Chapter 1546: Chapter 1546: Trapped in an Encirclement

The main force under Han Hao’s command had already reacted, charging toward the meteor crater. Even though Ye Shikai’s move was a surprise attack, he had far too few troops under his banner. At most he could temporarily drive back the Qin Army; if they really went head‑to‑head, they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

"General Ye, look over there." Following the direction of the soldier’s finger, Ye Shikai turned his head. On the distant horizon, dust was rising like an oncoming sandstorm—that was Han Hao’s army.

"Half of the civilians still haven’t been rescued yet, General Ye, what should we do?"

Ye Shikai looked into the distance. At this speed, in less than the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, tens of thousands of Qin troops would be upon them, surrounding them on all sides.

"You take a team to escort the civilians to the valley. Also, Han Hao has definitely already dispatched a large force to hunt down the civilians. Notify Man Cang at once to lead the Iron Armor Army to meet the enemy. They must hold the Qin Army back." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Yes, sir."

Ye Shikai looked at the few soldiers left by his side and the civilians who had chosen to follow him. His heart was a jumble of emotions. More than half of the civilians were still trapped inside the enemy formation; if he didn’t save them, they would all be slaughtered.

"The rest of you, come with me." Ye Shikai wheeled his horse around. Han Hao’s main force was already closing in from both flanks. Over ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand horses thundering—just that momentum alone was enough to strike fear into everyone’s hearts, and yet Ye Shikai led his men in deep. This was practically throwing his life away.

"Loose!"

Swish swish swish.

Arrows rained down. Countless civilians were hit and fell to the ground. Ye Shikai swung his sword, batting arrows aside. The brothers at his side dropped one after another. They had already put everything on the line; every soldier who had come was mentally prepared for a nine‑in‑ten chance of death. Otherwise, faced with this kind of arrow rain, even the Wolf Clan’s iron cavalry would have had to avoid its edge.

Ye Shikai charged into the enemy formation, smashing all the nearby Qin troops. Seeing this, the remaining civilians all started running toward him.

Swish swish swish.

"Everyone, take cover, the arrow rain is coming!"

The arrow rain blotted out the sky. Ye Shikai’s heart clenched. He grabbed a shield at hand and raised it over his head. When the arrows fell, another hundred corpses appeared on the ground. Ye Shikai’s mount also took an arrow, but the warhorse did not rear and scream in panic. It was as if the animal had human understanding and knew this was a critical moment; it gritted through the pain and kept running.

"Hurry, all of you, over here!" Ye Shikai shouted. The three thousand soldiers left at his side were forcefully holding back the charge of thirty thousand. They only needed the time it takes two sticks of incense to burn, and all these civilians would be able to withdraw.

An hour later.

"General Ye, most of the civilians have pulled back. We should go too."

Ye Shikai turned and looked around. The civilians were all running toward the eastern valley. Han Hao had also sent out a large force to pursue them, but they were being firmly held in place by Man Cang’s Iron Armor Army, unable to advance a single step.

"Good, everyone move out with me."

"Don’t let a single rebel escape, surround them." By now, Han Hao’s main force had already encircled them tightly, and the road leading to the valley was cut off. Man Cang and Wan Qi Yuan led the Iron Armor Army and the cavalry in an attempt to punch through and relieve them, but they were all blocked outside. This was sixty to seventy thousand troops, ringed three layers deep inside and out, like an iron barrel.

"General, we’re surrounded. We can’t get out."

"We’re surrounded."

Ye Shikai turned his head and looked around. Indeed, the Qin reinforcements had sealed off three sides so tightly that not even water could leak through. Behind them was the meteor crater—this was a desperate situation. No one could fight their way out of here...

Trapped in a heavy encirclement, everyone understood their current situation. Their only options were to fight to the death or surrender—but even if they surrendered, the fate of rebels was still a dead end.

Ye Shikai did not panic. His gaze was sharp and piercing like an eagle’s as he searched for a breakthrough.

"Count our numbers."

"Report to the General, we still have over nineteen hundred brothers left, with more than seven hundred lightly or heavily wounded."

Out of five thousand soldiers, after fighting to this point, only a third remained. Ye Shikai’s heart ached. The surviving soldiers were supporting each other; there were so many wounded that several men were needed to help each one along. With just over a thousand men facing fifty to sixty thousand Qin troops head‑on, the scene was truly tragic and heroic.

Ye Shikai suddenly felt a wave of calm. Perhaps today he really would die here. If he could, he would rather have Man Cang and Wan Qi Yuan withdraw at once and not add to the pointless casualties.

"General, none of the brothers are afraid of death. Let’s just go all out against them."

"Go all out."

Now Ye Shikai was fighting with his back to the river. Everyone understood that they were unlikely to escape death today.

At this moment, a mounted general rode out from the Qin Army Formation. The newcomer was Han Hao himself.

"Traitor, the court has not treated you badly, yet you lead troops in rebellion. Do you still have a conscience?" Han Hao shouted angrily.

"Hahaha, conscience? You think you’re worthy of talking about ’conscience’?" Ye Shikai looked at the corpses of civilians strewn across the ground, most of them dead from arrow wounds, many others run through by spears. Hearing Han Hao’s words, his laughter turned wild. It was naked sarcasm. Ever since he had transmigrated to the Qin Dynasty, he had never been this crazed.

If they had even a shred of conscience, they wouldn’t do something this utterly inhuman. A surge of fury rose in Ye Shikai’s chest, and he gripped his sword hilt tight.

"Brothers, are you willing to follow me and have a good, clean fight?"

"We’re willing to fight with the General!"

"Very good. Form up to meet the enemy." Ye Shikai dismounted. This warhorse had been a gift from Shangguan Jian back when he was in Shangshui Village. It wasn’t some peerless steed, but it had followed him across countless battlefields. Over time, a bond had naturally formed.

"Old partner, looks like we’re not getting out today." Ye Shikai gently patted the horse’s hindquarters and spoke softly into its ear. Then he suddenly braced himself and yanked the arrow from the horse’s body, tearing off a long strip of cloth to bandage the wound.

"Ling’er, I hope you can reach Chu Territory safely."

"Loose!"

"Meet the enemy!"

...........................

The valley.

"Quick, get the civilians into the valley. Have them follow the mountain path and they can get out. As long as we disperse them, the Qin Army won’t be able—and won’t dare—to keep hunting them down. Otherwise they’d have to kill hundreds of thousands, and that would definitely spark a popular uprising." Shangguan Jian also understood that as long as these civilians were sent to other commanderies, the Qin Army had neither the capacity nor the political room to launch another ’indiscriminate massacre’ on that scale.

"Why hasn’t Old Ye arrived yet?" Shangguan Jian pressed.

"Reporting, my lord, it seems General Ye has been surrounded in the meteor crater. General Man and General Wan Qi are attempting a rescue."

"What? How did this happen?" Shangguan Jian had never imagined that Ye Shikai would end up encircled. According to the plan, he should have already broken out by now.

"General Ye fell into the encirclement in order to rescue the civilians."