The fierce wind howled, and yellow sand filled the air.
The Chongzhou army, its formation brutally shattered by the Jizhou forces, was in disarray on the battlefield. The young officers were still trying to maintain some semblance of order, but the Jizhou army at their heels was too relentless. The gaps in their ranks grew wider until the Jizhou forces eventually divided and surrounded them in smaller groups.
On the battlefield, momentum is crucial. Once morale falters, even the fiercest army can be driven back. The Chongzhou forces found themselves retreating step by step under the ferocious assault of the Jizhou army.
The Jizhou soldiers at the vanguard, their eyes bloodshot, fought with increasing ferocity.
Among the Chongzhou ranks, from the generals down to the common soldiers, faces began to show signs of panic. Even the young officers’ rallying cries lacked their earlier conviction.
Some soldiers even began to flee from the battlefield.
Enraged, the Chongzhou commander-in-chief drew his sword and cut down several retreating soldiers, shouting hoarsely, “Those who retreat will be executed without mercy!”
But his voice was drowned out by the greater din of battle and clashing weapons, having little effect.
As the commander was about to lead a charge himself, drum beats suddenly resonated from the towers of Chongzhou City behind them.
The walls of Chongzhou were tall and imposing, with horse-face walls extending along the mountain ridges on both sides. Dozens of war drums began to beat in unison. The sound, blocked on three sides, surged towards the only opening like an avalanche.
The terrain formed a horn-like shape, causing the drum beats to echo across the battlefield, making hearts tremble.
Fan Changyu, leading the right-wing forces at the forefront, instinctively looked towards the Chongzhou city gates upon hearing the drums.
The massive gates, which would normally take half a day of battering to breach, now slowly opened, visible through the smoke and banners on the battlefield.
Dust filled the air as long pikes and spears advanced side by side. The city’s defenders, their faces contorted, rushed out wielding their weapons and roaring, like a flood released from a dam.
After two advance units maintained the front formation, an imposing figure emerged from the city. He was an old general with hair and beard half black and half white, wearing golden mountain-patterned armor and riding a fine steed. Drawing the sword at his waist, he shouted, “Charge!”
More Chongzhou defenders poured out from the city gates behind him, yelling as they rushed towards the battlefield.
Someone among the rebels shouted, “The Prince has joined the battle himself! Chongzhou will be victorious!”
This cry, like a stone causing ripples in still water, quickly spread across the battlefield.
With reinforcements arriving and Prince Changxin personally joining the fray, the previously demoralized Chongzhou army suddenly regained their fighting spirit.
Fan Changyu had earlier seized a horse during the battle, with the vanguard’s battle flag inserted into the stirrup. She stepped on the flagpole with one foot to keep it upright.
After the prolonged fighting, her warhorse was exhausted. Though Fan Changyu’s strikes with her mo dao were still fierce, she was only human, and her arms had grown weak and sore.
In brief moments of respite, her hands holding the blade trembled uncontrollably.
It wasn’t fear, but rather her muscles spasming from extreme fatigue.
Noticing the rebel reinforcements flooding onto the battlefield, Fan Changyu, with her elevated view from horseback, assessed the disparity in forces on both sides. She realized that if they were surrounded by the rebels now, none of them would make it back alive.
She forcefully pressed down on the stirrup, yanking the reins to change direction. Sweat-soaked strands of hair clung to her face, which was covered in a mixture of sweat and grime. Her eyes blazed with the intensity of a tiger or leopard as she shouted, “Break through the middle of the Chongzhou forces we’re engaged with! Don’t let them trap us here!”
The vanguard’s banner fluttered behind her. Despite her tattered common soldier’s armor, no one mistook her for a mere foot soldier.
The Jizhou troops behind her, seeing her change direction, immediately followed suit in a dragon-like maneuver, staying close behind.
The rebels, who had been on the defensive against this formidable Jizhou vanguard, now had reinforcements at their backs. They threw caution to the wind in their attempts to block the retreat.
