Governor Li Mu would personally lead the suicide battalion in a night assault across the river ford, destroying Yuan’s army’s fire-stone crossbow formation on the west bank of the Fu River and launching an active attack on the enemy lines.

This was an enormously difficult pass, crucial to the battle’s outcome. Therefore the Governor personally took the field, testing himself against fire.

When news spread, the entire camp was shaken, and all officers and soldiers, carrying the momentum of their previous victory, responded with passionate enthusiasm.

Li Mu personally selected one thousand suicide warriors from the four battalions, all skilled archers and fierce fighters. Each wore face guards, thick armor, carried large shields on their backs, wielded five-stone strong crossbows, and held either spears or ghost-head broadswords, with fifty three-edged iron-headed heavy arrows—tremendously lethal—strapped to their legs.

This full equipment weighed no less than a hundred jin. Ordinary men would likely be crushed unable to move, yet each of them stood with head high and chest out, lined up by the riverbank, awaiting Li Mu’s orders.

The main forces had taken their positions, hidden in the night, waiting only for them to break the fire-stone crossbow formation on the opposite shore before launching a coordinated assault.

Firelight reflected off armor scales, dazzling and brilliant. The red tassels atop their helmets looked like clusters of ever-burning crimson flames in the night.

Li Mu wore the same equipment as his soldiers, standing majestically before the formation, his entire being emanating deadly intent. The bronze face guard protecting his head bore a ghastly visage that looked terrifying in the darkness.

His two fierce gazes swept over the warriors before him as he declared sternly: “I know you have all been exceptionally brave in the past—otherwise you could not possibly stand before me now! But I tell you, on the battlefield, individual martial prowess means nothing. Only formation, only following orders, only coordinated combat—these are the ways to defeat enemies and the only sure method of preserving life! Today I command you in my name as Governor to heed my orders and follow me in breaking their formation. Is this clear?”

“Clear!”

A thousand voices responded in unison. Immediately someone came forward carrying strong liquor.

Li Mu filled his helmet with the liquor, and together with the warriors before him, they all drained it in one gulp. Then he put his helmet back on, pulled down his face guard, shouted “Follow me,” and the suicide troops behind him moved in unison, advancing rapidly toward the riverbank under cover of darkness.

A hundred zhang away lay the opposite shallows visible during daylight—where Yuan Jie’s vanguard was positioned.

At this moment, everything on the far shore was swallowed by night, appearing completely peaceful.

It was winter’s low water season, and even the deepest parts only reached a man’s thighs.

Iron armor broke the water’s surface.

A thousand suicide soldiers waded through the icy river toward the opposite side, their heavy armor plates clashing against each other as they advanced, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of their unified steps breaking through water, shattering the night’s silence.

…

On the shallows of the opposite shore, in the darkness, a pair of eyes had long been staring intently at those Dayu warriors wading across from the distance.

Those eyes were like a fierce beast watching prey in the darkness, flickering with barely contained cruel excitement.

This was the Jie tribesman Sun Ligan, who had personally trained the fire-stone crossbow formation that struck terror into enemy armies for Yuan Jie.

After several small battles, the Yu people wanted to seize the riverbank under cover of night to gain the initiative.

The enemy’s defenses were extremely tight—he could find no weakness, unable to determine the exact numbers of this vanguard suicide force.

But this didn’t matter.

Under the dense firepower he had arranged, regardless of how many enemy troops were approaching, only one fate awaited them: death.

In his mind, he precisely calculated the distance of those still-invisible Yu soldiers.

Five hundred paces, four hundred paces, three hundred paces…

The three thousand stone-throwers and crossbow archers beside him, standing ready in formation, were gradually growing restless.

Yet he remained motionless, steady as a rock, until his mental calculation told him the Yu forces had entered the optimal attack range for fire-stones and crossbows. Only then did he suddenly roar: “Fire!”

The command was passed down.

A thousand catapults, almost simultaneously, launched sky-filling giant stones wrapped in roaring flames, like meteors from heaven, shooting toward the opposite riverbank.

Crossbow archers fired continuous volleys. Ten thousand arrows wove a dense net, devouring all enemies beneath it.

In the blink of an eye, the peaceful night over the Fu River was shattered.

Fire-stones carrying scorching hot winds thundered toward the water surface, splashing towering white waves. Cold-gleaming black arrows fell like a sudden downpour, whistling as they plunged into the water.

Those struck immediately collapsed into the river.

“Form ranks!”

Li Mu halted his advance and roared sternly.

