Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 247: Cracks
Pierce! A flying sword pierced through Chen Jin’s shoulder. The brief battle was exceptionally fierce. The protective magic artifacts on Chen Jin’s body could not withstand the attacks of the treasure-grade flying sword at all; if not for the support of his Golden Core stage true essence, he would have been riddled with holes long ago.
“Run!” Without any hesitation, Chen Jin immediately made a decision, explosively releasing his true essence to destabilize Yang Yishan and the others. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Jin swiftly killed the weakest guard, broke through the encirclement, and without looking back, rushed out of Anyang’s siege, covering a distance of a hundred zhang in an instant.
At this moment, Chen Jin finally had the chance to look back at the situation, and what he saw left him dumbfounded. The battle had lasted no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, yet his side had less than three thousand men remaining, all being chased down by Anyang’s soldiers, fleeing for their lives.
Chen Jin made a decisive move, quickly rallying the remnants of his forces, gathering a portion of the elite troops, and forming a defensive formation to retreat.
The front of the defensive formation used true essence, magic artifacts, and talismans to create multiple layers of defense, resisting Anyang’s frenzied attacks. They retreated over three miles, and the defensive line of Nanyang county was already in sight when Anyang finally abandoned the pursuit.
Once the Anyang troops were out of sight, all the remaining Nanyang soldiers, about two thousand in total, completely collapsed from exhaustion. Many of them fell to the ground like limp noodles. In less than a quarter of an hour of battle, many elite soldiers of Nanyang, who had always held themselves in high regard, were now utterly dejected.
Even Right General Chen Jin was disheartened, silently observing his remaining defeated troops. In just a short battle, six thousand five hundred elite soldiers had been reduced to less than two thousand. The army did not collapse entirely, thanks to the cultivators’ relatively strong willpower. If they had been ordinary soldiers, they would have crumbled long ago after suffering over sixty percent casualties.
Scanning the survivors, Chen Jin realized that fewer than two hundred of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage! Clearly, Anyang had deliberately targeted and eliminated the high-level experts in Nanyang’s army.
Suddenly, someone shook him urgently, “General, General, Anyang is attacking again!”
Chen Jin looked up—damn it, Anyang really was attacking again!
“Keep retreating! Maintain formation!” Chen Jin forced his exhausted body to continue commanding the battle. His shoulder and thigh had been pierced, the treasure’s aura was rampaging through his meridians, and his entire body’s true essence was nearly depleted—he was at his limit.
Suddenly, someone suggested, “General, should we send a distress signal to the rear?”
“No!” Chen Jin gritted his teeth. “Do not disrupt the rear’s arrangements.”
In reality, there was no need to send a distress signal. The watchtowers along the Nanyang county border had already spotted their defeat, as well as Anyang’s renewed assault. However, distant support was of no immediate help; by the time the rear forces of Nanyang could react, Anyang’s second wave of attack had already succeeded.
In another round of slaughter, Chen Jin only managed to escape with just over fifty Foundation Establishment experts, while the rest were all killed. No one had expected that Anyang would dare to launch a sudden counterattack right in front of Nanyang’s border defenses. The exhausted and defensively lax remnants of Nanyang’s army had almost no ability to resist.
By the time Chen Jin returned to Nanyang’s defensive line, he was immediately met with the wrath of Nanyang’s governor, Kong Donglai. “I ordered you to conduct guerrilla warfare and harass the enemy, and you engaged in direct combat instead?”
Indeed, Kong Donglai had instructed Chen Jin to harass the enemy, not engage them head-on. The surrounding officers, both high and low in rank, all turned to look at Chen Jin, waiting to see how he would respond.
Chen Jin, enduring his fatigue and pain, replied, “My lord, we encountered the enemy midway, and Anyang had already occupied the high ground and set up formations in advance. At that moment, there was no other option but to fight head-on. If we had tried to retreat, the casualties would have been even worse.”
Kong Donglai’s fury burned. “And yet only fifty of you survived?”
This question was too sharp—Chen Jin was left momentarily speechless. Indeed, no matter the circumstances, out of six thousand five hundred elite troops, only fifty survived! Nanyang had painstakingly cultivated fifteen hundred Foundation Establishment experts, and now they had all been wiped out.
No matter how one looked at it, Chen Jin’s failure this time had dealt a massive blow to Nanyang, costing them an important military force.
Fifteen hundred Foundation Establishment experts—if they had infiltrated enemy lines instead of engaging in direct combat, they could have caused immense turmoil in Anyang. But now, everything was gone!
