Steaming hot white rice was brought up to the city wall. The soldiers in the front row continued fighting while those in the rear held their rice bowls and began eating heartily. After wolfing down their rice in a few mouthfuls, they immediately stood up to replace the soldiers in front and continue defending the city.
The afternoon before yesterday, while Qing Xia was eating with a group of soldiers, a stray arrow suddenly shot through, piercing straight through a Black Guard’s head. It was a Xiongnu eagle-hunting arrow with great force and barbed tips. With a thud, it blew off half the Black Guard’s head, splattering white brain matter into Qing Xia’s rice bowl, mixing with the snow-white rice in such a harmonious way.
The soldiers quickly dragged the corpse aside, then those eating continued eating while those fighting continued fighting. Qing Xia bit her lips tightly, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit. She knew she was the commander—if even she couldn’t hold on, then this isolated elite Southern Chu force would surely die worthlessly. So she picked up her rice bowl and swallowed the bloody hot rice in a few mouthfuls, along with the churning stomach acid and rising bile.
That night, where no one could see, she vomited violently, almost retching up her stomach.
War was cruel, but she had her own hopes and beliefs.
Chu Li, no matter what, please be safe.
Three days, five days, seven days, ten days…
Twenty days—a full twenty days! The Battle of Loulan had reached white-hot intensity. The Chu army’s strength was pushed to its absolute limit. Yet what puzzled all the allied forces below was that no matter how riddled with holes that Loulan City had become, no matter how precariously it swayed, the black dragon banner atop it remained standing firm, stubbornly erect like an eternally towering snowy peak.
Leaders from all sides had keenly realized this issue: twenty full days was completely sufficient to travel from here back to Huarong Trail, yet the Chu Emperor had never appeared. Did this mean he had already left, and their supposedly clever plan to lure the enemy into their trap was merely being used against them to delay their time while allowing the Chu Emperor to escape eastward?
Finally, even the usually carefree Yan Hui’s expression changed dramatically. Everyone tacitly made the same decision simultaneously—no matter what, they couldn’t drag this out any longer. If they had deployed over three hundred thousand troops in a joint military campaign into the desert only to be entangled with an opposing force of less than ten thousand, this expedition would become the greatest joke on the Chinese continent, and Xichuan, Eastern Qi, Northern Qin, and the Xiongnu would become laughingstocks for the entire world.
Without capturing Chu Li, this expedition would be meaningless. But they also couldn’t simply abandon the Chu forces in Loulan and leave. So, after nearly a month of joint warfare, the commanders from all sides held their first meeting, deciding to concentrate all their forces for a coordinated attack to eliminate Southeast Grand Marshal Xia Qing’s army in Loulan City.
Early the next morning, the first wave of coordinated assault by all forces finally began. Overwhelming masses of soldiers surged like a tide toward the tottering ancient city of Loulan. Battle cries and screams filled heaven and earth, blood and mud mixed together, and even the grass and trees seemed to grieve.
Qing Xia had long anticipated this day would come. To drag down three hundred thousand allied forces with ten thousand troops for over half a month—such impressive achievements were enough to satisfy her. Most importantly, Chu Li must have already returned to Southern Chu. Without worries behind her, Qing Xia opened her heart and no longer wished to toy with them.
Everything needed to reach a conclusion. If they wanted to devour her, they would have to pay the corresponding price.
An entire day passed in bloody battle until dusk. Several times enemy shadows climbed onto Loulan’s city walls, but under the Black Guards’ tenacious fighting, they ultimately preserved that swaying dragon banner. The allied forces were completely enraged—they couldn’t imagine that such a force of less than ten thousand, which had been fighting sleeplessly for a month, could possess such tremendous combat power. That Loulan City, which seemed ready to collapse at any moment, still stood firm and upright, like a candle in the wind that seemed about to be extinguished every second yet continued to shine, apparently destined to keep burning.
After a full day of fierce battle, both the Chu army and the allied forces were exhausted. The allies no longer harbored illusions of ending the war today. The Nannu Chili and various Jurchen tribes were already deploying to retreat. However, at this moment, the western gate where allied attacks were weaker suddenly opened by itself.
Everyone seemed unable to believe their eyes. They couldn’t imagine what it meant for Loulan City’s gates to open at this time. How could those Southern Chu people who had been hiding atop the walls shooting cold arrows all day possibly be a match for three hundred thousand allied troops once they reached level ground?
But regardless, everyone immediately surged forward with a thunderous roar. The temptation to be first through the city gates was too great, preventing these people from hearing Mo Zhaonan’s commands as they fell into complete individual combat chaos.
