The wind stopped, and even the low humming of summer insects ceased abruptly. Heaven and earth seemed to fall silent the moment this woman appeared in the moonlight.

The woman’s cloak billowed behind her, her long hair bound atop her head. Her silver armor gleamed with cold light, and under the moonlight, her stern countenance was fair and lustrous, her smooth forehead shining with pearl-like radiance. Her entire being emanated a fierce and restrained murderous aura, her gaze sharp and steady.

“Huying Army, listen to my command!” Bai Qingyan slung the Sun-shooting Bow on her back and pulled up the silver spear planted at her feet. The cold, gleaming spearhead pointed straight at the sky as her voice rang out like striking metal: “Those who pass this road shall be executed!”

Bai Qingyan’s confident, powerful, and steady tone made enemies tremble with fear while greatly boosting the morale of the Bai Family Army’s Huying soldiers.

Following Bai Qingyan’s command, the Huying Army lying in ambush on both sides emerged in unison, arrows raining from both flanks toward the Dongyi forces who had just fought their way out of the Bai Family Army’s encirclement.

The Huying Battalion’s elite soldiers, besides Bai Qingyan, were all veterans who had survived countless battles. After Bai Qingyan’s order, the continuous crossbow fire had already worn down most of the routed soldiers. Then they drew their sabers and charged forward at extreme speed. Before these Dongyi forces fleeing in disarray could react, they had already raised their butchering blades, showing no mercy whatsoever. Wherever they went… There were only screams and blood, leaving no room for the Dongyi forces to fight back.

Bai Qingyan’s white horse beneath her reared and neighed as she charged into the Dongyi forces. Her silver spear thrust, stabbed, and swept back to kill. The spraying blood mist dyed her warhorse’s white coat with a layer of wet red, dripping blood steadily.

Shen Liangyu had been protecting Bai Qingyan’s side throughout, but after fighting for a while, he discovered that their Young Bai Commander didn’t need his protection at all. Even though she had ascended to the imperial throne, the Young Bai Commander’s martial skills hadn’t deteriorated in the slightest.

By the time Bai Qingyan and Shen Liangyu had finished killing all these fleeing Dongyi remnants, Cheng Yuanzhi had finally dealt with the Dongyi soldiers at the ambush site and caught up.

Seeing Bai Qingyan’s silver armor stained with blood and the ground covered with Dongyi corpses, Cheng Yuanzhi quickly dismounted and bowed to Bai Qingyan with cupped hands, sighing: “Despite rushing here as fast as possible, I still couldn’t make it in time!”

“Reorganize. Take the wounded back. Dawn is almost here. Now that the Huying Army is coordinating from within the city, smoke signals will be the sign to open the city gates. We must capture Liu Guan City before daybreak!” Bai Qingyan glanced at the Bai Family Army soldiers who were carrying the wounded.

“Yes!” Cheng Yuanzhi responded, working with Shen Liangyu to arrange for the wounded to be sent back first.

“These Dongyi soldiers really can’t take a beating. Before coming, I was prepared for a death battle, but who would have thought… this killing was too easy!” Cheng Yuanzhi seemed unsatisfied with the fight. “With this level of skill, it wasn’t worth troubling our Young Bai Commander to personally lead the campaign. Just the two of us coming would have been giving Dongyi too much honor. We really should have let those youngsters come practice instead!”

“Dongyi has always focused their efforts on naval forces, and… since Dongyi became a vassal state of Great Liang, if you calculate it, they haven’t fought a war in at least forty years. Meeting the battle-tested Bai Family Army, defeat was only natural!” Shen Liangyu stepped on a stone, chewing on a rice stalk in his mouth while directing them to hurry with the wounded.

Hearing Shen Liangyu’s explanation, Cheng Yuanzhi nodded in realization: “So that’s why the Young Bai Commander dared to say that after landing in Dongyi, we’d capture their capital in three days!”

Soon, the Bai Family Army regrouped and marched in formation rapidly toward Liu Guan City.

Bai Qingyan rode at the front. When the army was about to reach Liu Guan City, she shouted: “Release the smoke signal!”

The guards on Liu Guan City’s walls saw a red light suddenly shooting toward the sky in the night. Before they could react to what was happening, they were suddenly covered at the mouth, and their necks spurted blood. Even as they silently fell to the ground, they didn’t know what had occurred.

The Huying Battalion soldiers were breathing heavily. The city walls and the stairs of the wall towers were already covered with Dongyi corpses.

“Open the city gates! Welcome the Young Bai Commander and Bai Family Army brothers into the city!” The leading Huying Battalion elite soldier stood atop the city wall and shouted.

Soon, the city gate winch turned, ropes tightened, and the city gates showed signs of opening.

The Liu Guan City guards who were preparing to come out for the changing of the watch stretched lazily as they emerged from the barracks, forming a loose formation to climb the city tower. Several first felt the ground beneath their feet trembling, thinking it might be another earth dragon turning over, since Dongyi frequently experienced earthquakes and they were already accustomed to it.

But besides the slight vibration of stones beneath their feet, they also smelled the thick scent of blood in the air. The squad leader couldn’t see the city wall guards and ran forward two steps. Just as he reached the stairway entrance to climb the city tower, he saw blood winding down the stairs lit by braziers, and his comrades already fallen on the stairs.

The squad leader was so frightened he stepped back twice and shouted: “Enemy forces! Enemy forces! Sound the gongs and drums! Quickly go call for help!”

The Dongyi soldiers, about to patrol, immediately panicked. Those going to call for help called for help, some rushed up the city tower to beat drums, others charged into the barracks to get gongs.

But it was already too late…

The squad leader who had commanded his subordinates to call for help and sound gongs and drums stood inside the city gate, watching with his own eyes as the gates opened wide. Leading them was a woman covered in blood wearing silver armor on a white horse, holding a silver spear. The woman spurred her horse and led neatly arranged, solemnly arrayed soldiers straight in, as if entering a masterless city.

The Dongyi patrol squad leader, looking at the iron-armored soldiers behind Bai Qingyan stretching endlessly like a tide, felt his legs go weak and kept backing away.

The black sail, white python banners held high by the soldiers, fluttered proudly in the thick, bloody air.

Those Bai Family Army soldiers marched in perfect unison, their armor washed bright by enemy blood, each one like a rakshasa emerging from the Asura blood pool.

The squad leader retreated faster and faster, shouting: “Quickly report to the general—the Bai Family Army has attacked!”

Only the sound of arrows whistling through the air came from behind. The arrow pierced through the squad leader’s throat and embedded half an inch into the opposite wall, the bloodied fletching trembling continuously.

The gong had just begun to sound when Huying Battalion elite soldiers seemed to descend from heaven, finishing off the Dongyi city guard who was striking the gong with one stroke. They rapidly charged into the barracks at extreme speed. Blood splattered the window frames, and screams quickly died away.

The Huying Army squad leader, leading the hundred Huying soldiers who had entered the city, knelt on one knee before Bai Qingyan: “This subordinate requests orders to go to the commanding general’s residence and capture Dongyi’s commanding general!”

“Shen Liangyu, Cheng Yuanzhi!” Bai Qingyan called out.

“This subordinate is here!” Shen Liangyu pulled his reins and stepped forward.

“You take men to capture the commanding general. Cheng Yuanzhi… take men to capture all officials in the city. As for civilians, as long as they don’t resist, don’t harm them! Those who don’t surrender their weapons… kill them!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was cold and indifferent.