The arriving Grand Marshal Nangong Zhi and Left General Kong Zhiying also remained silent. From a military standpoint, Chen Jin’s defeat was not just a personal failure—it was a strategic disaster. A failed expedition had crushed morale and, instead, fueled Anyang’s confidence.
The morale of both sides was originally similar, with Nanyang County having the upper hand. But now, the situation had changed drastically—Nanyang County’s morale had taken a significant hit. Over 1,500 Foundation Establishment experts had perished just like that—what kind of blow would that deal?! These were Foundation Establishment experts, not mere Qi Refining stage cultivators.
Qi Refining cultivators were everywhere, easy to find. But Foundation Establishment cultivators were rare; they were the backbone of any force. Now, with 1,500 of these pillars cut down, the impact on Nanyang County’s army was unimaginable!
Chen Jin looked at the various expressions around him and remained silent. He neither explained nor told anyone the truth—that Anyang’s Foundation Establishment cultivators were all using magical treasures.
If he said, “Anyang’s Foundation Establishment cultivators are all using magical treasures” at this moment, he would surely be met with a barrage of curses—this would be akin to making excuses for himself.
With this thought in mind, Chen Jin chose to remain silent, enduring all the stares and harsh words. In just a short moment, he had been labeled with dozens of insults—coward, idiot, weakling, deserter, incompetent…
Finally, Nangong Zhi let out a sigh. “My lord, victory and defeat are common in warfare. Even I have experienced 27 defeats, while my victories amount to only 22.”
Kong Donglai, however, was still burning with rage. Consecutive failures and setbacks had pushed him to his limits. Kong Xiang, their great strategist, had been captured by the Wang family, leaving Nanyang County without a top-tier advisor. Now, their alliance against Anyang was riddled with internal strife. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before their allies started betraying them.
Still, Nangong Zhi had spoken, and Kong Donglai had to give him some face. After all, Nangong Zhi was the commander of the three armies. Though he wasn’t from the Kong family, the Kong family had no one of his caliber. Generals were easy to find, but true commanders were rare.
A commander was like a prime minister—finding such talent was no easy feat.
Only at this moment did Chen Jin finally speak, addressing Nangong Zhi. “General, the flying swords used by Anyang’s 2,000 Foundation Establishment experts are all magical treasures! Their defenses consist of entire sets of high-grade magical artifacts.”
Nangong Zhi’s mouth twitched. Chen Jin, you fool. This is something you should be telling Kong Donglai, not me. By saying this to me, you’re putting me on the spot—how do you think Kong Donglai will see me now?!
Without even turning around, Nangong Zhi could sense a flash of malice from behind him. In the military, the worst thing was when a general no longer acknowledged his superior and only obeyed the commander. This was a sign of rebellion!
A scholar’s rebellion might not succeed even in ten years; a general’s rebellion has a 30% chance of success; but if a commander rebels, there’s a 70-80% chance he will succeed!
After Chen Jin left, Nangong Zhi could clearly sense a subtle change in Kong Donglai’s attitude. The absolute trust he once had was now tinged with a hint of wariness.
Kong Donglai took a deep breath, suppressing his frustration. “Mr. Nangong, what do you think we should do now?”
Nangong Zhi answered without hesitation. “There are two paths.
First, we launch an all-out attack, regardless of the cost. While Anyang’s army is still establishing its position, we strike with full force. This gives us a 70% chance of victory—but it may be a costly victory.
Second, we retreat and negotiate peace with Anyang. Given Anyang’s current industrial and commercial strategy, we won’t lose anything. In fact, we could use this as an opportunity to strengthen ties with Anyang and obtain a large supply of military equipment, bolstering our own strength.
Later, we can slowly execute our plans—first conquering Songzhou County to the north, then Guangling County to the west. Once we secure Songzhou County and most of Guangling County, we can march north against Wuyang County, and then return to take the rest of Guangling County. This way, in at most twenty years, our grand objective will be achieved.”
This second strategy was not just a military plan but a national development strategy—it was truly the best course of action. Nangong Zhi was also trying to mend the growing rift between himself and Kong Donglai.
“I will think about it,” Kong Donglai said, no longer immediately adopting Nangong Zhi’s suggestion as he had in the past.
Nangong Zhi felt anxious. Opportunities in war were fleeting—hesitation could be fatal. However, seeing the slightly impatient expression on Kong Donglai’s face, he could only sigh and take his leave.