The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Its daybreak.

As the first ray of grayish-white light pierced the horizon and illuminated the mottled city walls of Shuobei City, a desolate horn sounded, like the roar of a giant beast awakening from an ancient wasteland, resounding throughout the entire world.

Woo-woo-woo-woo

The offensive of the three-race allied forces has begun.

Beneath the city walls, the sea of ​​countless tents began to churn. First to move were the barbarian infantry from the west. Forming massive square formations, they carried rudimentary yet enormous siege ladders and battering rams, their heavy steps slowly pressing towards the walls. They emitted incomprehensible roars, each step causing the earth to tremble.

To the east, the barbarian cavalry spread out across the wilderness like a black tide. They did not rush to approach the city walls, but instead roamed and roared in the distance, occasionally hurling arrows at the city walls, probing and harassing the enemy.

To the due north, the wolf clan's 400,000 archers stood in the most disciplined formation. They formed massive cavalry squares of ten thousand men each, as immovable as black iron plates. Only the countless wolf-head banners fluttering in the morning breeze exuded a chilling killing intent.

War is imminent.

On the city wall, Zhang Qinian gripped the hilt of his sword nervously, his palms sweating. Looking down at the endless enemy army below, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Is this the allied forces of the three races? Is this a nearly million-strong army of tigers and wolves?

He felt like a small boat in a raging storm, about to be smashed to pieces by the terrifying waves.

He couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingchen beside him.

The prince's face was expressionless. He simply gazed silently at the scene outside the city, as if it were not a million-strong army capable of devouring everything, but rather an ordinary landscape.

"Your Highness, the barbarians...the barbarians are attacking!" a messenger shouted anxiously.

Xiao Jingchen didn't turn around, but simply said calmly, "What's the panic?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it had a calming power.

"Order the defenders on the city walls to fire freely. Don't hold back your arrows, fire hard! Smash their first wave of attack!"

"yes!"

With the order issued, Shuobei City, this war fortress, finally revealed its fangs.

On the city walls, countless defenders drew their bows and unleashed a rain of arrows upon the barbarian infantry carrying siege ladders below. Logs and stones, like hail, whistled down from the city walls, crashing heavily into the dense ranks of the barbarians.

Screams and wails instantly filled the air.

However, the barbarians' offensive showed no sign of abating. Those who fell were immediately replaced by those behind. Like a pack of painless wild beasts, their eyes fixed only on the towering city walls, they charged forward fearlessly.

"Your Highness, the North Gate... the North Gate is ready." Lin Jingfeng, the commander of the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry, appeared behind Xiao Jingchen at some point and said in a low voice.

Xiao Jingchen finally turned around. He glanced at the blood-soaked western city wall and then at the barbarian cavalry roaming in the distance to the east.

Finally, his gaze fell on Zhang Qinian's face.

"Zhang Qinian".

"Your humble servant is here!" Zhang Qinian replied hastily, startled.

"Are you scared?" Xiao Jingchen asked.

Zhang Qinian opened his mouth, wanting to say he wasn't afraid, but looking into Xiao Jingchen's eyes, which seemed to see right through people, he finally lowered his head obediently: "I am afraid."

"Being afraid is the right thing to do," Xiao Jingchen said. "Being afraid is what will keep you alive."

He patted Zhang Qinian on the shoulder: "Remember your mission. Once the east gate opens, you and your men will charge out like mad dogs and bite those barbarian cavalry. If they run, you chase. If they stop, you attack. I don't care if you win, I just want you to keep them there."

"This subordinate...understands!" Zhang Qinian gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.

Xiao Jingchen stopped looking at him and turned to walk down the city wall.

"Lin Jingfeng, come with me."

"yes!"

When Xiao Jingchen descended the city wall and arrived inside the North Gate, ten thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry had already assembled there.

They sat silently on their horses, both men and horses clad in heavy black armor, like ten thousand silent steel statues. Not a sound, not a superfluous movement. Only the cold gazes peeking through the gaps in their armor and the white breaths billowing from their horses' nostrils proved they were alive.

They are the elite of the Zhenbei Army, the sharpest blade in Xiao Jingchen's hand.

Xiao Jingchen mounted his horse and took the lead in the column. He didn't say anything to boost morale; he simply drew his sword from his waist.

"Open the city gates!"

With his icy voice, the massive, heavy city gate slowly opened with a jarring creak.

Outside the gate stood the orderly ranks of the wolf clan's 400,000-strong army.

Inside the gate stood ten thousand heavily armored cavalrymen, poised for battle.

The moment the city gates were fully opened, a blinding ray of sunlight shone in.

Xiao Jingchen gently squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, and the warhorse beneath him let out a long neigh, becoming the first to rush out of the city gate.

"kill!"

A single word burst forth from his chest.

"kill!"

The ten thousand heavily armored cavalry behind him simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar.

"Rumble..."

The earth trembled violently.

Ten thousand heavily armored warhorses began to accelerate simultaneously. The uniform sound of their hooves converged into an invincible torrent of steel, as if to crush everything in its path into dust.

The black arrow is drawn!

Its goal is singular—five miles away, there stands that enormous golden royal tent, the center of power for the wolf clan!

At that moment, everyone was stunned by this sudden scene.

On the city wall, Zhang Qinian and countless new recruits stared in disbelief at the black cavalry, which charged headlong into an enemy force dozens of times their size, like a sharp sword.

Their minds were blank.

He's gone mad! The prince must have gone mad!

The wolf army also experienced a brief commotion. They clearly hadn't expected that the Northern army, besieged in the city, would not only fail to defend it but would instead dare to launch a preemptive attack.

Moreover, it was done in such a suicidal way.

"Stop them!"

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows!"

After a brief moment of astonishment, the wolf clan's vanguard commander let out a hoarse roar.

Countless wolf archers drew their bows and unleashed a barrage of arrows that blotted out the sky, raining down on the charging Xuanjia heavy cavalry.

However, those arrows, when they struck the thick armor of the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry, only produced a series of clanging sounds and sparks, and could not cause any effective damage.

The charging speed of the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry was not affected in any way.

They were like a prehistoric beast that crashed into a flock of sheep, recklessly and violently charging into the vanguard of the wolf pack!

"boom!"

A loud bang.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere.

The wolf clan's seemingly well-organized infantry formation was torn open like paper in the face of the terrifying impact of the Xuanjia heavy cavalry, leaving a huge gap.

Countless wolf soldiers were sent flying into the air, their bones shattered, before they could even utter a scream.

Xiao Jingchen took the lead, his longsword already transformed into a whirlwind of death. Any enemy who came within three feet of him, whether man or horse, would be instantly cut in two.

Behind him, ten thousand heavily armored cavalry formed a tight wedge formation. Their sabers swung forward mechanically and ruthlessly, reaping the lives of everything around them.

They didn't engage in any unnecessary entanglements, ignoring the enemies on both flanks, but simply followed Xiao Jingchen's steps, resolutely moving forward! Forward! And forward still!

That black arrow, with unstoppable force, carved a bloody, mangled path through the formation of the 400,000-strong wolf army.