying to block the pursuers.

Murong Mingyue saw a group of enemy troops turn around and form ranks in the distance, and a cold smile appeared on her lips.

"Trying to cover the rear? You're asking for death! First team, second team, flank them from the left and right, harass them with mounted archers! Third team, follow me to break through their formation head-on!" she quickly gave the order.

The cavalry immediately changed formation. A hundred riders each flanked out, like two sharp arrows, drawing arcs and approaching the rearguard of the Black Mountain cavalry from both sides. Before they even arrived, waves of arrows had already rained down upon them. At the front, Murong Mingyue personally led over two hundred riders, their speed undiminished, even increasing again. Her longsword held horizontally, like a red-hot iron spike, she slammed it fiercely into the enemy formation, which had just formed its ranks and was not yet fully stable!

"boom!"

Cavalry charged, blood and flesh flying everywhere. The Black Mountain rearguard, already demoralized and outnumbered, was completely routed by the Starfire cavalry's three-pronged attack. The head of the personal guard was cleaved from his horse by Murong Mingyue's blade, and fifty rearguard cavalrymen were either killed or surrendered.

However, this slight delay allowed Zhang Kuang and his group to run even further.

Murong Mingyue showed no interest in fighting, leaving a small force to gather the prisoners and warhorses while the main force continued the pursuit. She knew that Zhang Kuang was already a frightened bird, and each time he was forced to stop resisting, it would further deplete his already limited forces and time for escape.

After the pursuit had gone thirty miles, the terrain began to become more complex, with more hills and sparse woodlands appearing. Zhang Kuang tried to use the terrain to shake off the pursuers, even risking a split, sending a small group to run along a side road under his banner, while he led the core of several dozen men into a small path.

However, Murong Mingyue had guides familiar with the terrain of the north, as well as information extracted from surrendered Black Mountain soldiers. She was not fooled by the simple deception, deduced Zhang Kuang's possible escape route, and led her main force in hot pursuit.

After chasing for another twenty miles, they came to a river that wasn't too wide, with a rapid current. Zhang Kuang and his men were frantically trying to find a shallow spot or a bridge to cross the river, their panic evident.

"Fire!" Murong Mingyue gave the order when they were within an arrow's reach.

Arrows rained down, and more than ten more Black Mountain guards screamed as they fell from their horses into the river. Under the desperate cover of his personal guards, Zhang Kuang barely found a section of the river where the current was slightly calmer. Ignoring the icy water, he spurred his horse and swam across with all his might. Several more were swept away by the current.

When Murong Mingyue led her troops to the riverbank, Zhang Kuang had already led his remaining thirty-odd riders, who had scrambled onto the opposite bank in a disheveled state, and continued their northward escape without looking back. A dozen or so corpses and an equal number of unclaimed warhorses were left on the riverbank.

"Chase after them!" Murong Mingyue didn't hesitate, spurring her horse into the river first. The cavalry followed closely behind. The icy river water soaked through their battle robes, but no one retreated.

After crossing the river, the pursuit continued. However, the continuous long-distance march and river crossing had exhausted both sides. The Starfire Cavalry's horses were of superior quality and their training was more rigorous, but Zhang Kuang and his men were fleeing for their lives, their potential pushed to the limit. The distance was slowly but steadily closing.

Fifty li... sixty li... seventy li...

Along the way, Black Mountain cavalrymen kept collapsing from exhaustion or being shot down by their pursuers. Zhang Kuang's men dwindled in number.

After chasing for nearly a hundred miles, as the sun began to set, Zhang Kuang had less than twenty riders left, all of them foaming at the mouth and swaying precariously. Ahead, the shadows of a continuous mountain range could be seen in the distance; that was the edge of the Black Mountain Range, and also the direction of Zhang Kuang's lair.

Hope seemed to be just around the corner! A final, frenzied glint of light erupted in Zhang Kuang's eyes.

However, Murong Mingyue and her cavalry, like leeches, relentlessly pursued them for hundreds of paces! The Starfire cavalry were equally exhausted, but their formation remained intact and their fighting spirit undiminished.

"General! Go into the mountains! Once we're in the mountains, their horses will be harder to catch!" a guard shouted.

Zhang Kuang gritted his teeth, jabbed the horse's rump hard with the hilt of his sword, and squeezed out the last bit of strength from his mount as it charged toward the nearest mountain pass.

Just then—

"Hiss—!"

Zhang Kuang's warhorse let out a mournful cry, its front legs buckled, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud, throwing Zhang Kuang away violently! This once mighty warhorse had finally exhausted its last bit of life force during its desperate escape that lasted for a hundred miles.

"General!" the guards exclaimed, and hurriedly dismounted to come to his rescue.

With this delay, Murong Mingyue's pursuers arrived!

"Arrogant! Where do you think you're going!" Murong Mingyue shouted, drew her bow and shot down one of her guards who was trying to help Zhang Kuang up.

Finally, a dozen or so Black Mountain guards, their eyes red with fury, turned and charged back in a desperate struggle. However, their numbers, strength, and morale had all plummeted.

After a brief but fierce battle, the Starfire Cavalry, at the cost of several men suffering minor injuries, wiped out the last group of guards.

Murong Mingyue rode forward, her long sword pointing at Zhang Kuang, who was dazed and struggling to get up after being thrown to the ground.

Zhang Kuang's helmet was long gone, his hair was disheveled, his face was covered in abrasions, and blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth. He knelt on the ground, looking up at the female general on horseback, dressed in fiery red, with a beautiful face but cold eyes. His eyes were filled with resentment, fear, and a hint of unbelievable absurdity.

He, the Black Mountain Commander who dominated the Black Mountain, commanded over ten thousand soldiers, and was feared by many forces in the North, was actually defeated by a fortified village lord who had risen to power in just over a year, and was ultimately going to die by a woman's knife.

"Heh...heh..." Zhang Kuang suddenly let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh. "Chen Xing...what a Chen Xing...he actually sent a woman to kill me..."

Murong Mingyue's eyes remained unmoved as she coldly said, "Those who offend Xinghuo will be punished. In your next life, remember not to provoke the wrong people."

After saying that, a flash of light appeared on the blade!

The arrogant laughter abruptly stopped, a head flew off, and the headless corpse collapsed to the ground, its blood staining the rocks and withered grass at the foot of the mountain.

The reign of a powerful figure in the North has come to an end.

Murong Mingyue sheathed her sword, glanced at the arrogant head lying on the ground, then looked at the dark mountain pass not far away, and slowly exhaled a breath of foul air tinged with blood.

"Sever the head, gather the warhorses, and... go home." She turned her horse around, her voice weary but also relieved to have completed her mission.

The setting sun cast long shadows of the victorious cavalry across the vast northern plains. The hundred-mile pursuit ended with the capture of the bandit leader.

From now on, the North will no longer have the title of "Black Mountain Commander." And the fame of "Spark" will spread far and wide with this exhilarating pursuit and decapitation.