A sharp cry echoed out from the opposite camp. Subsequently, rows of infantry soldiers dashed to the front of the cavalry troops and half-knelt on the ground, ready to strike.

　　“Fire!”

　　Swoosh! The long spears pierced through the sky, taking down a group of birds which were flying by. Blood splattered in mid-air as feathers flew everywhere. Before the civilians had time to open their mouths to shout, the flurry of spears dashed towards their direction. Ear-piercing screams reverberated in the air, like a tragic song of despair. The warhorses neighed madly as if they had been possessed.

　　“Organize your formations! Charge!” Chu Qiao sat on her horse as she stood amidst the battlefield. She raised the silver sword in her hands and dashed out. 5,000 troops from the Xiuli Army followed neatly behind her; none of them hesitated or retreated even though some of them felt fearful.

　　He Xiao defended Chu Qiao as he stood beside her. Loudly, he shouted, “Brothers, don’t let them get close to the civilians!”

　　“Charge!” a shout to kill sounded out, stirring up the passion in the soldiers’ bloodstreams.

　　The opposite side was like a vast ocean. As the 5,000 of them dashed over, they were like a small wave, dashing towards their deaths.

　　Everyone present was stunned, including the civilians of Yan Bei who were pleading for their lives in despair, the troops of Yan Bei watching on from the top of Longyin Pass, the elite troops of Xia, including Zhao Yang himself. No one expected Chu Qiao, who was thoroughly outnumbered, to clash head-on with Zhao Yang’s army of 100,000. The opposite side was like a living hell, with the weapons the Xia troops possessed. In that instant, everyone realized Chu Qiao’s intentions. This piece of land was a flat, unsheltered piece of land; Chu Qiao did not have any tools to defend. If the Xia troops reached the pass, the civilians would be dragged into the battle. By doing this, she wanted to protect the innocent people behind her.

　　Zhao Yang was shocked as he went into a daze. Looking at Chu Qiao and the soldiers of the Xiuli Army, who were approaching fast with their swords, his blood started to boil.

　　“Soldiers! Are you less courageous than a woman?” the Xia marshal shouted loudly, triggering a loud, synchronized warcry from the army of black.

　　“All forces, prepare to charge!”

　　“Kill the enemy!” another warcry sounded out swiftly. The sea of grey body armors started to move as the soldiers steadied their warhorses for battle. They streamed towards Chu Qiao’s forces like an unstoppable flash flood.

　　“Split up! Prepare the formations!” Chu Qiao ordered. However, the entire Xiuli Army formed up in one long line to welcome the Xia troops. 5,000 soldiers stood side by side, defending Longyin Pass which was behind them. The warriors were dressed in black body armors, as their red ensign hovered over their heads majestically under the sunlight. They raised their swords with both hands and put it in front of them, using both legs to control their horses. As they saw the large army advancing towards them, their expressions were calm, like stones. This was the craziest way possible to commit suicide!

　　As the dust flew up into the air, the Xia army advanced closer step by step; the breaths of their warhorses could almost be felt. Boom! Finally, the two armies clashed as a storm broke out. Swords started to make contact with human flesh and other swords, as the battle commenced. The bloodshed had finally begun.

　　Every soldier experienced a living nightmare as they engaged in close combat with the enemy forces. Their eyes were bloodshot as mountains of corpses piled up on the ground. The atmosphere was deafening. Sounds of horses’ hooves, screams, cries of agony, cursing, shouts to kill – together, they composed a whole new tune. As the swords clashed, sparks flew in the air. The wounded did not scream as the battle caused their senses of pain to be numbed.

　　The ground was a messy sight. As the snow last night had melted, a river of red started to form. Swords were broken; spears were snapped. Eyes were glued shut by the bloodstains, causing soldiers to lose their sense of orientation. Despite this, they only thought of one thing—to kill! To kill everyone in their way, to slash at everything, until every last bit of strength was used up!

　　The young lady’s words before they departed echoed in the warriors’ ears once again: The soldier that allows their formation to be breached will become a sinner of the Xiuli Army! Hence, even with no weapons, they leaped onto the enemy, ripping apart their necks with their mouths; even with no horses, they held onto the enemy’s horses by their legs, dragging them down.

　　The battle was intense, sending chills up the people’s spines. He Xiao removed his body armor, which proved cumbersome. His eyes were bloodshot as they scanned for his next target. The Xia troops were scared off by his fearless looks, retreating and scampering out of his sight.

　　The ability of the Xiuli Army to engage in one-to-one combat was unrivaled. The soldiers stood there resolutely like machines that were indefatigable. Despite having an arm and a leg wounded, they were still able to carry on fighting and killing the enemy. The Xia troops were shocked. They were not human. Yes, they were no longer human. They were a group of lunatics, a group of devils.

　　Zhao Yang gritted his teeth in anger. It had been like this every time. He did not understand the supernatural powers that that woman seemingly possessed, to make the soldiers pledge their undying loyalty to her. Having an army of this caliber was every general’s dream. No amount of money, power or threats could be exchanged for this. However, she seemed to be able to achieve this with minimal effort.

　　The war drums echoed out beat by beat as army after army dashed towards the bloody battlefield. The Xia officials were perplexed. Even if the walls on the opposite side were made of steel, they would have made a hole in it by now. Why did the defensive line at the opposite side not collapse, despite appearing like that could happen anytime?

