The snow had stopped, the wind had ceased. In the grassland that had just been blanketed with fresh snow, there was no starlight or moonlight.

Dark… gloomy… The newly fallen snow covering the ground appeared a dull gray, while the clouds in the sky hung like clusters of eggs, suspended as if they would fall at any moment and crush heaven and earth.

On such a night, nothing could be seen—no distinction between east and west, no telling north from south. In the wet, black, cold darkness, suddenly a distant mountaintop lit up. There was actually light there.

Red light… small red points of light. They were extremely far away, appearing in the darkness like luminous pearls, warm and crystalline, making one want to reach out and touch them. Suddenly, another small red light appeared behind the first one—another small red dot following closely behind.

Two small red dots occupied the mountaintop. They no longer looked like luminous pearls, but rather like the twin eyes of a fire dragon, imposing and majestic, as if a monster had arrived on the mountain.

Slowly, the two small red dots began to move. They descended from the mountaintop, and behind them, new small red dots continued to appear, one after another, ascending the mountain in ever-increasing numbers, densely packed. Gradually, slowly… from mountaintop to mountainside, from mountainside to mountain base, everywhere the eye could see was filled with bright red dots. It looked like…

A dragon! A great fire dragon! Its entire body was aflame as it wound down along the mountain slope, illuminating the four directions in red. It moved closer and closer, brighter and brighter, tightly coiling around the entire mountain. Suddenly, trembling sounds came from the grassland…

Boom… stomp! Boom… stomp! Boom boom… stomp!

The fire dragon had climbed onto the great grassland. Each of its steps brought thunder-like trembling, sounds like thunder, sudden and urgent, just when people wanted to cover their ears and scream, the earth suddenly stopped shaking and fell completely silent.

“Divine… Strategy Division!” A man holding a torch astride a war horse raised his voice in command: “Form single-line formation!”

The white snow was shaken sky-high. In an instant, tens of thousands of small red dots stepped in unison, creating the momentum of an ancient fire dragon.

Boom stomp! Boom stomp! Boom boom… stomp! The fire dragon began to turn. Using the dragon as its base, the dragon’s tail slowly rotated, scratching tracks dozens of li long in the snow, finally forming a long horizontal wall. Suddenly, the dragon’s head seemed to grow angry, letting out a mighty roar: “Commander Duan Fengjie… reporting!” A general looked up to the sky and shouted: “Divine Strategy Division Forward Guard forces! Have arrived at Bazhou!”

Dragon roars and shouts came in waves, and the middle section of the dragon body immediately responded: “Commander Yan Tongde… reporting! Divine Strategy Division Left Guard forces! Have arrived at Bazhou!” “Commander Feng Jingnan… reporting! Divine Strategy Division Right Guard forces! Have arrived at Bazhou!”

Divine Strategy Forward Guard, Divine Strategy Left Guard, Divine Strategy Right Guard… front, rear, left, right, center—all five guards of the Divine Strategy Division had arrived. Five small fire dragons slowly approached and connected their tails, actually combining into one great fire dragon. Its full name was…

“Supervisor General Geng Guozhen… reporting! Under the Vanguard Camp, the first rapid march forces, Divine Strategy Division! The entire army has arrived at Bazhou!”

Boom! Boom! Once “Divine Strategy Division Supervisor General” Geng Guozhen looked up to the sky and called out, the entire army immediately shook the ground with their footsteps again. Twenty thousand soldiers stomped in unison and stood at attention, causing the earth to tremble continuously.

It truly looked like a fire dragon. The soldiers held torches high in their hands, appearing like the red scales of a fire dragon. The two banners in front were even more like dragon antlers—the left side bore the blood-red military designation “Loyalist Army,” while the right side carried the division banner reading “Divine Strategy.”

The “Divine Strategy Division” had arrived. This army totaled twenty-eight thousand men. The commander-in-chief was the “Supervisor General,” abbreviated as “Supervisor.” Under his command were five “Pacification Thousand-Household Command Commissioners,” known as “Commanders,” each controlling one of the “front, rear, left, right, center” guards, commanding five thousand six hundred men each.

At midnight, with dark skies and slippery ground, the “Divine Strategy Division” arrived at Bazhou. Although they brought twenty-eight thousand soldiers, their numbers still seemed too few. The great grassland before them was so vast and distant, so desolate and silent… No matter how many people the “Divine Strategy Division” brought, they could never fill the grassland’s enormous belly—it was simply too vast…

The lonely Divine Strategy Division, alone in the boundless heaven and earth, seemed so insignificant… and so isolated it was frightening…

Boom… stomp!

