Cries of anguish filled the land.

Arrows fell like locusts.

The attacking Zhongshan cavalry raised their shields. The defending capital army’s shields formed a wall. Only the common people in the middle were naked and defenseless. To prevent them from disrupting the formation and affecting the imminent battle, the rain of arrows fell almost entirely upon them—

With no path forward and no way back, the running people fell to the ground.

Xie Yanfang no longer covered Xiao Yu’s ears, allowing the cries, shouts, and screams to assault them. Perhaps impacted by the war drums and the soldiers’ roars, the child before him went from trembling to slowly becoming numb.

Having witnessed such brutality, one would have no fear or dread.

“Minister Xie,” Eunuch Qi felt the ground trembling—the first wave of assault was about to begin. “Take His Majesty back a bit.”

Once fighting started, even the central formation wouldn’t be safe, let alone being this far forward.

Although he trusted that Xie Yanfang wouldn’t let anything happen to Xiao Yu, who could say for certain? No one had expected the Crown Prince to die back then either—

Xie Yanfang looked down and asked with a smile: “A’Yu, are you afraid? You might get hurt in a moment.”

Xiao Yu murmured: “Not afraid.”

His hand gripped the blade tightly.

Not afraid—but it still wasn’t enough. Xie Yanfang looked at Xiao Yu: “Then Your Majesty should smile. Watching soldiers fight valiantly, watching the wolves’ ambitions come to nothing—Your Majesty should laugh heartily.”

Smile? Xiao Yu gripped the blade even tighter, struggling to squeeze out a trace of a smile.

Although the smile wasn’t hearty and didn’t look very good, it was enough. This smile amidst brutality, imprinted on the child’s heart—when he grew up and encountered even more brutal scenes, such as exterminating entire clans or important ministers using favors to plead—he would also be able to laugh heartily without fear. Xie Yanfang gently stroked Xiao Yu’s shoulder, having him watch ahead as the great army’s formation shifted, crossbowmen retreating, cavalry thundering—

“Your uncle will take you to fight at the front lines. A’Yu is no longer that weak victim who was ambushed. A’Yu is a strong one who can kill among thousands of troops and ten thousand horses.”

Kill, kill—he was no longer the one being killed. Those who wanted to kill him, who wanted to harm him, must all die! All go die! Xiao Yu gripped the long blade in his hand, raising it, letting out a cry that seemed half sob, half laugh: “I will kill them!”

Xie Yanfang spurred his horse forward, taking Xiao Yu away from the central formation.

Eunuch Qi followed for a few steps then stopped. He couldn’t even hold a blade properly—going to the front lines would require seven or eight soldiers to protect him. This would only cause trouble. He could only watch Xie Yanfang take Xiao Yu forward.

He knew Xiao Yu wouldn’t be in any danger, but—

Eunuch Qi murmured helplessly: “He is a sovereign, but he is also a child.”

Last time, the child escaped from slaughter. This time, the child was throwing himself into slaughter. This child would never be able to escape nightmares for his entire life, would he?

As a sovereign, this fate was destined to be inescapable.

But the next moment, he was slightly startled. Although he wasn’t going to the front lines, from the central army he could better sense it—the troops and formations seemed to have some disturbance.

The slaughter seemed to have—stopped?

……

……

Once the slaughter on the border battlefield began, it wouldn’t stop until one side was dead, or both sides were dead.

The long blade thrust forward, severing the armor of the Xi Liang soldier ahead and severing his life. However, the long blade was also firmly gripped by the Xi Liang soldier. Through the blood-soaked blade, Xie Yanlai saw a savage grinning face behind him.

Without a blade, how could he kill?

The Xi Liang soldier behind raised his blade to chop down, but the next moment, this young general forcibly dragged the Xi Liang soldier in front, executing a spinning kick that sent him tumbling to the ground. Before he could react, the blade’s handle slammed hard against his throat.

A clear sound of bones shattering seemed to echo in the air.

The Xi Liang soldier didn’t move—dead.

Without a blade, one could still kill.

In the distance, horses’ hooves galloped and the ground trembled. When reinforcements arrived, the last Xi Liang soldier also fell.

In the dusk-shrouded land, corpses piled like mountains.

Before his horse had fully stopped, Zhong Changrong jumped down, gripping his blade and charging forward, shouting: “How many are still alive!”

Behind him, soldiers surged forward, sending any Xi Liang soldiers still breathing on their final journey and rescuing wounded comrades.

