Chapter 57 Defending the City to the Death, Never Retreating
The north wind swept across the scorched earth, carrying with it a heavy stench of blood and gunpowder, soaring straight into the sky.
Outside Luoyang, the once fertile fields had been transformed into a battlefield of carnage. Bai Ziyuan's gleaming silver armor was now dulled by blood and dust. He led his thousands of cavalrymen like trapped beasts in a quagmire, repeatedly charging and fighting against the Northern Di army, which outnumbered them several times over.
Horse hooves pounded on broken limbs and weapons, producing muffled thuds. Arrows flew through the air like locusts, carrying shrill whistles, and knights were frequently struck by arrows and fell from their horses, only to be instantly overwhelmed by the surging iron hooves of the enemy.
Bai Ziyuan's spear transformed into a silver lightning bolt, precise and ruthless. Each thrust pierced the throat of an enemy soldier; each sweep smashed several, breaking bones and sending them flying from their horses. His cavalry, using him as their spearhead, followed closely, forming a constantly shrinking yet exploding vortex of death, relentlessly hindering the advance of the Northern Di main force and buying every precious moment for the final defenses of Luoyang behind them.
Amidst the chaos of battle, Bai Ziyuan caught a glimpse of the heavily guarded figure clad in black dragon-patterned armor—the Third Prince, Jia Xuanyu. He abruptly pulled on the reins, and his warhorse reared up, letting out a neigh that tore through the battlefield.
Bai Ziyuan pointed his spear straight at Jia Xuanyu, his voice piercing through the clashing of weapons and the crackling of flames, clearly reaching Jia Xuanyu's ears:
"Third Prince! Stop! Look at this devastation, look at this mountain of corpses and sea of blood! Is this the empire you desired?!"
Jia Xuanyu burst into laughter, his laughter filled with years of pent-up madness and a profound sorrow, even drowning out the noise of the battlefield: "The empire I want? You're wrong, terribly wrong! That cold, filthy thing, I've never wanted it!"
He opened his arms as if to embrace the burning battlefield, his voice trembling with extreme hatred: "What I want is destruction! I want everything that Jia Fengtian cherishes, his empire, his country, everything he is proud of, to be reduced to ashes! I want him to watch as what he protects crumbles bit by bit, to pay the price for what he did to me and my mother back then! I want him, and his beloved Feng Kingdom, to be buried with us!"
"You're insane!" Bai Ziyuan roared, forcefully deflecting the incoming arrows with his silver spear. "What have the millions of people done?!"
"Innocent?" Jia Xuanyu's smile twisted. "In this world, who is truly innocent? Let's all perish together; that's the best ending! Kill them all!"
"Stubborn fools!" Bai Ziyuan roared, his silver spear flashing even faster as he knocked several Northern Di cavalrymen who tried to approach off their horses.
He looked around at the soldiers who were falling one after another but still fighting to the death. A surge of tragic heroism erupted from his chest, and his hoarse voice resounded like thunder in the ears of every weary soldier: "Soldiers of Feng Kingdom! Behind us lies Luoyang! Behind us are our parents, wives and children! Today, we may die, but the backbone of Feng Kingdom must not be broken! For our homeland, for the millions of people behind us, we will fight to the death!"
"Fight to the death!" The surviving cavalrymen roared, their previously scattered formation reformed, and they launched a counter-charge against the enemy lines with a desperate resolve. Blood stained their battle robes and blurred their vision, but not a single person retreated.
Just as the battle lines outside the city were about to be completely swallowed up, a clear yet icy female voice, like the shattering of celestial ice, suddenly came from the cliff top on the side:
"The Tiger Warriors are here! We'll fight to the death together!"
The sound wasn't loud, yet it strangely drowned out all the noise of the battlefield, reaching everyone's ears clearly. Both sides in the battle were momentarily stunned.
Jia Xuanyu suddenly looked up, following the sound. When he saw the figure standing against the wind on the cliff top, wearing a white battle robe and holding a silver spear, his pupils suddenly contracted, and for the first time, an incredulous look of horror appeared on his face.
"The Tiger Legion? Impossible!" Jia Xuanyu's voice trembled with extreme shock. "The Tiger Legion was disbanded by imperial decree three years ago, and its soldiers were scattered and incorporated into the border armies in various regions! How could they still be here?!"
Atop the cliff, a layer of frost covered Bai Lian's exquisite face, a cold, mocking smile curving her lips: "Disband? It seems your 'insider,' whom you rely on, Third Prince, isn't quite right in his intelligence. Or perhaps His Majesty, with his far-sighted plans, orchestrated this scheme long before you harbored any rebellious intentions. Today, I'll let you and your Northern Di allies see for yourselves what the true elite of the Northern Frontier—the Tiger Warriors—are really like!"
"roar--!"
A thunderous roar of response erupted from behind the cliff face, the sound waves rippling and seemingly shaking the very rocks. Then, countless black figures emerged like phantoms from the cliff top and the valley below. Clad in uniform light black armor, carrying powerful crossbows and swords, they moved with lightning speed, their silence radiating a chilling aura of slaughter. This was none other than the legendary "Tiger Warriors," the very same "Tiger Warriors" who had once struck fear into the hearts of the Northern Barbarians, yet had mysteriously vanished!
