Translator: Ink Hub
Editor: Yoog

Several stiff corpses hung outside the city walls, swaying back and forth in the biting cold wind.

Li Chengxiao and the few traitors who had conspired with the enemy had all been executed. Kong Xian had ordered their bodies displayed outside the city to intimidate the Qiang bandits.

Wooo! Wooo!

The desolate blare of horns echoed across the plains. As expected, the sight of the corpses drew the Qiang soldiers out. After lurking in their camps for over half a month, the Qiang troops swarmed forth, forming ranks in the distance facing the city gates. A thick, palpable killing intent permeated the battlefield.

Wanyan Chang sat atop his horse in the center of the formation. A lieutenant beside him reported in a low voice, “We have investigated. The body hanging at the city gate is Li Chengxiao of the Li family. It seems he failed.”

“Failure only proves he was a useless waste, unworthy of being used. Still, it is time to show them some color, lest they think this General is easy to bully.”

Wanyan Chang’s face was cold. With a light wave of his hand, three hundred elite cavalrymen galloped forward to challenge the city. Leading them was a centurion named Chahamu, a Qiang commander who had already earned a fierce reputation along the Yunyang Pass front.

The three hundred elite riders galloped wantonly, shouting continuous streams of abuse. Those Qiang soldiers proficient in mounted archery even loosed several volleys of arrows toward the top of the wall as a provocation.

Facing the insults and provocations of the Qiang, Yunyang Pass remained tightly shut. Not a single soldier or horse emerged. The massive fortress stood there defiantly, as if to say, “If you have the ability, come and take it yourself.”

Seeing that this was not working, Chahamu gave a cold shout, “Hmph, a bunch of cowards! Drag them out!”

Dozens of captives previously seized by the Qiang were pushed to the very front. Their faces were ashen as they knelt on the ground, their bodies covered in wounds from the torture they had endured over the past few days.

The hearts of the defenders on the wall leaped into their throats. Those were their brothers-in-arms.

“Raise blades!”

“Kill!”

Dozens of curved scimitars hung high in the air before swinging down simultaneously. The heads of the captives were severed. At the moment those heads hit the ground, the hearts of every defending soldier shuddered violently. The Qiang went so far as to impale the heads on long spears and plant them into the yellow sands. The scene was unimaginably bloody.

That was not the end of it. Chahamu arrogantly unfastened his trousers and urinated toward Yunyang Pass.

This contemptuous provocation felt like a slap in the face to every defender, their faces flushing red with suppressed rage.

“Listen up, you little brats of the Qian army! This general doesn’t care if you want to play the shrinking turtle!” Chahamu, grinning, pointed a finger at the row of impaled heads. “But once the city falls, this will be your fate!”

“Bastards! They insult us too much! Who dares lead troops out to fight these Qiang bandits!”

Everyone knew they could not allow the Qiang to ride over their heads like this. If they did, military morale would plummet to the bottom. Kong Xian looked toward Jun Yi, hoping he would send troops to do battle.

However, Jun Yi acted as if he hadn’t heard a word, not even glancing at Kong Xian.

In the past, when Li Chengxiao was still around, the city was a three-way power balance. Now that Kong Xian had swallowed up the Li family’s forces, Jun Yi naturally intended to grip his own military power tightly. He would not waste his men by sending them out to die. He knew very well that if his troop count diminished, he would lose all his say in Yunyang Pass.

Seeing Jun Yi’s indifference, Kong Xian had no choice but to call a name, “Han Shuo, lead your men out to meet the enemy!”

“As you command!”

Han Shuo stepped forward calmly, showing no sign of fear. Luo Yu and Xiao Shaoyou exchanged a glance; the two of them happened to be under Han Shuo’s command.

“Remember,” Kong Xian urged, “the Qiang are brave and skilled in battle. Be extremely careful. We do not ask for a total victory; as long as you are not defeated, it will be a great merit!”

“This subordinate accepts the order!”

Before long, Han Shuo had deployed his troops outside the city. Aside from Luo Yu and Xiao Shaoyou, he had two other hundred-man units. All in all, there were nearly five hundred men. Most were infantry, holding long spears and shields with nervous expressions.