The mountain of corpses shifted, and quite a few people emerged from it. The number of survivors wasn’t small.

Zhong Changrong breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of something, he raised his voice again: “Xie Yanlai!”

Only after shouting two or three times did a young general emerge from beneath the pile of corpses, his voice full of mockery: “General Zhong, if your reinforcements had come any later, you’d be summoning my soul.”

Seeing him, Zhong Changrong breathed another sigh of relief. Hearing these words, his eyes bulged with anger. This damn brat!

“You attacked without orders,” he shouted. “This was reckless advancement.”

Xie Yanlai took the bandage cloth handed to him by a nearby soldier and wrapped it around his arm a couple times, saying: “This is called adapting to circumstances. Having finally found where this Xi Liang main force was located, how could we let them go?”

Recently, the Xi Liang soldiers had been killing like madmen, emerging from all directions. Very obviously, besides Chu Ling’s death, they had also heard about the confrontation between Prince Zhongshan and the court—Da Xia’s interior was also in chaos.

Zhong Changrong, temporarily acting as commander, felt very anxious. If the court and Prince Zhongshan continued fighting like this, the border here was very dangerous.

Not only because of the Xi Liang soldiers’ frenzied attacks, but also because the border army’s mobilization and command were rather laborious, with military morale unstable and generals harboring various private thoughts.

Fortunately, there was Xie Yanlai. This youngster seemed rash and unreliable, but each time he successfully completed his missions. Plus, with his status as a Xie clan descendant, he could intimidate many generals with private agendas.

He just didn’t listen.

The thought barely formed when he saw Xie Yanlai mounting a horse and calling to the soldiers—

“What are you doing now!” Zhong Changrong shouted irritably.

Xie Yanlai had an expression that said ‘how do you understand nothing,’ frowning as he said: “There’s an ambush at Three Gully Ravine. We were originally heading there. Now, although we’ve eliminated the main force, the rebel troops at Three Gully Ravine are still there. Of course we must immediately go kill the enemy.”

He was right. Zhong Changrong glared at him, his gaze sweeping over the young general’s bleeding arm. He wanted to say something but ultimately swallowed it.

“Men—” He turned to muster troops.

Just then, scouts galloped from ahead to report: “The rebel enemy at Three Gully Ravine has been eliminated.”

Zhong Changrong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked: “Which unit?”

“Left Wing Army vanguard,” the scout said. “Young General Liang.”

Ah, Young General Liang. Zhong Changrong’s expression became somewhat complex. Yunzhong Commandery had five great generals with hundreds of named subordinate commanders that Zhong Changrong knew. But beyond them, the smaller commanding generals—Zhong Changrong might not know them all. However, at this moment, just saying “Young General Liang” without even mentioning the name, Zhong Changrong knew who it was. Not just him—by now, everyone in the border army knew.

Liang Qiang.

The reason for calling him Young General Liang was because his father was also in the army, serving as the Left Wing Army’s Chief Administrator.

After Left Wing Army’s General Guo was dismissed for previous errors, Second Master Liang temporarily assumed the position of Left Wing Army general, called Great General Liang.

The Liang father and son were gradually rising in reputation in the army—criminal family members exiled to the border, seeing the dynasty in peril, taking up arms to render meritorious service.

Father Liang, a scholar, possessed extraordinary intelligence and had repeatedly broken Xi Liang military strategies.

Young Master Liang was brave and martial. Since beginning his campaigns, he had been victorious in every battle, rising from a common soldier through military merit to the rank of military marquis.

As they spoke, hoofbeats thundered. A troop of cavalry galloped from the distant dusk, numbering less than a hundred, each appearing as if soaked in blood, their armor broken.

The young general leading them held a long blade. Drawing near, he dismounted and saluted: “Left Wing’s Liang Qiang pays respects to General Zhong.”

Although the Liang and Chu families had some minor friction, Zhong Changrong wouldn’t make things difficult for a warrior who killed enemies. He gestured for him to rise: “Military Marquis Liang is brave. What’s the situation?”

Liang Qiang rose, his gaze seemingly inadvertently sliding past Xie Yanlai nearby.

In the heavy dusk, the tall, slender young general covered in blood was talking with several soldiers, but the next moment his sharp gaze looked over.

Liang Qiang lowered his eyes.

