The Lament of the Wei River (Part 2)

"Protect the surrendered soldiers! Retreat to the riverbank! Form a circular formation—!"

Bai Yu's roar, like the howl of a wounded tiger, pierced through the deafening clamor of the Wei River beach! His voice lacked its usual composure and majesty, replaced only by a desperate, almost reckless resolve, driven to the brink of desperation! He abruptly drew the ancient bronze short sword from his waist! The blade flashed a chilling light in the chaotic firelight! On the scabbard, the blood-stained "An" character talisman fluttered wildly with the violent movement, like a butterfly weeping blood in the wind!

"The general has given the order! Protect the surrendered soldiers! Form ranks! Quickly!" The personal guard commander's eyes were bloodshot as he hoarsely relayed the order!

This order was like a boulder thrown into a boiling pot of oil! It instantly stirred up enormous chaos and uproar in the grim Qin army lines!

"What?! Surrendered soldiers?"

"Has the general gone mad?!"

"The enemy cavalry is charging in! Are we protecting the surrendered soldiers now?!"

A cacophony of astonishment, confusion, and even a hint of panic erupted among officers and soldiers of all ranks! The magistrate was trembling with rage, pointing in Bai Yu's direction, his voice trembling: "Bai Yu! You...you disobeyed orders! It's tantamount to treason! You..." His words were drowned out by the even greater uproar.

However, military orders are absolute! Especially when they come from the commanding general, Bai Yu! After a brief period of chaos, the discipline and instincts forged through long and rigorous training overcame the immense shock and doubt! The outermost elite cavalry formation, despite their bewilderment and resistance, began to execute this incomprehensible order under the desperate shouts and whip cracks of their junior officers! The massive shield wall laboriously shifted its direction, no longer pointing towards the desperate sea of ​​surrendered soldiers in the middle of the riverbank, but towards the outer perimeter—the overwhelming torrent of heavily armored enemy cavalry, like a deathly iron wall closing in from three sides!

"Quick! Retreat! Retreat to the riverbank! Shields! Raise the shields!" The officers roared at the dark mass of bewildered surrendered soldiers on the riverbank, trying to organize them and use their bodies and Qin shields to build a temporary and fragile circular defensive line! Like a flock of frightened sheep, driven by spears and threatened with death, the surrendered soldiers cried out, pushed and shoved, instinctively shrinking and crowding towards the center of the riverbank, making the scene even more chaotic!

In that brief, life-or-death moment of chaos—

"Boom!"

The earth trembled violently like a drumhead! The dull, terrifying sound of horses' hooves finally reached its climax! Like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing! Like the death knell of hell!

"kill--!"

Accompanied by earth-shattering roars filled with vengeful fury, three torrents of black steel, like destructive beasts breaking free from the abyss of hell, crashed into the Qin army's hastily turned and unsteady outer defenses!

The most lethal impact came from the front! It was the crimson-armored heavy cavalry, burning like hellfire! They abandoned the absolute impact of their charge speed, but in the instant they crashed into the shield wall, they displayed an even more terrifying killing technique! Heavy lances, whistling through the air, pierced precisely and ruthlessly into the gaps in the shields! Under the immense impact, the sturdy square shields were pierced and smashed open! The Qin soldiers behind the shields were sent flying, shield and all! The heavy hooves then slammed down mercilessly, the crisp sound of shattering bones chilling to the bone! With each swing of the lances, a storm of blood and gore erupted! The crimson-armored knights, like meat grinders, tore a huge, bloody gap in the Qin army's line!

The black iron cavalry torrents on the left and right flanks, like two enormous, poisoned scimitars, simultaneously slashed fiercely into the Qin army's weakest points! Taking advantage of the Qin army's turning and contraction, exposing their flanks, they charged in with overwhelming force! Heavy sabers slashed down, bringing with them a fierce wind that tore through the air! The leather armor of the Qin soldiers was easily sliced ​​through like paper, spraying up clouds of blood! The pounding of warhorses and the slashing of knights instantly shattered the Qin army's flanks!

