Chapter 247 Personally Slaying a General

"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh..."

Any Toungoo soldier who tried to retreat towards the main camp was immediately met with a hail of bolts from repeating crossbows.

With pursuers behind and Cavalry blocking the way ahead, the Toungoo soldiers felt there was no escape, neither to the heavens nor into the earth.

Since they couldn't return to the main camp, they simply gave up. Many threw down their weapons and surrendered, while others, no longer fixated on reaching the camp, fled in whatever direction they deemed safe.

Seeing the blocking Cavalry and the general they were surrounding, Bayinnaung's eyes nearly bled with rage.

"Gao Yuan! Gao Yuan! I challenge you to a duel to the death!"

Slapping his warhorse, Bayinnaung charged towards Gao Yuan with his deputy generals and Personal Guards.

Seeing Bayinnaung, Gao Yuan felt like he was looking at a golden doll radiating dazzling light. Pointing his command flag, he led his men forward.

Whether intentional or not, both sides seemed to tacitly open a path, allowing Gao Yuan and Bayinnaung to face each other directly—a true clash of kings!

"Clang!"

A deafening crash rang out as Gao Yuan's silver spear met Bayinnaung's great saber.

While turning his horse, Gao Yuan shook his numbed hand, secretly impressed by Bayinnaung's combat prowess.

"Damn, this S-rank is no joke. He's really tough to deal with!"

After another exchange, Gao Yuan felt the skin between his thumb and forefinger was about to split.

"No good. If this continues, I might capsize in a ditch. Screw it, System, use the trial card!"

"Host using S-rank random martial soul trial card. Randomizing now!"

As the third clash ended, the system finally finished randomizing. An image of a military officer appeared before Gao Yuan's eyes—a man holding a long spear with a mace hanging at his waist.

"Host using Qin Qiong (historical version) martial soul trial card. Matching bonuses now..."

"Bonus matching complete. Host: Gao Yuan. Temporary ability evaluation: S+;

Strength S+, Agility S+, Endurance S+, Intelligence B+, Command A-, Administration C, Charisma S;

Martial Arts: saber technique S, Spearmanship SS, Horsemanship S+, Mounted Archery S+, Foot Archery A+;

Skills: Leader's Aura (C), Pursue and Attack, One-Hit Subdue, Double-Flowered Red Pole."

"Double-Flowered Red Pole: A skill matched with the Qin Qiong martial soul trial card. If the Host's current attack fails to kill the enemy general, the next attack will receive a slight boost in Strength and Agility attributes. Effects can stack."

"Damn... that's fucking awesome. Worthy of being Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin's Double-Flowered Red Pole, the undefeated duelist of the late Sui dynasty chaos."

As the bonuses took effect, Gao Yuan felt his entire body surge with power, accompanied by rich combat experience and an absolute, contemptuous confidence.

Others might not notice this change, but his opponent Bayinnaung felt it keenly, especially after they clashed for another round.

"How did his strength increase? And his speed became so fast! Was he holding back before?"

Bayinnaung wanted to curse, inwardly denouncing Gao Yuan as a sneaky bastard for playing the holding-back card at a time like this.

"Good thing I'm vigilant, or I would've been ambushed just now."

With his cheat activated, Gao Yuan felt everything was wonderful. If he could, he would shout:

"Who's next?!"

As the battle continued, after over a dozen rounds, Bayinnaung gradually found it hard to hold his ground. Seeing this, several of his deputy generals broke away from their own foes to assist him.

Facing multiple opponents, Gao Yuan showed no fear. He killed two in a single round, and within less than three rounds, all of Bayinnaung's helpers were dead.

Now, no one else even dared to step forward. They could only watch helplessly as Bayinnaung was beaten into a wretched state by Gao Yuan.

The longer the fight went on, the deeper Bayinnaung's sense of helplessness grew. He knew the chances of escaping today were slim.

After more than fifty rounds, Gao Yuan finally seized an opportunity. Taking advantage of Bayinnaung's exhausted state, he drew the four-edged golden mace from his waist and struck the horse's head.

Bayinnaung's warhorse had its skull shattered by the mace. With a final scream, it collapsed, throwing Bayinnaung to the ground, dazed and unable to get up for a long while.

When he finally managed to rise, he saw Gao Yuan charging towards him on horseback again and hurriedly spoke:

"Commandery Duke Gao, stop! I surren— Urk..."

Bayinnaung stared at the silver spear piercing his chest, feeling his body being lifted. His eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness as his life force and soul rapidly drained away with his blood.

Taking one last look at the infinitely beautiful sunset, this Toungoo king, a great ruler of his generation, the 'Conqueror of the Ten Directions' from the original timeline, closed his eyes forever.

Gao Yuan's slaying of Bayinnaung on the battlefield became the final footnote of this great battle.

"The king is dead! The king is dead!"

As the cries spread, despair rapidly spreaded among the toungoo people.

When the Toungoo soldiers looked up and saw the body, limp as a ragged sack, impaled on the tip of Gao Yuan's spear, they lost even the desire to flee. They dropped their weapons, slumped to the ground, and waited to be taken prisoner.

The battle ended, and the trial card expired. Gao Yuan felt as if his body had been instantly drained, nearly falling from his saddle.

Having done his part, Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered with the rest. With people like Gao Yao around, there was no need for him to worry.

After dinner, without even bathing, Gao Yuan lay on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

It took a full five days to clean up the battlefield. Of the over 70,000 Toungoo troops, nearly 100,000 including laborers, more than 10,000 were killed or wounded in this battle. Aside from a few who escaped, the rest were all captured.

Toungoo King Bayinnaung, his great general Pindalipha, and over thirty other commanders were killed. More than fifty were captured. The Toungoo kingdom's military strength was almost completely annihilated.

Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered to participate in the following battles, leaving them for others to handle. He himself returned to Vientiane with rich rewards.

What comfort was there in these desolate wilds compared to returning to the city and holding the fragrant, soft Empress?

On the first day of the twelfth month, in the fourth year of the Daqian Shaoxing era, as the Nanyue Army occupied Kanti, Minsin, and Manipur, the once-powerful Toungoo dynasty, after three generations and four monarchs, was officially declared extinct.

Gao Yuan had already returned to Panyu city with Wu Xu and his rich rewards, ready to welcome the New Year.

Even before the war ended, Gao Yuan had issued orders: transferring Song Yong to serve as chief clerk of the Zhongnan Circuit to take over all administrative affairs, and swapping the positions of Huo Jun and Liu Rengui.

One division was transferred from the Zhongnan Circuit to be under the command of the Pugan Circuit. Simultaneously, a new division was formed in the Pugan Circuit, expanding its forces to six divisions, totaling 51,000 men.

Gao Yang was also left by Gao Yuan in the Pugan Circuit to serve as Liu Rengui's deputy, allowing this wild S-rank general under his command to gain proper experience.

As for Bayinnaung's head, it was already aboard a sea vessel with Wu Guiyi, on its way to Lin'an to claim merit.

Having been away for nearly a year, the women missed Gao Yuan, but also harbored boundless resentment towards him.

Indeed, on his first night back, Zhao Xiyao dragged him into her courtyard and squeezed him dry for an entire night, only stopping when not a single drop could be extracted.

For the next few days, it was almost the same every day. As soon as one finished, another began. Gao Yuan was squeezed dry in turn by several women—a scene too pitiful to behold.

How pitiful? Eating stir-fried leeks with large kidneys every day, devouring oysters at every meal, yet still unable to replenish what was lost.

Ten days later, when Gao Yuan appeared again in the Yang Family courtyard, even Yang Xin was startled.