Suddenly the earth thundered again, sound by sound, accompanied by distant battle cries: “Divine Righteousness Division!” The crack of a whip echoed as someone in the darkness raised their whip and shouted: “Form single-line formation!”

Reinforcements had arrived. The second military force, the “Divine Righteousness Division,” reached the grassland. This fire dragon also used the dragon formation as its base, its tail gradually rotating to form a continuous horizontal wall. Suddenly there was a loud clanging sound, like iron chains being fastened, connecting the “Divine Strategy Division” and “Divine Righteousness Division” into one, forming a divine dragon with a tail stretching forty li.

Boom stomp! Boom stomp! Boom boom… stomp! The marching sounds weren’t finished when reinforcements arrived from the west. Commands could be heard continuously in the distance: “Divine Martial Division…” “Divine Grace Division…” “Divine Protection Division…”

“Form single-line formation!”

One after another, military forces arrived on the great grassland. Banners in the distance marked their division designations: “Divine Martial,” “Divine Grace,” “Divine Protection,” along with the earlier “Divine Strategy,” “Divine Righteousness,” and the soon-to-arrive “Divine Virtue,” “Divine Might,” “Divine Blessing,” “Divine Shade”… The military forces here totaled twelve divisions with three hundred thirty-six thousand men. They would quickly unite as one, becoming a great fierce dragon rarely seen in the world… Its full name was…

Dust clouds rolled as a swift horse galloped forth. The rider wore yellow robes and gripped a precious sword, shouting: “By Imperial Command…”

Instantly, countless echoes spread across the grassland: “By Imperial Command… By Imperial Command… By Imperial Command…” These three words reached the mouths of twelve supervisor generals, then emerged from the lips of sixty commanders. The calls traveled from far to near, then from near to far again. Suddenly, thunder and lightning seemed to crash across the wilderness: “By Imperial Command! Vanguard Camp Commander-in-Chief Zhu Xin… reporting!”

Three hundred thirty-six thousand eight hundred soldiers summoned their inner strength and joined the yellow-robed man in a thunderous shout: “Under the Loyalist Army, all twelve Divine Pivot Divisions have arrived at Bazhou!”

Heaven and earth shook. Even the dark clouds were scattered by the roar. The wind parted to reveal the moon, and the moon goddess showed her face. In an instant, silver light reflected through a thousand layers of cloud sea, illuminating the scene before them. In the grassland, countless military formations could be seen. As far as the eye could see, each soldier held an iron shield—six feet high and two and a half feet wide, all connected by iron chains. From a distance, the iron shields reflected the moonlight, forming a steel shield wall stretching two hundred forty li.

How long is one hundred li? A swift horse would need half an hour to cover the distance at full gallop. If one were to walk on foot, it would take more than a full day. Now this two hundred forty li had become a steel city wall stretching across this endless snowy plain.

Behind the formation, someone was riding swiftly—it was Prince Qing Zhu Xin making his inspection. He rode along the human wall and looked out, seeing banner after banner flying: “Divine Martial,” “Divine Might,” “Divine Virtue,” “Divine Strategy”… The countless troops held their breath in silence, all waiting for his command. But Zhu Xin said little more, merely taking a signal cannon from his aide, lighting the fuse, and firing it into the sky.

Bang! With a loud sound, the cannon shot into the night sky. Blue fireworks exploded, their brilliant light rivaling the moon’s radiance. Before the blue light had faded, another firework streaked up from behind the formation lines, exploding with a thunderous sound that dyed the night sky golden yellow, also illuminating the scene behind the formation.

Ten li away came a sea of people. The second wave of troops had also arrived. Looking from west to east, the first banner read “Martial Might,” followed by “Martial Strategy,” “Martial Peace,” “Martial Pacification,” “Martial Righteousness”… Twelve banners, above which flew a long pennant bearing five characters: “Inner Regiment Camp Martial Prosperity.” Prince Qing saw the camp designation and immediately stroked his beard and nodded: “The Martial Prosperity Twelve Divisions have arrived.”

At midnight, the “Martial Prosperity Twelve Divisions” set out. This military force was also steel infantry—every man carried an iron shield and marched forward. They looked like a city wall slowly advancing, with tremendous momentum. They came right up behind the “Divine Pivot Twelve Divisions” formation. With two booming steps that echoed through the entire army, they immediately halted and began arranging a second iron wall behind the formation.