His voice was passed down, and everyone quickly closed formation into a triangular array, raising heavy shields overhead. In an instant, it was as if a protective canopy had been erected above them.

Under this canopy’s protection, flesh and blood continued forward against fire-stones and sharp arrows.

The enemy’s assault grew increasingly frenzied. The blazing light of fire-stones nearly reddened half the sky, and the air filled with the strange smell of acrid fire oil mixed with burning flesh.

The water surface gradually steamed with hazy white vapor, corpses floating atop it.

One soldier still struggled on the surface when suddenly another massive stone thundered down, striking his unprotected body directly. Man and stone quickly sank beneath the water.

When he surfaced again, he was motionless, half his body charred black.

When one fell, the gap was quickly filled by those behind.

Ruthless, yet steadfast.

Each step forward became extraordinarily difficult.

But they continued advancing, never stopping.

By the light of fire-stones illuminating the sky in red, Sun Ligan’s vision gradually filled with Yu soldiers’ silhouettes.

Dense masses, a dark swarm—he couldn’t tell how many there were, only seeing them advancing slowly toward the position despite devouring fire and arrows.

Under such concentrated attack, the enemy could still maintain tight formation without the slightest disorder.

Such a scene was unprecedented for the stone-throwers and crossbow archers.

Watching these ghost-like enemies emerging, their eyes couldn’t help but show surprise and doubt.

Sun Ligan’s eyes turned blood-red as he ordered an even more ferocious attack.

…

Li Mu led his soldiers behind him, advancing step by step under the suppression of sky-filling fire-stones and crossbow bolts, finally pushing the distance between the two sides to within a hundred paces.

At this distance, he could have ordered his soldiers to change formation and counter with dense continuous heavy arrows to suppress the enemy’s nearly frenzied assault.

But this wasn’t the result he wanted.

What he wanted was to destroy the enemy position in one stroke, carving out a bloody path of advance for the elite Guangling troops arrayed and waiting behind him.

At any cost.

“Jingchen, their firepower is too great. If this continues, even if we reach their lines, we’ll have few men left! What do we do?”

Sun Fangzhi beside him had half his beard singed by fire and an arrow in his shoulder, which he yanked out without concern, only turning his head to ask anxiously.

Perhaps from extreme tension, he used his old familiar address for Li Mu from their Jingkou days.

Li Mu’s gaze shot through the eye holes of his fierce face guard, fixed intently on the shallows ahead.

In his cold eyes, dark red fire shadows danced, yet no trace of emotion could be seen.

At this moment, he had no human feelings or desires, no emotion whatsoever. He was a trader willing to pay any price to achieve his goal.

He stopped, suddenly turned back, and roared: “Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are heaven’s will! Take the position ahead today and everyone receives great rewards! Should you die here, Lord Gao will generously provide for your families! Heed my command—advance at full speed, close to within fifty paces, then counterattack with all strength!”

With his command, he cast aside his heavy shield, and facing a crossbow bolt whistling toward him, suddenly drew his blade and swept his arm horizontally.

The arrow was deflected, broken in half, ricocheted away, and fell into the water.

His agile and nimble figure rushed forward.

The soldiers behind him were stunned.

“Brothers, follow the Governor—charge!”

Sun Fangzhi quickly reacted, roared, and threw down his shield as well.

Not only that, he even removed his iron armor, revealing his muscled torso covered in scars, drew his blade and followed Li Mu, dodging fire-stones and arrows while rapidly advancing.

The soldiers quickly recovered from their shock.

Having fought through dense fire-stones and crossbow bolts to reach this point with such difficulty, all remaining men had long since had blood in their eyes and forgotten life and death.

The only thought left in their minds was to follow the Governor and take the position ahead. Seeing this, they all cast aside their heavy shields, and amid splashing water, roared as one, drew their blades, and followed closely, charging forward.

…

The distance between the two sides was merely a hundred paces.

This sudden change was clearly visible to Sun Ligan and his three thousand soldiers.

They couldn’t hear what the Yu people were saying, only seeing the dark mass of men suddenly all discard their heavy shields and rush toward them desperately, as if not caring for their lives.

The leaping black figures looked like ghosts in the night, extremely eerie.

In just the blink of an eye, the distance closed to seventy paces.

The soldiers were stunned, unable to react for a moment, and actually stopped their attack.

“Throw stones! Shoot arrows!”

Sun Ligan roared hoarsely, his voice nearly breaking.

The soldiers again followed orders.

Fire-stones and dense arrow volleys came again.

