Isolated town in northern border region

"Your Highness! Let's go!"

Shen Chongyuan caught up with him again.

Xiao Lie mustered his last bit of strength and roared.

"Bring them back! Bring them home!!!"

"Your Highness! They're not coming back!"

The northern barbarian cavalry pursued relentlessly, raining down arrows.

Shen Chongyuan shielded Xiao Lie in front of him, using his back to block the incoming arrows.

An arrow pierced his shoulder; he groaned, but did not fall.

Another arrow pierced his back, and his body shuddered violently, but his arms remained tightly wrapped around Xiao Lie, refusing to loosen their grip.

Then, a stray arrow struck his left arm—not just a graze, but a full-thrust.

Xiao Lie heard the arrow pierce through the elbow joint and the sound of bone shattering clearly.

Shen Chongyuan screamed in agony as his left arm drooped, blood gushing out like a fountain. His face turned pale instantly, but he didn't let go; his right hand remained tightly gripping the reins.

"General Shen!"

"This humble general... will not die..."

"The late emperor did the same thing... he pulled me out of the enemy lines..."

Shen Chongyuan gritted his teeth, his voice trembling.

"Your Highness... hold on tight..."

The two rushed into the city gate.

Shen Chongyuan fell to the ground, his left arm twisted at an odd angle.

Bisu pounced on him, saw his arm, and screamed.

Xiao Lie knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his body covered in blood.

He looked at Shen Chongyuan's severed arm, watching the bone fragments pierce through the flesh.

"Quick! Stop the bleeding! Quick!"

He roared, his voice like that of a wild beast.

Then he got up and ran towards the city gate.

"Old Zhou!"

"Come back! Come back!"

He roared at the people.

"Close the city gates!"

Shen Chongyuan stood up, leaning on his sword, and gave orders to the soldiers.

"Close the city gates!"

Bisu was taken aback.

"General? The people outside..."

Shen Chongyuan turned to look at Xiao Lie.

"Your Highness! Cangwu City cannot be lost!"

"Compassion...is not suited for commanding troops!"

Xiao Lie knew that Shen Chongyuan was right. If the city gates were not closed, the Northern Barbarian cavalry would rush in, and everyone would die.

The Great Chu will lose its last piece of land in the northern frontier and completely lose the natural barrier of the Canghe River!

If we try to recover the northern frontier by then, it will be nothing but a pipe dream!

Xiao Lie's eyes were bloodshot as he struggled and fell off the horse.

Bisu rushed forward to help him up, but Xiao Lie ignored her and knelt down with a thud.

"Close the city gates!"

King Ning of Great Chu, Xiao Lie, knelt before the city gate, gazing outwards... and issued military orders.

The city gates slammed shut.

Outside the gate, Old Zhou led the people into the Northern Barbarian army's formation.

They had no armor and were cut down one by one by the barbarian soldiers, but those behind them continued to charge forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

Old Zhou's chest was slashed open by a curved knife, and blood gushed out.

He didn't fall; he tried to slash the barbarian's neck with his sword, but the next second, his entire arm was severed.

"what!"

"Your Highness! Avenge us!"

Behind him, people fell one after another.

But they held off the northern barbarian cavalry.

Those precious few dozen breaths gave the city gates enough time to close.

Xiao Lie knelt at the city gate, his forehead pressed against the cold gate.

He could hear the screams, cries, and curses outside, clearly reaching everyone's ears through the heavy city gate.

Xiao Lie closed his eyes, and tears slid down his cheeks.

Bisu hugged him and cried her heart out.

Shen Chongyuan leaned against the city gate, his left arm wound hastily bandaged, and turned his head away.

On the city wall, everyone fell silent.

They once again defended Cangwu City.

But no one laughed.

Because outside the city gates lay countless corpses.

There were people from the Northern Barbarians, people from the Great Chu, soldiers, commoners, the elderly, and children.

Xiao Lie knelt there, motionless.

The scene from earlier kept replaying in his mind.

The image of Zhao Shitou jumping down from the city wall...

The way Old Zhou swung his knife with a backhand...

Shen Chongyuan's words, "A kind heart cannot command an army," sounded like...

The sight of those civilians crashing into the cavalry formation...

He closed his eyes.

"I wanted to save them..."

"Can……"

He murmured, his voice hoarse.

Bisu shook her head, crying.

"Your Highness, this is not your fault..."

Xiao Lie opened his eyes, and his expression changed.

There was something new in his eyes; they were no longer as sharp as before, but rather more profound.

He bent down and picked up Old Zhou's iron hammer from the ground. The hammerhead was covered in blood and still warm.

He stood up, turned around, and faced the soldiers, civilians, and prisoners covered in blood on the city wall.

Their eyes held weariness, fear, and sadness, but more than anything, something indescribable.

That's trust, the tacit understanding that comes from entrusting your life to another person.

Xiao Lie spoke.

The voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail driven into wood.

"Cangwu City! It belongs to the territory of my Great Chu!"

The city walls were deathly silent.

"This is your home! This is the last root of my five northern prefectures!"

His voice was a little hoarse, but he didn't cry.

"I assure you..."

He looked at every face on the city wall, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"As long as I, Xiao Lie, have a breath left, I will surely recover the northern frontier and make those barbarian Tartars pay with their lives!"

A long silence followed on the city wall.

Then, Er Gou shouted.

"Your Highness, we believe you!"

His left arm was slinged across his chest, stained with blood, but his eyes shone like two flames.

"Long live the Prince!"

"Wrong!!!"

Er Gou had barely shouted when Xiao Lie interrupted him.

"I am unworthy..."

"Our people of Great Chu are brave and valiant!"

"Long live the people of our northern frontier!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the city.

The common people? Long live the emperor?

No one in Cangwu City would ever dare to put those two words together in their entire lives!

I wouldn't even dare to think about it!

But now, the late emperor's only son, the Prince of Ning, actually said—Long live the people?

"Long live the people!"

Xiao Lie shouted at the top of his lungs!

Then, the whole city cheered!

"Long live!"

Xiao Lie stood at the highest point of the city wall, looking at the still brightly lit Northern Barbarian camp to the north.

His eyes had changed; they were no longer those of a spirited sixteen-year-old boy, but rather a cold sternness born of deep reflection.

He knew he had won this battle.

But he lost too.

Although the city was defended, too many people died.

If we want more people to survive, we must develop, train troops, and accumulate strength to completely crush the Northern Barbarians with absolute power.

Just then...

Waaaaah—

The bugle sounded again.

But it was not the clarion call of the northern barbarians.

It's another kind of bugle call.

Louder and more untamed.

Xiao Lie suddenly looked up.

North of the city, behind the Northern Barbarian army, flames soared into the sky like a fire dragon rising from the central position of the Northern Barbarian camp.

The entire rear of the Northern Barbarians was turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The northern barbarian army was thrown into chaos.

The cavalrymen in front reined in their horses and looked back at the firelight behind them, their faces filled with terror.

Someone shouted.

"The supplies! The supplies have been burned!"

Someone shouted.

"Enemy attack from behind! It's cavalry! Lots of cavalry!"

Then, Xiao Lie saw it.

In the firelight, a cavalry unit charged out from behind the northern barbarian army.

They were holding a flag that Xiao Lie had never seen before.

It was not the dragon flag of the Great Chu, but a black battle flag embroidered with a wolf and an eagle.

Their warhorses were tall and their blades were sharp!

Their charge was like an incredibly sharp steel knife, cutting straight through the rear of the Northern Barbarian army with unstoppable momentum.

On the city wall, everyone was stunned.

"What...what is that?"

Er Gou muttered to himself.

Shen Chongyuan squinted at the black battle flag, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips trembled.

"That's...that's..."

His tears welled up instantly.

"That's the Azure Wolf Banner! It belongs to the late Emperor's Azure Wolf Cavalry!"

Xiao Lie suddenly turned around.

"What did you say?"

Shen Chongyuan's voice trembled.

Nine years ago, the late emperor conquered the northern frontier and subdued a tribe on the grasslands called "Azure Wolf".

"The tribe's leader was named Yelü Xiong, who was bestowed the surname 'Xiao' by the late emperor and changed his name to Xiao Xiong."

"After the late emperor passed away, the Canglang tribe disappeared... Some say they defected back to the grasslands, others say they were disbanded by the imperial court..."

He pointed to the black battle flag, tears streaming down his face.

"They didn't defect! They're still here!"

Xiao Lie stood on the city wall, watching the cavalry get closer and closer.

The person at the very front rode a black warhorse, clad in silver armor, wielding a long spear, with a black cloak fluttering behind him.

He was tall and imposing, like a moving iron tower.

The man reined in his horse and looked up at the city wall.

In the setting sun, his face was sharply defined, he looked to be about forty years old, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

He planted his spear in the ground, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and pounded his chest with his right fist.

"This humble general, Xiao Xiong, has been ordered by the late Emperor to lead three thousand Canglang cavalry on a thousand-mile journey to provide reinforcements!"

His voice was loud and clear.

"I am late, young master, please forgive me!"

A deathly silence reigned atop the city wall.

Xiao Lie looked at the silver-armored general kneeling below the city, holding Old Zhou's iron hammer in his hand, his eyes slightly red.

He took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but it carried clearly to the city walls.

"General Xiao, please rise."

"Open the city gates!"

He turned around and looked at the soldiers and civilians covered in blood on the city wall.

He raised Old Zhou's iron hammer.

"Soldiers of Cangwu City!"

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

"The northern barbarians are in great chaos!"

"Follow me out of the city! Let's fight the enemy!"

On the city wall, roars shook the heavens.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"