Bai Qingjue, galloping forward with his troops on horseback, looked up and saw crossbow bolts flying overhead toward the siege ladder carts. He saw that the Bai Family Army brothers fighting desperately at the gates of Yecheng Pass were about to be overwhelmed, the city gates were slowly closing, and Xiliang soldiers were charging directly at their Great Zhou forces…
He spurred his horse hard, taking the lead, and shouted: “Quickly charge into the city! Kill!”
“Kill!” Bai Jinzhao galloped after him, following closely behind his third brother, vowing to become like his eldest sister had once been – a vanguard charging first into the city.
Crossbow bolts whistled through the air. Hearing the sound, Bai Qingyan didn’t even have time to look up. Acting on instinct, she grabbed the reins of Bai Jinse beside her and urgently pulled back on her horse…
Shen Qingzhu, protecting Bai Qingyan’s side, suddenly drew his sword, yanked on his reins, and turned sideways to use himself and his steed to shield Bai Qingyan’s direction, striking down with his sword the arrow flying toward her.
Bai Qingyan’s steed Taiping and Bai Jinse’s warhorse reared up on their hind legs. Bai Jinse almost instinctively gripped the saddle tightly with both hands, pressing her body as close to the horse’s back as possible.
Bai Jinxiu, who had just struck down a Xiliang cavalryman, called out: “Xiao Qi!”
The crossbow bolt inserted itself into the ground at the front hooves of Bai Jinse’s steed in the blink of an eye. Immediately after… a crossbow bolt as large as a silver spear grazed Bai Jinse’s leg and embedded deeply in the ground beneath her feet. Bai Jinse gripped the saddle tightly, clenching her teeth to keep from being thrown off, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest, her back drenched in cold sweat.
If her eldest sister hadn’t grabbed her at this moment, she would probably have been pierced through by two crossbow bolts.
Bai Qingyu had already fought his way forward, protecting his eldest sister and seventh sister. The silver spear in his hand moved like a swimming dragon – every thrust took a life.
“Xiao Qi!”
As the horse’s hooves touched the ground, Bai Jinse heard her eldest sister calling her. She turned, and her arm was grabbed by her eldest sister, who pulled her entire body onto her own horse’s back.
Bai Jinzhi was still too young. Even having her ride alongside them, Bai Qingyan wasn’t at ease.
Sitting behind Bai Qingyan on the horse, Bai Jinse feared constraining her belly and gripped her armor tightly…
Taiping’s galloping speed wasn’t fast, always staying behind the heavy shield troops and siege ladders, moving very nimbly, dodging left and right to avoid crossbow bolts. Bai Jinse turned to look behind them, hearing the piercing screams of their soldiers being struck by crossbow bolts. When she turned back… her eldest sister’s spear had pierced through the Xiliang general leading the charge at the front.
An arrow grazed past Bai Qingyan’s face. She immediately pressed Bai Jinse heavily to the right side behind her, protecting her from the arrow.
Withdrawing her spear… as the steed galloped, hot, fresh blood splattered across half of Bai Jinse’s face. Her nostrils were filled with the intense smell of blood, and she could taste the salty tang of enemy blood in her mouth. The urge to vomit surged up her throat again, but she forced herself to suppress it, reminding herself… this was the battlefield!
This kind of killing was for the sake of the future… so there would be no more killing!
Massive crossbow bolts continued whistling through the air in rapid succession. Bai Qingyan’s gaze was as deep and fierce as a hawk’s, showing no fear whatsoever. Her galloping speed didn’t slow at all…
“Xiao Qi!” Bai Qingyan took the Sun-Shooting Bow from behind her with one hand and threw her silver spear to Bai Jinse.
Bai Jinse caught the silver spear and saw her eldest sister draw an arrow, aim at the Xiliang military banner on the city tower amidst the rain of arrows, and release… then draw another arrow, nock and release… with extreme speed!
Shen Qingzhu, fearing something might happen to Bai Qingyan, followed closely but paid no attention to himself.
A Xiliang cavalryman who had charged to the front brought his bloodied curved saber down directly toward Shen Qingzhu. Shen Qingzhu blocked with his long sword in one hand. Wind whistled past his temples as an arrow pierced through both ears of the Xiliang cavalryman, who fell from his horse.
Shen Qingzhu turned to look at Bai Qingyan, only to see her steadily aiming at the city tower. In the blink of an eye, one quiver on her horse’s back was already empty. His young lady continuously drew arrows and nocked her bow, escorting the Bai Family Army forward in their charge.
The military banners fluttering on Yecheng Pass’s tower fell one after another from the city walls – some dropped directly below the walls, others struck the Xiliang crossbow operators.
“General! Our Xiliang military banners have fallen!” a general turned and called out.
“Shoot! Shoot these bastards to death! Don’t spare any arrows!” Ye Shouguan gripped tightly the sword at his waist, strode toward the direction of the Xiliang military banner, picked up his banner, casually took a spear leaning against the wall, threaded the banner onto it, gripped it tightly in his hand, planted it on the city wall, and loudly encouraged his soldiers: “Even if the military banners fall, our morale absolutely cannot fall! Behind us are our homes! We absolutely cannot let even one Zhou person get through!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers’ responding voices shook the nine heavens. The blood within their originally frozen bodies surged with heat as they desperately shot arrows madly toward the Great Zhou army, trying to stop their advance toward the city gates.
A general who had originally been fighting the enemy at the other end of the city wall and was most loyal to the Ye family, upon hearing that Ye Shouguan had ordered the soldiers on the high peaks on both sides of Yecheng Pass to circle to the rear of the Great Zhou army, wiped the blood from his face and hurried over…
“General! Is it inadvisable to rashly have the soldiers on both high peaks come out in full force?” the general asked uneasily.
“Then how else can we rescue His Majesty?” Ye Shouguan looked straight ahead and asked in a deep voice, “Should we let Great Zhou keep His Majesty hanging on that siege ladder to threaten our Xiliang soldiers?”
Ye Shouguan’s original calculation had been to defend the high ground on both sides of Yecheng Pass no matter what. As long as they held the high ground… even if Great Zhou took Yecheng Pass at this moment, they wouldn’t dare enter the city, otherwise they could be surrounded by Xiliang soldiers occupying the high ground on both sides at any time.
Therefore, Ye Shouguan had originally prepared to abandon Yecheng Pass and move his army to the peaks on both sides, defending the high ground on both sides to the death at any cost, using this as a final means to preserve Yecheng Pass.
But even with a retreat route, Ye Shouguan had to fight this battle as if there were no retreat route. After all… if they were beaten back to the mountains, Xiliang’s morale would suffer greatly!
But unfortunately, Xiliang’s emperor Li Tianfu was in the hands of the Great Zhou army!
Ye Shouguan calculated carefully. The arrogant Bai Qingyan, pregnant as she was, had personally led all the main forces of the Bai Family Army, and even the youngest of the remaining Bai family descendants were on the battlefield – all for revenge!
Thus, the Bai family descendants should be leading all the main Bai Family Army forces here!
Ye Shouguan gritted his teeth and said: “The sentries on both mountain peaks haven’t discovered any signs of armies climbing up to attack the city, and Bai Qingyan and those Bai family descendants are all here. They want to avenge the Bai Family Army and Bai family generals who once died at Yun Poxing’s hands, so they want to take Yecheng Pass, which has never been breached, in one decisive effort, thereby advancing directly on Yunjing and destroying Xiliang! Bai Qingyan must have placed all her main forces here!”