The warhorse sprinted towards the two people. The man on the horse jumped down and rushed towards the front, calling out, “General!”

“What’s going on? Why are you back only now? Where are the rest? Have you seen Lady Yu?”

“General, we ran into bandits along the way. All our brothers have been robbed!”

“What?” Chu Qiao and Xue Zhiyuan exclaimed in unison. Subsequently, Chu Qiao exclaimed in disbelief, “Who is so arrogant? You have over 500 people. How could all of you be robbed?”

“General, although we have many people, they outnumber us. They have over 7,000 people.”

“Nonsense!” Xue Zhiyuan hollered. “All of you were careless, yet you blamed the bandits. There are only allied troops in Yan Bei. Where did 7,000 bandits pop out from? You’re shirking responsibility!”

The soldier frowned and replied sternly, “General Xue, although we are not talented, we have followed Your Highness through countless battles. Even if we die, we will not frown. If what I said today is false, I will die a horrifying death!”

Chu Qiao took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, “How are our people now? Do those bandits have any requests? Did they kill any one of us?”

The soldier suddenly appeared energized, replying, “No, not one of us died. They ambushed us with minimal casualties. They were fierce at the start, threatening us to help them convey a message. After that, when they heard that we were under you, their attitude towards us improved.”

Chu Qiao was stunned. “What?”

“General, they don’t know who we are. They held us hostage in order to pass the message that they wanted to see you.”

“They want to see me?”

“Yes.”

Chu Qiao frowned and asked, “Who is their leader?”

“The man is about 30-years-old. He is brave and valiant. He is not an ordinary bandit but looks like a trained soldier instead. Their army is organized, and they excel in one-on-one combat. They are well equipped with weapons, but they are not wearing military uniforms. They refused to reveal their identity, only saying that they had no bad intentions. As long as you see them, you would know who they are.”

Chu Qiao frowned and thought for a long while, before saying, “Prepare the horse. We will go and see him.”

“You’re crazy!” Xue Zhiyuan said, grabbing her hand. Although the two of them had been at loggerheads, they ultimately stood on the same side. The man said, “Do you not want to live anymore, leaving the city at this time?”

Chu Qiao looked at him and replied sternly, “My subordinates are in the enemy’s hands.”

“So what? Can you save them all alone?”

“Don’t tell me that you want to give me some troops? I don’t need many people, just 5,000.”

Xue Zhiyuan was speechless. He was merely a frontline commander. Cao Mengtong intended to preserve the forces of the Second Army. He was unable to mobilise even 500 troops, let alone 5,000.

Chu Qiao sneered and climbed on her horse, following behind the soldier. “Giddyup!” The warhorse raised its hooves and sprinted towards the outside of the city.

Xue Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows. Coincidentally, another soldier was headed his way while leading a horse. He snatched the horse over and galloped after Chu Qiao.

The northern winds were strong. The snow was heavy, causing the landscape to be blanketed in a layer of white. It was impossible to distinguish between the directions. However, on this chilly night, a long line of people moved in the snow. The winds blew on their faces, making them unable to open their eyes, but their passion was not extinguished. The civilians of Yan Bei, upon receiving the Second Army’s signal for conscripts to defend their land, equipped themselves with their knives, their strongest horses and headed to Beishuo City. They intended to fight for Da Tong, which they had envisioned in their dreams.

This was a resilient tribe. The people who had lived here were adept in horse-riding since young. With additional training, they would no doubt become an elite army. However, looking at these people who were full of confidence, willing to withstand the harsh weather, and breaking out in song, she was filled with sorrow. She wanted to stop them, but only received looks of disdain. As some of them saw the three of them sprint towards the west, they spat at them, scolding, “Deserters!”

“General, let’s go,” the soldier left behind by Yan Xun turned around and remarked hurriedly.

At this moment, Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and restrained the horse’s reins. The soldier stopped after 20 steps, turned around and asked, “General, what’s wrong?”

Chu Qiao frowned and perked her ears. She turned around and said to Xue Zhiyuan, who was at the side, “Do you hear that?”

Boom! Boom! Boom! A thunderous sound approached from the distance, increasing in volume. The sound echoed across the ground, creeping up into their spines. Xue Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows and jumped off his horse. The young general sprinted up a slope and gazed into the distance. In that instant, he froze, staring at the west, not daring to move. A few civilians who had heard the sound climbed up and stood on the snowy plains.

Silence, dead silence. Someone turned around and looked around, reached out his hands, pointed towards the west, and asked, “Is that an army? Is that our army?”

