Kato Hiroaki, the main general in the middle lane, was ashen-faced, his cheeks and tightly clenched hands covered in sweat.

A cold wind blew past him, making his cloak flap loudly, and he gasped for breath. His usually calm heart was now pounding faster and faster, almost as if it would burst out of his chest.

Kato Hiroaki was 47 years old (by Chinese reckoning). Since his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 15, he had fought in battles for over 30 years, making him a seasoned veteran.

Wars have winners and losers; no one can win every battle.

But he never imagined that he would lose so ridiculously, so unbelievably, so inexplicably.

He Ru stared wide-eyed at the fleeing soldiers escaping from the southwest of Wuzhongcheng, hoping to spot "that person" among them. That was his only son!

But at this distance, he could hardly see anything clearly; all he could see was a group of panicked, fleeing soldiers.

They fled in such a sorry state.

How many casualties were there? He no longer cared about that.

Because there are too many, it's too embarrassing.

As far as I can remember, throughout the entire battle, Kato Hiroaki only saw his subordinates being continuously cut down by the Xia soldiers.

"How is this possible? How is this possible!" Kato Hiroaki didn't answer his subordinates' questions, but instead shook his head repeatedly. "Mujū Castle, such a fortified castle. And my subordinates are all elites who have followed His Majesty the Emperor in his campaigns across the land!"

How could this happen? How could we have been defeated so completely overnight?

How exactly were the city gates opened?

The samurai deployed there are all my, Kato Hiroaki's, personal guards!

"General, make a decision quickly!" his subordinate urged.

“Wait a little longer, my son, Hideaki, he hasn’t come back yet!” Kato Hiroaki said.

"We can't wait any longer!" the subordinate said. "If we delay any longer, the Great Xia, the Great Xia pursuers will catch up!"

"Baka!" Kato Hiroaki turned around angrily and slapped his subordinate across the face, making the man see stars. "If you say another word, I'll cut out your tongue!"

Time passed by, second by second.

After a long while, a scout came to report, "General Kato, the enemy... the enemy is chasing us!"

"How many people came?" Hiroaki Kato asked.

"Reporting to the General... a dozen... a dozen men!"

"What? More than a dozen people?"