“Our scouts tracked Xi Liang movements. I led the vanguard here, encountered an ambush halfway, and fortunately fulfilled my duty by fighting out of the encirclement, then continued pursuing—” He spoke, then glanced at the brutal battlefield around them. “Congratulations to General Zhong on your great victory.”

Zhong Changrong laughed heartily. Taking a big step, he raised his hand to hook around Xie Yanlai nearby, but that youngster slipped away like a fish, leaving his hand grasping at air—somewhat embarrassing.

“This—Captain Xie was one step ahead,” he could only point at Xie Yanlai to introduce him. “It was them who valiantly annihilated the Xi Liang rebels.”

Liang Qiang then bowed to Xie Yanlai: “Thank you, Captain Xie, for resolving our crisis. Otherwise, we would surely have been completely annihilated.”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow with a smile: “Military Marquis Liang is too polite. Consider yourselves lucky.”

Damn brat! Zhong Changrong glared at him.

Liang Qiang didn’t seem embarrassed at all. He smiled and, without saying more, took his leave to return and report.

Zhong Changrong watched as the young general mounted his horse. The young general seemed somewhat hesitant, his horse pawing the ground.

“General Zhong,” he seemed about to say something.

Zhong Changrong looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

But Liang Qiang ultimately raised his hand in salute, withdrew his gaze, and spurred his horse to gallop away.

“This Liang clan son is truly excellent,” Zhong Changrong sighed, especially when he turned to see Xie Yanlai standing nearby with crossed arms like a lone black eagle.

A Xie clan descendant from a great family with a resounding reputation, Xie Yanlai was arrogant and untamed. Even soldiers who had fought alongside him through life and death didn’t dare approach him.

Liang Qiang was also from a scholar-official family. Besides being brave and skilled in battle, he was courteous and refined. Soldiers always surrounded and clustered around him.

“That mouth of yours,” Zhong Changrong said resentfully. “Comrades fighting together—would it kill you to say something pleasant to make people happy?”

What did he mean ‘consider yourselves lucky’!

Xie Yanlai smiled mockingly: “If I said pleasant things, he wouldn’t be happy either, and he certainly wouldn’t like me. Why should I waste my breath?”

That was also true. It was the Xie clan that had caused the Liang clan’s conviction. These two families were enemies. Zhong Changrong grunted.

“As for whether the soldiers like me or not—” Xie Yanlai looked back.

The soldiers gathered behind him immediately stood straight, some even fearfully stepping back.

Xie Yanlai withdrew his gaze.

“They didn’t come to make friends with me. Following me, they can kill enemies, earn merit, and survive deadly battles. That’s enough.”

With that, he let out a whistle.

“Muster troops, form up, and depart.”

With his command, those soldiers who had stepped back immediately picked up their weapons and mounted their horses without the slightest hesitation. Even soldiers not part of Xie Yanlai’s unit couldn’t hide their excitement, urging the muster to include them.

This youngster’s words weren’t pretty, but his fighting was indeed quite impressive. In the army, he was like a thorny flower that bees buzzed around eagerly.

A good prospect. No wonder Miss wanted him tempered here. Zhong Changrong grabbed Xie Yanlai: “You can’t stray too far from camp. Going deeper into enemy territory is too dangerous.” His hand felt sticky—the blood seeping from Xie Yanlai’s arm had already soaked through his robe. Zhong Changrong didn’t release his grip but forcefully pulled his arm back. “Immediately, right now, go bandage that wound.”

Despite being injured, Xie Yanlai still nimbly broke free, saying: “My unit has medics who can bandage wounds. You should hurry back to take command. Keep your head clear and don’t let those generals fool you.”

Since Chu Ling’s absence, the generals had indeed gradually become uncontrollable. Zhong Changrong thought that he could still hold this position, first relying on Chu Ling’s remaining authority—especially dying in battle at the front lines, the soldiers revered him as a war god—and secondly because of Chu Zhao.

Chu Zhao was the Empress, but not merely because she was Empress. It was because this Empress had personally fought and killed enemies with the border army.

The soldiers recognized her, trusted her, and through that also recognized him, Zhong Changrong.

He had always thought that with the General gone, Miss would need his care. He hadn’t expected Miss would instead be caring for him.

Thinking of Miss, Zhong Changrong felt worried again.

Miss was in too much danger now, her life hanging by a thread. Should they really not dispatch some troops there?

“If you send troops there,” Xie Yanlai said coldly, “she’ll die even faster.”