“Vanguard Camp Divine Pivot” and “Inner Regiment Camp Martial Prosperity”—these two camps totaled twenty-four divisions with six hundred sixty thousand men, their formations stretching one hundred forty li. The two camp officers arranged themselves front and rear, creating two steel shield walls. Anyone wanting to advance toward Beijing would have to break through their defensive lines.

The various officers and soldiers had just taken their positions when suddenly a fierce wind swept up countless snow blocks mixed with sand, stinging their faces like fire. The soldiers of both camps were shocked and amazed, all turning to look west. They saw a towering snow wave rising in the extreme distance, ten zhang high, rolling toward their formation. The soldiers across the field looked terrified and were about to turn to face the enemy when they heard the supervisor generals urgently calling out: “Don’t panic! They’re our own! They’re our own!”

Rumble rumble! Rumble rumble! A storm suddenly arose from the north, causing the earth to shake continuously. Through the snow and flying sand and stones, a flying dragon swept from north to south toward them. When it came near, another signal cannon shot into the sky, exploding with a bang. Green and yellow light filled the sky, also illuminating their banner designation.

The “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp” had arrived. These were all heavy armored cavalry: “Tiger Might,” “Dragon Soaring,” “Leopard Strategy,” “Phoenix Soaring”… The soldiers rode war horses, carrying spears and hanging swords. They had come behind the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” and immediately began arranging their battle formation.

Neigh neigh… neigh neigh… The horses were calling, the warriors shouting, iron hooves pounding so hard that everyone’s eardrums ached. Following the Inner Regiment Camp and Vanguard Camp, a full twelve more divisions had arrived here. They not only had three hundred thirty thousand warriors but also three hundred thirty thousand war horses. This was the military might of the north’s first iron cavalry, the “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp.”

“Raise… the King’s Banner…” In the midst of complete silence, shouts came from twenty li behind the formation. The distance between the two sides was too great for the shouts to be heard clearly, but as soon as the cry passed, the three words “Raise King’s Banner” suddenly came a li closer. “Raise King’s Banner… Raise King’s Banner… Raise King’s Banner…” The sound waves came overwhelmingly. In an instant, at the junction of heaven and earth, a banner slowly rose.

Among the countless troops, under the night sky, behind the commander’s camp, a sacred fire blazed, illuminating the legitimate imperial designation.

The “Sun and Moon Banner”! The banner for expelling the Tartars, raised high in the sky with the sun on the left and moon on the right, standing on earth and reaching toward heaven, clearly displaying eight characters of resolve: “Receiving the Mandate of Heaven, Long Life and Eternal Prosperity!”

“Loyalist Army Grand Commander… reporting!”

The Loyalist Army’s supreme commander had finally arrived. Accompanying the commander-in-chief’s appearance were strange sounds from underground.

Creak creak… creak creak… Wheels grinding against the ground, faintly the sound of heavy objects being dragged. The final military force arrived, and large numbers of cannons arrived with them: bird guns, long spears, Hongwu cannons, Divine Engine cannons, catapults… Once these weapons appeared, it indicated that the “Divine Engine Imperial Camp” had also reached the battlefield.

The “Heaven-Character Twelve Divisions” brought guns and cannons: “Responding to Heaven Division,” “Inherit Heaven Division,” “Serving Heaven Division,” “Diligent Heaven Division”… These divisions protected the Loyalist Army Grand Commander, Prince Hui Zhu Qi of “Linwei Deqing.” Though he was not the eldest of the four princes, his wisdom allowed him to take the lead.

“One million three hundred forty thousand troops of the Loyalist Army have arrived at Bazhou as scheduled!” As soon as these words were finished, an aide immediately fired fireworks into the sky. The explosion resounded and dyed the horizon bright red. “Inner Regiment Camp Martial Prosperity,” “Vanguard Camp Divine Pivot,” and “Elite Cavalry Camp Three Thousand” all responded in turn, with orange fireworks, golden fireworks, and green fireworks all ascending into the sky.

Prince Hui Zhu Qi spurred his horse and galloped through countless formations, raising his arm high and shouting: “All troops raise banners!”