Loud sounds of horses’ hooves echoed from the west. A black shadow, shaped like a line, appeared on the horizon. Thousands of soldiers emerged, advancing towards their direction from Luori Mountains!

“Run!” the lady’s voice echoed.

Everyone was shocked, and turned around to see a lady sitting on her horse, dressed in body armor. She had a sword in her hand, pointed towards the west and shouted, “It’s the army from Xia! Run! Quickly! Towards Beishuo!” Panic erupted amongst the crowd, but someone questioned quickly, “Why would the Xia troops be in the mainland of Yan Bei?”

“That’s right,” another person echoed. “They are all outside Beishuo Pass!”

However, it was too late. Their equestrian methods, their sword-fighting techniques… They were evidently the trained border troops from Xia.

Chu Qiao’s face turned pale. Her palm, which she used to hold her sword, broke out in sweat. Who were these people? How had they managed to breach Beishuo Pass and appear in the mainland of Yan Bei? There was no proper army here. If they fought into the inner part of Yan Bei, what would be the consequences?

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed across her mind. Chu Qiao raised her sword and exclaimed loudly, “I’m Chu Qiao, a senior general from Yan Bei’s Military Strategy Department. Everyone, listen to my orders!” The strong winds drowned out her voice. Thousands of soldiers dashed towards her direction in intimidating fashion!

“How could this be possible?”

Cries of agony suddenly erupted from within the crowd. The men of Yan Bei, who had answered their country’s calling, suddenly panicked as the enemies descended upon them.

“Run!”

It was too late to run. Those that ran would only be killed. Chu Qiao turned around and hollered, “Don’t run! Stop them!”

No one paid attention to what she said. The soldier following her rushed forward, grabbing at the reins of her horse. “General, run!”

“Inform the main camp of Beishuo immediately!”

“General! Time is running out!”

The warcry to kill the enemies sounded out from the opposing army. It was undoubtedly the warcry of the main troops of Xia. The messy sounds of horses’ hooves caught up with the civilians who were fleeing for their lives. The troops brandished their swords and hacked at the civilians of Yan Bei, causing blood to splatter everywhere. Human heads dislodged from their bodies and flew into mid-air, staining the ground!

The enemy’s horses were fast, and they possessed exquisite swordsmanship. The civilians of Yan Bei could not and did not know how to retaliate. Their cries of agony were drowned out amongst the footsteps of the horses. They fell off their horses, being trampled on by the soldiers’ horses.

Chu Qiao was caught off-guard by the sudden attack. Faced with such a ferocious assault, she was powerless to control the situation. A young man dashed in front with his horse. An enemy caught up with him, hacking his neck off and causing blood to splatter onto Chu Qiao’s cloak. She stabbed the Xia soldier in the chest, causing blood to splatter again.

“Xue Zhiyuan! Go back and inform the main camp immediately!”

The army was about 1,000 strong. Each of them wore military uniforms belonging to the Xia army. They chased after the fleeing civilians, neglecting the fact that there were a few troops capable of putting up a fight. Xue Zhiyuan was surrounded by three Xia troops. Chu Qiao dashed forward with her sword, helping him out of the tight situation. She hollered after him, “Run!”

“A woman protecting me? I can’t do it!” Xue Zhiyuan was a seasoned veteran. With agility, he severed the head of a Xia soldier swiftly.

Chu Qiao frowned and tossed her cloak onto the ground, hollering, “Despicable! Killing the civilians! You deserve to die!” Finishing her words, she raised her sword high in the air and dashed towards the Xia army.

“General!” The soldier, having witnessed what just happened, dashed after Chu Qiao. The two of them dashed towards the army of over 1,000 soldiers. The sight appeared comical, but no one laughed. The soldiers realized the presence of Chu Qiao. Upon seeing her outfit, someone echoed, “There’s an official here!” In that instant, the Xia troops surrounded her. As compared to the civilians, an army official from Yan Bei carried more significance.

Xue Zhiyuan was stunned. Seeing the soldiers who had surrounded him turn their attentions to Chu Qiao, he felt a surge of warm blood up his chest. He knew that Chu Qiao was buying him time to escape, not for the sake of friendship, but for the safety of the million civilians in Beishuo City!

In the strong northern winds, his eyes turned red. He let out a loud cry, before sprinting back to Beishuo City on his horse.

However, he ran too fast. If he had waited a second more, he would have noticed a different sight. Destiny was always so bizarre. Another black shadow, shaped in a line, appeared over the same horizon. The ground was shaking; the winds were howling. An intense murderous aura lingered in the air, enveloping every inch of the snowy plains. In the pale moonlight, the plain-clothed army stormed their way towards the battlefield!