I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

On the battlefield, time seemed to stand still.

All eyes were focused on the man covered in blood, holding a blade in one hand and raising a barbarian suit of armor in the other.

"I am Xiao Jingshi."

"The Crown Prince of Liang".

"I'm back."

His hoarse yet clear voice, like a thunderclap, cleaved through all the noise and carnage on the battlefield, striking hard into everyone's heart.

The Liang soldiers, who had been pressing forward with murderous intent, all froze in place. Their spears remained poised, but the expressions on their faces changed from anger and hatred to utter shock and bewilderment.

Your Highness?

This barbarian general... is His Highness the Crown Prince?

The Crown Prince who, according to legend, fell off a cliff and died, his remains never found?

How is that possible!

Zhao Yi was trembling violently. He looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure, at the deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder, and at the undeniable authority in his eyes. A surge of hot blood rushed to his head.

He heard right! His Highness admitted it himself!

Meanwhile, in the barbarian camp, Princess Yuezhuo's madness and resentment froze instantly upon hearing the words "Crown Prince of Liang," turning into a deathly pale expression of utter disbelief.

Gray Wolf...

He wasn't some amnesiac Central Plains person...

He is... the Crown Prince of Daliang?

That was their barbarian's greatest enemy, the target they most wanted to eliminate during this southern expedition.

I... I actually picked up the Crown Prince of Daliang and kept him by my side like a pet, and even foolishly wanted him to be my man?

This is absolutely the biggest joke in the world!

"No...it's impossible..." she muttered absentmindedly, the scimitar in her hand falling to the ground with a clang.

The barbarian archers behind her were also dumbfounded, unsure whether to release the arrows nocked on the bowstrings or not.

To shoot and kill the Crown Prince of Liang? That would be an incredible achievement!

But... the man the princess has fallen for is the crown prince of Liang? This relationship is too complicated!

In the eerie silence that filled the entire room, Xiao Jingshi made a move.

He ignored the still-bleeding wound on his shoulder and the hostile and suspicious gazes around him.

He walked towards Zhao Yi step by step, with unwavering determination.

With each step he took, the Liang soldiers surrounding him would involuntarily step back to make way for him.

They didn't know what to do. Reason told them it was absurd, but the aura emanating from that man, that familiar yet awe-inspiring authority, prevented them from making the slightest move.

Xiao Jingshi walked up to Zhao Yi and took the blood- and mud-stained sword from his hand.

He gripped the sword hilt, and the familiar feel brought clarity to his jumbled memories.

He turned to face all the Liang soldiers and raised his long sword high.

"Soldiers!" His voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out all the noise on the battlefield. "I know you don't believe me! I know you have doubts!"

"But I tell you! I am not dead! I was swept by the river to the heart of the barbarian territory and lost my memory! It was your fighting spirit, your courage, that awakened me!"

He pointed his sword at the barbarian camp behind him, which was beginning to descend into chaos.

"Look at your enemies! They're in chaos! Their princess, their leader, their army's morale—I've thrown them all into disarray!"

"Now is not the time for doubt! Now is the time for counterattack!"

"Take up your weapons! Follow me! Charge out!"

"Let the blood of these savage dogs wash away the shame of these past two months! Let their heads be a sacrifice for our fallen brothers!"

"kill--!"

He let out a deafening roar, offered no further explanation, and turned to charge ahead of the bewildered barbarian soldiers!

That lonely and resolute figure, like the sharpest dagger, pierced the eyes of all the Liang soldiers.

Zhao Yi looked at that back, at the blood gushing from his left shoulder, at his still upright and pine-like figure, and could no longer hold back. Tears welled up in his tiger-like eyes!

He no longer needs to doubt!

What spirit! What determination! What fearlessness—to go against the tide, even if it means facing millions!

Who else could it be but His Highness the Crown Prince?!

"It's His Highness! It's our Crown Prince!" Zhao Yi roared with all his might, "His Highness isn't dead! He's back to lead us out of here!"

"Soldiers! What are you waiting for! Follow His Highness! Charge!"

He drew his knife and, second only to Xiao Jingshi, charged forward!

"His Highness is back!"

"His Highness is not dead!"

"Avenge His Highness! Kill them!"

One soldier, two soldiers, hundreds or thousands of soldiers...

That suppressed grief and despair found the perfect outlet at this moment!

hope!

Their war prince, their hope, has returned!

All the Liang soldiers' eyes turned red. They roared like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down. Like an unstoppable torrent of steel, they followed the black figure who was leading the charge and launched the fiercest and most frenzied counterattack against the enemy!