"What's going on? Tangshui Pass was attacked on September 16th, why don't we know anything about it?" Cheng Yuan stood up and asked angrily.
The messenger replied in panic: "All the officers and soldiers are trapped inside the pass. The enemy is coming fiercely and has captured several surrounding counties. We don't have time to report the news."
"The officials and people in other counties in the southwest would not be unaware of this. How could they delay reporting the battle to this extent?"
The messenger raised his head carefully and glanced at Yan Xun quietly. After a long while, he whispered, "The area in the southwest is the Shangshen Plateau. Not to mention that nine out of ten houses there are now empty, as they have all left with Lord Chu. Even the people who stayed behind, upon hearing that the enemies outside were here to rescue Lord Chu, were lucky enough not to help conceal the truth. No one came to report it. The local officials were also captured and tied up by the people."
"What!" Cheng Yuan was furious. "What do they want to do? Rebellion? Where are the army? Where are the soldiers? Are they all dead? They saw their superiors being tied up by fools and they did nothing?!"
"Well...well, I heard that the local army secretly assisted the enemy in attacking Tangshui Pass and provided detailed insider intelligence and control information. Otherwise, a strong pass like Tangshui would not be easily breached."
"This is simply outrageous!"
"What's going on now?" A deep voice suddenly sounded.
Cheng Yuan turned his head quickly, only to see Yan Xun slowly asking with a blank expression, "Tangshui Pass was breached, what's the situation now?"
The messenger was sweating and trembling as he said, "When I received the news, I heard that the Bian Tang navy had somehow gotten the news and had been waiting outside Tangshui Pass. As soon as the city gate was opened, they abandoned their boats and went ashore. Now they are heading for Longyin Pass."
"Who leads the troops?"
"Yes...it's Emperor Bian Tang."
"How many people are coming?"
"No less than 100,000."
Being so close, Yan Xun could even hear Cheng Yuan's shocked gasp. His eyes slowly narrowed and he regained his imperial majesty, as if the person who was looking at the night sky on the top of the mountain before was not him.
Li Ce? Did you come in person? "Assemble the troops immediately. The First and Second Armies will assemble and follow me to Longyin Pass!"
Three hours later, the army quickly gathered at the foot of Huihui Mountain. Huihui Mountain is located on the edge of Shangshen, only half a day's journey from Tangshui Pass and not far from Longyin Pass. At this moment, Yan Xun was riding on a horse, his black fur coat fluttering in the wind. Cheng Yuan followed him and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, were the troops who attacked the pass on September 16 Bian Tang's troops?"
"No." Yan Xun shook his head, his eyes deep, and said in a deep voice, "Bian Tang is a long way from Yanbei. Even if Li Ce got the news on the day when Ah Chu and I clashed on Huo Leiyuan, it would be impossible for him to rush to Tangshui on the 16th. I guess another group of forces got the news in time, secretly notified Bian Tang, and took the lead in attacking Tangshui Pass to pave the way for Bian Tang behind."
Cheng Yuan frowned and said, "Who could it be? Da Xia? Impossible."
"Who?" Yan Xun's eyes were cold, and he spoke slowly, "Who could appear in Yanbei so easily?"
Cheng Yuan was startled and cried out, "King of Qinghai?"
"King of Qinghai." Yan Xun chewed on these three words between his lips and teeth, and said lightly, "We are finally meeting."
The morning star rises and the sky begins to brighten.
"Your Majesty!" A long report came from afar, and a soldier galloped on his horse and reported loudly, "An unknown enemy force was spotted ten miles ahead."
"How many people?"
"The enemy blocked our army's advance from south to north, which was ten miles long. There were thirteen infantry divisions, eight cavalry divisions, seventeen heavy armored troops, as well as archers, swordsmen, and shieldmen. The estimated number of people was over 150,000."
For a moment, everyone couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Such a huge force actually appeared silently in Yanbei. If they hadn't run into it today, what kind of terrible scene would it cause?
Yan Xun did not share their worries. He knew that the other party appeared here to stop his army and leave a retreat for Li Ce.
Faintly, he seemed to have guessed the other party's identity. Although he felt unwilling and surprised, he still felt a sense of pleasure. Well, he was careless for a moment. He had already calculated that this would happen today. If they were enemies, they should stand out openly. He could let his people go, but he would not allow others to rescue them!
The morning mist was hazy, slowly covering the dark soil. In the mist, a towering army quietly showed its head, spreading out ferociously like a black ocean.
Yan Xun was wearing a black robe and fur coat, with a gloomy look on his face. He rode his horse slowly forward from the army formation. Then, a tall and handsome figure broke out from the enemy's army formation.
Despite the distance, he recognized the other person immediately. In an instant, the two people's eyes met in mid-air. Yan Xun smiled faintly, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Long time no see."
Chu Qiao was awakened by a loud noise. The sound of horse hooves came so quickly, like thunder in a storm, and it was already ringing in her ears as soon as she noticed it.
She had not eaten rice for three days and had to endure the severe cold in the ice and snow. She was now at the end of her strength. In a hurry, she rushed out of the tent with a knife in hand. Her steps were unsteady and her body was burning hot. There were blurry torches in front of her eyes, and the bright light almost burned half the sky red. The rumbling of horse hooves was like thunder in the sky rolling across the earth. There was a noisy sound in her ears, as if someone was rushing towards her.
She heard someone yelling at her. She turned around and saw He Xiao's red eyes. His mouth was opening and closing as he was fighting with someone. His body was covered in blood and she didn't know if he was injured. Chu Qiao's head was buzzing and she didn't know what she was thinking. She wanted to listen carefully to what He Xiao said, but she couldn't hear clearly.