The rebel commander even withdrew his rear guard, deploying all his forces to encircle the Imperial vanguard that had penetrated their lines, determined to annihilate them.
He Jingyuan and his officers stood on high ground, observing the unfolding battle below.
Tang Peiyi, furious, struck a nearby pine tree and saluted He Jingyuan, requesting, “General, I volunteer to lead troops to relieve the right-wing forces!”
After a moment’s contemplation, He Jingyuan replied, “Sui Tuo was once enfeoffed as a prince for his military exploits. Though he’s old now, the power of his lion-headed spear is not to be underestimated. I’ll personally engage him with three thousand troops. General Tang, you lead two thousand men to support the right-wing forces.”
Tang Peiyi’s worry turned to joy. He quickly saluted and said, “This subordinate accepts the order!”
Amidst the chaos of moving figures, Fan Changyu swung her blade almost mechanically. Hot, stinging sweat—or was it blood?—trickled from her brow into her eyes.
She clenched her back teeth tightly. As her blade cut through the rebel soldiers blocking their path, it was hard to tell whose expression was more ferocious—theirs or her own.
There was a time when she hesitated to strike down rebel soldiers on the battlefield.
But now, those following behind her were comrades who had entrusted their lives to her. If she showed mercy to these rebels, the next moment their blades might fall upon those who had followed her without hesitation.
As an outsider, she could feel pity for the lowest-ranking soldiers on both sides. But now that she was part of it, just as she had once wielded her blade against mountain bandits to protect her neighbors, protecting her fellow soldiers had become her mission.
Fan Changyu fought like a frenzied leopard, each swing of her mo dao bringing forth a spray of blood.
The rebels seemed to realize she was a formidable opponent. When their soldiers were forced to charge at her horse, their faces showed clear hesitation and fear, allowing Fan Changyu’s unit to slowly and painfully retreat.
But soon, a unit of soldiers wielding hook-sickle spears took their place. Their weapons differed from ordinary soldiers’, with spear tips and crescent-shaped hook-sickle blades that could both thrust and slash from a distance.
When Xie Wu saw these hook-sickle spear wielders, his face changed dramatically. He shouted to Fan Changyu, “Be careful!”
The rebel unit worked in coordination. One group stood tall, aiming their spear tips at Fan Changyu on horseback. As she deflected their thrusts with her blade, another group knelt on the ground, sweeping their hook-sickle spears at her horse’s legs.
Despite Xie Wu and others’ efforts to eliminate these soldiers, Fan Changyu’s warhorse still had its hind leg severed. It neighed in pain and collapsed.
As Fan Changyu was thrown from her mount, countless rebels swarmed around her like hyenas drawn to the scent of blood on the savanna, thrusting their spears at her.
Using the banner from her horse as support, Fan Changyu leaped into the air. She kicked off the chest plates of the rebel soldiers, clearing a circle around her before landing steadily.
Her hands were slick with blood, making it difficult to grip the black iron handle of her mo dao. The banner pole was about ten feet long with a spear tip at the end. Fan Changyu rolled up the flag tightly against the pole and wielded it as a weapon.
Soldiers who approached within fifteen feet of her were swept away by the banner.
By this time, Xie Wu had fought his way to her. As the spearhead of the vanguard, Fan Changyu was like the lead goose in a flying formation—undoubtedly the most exhausted.
Her strength was severely depleted. Xie Wu took the banner from her hands. His once-handsome face was now unrecognizable, covered in blood—whether his own or others’ was unclear.
Panting, he said, “Squad Leader, I’ll lead the army’s retreat!”
The banner unfurled in his hands, once again flying proudly in the wind, guiding the Jizhou forces to rally around them.
Fan Changyu, exhausted, leaned on her mo dao to catch her breath. A rebel attempted to ambush her from behind, but Guo Baihu roared and nearly cleaved the attacker in two with his great sword.
