Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

On a late summer morning, before dawn, Starfire Fortress was already bustling with activity and brightly lit. Unlike the tense silence of usual preparations for battle, the air today was filled with a more complex emotion—determination, trepidation, and a restless, desperate energy.

The fortress gates were wide open, no longer just a narrow opening for scouts and caravans, but completely exposed. Outside the gates, on the clearing once stained with blood and compacted by countless footsteps, a large, dark force was gathered.

The force numbered approximately two thousand. This represented almost all the mobile force that Starfire Fortress could currently muster, and also the essence of its combat strength. At the forefront of the column was a 500-strong infantry battalion and crossbow unit, elite troops personally commanded by Chen Wei and trained through nearly ten days of hellish formation drills. They were equipped with some newly made iron-lined leather armor and "Armor-Piercing Type I" steel swords. Spears stood like a forest, and shields like a wall. Although their faces betrayed their exhaustion, their eyes were calm, their posture upright, and they possessed a chilling aura honed through hardship. Closely following them was the main force of Murong Mingyue's cavalry archer battalion, nearly two hundred riders. Both men and horses were silent, with only the occasional hiss of their snorts and the soft rustling of weapons against leather armor. Behind them were over five hundred garrison soldiers who had undergone intensive training and were equipped relatively uniformly, as well as eight hundred auxiliary soldiers selected from the naturalized camp, artisans, and even outstanding young men from the garrison. Most of the auxiliary soldiers were dressed in plain clothes, carrying spears or waist knives, and carrying quivers, food bags, medical kits, and some disassembled parts of the city's defensive equipment. Their expressions were tense but resolute.

On both sides of the procession, dozens of oxcarts and donkey carts, loaded with provisions, arrows, tents, and even more equipment parts, were driven by laborers. Wang Jian led a streamlined medical team, carrying as many medicines and bandages as possible, following alongside the convoy.

On the fortress walls, Zhao Tiezhu, Zhou Dashan, Wu Xuejiu, and others who remained behind, along with countless fortress residents, women, and children who had not been selected for the expedition, silently watched the departing troops. No one cheered, no one wept; only a heavy gaze lingered, as if trying to etch every figure into their hearts. Children were tightly embraced by their mothers, their eyes wide as they watched their fathers and brothers' backs; the elderly leaned on their canes, their lips moving, seemingly in prayer.

Chen Xing stood at the very front of the column. Today, he was unusually dressed in a full suit of fine fish-scale armor, over which was a dark blue battle robe. A long sword hung at his waist, and he rode a magnificent black warhorse. The morning breeze fluttered the hem of his robe and the plume of his helmet, highlighting his calm yet exceptionally resolute face.

Last night's final military meeting was filled with heated debate. When Chen Xing proposed to take the initiative and engage the Black Mountain Army in a decisive battle in the open field, Zhao Tiezhu was the first to jump up and object.

"My lord! You absolutely mustn't!" Zhao Tiezhu was sweating profusely, almost collapsing onto the map. "Our fortress walls are high and thick, our moats are deep and wide, and we have enough food and arrows. Why should we go out and fight those bandits in the open? Isn't that using our weaknesses to attack their strengths? The Black Mountain bandits have many cavalry; they'll be running rampant in the open. How can we possibly hold them off?"

Zhou Dashan was also worried: "Yes, Lord. If we stay in the fortress, at least we have some protection. If we go out, what if... what if the battle goes badly? We might not even be able to retreat!"

Even the usually composed Wu Xuejiu stroked his beard and pondered: "My lord, the art of war says: 'If ten times their strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if twice, divide them; if equal, fight them; if few, defend them; if weaker, avoid them.' Now, the enemy outnumbers us, so holding our ground and waiting for a change in circumstances is the best strategy. Taking the initiative to attack carries extremely high risks."

Chen Xing listened patiently to everyone's objections until no one else spoke, at which point he slowly began to speak.

"Your concerns are all reasonable. Defending the city seems like a safe option." He pointed to the location of Starfire Fortress on the map. "But have you considered that the Black Mountain army outnumbers us many times over? If they attack relentlessly day and night, regardless of casualties, how long can our fortress walls hold out? A month? Two months? Even if we do hold out, what will happen when we run out of arrows, food, and our camps are full of wounded soldiers? The Black Mountain commander can continuously send troops and supplies from the rear. What about us? Trapped in our fortress, we are doomed!"

