The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife Chapter 1723: Fighting Desperately

"Sir, there are too many Chu Army members coming in, and they are entering the forest from multiple paths. We can’t hold them back for long." The Hidden Guards gathered upon seeing the signal, but the results were not ideal. Although they temporarily delayed the Chu Army, they lost more than twenty brothers. Despite over a thousand casualties among the Chu Army, it’s merely a drop in the ocean against tens of thousands of them. Defeating one group only means another will come. It’s endless.

"Alright, start withdrawing gradually. Even if we fight to the death here, it’s futile. Better to preserve our strength for future battles. I’m willing to abandon this foothold." Ye Shikai took out two boxes of landmines from his Storage Ring, his last reserves, with bullets and grenades running low. Had he foreseen today’s scenario, Ye Shikai should have stored the munitions depot in Europe in his Storage Ring back then.

"Everyone take two. Bury them along the path into the forest, each spaced two zhang apart. Remember, handle with care." Ye Shikai instructed.

"Sir, what are these things?" A Hidden Guard curiously asked, looking at the disk-like object in his hand.

"Life-saving tools, stop wasting time and bury them quickly."

"Yes."

"Yes."

The Dark Guards followed Ye Shikai’s orders, burying each landmine in the soil before retreating towards the foothold.

Twenty minutes later.

Ye Shikai returned to the foothold with the Hidden Guards. Seeing their return, He Linghan let out a sigh of relief, finally feeling somewhat settled, as the soldiers opened the camp gate to let them in.

"Quickly, seal the gate. They’ll be here soon." Ye Shikai shouted, and the soldiers behind him hurriedly shut the camp gate, sealing it with planks and blocking it with heavy objects.

"Ling’er, why are you out here? And why haven’t you left yet?" Ye Shikai shouted, urgency evident in his voice, sounding somewhat harsh due to the tense situation.

"I... I was waiting here for you."

"Nonsense, it’s too dangerous now. Man Cang, take a team to escort her through the back route. Once out of the cave, go straight ahead. There’s a big river ahead where I’ve had ships made. Cross the river immediately. The Chu Army may be large, but without the boats, they can’t cross, so once you cross, you’ll be safe."

"Yes, Sir, I’ll protect her well." Man Cang received his command. He’s reliable and skilled in martial arts. Leaving He Linghan with him puts Ye Shikai at ease.

"Wait, I’ll go first, what about you?" He Linghan asked.

"Once through the cave, we have no horses; to cross the river, we’ll have to walk, and we’re too slow. If we all withdraw, the Chu Army will catch up. I must stay behind to delay them." Ye Shikai continued, "Alright then, leave quickly."

"Madam, please come with me."

"Ling’er, don’t worry, I’ll return alive." Before leaving, Ye Shikai gave her a hug. He Linghan wasn’t fragile, but when it concerns his safety, he couldn’t help but worry.

Boom.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded in the distance. The Chu Army had entered their "Landmine Array." Despite a substantial density of buried mines, they could only delay them. Against the Chu Army’s thousands, they cared little about casualties.

"Go quickly, hurry." Ye Shikai urged, and Man Cang promptly led He Linghan away through the cave behind the waterfall. Ye Shikai slowly turned to face the hundreds of brothers in front of him. Despite the army closing in, none of them showed fear in their eyes.

"Brothers, you’ve lived through life and death with me. I’ve promised to take you to a place without war so you can live peacefully. But now, it seems I’m breaking that promise." Ye Shikai muttered.

"There are tens of thousands of troops outside. Once they come in, they’ll massacre us without leaving a single soul. I have to tell you, we can’t possibly hold them off with our numbers, but I ask you, are you afraid?"

"Not afraid."

"Not afraid."

"Not afraid."

The soldiers shouted loudly.

"General, we followed you, committed to the end. Since they don’t intend to spare us, we fear nothing. Let’s fight them."

"Yes, fight them, afraid of what."

"Fight them, let’s do it."

"Alright, then we’ll fight them today." Ye Shikai felt gratified. Frankly, upon learning about the undercover spies among his men, he felt heartbroken. But now, he considered himself lucky to have so many loyal comrades. Even if only one of them is truly loyal, he believes it’s worth it.

Ye Shikai took out the remaining munitions from his Storage Ring, more than fifty rifles, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. He distributed the weapons to the Hidden Guards. During the prison break, Ye Shikai had no choice but to use "modern weapons," so the Hidden Guards had learned how to use them. These weapons shouldn’t exist in this era, and Ye Shikai was reluctant to use them, but under current circumstances, not using them would mean losing their lives...

"Chu Army can’t possibly carry ladders and siege hammers, so they’ll send soldiers to ram the gate. Don’t shoot people behind, just shoot the ones ramming the gate." Ye Shikai instructed.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Hold on." Ye Shikai suddenly stopped them.

"Sir, is there anything else?"

"Quickly, order dozens of brothers to fill buckets with water and douse the gate, then store some water."

"Sir, why is that?"

"Don’t ask, execute the order."

"Yes."

.....................

Before long, the silhouettes of the Chu Army appeared in the distance. The sound of landmines exploding hadn’t ceased along the way. This era lacks demining equipment, so Mi Wen uses the lives of the Chu Army to explore the mines. Ye Shikai felt a pang of remorse, as these brothers used to be his subordinates, now forced into a life-or-death struggle. If there were a measure of agony, he felt it most deeply.

Through the years, he’s fought many battles, and looking back, many were pointless slaughters. Soldiers are merely pawns in a schemer’s game, readily sacrificed. Soldiers themselves never envisioned fighting wars; they all yearn for peace.

"Sir, look, the Chu Army is coming." A Hidden Guard pointed out, his vision clear enough to see the heads of soldiers in the front row.

Ye Shikai picked up his rifle, aiming it at the leading officer. After hesitating for a while, he refrained from pulling the trigger, instead lowering the barrel two inches.

Bam.

The bullet hit near the lead officer’s feet, startling him, causing the Chu Army’s formation to halt.

"Sir, was that..."

"Don’t shoot them directly yet; use the gunshots to intimidate them first."