Upon hearing this, Tuoba Han smiled faintly.

He would not kill Old Cai and the others, at least not for now.

If Zhao Qianyi truly committed suicide because of Old Cai and the others’ deaths, he couldn’t bear that responsibility.

He waved his hand, and two soldiers bound Zhao Qianyi, then hurriedly headed out of the city.

Only by handing Zhao Qianyi over to the king early could Tuoba Han feel at ease.

But shortly after they left the city.

Thud, thud, thud—

The crisp sound of hoofbeats echoed in the fields, and the ground began to tremble.

"Report—"

"Reporting to the General, a large number of Song cavalry has been spotted ahead, charging towards us," a scout hurriedly reported to Tuoba Han.

Just as everyone was in shock, there was a whoosh, and an arrow shot out from the distant forest, hitting the back of the scout’s head.

The scout staggered for a few seconds before collapsing in a pool of blood.

"Charge!"

"Kill!"

Shouts of battle rang out, and a massive cavalry force charged towards them the next second.

"It’s the Song army."

"Why are they here?"

The Loulan army’s faces changed drastically. Even Tuoba Han never expected so many Song soldiers to appear here.

To know, this area was supposed to be entirely their territory.

"Form ranks to face the enemy!" As one of the generals of the Desolate Kingdom, Tuoba Han quickly regained his composure and ordered his soldiers to form ranks to fight the enemy.

A cheval de frise formation quickly took shape.

But a shocking scene unfolded as a black shadow leaped into the sky from the forefront of the Song cavalry, charging into the cheval de frise formation alone.

A few breaths later, a Celestial Thunder descended, and the formation collapsed instantly.

Quickly, the Song army penetrated.

Without the means to stop the cavalry charge, the cavalry became invincible.

With one charge, most of the army led by Tuoba Han was dead or injured.

Among these, some were trampled to death by hooves.

"Retreat quickly!" The brave man doesn’t lose in front, seeing that the army was already in disarray, Tuoba Han immediately ordered a retreat. His personal soldiers left with Old Cai and Zhao Qianyi.

Deeming that taking the villagers of Taohua Village would slow down the escape, Tuoba Han ordered to take only Old Cai, abandoning all the others.

"Kill, leave no one behind." Chen Mo would definitely not let Tuoba Han escape, especially since, under the observation of the Ancient Heavy Pupils, Tuoba Han was fleeing with a woman.

If guessed correctly, that woman should be the elder princess.

Thus, Chen Mo was even more determined not to let Tuoba Han escape.

Tuoba Han’s army was not entirely cavalry, but mostly infantry.

As Tuoba Han and some others managed to flee initially, the formation quickly became disjointed.

The Loulan infantry couldn’t keep up with Tuoba Han and his men.

This led to fewer people as Tuoba Han ran further.

And Tuoba Han’s steed was stronger than those of his subordinates.

This meant that the ones escorting Zhao Qianyi and Old Cai lagged behind Tuoba Han.

Seeing that they couldn’t catch up with Tuoba Han, Chen Mo quickly changed direction, rushing into the fields, then into the forest, stopping at a high point, dismounting, and drew his Flood Dragon Tendon Bow, aiming at Tuoba Han speeding below.

The bowstring was drawn to the full, the Ancient Heavy Pupils activated, and two Profound Gates of the Red Dragon Demon Arm opened. Fingers released, and a bone arrow shot out.

"Swish!"

Soon, a figure fell from the horse, rolled over a dozen times, and finally stopped, blood staining the snow.

"Giddy-up..." Chen Mo rode his horse and chased.

Soon, they caught up with the rest and surrounded them.

"Don’t... don’t come any closer, or I’ll... I’ll kill her. She’s... she’s your Great Song’s elder... elder princess." A soldier escorting Zhao Qianyi trembled as he held his sword to Zhao Qianyi’s neck, looking at the surrounding Song soldiers.

Upon hearing this, the Song soldiers hesitated to act rashly.

As for Old Cai, he had long been abandoned and was rescued by the Song army.

Zhao Qianyi, due to excessive blood loss, looked pale and was unable to break the seal within her body, so she couldn’t resist the soldier’s threats. However, with a will to die, she said:

"Don’t worry about me, they killed many of our people in Ao County, don’t... let them... go..."

"Shut up, do you want to... die?" The soldier was startled by Zhao Qianyi’s words, his hand holding the sword trembling.

"I... I order you, attack." Zhao Qianyi said to the Song army.

"Crazy woman, you seek... swish..." The cavalry soldier threatening Zhao Qianyi didn’t finish his sentence before an arrow pierced his forehead, and the sword in his hand fell into the snow.

Seeing this, the Song army immediately charged forward, killing the remaining Loulan soldiers.

"Whose subordinates... are you?" Zhao Qianyi asked weakly.

"We are General Chen Mo’s..." a Song soldier began to say, but a voice came from behind.

"Sir." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Sir."

"General..."

The crowd made way for Chen Mo, who approached with Gao Zheng.

"Your Highness, the elder princess, our general has arrived." The Song soldier said.

"Chen Mo..."

Zhao Qianyi struggled to stand up. She had heard the name before, so she wanted to see the man called Chen Mo, but her vision grew increasingly blurry, and she tried to walk closer to see.

Chen Mo kneeled with one knee: "Your loyal minister has come late, please forgive me, Your Highness."

After speaking, seeing no response, Chen Mo looked up, just in time to catch Zhao Qianyi as she fell unconscious into his arms.

At that moment, Chen Mo noticed several blood holes on her body.

"Someone, fetch the Imperial Physician." Chen Mo said.

When the army set out, they would always bring along an Imperial Physician.

Gao Zheng stepped forward and said, "My lord, we are a light cavalry, we didn’t... bring an Imperial Physician."

When Chen Mo commanded him to bring five thousand cavalry, Gao Zheng knew it was for something important, so he selected the elite without taking an Imperial Physician.

Moreover, this place wasn’t suitable for staying long, as the surroundings were all people of the Desolate Kingdom. Now that such a commotion had been made, other forces of the Desolate Kingdom would surely come.

"Retreat first."

Chen Mo mounted his horse with Zhao Qianyi, holding her in front of him.

Zhao Qianyi’s figure was tall and slender, with a chest and legs, still in armor, it wasn’t possible to be very light, and along with the weight of the Flood Dragon Tendon Bow, the Snow Dragon Steed seemed somewhat unable to bear it.

Chen Mo had to take down the Flood Dragon Tendon Bow and let Gao Zheng and the others carry it.

"Giddy-up." Chen Mo held Zhao Qianyi with one arm, gripping the reins with the other, and rode swiftly.

Gao Zheng and his men followed closely, while Old Cai and others, except for Old Cai, were all let go.

As for why Old Cai was taken, it was because Gao Zheng saw the Desolate Kingdom’s barbarians taking him along with Zhao Qianyi and thought he was someone important, so he brought him.

However, Zhao Qianyi’s injuries were severe and very unfavorable. Less than half an hour had passed when Chen Mo felt her body scorching, and she urgently needed treatment, it couldn’t wait any longer.