Isolated town in northern border region

The northern barbarian cavalry are getting closer and closer!

Tens of thousands of warhorses galloped at the same time, and everyone's heart pounded wildly in rhythm with the movement.

The black torrent surged forth like a flood, crushing towards Cangwu City.

At the city gate, people were still frantically pouring in.

But how can a man's two legs outrun a warhorse's four legs?

The people running at the very back could already hear the muffled thunder of hooves behind them.

Some people were so frightened that their legs went weak and they fell to the ground, only to be trampled over by the people behind them, with screams echoing everywhere.

Bisu roared from the city wall.

"Your Highness! Quick! Come in quickly!"

Her voice was hoarse from shouting, and it sounded as harsh as a broken bellows.

But it was too late.

Xiao Lie reined in his horse and glanced back.

The one running at the very back was the old lady holding her grandson's hand. She couldn't run anymore; her legs were shaking.

Her grandson held her hand, crying and shouting.

"Grandma! Run!"

The old lady's face turned strangely red.

"Run! Don't worry about Grandma!"

The grandson refused to let go.

The black tide behind them drew ever closer, and the leading Northern Barbarian cavalry had already raised their scimitars.

Xiao Lie took a deep breath.

Then, he made a decision that even he hadn't expected.

He turned his horse around.

"Your Highness!"

Bisu screamed from the city wall.

He raised his spear high above his head and roared at the four hundred cavalrymen behind him.

"The people of Great Chu stand behind!"

"Men of the Northern Frontier! Fight to the death with me!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the four hundred cavalrymen charged towards the black torrent.

They followed Xiao Lie, like a small dagger stabbing into the chest of the 30,000-strong army.

At that moment, everyone on the city wall was stunned.

Bisu burst into tears.

Er Gou stood on the city wall, trembling all over, muttering to himself.

"Your Highness... Your Highness..."

The death row inmate watched Xiao Lie's charging figure, his eyes red-rimmed.

His name was Zhao Shitou. He killed someone in a fit of rage after his family was ruined by a wealthy businessman. He should have been executed in the autumn.

When Xiao Lie released him, he gave him a knife.

"You're a real man. You'll stand with me to defend the city. Whether you live or die, you'll be a true hero of my Great Chu."

The sounds from the prison cell still echoed in my ears...

"Your Highness..."

He muttered to himself, his whole body trembling.

At the city gate, the people who were running inside stopped.

They turned around and saw the golden-armored youth leading four hundred cavalrymen charging towards the overwhelming Northern Barbarian army.

They risked their lives to save them!

The old man's eyes reddened.

He turned around, stopped running into the city, and knelt down facing outwards.

The old lady, holding her grandson's hand, also stopped.

She pushed her grandson to the foot of the city wall, turned around and looked at the northern barbarian cavalry. Watching their backs as they charged forward, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Just as Shen Chongyuan led his cavalry out from behind the Northern Barbarian army formation, he saw Xiao Lie charging out.

His blood rushed to his head.

"Your Highness!"

He roared and abruptly reined in his horse.

The three hundred guards behind him also stopped.

Shen Chongyuan's face turned bright red.

He knew what Xiao Lie was doing...

But he's the head coach!

How could he go and die!

If the commander-in-chief dies on the battlefield, where will the morale of the army in Cangwu City be restored?

Shen Chongyuan gritted his teeth and drew the long sword from his waist.

"Imperial Guard Battalion! Save the Prince!"

At this moment, Xiao Lie had already charged straight into the Northern Barbarian army formation.

A spear pierced the chest of a barbarian soldier, and when it was pulled out, blood splattered all over his face.

His golden armor was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell whether it was from the enemy or his own.

His left arm was already too heavy to lift, so he could only grit his teeth and straddle the spear on the victory hook, gripping the shaft tightly with his right hand.

Fortunately, the Northern Barbarian cavalry were not fully armored, while the golden armor he wore was made by the royal master craftsman.

Relying on his armor for protection, Xiao Lie did not dodge or evade, but instead withstood the impact head-on.

But there were too many barbarian soldiers!

They surged forward like a tide, hacking at Xiao Lie's armor with each strike.

Even the finely crafted armor cracked, turning from golden to bloody.

suddenly!

His warhorse was struck in the neck and collapsed with a thud.

Xiao Lie tumbled off his horse, barely managing to steady himself with his spear.

At the same time, his comrades-in-arms fell one by one.

Of the four hundred cavalrymen, more than half have already been lost.

They were completely surrounded, like rocks on a deserted island, battered by endless waves.

Xiao Lie mechanically thrust out his spear, facing off against the cavalry on foot. The powerful impact instantly snapped the spear in two, and he himself was sent flying!

His arms were shaking, his legs were shaking, his whole body was shaking.

He lost too much blood, was exhausted, and his vision began to blur.

He could hear his own heartbeat, getting slower and slower, heavier and heavier.

A barbarian soldier charged forward with a sinister grin, then bent down and slashed at his chest with his sword!

The breastplate was completely shattered!

A warm sensation surged up his throat, which he swallowed whole!

Xiao Lie rolled over and drew his sword from his waist.

Looking at the ferocious faces around him, and the raised scimitars, he suddenly laughed.

There was no fear, no regret in that smile, only a kind of madness.

Come on.

His voice was hoarse, like the low growl of a dying beast.

Come on!

He struggled to his feet, drawing an arc with his sword in his hand.

"I am Xiao Lie, the Prince of Ning of the Great Chu!"

"My fine head is here, come on!"

He raised his sword, roared, and charged toward the nearest barbarian soldier, severing the horse's leg with a single strike!

Then he was slashed in the back by a curved blade from behind and fell to the ground.

This time, he didn't have the strength to stand up...

There was only one thought in his mind!

kill!