Rumble rumble rumble! Fire filled the sky. In an instant, all banners across the field were raised. A forest of flags could be seen, with the Sun and Moon King’s Banner fluttering in the wind. The two characters “Loyalist Army” immediately rose into the sky. Below the flag, four camp banners were raised high, reading “Vanguard Camp,” “Inner Regiment Camp,” “Elite Cavalry Camp,” and “Divine Engine Camp.” Under each camp were twelve smaller flags bearing division designations like “Divine Strategy,” “Martial Might,” “Leopard Strategy”…

Military banners have what are called “flags, standards, pennants, and banners”—flags bear the court designation, standards bear military designations, pennants bear camp designations, and banners bear division designations. Seeing all troops assembled, Prince Hui Zhu Qi drew his imperial sword with a sharp ring and raised it to give the command: “By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees—the Loyalist Army shall immediately advance and march toward Bazhou City!”

The commander-in-chief ordered the advance. All two hundred forty supervisor generals took out their horns and blew them together toward the sky.

Woo woo… woo woo… The horns sounded high in the wind. The moon goddess grew frightened and quickly hid behind the dark clouds. Snow began falling at the horizon, and the earth fell into black silence. Suddenly footsteps thundered, and a million voices roared themselves hoarse in unison: “For the nation, for the people, for the greater self!”

Boom stomp! Boom stomp! Infantry leading the way, cavalry bringing up the rear. In the pitch-black snowy night, one million three hundred forty thousand soldiers began their advance. War drums rumbled and horns sounded high. The “Vanguard Camp” with three hundred thirty thousand soldiers led the way, the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” with three hundred thirty thousand troops followed behind, and the “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp” brought up the rear, protecting the “Divine Engine Imperial Camp” at the center.

Boom stomp, boom stomp—the sound of footsteps was endless. The warriors marched in unison, advancing mile after mile. Suddenly, shouts came from the distance: “Stop…”

“Stop!” “Stop… stop!” Clang clang… clang clang… Someone began sounding the gongs, sound waves coming one after another. In an instant, the Vanguard Camp was first to halt. Everyone looked down at their feet, where there was a line that looked like blood.

A strange red line, seemingly fresh scarlet blood, stretched endlessly for a hundred li. Though no one knew which master had created it, its purpose was not difficult to understand. This was a warning, reminding the approaching forces not to cross the boundary line, because they had already approached the final decisive battle point—the demon city of Bazhou.

“Seal… the roads!” The Grand Commander issued his order. Three Commander-in-Chief princes distributed commands, and the entire field became busy. Iron shields were arranged in orderly formation after formation. Behind them, the “Divine Engine Imperial Camp” set up cannons aimed at the distance. The “Elite Cavalry Camp” also prepared long spears and bows and arrows. The entire army was like a wall of flesh and blood, having sealed the road leading to the capital.

In complete silence, everyone held their breath and watched the distant city. Dark Bazhou looked misty in the night, somewhat resembling the legendary netherworld. Unconsciously, everyone drew in a breath, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

Prince Hui, as supreme commander of the Loyalist Army, naturally had to boost morale before this great battle. He spurred his horse and galloped along the human wall, giving instruction: “Loyalist Army! We loyal patriots who serve the nation, who shed our blood and sacrifice our lives—for what do we do all this?” The soldiers across the field remained silent, waiting for Prince Hui’s guidance. In the complete silence, Prince Hui spurred his horse forward and shouted: “For the nation!”

For the nation… for the nation… for the nation… The distant shouts traveled from far to near, then from near to far again. The sound of horse hooves arose, and voices reached “Prince De,” who shouted out the second answer: “For the people!” For the people… for the people… The shouts came wave after wave, passing from “Prince De” to “Prince Lin” to “Prince Qing,” through Supervisor General Geng Guozhen, past Commander Duan Fengjie, finally reaching the frontline troops and stopping at a common soldier.

His surname was Zhang, given name Yuangen. Above him were elderly parents, below him a wife and children. At this moment he raised his head as if to give his answer to Sister Moon, roaring loudly: “For the greater self!”

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” A thunderous roar erupted from the dark earth. A million soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs, two hundred forty commanders beat war drums, everyone crying out with all their might. Prince Hui turned his horse around and galloped back along the human wall, shouting: “The rise and fall of the nation is every man’s responsibility! How much more so for us Loyalist Army warriors! All you soldiers, we above protect the mountains and rivers of the state, below guard the common people. Even if great enemies face us, even if axes and steel threaten our bodies, you must not…”

“Harbor fear!” All two hundred forty commanders shouted in unison. In that instant, every common soldier, like Zhang Yuangen, kept telling himself in his heart: can’t be afraid… can’t be afraid… absolutely cannot be afraid. In their ears they heard continued instruction: “Remember always that no matter how severe your wounds, no matter how many enemies surround you, you must firmly remember that even if you die, even if you lose your own life, you must not…”

Must not… must not… must not… Prince Hui sat on his horse, having arrived right behind Zhang Yuangen. The nameless common soldier was about to turn around to see his commander’s face when he heard a thunderous roar: “Release your… shield!” The prince roared himself hoarse right above Zhang Yuangen’s head, nearly deafening him.