"Hold on! Hold on for me!" Tu Sui's roar exploded in the chaos. He wielded his heavy bronze spear like a raging beast, leading a group of fearless personal guards in a frenzied charge towards the breach torn open by the red-armored heavy cavalry! The bronze spear, carrying immense force, slammed into the head of a red-armored knight's horse! The warhorse neighed in agony and crashed to the ground, throwing its rider off! Tu Sui was also jolted by the tremendous recoil, his hand split open, blood streaming down his face! His personal guards were instantly pierced by several thrusting lances, falling with screams! The breach, far from being plugged, rapidly widened under the even more frenzied charge of the red-armored heavy cavalry!

The entire outer defensive line of the Qin army was like an ice surface struck by three heavy hammers at the same time, instantly covered with huge cracks and on the verge of collapse! Countless Qin soldiers were turned into mincemeat under the trampling of the iron cavalry! The shrill screams, desperate curses, the neighing of warhorses, and the clash of weapons... all blended into a symphony of death that chilled the soul!

"General! We can't hold on any longer! Retreat!" The commander of the personal guards, covered in blood, stood protectively in front of Bai Yu, his voice trembling with tears.

Bai Yu's face beneath his helmet was ashen, his eyes sharp as burning ice. He watched the enemy cavalry surge in like a breached dam, watched his hastily constructed defenses crumble under the steel torrent, watched the sea of ​​surrendered soldiers in the center of the riverbank, driven to chaos and trampling each other by extreme fear… The bronze short sword he gripped trembled slightly. The blood-stained talisman on the scabbard was once again stained crimson by splattered blood.

"No retreat!" Bai Yu's voice was resolute, carrying a do-or-die determination. "Order! Abandon the outer perimeter! All forces! Concentrate in the core of the riverbank! Use the wreckage of chariots, supplies, and shields to construct a circular fortification! Hold the beachhead to the death! Await reinforcements! Anyone who disobeys and retreats even a step will be executed!" He swung his sword sharply, pointing it at the chaotic core of the riverbank. "Xiao Yuxuan!"

Xiao Yuxuan was being swept along by the chaotic crowd, dodging stray arrows and trampling hooves. The wound on his back had already reopened, and blood soaked through his clothes. Hearing Bai Yu's roar, he suddenly looked up!

"Take your men!" Bai Yu's voice pierced through the chaos, like a cold iron nail driven into his ears. "Hold the eastern side of the beachhead! That's where the surrendered soldiers are most concentrated! And it's also where the enemy is most likely to break through! Hold them there! Hold them even if you die! Until the last man!"

The eastern side of the beachhead! This is where the surrendered soldiers are most concentrated! It's also the lowest-lying area, the easiest place to breach!

A chilling resolve instantly replaced all fear and chaos! Xiao Yuxuan didn't hesitate! He let out a hoarse roar: "Talented Soldiers! Those still breathing! Follow me!" He brandished the chipped bronze halberd in his hand, and against the chaotic flow of fleeing people, he charged desperately towards the edge of the dark, wailing sea of ​​surrendered soldiers on the east side of the riverbank! Sheng Guo and several surviving members of the Talented Soldiers, their bloodlust ignited by the roar, gritted their teeth and followed that blood-soaked figure!

The eastern side of the beachhead has become a microcosm of hell!

The surging Wei River roared and churned, its waters icy cold. The riverbanks were muddy and slippery, stained with blood and excrement. Tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers huddled together in this narrow depression like sardines, their immense fear driving them to madness, pushing and trampling each other! Cries, curses, and dying groans filled the air! On the outer perimeter, the remaining shield bearers and spearmen of the Qin army desperately resisted wave after wave of enemy light infantry! These enemy soldiers abandoned their horses and, like bloodthirsty hyenas, used the chaos of the surrendered soldiers as cover, frantically thrusting and slashing through the gaps in the shields and over the heads of the soldiers! Qin soldiers fell one after another, and the defensive line teetered on the brink of collapse!

Xiao Yuxuan, leading a dozen or so wounded soldiers from the Caishi Camp, crashed headlong into the forefront of this vortex of blood and flesh, like a few pebbles thrown into a raging sea!

"Form ranks! Shields! Hold the line!" Xiao Yuxuan roared, using his shoulder to brace against a broken square shield, stained with blood and mud, that he had picked up from beside a corpse! Sheng Guo and another soldier immediately pushed the shields over, and the three shields barely managed to form a small, gap-filled triangular formation! Several broken bronze spears trembled as they peeked out from between the shields!