This was Zhao Yang's fourth raid on the camp today, and Da Xia was gradually losing patience with them. The sound of fighting was heard everywhere. The soldiers guarding her fell one by one. More and more enemies rushed over. The soldiers fought on their own. The battle line had been completely torn apart. The army of Daxia came like a tide. A sharp arrow shot over and a guard pounced on it. The arrow pierced the warrior's forehead and emerged hideously from the back of his head. The tip of the arrow pointed directly at the tip of Chu Qiao's nose, and drops of blood flowed down glaringly.
"Protect the adults!"
Someone was shouting loudly like this, but the soldiers in the distance could no longer rush over, and there were corpses everywhere. There was a bright red in front of my eyes, the wind was blowing bitingly, and the sky was still filled with snow and wind.
Chu Qiao thought: There is no way out, let it be. She nodded gently and said in a hoarse voice, "That's it, that's it."
A row of powerful crossbows were set up, and the dense crossbow arrows pierced through the cold wind, making a whistling sound. Chu Qiao looked up at the fatal arrow coming from mid-air, and her mind was a little dazed for a moment.
She thought: Maybe she was going to die, and time seemed to stop suddenly. She vaguely recalled her life. She was selected by the country from an orphanage. After more than ten years of hard training, she was admitted to the Military Academy and then joined the Military Intelligence Department. She assassinated and lurked, and finally sacrificed for the country. She came to this turbulent world and once again experienced a decade of death-like reincarnation. She suddenly felt extremely tired. The wind was blowing from the opposite direction, and she vaguely wanted to give up all her persistence and struggle. Over the years, no matter what kind of predicament she faced, she never gave up hope of survival, but now, she suddenly didn't want to continue fighting. She was too tired, so let it be, it was good to take a break in this way.
"Sir!" He Xiao's eyes were red with anger as he looked at Chu Qiao standing there, looking up blankly at the rain of arrows in the air without dodging, like a cold icicle.
He felt like his heart was being torn apart. He swung the knife wildly, and the lightning-like blade drew a bright white streak in the air. Two heads flew up at the same time, and blood splattered all over He Xiao. But the enemies came up again like a tide. He could neither escape nor kick them away. He could only watch the arrows approaching her.
The Yanbei Army at Longyin Pass also witnessed this scene with their own eyes.
A young soldier looked pale, his knees weakened, and he knelt on the ground. He looked at the pale woman in the blazing fire and cried sadly, "Lord Chu!"
He was also a soldier from Shangshen. His parents and sisters were rescued from the slave camp by Chu Qiao. They were freed from slavery and given land. However, he was a timid man. He did not dare to speak out when the Xiuli Army was fighting outside, nor when the Great Xia raided the camp again and again, nor when the wind and snow raged in the barracks, nor when the people cried under the city walls... Until this moment, his mother's words once again echoed in his heart. The white-haired old man prostrated himself on the land that he had owned for the first time in his life and burst into tears, saying to him: "A favor will be remembered for a thousand years. Lord Chu is our benefactor."
A noisy cry came from the city wall, the wormwood on the wasteland rustled, the snow was flying, and the whole place was desolate.
Over the past half month, the entire Yanbei has witnessed the loyalty and bravery of an army, and at this moment, the entire world has witnessed the bitterness of a woman.
The arrow flew high, rose to its apex, then fell down, drawing a semi-arc, and fell with great force.
Everyone's eyes were wide open. Chu Qiao's clothes were blown up by the strong wind. She squinted her eyes slightly. The messy hair on her forehead was blown up by the sharp wind, and her scalp hurt. Her mind was blank, and she vaguely saw a pair of eyes. He looked at her and said slowly: Live, live.
She smiled, her smile light as mist.
I can't hold on any longer. I'll come to you, okay?
Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of breaking wind, and a pitch-black shadow like a spirit monkey jumped down from the Shuxiao Snow Peak on the west side of Longyin Pass. They held long ropes in their hands and descended from the sky. Hundreds of scimitars flew out and hit the powerful crossbows in the sky with precise accuracy as if it were a miracle.
All of a sudden, the whole audience was in an uproar. The black shadows quickly slid down from the snow peak. Everyone was wearing dark green leather armor. They were agile and swift, jumping and moving like ferocious beasts in the jungle. Under the firelight, one could see that everyone had dark red tattoos on their faces, their eyes were like wolves, and they were fierce and brave, charging towards the stunned Xia army.
Before Xia Bing could react, there was a sudden commotion from the southwest. Snow, fog and dust rose up in the wind, and the sound of thousands of horses' hooves trampling on the ground sounded like the rumbling of war drums. The elite cavalry in the front row rushed into the camp, slashing with swords and using fierce moves, charging in the style of a genuine army, with silver armor and black swords, full of murderous intent. They were all Bian Tang's soldiers.
The man in silver-white armor rushed into the camp, and the young emperor suddenly hugged her tightly with such ferocious strength that it seemed as if he wanted to crush her. His armor was as cold as a knife, and his heavy breath raised a large cloud of white mist. The shouting and screaming gradually faded away. The surroundings were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Thousands of bright torches shone on them, like the warm sun at noon in June.
The strong wind went away, rumbling across the ground. Li Ce's voice was low and calm, but there was a hint of panic in it. He whispered over and over again: "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."
Chu Qiao didn't want to cry. Her heart was filled with a sense of daze, as if nothing was real. But her tears fell one by one, rolling down along the patterns on Li Ce's armor on his chest. She closed her eyes, and seemed to see thousands of mountains and rivers bursting and being destroyed, the stars falling into ashes, burning violently from the sky, and the sea ignited with raging fire, boiling and falling, pouring into the bottomless abyss.