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Moreover, defending the city is a passive act. The initiative is in the hands of the Black Mountain Army. They can surround the city without attacking, cutting off our water and food supplies; they can send troops to plunder our surrounding fields and destroy our foundations; they can even use captured refugees to fill in the moats, depleting our arrows. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

"Then... if we go out and fight, will we have a chance of winning?" Zhao Tiezhu couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Chen Xing said decisively. "Our chances of victory lie in our newly practiced 'formation,' in the 'location' we've chosen, and even more so in our 'surprise attack'!"

His finger moved to the map, to the hilly, gently sloping area between Woniugang and Tuweizi, which was specially marked.

"This is our pre-arranged battlefield. The terrain isn't entirely flat; there are gentle slopes to rely on and sparse forests for cover. More importantly, this place is over twenty li away from the Black Mountain Army's vanguard strongholds, Woniugang and Tuweizi. It's their only route to advance into our fortress, yet it's not too close. The main force of the Black Mountain Army left their strongholds and marched here, exhausted. They certainly didn't expect us to dare to leave our fortress and form ranks here to meet them! This is 'waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out' and 'attacking where they are unprepared'!"

He looked at Chen Wei and Murong Mingyue: "After these days of training, our 'Iron Wall' and 'Strangulation' formations, though not yet fully refined, are ready for battle. Fighting in formation in the open field is the perfect opportunity to unleash their power! The Black Mountain Army is arrogant, especially Shi Biao's 'Iron Falcon' cavalry; they will surely underestimate our army and be eager for battle. Our army can hold our ground, first blunting their morale, and then seize the opportunity to counterattack!"

He then looked at everyone: "The key to this battle lies in a swift victory! We cannot afford a prolonged stalemate in the open. We must take advantage of the surprise of the initial engagement and the power of our formations to severely cripple their vanguard, ideally eliminating either Shi Biao's or Han Meng's forces! Once the vanguard is thwarted, the Black Mountain Army will be shaken, and their main force will no longer dare to advance so recklessly! At that time, we can retreat calmly into the fortress, using the breathing space gained from the victory to further strengthen our defenses, and even... seek other opportunities to break the deadlock!"

"This is a strategy of seeking victory in the face of danger, a desperate gamble for survival!" Chen Xing concluded solemnly. "Holding our ground is tantamount to waiting for death, while an attack offers a glimmer of hope! My mind is made up! Chen Wei and Murong Mingyue, lead the main force forward to set up the defenses. Zhao Tiezhu, Zhou Dashan, and Wu Xuejiu, the fortress is in your hands! You must defend our homeland, maintain morale, and preserve our last escape route!"

Having said this, the dissenting voices gradually subsided. Everyone understood that the lord's decision was not made on a whim, but after careful consideration and weighing all the pros and cons. This was indeed the only possible crack to pierce the darkness in this desperate situation.

Standing before the departing column, Chen Xing took one last look at the familiar figures on the fortress walls, and at Starfire Fortress gradually taking shape in the morning light. This was the foundation he had built, the hope of thousands behind him. Today, he would lead a portion of their most elite forces on a high-stakes gamble with an uncertain outcome.

"Let's go!" Chen Xing withdrew his gaze, no longer hesitated, turned his horse around, and pointed his long sword forward.

A deep bugle call sounded, followed by the hoarse commands of the officers, and the massive column began to move slowly. The sounds of footsteps, wheels, and hooves mingled together, shattering the silence of dawn as they marched northeast toward the chosen battlefield.

Dust rose and fell, obscuring the fortified walls and the crowd seeing them off. No one in the procession turned back; they simply followed the banner and that tall, upright figure in silence. Sunlight pierced the clouds, bathing the determined group in a golden glow.

They abandoned the seemingly safe city walls and chose to willingly step into the razor's edge. Not out of arrogance, but because they understood that the best defense is sometimes an all-out attack. For those behind them who could not go to war, and for that glimmer of hope called "Spark" not to be extinguished in the siege, they had to fight for that sliver of life.

The prelude to a proactive confrontation has begun. What awaits them is an enemy many times their size, a brutal trial of blood and fire, and a crucial battle that will determine the fate of Starfire Fortress.