“Warriors! Even if you lose your life, you must also…” The four princes Lin, Hui, De, and Qing raised their arms toward heaven in unison to boost morale: “Not yield an inch of ground!” All the soldiers across the field were inspired and also shouted: “Not yield an inch of ground!”

Not yield an inch of ground! Not yield an inch of ground! Not yield an inch of ground! A million soldiers followed Zhang Yuangen’s example, everyone raising their heads and shouting, lifting iron shields and clamoring as they struck the ground, creating extremely impressive momentum. The commander’s main camp had also begun firing cannons at the distance as a show of force and provocation.

Boom bang! Boom bang! Since the “Wild Fox Ridge” decisive battle between the Great Jin Kingdom and the Mongol iron cavalry, the north had not seen such an earth-shaking expedition scene. Iron shields formed walls stretching one hundred forty li, with cannon carts, cavalry, and iron shields forming three interconnected defensive lines with a depth of twenty li. Even if Genghis Khan were to return to life or Emperor Fu Jian were reborn, seeing such military might would likely turn pale with terror.

There was nothing to fear now. Even if Bazhou truly was the gates of hell, they wouldn’t dare open those gates. Because what had arrived here was the “Loyalist Army”—the finest troops under heaven.

The current dynasty was divided into three armies. Besides the “Orthodox Army” permanently stationed in the northwest, the most powerful was this “Loyalist Army” before them. This army guarded the capital and passed down through generations. In peacetime, soldiers were settled among farmers, with one thousand households forming one garrison, and five garrisons forming one guard. When going to war, they first combined into divisions, then into regiment camps. When the nation faced crisis, they could mobilize forces totaling four camps, forty-eight divisions, and two hundred forty guard garrisons—a total of one million three hundred forty thousand elite soldiers. They had the best equipment, the best provisions, and the greatest numbers. Therefore, elders said that even if the “Orthodox Army” and “Garrison Army” joined forces in rebellion, the “Emperor’s Personal Army” could easily suppress them.

In this unprecedented grand formation, the most critical and pressed position belonged to the “Vanguard Camp Divine Pivot Twelve Divisions.” This camp bore the responsibility of close combat, commanded by “Prince Qing” Zhu Xin. Among the divisions under his command, the most heavily burdened was Supervisor General Geng Guozhen’s “Divine Strategy Division.” This division connected the left and right forces and could be said to be the pivot among the twelve divisions. The pivot within the pivot was the “Divine Strategy Forward Guard” commanded by Commander Duan Fengjie. And the most crucial figure in that “Divine Strategy Forward Guard” was an unknown common soldier whom no one recognized—Zhang Yuangen.

Zhang Yuangen was from Baoding in Zhili Province. To his left were one hundred thirty thousand men, and to his right another one hundred thirty thousand men. However, no one knew that tonight Zhang Yuangen had become a national keystone. He stood at the center front of the long wall, truly the pivot within the pivot, the key among keys. If he fell, the iron wall would split in half and could never be rejoined.

The scene suddenly quieted down. Prince Hui no longer gave instructions, Prince Qing of the Vanguard Camp also fell silent, and even Supervisor General Geng Guozhen and Commander Duan Fengjie remained quiet. At this moment, everyone was silent, not a word spoken. In this soundless earth, only two people could be heard: one was the Orthodox Emperor Zhu Yan, far away in the distance suffering from diarrhea, and the other was Vanguard Camp common soldier Zhang Yuangen, who picked up his water bottle and guzzled ice water.

Glug… glug… The pleasant sound of drinking spread like a contagious disease. Duan Fengjie picked up his water bottle, Geng Guozhen pulled out his wooden cork, Prince Qing also raised his head, and the soldiers beside him followed one after another. One told ten, ten told a hundred—all three commanders-in-chief, forty-eight supervisor generals, two hundred forty commanders, and even Grand Commander Prince Hui in the main camp all raised their water bottles at this moment and heartily guzzled ice water.