Without any orders, the Tiger Warriors, like a pack of wolves on the hunt, instantly plunged into the battlefield. Working in groups of three or five, their coordination was impeccable. Crossbow bolts precisely targeted the officers and standard-bearers of the Northern Di army, while their swords sought out weaknesses in the enemy formation to cut through them. Their arrival was like a red-hot blade cutting into solidified butter, instantly disrupting the seemingly impenetrable formation of the Northern Di army and greatly relieving the pressure on Bai Ziyuan's remaining forces.
-
Meanwhile, within Phoenix Dance City, the atmosphere was as heavy as an impending storm. Crown Prince Jialuolin hurried up the towering palace walls, almost running.
On the city tower, Jia Fengtian stood with his hands behind his back, his bright yellow dragon robe fluttering in the morning breeze, which smelled of gunpowder. He gazed at the distant, faintly visible flames and billowing smoke on the horizon, his face expressionless, like a frozen statue.
"Father!" Galo Lin stepped forward quickly, bowed deeply, and spoke urgently and with great worry, "The main force of the Northern Di army has already reached the gates of Luoyang. Although Bai Ziyuan is fighting desperately, the disparity in strength is too great. Luoyang... Luoyang may not be able to be defended! Please grant me permission, Father, to immediately lead the vanguard of the Imperial Guard out of the city to provide reinforcements!"
Jia Fengtian didn't turn around, nor did he even change his posture. His voice was terrifyingly calm, without the slightest ripple, as if he were stating something unrelated to himself: "I have already told you. You and the Imperial Guards must remain stationed within Phoenix Dance City and are not allowed to leave without permission."
"Father!" Galo Lin suddenly raised his head, his face filled with anxiety and confusion. "If Luoyang is lost, the Northern Di cavalry can drive straight in and their forces will be aimed directly at the capital! If we continue to hold Fengwu then, we will be sitting and waiting for death! Moreover, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang. They are the foundation of the country. How can we abandon them so easily!"
"The foundation of the nation?" Jia Fengtian finally turned around slowly, his gaze as deep as an ancient abyss, landing on Jia Luolin's face with a scrutinizing, icy gaze that seemed to see through everything. "Do you think I don't know that the people are the foundation? But if you go out now, can you save Luoyang? The Imperial Guards are the last bulwark of our Feng Kingdom. If you throw them into that doomed quagmire now, what result will you get except to increase casualties and leave Fengwu City wide open?"
He leaned forward slightly, his voice low but carrying an undeniable authority: "Galolin, listen carefully. You and the Imperial Guards must remain in Phoenix Dance City. This is an imperial decree. If you don't want to defend it, there are plenty of others willing to do so for me!"
Galo Lin was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale. He wanted to argue further, "But Father, we cannot lose the hearts of the people..."
"No need for further words!" Jia Fengtian decisively waved his hand, interrupting him. His gaze returned to the distance, his tone carrying an undeniable resolve. "The people's hearts? Consider that when you've lived long enough to secure your position. Now, come with me to the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"
-
Within the city of Luoyang, amidst the ruins, an atmosphere of despair and tragedy permeated the air.
After leading the Tiger Warriors to inflict heavy losses on the Northern Di vanguard and temporarily stabilize the situation outside the city, Bai Lian quickly withdrew into the city and took over command of the city's defenses. She took stock of all available troops within the city, her delicate brows furrowed tightly.
"The number of soldiers still capable of fighting, including the lightly wounded, is less than eight hundred. The Tiger Battalion suffered nearly a hundred casualties in the surprise attack, leaving only about two thousand men who can fight." Her voice was calm to the point of cruelty as she clearly reported one shocking number after another. "We must seize every moment to organize the evacuation of the people from the south gate, as many as we can."
She whirled around and ordered a young lieutenant behind her, whose face still bore the traces of youth: "Immediately open all the armories in the city and distribute all the remaining weapons and armor to the able-bodied men who volunteer for the war! Tell them that if they don't want to be slaughtered, they should take up arms! Set up triple roadblocks on the four main streets leading to the city center, and stock up on oil, logs, and stones! Prepare for street fighting! We will make the Northern Barbarians pay a bloody price in every street and every inch of land in Luoyang!"
The young adjutant's lips trembled slightly as he looked at the beautiful, almost otherworldly, yet icy-cold female general before him. His voice was filled with barely suppressed fear: "General...General, can we...can we really hold out? Outside...outside there's a massive Northern Di army of ten thousand..."
Bai Lian stood with her hand on her sword, her gaze sweeping over the fearful, weary, yet hopeful faces around her. Her eyes remained unwavering, resolute as steel: "Whether we can hold out or not is not determined by asking, but by the swords and spears in our hands, by the spirit in our hearts! As long as I, Bai Lian, have a breath left, as long as there is a single soldier in the Tiger Warriors, as long as there is a single brave warrior in Luoyang, we will never allow the Northern Barbarian cavalry to trample our homeland!"
She paused, then raised her voice, which carried throughout the surrounding area: "Remember, every extra moment we hold out here gives the evacuated people a better chance of survival, and gives the Phoenix Kingdom a greater hope for its survival! With us here, the Phoenix Kingdom will never perish!"
"We will obey the general's orders!" The soldiers around her and the young men who had just taken up arms were inspired by the determination and conviction in her words and echoed her words, which boosted their morale.
Just then, the sounds of battle from outside the city surged in again like a tsunami, more intense than ever before.
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