　　Three frontline heavy cavalry squads had been wiped out, along with five battalions. Mountains of corpses piled up three feet high in front of the defense line, forming a low wall in front of them. From dawn till noon, the battle had shown no signs of subsiding. The defense line, which appeared weak in the earlier parts of the battle, slowly became more and more resolute. Zhao Yang knew that it was his troops that had become timid. Faced with this suicidal assault, he felt his temples acupoint throbbing.

　　The sky was overcast; the sun was slowly swallowed up by the dark clouds, seemingly not wanting to witness this massacre any further.

　　Zhao Yang thought to himself, Is this a ploy by Yan Bei? Sending their elite forces to divert his attention away from the pass, then destroy his heavy cavalry forces? If this was the case, why did they not send reinforcements from inside the pass yet?

　　Zhao Yang could not comprehend the situation as his troops slowly started to lose the willpower to fight on. Faced with the Xiuli Army, who were unbelievably determined, Zhao Yang started to fear for the worst. Even if he won this battle, what would he get? 5,000 corpses from the Xiuli Army? This was not going to be an easy battle. The thought of killing Chu Qiao, the chief threat of Yan Bei’s forces, did not appear so enticing to him anymore.

　　As the last remnants of sunlight faded away, the signal to retreat was issued by the Xia army. The Xia troops cheered, and then faded away like the receding tides. The troops of the Xiuli Army no longer had any strength to pursue them. As soon as the Xia troops departed, they collapsed to the ground, every bit of strength in their bodies used up.

　　When Zhao Yang saw this, he turned around decisively and ordered the messenger to re-issue the signal to charge. With his back facing the Xia troops, he shouted loudly, “Soldiers, charge!”

　　The Xia troops turned around in a panicked state, only to see that the fortified defense line was no longer there. Some soldiers, who were brighter, understood the situation at that moment. The Xiuli Army, outnumbered by over 20 soldiers to one, had reached their limits. At this moment, as the Xia troops retreated, they finally collapsed. Hence, the Xia army turned around and charged forward with Zhao Yang leading the line.

　　“All troops, assemble!” a cold, calm voice sounded out in the cold northern winds. It was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.

　　Thereafter, a miraculous sight happened. As the Xia troops rubbed their eyes in disbelief, the shadows of the Xiuli troops behind the wall of corpses started to rise again, one by one. Their clothes were torn and tattered, their expressions were pale. They were messy in their organization, and their swords had been dented. They dragged their bodies along and walked to the front slowly, assuming their original positions. They stood shoulder to shoulder. One, two, three, ten, one hundred, one thousand…

　　The scenes earlier on at dawn seemed to replay again. The blood-stained warriors stood up again and stumbled to assemble their formations, while looking like they could collapse anytime. However, when they stood together, their postures became upright—they were like a forest made of stone. The defense line once again appeared more fortified than ever. He Xiao stood in front, wielding his sword as thousands of voices echoed out in unison, “For freedom!” Their shouts rumbled like thunder as everyone was shocked. There was no need for further orders or the beating of war drums. The Xia troops stopped subconsciously in their tracks as a notion of despair started to creep up their hearts—they would never win this battle.

　　It was not known where this notion originated from, as it slowly spread across the entire army through the looks in the soldiers’ eyes. As they looked at their forlorn enemies standing in front of them, the Xia army started to feel fearful, developing a sense of respect for them in the process.

　　Zhao Yang stood at the forefront of the army with a solemn expression. As he looked towards the blood-stained young lady who was still standing ever so upright, he felt a sense of respect surge up his heart. Finally, he jumped off his horse’s back and removed his helmet. Facing his army of 100,000, the 5,000 soldiers of the Xiuli Army, dead and alive, the countless citizens of Yan Bei, and the numerous pairs of eyes inside Longyin Pass, he proceeded to bow deeply.

　　The Xia troops followed his actions, bowing towards the army which they had once despised so greatly. Following which, they repeated their enemy’s warcry, “For freedom!” Thereafter, the Xia army started to retreat as the landscape turned desolate. As the autumn winds swept across the blood-stained grass plains, it was as if what had just happened was just a dream.

　　The warriors stood at their positions; none of them collapsed for fear that the Xia troops would turn back and kill them.

　　Chu Qiao dragged her sword along and advanced forward as she stood upright. Her footsteps were heavy; her expression was pale as fresh blood belonging to unknown people stained her green cloak. The soldiers stared at her in disbelief as they tried to absorb the fact that the Xia army had just retreated. She stood there as the wind messed up the hair in front of her forehead and brushed across her eyebrows and face. Her voice had turned hoarse as tears welled up in her eyes. Like Zhao Yang, she bowed towards her army and uttered word by word, “Warriors, we have won.”

　　A fragmented sobbing sound echoed out from behind, slowly increasing in volume. Those sounds were from the civilians which they had so valiantly protected earlier on, as they ran towards the soldiers.

　　The Xiuli Army, led by He Xiao, saluted and bowed towards her as they chanted, “General, it’s been hard on you.”

　　“It’s been hard on all of you.” The sky was overcast. Chu Qiao stood up as two rows of tears streamed down quietly from her eyes.