"Man Cang, are you all right?" Ye Shikai asked.

"General, rest assured, I’ve only suffered a light wound. I can still fight again tomorrow. Taking this camp is a certainty—please give me another half day." Man Cang ignored the wounds on his body, dropped to one knee, and said to Ye Shikai. Before the battle he had signed a military warrant; had Ye Shikai not ordered the retreat at dusk, in at most another four hours he would have been able to take the entire camp.

"You’ve already done very well, setting an example for all the brothers. Now that you’re wounded, you should go down and get treated first." Ye Shikai could not bear the thought of Man Cang meeting with an accident. To be frank, among his subordinates, Man Cang was the one he trusted and valued the most. With such a fierce general under him, no matter how critical the situation, Ye Shikai would not feel flustered. Man Cang also enjoyed high prestige in the army: with him charging at the front, the soldiers behind were all willing to fight to the death. Moreover, he had once been an officer among the Wei Wu Zuo and knew how to deploy troops and arrange formations. To lose such a trusted aide over a fit of impulsive bravado—this was something Ye Shikai would never be willing to accept.

Through the slaughter of this day, both sides had suffered heavy casualties, but the rebel army’s losses were even greater. Their equipment was inferior to that of the Qin Army, and they had no heavy armor for protection. The Qin Army also had strong bows and powerful crossbows—things the rebels lacked entirely. Added to that, after today’s fierce fighting, most of the outer walls of the enemy camp had been breached. Thus, taking the camp tomorrow was already a foregone conclusion. Ye Shikai did not wish to take any further risks.

"General, today I led my men in bitter fighting for several hours, and over a thousand brothers were killed or wounded. I request to go back into battle, to personally seize this camp. Please grant my request." Man Cang immediately refuted him. He attached too much importance to this battle; only by utterly defeating them could he be said to have avenged the brothers of Eagle Ridge stronghold. Now Ye Shikai was pulling him off the line—how could he endure that?

"Very well. But you must be mindful of your own safety. The army doctors have already said your wound must not split open again, or it will be trouble." In the end, Ye Shikai still yielded to Man Cang’s wish. For a man like him, the meaning of this battle was no longer merely the suppression of this band of rebels...

"Thank you, General, for granting it."

The following day.

After a night’s rest, the soldiers had regained their vigor. Before the battle had even begun, their faces were already full of killing intent. As the saying goes, "First suppress, then let rise"—with Ye Shikai ordering the retreat last night, they had been holding back a breath of anger in their hearts for a long time.

"Brothers, today is the final battle. Charge with me!" Man Cang stood at the front of the formation, drew his sword, and bellowed.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Ye Shikai stood on a high vantage point to the rear, watching the whole battlefield. The Qin Army’s assault was like surging waves, a dark mass pouring into the camp, unstoppable as a hot knife through butter. In the time it takes to burn a single stick of incense, they had already broken through the camp’s outer wall. Ye Shikai noticed that the enemy’s defensive strength was far weaker than yesterday. With morale soaring, many soldiers, even after being hit by arrows, simply ignored their wounds and pressed forward with gritted teeth. There were even two men wrestling on the ground, biting directly at an enemy’s throat. The ferocity of it could only be described as "madness."

"Old Ye, it won’t be long before this camp is in our pocket." Shangguan Jian stood at his side and said blandly.

"You’re not wrong. Compared with yesterday, the enemy’s defense today is feeble to the point of powerlessness. I think they’ve probably already pulled out most of their men." Ye Shikai analyzed. Yesterday he had ordered the offensive slowed; his purpose was to give Wan Qi Yuan time to deploy the cavalry, block the retreat, and buy some hours. But that did not mean the enemy would obediently remain in the camp. It was entirely possible that Yan Yu had already arranged for troops to leave via the ’escape path’ last night. Even so, from dusk to midnight—those several hours should have been enough for Wan Qi Yuan to complete his deployment.

"Come on, let’s go take a look." Ye Shikai nodded.

"All right."

Two hours later.

Inside the camp, the shouts of fierce fighting had vanished; the entire camp had fallen silent. The battle was over...

Ye Shikai, leading his guards, walked into the camp, now riddled with wounds. Corpses and bloodstains were everywhere—half Qin Army, half rebel army.

"Old Ye, the whole camp is finished. Counting yesterday’s results, the enemy’s dead and wounded are no fewer than four thousand, nearly total annihilation. Look—when this camp was used to quarter soldiers it didn’t feel crowded, but now with so many corpses piled together, it can hardly hold them." Shangguan Jian cracked a joke, yet there was sorrow in his tone. Yes—living men, with beating hearts, why must they turn into corpses? What is war for?

"Bury them." Ye Shikai said quietly. There were several thousand bodies here; they could not possibly transport them back for proper burial—there weren’t enough hands. Even simple interment here would take a very long time.

"All right."

"Quick, surround them, don’t let them get away!" At that moment, a shout suddenly sounded not far off. Ye Shikai and Shangguan Jian hurried toward the sound, only to see hundreds of soldiers forming a ring and hemming in more than thirty rebels.

"The General is here!"

Seeing Ye Shikai arrive, the soldiers immediately parted to open a path. What Ye Shikai had not expected was that among these rebels there was actually one wearing a general’s armor.

"All of you, back." Ye Shikai barked, motioning everyone to stand down as he slowly stepped forward.

"Who are you?" Ye Shikai studied the man closely. The sword in his hand was clearly a fine weapon, and his whole person exuded an air of pride. Ye Shikai could be sure he was definitely no ordinary officer.

"Yan Yu." The man answered calmly.

"What, isn’t Yan Yu the commander of the rebel army?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Yeah, looks like we caught him today."

"Kill him and we’ve won!"

Hearing the name "Yan Yu," the crowd grew excited, lowering spears and bronze halberds as they stepped forward. To capture the enemy commander alive was to herald a complete victory.

"So you’re their leader." Ye Shikai waved his hand, signaling the men not to move.

"I am. May I ask who you are?"

"A Qin General, Ye Shikai."

"So it’s General Ye, the one who resisted the Wolf Clan. Your reputation precedes you; I did not expect to meet you today." Yan Yu replied.

"I didn’t expect my fame to have spread so far." Ye Shikai did not particularly wish to chat further and came straight to the point. "You’ve lost. Surrender."

"Brothers, lay down your weapons." Yan Yu turned and glanced at the dozens of brothers behind him, and said in a low voice. The outcome was decided; to resist further would be to throw their lives away for nothing.

"This..."

"Put them down." Seeing they were unwilling to lower their weapons, Yan Yu spoke again. Only then did the remaining rebels set down their arms and surrender.

"You’re a good general. Why did you choose to turn bandit?"