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No matter how careful Li Le was, he still ended up disturbing some people. In the end, the situation was completely beyond his control. Of course, by that point, even if he had wanted to manage it, he couldn't.
Some soldiers, after the initial shock, quietly picked up items they could easily carry and groped their way after Li Le's departing force.
But the vast majority of soldiers seemed to explode, utterly clueless about what to do. They yelled and screamed. Instantly, the entire camp descended into chaos like a frenzied ant colony—panicked, confused, and scrambling in all directions. They subconsciously began grabbing anything they could get their hands on, and unavoidable chaos spread...
Wang Yi and Xu Huang on Xiangling's walls had heard the commotion from the camp for some time. They stood together on the battlements, looking down. But it was nighttime, and their vision was limited. They could only judge from the fires lit within the camp and the moving shadows of people.
Xu Huang carefully observed the shifting figures within the camp and tilted his head to listen closely to the sounds carried on the wind. Suddenly, he laughed. "Governor Wang, it's an army panic among the ant-bandits. This is a perfect opportunity. If we sally out to attack, we can subdue them immediately!"
Wang Yi was tempted upon hearing this but sighed. "Alas, the city gates are blocked. We cannot exit swiftly..." To prevent the gates from being breached, Wang Yi had ordered the northern gates sealed with bricks, stones, and earth at the very beginning. While this reduced the risk of them being forced open, it also meant they couldn't exit the city in a situation like this.
Xu Huang was also taken aback. But facing such a scene, he couldn't resist saying, "Governor Wang, give me fifty strong, able-bodied soldiers. We'll descend the walls by rope. Have your men on the walls raise many torches, wave flags, and beat drums to create the illusion of a large force. The ant-bandits, not knowing our numbers, will certainly fall into greater disarray. If we can break this camp, Xiangling will have no more worries!"
Though Wang Yi and Xu Huang didn't know why the White Wave Army below the city had suddenly fallen into army panic, they were fairly certain it was related to their lack of provisions. Moreover, judging from the current situation, it didn't seem feigned. Therefore, such an opportunity was clearly rare. If they could deliver a heavy blow to the White Wave Army now, the crisis for Xiangling City could be considered resolved.
Wang Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "Fifty able-bodied men might be too few. I'll gather a hundred soldiers for you! However, Gongming, you must be careful above all!"
Xu Huang immediately got into a basket and was slowly lowered down the wall. The other soldiers weren't as fortunate; most tied ropes around their waists and were simply lowered down...
Once enough soldiers had descended, Xu Huang hefted his long battle-axe and, with the gathered troops, stealthily advanced forward.
The White Wave Army was completely without order. With no two main commanders leading them and the various minor commanders mutually hostile and unwilling to submit to each other, they were utterly lost. Chaos reigned. Each man was focused on seizing the few remaining items. No one noticed that men from Xiangling had crept close to the camp.
Xu Huang reached the vicinity of the main camp but didn't charge in immediately. He hid in the shadows, observing carefully. He discovered that even the watchtowers were unmanned. The entire camp was noisy and chaotic, filled with all sorts of sounds, including clashes of fighting. Many fires had already broken out, and no one was bothering to control them, letting them grow larger and larger...
This was a genuine army panic!
Once Xu Huang confirmed this, he didn't hesitate. Gripping his battle-axe, he dashed past the negligible obstacles before the White Wave camp, reaching the camp gate. With a powerful swing, he brought his axe down directly on the gate's crossbar!
In terms of destructive power against wood, if the axe claims second place, no other tool or weapon dares claim first. After a few strikes from Xu Huang, the entire gate bar and latch splintered and broke, causing the gate to collapse to one side!
Xu Huang let out a fierce roar and charged into the White Wave Army camp!
"Kill!"
Half the soldiers Xu Huang brought were his clansmen; the other half were commandery troops who had already experienced life-and-death battles at Xiangling. They were either strong and vigorous or seasoned veterans. Seeing the White Wave soldiers inside the camp still dazed and slow to react, what was there to say? They simply rushed forward and began the slaughter.
Xu Huang took a quick step, his long battle-axe sweeping in a diagonal arc. Amidst screams, three White Wave soldiers ahead immediately fell in pools of blood. Then, with a backhanded swing in another arc, two more were sent flying. In the blink of an eye, five were killed. The troops following Xu Huang saw their fighting spirit surge dramatically, while the already rock-bottom morale of the White Wave Army plummeted further. They had no heart to resist, simply turning tail and fleeing...
On Xiangling's walls, Wang Yi ordered his soldiers to beat anything that could make noise. Everyone shouted with all their might, waving flags, cheering and encouraging Xu Huang and his men below!
"Fight! Kill the ant-bandits!" Xu Huang raised his blood-drenched battle-axe and roared fiercely.
The soldiers following Xu Huang immediately responded, brandishing their weapons, venting the frustration built up over these days in Xiangling. They all roared in unison:
"Fight! Kill!"
"Fight! Kill!"
A White Wave soldier was hacked down...
"Fight! Kill!"
A group of White Wave soldiers looked left and right, then turned and ran...
"Fight! Kill!"
The White Wave soldiers shouted wildly, "The Xiangling men are attacking! Run!"
"Fight! Kill!"
Utterly demoralized and disorganized, the White Wave soldiers didn't even realize that in the darkness, there were actually very few Xiangling attackers. They just followed the crowd instinctively, fleeing. Xu Huang's hundred men actually managed to shake the entire large camp, driving them to flee north...
Screams, wails, and battle cries merged into one. Many White Wave soldiers suffered from night blindness. Though there were fires, they couldn't see the path clearly, stumbling and groping in all directions. Some even accidentally fell into the Fen River, swept away by its relentless current.
In truth, the number of White Wave soldiers directly killed by Xu Huang's hundred men wasn't that high. But those who drowned in the river, those trampled in the stampede, those killed by their own comrades for various reasons—these far outnumbered the direct casualties.
Watching the scene below the city, Wang Yi was overjoyed. He ordered laborers to immediately start clearing the bricks and earth blocking the city gates and continued sending soldiers down the walls to join the effort of beating the drowning dogs.
Morale was shattered, the entire army had no food, their camp was now on fire, and the soldiers were in complete disarray, with even the commanding leaders nowhere to be found. This situation was entirely different from when Fei Qian led the surprise attack a few days ago. Even Wang Yi, cautious and perhaps not the sharpest, knew this was a rare opportunity. If he didn't seize the moment to strike a heavy blow now, should he wait for the White Wave Army to regroup and fight again?
The sky gradually brightened. Wang Yi looked at the devastated White Wave camp below the city and slowly let out a long sigh. He slowly sat down along the parapet, his suddenly relaxed nerves completely unable to resist the overwhelming fatigue. His head tilted, his eyes closed, and just like that, leaning against the blood-stained city wall, he fell asleep...