"Kill!" A ferocious enemy soldier roared, brandishing his scimitar, leaping over the head of a surrendered soldier from the side and charging fiercely towards Xiao Yuxuan's shield formation! The blade brought a vicious wind as it slashed down!

"Clang!" A piercing metallic clang rang out! The scimitar slammed into Xiao Yuxuan's shield, the immense force sending numbness through his arm, and the shield jerked backward! The gap widened instantly!

"Thud!" Almost simultaneously, Sheng Guo's spear, thrust out with brute force, pierced the enemy soldier's abdomen! The soldier let out a shrill scream, his body stiffening abruptly! Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Yuxuan slammed his shield forward, knocking the soldier to the ground! The Qin soldiers following behind immediately began a flurry of thrusts!

"Watch out above your head!" Sheng Guo screamed in terror!

Xiao Yuxuan looked up abruptly! Above the chaotic crowd, an enemy archer stood atop the wreckage of an overturned chariot, grinning maliciously as he drew back his bowstring. The cold arrow was aimed directly at a small, thin figure huddled in the mud behind a shield, shivering and pushed to the ground—it was the shepherd boy in the patched, tattered Longxi coat who had cried out, "My mother is still waiting for me!"

Time seemed to freeze! Xiao Yuxuan's heart almost stopped beating! The boy's terrified and desperate eyes eerily overlapped with the memory of his mother's last gaze! He was too far away! There was no way to rescue him in time!

"No—!" A heart-wrenching, wailing scream rang out beside Xiao Yuxuan! It was Sheng Guo!

This timid and cowardly boy from Longxi, who wouldn't even dare to watch a chicken being killed, suddenly unleashed astonishing speed as if possessed! He completely ignored the deadly arrows overhead and forgot about the protection of his shield. Like a mother beast protecting her cubs, he lunged out from behind the shield! With his small, thin body, he fiercely and resolutely pounced on the fallen boy from Longxi!

"Pfft!"

The dull thud of a blade piercing flesh was so clear it sent chills down one's spine! A white-feathered arrow, with a piercing whistle that tore through the air, pierced Sheng Guo's back with perfect accuracy! The arrowhead emerged from his chest, drawing out a spurt of warm blood!

Sheng Guo's body trembled violently! He clung tightly to the terrified shepherd boy beneath him, making strange "hoarse" sounds as blood gushed from his mouth, dripping onto the boy's horrified face. He struggled to lift his head, looking in Xiao Yuxuan's direction, his eyes unfocused, his lips moving as if trying to say something, but ultimately only forming a blurry, blood-frozen mouth shape, as if calling out... "Mother...?" Then, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, his head drooping limply, his body still in a protective posture, pressing heavily onto the shepherd boy.

"Sheng Guo—!!!"

Xiao Yuxuan let out a heart-wrenching, inhuman howl! An overwhelming grief engulfed him like a tsunami! His vision blurred with blood! The timid yet kind-hearted boy from his hometown who had shared his bran cakes with him… the companion who had trembled with fear beneath the ice city, who had pulled him back from the brink of madness amidst the commotion… the brother who had just fought alongside him… just like that… dead? To protect a complete stranger, a shepherd boy also from Longxi?!

"Ah—!!" Boundless rage and grief instantly ignited all of Xiao Yuxuan's reason! Like a completely crazed beast, he threw away his shield, gripped the chipped bronze halberd tightly with both hands, and with all his might, hurled it at the enemy archer standing on the wreckage of the chariot, who was about to nock an arrow again!

The bronze halberd, with its mournful howl, ripped through the chaotic space like a thunderbolt of vengeance!

"puff!"

The spearhead pierced the archer's chest with perfect precision! The immense impact sent him flying backward, crashing heavily into the wreckage!

Without even glancing at the result, Xiao Yuxuan roared and lunged towards where Sheng Guo had fallen! He shoved aside Sheng Guo's still-warm body, grabbed the terrified shepherd boy, and pulled him up, shielding him behind him! At the same time, he picked up a heavy bronze axe (similar to an axe) from beside the enemy corpses on the ground, and like a demon returned from hell, he began to hack and slash wildly at the enemy soldiers surging towards him!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" he roared, his eyes bloodshot, completely unfocused, filled only with a mad rage to destroy everything! The bronze axe, with the power to split mountains and shatter rocks, swept and slashed wildly and haphazardly! Each swing brought forth a shower of blood and severed limbs! He used his own body as a shield, protecting the weeping shepherd boy behind him, charging left and right through the chaotic crowd, and wherever he went, no one dared to directly confront his blade!