Ah… everyone was exhausted. In the evening, the court had received urgent reports that something major had happened in Bazhou City, so they ordered the “Loyalist Army” to rush to provide nearby assistance. At that time, Prince Hui had been drinking at the Yihua Brothel. Upon seeing the court’s urgent messenger arrive, without a second word, he had already rushed out of the brothel doors and summoned all three other princes.

When the emergency occurred, Geng Guozhen was in his concubine’s bed. Upon hearing Prince Qing kicking down his door, he had no time to put on his pants and pushed away three young wives in one motion, jumping off the bed. Duan Fengjie had been eating yuanxiao when he was dragged out by the messenger and pressed into the military camp. Later events weren’t worth describing. In any case, Zhang Yuangen had managed to sneak back home from camp and was still helping his child make lanterns when his superior caught him red-handed. Fearing military law prosecution, amid his child’s crying, he rushed out the door and hurried back to the Capital Garrison.

After traveling day and night, they had finally arrived at the outskirts of Bazhou City in time and began forming arrays to besiege the city. But Bazhou was close to the capital and had always had few foreign enemies. What major incident could have occurred? Was it military exercises? Was it war? But why bring so many steel shields to besiege the city? The court gave no advance explanation and no subsequent clarification, as if they had forgotten that the soldiers were still celebrating New Year. Everyone felt troubled but no one asked many questions. After all, imperial commands were difficult to disobey. Soon they would face whatever came—soldiers to meet soldiers, water to meet earth—that was all they could do.

The moon was full in the sky, the earth like a silver sea. Men were silent, horses made no sound. In the wilderness, Sister Moon showed her face again. The moonlight all around was bright and beautiful, so peaceful. Even the officers reined in their horses and no longer rode back and forth shouting. For a moment, only gentle breezes blew, accompanied by the tender moonlight of Lantern Festival night, tenderly embracing distant Bazhou.

Quiet, peaceful Bazhou City showed no abnormalities except for that red line on the ground. Everyone felt reassured. The sun and moon dynasty at this moment truly represented peace under heaven. A million soldiers all lowered their heads and secretly dozed.

The great army closed their eyes to rest, everyone was resting. Snowflakes fell, dark clouds secretly covered over, moonlight gradually dimmed, and the red line on the ground was slowly covered by falling snow. Inch by inch, bit by bit, slowly, gradually, the red line completely disappeared… Then from the distant city came a sound…

Boom…

While they were snoring in sleep, suddenly the earth shook, causing the countless troops to sway gently. The soldiers also opened their eyes. Zhang Yuangen made a surprised sound. He and a million soldiers all looked down at the ground, everyone’s eyes filled with doubt, but no one knew what was happening.

Was it an earthquake? But this tremor came quickly and left quickly, completely unlike an earthquake’s long duration. People felt strange and were about to inquire among themselves when they suddenly heard shouts from behind: “Divine Strategy Division, listen to orders!” Supervisor General Geng Guozhen gave another command. Presumably, sitting high on horseback, he must have seen something. Though Duan Fengjie didn’t know what was happening, like the other four commanders, he shouted in unison: “All troops listen to orders! Step forward!”

“Step forward… step forward…” With the clanging sounds, the twenty-eight thousand infantry of the Divine Strategy Division, shoulder to shoulder, stepped onto the low hill in sequence. Zhang Yuangen also moved forward with the momentum, gripping his shield tightly.

“Lower shoulders!” In complete silence, every soldier, like Zhang Yuangen, half-crouched and leaned, supporting their shields with their shoulders.

“Bend at the waist!” The soldiers spread their stance like horse-riding posture, and like Zhang Yuangen, pressed both hands against the bottom of their shields. Everyone worked together with one heart, forming a flesh and blood shield wall stretching one hundred forty li.

The officers gave no more commands, and no more sounds could be heard on the battlefield, only the breathing of nearby people and one’s own heartbeat. All around was dark, snowflakes falling endlessly, but Zhang Yuangen was sweating profusely. He swallowed saliva and was about to raise his hand to wipe sweat when suddenly the ground shook again.

Boom… This time it was very clear. Not only did the ground tremble, but there was also a very heavy, muffled sound from the distance.

Was it thunder? No, this wasn’t thunder. Thunder makes more noise but doesn’t cause the ground to shake. Zhang Yuangen listened carefully, feeling that the boom just now was somewhat like horse hooves striking the ground, but upon careful distinction, it wasn’t quite right. When ten thousand horses gallop, it sounds like dense rain, much more rapid than this sound.

Boom… It came again. That sound was like the earth dragon turning over. The eardrums couldn’t hear any loud sound, but the bones felt scattered and aching.