The most eye-catching part of the group was the cavalry under Xiao Shaoyou and Luo Yu. They stood with heads held high, looking majestic and extraordinary. Their sheer aura far surpassed that of the ordinary infantry.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The thunderous beat of war drums rose from the city walls to cheer them on. Although the enemy only had three hundred Qiang riders, they were led by a centurion, meaning they were certainly elites. Han Shuo knew this battle would be difficult.

Xiao Shaoyou, who had clashed with the Qiang many times, was the first to offer a suggestion, “According to their usual tactics, the Qiang will first use long-range archery to harass our formation. We don’t have many shields, so our casualties will keep rising. Once we are worn down, their three hundred riders will charge our infantry. We will surely lose.

“It would be better if I lead my cavalry to charge first. The Qiang will be forced to split their forces to engage us. This will disperse the enemy’s strength and relieve the pressure on the infantry. Centurion Luo’s cavalry can stay behind to guard the main force. This should keep the infantry formation safe.”

“That is excellent. We will do it that way.” Han Shuo gave a large wave of his hand. “Go forth, and be careful.”

“Giddyup!”

Xiao Shaoyou did not hesitate for a second. He spurred his horse forward, and his hundred elite riders aggressively initiated a charge against the Qiang cavalry. In all of Yunyang Pass, Xiao Shaoyou’s men were the ones most willing to fight.

Under normal circumstances, the Qiang would have split their forces to tie down Xiao Shaoyou while the rest charged the infantry. But this time, they changed their tactics. They completely ignored the infantry formation. The three hundred riders split into three paths, forming a pincer movement to surround Xiao Shaoyou.

“Kill!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three hundred against one hundred, Xiao Shaoyou quickly fell into a disadvantage. He hacked and slashed his way left and right within the enemy ranks, but was unable to pierce through their formation. It was only thanks to the extraordinary courage of his men, who gritted their teeth and fought to the death, that they didn’t collapse.

Amid miserable wails, riders were constantly knocked from their saddles, flesh and blood flying. The hearts of the Qian soldiers sank. At this rate, the hundred riders would be swallowed whole by the Qiang in no time.

“Damn it, the Qiang really are full of schemes!”

Han Shuo watched Xiao Shaoyou get surrounded but was powerless to help. After all, his remaining men were almost all infantry; they couldn’t possibly rush out to provide support.

“Commandant, I’ll go.”

At the critical moment, Luo Yu stepped forward. Han Shuo frowned deeply as he scanned Luo Yu’s unit. “You only have fifty riders. Can you handle it?”

Not only was Luo Yu’s cavalry small in number, but they had only just finished their training. Han Shuo was worried that sending these fifty men out would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—gone forever.

“Is there anyone else who can fight right now?” Luo Yu said firmly. “If we hesitate any longer, Shaoyou and the others really will die on that battlefield.”

“Fine, then. I’m counting on you!”

“Everyone, raise your spears! Charge!”

Fifty men followed closely behind Luo Yu as they charged out of the formation. Dong Chuan, Meng Hu, Little Wu, Lu Qingyun… every face held a trace of nervousness. After all, this was their first time engaging the Qiang as cavalry. They didn’t yet know the results of their weeks of training.

But more than nervousness, their faces held a sense of excitement. It was as if hot blood was boiling in their chests. The feeling of rising and falling on horseback while wielding a spear was entirely different from fighting on foot. Every man preferred this sensation.

Watching the departing cavalry, Han Shuo muttered, “Good kid, you’ve actually got some presence. Don’t you dare die out there; you still owe me wine.”

The sudden charge of fifty riders also caught the Qiang’s attention. However, fifty men were truly not enough to be taken seriously. Mocking laughter even broke out within the Qiang ranks.

“Fifty men? They actually dare to come out? These Qian soldiers have truly lost their minds.”

“With so few people, it’s not even enough for Centurion Chahamu to pick his teeth. Hahaha!”

“Eh? The guy in the lead looks familiar. He looks like the one who was shooting arrows from the gate tower the other day.”

“Is it that green recruit again?”

Wanyan Chang suddenly felt a spark of interest. He cast his gaze into the distance. Let this General see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!