The ground beneath was now shallows. Li Mu led his soldiers behind him, crawling and maneuvering forward.

Some died, but more continued advancing, step by step closing the distance until they were within fifty paces.

The fire-stones lost their attacking power. After being launched, they fell behind them, splashing sparks that ignited nearby forests.

In the towering firelight, both sides could now see each other’s faces.

Yuan’s soldiers looked at those countless ghost faces opposite them, unable to believe that their never-defeated fire-stone arrow formation had been broken through like this.

These Yu people—were they human or ghost?

Amid Sun Ligan’s hoarse screaming, they still shot their arrows.

But their entire beings were dominated by inner fear, their hands gradually becoming unsteady.

The originally five-stone strong crossbows now shot arrows with force insufficient to penetrate the iron armor of the Yu soldiers opposite!

They watched helplessly as the Yu soldiers, bristling with arrows and bleeding, did not fall but continued approaching step by step.

Unable to control their strength, it grew even weaker.

Chaos began at the front of the position.

Sun Ligan’s eyes nearly split with rage. He drew his blade and beheaded a cowering soldier nearby, roaring: “Anyone who dares retreat dies without mercy!”

Under his furious roar, the soldiers barely steadied their nerves, regrouped, and shot with full force.

Arrow rain fell continuously, hissing as it rushed forward.

As Li Mu sprinted, he suddenly felt numbness in his ribs but didn’t look down. With one hand he gripped the sharp arrow that had pierced his armor, yanked it out, then drew his iron bow and nocked that arrow still dripping with blood and flesh. He aimed at the Jie tribesman ahead who was vigorously wielding his blade and commanding soldiers to attack, and shot the first arrow of the night.

The arrow broke through the air with a piercing whistle.

Sun Ligan couldn’t see clearly—he only felt darkness before his eyes, as if something was rushing straight at him.

Instinctively he widened his eyes and finally saw it.

It was an iron arrow bearing his familiar markings, spinning at high speed through the air. The triangular arrowhead, like piercing through a hollow skin bag, penetrated right between his eyebrows and emerged from the back of his skull.

The tremendous force, carrying spurting blood, drove this iron arrow soaked in red and white brain matter onward, embedding it deep in the throat of a soldier behind him, pinning the two together before finally stopping.

Sun Ligan’s eyes bulged as his body fell straight backward.

The soldiers near him were again stunned.

“Continue shooting—disobey and die—”

Sun Ligan’s deputy came to his senses and roared furiously. His roar unfinished, accompanied by a dull “thud,” he too toppled headfirst to the ground.

His throat was pierced by another sharp arrow, blood gurgling from the corner of his mouth.

The third deputy dared not move, frozen there with the soldiers, turning to look ahead.

In the roaring firelight, in the distance, an armored figure stood holding a bow.

The firelight illuminated the blood-stained bronze fierce face guard he wore. No one could see his eyes behind the mask.

But everyone’s heart turned cold.

He was looking at them.

Sharp killing intent instantly penetrated to the bone.

“Shoot!”

A cold, merciless command emerged from behind that man’s ghostly face guard.

The soldiers arrayed behind him quickly raised their crossbows.

In an instant, countless continuous iron arrows, accompanied by shrill whistling, flew forward like a torrential downpour.

The will of Yuan Jie’s soldiers was completely shattered in that moment by this man and his arrow formation behind him.

No one cared about the position anymore.

Three thousand soldiers, as if seeing demons, fled in panic amid the screams of those struck by arrows. They pushed and trampled each other in complete chaos.

Many soldiers died not from random arrows but under the trampling of their own men.

At this time, dawn was just breaking in the east, with faint morning light.

East of the Fu River, Fan Dun, who had been waiting half the night, gave a command and led three thousand elite Guangling troops and the hot-blooded Ba people behind him. Amid earth-shaking battle cries, they quickly crossed the riverbank, stepping over the piled corpses beneath their feet, following Li Mu’s figure mounted with horizontal spear ahead, and charged into Yuan’s army camp.

When Gao Yin finally broke free from constraints, temporarily changed his strategy, and led troops rushing toward Liang Province intending to implement a strategy of “besieging Wei to save Zhao,” he received news.

East of Ba Prefecture, west of Yuan City, Li Mu had fought Yuan Jie’s main force at the Fu River and won. Then in one sustained effort, he captured Ba Prefecture. Yuan Jie, while fleeing back to Liang Province, was trapped front and rear with no escape route and took his own life.

With one battle by the general, the entire world was shocked. From then on, Li Mu’s reputation as a god of war spread without effort.