Chapter 7

Lieutenant En shouted as the camp began to wake. Some of the camp's soldiers shouted, "Enemy's attack!" While others were cursing for being woken up in the middle of the night. Most were just confused as to what was happening.

A soldier ran into Neo's tent. "General, our camp has been breached by multiple cavalry units."

Neo could already hear the rumbling of thousands of cavalry in the distance. "How many enemy troops in total?"

"At least a thousand, perhaps two. It's hard to tell in the darkness of the night."

" How many losses have we taken so far?"

" Not too many, only about a hundred."

" That little?" Neo was confused, as the point of a night incursion was to use the element of surprise to deal a serious blow to the enemy.

" They seem to be avoiding most of the troops, sir."

" No wonder." Neo finally realized what Yue Fei planning to achieve in this night raid. They wanted to kill him while his soldiers were running around in confusion.

" Hmm." Neo thought for a quick moment, then grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something on it, then handed it to the messenger and said, " Quickly, send this message to lieutenant Ben."

" Yes, sir." The soldier grabbed the piece of paper and ran out of the tent.

After the messenger left, Neo grabbed a spear from his weapon rack and stepped out of his tent to rally his troops. When the messenger left, Neo grabbed the weapon closet to him, a spear, and set out to lead a counterattack against the marauders.

But despite being able to rally troops close to him, his troops were far too tired from the daily battle and being woken up in the night to hold the enemy forces back. Soon enough, the lieutenant spotted Neo and his men battling it out with some of his cavalries.

"Men, follow me. We can take the enemy General's head."

Just as Neo forces seemed destined to crumple, a ray of hope arrived from the darkness. Officer Phillips, who had set out to light firecrackers with his two hundred men, had returned to camp to rescue Neo.

After leading his men to Neo, officer Phillips handed the reins of a horse to Neo. "Boss, we have to get you out of here."

"No, we have to stay and fight for a little while longer." Said Neo.

"Are you serious?" Phillips could not believe his ears. "If we stay here any longer, the only thing that will happen is our, and your, deaths."

" You're right," Neo said, but he still didn't want to leave. He needed to stay longer to ensure that his plan would succeed.

" If I am right, then get on the horse and follow me. We have a path of retreat, but my men won't be able to hold it much longer."

Neo nodded. In the end, his officer was correct. This was not the type of situation he could stall out of forever. "I was wrong. Officer Phillips, let's head out."

As Neo retreated with his men, lieutenant En immediately ordered what was left of his cavalry to give chase and bring him Neo's head.

Neo headed towards the shaped steep incline they had found before the first day of battle. This confused En, as he was sure Neo would have tried to lead them to one of the points of interest he and Yue Fei had scouted beforehand, each of which they had created a plan for. But there was nothing in the direction Neo was riding off towards.

How could En know that there was a knowledge gap between the two forces? This difference in knowledge meant that lieutenant En believed that Neo didn't have a plan, but was running away, trying to escape.

He felt increasingly confident as he chased, and he shouted for his men to ride faster in their pursuit. Within moments, his fastest riders were at the heels of Neo's laggards.

Recognizing the situation, these men immediately turned around in order to try and stall the enemy for as long as possible. Neo ran around in circles in an attempt to give his lieutenant Ben more time to mobilize their troops into the optimal placement.

This went on for a while before Neo's army consisted of less than a hundred soldiers. Phillips was starting to get worried as the enemy seemed to be relentless in their pursuit.

"Boss, how long do we still have to go in order to reach our destination?" Philips said worry showing on his face.

"Still aways to go, unfortunately."

"If we keep going on like this then we are unlikely to reach our destination before our enemies reach you, boss."

" So, do you have a suggestion?"

" I will split the men we have now into two groups, then branch off and create a wedge formation band strike the enemy of their sides. This should slow their troops enough for you to reach our destination."

" This is an admirable plan, but I want you to promise me one thing before you leave."

" Whatever you command, my Lord."

" Promise me that you meet me back at camp in the morning."

Officer Phillips stared at Neo for a moment before placing his fist over his heart and replying. "You got it, boss."

Phillips raised his hand and chopped it in the air a few times, signaling his troops to break off.

...

The pursuing forces saw two sides split, and one of the officers rode up to lieutenant En's side, " Sir, shall we split forces to chase both parties?"

" No need. Our main objective is to kill Neo. If the others are smart, they'll leave this area as quickly as they can. All forces are to concentrate on killing Neo."

" Understood."

The two rode at the front of their forces as they continued to pursue Neo, but after a few moments, they heard the sound of fighting behind them.