Chapter 60 Desperately Protecting Her Home

Emperor Jia Fengtian collapsed not far behind her. His bright yellow dragon robe was now stained beyond recognition by blood and dust, and his chest rose and fell weakly.

Bai Lian fulfilled her promise, and in this last small space, she used her sword and her own flesh and blood to build the final barrier for the emperor.

However, after its initial frenzy, the Northern Di people's offensive showed a strange decline.

The death of the Left Wise King Wanyan Lie had removed the backbone of the Northern Di army. This commander, known for his bravery and cunning, was the core of maintaining the united front among the tribes. With his death, the tribal leaders harbored their own ambitions, making it difficult to form a unified will.

The death of the Third Prince, Jia Xuanyu, left the Northern Di without even a symbolic leader who could barely coordinate the various factions, plunging the command system into unprecedented chaos.

The most direct and chilling factor, however, comes from the figure that still stands like a reef atop the palace tower: Bai Lian.

She stood there, covered in wounds, some so deep they exposed bone, blood still seeping out. Having been through too many battles, she was now soaked in blood, as if she had emerged from a dark abyss.

But she just stood there, never falling down!

The Northern Di soldiers were horrified to discover that this woman's stamina seemed inexhaustible; her sword remained as swift as lightning and as ruthless as a venomous snake. Every time they thought she was exhausted, an even more ferocious flash of sword light would reap the lives of their comrades.

She wasn't like a human being; she was more like a tireless, painless machine born to kill!

No, even more terrifying than the machine, her near-immortal regenerative ability was terrifying in the eyes of the soldiers.

They watched as the wound on Bai Lian's arm slowly stopped bleeding and scabbed over. Although severe trauma cannot heal instantly, this illogical and cognitively challenging phenomenon shattered the nerves of even the bravest soldier.

"She's a devil... an unkillable devil!"

"King Wanyan is dead, the Third Prince is dead... Why should we stay here to die?"

"The people of Feng Kingdom are all madmen! And this woman is the madst of madmen!"

Fear spread like a plague among the remaining Northern Di troops. It began as whispers, then as exchanges of glances, and finally escalated into action.

The first soldier to drop his weapon and turn to flee out of the palace appeared.

Like the first breach in a dam, it instantly triggered a complete collapse. Ten, a hundred... more and more Northern Di soldiers abandoned their attack, their faces filled with fear and confusion, wanting only to escape as quickly as possible from this city that had devoured too many lives, and from that nightmarish silver-armored female general.

The morale of the troops was completely shattered.

Bai Ziyuan, still fighting fiercely near the palace gate, keenly sensed the enemy's unusual movements. Although he was exhausted, his wounds were burning with pain, and he could barely hold his spear, seeing the Northern Di people begin to flee, a surge of strength welled up from nowhere.

"The Northern Di have been defeated! They are afraid! Tiger Warriors! Imperial Guards! Follow me to wipe out the remaining enemy, leave no one alive!" His throat was hoarse as he shouted with all his might. Although his voice was not loud, it carried a do-or-die murderous intent. He struggled to organize the soldiers around him who still had the strength to fight back and began to launch a counterattack against the fleeing and still stubbornly resisting small groups of Northern Di troops.

Having lost unified command and fighting spirit, the Northern Di people were now like headless flies, unable to organize any effective resistance. They had become lambs to the slaughter, running around aimlessly in the unfamiliar Phoenix Dance City, only to be surrounded and annihilated by the remnants of the defending army who knew the terrain well.

The battle gradually evolved from a fierce offensive and defensive struggle into a pursuit and annihilation of the remaining enemy forces.

After the last Northern Di soldier who tried to charge forward was killed by Bai Lian's sword, the surroundings finally quieted down temporarily. Only sporadic shouts of battle could be heard in the distance and the crackling of fire still burning in some corners of the city.

The string that Bai Lian had been holding taut for so long suddenly relaxed.

"Pfft—", she could no longer hold on, and a mouthful of scalding blood gushed from her mouth, staining the charred ground in front of her red. The long sword in her hand clattered to the ground, making a crisp yet desperate sound.

She felt as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant, and she couldn't support herself and fell backward. But her instinct to protect made her, at the last moment, forcefully turn her body to the side and fall heavily in front of Jia Fengtian, using her back to shield him from any potential danger.

Bai Lian felt that the power that had been lingering around her had finally been exhausted. Her wounds were no longer suppressed, and blood gushed out rapidly. Her face turned as white as paper, and her breathing became barely audible, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Jia Fengtian struggled to lift his head and looked at Bai Lian, who lay dying in front of him.

This woman, whom he had once been wary of because of her special constitution, now fulfilled her promise in such a tragic way.

He struggled, using his longsword to support himself, and moved to Bai Lian's side. He reached out and checked her breath; it was so faint he could barely feel it.

