The warriors of Changfeng Camp mobilized through the night, engaging in a fierce battle with the Western Rong army’s elite vanguard forces, barely managing to defend Lu City.
Li Shuang didn’t personally enter the battlefield but spent the entire night busy in the military camp – deploying troops, assessing the situation, discussing countermeasures with other generals, and dispatching riders to urgently report the military situation to the capital.
From the moment she learned of the military developments, Li Shuang had been overwhelmingly busy.
Within the camp, physicians tended to the endless stream of wounded soldiers, personal guards took turns protecting Li Shuang, even the horses were more restless than usual, and the matter of the mysterious black-armored man who had acted like a libertine and Jin’an suddenly became insignificant. In times of chaos, no one paid attention to what a child was doing, no matter how special he usually was.
By dawn, after a night of fighting, the frontline troops had temporarily repelled the Western Rong vanguard forces, who retreated to ten li outside Lu City. Li Shuang rode into Lu City, planning to discuss with the city governor about moving Changfeng Camp inside the city walls to facilitate future defense.
Lu City’s governor Li Zhangyi, who had consumed a belly full of fat, was already panting and sweating profusely like a steamed bun when he hurriedly came from his quarters to the hall to meet Li Shuang.
Li Shuang didn’t waste time on pleasantries, speaking directly: “Governor Li, you must be aware of last night’s chaos outside the city. With Western Rong forces pressing our borders, the military situation is urgent. To facilitate our joint defense against foreign enemies, I request that you welcome my Changfeng Camp soldiers into the city this afternoon at the third quarter of the You hour.”
Hearing this, Li Zhangyi’s mung bean-sized eyes shifted.
He was a city governor appointed to Lu City by the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister had long been opposed to the Grand General’s faction in court. Li Shuang had been sent to the frontier to oversee Changfeng Camp, yet the camp was not stationed within Lu City – this was one of the power struggles between the Grand General and Prime Minister outside the court.
Although they now faced an enemy threat, the rivalry between the Grand General and Prime Minister was at a critical point. If Changfeng Camp entered Lu City, it would be disadvantageous both to his position as governor and to the Prime Minister’s authority.
He certainly wouldn’t agree.
So he narrowed his eyes, his fleshy face forcing a smile as he placated Li Shuang: “General, the Western Rong army is strong and fierce in battle. This year our dynasty’s southern regions have had abundant harvests, and Lu City is well-stocked with grain. We’ll make it through winter, so why not give them some provisions to send them away?”
Li Shuang’s expression turned cold, her eyes like daggers piercing the governor: “You want to feed our Great Jin’s provisions to these wolves?”
The governor shuddered upon meeting Li Shuang’s gaze, taking a small step back. Wiping sweat from his brow, he thought to himself that the Jade-faced Rakshasa’s reputation at court was well-deserved – her murderous aura was truly intimidating.
He steadied himself, laughing nervously: “This… this is just a temporary measure. When I looked from the city wall yesterday, if it were only the vanguard forces it would be fine, but now the main Western Rong army has arrived with numerous troops. I’m afraid our city defenders plus Changfeng Camp’s soldiers don’t even match half their numbers. We might as well first appease them with some…”
“You want to appease them?” Li Shuang laughed coldly, “Why don’t you ask the Western Rong army if they want your appeasement!”
Li Zhangyi still smiled tepidly: “What does the General mean? Surely you don’t intend to send my Lu City soldiers and your Changfeng Camp troops to their deaths?”
“Whether it’s death or not isn’t for a civil official like you to decide.” Li Shuang cut him off harshly, “This winter’s grain shortage in the northern frontier is just beginning. The struggle between frontier tribes will only intensify. Whoever first controls large quantities of provisions will become this winter’s hegemon of the northern frontier. The Western Rong has brought their main army to attack Lu City because they know of our abundant grain stores – they plan to plunder them well, store up provisions, and then subjugate other tribes this harsh winter.”
Li Shuang’s finger tapped the table. “Tell me, how much grain can you spare to support their entire Western Rong army through winter’s battles?”
Li Zhangyi remained silent.
“This first battle must be fought, and I must win it decisively, beating them severely, to secure Lu City’s future peace.” Li Shuang stood up, her armor clanking, “At the third quarter of the You hour, open the city gates to welcome my Changfeng Camp. In peacetime, I don’t interfere, but in wartime, I command this Lu City.”
She rose to leave, her high-bound hair sweeping past Li Zhangyi’s greasy face.
After Li Shuang’s footsteps faded, Li Zhangyi glared viciously at her retreating figure, clenching his fist: “Hmph, little girl.”
Winter days in the northern frontier darkened early. By the You hour, the sky was mostly black. Li Shuang rode beside her troops, watching as all of Changfeng Camp’s soldiers packed their essential items into bundles on their backs, preparing to march toward Lu City just as darkness fell.
All the personal guards followed behind Li Shuang. Only now, watching the troops march ahead, did she have a moment’s respite. Looking back, she suddenly started, asking Qin Lan who stood guard beside her: “Where’s Jin’an?”
Qin Lan also started, scanning around: “Seems… haven’t seen him for some time.” He inquired among the guards, and one said they had caught a glimpse of him before dark.
