“Hahaha!” Chu Qiao smirked as she turned around. Her figured looked ever so tired and frail, “You cannot even protect the people of one region, yet you justify these actions by saying it was for everyone’s dreams? What a joke.” Chu Qiao flipped open the curtains of the tent and left.

　　Lady Yu frowned and chased behind her, asking, “Chu Qiao, you are leaving?”

　　“Yan Bei is not my home, but it has always been what I believed in. Even if you no longer want it, I do. Even if you abandon it, I will still protect it. Tell Yan Xun, if I die, he need not take revenge for me for I was killed by none other than himself.”

　　“Halt!” Lady Yu solemnly warned, “I will not let you go!”

　　Chu Qiao turned around and smirked. “You can kill me. But only over my dead body will I abandon Yan Bei!” Drawing out a hidden blade from within her shoes, Chu Qiao miserably laughed as she held herself hostage. Slowly backing off to a horse, Chu Qiao mounted it.

　　“The great mistakes have yet to be made, and turning back now is still possible. Tell him, I will be waiting for him at Beishuo city! Giddyup!” The young lady turned around and quickly vanished into the vast whiteness, her robes fluttering in the wind.

　　Song Qifeng anxiously walked up and exclaimed, “Lady, how could you let Master Chu go? His Highness had repeatedly instructed you that you must not inform Master Chu about the plan…”

　　Lady Yu smiled quietly as she slowly raised her head. The sunlight of dawn shone brightly onto her face. With her face pale as a sheet, she was almost like a ghost.

　　My beloved Yan Bei, I am truly useless. That was all that I could do for you.

　　“Inform his highness that Beishuo is about to fall. Master Chu insisted on stubbornly defending Chidu to assist Beishuo. They could last for at most five more days. After that, Yan Bei will be decimated.”

　　At this very moment, Chidu City sank into a depressing silence, as Master Chu was nowhere to be found. Finally, they found out that the night before, her bodyguards escorted a carriage out of the city. Despair flooded into everyone’s minds. The soldiers, dressed in tattered clothes, stood trembling in the snow while guessing, “Did Master abandon us?”

　　Before he even finished his sentence, he had been kicked to the ground by soldiers of Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. He Qi, brother of He Xiao, coldly snapped, “Master Chu will never abandon us! Even in Zhen Huang City, in such a situation, she did not abandon us. Now it will be the same!”

　　“Then where did she go?” One of the original Chidu guards shouted with despair, “Those officials are all the same!”

　　The conscripts of Chidu also started to become rowdy as some echoed in agreement, “That must be it! Seeing that we were about to lose, she escaped!”

　　“Like I’ve said, those officials cannot be trusted! furthermore, she’s a woman!”

　　“Alas! We were really abandoned? What should we do?”

　　The noise escalated, as some started to cry. In the horizon, dark clouds were brewing, as the snow that was blown afloat by the raging winds seemed like the paper money that was offered to the deceased.

　　“What are you standing here for? The enemy is about to attack!” He Xiao strode over and solemnly reprimanded.

　　“Commander He! Master abandoned us and ran away!”

　　“That is impossible!” He Xiao coldly replied. “I will not believe that, and neither will all the soldiers of Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. Master is not someone like that!”

　　“But…”

　　“I would only allow such words to be said once! If anyone is heard defaming Master Chu, he will be the enemy of the entire Southwest Emissary’s Garrison!” The man drew out his blade in one swift motion. The gleam of his blade shone brightly as he ordered, “What are you waiting for? Get up the wall!”

　　After the reorganization in the night, the Xia Army finally stopped their reckless advance. Yet, the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison had too lost their edge in the defense as their ammunition had run out quickly, and even the incendiary fire-pots had run out by that evening. At mid-noon, the Xia soldiers had started to breakthrough. Xia soldiers fearlessly attacked using ladders, and the archers endlessly fired upon the defenders in cover of the advancing troops. With waves after waves of arrows flying at the city, it was like a massive rainstorm. The wall could only be described as gruesome as soldiers were constantly collapsing after being struck by arrows.

　　A young soldier had been hit by over ten arrows, with most of them striking his vitals. Another fellow soldier offered to take his place such that he get treatment, but he merely leaned on the wall and smiled innocently, showing his white teeth. Waving back, he said, “After Master Chu is back, help me tell her something. Tell her that our entire camp of soldiers all had a crush on her.” With that said, he jumped down the city wall, using his own body as ammunition, crushing the Xia troops. With that, a whole wave of pained shrieks arose from beneath, as though the Xia troops were singing a song of despair for the soldier who just fell.

　　Hand-to-hand combat finally ensued as huge batches of enemies boarded onto the city walls. The entire first line of defense was crushed, as random arrows flew about, complementing the omnipresent sounds of killing and blood-curdling screams. The Xia Army on the wall increased, as crimson blood dyed the ground red. At this moment, even the conscripts charged onto the walls to fight the Xia soldiers. They no longer cowered in fear in the face of death. They knew that their deaths were certain, regardless of their resistance, but at the very least, resisting the enemy would give their family more time to escape from the merciless Xia army. They used everything they had at their disposal, slashing with blades, piercing with spears, smashing with bricks, or even biting with their teeth. The cruelty of war was on full display.

　　Situ Jing stood afar observing the battle, and with eyes of shock, he asked his subordinates, “Are you sure that those soldiers on top are really just conscripts?”

　　That day, the river of Chidu actually melted for a while. Layers after layers of hot blood piled upon the freezing layer, melting the surface layer. Although, before long, the surface froze back up. The entire scene was dyed red, with bodies lying around everywhere. One soldier’s legs had been chopped off, but without hesitation, he threw his own legs at the Xia soldiers. One Xia soldier scaling the wall was so shocked that he lost his grip and fell off the ladder, straight onto the cold hard ground.

　　The entire seventh squad of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison had been wiped out except for one lone messenger. He stood courageously atop the city wall, using his own comrade’s body as weapons to smash the Xia soldiers who were attempting to climb up. In the end, there were no more bodies left, and he himself had also been hit several times. This young warrior then shouted, “Long live the Master!” before grabbing a Xia soldier and jumping off the city wall.

　　The control of the wall exchanged several times between the two forces. Even He Xiao had several wounds on him, yet he stubbornly continued to resist. He stood on the wall and shouted, “Brothers! Do not lose face for the Master! Even if we die here, she will take revenge for us! Kill them!”

　　Hearing that, the warriors were once again filled with fighting spirit. As though they were all suddenly filled with strength, they stood up, and their wounded bodies once again brandished the blades, clashing with the enemies.

　　The raging winds resumed, and the snow started again. The smell of blood permeated the entire battleground. The Xia troops were still flowing in endlessly. The two forces that had been locked in combat since morning, were still fighting even into dusk.

　　Zhao Yang stood on a slope nearby as he observed, and could not help but to sigh, “The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison is really a beast to fight against!”

　　After the city wall had once again fallen under the control of the enemy, Chidu City finally sank into despair. A young soldier weakly brandished his blades at an incoming Xia soldier, and he was merely looking to die in a final exchange. But just as the Xia soldier closed in, a figure dashed in, and a blade flashed past. Along with the afterimage of the blade, that soldier’s head flew up into the air, spewing blood all around.

　　The soldier stared on with mouth agape, completely stunned before that figure turned back and bellowed, “What are you standing there for? Charge with me!”

　　“Master?” The soldier shouted in disbelief, “The Master is back!”

　　Those dog-tired soldiers of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison turned back, only to see a lone lady standing upright while holding a blade in the masses. If that was not Chu Qiao, who could that be?

　　“The Master did not abandon us!” An unknown person started cheering first, followed by explosive waves of cheers that spread throughout the entire army. The originally exhausted soldiers suddenly stood up in excitement, as though they were suddenly rejuvenated.

　　As long as Master is around, we will not lose! Such thoughts flooded the minds of all the defenders. The Xia army stared on in horror as their adversaries who were moments ago tipping on the edge of defeat suddenly regained all strength, and charged back at them like a bunch of starving beasts. It was as though all that fatigue was just for show.

　　“Brothers! Charge with me!” He Xiao exclaimed. With one blow, he beheaded a Xia soldier, and he cheered, “Long live the master!”

　　“Long live the master!”

　　“Long live the master!”

　　The deafening roars once again resounded. Seeing how the troops suddenly started routing like a flood, Zhao Yang finally had to face this fearsome reality of defeat.

　　“Your Highness, if we still cannot occupy this city, it will be difficult to explain to the Third Prince.”

　　“Who said I do not also wish for such a victory?” Zhao Yang sighed, as he looked at the small city of Chidu.

　　The night has come as the Xia army once again retreated. Chu Qiao found Pingan in the food store tied up in a bundle. He had actually fallen asleep. Waking up and seeing that Chu Qiao was safe and sound, he cheered in surprise and happiness.

　　With the battle today, Chidu City had suffered huge losses. The main forces of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison had lost over 2,000 soldiers. Together with the initial loss of 1,500, the entire Garrison had less than 3,000 soldiers, with barely 2,000 still fit for combat. The conscripts suffered the greatest losses with almost 20 thousand deaths. The city walls had been severely damaged, and if the enemy had had weapons such as catapults, they could destroy the entire wall within a day.

　　The smell of blood permeated everywhere, and corpses littered the entire city. The medicine within the city had run out, and the warriors could only be treated with clean water and cloth. At night, the entire area was filled with moaning and groaning of the casualties. A few streets down, motionless bodies laid in neat lines. These bodies were arranged in neat rows as pieces of yellow clothes were laid over their faces.

　　Walking through all this, Chu Qiao’s footsteps gradually became heavier. In the dark sky, the ravens squawked overhead, sending chills down her spine. In her entire life, this was the first time Chu Qiao felt such loneliness and helplessness. Her hopes and dreams had completely been destroyed, yet she must still stand upright and put on a show for the warriors. She needed to show them that she was still confident and that she would continue and lead everyone out of this place alive.

　　The cold wind brushed against her frail figure as she heard a humming a distance. The song was full of sadness, and Chu Qiao walked to the source. Turning around a corner, she saw a soldier. He was a handsome young man, and he had not even grown any mustache. His delicate face looked as though he was a scholar who was better suited to studying than fighting. One of his legs was already missing from the knee down. He just sat there. Instead of groaning in pain, he merely smiled, with his eyes innocent and clear, as though he was mesmerized by some happy memory of the distant past, as he kept singing, “Farewell, my pretty lady. I will pick up arms to defend our lands. The enemy is ready, and I have to protect our wonderland. Perhaps, I will never again see your beautiful eyes. Perhaps, I will never again hear you sing by my ears. But please, believe me, I will forever remember that place where you bid me adieu, with the setting sun painting the landscape red, as you smiled, whispering to me to come back soon…”