Chapter 759: Encounter Again

"After some sleep, he’ll be fine. He’s not dead. The clash of mental energy involves injecting one’s spirit into the other’s mind, seeking mutual destruction. In this case, it was just an external release, and after some rest, he should recover," Pang Tong explained, "But in the future, don’t get too close."

"As long as he’s fine. But I can’t believe Yan Yan escaped! I wanted to capture him alive," Sun Ce said, frustrated. "As a general, he abandoned his comrades. Next time, I’ll finish him off."

"If you chase him now, you might catch up," Pang Tong murmured, his eyes half-closed.

"Let’s focus on wiping out the Yizhou army first. Yan Yan may be a powerful Inner Qi warrior, but all he wants now is to run. We missed the best chance; there won’t be another opportunity like that," Sun Ce said with a dark expression.

"By the way, what’s your legion talent?" Pang Tong asked curiously. He had anticipated that after being pushed to the brink, Sun Ce would likely break through his limits. But such a powerful strike, enough to defeat an Inner Qi warrior who had been evenly matched with him earlier, wasn’t just a simple burst of strength.

"It seems to make the enemy hesitate and makes our side brim with a domineering aura. It also seems different from other legion talents since it can affect me personally. During Yan Yan’s defense, there was a clear problem," Sun Ce replied uncertainly, still trying to understand his new ability after using it for the first time.

"A talent of dominance?" Pang Tong muttered to himself, thinking it over before saying, "Your legion talent might be both a legion and a sovereign’s talent. Try using it on me."

Sun Ce nodded and activated his talent, but it didn’t extend to Pang Tong.

"As I thought, a sovereign’s talent," Pang Tong said with a nod. "Very well, Bo Fu. It seems following you still holds great potential. Now, take 3,000 men and charge as fast as you can into Yizhou!"

"Just 3,000 men..." Zhang Xun, who had just arrived carrying Lei Bo's head, overheard and commented, "That’s a bit too few, isn’t it?"

"We need speed, not numbers. But, who is this?" Pang Tong asked, turning to see Zhang Xun with the severed head. He quickly turned back, feeling queasy—already dizzy, seeing a decapitated head didn’t help.

Li Feng snatched the head from Zhang Xun’s hands and tossed it aside.

"My head!" Zhang Xun exclaimed, moving to retrieve it, but was immediately tripped by Jiang Qin. They had seen clueless people before, but none quite like him.

"Tie him up," Pang Tong ordered. "Bo Fu, pursue Yan Yan. You don’t need to capture him, but you must shatter his forces completely. As for the routed soldiers, don’t worry about them—I’ll gather them later. Gong Yi, you stay behind as well." With that, Pang Tong dragged the bound Zheng Du to Yiling to rest, fighting off his dizziness and nausea.

Just as Yan Yan had relentlessly pursued Sun Ce, Sun Ce now gave chase in return. But this time, the tides had turned. Sun Ce attacked Yan Yan’s fleeing forces with overwhelming strength.

As Pang Tong had predicted, Yan Yan’s legion talent did indeed prevent his army from completely collapsing, but it had its limits. Sun Ce’s powerful assaults gradually wore down those limits.

The collapse of an army is like a snowball rolling downhill, and Sun Ce’s relentless pursuit acted like a powerful force pushing that snowball. Yan Yan’s army fell apart piece by piece, with little time to recover.

Yan Yan, leading his personal guard, retreated without daring to stop. By the time they reached the place where Yan Yan had once crushed Sun Ce with great pride, his army had dwindled to a mere few hundred men. Of his many commanders, only a handful remained, and of the three key strategists, Zhang Song was absent, Liu Ba was lost among the routed forces, and Zheng Du had been captured by Sun Ce’s army.

Looking back at his exhausted soldiers, Yan Yan’s eyes filled with tears. Once, they had been fierce and unstoppable, but now, they fled in fear of Sun Ce. They had lost—completely and utterly.

"Report, General! There’s a camp five miles ahead!" a scout reported to Yan Yan. By now, the range of their reconnaissance had shrunk to just five miles due to their constant retreat.

"Pang Shiyuan even predicted this..." Yan Yan muttered bitterly as he looked up at the blazing sun.

"Report, General! Sun Ce’s army is only five miles behind us!" another scout reported.

"Blocked in front and pursued from behind... it seems my end has come here!" Yan Yan glanced back at his demoralized soldiers, their weapons and armor in disarray. How could they possibly stand against two armies from both sides?

"Is that you, General Yan?" came a sudden voice from one of the scouts.

"Who’s there?" Yan Yan turned to see a figure in silver armor wielding a Fangtian halberd—Taishi Ci, who had suddenly appeared before him.

"I am Taishi Ci of Lord Liu Bei’s forces, here to assist. Zhang Biejia has also arrived. Please retreat, General Yan, and leave the enemy to me," Taishi Ci said, saluting Yan Yan with his halberd. His guards soon arrived, and Zhang Song followed on horseback.

"Yan Yan, you old traitor, don’t you dare run!" Before Yan Yan could exchange words of defeat with Zhang Song, he heard the infuriating voice of Sun Ce behind him. Throughout their retreat, Yan Yan had heard that voice far too often.

"General Yan, please return to camp and rest. I will handle this!" Taishi Ci said, spurring his horse forward. His soldiers quickly moved to form a defensive line, shielding Yan Yan’s routed troops from the coming battle.

As Sun Ce charged forward, he saw not Yan Yan, but a heavily armored army, well-prepared and in formation. His expression grew serious. Encountering such a force here was far from ideal.

"Who are you, daring to block the path of Sun Bo Fu!" Sun Ce pointed his spear at the enemy forces. Not seeing Taishi Ci, he unleashed his sovereign’s talent, aiming to induce fear in his opponents. He had grown confident that his power was enough to make others falter.

"Sun Bo Fu?" Taishi Ci raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is the best news I’ve heard today. Prepare to lose your head!"

"Taishi Ci! Do you think I’m afraid of you?" Sun Ce laughed, spurring his horse toward Taishi Ci. He was eager for a rematch after nearly losing to Taishi Ci before, and this time his fighting spirit was even higher.

Taishi Ci didn’t back down, immediately charging forward to engage Sun Ce in battle. Zhang Xun and the others knew well that Sun Ce loved to fight, so they ordered their troops to pull back, giving Sun Ce plenty of space. They cheered him on, for by now, Sun Ce had earned the admiration and respect of all his men.

Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter