Chapter 393: The Thirty-sixth Day in the Struggle for Supremacy World

Chapter 393: Day Thirty-Six of Transmigrating into a Conquest Novel

Bai Ji smiled in approval: "Mr. Dou's strategy perfectly captures the essence of 'the best strategy is to outthink the enemy, the next best is to break their alliances.' Masterful!"

Han Fu also nodded, saying meaningfully: "Diezhou conspired with the Zhou family to move against our Lord—that's a score we need to settle!"

An Yi studied the map, pondered for a moment, and finally made the call: "Alright, we'll go with Mr. Dou's plan."

"Yes!" Everyone acknowledged in unison.

The meeting dispersed, leaving An Yi and Bai Ji alone again.

An Yi walked to the window, gazing outside, and murmured: "Diezhou... now that's a nice piece of land."

Bai Ji stepped behind him, naturally reaching out to massage his shoulders, speaking in a low voice: "Rest assured, Chuwei. Du Yu's just a stepping stone on your path. Diezhou will be yours before you know it."

An Yi relaxed his body, leaning back into the embrace behind him, closing his eyes to enjoy the massage with just the right pressure.

"With Ruzhi by my side, I am naturally at ease." His voice had a lazy, amused edge to it.

Bai Ji's massaging hands paused briefly, then softened even more.

He lowered his head and pressed a feather-light kiss to An Yi's hair.

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Diezhou—Heishi Slope.

The biting autumn wind swept across the vast and barren land, kicking up clouds of yellow dust and whipping through the dense thicket of banners and spears.

This was the final natural choke point where Diezhou's northeast bordered Zhaozhou. The terrain was relatively open—it was the main battlefield Du Yu had chosen for his decisive confrontation with An Yi.

He'd thrown everything in, assembling a core force of sixty to seventy thousand—though he claimed it was two hundred thousand. His plan was to crush An Yi's army with sheer numbers, cement his rule over Diezhou, and maybe even push into the other three prefectures.

Yet at this moment, the situation on the Heishi Slope battlefield was nothing like what Du Yu had envisioned.

Deafening battle cries, the clash of blades, the screams of warhorses, the screams of the dying... all merged into a cacophony that devoured everything, sweeping across every inch of the land.

The air was thick with the heavy stench of blood, sweat, and dust—and something that smelled like... sulfur!

What the hell was that thing that exploded?!

There had been rumors before that An Yi could summon thunder on clear days. Du Yu had brushed them off as people just sucking up—could they actually be true?!

The An family army's lines advanced steadily across the field.

At the very front stood heavy infantry formations clad in armor, carrying tall shields and spears. They marched with steady steps, supporting one another as they beat back wave after wave of desperate Diezhou charges.

In the gaps between formations and on the flanks were agile light infantry and sword-and-shield soldiers, working in perfect sync to keep hammering at the enemy's weak spots.

On both wings, An Shu commanded elite cavalry units that hit like twin scythes, repeatedly charging and carving into the Diezhou flanks and rear.

The An Family cavalry were fully armored from head to hoof, they hit like a freight train, and their coordination was flawless—one charge could send enemy forces several times their size scattering in chaos.

What terrified the Diezhou troops most, however, was the crossbow formation set up on the high ground behind the main force.

These upgraded heavy crossbows outranged ordinary bows by a mile. Their bolts came down like swarms of locusts, whistling shrilly as they tore into the Diezhou front lines and any unit trying to regroup, leaving carnage in their wake.

But the most terrifying thing was that thunder weapon—the carnage it caused was unreal.

Du Yu sat astride a tall horse beneath his own central banner, his face pale, his eyes blazing with rage.

Something was off! Way off!

His army held a clear numerical advantage, and most were tough, battle-hardened veterans who had fought alongside him for years.

Yet the moment they engaged, they were hamstrung at every turn, like every step was walking into a trap he'd set.

Coordination between units was sloppy, orders were slow to get through, and the flanking cavalry were getting pushed back step by step under the enemy's mounted assaults. Some officers were way too slow to react, or even pulled back on their own!

Even if An Yi's army was far stronger than they had imagined, there's no way his own men should've been this sloppy!

"Damn it! What the hell is Jiang Wu doing?! Why is the right wing retreating so fast?!" Du Yu slashed his blade through the air, roaring at his personal guards.

A guard, face covered in blood, stammered: "General! Commander Jiang... it seems... seems they can't hold! Word is Commander Jiang already..."

Before he could finish, an arrow out of nowhere punched through the guard's throat with a wet thud!

The guard's eyes bulged as he grabbed his neck and crumpled.

A cold dread crept up Du Yu's spine.

Rumors? Already...? What rumors? Why hadn't anyone told him?

He recalled how grain shipments had been getting hit by bandits all month, and how Yan Huai in the south and Shi Liao in the southwest had been acting strange—even hints of troop movements...

He'd been played!

Ice ran through his veins! An Yi had never planned to fight him head-on!

These scheming bastards! If he'd known, he would have kidnapped a few more scholars to come up with plans for him too!

"General! Something terrible has happened!" Another blood-soaked commander stumbled over, his face a mask of terror: "The rear... the rear is in chaos! Someone set fires in the camp, shouting 'Du Yu is dead, surrender and live'! And... and a banner with the character 'Yan' on it has appeared to the south! Dust clouds are rising in the southwest—it looks like Shi Liao's forces!"

"What?!" Du Yu's world went black, and he nearly toppled from his horse.

The rear was in chaos, his allies had stabbed him in the back! He was trapped on all sides!

"Hold steady! Hold steady!" Du Yu roared hoarsely, trying to rally his troops: "Guards! With me—cut through their lines and go straight for An Yi's command post!"

He knew his only shot was to kill the enemy commander and take their banner.

He gathered his most elite personal cavalry, ignoring the hail of arrows and enemy units trying to cut him off, and charged toward An Yi's central position!

An Yi had set up his command post on a low rise.

Beneath the dark banner bearing the character "An," An Yi wore dark, no-frills combat gear, with light silver soft armor on top, a forehead guard, and his black hair bound up.

He sat on his horse at the top of the rise, taking in the whole battlefield.

Many of his civil and military advisors had strongly opposed him personally appearing on the battlefield, but they couldn't talk An Yi out of it, so they could only storm off in a huff to get ready.

Bai Ji stood slightly behind An Yi, also in light armor with a sword at his side, his face grim, his eyes sharp.

An Yi's gaze settled on a specific spot on the battlefield.

"A cornered beast still fights." An Yi sighed, assessing the scene.

He raised his hand, and a guard beside him immediately handed him a heavy bow.

This bow was designed by An Yi and meticulously crafted in the workshop, made with carefully chosen materials and an incredible draw weight—none but those with extraordinary arm strength could wield it.

An Yi took the bow, tested the string, and a crisp "hum" resonated through the air.

He held the bow in his left hand, drew an arrow from the quiver with his right, and nocked it onto the string.

The autumn wind gusted, stirring a few loose strands of hair across his forehead and rustling his deep-hued robe sleeves.

Sunlight broke through the clouds, fell upon him, and gilded his features with a golden halo, making his focused and piercing gaze all the more striking.