Chapter 755: A Single Decisive Battle

"Bo Fu, don't strike first when the time comes. Let Gong Yi intercept Yan Yan, and then you lead your personal guards to deliver the final blow. Yan Yan's legion talent is too strange. Neither you nor Gong Yi can take him down in just three or five moves," Pang Tong warned, taking several large gulps of water before looking at Sun Ce and coughing lightly.

"I understand," Sun Ce replied, gripping his spear tightly before slowly relaxing. Pang Tong was right; even if he and Jiang Qin joined forces, they wouldn’t be able to defeat Yan Yan in a few moves.

"What you must do is lead your personal guards to break through Yan Yan's vanguard. Even though Yan Yan's legion talent is bizarre, it has its limits. You must shatter it in one go—we only have one chance!" Pang Tong handed the water pouch to a nearby soldier, his expression solemn.

"Alright, I understand. I can do it!" Sun Ce answered firmly, his face serious. After fleeing for so long and seeing his strategist wounded, the rage within him had already reached a boiling point. If he weren’t aware of the bigger picture, Sun Ce would have already turned back to fight Yan Yan head-on.

"Good, let’s go. Those four are less than ten miles away now; we should leave," Pang Tong said, a sly smile crossing his face.

People like Yan Yan and Zheng Du, who didn't hide their abilities, were easy targets for Pang Tong's spiritual talent, which allowed him to sense them from over thirty miles away. Ironically, when they got closer, it became harder for Pang Tong to pinpoint their location, but from afar, they were as visible as torches in the night.

"Retreat, all forces!" Sun Ce shouted, and without waiting for the anguished cries of the local troops, he led his men in a retreat. Another few hundred county soldiers abandoned the pursuit. From an original 17,000 troops, only around 800 remained loyal to Sun Ce.

"Go!" Zhang Xun, Li Feng, Le Jiu, Yang Xun, Li Xin, and Liang Gang all shook their heads. At this point, they no longer cared about the county troops.

The group stood and continued to follow Sun Ce in retreat. Though they doubted Pang Tong’s ability to devise a strategy that would decisively defeat Yan Yan, the resolve of Zhang Xun and Li Feng to protect Sun Ce was enough to ensure the others followed without question, if only to give Yuan Shu an explanation.

Pang Tong glanced back at the few generals following Yuan Shu. He couldn’t help but be curious. Despite the situation, these people remained loyal and refused to abandon Sun Ce. Along the way, many of Yuan Shu’s officers who were dissatisfied with Sun Ce had deserted, including major generals like Lei Bo and Chen Jian, who had defected to the Yizhou army.

This made Pang Tong all the more intrigued by the six generals who had remained. After all, they had fled for so long, and those who had stayed were all high-ranking officers crucial to the planned counteroffensive. The escape had effectively weeded out those lacking the resolve to continue.

"Shiyuan, what are you looking at?" Sun Ce turned to see Zhang Xun and the others and casually asked.

"They will become the foundation of the army’s future. Aren’t you curious why I used the pretense of troop rotation to transfer soldiers under my command?" Pang Tong said calmly. "I knew from the beginning that some officers would defect to the Yizhou army. Those who remain after such defeats will form our core."

Pang Tong silently added to himself.

"Lei Bo, Chen Jian..." Sun Ce gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly burning with golden flames. Not only had they fled, but they had also turned against him!

Pang Tong glanced at Sun Ce. He fully understood the concept of legion talents, and Sun Ce already met all the necessary conditions. Why hadn’t he developed one yet? After pondering for a while, Pang Tong concluded that what was missing was willpower. As long as Sun Ce’s will could resonate with that of his soldiers, he would awaken a legion talent!

Turning away, Pang Tong dismissed these thoughts. He was accustomed to planning for multiple outcomes, but he was uncertain if his final plan would succeed. It was critical to his campaign against Yizhou.

"Charge!" Yan Yan roared, and his soldiers responded in unison, pressing forward. Zheng Du, Zhang Song, and Liu Ba, though exhausted, were filled with excitement.

The Yizhou army had started with only 30,000 troops, yet their forces had grown as they captured more prisoners along the way. Even Liu Ba couldn't believe that the enemy still had any combat strength left.

"Push forward! Finish it all in one battle! Even if we have to cross Yiling, we must destroy them!" Yan Yan shouted, his face glowing with determination.

Yan Yan’s momentum was incredibly strong. Victory after victory had elevated his prestige to its peak. In every city where he appeared, the enemy would open the gates and surrender. He now fully understood what it meant to be a great general!

"General, the strategist has sent a message. Our lord will reach the Yiling region in another 30 miles. The strategist says we must be ready. The terrain here is narrow, and we must break the enemy in one fell swoop from beginning to end," a soldier reported to Jiang Qin.

"I understand," Jiang Qin took a deep breath and gave orders to his troops. There were fewer than 3,000 soldiers hidden in ambush at Yiling, divided into six groups. The remaining 10,000 had already been spread out according to Pang Tong’s plan, as the goal was to capture enemy officers after a decisive defeat.

"We’ve finally arrived!" Pang Tong’s lips curled into a cold smile as he looked toward the treacherous valleys of Yiling. He had already tested it earlier. Relying on his spiritual powers alone wouldn’t work, as the enemy’s three commanders could summon rain to douse any fires he might set. So, they had taken a circuitous route, stretching the enemy’s forces to their limit.

"Generals, prepare yourselves. The next phase is up to you," Pang Tong turned and glanced at the remaining ten or so officers, including those originally under Sun Ce as well as some from Yuan Shu’s forces.

None of the generals responded. After fleeing for so long, their trust in Pang Tong had worn thin. They paid him little attention, and Pang Tong didn’t seem to care about their attitude either.

"Everyone, follow Shiyuan's strategy!" Sun Ce glared angrily at the group of generals.

"We’ve been defeated over and over again, with heavy losses. How are we supposed to fight the tens of thousands of troops chasing us?" Li Feng retorted in frustration.

"Who said we had no troops?" Jiang Qin appeared at that moment. "I’ve already brought the main force. The 10,000 elite soldiers we deployed at the beginning are all here. As for the others, they were just local troops."

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