CHAPTER 490: CHAPTER 421 THE COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF THE ARMY_2

As he picked it up, he realized his water pouch was already empty.

Yu Wenye had been prone to sweating from a young age, especially since he was trained in martial arts. In summer, his sweat flowed like a river, and often after a day of drills in the army, his clothes were so soaked that they could be wrung out. Such a person, though strong, was also prone to heatstroke in the summer, especially during a march, which was even more troublesome.

Thus, Mu Xian hesitated about whether to persuade him to stop and rest, and have some water.

Just then, Yu Wenye suddenly raised his hand: "Stop!"

At his command, the troops, marching at full speed, came to an immediate halt. Yu Wenye ordered, "Rest in place."

Having walked the entire day, everyone was indeed a bit weary. Hearing this, they all breathed a sigh of relief, some dismounted, others sat on the ground, and everyone brought out water and dry food and began to eat heartily.

Shang Ruyi also dismounted from her horse.

Although she could barely be considered skilled in riding and archery, the bouncing on horseback for the past two days had made her back ache severely, and the inside of her thighs was chafed almost to the point of blistering. As soon as she landed, her legs wobbled, nearly causing her to fall.

She quickly grasped the reins, barely managing to keep herself steady.

Turning her head, she saw Yu Wenye dismounting from his tall, jet-black steed, holding the reins in one hand while using a cloth in the other to wipe the sweat from his forehead and neck. He noticed her near fall but didn’t come over to assist her.

Shang Ruyi also lifted her head, meeting his gaze calmly.

Yu Wenye seemed to smile slightly.

However, before they could say anything, a few people had already gathered around Yu Wenye. One was a slender figure, dressed in splendid attire, obviously not in military garb, it was the young Military Supervisor Yin Changyue who accompanied this expedition. The other was a stout but short middle-aged man clad in armor, the Marching Commander appointed by the court, Song Yu.

Having suffered under Military Supervisor Kou Junliang at Xingluo Granary, Shang Ruyi had no fondness for these eunuch supervisors sent by the palace. But Yin Changyue, having endured the same horseback ordeal for two days, didn’t seem as pretentious as the previous Kou Junliang and simply asked calmly, "General, what place is this?"

Yu Wenye turned to him and said, "There should be a river nearby. We’ll take a strategic pause here and give everyone some time to recover and fill their stomachs."

"A river?"

Yin Changyue was taken aback, turning his head to look around. The surroundings were pitch black, making it impossible to discern any hills or rivers, and Yu Wenye didn’t have a map. How did he know?

But just then, the sound of flowing water came on the wind.

It turned out there really was a river.

Yu Wenye said, "This should be the tributary Little Forest River of the Fufeng section of the Wei River."

"..."

"Less than twenty miles ahead, we can reach Fufeng."

Yin Changyue asked, "But why eat at this time?"

On the other side, Song Yu furrowed his brow and said, "Yes, since Fufeng is less than twenty miles away, if we speed up our pace, it’s only a matter of half the night. Why not push through and eat breakfast at Fufeng?"

Yu Wenye glanced at them.

Although there were soldiers nearby holding torches aloft for light, under the firelight, his eyes appeared even deeper.

He said, "We’ve received no more war reports on this journey."

"Hmm?"

Yin Changyue and Song Yu were momentarily stunned and exchanged glances.

They were asking why the army halted and dismounted at this time, so why was the Assistant General mentioning the war reports?

Shang Ruyi also walked over. Hearing this, she was slightly taken aback, then, thinking it over, she somewhat understood. She said softly, "The few previous war reports were urgent, saying Xue Xian had already pressed near Fufeng, but no reports have arrived since. It could be—Fufeng is already under attack."

Hearing her words, Yin Changyue drew a sharp breath.

The battle had already begun, so there was no time to send further reports.

Then—the fighting must be intense, even brutal!

Yu Wenye looked at Shang Ruyi, nodding gently, but his tone remained even as he said, "I suspect as much, which is why we’ve been force marching today, but now we’ve reached everyone’s limit."

"..."

"Our contingent, once arrived, will have to engage immediately if encountering combat. But after marching a day without food or water, the soldiers have no strength. How can they fight? At that point, we would not only be unhelpful but might even become a burden."