12dz Chapter 2280 Flanking from Both Sides
Chapter 2280 Flanking from Both Sides
"Oh? I can't speak freely?"
Ma Chao seemed not to hear his urging and continued to speak slowly and deliberately, even gently patting his mount's neck.
"Then I shall ask you again: You colluded with Helian Hui of the Scorpion Clan, leading the iron hooves of foreign tribes to trample our land. Do you have any respect for the great Chu dynasty that our founding emperor established with great difficulty? Do you have any respect for the instructions of the previous emperors to protect our land and ensure the safety of our people?"
"You are trapped here today, showing no remorse, but instead resorting to despicable means to threaten us. Is this the demeanor of your Chu royal family?"
"you……!"
Chu Xuan trembled with anger. Ma Chao's words were like knives, stabbing him in his most painful and hypocritical places.
He wanted to refute, but the other party's unhurried and even somewhat exploratory attitude left him powerless, as if he had punched cotton.
He grew increasingly agitated, constantly turning back to look behind him.
The torchlight of Xue Huaide's main force was getting closer and closer, and the rumbling footsteps and hoofbeats could already be faintly heard!
Time is flying by!
"Ma Chao! I have no time to waste with your nonsense!"
Chu Xuan's voice became shrill with urgency: "Are you going to let me pass or not?!"
"let?"
Ma Chao seemed to consider it seriously for a moment, then shook his head. "His Majesty has decreed that the traitorous Prince Chu Xuan be captured."
"The imperial decree has not been changed. How dare I release them without authorization? This is my duty as a subject."
"Chu Xuan, if you still have even a shred of the spirit of the founding emperor, you should lay down your weapon, take the initiative to plead guilty, and perhaps you can save some dignity. Perhaps His Majesty will consider the bond of blood..."
"fart!"
Chu Xuan completely lost his composure and cursed, "Get out of the way! Get out of my way!"
He turned abruptly and roared at the remaining generals beside him, "Gather the cavalry that can still move! Prepare to charge with me! They dare not shoot arrows to wound Su Tingmei, let's break out!"
He attempted to organize one last desperate charge, even at the cost of lives, to break through the encirclement before Ma Chao and Xue Huaide could complete their encirclement.
However, his order came too late.
Although the Xiliang army stopped its ranged attacks, its infantry lines had silently advanced more than ten steps during the conversation, making the blockade even tighter.
More importantly, in the darkness behind him, the rumbling sound was already deafening, and the torchlight formed a dazzling band of light, like a wildfire, quickly engulfing the night in the direction of his retreat.
"Report—Your Highness! Rear! A large number of enemy troops have appeared in the rear! It's...it's the Xue banner! Xue Huaide's main force has arrived! We are completely surrounded!"
The scouts rushed over, their voices filled with despair.
Chu Xuan was struck dumb and turned around abruptly.
At the other end of Luoyan Gorge, the direction from which he had come, was now completely blocked by a well-organized formation of infantry and cavalry.
Under the bright torches, the banner bearing the character "Xue" fluttered in the wind, and the Chu army, clad in gleaming armor, stood solemnly like a forest, their spears arrayed like reeds, their bows and crossbows poised to fire, forming an impregnable encirclement.
Xue Huaide, clad in black armor, sat upright under the banner at the front of the battle, his aged yet majestic gaze piercing the battlefield as he looked into the distance.
Only now did Chu Xuan realize this.
Ma Chao's seemingly boring rambling and deliberately provocative yet restrained conversation was simply a delaying tactic!
He deliberately stopped shooting to steady himself and used words to entangle Xue Huaide's main force, all in order to wait for Xue Huaide's main force to arrive and complete this final, fatal encirclement!
I felt like a fly caught in a spider's web, struggling in vain as the hunter calmly and effortlessly closed in the trap.
In front, Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry blocked the gorge, pressing forward step by step; behind, Xue Huaide's main force blocked the retreat route, ready for battle.
To the left and right are insurmountable mountain ridges. A true inescapable net has been formed.
Chu Xuan's face instantly turned ashen; all his arrogance, threats, and wishful thinking were ruthlessly crushed by reality at this moment.
His hand holding the sword fell limply to his side. He looked around and saw only the terrified and desperate eyes of his subordinates.
The carriage that carried his last hope now looked more like a magnificent prison, surrounded by enemies.
Looking at Chu Xuan, whose face was ashen, Ma Chao finally stopped "chatting".
He slowly drew his battle sword from his waist, the blade reflecting a cold, icy light in the torchlight. His voice, once again resonant and sharp, echoed through the now completely surrounded Luoyan Gorge:
"Chu Xuan! General Xue has arrived, and you cannot escape! Dismount now, surrender, and hand over Mr. Su. This may save your soldiers from unnecessary casualties! If you remain obstinate..."
He pointed his blade forward, his gaze merging with the chilling aura of Xue Huaide's army behind him: "Then don't blame us for carrying out the king's orders and wiping out their stronghold!"
Within the canyon, danger lurked everywhere. Chu Xuan's remaining troops were trapped like turtles in a jar, their annihilation imminent.
At the other end of Luoyan Gorge, the darkness that had once been the escape route was now completely ignited and filled. Xue Huaide's main force had arrived.
There were no thunderous war drums, no clamorous shouts.
This army, having endured a long march and fierce prelude battles, completed the final encirclement with a chilling silence and discipline.
The torchlight formed a shimmering ocean of light, illuminating the canyon exit as bright as day and clearly outlining the panicked silhouettes of Chu Xuan's remaining troops.
The armor and weapons reflected a cold light, layer upon layer, stretching as far as the eye could see.
At the very front was a massive, wall-like formation of infantry, with halberds like a forest and giant shields linked together.
On both flanks stood cavalrymen, ready for battle, bows drawn and arrows strung.
In the center, the large banner bearing the character "Xue" stood firmly in the night wind.
Under his command, the veteran general Xue Huaide sat upright on his warhorse. His black armor gleamed with a dark luster in the firelight, his white beard fluttered slightly in the wind, and his face was calm as water, yet he possessed a majestic air of having a thousand troops under his command.
His arrival was like a final, devastating blow, shattering the last remaining glimmer of hope in Chu Xuan's remaining forces regarding their escape.
The encirclement has become an impregnable fortress.
With Ma Chao's Xiliang wolf cavalry blocking the vital passage in front and Xue Huaide's battle-hardened elite troops sealing off the retreat route behind, the mountain ridges on both sides, though not particularly high, were still formidable barriers.
Chu Xuan and his thousand or so remaining soldiers were tightly confined to this narrow area in front of Luoyan Gorge, with no way to escape.
Xue Huaide's gaze slowly swept across the chaotic opposing camp, finally settling on Chu Xuan, who was surrounded like a star in the center, but looked utterly disheveled.
He gently urged his warhorse forward, taking more than ten steps until he reached the very front of the army formation.
This distance ensures that the sound is transmitted clearly while maintaining sufficient dignity and security.
"Your Highness Prince Xuan."
Xue Huaide spoke, his voice not loud, but deep and steady, carrying a penetrating power that had weathered many storms, clearly reaching every corner of the battlefield.
Unlike Ma Chao, he did not address him by his given name, but instead used the title of Prince.
But in this context, the title carries a heavy irony and a final, formulaic respect.