Whoever wants him dead has to pay with their life!

The barbarian soldiers surrounded him, but for a moment they dared not approach.

They stared in horror at the blood-soaked boy still wielding his sword!

If the people of Chu in the four northern prefectures are all like this...

"Your Highness! Mount your horse!"

Just then, Shen Chongyuan led his troops to attack!

Of the four hundred Chu cavalrymen, only twenty or thirty remain.

But at this moment, these twenty or thirty people unleashed an astonishing aura!

In just one exchange, he managed to create a vacuum around Xiao Lie.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Chongyuan dismounted, pushed the exhausted Xiao Lie onto his horse, and then led his warhorse out to fight.

"Imperial Guard Battalion! Escort the Prince back to the city!"

At a single command, the remaining Imperial Guards did not hesitate. They used their own bodies to shield Xiao Lie from the swords and spears of the Northern Barbarians, and charged towards the city gate without regard for their lives.

On the city wall, Bisu was crying so hard she couldn't speak.

She lay on the battlements, her heart breaking as she watched the motionless figure on horseback outside the city.

Zhao Shitou stood at the edge of the battlement, trembling all over.

He watched as Xiao Lie lay motionless on the horse's back, his eyes red-rimmed and his teeth grinding together.

"Your Highness..."

Although the Imperial Guard Battalion was composed of brave and elite soldiers personally selected by Shen Chongyuan, their situation was becoming increasingly critical amidst the frenzied attacks by the Northern Barbarians.

Just as Shen Chongyuan was protecting Xiao Lie and they were about to reach the city gate, the last soldier of the Imperial Guard fell under the hooves of the Northern Barbarians.

Seeing that Xiao Lie and Shen Chongyuan were about to perish under the spears and scimitars of the Northern Barbarians, Zhao Shitou could no longer hold back!

"Mom! The child is unfilial!"

"We can't leave any descendants for the Zhao family!"

He climbed over the crenellations and, fearlessly leaped down from the city wall, crashing directly into the ranks of the Tartar cavalry!

The city wall is three zhang high.

He fell to the ground, his leg bone snapping with a crack, the excruciating pain nearly making him faint.

But he gritted his teeth, dragged his broken leg, and limped toward Xiao Lie.

"You Tartars! Your Grandpa Zhao is here!!!"

Behind him, a dozen or so prisoners followed suit and jumped down.

"Men of Cangzhou! Kill the Tartars!"

"Our ancestors..."

"Damn it! This is all that's left in the Northern Frontier. If we can't hold it, I'll have no face to face my ancestors!"

Some people broke their arms, some broke their ribs, and some died on the spot.

But those who were alive got up and rushed up after Zhao Shitou.

Zhao Shitou charged into the barbarian soldiers, cutting one down with a single stroke, then another.

He was stabbed seven or eight times, and blood was gushing out, but he did not stop.

He rushed to Xiao Lie's side and used his body to block the knife that was about to strike Xiao Lie.

The scimitar slashed into his shoulder, and the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

He screamed in agony, but instead of falling, he stabbed the barbarian soldier in the stomach with a backhand.

"Your Highness..."

Zhao Shitou turned around, his face covered in blood, and grinned.

"Get into town quickly... Don't worry about us!!!"

Xiao Lie struggled to pull him onto the horse, but as soon as he reached out, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and he couldn't muster any strength.

"Let's go together!"

"We must defend the northern border!"

Zhao Shitou roared, turned around and grabbed the leg of a barbarian soldier, refusing to let go.

The barbarian slashed at his back with his sword, and his body shuddered violently, but he did not let go of his grip.

The second barbarian slashed at his neck, blood gushing out, and his eyes began to glaze over.

But his hands were still tightly gripping that leg.

"Your Highness! Let's go!"

Shen Chongyuan roared and slashed at the warhorse's rump with his sword.

Xiao Lie's eyes reddened.

He stared blankly at the increasingly distant northern barbarian cavalry, and at his comrades who had died tragically trying to save him.

He tried to dismount, but he couldn't even muster the strength to straighten his back!

Old Zhou saw all of this at the city gate.

He saw Zhao Shitou jump off the city wall and saw the prisoners rushing into the enemy ranks like madmen.

Tears streamed down his face.

Then, he turned around, faced the people who were still running into the city, opened his arms, and roared.

"Stop! All of you, stop!"

The people were stunned.

Old Zhou raised his still-bleeding hands and pointed outside the city.

"Look! Open your eyes and look!"

"Do the men and women of my northern frontier really only know how to run away?"

Old Zhou's voice was hoarse, yet as powerful as thunder.

"I've been working as a blacksmith here for over forty years. My father, my grandfather, and my family's roots are all here!"

"Those damned Tartars want to enter the city? They'll have to ask me first!"

He picked up a knife from the ground and turned to face the outside of the city.

"Pah! A bunch of cowards!"

"They can't even protect their ancestral graves, and they're still running away?"

At the city gate, all was deathly silent.

Then, the old man stepped forward.

He's sixty years old, and his legs are still shaking.

He picked up a knife from the ground and walked over to Old Zhou.

"Old brother, you're right to criticize!"

"The Tartars came, our homes were gone, all we knew was to run. We were afraid, we wanted to live."

"But if I run again today, I'd really be letting down my ancestors!"

The second citizen stepped forward.

The third.

The tenth one.

The hundredth.

The old woman pushed her grandson to the foot of the city wall, picked up a knife from the ground, and stood beside the old man.

Her grandson cried and called for his grandmother, but she didn't turn around.

"Don't cry! You're a man from the northern frontier!"

Old Zhou raised his knife and pointed it towards the outside of the city.

"kill!"

Groups of people followed Old Zhou and rushed out.

They had no armor, no shields, no formation, and no combat experience.

But they rushed out.