A cavalry force of five thousand suddenly charged out from within. Each wore black armor with red shoulder straps, holding sharp war blades horizontally. Before them, a young general in white armor with a black cloak billowing behind her rode like a proud eagle. She slowly raised her right hand, looking calmly at the enemy forces surging toward them like a tide. Her gaze was serene, showing not the slightest trace of fear beyond cold determination. Suddenly, she swung her hand down heavily. The long wind howled, whipping her cloak into fierce flight. The solemn army let out deafening roars as they charged toward the fiery red sunset.
This was a thirty-to-one battle. No one would believe the defending side had any chance of victory. Yet worldly events always develop in unimaginable directions. At that moment no one could have conceived, a miracle occurred.
No retreat behind, pursuers ahead, trapped alone in a death ground without supplies or reinforcements—this was a battle destined to be lost. All the Southern Chu soldiers came with the resolve to die. However, in many cases, a tenacious force that fears not death is invincible!
The earth trembled beneath their feet. Previous arrogance and mockery gradually transformed into uncontrollable panic. The orderly black-armored cavalry approached like a towering mountain with lightning speed, pressing down hard upon them. The front ranks of allied forces hadn’t even reacted—they couldn’t even cry out in alarm before being instantly crushed and scattered by the enormous pressure. The Southern Chu soldiers’ war horses reared high with terrifying momentum. Wielding massive war blades and letting out earth-shaking roars, under their young commander’s leadership, they pressed forward with unstoppable ferocity.
Yan Hui lowered his telescope. His usually frivolous face no longer bore its customary mirth. His brows were tightly knit as he watched Mo Zhaonan timely reorganize his forces and retreat, yet he felt no relief. His jade-white face was full of gloom and unspeakable coldness.
After a long while, Young General Zhaonan entered in full military dress, clanking as he knelt on the ground and said gravely to Yan Hui, “Zhaonan has failed in his duties. Please punish me, adoptive father!”
Yan Hui’s expression remained unchanged as he slowly turned to look at Mo Zhaonan, saying heavily, “That you could perceive the crisis and timely lead the main force in retreat was already no easy feat.”
“Adoptive father…”
Yan Hui waved his hand and quietly observed the distant battle situation. As darkness fell, the allied forces were being slaughtered and routed. No one understood how it happened—three hundred thousand troops were pursuing those ten thousand in circles, yet somehow found themselves being broken apart piece by piece, their strength devoured bit by bit. The allied forces collapsed like a landslide, fleeing in complete disarray toward their main camp with broken banners. No one had expected such an outcome. The allied side was filled with wailing and despair.
Mo Zhaonan frowned, his gaze calm yet carrying a trace of sharp edge.
Yan Hui suddenly smiled softly, pointing ahead with deep meaning in his tone, “Do you understand?”
Mo Zhaonan nodded, “The opposing commander is extremely skilled.”
“More than skilled—even if the Great Qin War God Qin Zhiyan were resurrected, he might not achieve this.” Yan Hui said with undisguised admiration, “Though they have only five thousand men, their mobility and flexibility are tremendous. After crushing our flanks, rather than directly confronting the Eastern Qi forces, they circled around to harass Guli A’shu’s armored troops. This arc was drawn with artistry—avoiding exposing their rear to direct threats from Guli A’shu’s vanguard while suppressing the Xiongnu’s rapid repositioning, and using the Xiongnu as a barrier to block attacks from Eastern Qi and our Xichuan forces, buying time for their assault. The Xiongnu cavalry’s prominence and abundance of those who disregard military orders meant they essentially served as free vanguard troops, disrupting their own formations.”
“The opposing general’s grasp of warfare is extremely precise. She can keenly detect flaws and weaknesses in our forces, exploiting them to rapidly create short-term local advantages. She’s skilled at creating chaos and expanding it. Once she seizes an opportunity, she bites down with deadly determination, and she’s adept at adjusting formations without getting bogged down in prolonged fighting. She saw through the fact that we don’t have unified command and effectively exploited the rifts between various factions. Her masterful grasp of warfare techniques has reached an artistic level. Even with our three hundred thousand troops, we can only be like a corpse, devoured bit by bit by weak wild dogs. Such brilliant combat methods—I haven’t seen their like in a long time.”
Mo Zhaonan’s brows remained tightly knit. After thinking for a long while, he finally said gravely, “This Zhuang Qing Xia is truly formidable.”
“The worst is yet to come,” Yan Hui smiled coldly and stood up, saying thoughtfully, “The real trouble from this battle lies ahead. No one is willing to admit defeat in a thirty-to-one battle, especially the face-conscious Xiongnu. Your premature retreat, the Qi people disrupting Xiongnu formations, and the Xiongnu’s failure to provide mutual support will become this battle’s greatest lingering problems.”