Chen Anmi, fleeing for his life, was filled with regret. He had painstakingly gathered nearly thirty thousand men, and now they were all gone.
Looking at the remaining two to three thousand people by his side, Chen Anmi felt like crying.
They hadn't eaten for a whole day, and were exhausted and hungry, truly unable to run anymore.
If not for the many small streams in this area, they might have collapsed from exhaustion and thirst.
"General, it's so late, Yun Yue Kingdom shouldn't be pursuing us anymore. Please eat something, have a quick meal, and get some sleep."
Chen Anmi nodded and took the helmet from the old general. He looked down.
Inside the helmet, there was no proper food, just a mush of mashed wild vegetables and grass roots.
Forcing down his nausea, Chen Anmi closed his eyes, grabbed a handful, and stuffed it into his mouth, forcing himself to eat.
After a few bites, Chen Anmi found he couldn't swallow anymore. He opened his eyes and said, "Old General, you should eat some too."
"Alright."
The old general sat down beside him and ate without changing his expression, which Chen Anmi admired greatly.
In his youth, the old general must have experienced many defeats.
After a perfunctory meal, Chen Anmi was overwhelmingly sleepy. Without removing his clothes, he lay down on the ground, still wearing his inner armor, and closed his eyes to sleep.
As for the outer armor, he hadn't had time to put it on during the chaotic escape from the camp; he had been lying in bed before that.
While he was sleeping soundly, the ground suddenly began to shake.
Although he didn't want to open his eyes, Chen Anmi forced himself to wake up.
"General, that's the sound of cavalry! The people of Yun Yue Kingdom must have caught up. Let's run!"
Beside him, the old general was shaking his arm.
"Damn it, will this never end!"
Ma Su was in a terrible mood, cursing as he helped Chen Anmi up.
"Sigh."
Chen Anmi sighed and glanced at the many soldiers around him who were fast asleep and could not be roused. He couldn't manage them and could only follow the old general and continue running.
The pursuers behind them seemed to be attracted by the soldiers on the ground, busy capturing prisoners and not chasing them.
Chen Anmi and his group ran for another half a night before they could run no further.
"Old General, let's stop. I can't run anymore."
Chen Anmi panted, his legs trembling.
"Alright." The old general was also unable to run any further. To have lasted this long was already the result of desperately squeezing his own robust vital energy.
With that, a wave of them collapsed.
Only a few generals could still sit up.
Looking at the less than three hundred people around him, Chen Anmi felt a pang of despair. "Old General, do you think we can really escape back?"
"We definitely can."
"I've been in the army for decades, I've won and lost, fought countless battles, big and small. I've had times as tragic as this when I lost, and I'm still alive and well."
The old general encouraged Chen Anmi, his old face full of exhaustion.
"Let's hope so."
Chen Anmi sighed again.
Just as Chen Anmi was about to lie down on the ground.
Suddenly, the sound of cavalry rumbled from the front.
"What is this? The sound of cavalry ahead? Is it reinforcements from the court, or has that damned eunuch caught up again?"
Chen Anmi had no choice. He forced himself to stand up, slapped his face twice to forcibly wake himself up.
"This direction should be reinforcements from the court, right? There's no need for them to chase us and then circle back to the front."
The old general thought for a moment and replied.
"Great! Reinforcements are here!" Ma Su didn't want to think and immediately assumed it was reinforcements, shouting excitedly.
The soldiers around them struggled to get up, looking forward with excitement and anticipation.
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
It was not reinforcements from Chen, but the banner of Yun Yue Kingdom, the Misty Moonlit Night.
"..."
Chen Anmi plopped back down on the ground, lowering his head. He couldn't be bothered to run anymore, nor could he.
The soldiers lay back down, staring at the sky.
Ma Su knelt on the ground, filled with despair.
The old general wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
Soon, the cavalry stopped about ten meters away from Chen Anmi and his group.
On horseback, Chu Chen smiled and said, "General Zhenxi, Chen Anmi, we meet again."
"You are a devil! To toy with us like this, is it that amusing?"
Chen Anmi was furious but lacked the strength to stand up.
"What are you saying? I saw how well you could run, so I gave you a little more hope."
"Besides, what is this? When I led five hundred men to raid and burn your grain, I ran for two full days."
"You can't even last a day and a night?"
"This? With this level of skill, you dare to invade my Yun Yue Kingdom? Who gave you the audacity!"
As Chu Chen spoke, the smile on his face disappeared, and he spoke with a cold, mocking tone.
"The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. There's no point in saying more. Kill us or dismember us, we will obey."
Chen Anmi said, then turned his head away.
"You might want to die, but your subordinates might not."
Chu Chen turned and shouted, "Kneel and surrender, and your lives will be spared! We'll give you food on the spot, and you'll be sure to eat your fill!"
"Who is willing to surrender?"
The soldiers looked at each other, struggled to get up, and prostrated themselves on the ground.
With all their might, they shouted, "We are willing to surrender!"
"You, you all!"
Chen Anmi was furious. These men had followed him this far, and now they were surrendering?
"Since you have followed me this far, why do you surrender?"
"Why not retain some backbone, and leave behind a good name!"
Chen Anmi pleaded desperately.
"General, you led the brothers to a defeat, but the brothers have no resentment and are still willing to follow you."
"Outside Pingyang County, you said there was food, but there wasn't, and instead, we were chased. We still didn't blame you and continued to follow."
"In the middle of the night, we ate the wild grass paste and followed you to run again, and we still didn't blame you."
"But now we can't run anymore, we have no strength, we are too hungry."
"We just want to eat a full meal and sleep well. As for what happens afterward, we can't worry about it anymore."
A soldier beside him replied weakly, his eyes drooping, looking on the verge of death.
Seeing this, Chu Chen quickly waved his hand, instructing someone to give him water and a biscuit.
The soldier grabbed the biscuit and devoured it. The surrounding soldiers couldn't hold back any longer and began to plead.
Chu Chen had them distributed one by one, while also collecting their small weapons.
"Chen Anmi, looking at you, perhaps you haven't eaten in a long time? You must be hungry after running for a day and a night."
"How about, have a bite?"
Chu Chen smiled and handed him a bowl of golden, shimmering broth.
Chen Anmi's eyes widened with rage. With the last of his strength, he stood up, knocked over the bowl, and shouted, "A scholar can be killed but not insulted!"
"I... I'll fight you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he took only two steps before collapsing at Chu Chen's feet, his eyes wide open.
"Oh dear, he's dead."
Chu Chen withdrew his probing hand. "I just don't know if he died of anger or exhaustion."
Ma Su and the old general watched all this. They were filled with grief but made no move, silently awaiting death.
"Forget it. Those who don't surrender, kill them."
Chu Chen said coldly and waved his hand.