Fan Changyu looked back. Half of Guo Baihu’s face was hidden by his beard, only his bloodshot eyes visible, gleaming fiercely. “I said I wouldn’t look after you on the battlefield, but you haven’t disgraced me! After this battle, even if I die here, it will have been worth it!”
Without warning, Fan Changyu swung her mo dao towards him. Guo Baihu broke out in a cold sweat.
The next instant, a spray of blood-soaked half his shoulder.
He froze, then turned to see a rebel who had silently approached, intending to strike him down but was killed by Fan Changyu’s swift blade.
His thick beard twitched, but he dared not lose focus again. He simply shouted at Fan Changyu, “We’re even now!”
Fan Changyu didn’t respond. The blood on her hands hadn’t dried, making her grip on the mo dao slippery. Her fingers were so sore she could barely hold the blade.
Her lips were dry and cracked, and she didn’t want to waste energy speaking.
She tore a long strip of cloth from her battle robe and wrapped it around her hand before gripping the mo dao’s handle again.
Xie Wu, holding the army flag, was undoubtedly a moving target. Countless blades and swords came at him. He managed to avoid the fatal blows, but the accumulation of non-lethal wounds had dyed half his battle robe red with blood.
A rebel officer on horseback charged towards him, aiming to take Xie Wu’s life. Xie Wu had just used the banner to drive back the soldiers surrounding him and had no time to defend or dodge.
Fan Changyu leaped forward, just as she had saved him from Shi Hu’s war hammer at Yixian Gorge, using her mo dao to block the officer’s spear thrust.
The prolonged fighting had left Xie Wu dizzy. He stayed close to Fan Changyu, knowing that if she wasn’t the most exhausted in this army, he certainly was second.
He not only had to look after himself but also constantly watch out for Fan Changyu.
Seeing her block the spear meant for him, he instinctively called out, “Squad Leader…”
Fan Changyu pushed him back towards the advancing Jizhou troops, coldly commanding, “Get behind me!”
As she spoke, her mo dao’s edge clashed violently with the officer’s spear tip, sending sparks flying.
The officer was thrown back by Fan Changyu’s force, and his attack was delayed by half a beat. Before he could recover from the shock of her strength, Fan Changyu had already ducked low, swinging at his horse’s legs.
The mo dao’s long, razor-sharp edge, combined with Fan Changyu’s powerful strike, almost cleanly severed the horse’s front legs. As blood gushed forth and the horse stumbled forward, the momentum flung the officer from his saddle.
Fan Changyu swung her blade again, and the officer’s head rolled to the ground.
Guo Baihu, who had been about to help with his crescent moon blade, swallowed hard at the sight and said to Xie Wu, “By my mother, how can she fight like that?”
Xie Wu didn’t respond. Concerned for Fan Changyu’s safety but unable to stay close while carrying the flag as a living target, he thrust the banner into Guo Baihu’s hands. “The army flag is yours now.”
Before Guo Baihu could speak, Xie Wu had already picked up a long sword and rushed forward to join Fan Changyu in clearing a path for the army.
Guo Baihu looked down at the blood-stained banner in his hands and cursed, “Do I look like someone who’d hide behind a flag?”
He passed the banner to a soldier behind him, growling, “You lot protect the vanguard flag and keep up!”
With that, he swung his great sword, cutting down a rebel soldier, and caught up to Fan Changyu and Xie Wu in a few strides. As he fought, he berated them, “I’m the one who’s a Baihu here, you two little brats! Who said you could fight ahead of me?”
The soldiers behind them were initially bewildered, but some wounded officers understood that the flag served as a beacon in the chaotic battlefield and must not be lost. They quickly ordered about a hundred men to form a protective circle around the flag bearer.
The rest maintained their wedge formation on the outside, like ants clustering together in a raging fire, following the bloody path Fan Changyu and the others were carving out, slowly pushing their way out of the rebels’ encirclement.