Boom boom… It was getting closer, somewhat like a giant walking, but no figure could be seen ahead.

Boom boom… boom boom boom… boom boom boom… It was getting more and more frightening. This was the first time hearing such a strange sound. Not only was Zhang Yuangen terrified, but even Duan Fengjie was filled with awe. Consider that he held the rank of commander and had followed the army in campaigns against the Tartars in his early years. He had heard eight thousand suona horns playing in unison and ten thousand war drums beating together. These tremendous sounds were all heart-stirring and soul-shaking, but such low, oppressive strange sounds were completely unprecedented.

What was happening? The dull, muffled sounds seemed bitter and slow, like the Demon King of Hell limping forward step by step. The various troops were sweating profusely, no one daring to speak. About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense passed, and different sounds emerged.

Dong, dong dong, dong dong dong… This time there was no muffled sound, only clear sound waves. They rang dong dong dong, the sounds getting more and more urgent, faster and faster, as if coming from ahead…

The shield! Zhang Yuangen was greatly shocked as he felt his shield gently swaying, as if someone had come to knock on the door.

In the dark battlefield, some strange thing had arrived. Every soldier swallowed saliva. They wanted to peek out from behind their shields but lacked the courage—after all, if evil spirits were at work, they might well have their heads bitten off. While they hesitated, strange sounds arose again in front of the shields—faint crying sounds. Zhang Yuangen was greatly startled and quickly listened more carefully. Suddenly he heard two words: “Hungry… hungry…” Zhang Yuangen could no longer contain himself. He peered through the gaps and was horrified to see a crying child. The child wiped tears with one hand while patting the shield with the other, weeping weakly without cease: “Hungry.”

Hungry… hungry… Crying sounds arose from all directions. In no time, every shield was being struck, making noise. The crying transformed from anxiety to agitation, from agitation to shrillness, finally becoming a mad howl: “So hungry!”

Boom… Three hundred thirty thousand iron shields shook violently all at once. At this moment, all the officers and soldiers were exerting force to push forward, every pair of military boots striving to dig into the muddy ground. But despite gritting their teeth, they could not stop the steel shields from swaying backward.

“Divine Strategy Division! Hold firm!” “Divine Strategy Division! Hold firm!” “Everyone grip your shields tight! Push hard! Push hard!”

Push… push… push… The things in front had such great strength. The shields swayed violently backward, the iron chains between shields tightened and bound, clanging sounds everywhere. Everyone was gritting their teeth, desperately holding on everywhere, but no one knew what had come from outside. They only knew these things had tremendous strength—even three hundred thirty thousand warriors could not match them here.

Whoosh whoosh! Something was running over—covering the mountains and plains, wailing like ghosts and howling like demons, striking the shields like raindrops. Again they heard a tremendous “boom,” and three hundred thirty thousand people cried out in pain together: “Ah!”

They began retreating. The hundred-li steel shield wall simply could not hold. Behind them, Prince Qing gave stern orders: “Vanguard Camp hold firm! No matter what, you must hold firm! The entire… army hold firm!”

Amid the panicked shouting, the first-line soldiers engaged in close combat with unknown monsters. Who knew the formation simply could not withstand them—in less than the time to burn a stick of incense, there were already signs of retreat. The “Martial Prosperity Inner Regiment Camp” and “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp” behind them, though they had not yet encountered the enemy, could hear the thunder-like shouting from the front lines. Their inner fear and terror were probably even greater than that of the Vanguard Camp soldiers.

What was it exactly? What exactly were the things outside? Zhang Yuangen exerted all his nursing strength, his heart both panicked and afraid. Suddenly, from some unknown military unit in the distance, someone was first to cry out: “Hungry ghosts! They’re hungry ghosts! Hungry… ghosts have come!”

Hungry ghosts have come… It sounded like shrill screaming, and also like desperate wailing. Zhang Yuangen was also scared senseless. So it was these things that had burrowed up from underground—no wonder their running sounds were so bitter and slow. Zhang Yuangen was so afraid, more and more afraid, that he unconsciously began shouting too: “Hungry… ghosts have come!”

Hungry ghosts have come, hungry ghosts have come, hungry ghosts have come! In an instant, morale collapsed. Everyone was afraid, crying and shouting everywhere. Anyone would want to abandon their shields and flee. The situation was critical. The twelve supervisor generals of the Vanguard Camp rode back and forth, sixty commanders urgently advanced, everyone shouting loudly: “Do not fear! Do not fear! Vanguard Camp soldiers listen to orders! The Garrison Army positions have been breached—we are the last line of defense for the capital’s people! Everyone must hold on!”