Blood! Blood everywhere! The enemy's! His own! Sheng Guo's! Thick, scalding liquid, with a strong, metallic, metallic smell, splattered on his face and body! His feet sank into a slippery, bloody mud, each step accompanied by the crunching sound of bones breaking! He was like a demon struggling in a blood-soaked hell, his consciousness rising and falling between extreme grief and the frenzied excitement of slaughter. Only the trembling and faint sobs emanating from the small, frail body protecting him, like the last flickering candlelight, reminded him that his promise of "peace" was not yet fulfilled!

The entire Wei River beach had been completely transformed into a battlefield. Under the relentless onslaught of the enemy's overwhelming superiority, the Qin army's circular defenses crumbled and contracted like a sandbank repeatedly battered by giant waves. Every inch of land fought for was soaked in the blood of soldiers from both sides. The cries of the surrendered soldiers gradually faded; they died either from the chaotic trampling, from stray arrows and stones, or from being "cleaned out" by the desperate Qin soldiers before the defensive line collapsed. The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood and death.

Protected by his personal guards, Bai Yu retreated to the few remaining wreckages of war chariots in the center of the riverbank. His helmet had been knocked off, his hair disheveled, his face smeared with blood and mud, his black armor torn in several places, a broken arrow lodged in his shoulder, and blood stained his scarlet cloak. The bronze short sword in his hand was already dulled from repeated blows, and the blood-stained "An" character talisman on its scabbard had been repeatedly soaked in blood, turning a dark red and sticky substance, almost illegible. He gasped for breath, his gaze sweeping across the hellish battlefield, watching his personal guards fall one after another, watching Xiao Yuxuan's blood-soaked figure fighting frantically among the enemy in the distance, watching the tattered Xuan Bird banner still stubbornly fluttering in the chaos... A huge, cold exhaustion and an indescribable sorrow, like the icy waters of the Wei River, instantly overwhelmed him.

Just then!

"General! Look to the west!" a soldier cried out in despair, pointing to the west side of the riverbank.

Bai Yu suddenly turned his head! His pupils contracted sharply!

Several plumes of thick smoke rose from the depression on the west side, which had previously served as a temporary camp for surrendered soldiers! Beneath the smoke, a large number of Qin soldiers could be vaguely seen wielding shovels and hoes, frantically digging at something! At the edge of the depression, a group of surrendered soldiers, bound by ropes and struggling and crying, were being roughly driven and pushed into the enormous, gaping pit! Even more chilling was the sight of one of the figures being shoved; her belly was swollen high, clearly that of a pregnant woman! Her piercing cries, even across the vast distance and the deafening roar of battle, seemed capable of piercing eardrums!

"No—!" A roar filled with extreme grief and anger did not come from Bai Yu, but from not far away from him!

It was Xuanweizi who kept his eyes closed and head bowed, seemingly detached from the matter!

The Taoist strategist, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes bloodshot with rage, stared intently at the horrific scene in the western depression where surrendered soldiers were being buried alive, especially the pregnant woman being pushed into the deep pit! That sight, like the sharpest awl, pierced through the crumbling barrier of his "Heavenly Way"! His body trembled violently, and the whisk he had been clutching fell to the ground with a thud! A mouthful of bright red blood gushed from his mouth, splattering onto the cold, muddy ground before him like specks of red plum blossoms!

"Where...is...the...Where...is...Heaven...?!" Xuanweizi cried out in a blood-curdling lament, his voice dry and hoarse, filled with endless pain and the despair of a collapsing faith! He staggered back two steps, his gaunt face devoid of any semblance of detachment, only a bewilderment and pain utterly crushed by cruel reality remained! His eyes, once so insightful, now stared blankly at the depression where the smoke of death rose, reflecting the last desperate look in the pregnant woman's eyes before she fell into the pit. Finally, they slowly and helplessly closed, two streams of turbid tears, mixed with blood from the corner of her mouth, silently sliding down her cheeks.