The battle losses were quickly tallied.
Of the several thousand Weisheng Army troops, including grassroots officers such as centurions and ordinary soldiers, fewer than ten remained completely unscathed.
Those with light wounds still capable of fighting numbered fewer than eight hundred.
The rest were all either severely injured or dead.
Of the five hundred male and female escorts, only two hundred and twenty survived.
Among them, one hundred and thirty were severely wounded.
Jin Feng’s personal guard had also suffered over half casualties.
The losses could truly be described as devastating.
However, Danzhu’s side had suffered even greater deaths and injuries.
When they arrived, the soldiers had almost covered the open ground between Great Python Slope and the Tubo main camp, but on the return, they were sparse and scattered.
The trenches at the foot of Great Python Slope were nearly filled with corpses.
In front of Position Three, bodies piled up like mountains, and in some low-lying areas, pooled blood was deep enough to submerge ankles.
When Zhang Liang returned with the Black Armour Team, this was the scene that greeted them.
Though they had not experienced it firsthand, the remnants on the battlefield revealed just how fierce the fighting had been.
In fact, the situation on Zhang Liang’s side had been even more brutal than at Great Python Slope.
Because here at Great Python Slope, Danzhu could order a withdrawal, but the flag commander besieging the Black Armour Team had no such authority.
If he ordered retreat, he would be hanged by Danzhu upon return.
He could only keep commanding the soldiers to press the attack relentlessly.
Fortunately, Jin Feng knew the mission for the Black Armour Team was arduous, so he had allocated them a sufficient number of hand grenades, ultimately shattering the Tubo soldiers’ psychological defences.
Combined with the flag commander’s sustained high pressure, the Tubo soldiers finally broke into a massive rout.
But Zhang Liang did not pursue the victory, instead leading the Black Armour Team in a mad dash towards Great Python Slope at once.
Only when they reached the vicinity of Great Python Mountain, confirming that the banners of the Weisheng Army and Zhenyuan Escort Bureau still flew at the summit, and seeing Weisheng troops clearing the battlefield on the mountainside, did Zhang Liang and the escorts finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Since last night, the Black Armour Team had first marched hurriedly, then fought continuously, and finally sprinted all the way back, long since exhausted beyond measure.
But Jin Feng had reminded them that after intense exertion, it was unsuitable to lie down and rest immediately, so the escorts did not stop to rest on the spot, merely slowing their pace gradually as they continued towards Great Python Slope.
At the summit of Great Python Slope, when Jin Feng ascended, Qin’er had already helped the Ninth Princess to rest on a rock.
Qing Muluan, covered in blood and gore, sat nearby, gasping heavily.
Seeing Jin Feng approach, she merely waved casually in greeting.
She had entered the battlefield during the most intense fighting at Position Three.
Many Tubo soldiers had already breached the defences, intent on scaling the mountain to capture the Ninth Princess.
At that time, everyone was entangled with Tubo troops and unable to break free, fortunately A Mei, the expert, joined and swiftly dealt with them.
The Ninth Princess stood up, wanting to pay respects to Jin Feng.
But as soon as she raised her arms, they weakly dropped again.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
“At a time like this, no need to push yourself!”
Jin Feng quickly waved his hand.
Yet the Ninth Princess persisted in raising her arms, clasping her hands together, and performed a courtesy to Jin Feng.
“Wuyang thanks Mr Jin! Without you in this battle, defeat would have been certain!”
This was no exaggeration; victory owed much to the repeating crossbows and hand grenades Jin Feng had brought.
The escorts’ performance had also been outstanding.
“Without Your Highness, victory would likewise have been impossible!”
Seeing this, Jin Feng solemnly returned a scholar’s courtesy to the Ninth Princess.
The two exchanged a glance and smiled simultaneously.
But the Ninth Princess only smiled briefly before she could smile no more.
Lowering her arms hurt too much.
“Mr Jin, is Wuyang’s arm alright?”
Qing Muluan asked anxiously.
“It’s fine, just muscle strain from prolonged drumming. Rest for a while and it will recover.”
Jin Feng said, “If you’re free lately, help her massage it; she’ll heal faster.”
“Yes!”
Only upon hearing it was nothing serious did Qin’er relax, then after a hesitation she asked, “Which acupoints to massage? What technique?”
“How am I supposed to answer that?”
The earlier battle had been too tense; Jin Feng was still somewhat exhilarated, and his speech was involuntarily affected. “If you promise not to hit me, I can demonstrate for you.”
“You…”
Qin’er’s eyes widened in anger, then she directly extended her own arm. “Then demonstrate on my arm!”
“Forget it, I’m afraid that big black ox of yours will fight me to the death!” Jin Feng teased with a laugh.
Niu Ben fancied Qin’er; the entire Zhenyuan Escort Bureau knew it.
Back at Xihe Bay, the big black ox would court her whenever he could.
At first, Qin’er worried the Ninth Princess might object and felt shy, but later realising the Princess seemed oblivious, she understood it was tacit approval.
Only then did their relationship progress somewhat, though it remained somewhat secretive.
Now directly exposed by Jin Feng, Qin’er blushed deeply from embarrassment and stamped on his foot.
Jin Feng’s face instantly turned redder than Qin’er’s.
Not from embarrassment, but from pain!
Qin’er could kick through small trees with one foot and lift stone rollers; she was a violent girl.
Just teased by Jin Feng, feeling both ashamed and annoyed, her foot inevitably lost some control.
Unfortunately, Jin Feng was not wearing battle boots today; this stamp felt no different from being hit by a rock.
If there was a difference, perhaps the rock would not have hit so hard.
Jin Feng felt half his foot go numb, followed by piercing pain.
Unable to howl in agony, he endured it, sat down heavily on the ground, and removed his shoe.
Sure enough, the nail of his left big toe had turned black and purple; it was certainly beyond saving.
“Miss Qin’er, that’s too much, isn’t it?”
Da Liu’s eyes widened, feeling helpless and a bit angry.
His duty was to protect Jin Feng, yet now Jin Feng had nearly had his foot crushed right in front of him.
This made Da Liu angry.
But he could also see Qin’er had not meant it.
This left him in a dilemma.
Qin’er knew she was in the wrong and quickly apologised to Jin Feng. “Mr Jin… I didn’t mean it… I…”
But like A Mei, Qin’er had been trained from childhood as a stoic bodyguard, usually as cold as a robot, utterly unfamiliar with apologising.
After stammering for ages, all she could say was that she had not meant it.
“Alright, alright, this time it was my loose tongue; call it even. In future, please keep your distance from me, big sister!”
Jin Feng naturally understood Qin’er had not intended it and could only consider himself unlucky.
Turning his head, he instructed, “Da Liu, in future, whenever she comes within ten feet of me, remind me to stay far away!”
“Yes!” Da Liu replied, holding back laughter.
It was the first time he had seen Jin Feng so deflated.
The Ninth Princess and Qing Muluan both lowered their heads, shoulders shaking.
“Alright, don’t hold it in; laugh if you want!”
Jin Feng glanced at them irritably.
“Wah haha ha!”
Qing Muluan pounded the rock, laughing until tears came.
The Ninth Princess squatted down, burying her face in her legs.
In truth, the incident was not that funny; they were simply using it to vent their emotions.
Jin Feng speechlessly put his shoe back on and, with Da Liu’s support, hopped towards the rock to sit and rest.
When Zhang Liang arrived, he caught exactly this scene.
“Mr Jin is injured too?”
His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to look at the Tubo camp below the mountain!
“Danzhu, the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau will surely take your head!”
