Luoyue Pass, located in the northwest of the State of Qi, is situated in a valley between the Xiaoshan and Qishan Mountains.

The narrow passage between these two mountains is a rare, smooth route for the Yan state to enter Qi and vice versa. Other routes into Qi from the northwest are either small in scale or rugged, far inferior to the Xiaoqi trade route.

Luoyue Pass is located precisely on this crucial trade route. It could even be bluntly described as the pincer movement of the Northwest trade route. When Luoyue Pass is open, the trade route thrives; when it is closed, it dies.

The name "Luoyue" implies that "the moon cannot pass by".

Even something as lofty as the bright moon will be defeated and sunk before this pass.

Moonlit night.

Luoyue Pass, like a monstrous, skeletal beast, lies silently beside the Xiaoqi trade route.

The scattered torches of the city wall defenders resembled the half-asleep, half-awake eyes of a giant beast.

Luoyue Pass, the formidable pass in the northwest of Qi State, is garrisoned by more than 200,000 troops, including nearly 100 generals of various ranks, more than 1,000 eighth-rank martial artists, 83 ninth-rank martial artists, and 3 grandmasters.

It is no exaggeration to say that the most luxurious border troop deployment is located within the four thousand miles of the Qi-Yan border.

If Luoyue Pass stands, the northwestern border of Qi will be secure; if Luoyue Pass falls, the capital of Qi, Yinjing, will be in grave danger.

On the eve of Princess Xiaoyue's coming-of-age ceremony, the Xiaoqi trade route was as quiet as ever.

On the mountainside of Xiaoshan in the darkness of night, a well-equipped lightly armored infantry force of over a thousand men marched silently. The same scene was simultaneously playing out on the opposite side of Qishan.

This group of people possessed exceptional agility and were extremely familiar with the mountain paths. They carried fine swords and crossbows, and were all highly trained elite soldiers. As if they had practiced countless times, they silently traversed the dense forest, crossed Luoyue Pass, and rushed towards the watchtower south of Luoyue Pass, which was responsible for beacon fire observation.

Meanwhile, a dark mass of Yan troops quietly assembled in front of Luoyue Pass. This location was five kilometers from Luoyue Pass, roughly the limit of human visual observation.

They often did this to lull the Qi army at Luoyue Pass into a false sense of security.

Previously, there were three to five thousand people and three to five thousand torches. Now there are three hundred thousand people and five to six thousand torches. These extra one or two thousand torches don't make much of a difference in the darkness.

Yang Wu, the commander of Luoyue Pass, is an old man who is nearly sixty years old. However, his years of martial arts practice and his mastery of the Grandmaster realm make him look radiant and appear to be only in his forties.

"Old Yang, haha, want a couple of drinks?" A man who also looked middle-aged, wearing armor and carrying a large bowl and wine, shouted at Yang Wu in the barracks.

Yang Wu's skin was tanned dark by the sun of the northwest frontier. He frowned and looked at the man carrying the wine with displeasure.

"Zheng Lao Er, drinking alcohol is not allowed in the army."

Zheng Lao Er casually placed the wine jar on the table, arranged the two large bowls side by side, then smashed the clay seal of the wine jar with one hand and picked it up with one hand to pour the wine.

"What do you call drinking? Come on, Lao Yang, there's also roast chicken!"

"Where did the roast chicken come from?"

“It was stolen by merchants from the Yan state.”

"Where's the wine?"

"It was also stolen from merchants from the Yan state."

"You!" Yang Wu was speechless for a moment.

"Hey." Zheng Lao Er picked up his large bowl, clinked it against the wine bowl opposite him, opened his mouth, tilted his head back, and the bowl of wine slid down his throat. "What's so great about robbing Yan people? Huh? What's it called, what's it called? I forgot. Drink up! Old Yang, you're making a fuss over nothing. At worst, I'll be demoted from general to colonel. Anyway, it won't bother you, Old Yang, the Duke."

Yang Wu said with exasperation, "A martial artist at the Grandmaster level, who has spent most of his life only to become a captain, aren't you ashamed?"

Zheng Lao Er said nonchalantly, "So what? My brothers are doing well. Look at that old He. And you, next time you go back to Yinjing, you'll be promoted to a first-rank general, and your title will be that of a duke, right?"

Yang Wu sat down opposite Zheng Lao Er, twisted off the best chicken leg from the roast chicken, and stuffed it into his mouth. "A first-rank general is the Right Chancellor, do you understand?"

"It's a complete mess, who the hell can understand it?"

After clinking their large bowls together a few times, the strong liquor in the wine jar was emptied.

"Old Yang, tell me, why did the late emperor stop when he led the expedition to Jingtian, the capital of Yan? If he had pressed on, there would have been no need to defend Luoyue Pass. He would have been home having babies long ago."

Yang Wu said impatiently, "Shut up. Just drink your wine."

"The wine's all gone. I'll go rob some more from the Yan merchants."

Zheng Lao Er stood up abruptly and walked out the door amidst the clanging of his armor.

Yang Wu quickly stood up to stop him, saying, "If you're going to rob the Yan army, that's one thing, but Yan merchants are also Yan citizens. Why are you making things difficult for them?"

"What's wrong with you? I'm just not being polite to them!"

"Stop right there!"

The two left the barracks and chased each other to the city wall. The soldiers guarding the wall were already used to this. However, no one dared to laugh; after all, these were two Grandmaster-level martial artists who could take their lives with a flick of their fingers.

Zheng Lao Er was standing on the city wall, just about to jump down to go to the merchant's inn a few kilometers away to ask for something, when he suddenly noticed that the torches in the distance seemed to be flickering and approaching.

"Old Yang, look, isn't that the Yan army coming?"

With eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people, Yang Wu took a closer look and discovered that among the sparse torches, countless reflections of iron were faintly visible! They were long spears and armor!

"Oh no! The Yan army is attacking! Beat the war drums! Defend the city!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The well-trained Yan army, under the command of the war drums, surged like a tide toward the impregnable, mountain-thick city walls of Luoyue Pass.

Black waves crashed against the city walls, then receded, leaving behind not black watermarks, but red flesh and blood.

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