Receiving this answer, Li Shuang frowned. Luo Teng cursed from beside her: “Damn that troublesome little brat, I’ll go back and look.” He turned his horse, about to ride back, when he suddenly paused, frowning as he looked toward where the Western Rong was camped: “General, there’s movement.”
Li Shuang immediately tensed, listening intently. She could feel a rumbling transmitted through the ground, and from years of warfare, she knew what it meant – the Western Rong’s main force was moving.
“Quicken pace!” Li Shuang shouted, “Enter Lu City! Man, the walls! Resist the Western Rong!”
Changfeng Camp’s soldiers immediately sprang into action. Li Shuang had no more attention to spare for Jin’an, riding straight for Lu City, but upon reaching the city gates, she found them tightly shut, with Changfeng Camp soldiers calling up to the guards on the wall.
Li Shuang pulled her reins at the foot of the wall, glaring at the guards above, shouting harshly: “Northern Defense General Li Shuang commands you to open the gates immediately!”
The gate guards glanced aside, until finally one couldn’t hold back and called down: “General, the governor ordered us to defend the gates to the death, not to open them today.”
Li Shuang flew into a rage: “Absurd! With the enemy at our gates, does Li Zhangyi issue this poisonous order to betray the country? By following his foolish command, do you all wish to be beheaded and your corpses discarded after this battle?”
At these words, the gate guards all started in shock. As they looked at each other in confusion, a figure climbed onto the wall, his round body squeezing past a guard: “General Li, your words are too harsh – this humble official cannot bear such accusations.” He pointed to the distance, “Look behind you – the Western Rong army approaches step by step. If I open the gates now and accidentally let enemy forces in, harming Lu City’s citizens, wouldn’t that be neglecting my duty?”
The distant thunder of hooves drew closer. Though Li Zhangyi’s actions were despicable, he had already wasted the best time for entry. Entering now truly risked the Western Rong army arriving before Changfeng Camp’s soldiers were fully inside. If the city fell then, it would be even worse.
Li Shuang gritted her teeth, turning her horse again to face the Western Rong army surging across the vast plain like a tsunami, just about to commit to a fight to the death, when suddenly a panicked shriek came from Li Zhangyi on the wall: “Ah! How dare you! Who are you!”
Li Shuang looked up.
On the high city wall, someone had somehow appeared beside Li Zhangyi, gripping his neck with one hand while the other held a cold steel blade – snatched from a nearby guard’s waist – against his throat. He pressed hard enough to draw blood from Li Zhangyi’s neck.
Black mask, crimson eyes – it was…
That libertine!
Unlike their previous encounters, this time his chest wasn’t bare…
“Open the gates.” He spoke coldly beside Li Zhangyi’s ear. Though his voice wasn’t loud, it carried like a battle horn that could reach thousands of troops, striking terror in hearts.
This man…
Li Zhangyi remained silent, but the man showed no mercy, pressing the blade harder into his flesh. Perhaps finally unable to bear the pain, fear drove Li Zhangyi to screech: “Open! Open! I tell you to open the gates! Did you hear me!”
“Do not open!” Li Shuang commanded from below the wall.
Her shout startled even the man holding Li Zhangyi hostage. Li Shuang didn’t explain her reasons, only coldly watching the approaching enemy forces of the Western Rong rolling forward in clouds of dust, drawing the sword at her waist.
“Changfeng Camp soldiers, drop your supplies at the city gate. We’ll return to enter Lu City after slaying our enemies.”
At her order, all soldiers complied, immediately forming ranks before Lu City’s gates. Li Shuang looked back: “Li Zhangyi, today you had reason to deny us entry to Lu City, but if you dare not defend it to the death, not just I but the Emperor himself will have your head.”
At these words, Li Zhangyi trembled, no longer caring whether the man still held a blade to his throat as he hurriedly ordered: “Archers! Archers! Quickly provide cover fire for our Changfeng Camp soldiers!”
Li Shuang raised her sword. The Western Rong army’s hoofbeats approached. She lifted her blade and shouted: “Kill!”
As Changfeng Camp’s soldiers met the enemy head-on, what Li Shuang didn’t see was that when she gave that command, the man on the wall moved like a ghost, also descending into the wild battlefield.
As the armies clashed, arrows rained down from the city walls like a storm. Fires blazed atop the walls, and the scent of iron and blood soon filled the dark northern wilderness.
Though Changfeng Camp’s soldiers were battle-hardened, they were severely outnumbered, and before long the Western Rong army’s assault had scattered them. Li Shuang was surrounded deep in enemy ranks, cutting down foes with each stroke, blood spattering her face, yet the enemies seemed endless as more and more pressed forward.
The Western Rong soldiers, hardened by years of nomadic life, were exceptionally fierce. All of Li Shuang’s guards, including Qin Lan and Luo Teng, had been separated from her in the chaos. She faced the encirclement alone, and despite her superior martial arts, her arms had grown weak from endless killing. Just as she parried a Western Rong soldier’s broadsword, a spear suddenly thrust at her from the side, driving viciously toward her waist. Li Shuang had nowhere to dodge.
But at that moment! A broadsword swept down from beside her, forcefully severing the iron spear, and the spear-wielding soldier was thrown back as if struck by an invisible force.
Li Shuang felt a firm grip on her shoulder as she was unreasonably pulled into someone’s embrace.