"Just get your soldiers to take one more step forward—"
Yun Zong smiled, grabbed the girl in the dragon robe by the collar, and pretended to push her away, laughing loudly:
"I'll throw the Empress off this city wall and let the whole world see that Xi Chenzhou, who claims to be loyal to the emperor, is nothing but a traitor trying to seize the throne!"
The sounds of battle seemed to cease instantly; the winter wind was so cold that even the moonlight shivered and hid behind the thick clouds.
In the wilderness, only wildfires danced on the torches, crackling and burning, their bright light illuminating countless pairs of eyes watching from both inside and outside the city.
All those eyes were fixed on the face of the handsome, dark-skinned man in the midst of the army, clad in silver armor and wielding a long sword.
At this moment, the six armies remained still, waiting only for the man's command.
On the city wall, a girl in a dragon robe sobbed, looking pleadingly at the man, her voice trembling: "Lord Zhenbei, Lord Zhenbei, please order a retreat! Please save me! You raised an army precisely to save me!"
Yun Zong gripped the girl's shoulder with one hand and held a sharp dagger against her neck with the other, hissing and cursing, "Withdraw your troops!"
Xi Chenzhou's eyes were as cold as night, sharp as ice, and his gaze, as sharp as a sword blade, pierced fiercely towards Yun Zong.
"Cloud! Zong!"
Yun Zong's expression grew increasingly malicious, and he slashed the dagger further towards his neck, a thin line of blood trickling down: "Retreat! Surrender! Otherwise, if I'm so frightened by the rebels that my hand slips, you'll be condemned for eternity—"
The Northwest Army, convinced that the Empress had truly been captured by Yun Zong, was filled with dread during the standoff, their soldiers trembling and stammering, "General...we...we should..."
"The Empress cannot die! If the Empress dies, the General will be condemned by everyone as a villain, and his reputation will never be able to be cleared!"
"Why don't we retreat first? There'll always be another chance..."
Amidst the hushed whispers of argument, Yun Zong's laughter grew increasingly vicious and gleeful. His dagger pressed closer to the girl's neck, his eyes glaring down at the city walls, almost bursting with laughter: "—Traitor, why aren't you retreating?!"
Xi Chenzhou looked coldly at the top of the city wall, his chin slightly raised.
The firelight illuminated half of his face, so half of his handsome features remained hidden in darkness, making the faint smile on his lips appear even more sinister and chilling.
His gaze was fixed on the girl in the dragon robe on the city wall, who was crying and sobbing. Listening to the whispers around him, he suddenly...
Lift your foot.
Take a step back.
The retreat caused a huge uproar among the troops, who looked at Xi Chenzhou in disbelief. On the city wall, Yun Zong's eyes gleamed with wild joy: "You order a retreat immediately, and I will—"
"Actually, I've always wanted to ask this question."
Xi Chenzhou's expression remained calm as still water. Despite the perilous situation, Yun Zong managed to detect a hint of mockery in his voice. He spoke slowly:
"Your Excellency, aren't you curious about how I knew about the small path that broke through Qin City?"
—Xiao Lu, how did he know?!
Yun Zong's cheek twitched violently.
Time was of the essence, and he didn't really want to waste time talking to Xi Chenzhou, but then again, this was indeed a perplexing question that had been troubling him ever since he came in.
"...How exactly did you know?"
He couldn't help but ask.
Xi Chenzhou chuckled again, avoiding answering, and instead took a step back, adopting a respectful posture.
At this moment, Yun Zong realized that Xi Chenzhou's previous retreat and his current retreat were not out of fear, but rather more like...
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