Qiu Jing listened with rage filling his eyes, raising his finger to point at him: “You… you…”

He said “you” several times in succession, then was so angry and agitated that it took him a long while to get his words out completely: “Lian Jie, do you think this old man covets your kingdom? Acknowledging a traitor as brother, you’ll regret it sooner or later. Our Qiu family doesn’t have descendants as foolish as you!”

“Uncle, then do you dare swear today that you have no designs whatsoever on my Lian family’s kingdom, or may you be struck by five thunderbolts?” Lian Jie asked back softly.

Qiu Jing was suddenly unable to speak.

Lian Qin said from the side: “Seventh Brother, why waste words with him? He’s your uncle, so we’ll spare his life. As for other rebel parties, like Quan Feitong – a true usurper of the nation – tonight, this young master will kill to his heart’s content and have you all lose your lives here!”

As he spoke, he laughed heartily, drew the large blade from his waist, raised it high into the air, his eyes flashing with the bloodthirsty excitement of battle.

Quan Feitong looked around. The fires had gradually died down, leaving countless ash and remnants. There weren’t enough shields, and the ground was covered with soldiers struck by arrows and crushed by boulders as far as the eye could see.

This expedition still had the same hundred thousand troops as before, but at least twenty thousand had fallen here!

The void was filled with residual smoke, cold and blood… This was where Lian Yu had truly set his ambush! Those so-called elite troops on the road were merely used to exhaust their shields, armor, and fighting strength.

Now they were in the lowest terrain, with the enemy on the hillside, surrounded on three sides by dense masses of troops. But he narrowed his eyes looking at Lian Yu – his opponent, his enemy – and a mocking smile crossed his lips: “Life is boring. What’s interesting is being able to look down on the world and meet a worthy opponent. Your Majesty, do you think you can hunt me down here?”

Lian Yu stood with hands behind his back, tilting his head back slightly, also smiling lightly like wind and water, slowly uttering a few words: “Let’s give it a try.”

Chao Huang flew into a rage. Quan Feitong quickly whispered a few words in his and Li Zhaoting’s ears. He raised his large blade high again: “All generals listen to orders – retreat! Our reinforcements are just a few li away! We only need to leave this place, and we can turn the tables! If you don’t want to die, carve out a bloody path for me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhaoting took out a firework from his chest and shot it into the air. It bloomed brilliantly in an instant, like scattered star fragments falling from the sky.

Lian Jie frowned and shouted loudly: “They have no reinforcements! This is just Chao Huang’s fabrication!”

Lian Yu leaped onto a thin horse that Xuanwu was holding nearby. The horse was unremarkable in appearance, but it raised its head and neighed, its eyes sharp as gemstones. With Lian Yu mounted on it, there was no discord at all – instead, it created another kind of imposing presence, noble and restrained, as if ready to ride the wind at any moment!

He spurred the horse’s belly, drew the long sword from his waist, and actually led the charge himself, galloping down the mountain. His deep voice carried on the wind.

“As imperial guards, you suffered defeat in the first battle. Stories of my failure and your failure have been embellished by the rebel party and spread in the city, spread among the people. Your shame can only be washed away with blood and victory! This battle is not only for me, but also for your own beliefs, for the people of Great Zhou, so that your parents, children, brothers and sisters need not live under tyrannical rule where power reigns supreme in the future. Kill!”

Lian Jie and Lian Qin exchanged glances, suddenly feeling heroic spirit filling their chests. They pulled their reins and immediately spurred their horses down.

“Kill the rebel party, protect the emperor and defend the people!”

Infected by their previous victory and the current imperial majesty, the front row archers retreated backward. Countless lake-blue armored warriors on both sides of the hillside waved flags and shouted. Cavalry charged out from the gaps, wielding spears and swords, swift and fierce as arrows from the string, charging down into the valley. Infantry followed close behind.

Murong Ding stationed troops in the direction Chao’s army had just advanced, pretending to lead troops fleeing from the sea of fire. Having suffered defeat in the first battle, Murong’s army, especially he and several deputy generals, felt deeply aggrieved. At this moment, naturally unwilling to fall behind others, they fought with extra courage. With a loud shout of “Charge,” they also joined the battle.

The battle in the mountain valley immediately became fierce!

Chao’s army was eager to break through with the determination of burning their boats, while Murong’s army wanted to wash away their shame and were encouraged by victory. When blades met, blood and flesh flew, and the deafening sounds seemed ready to overturn the entire mountain forest. Chao Huang was a veteran of many battles, skilled at seizing opportunities and deploying formations. Chao’s army was also famously brave. While Murong Ding was inferior to Chao Huang in the use of military tactics and formations, Lian Yu was intelligent, steady, highly skilled, and capable of annihilating enemies from his command tent. But he wasn’t a deity after all. Therefore, after Murong’s army severely damaged Chao’s army again, they still allowed Chao’s army to break through and escape.

“Pursue!”

At Murong Ding’s command, the main force pursued with all their might. However, what Quan and Chao had claimed proved true – there were indeed reinforcements. At the place where Chao’s army had previously stopped and waited, batch after batch of soldiers in jujube-colored armor poured out, taking Quan Feitong and others into their protective circle. Lian Jie, Murong Ding and others couldn’t help but be startled. These reinforcements numbered no less than thirty to forty thousand. Lian Yu made an immediate decision, raised his blood-stained sword high, and shouted: “Stop! Follow my command – we end the battle here today.”

