Chapter 2148: Defeated

If not for the vast difference in military might between the opposing forces, Sun Pu’s entire army might have faced annihilation.

Yet, caught off guard by the suddenness of the attack amidst the veil of night, Sun Pu’s military encampment lay entrenched in deep slumber. Ill-prepared, they suffered staggering losses from the onset.

Though night patrols and sentries were in place, veterans like Zheng Sangge and Wu Guan, despite their decade-long absence from the battlefield, boasted a wealth of experience from countless skirmishes in the northwest.

Their adversaries, the formidable Beihu people and the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, possessed a ferocity Sun Pu could hardly match.

Despite numerical and martial imbalances, dispatching Sun Pu proved as effortless as slicing through ripe melons.

Silently, sentry posts fell one by one, their destruction meticulously timed against the patrol’s movements. Before the patrols could react, a legion of 1,000 elite soldiers breached the encampment’s defenses.

Amidst the chaos, flames licked the night sky, mingling with the cacophony of shouts and the thundering hooves of panicked steeds. Sun Pu’s forces were thrown into disarray, resembling headless insects, scrambling to evade the relentless assault. The stampede to flee mirrored a swarm of panicked insects following a leader, a frenzy of pushing and trampling, punctuated by cries and screams echoing in the darkness.

Upon hearing this, the fear clutching his heart tightened its grip, propelling him into an even more frantic flight.

Thus, Sun Pu’s formidable force of 10,000 men found themselves reduced to a pitiable state at the hands of a mere 1,000 elite soldiers, fleeing for hundreds of miles under the cover of darkness.

Unaware that they were pursued by only a fraction of their assumed numbers, Sun Pu presumed a force six or seven times larger hot on their heels.

With the break of dawn, Zheng Sangge and Wu Guan ordered their men to halt pursuit, affording Sun Pu’s remnants a moment’s respite.

Even in their surprise assault, a thousand against ten thousand, it was implausible to completely overwhelm the opposition. Once Sun Pu’s forces realized the true scale of their pursuers, fortune would favor the undermanned.

Furthermore, Shao Yunduan harbored no desire for enmity with the Second Prince or his forces.

Sun Pu’s aggression only served to underscore Shao Yunduan’s reluctant resistance, a circumstance not of his choosing but thrust upon him, and likewise, his soldiers.

Hence, the Second Prince found himself unable to reproach such a retaliatory strike.

However, total annihilation of Sun Pu and his forces would undoubtedly provoke further conflict.

Even if it meant reclaiming lost honor, the Second Prince would undoubtedly dispatch his troops for retribution.

Shao Yunduan was acutely aware of the stakes and his actions.

Even in defeat, Sun Pu had none to blame but himself…

In the aftermath of the battle, Sun Pu’s ranks were decimated, with 7,000 souls lost upon regrouping his troops.

Most heartbreaking was that many of these casualties were inflicted by their own comrades in the ensuing chaos.

Sun Pu seethed with fury, vowing vengeance against Shao Yunduan to his very core, swearing to reclaim his dignity as General Sun’s son.

Yet, with a mere 3,000 survivors at his disposal, immediate reprisal was out of reach. Sun Pu had no choice but to seek aid.

Too humiliated to lead his defeated troops back, he ordered them to establish camp while he and a select few returned to rally reinforcements.

The prospect of seeking help was a bitter pill to swallow, his pride wounded. Despite berating Prefect Liu in a fit of rage, Sun Pu now found himself sharing Shao Yunduan’s fate.

The sting of humiliation was swift and profound…

However, if he did not personally go back to get reinforcements, who knew when he would be able to move over if he only sent a deputy general back? He did not want to wait, nor could he wait!

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