Looking at the shocking wounds on her body, even the ruthless emperor Jia Fengtian couldn't help but feel a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

"Why..." His voice was dry and hoarse, filled with confusion and an indescribable complex emotion, "You could have left... With your abilities, there's nowhere in this vast world you couldn't go? Why did you have to risk everything for me... for this city that's destined to fall?"

Upon hearing his words, Bai Lian's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips moved, uttering an almost inaudible murmur. The sound was as soft as a sigh, yet it clearly penetrated Jia Fengtian's ears:

"What I'm protecting... isn't the emperor... it's my home..."

“…Luoyang…is home…the people…are family…”

The few words, spoken intermittently, struck Jia Fengtian's heart like a heavy hammer.

What she risked her life to protect was never Emperor Jia Fengtian, nor the Jia clan's empire.

What she protected was the land that nurtured her, and the millions of ordinary people. That was her "home," the root of her beliefs, and the place she was willing to sacrifice her life to protect.

Emperors, empires, power struggles... all seem pale in comparison to her pure and boundless will to protect them.

Jia Fengtian fell silent. He looked at Bai Lian's still-furrowed brows as she lay unconscious, as if he could still feel her indomitable fighting spirit.

He slowly took off his bright yellow dragon robe, which was already stained with blood and tattered. His movements were slightly trembling, but he was unusually determined. He then covered Bai Lian's body, which was almost soaked in blood, with it.

"It was I... who was narrow-minded..." he murmured, as if speaking to Bai Lian, or as if repenting for his life.

-

Another day later, the rapid and orderly sound of horses' hooves, like thunder, came from afar and broke the deathly silence of dawn in Phoenix Dance City.

Galorin is back.

He was covered in dust, his armor bearing the marks of battle, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

After escaping danger through a secret passage, he quickly assembled the surrounding army with the help of the Imperial Seal of the State, gathered the defeated soldiers along the way, and sped onward, even annihilating several groups of demoralized Northern Di remnants who were plundering outside.

As soon as these small-scale battles ended, he rode back to the city without sleep. The anxiety in his heart made it hard for him to breathe. He was too afraid that he would return to find a desolate and lifeless ruin.

When he led his mighty reinforcements through the thick smoke and stepped into the devastated Phoenix Dance City, the sight before him almost made his heart stop beating.

Ruins, scorched earth, and piles of corpses; the air is thick with the pungent smell of blood and burnt flesh… The once prosperous and thriving Phoenix Dance City has now become a living hell.

Only the tattered phoenix flag, still stubbornly fluttering atop the palace tower, tells of its final act of defiance.

He rushed frantically towards the palace, only to find the gates wide open and signs of battle everywhere. Then, atop the tallest palace tower, he saw…

His father, Emperor Jia Fengtian, sat against the wall, covered in blood, and looked up at him with almost all his might.

Before him lay a figure covered in a bright yellow dragon robe. The loose black hair and the familiar fragments of silver armor struck Galorin like a thunderbolt!

"Lian'er!"

With a roar, Galorin practically tumbled and crawled over to Bai Lian's side.

With trembling hands, he gently lifted the dragon robe, revealing Bai Lian's bloodless face and the hideous wounds on her body. Her breath was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, and her body was ice-cold.

"Lian'er! Wake up! Look at me! I'm back!" Jialuolin hugged her tightly, her voice choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, dripping onto Bai Lian's cheeks, but she received no response.

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, at Jia Fengtian: "Father! Lian'er... what happened to her?!"

Looking at his son's grief-stricken state, and then at Bai Lian in his arms, Jia Fengtian closed his eyes weakly, his voice hoarse and weary: "She fought to the death to protect me... her injuries are too severe... she has been unconscious for a day and a night..."

Galorin felt a sudden dizziness.

He knew that Bai Lian had a special constitution, could heal quickly from injuries, and possessed astonishing combat power, but he had never seen her so badly injured, unconscious...

"A military doctor! Quickly, summon a military doctor!" Galorin roared anxiously.

The army's medical officer was practically dragged and pulled up by the soldiers.

When the old physician saw Bai Lian's injuries, his face turned deathly pale. With trembling hands, he carefully examined her pulse, pupils, and wounds. The more he examined her, the more his brows furrowed, his expression grew increasingly grave, and even fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Your Highness..." The old physician knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, "General Bai Lian's injuries... are far too severe. She has lost too much blood, and her internal organs have likely suffered tremendous shock... I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

"Tell me! Can you cure her or not?!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty can only do your best to keep General Bai alive with medicine. Whether he can wake up... depends entirely on... depends entirely on the General's own will and... on fate..."

God willing?

Galo Rin looked at Byakuren, whose face was pale and who lay quietly, as if she were about to drift away at any moment.

He brought back reinforcements, wiped out the remaining enemies, and preserved the Feng Kingdom's destiny. But then what? He might lose her forever.

"No...no way..." Galorin buried his face in the cold crook of Byakuren's neck, his voice hoarse. He trembled all over with regret and fear he had never felt before in his life.