At this moment, a trace of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon. Dawn was breaking.

Protected by heavy guards behind them, Quan Feitong and the other three spurred their horses forward. Lian Yu also spurred his horse forward, with the Lian brothers and the four attendants following close behind.

With less than half a li between them, the two armies faced each other from afar.

Quan Feitong was covered in soldiers’ blood, his armor slightly askew, his hair disheveled under his helmet, but the smile on his lips remained unchanged. Only when he fell into the ambush circle had there been a trace of shock, but now it was completely gone, as if this temporary setback was merely ordinary. Surveying his equally formidable opponent, he smiled: “Congratulations to Your Majesty for winning back one round, but this minister said he had reinforcements – wasn’t lying, was I?”

“Oh, that’s not right. Your Majesty also knew this minister would surely keep something in reserve. Let me guess the purpose of your strategy this time: first, to consume part of my forces; second, to force me to reveal my hand and see clearly how many troops I’ve secretly transferred back from the borders. This force is something your good brother Lian Jie couldn’t find out about even when spying in my military camp.”

“Fine, you’ve seen it now. I originally had eighty thousand troops in the capital. In the first battle, I deployed twenty thousand border reinforcements. This time it’s forty thousand. Previously, when barbarians invaded the borders, you didn’t dare transfer your border troops back, hoping to quickly defeat the enemy with the addition of that fox Wei’s troops. But my troops were already properly allocated…”

“Despicable! My Sixth Brother thinks of the nation and would never lightly transfer troops back. You only care about yourself. Fine, when those crude, bloodthirsty nomads kill their way into our Great Zhou and you’ve seized it, you’ll just be a fallen nation’s emperor!”

Before Lian Yu could speak, Lian Qin was already cursing loudly.

Chao Huang twitched the blood-stained muscles on his cheek and spoke coldly: “In the next battle, no matter how many tricks you devise, you cannot possibly win again. Wait for death!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Murong Ding flew into a rage and also cursed loudly.

“Your Majesty, you lost the first battle and are now ordering troops back to the capital – it’s still too late.” Quan Feitong paid no attention to him and Lian Qin, spoke one more line to Lian Yu, raised his eyebrows with a light smile, and spurred his horse away.

“Since I could break your first army, I can certainly break your second.” Lian Yu replied indifferently, his eyes also containing a thin smile.

Both men concealed killing intent within their smiles.

Chao’s army soon departed in the distance.

Murong Ding dismounted and knelt in report: “Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your Majesty’s brilliant strategy – this time our army’s losses were not great, but the enemies annihilated were no fewer than thirty thousand. He had one hundred forty thousand troops in total, and now has only around one hundred ten thousand left.”

Lian Yu smiled and nodded: “This battle was mainly due to Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother’s outstanding performance, and General Murong and several other generals leading their troops well. If not for Murong’s army being well-trained under your command, no matter what ideas I had, I couldn’t have achieved today’s results.”

“When historians record this battle in the future, they must add a stroke for General Murong and Murong’s army.”

Murong Ding had thought that since this battle relied entirely on Lian Yu’s strategy and he himself hadn’t been able to contribute much, Lian Yu would certainly be very dissatisfied with him. This was also a formidable emperor, so he couldn’t help feeling anxious. But seeing him looking at him with appreciation, without blame, and even affirming his contributions, he felt very happy. His resentment over Murong Jinghou’s indirect death at Feng Suzhen’s hands also faded considerably.

At this time, Lian Yu added: “Pass down the order – the general and all deputy generals are promoted one rank, and reward the three armies.”

“Yes, thank Your Majesty for this grace. We will certainly exhaust ourselves in loyal service until death.”

His face lit up with joy. Several deputy generals were also overjoyed, spurring their horses down to announce and kowtow in thanks for the reward. The army also erupted in thunderous cheers.

The troops quickly departed to return to camp. After Lian Yu finished having the generals pass down orders, he turned back to discuss matters.

Murong Ding and others quickly returned. Soon, Yan Da and other ministers also arrived from the rear, but they saw that Lian Jie and Lian Qin’s eyes didn’t show much joy.

They were different from Murong Ding – they had been following Lian Yu closely and knew his thoughts.

It turned out that Lian Yu’s eyes had never shown much joy.

Gao Chaoyi asked: “Your Majesty has won a victory, why are you not happy?”

“We did win a victory, but,” Lian Jie smiled bitterly, “in the first battle we lost over ten thousand men and horses. This time, though our losses weren’t great, we still lost four to five thousand. We now have only eighty thousand plus, less than ninety thousand troops remaining. Quan Feitong spoke correctly – he has more troops than us. Adding his large reinforcements, he still commands one hundred ten thousand troops. Second, we do have many border troops now rushing back, but Quan Feitong transferred troops and made plans before us. Sixth Brother fears that these reinforcements, on their return journey, will be obstructed by his border troops.”

That night, deep in the night, in Quan Feitong’s camp tent.

Quan Feitong held a military book in his hands, still not having slept. A black shadow entered without announcement.

Quan Feitong looked up with a cold smile, his eyes fierce and sinister: “You spy are truly useless. Let me ask you something – where exactly has Lian Yu hidden Li Huaisu in the military camp? Do you think this minister should bring her over to vent some anger?”