Do not fear… do not fear… Under their officers’ encouragement, every soldier became even more afraid. According to rumors, the northwestern hungry ghosts had gathered at Bazhou and had already broken through the Garrison Army positions. No one knew exactly how many hungry ghosts had come from outside. They only knew they were very hungry, that the fire of hunger in their bellies seemed to give them supreme courage, making them surge forward one after another, forcing the two hundred forty li iron wall to sway violently.

Clang clang… clang clang… The situation affected the whole body. The iron chains clanged as they pulled, these tens of thousands of shields interdependent, connected to each other by chains, combined into an iron wall. If even one soldier of the “Vanguard Camp” exhausted his strength and collapsed, releasing the shield in his hands, the momentum would drag down dozens of iron shields on the left and right, causing the entire iron wall to collapse.

“Martial Prosperity Inner Camp! Step forward!” Seeing the hungry ghosts about to break through the defense line, the Martial Prosperity Inner Regiment Camp also became busy. Twelve supervisor generals relayed orders back and forth, and the “Border Pacification Division” and “Border Might Division” were also deployed, ready to rush forward to fill any position where the shield formation broke. The current situation was extremely dire. Based on the scene before them, if the Loyalist Army could not stop retreating, in two hours they would retreat to Baoding City, and in one day they could retreat to Beijing. Then the capital would surely become a scorched earth. Seeing the critical situation, Prince Hui, as supreme commander of the entire army, naturally rushed forward urgently to address the troops: “Loyalist Army listen to orders!”

Loyalist Army… Loyalist Army… One million three hundred forty thousand officers and soldiers responded loudly in unison. They heard Prince Hui emotionally shout: “Loyalist Army soldiers listen! If our army retreats one step tonight! The people of the capital will have nowhere to die! For the sake of all people under heaven, our army’s soldiers must fight to the death!”

“For the nation!” Prince Hui cracked his horsewhip and roared with all his strength. Three hundred thirty thousand infantry followed their commander in sorrowful cries. But the shields gradually leaned backward, six hundred sixty thousand military boots retreated in disorder, and the sound of grinding teeth filled the air, extremely terrifying to hear.

“For the people!” Zhang Yuangen gritted his teeth and, along with all the soldiers, desperately held their shields. His head was covered with both cold and hot sweat, but the shield gradually pressed down, hitting the small soldiers’ noses.

“For the greater self!” Three hundred thirty-six thousand people shouted in unison: “One, two, three, push! Push!”

“Ah!” The human wall stretching one hundred forty li cried out in pain together. Suddenly the flesh and blood city wall shook violently but was still forced to retreat.

It was no use. The hungry ghosts outside—no one knew how many there were—actually forced the shields to retreat continuously. The entire army gradually withdrew, slowly pressuring the “Inner Regiment Camp Martial Prosperity,” forcing them to retreat half a li first. The “Vanguard Camp” retreated step by step. Zhang Yuangen also panted continuously, but unlike the soldiers behind him, he gazed through the shield formation at the hell outside, his heart actually not very afraid but rather filled with some pity.

Compared to the prosperous capital, that place was truly hell… The big-bellied hungry ghosts—no one knew what they had eaten. Each was so thin they were skin and bones, but their bellies were like pregnant women, abnormally huge. Seeing the child outside the shields crying without cease, Zhang Yuangen’s eyes reddened. Separated by only a wall, born in the same world as humans, why was one side fat and plump while the other was thin and gaunt? What kind of logic was this?

His heart ached, and thinking of his own child, he took out dried food from his waist and passed it toward that emaciated child.

The hungry ghost child, seeing the dried food, immediately cried out in joy—apparently extremely hungry. Zhang Yuangen was full of charitable thoughts and was about to hand over the food when suddenly he heard an officer behind him whip his head and roar angrily: “Bastard! What are you doing feeding them! Don’t you know they’re the enemy?” Zhang Yuangen looked back in shock, hearing Commander Duan Fengjie urgently shout: “The entire army must not waver! Remember, you absolutely cannot let the hungry ghosts enter the city! They eat people!”

Eat people? Eat people! These last two words struck Zhang Yuangen like a warning bell. Yes, heaven was dry and earth parched, harvests insufficient. Heaven had only provided this much grain, not enough to feed all the billions of living beings under heaven. But these people were unwilling to starve to death, so they came eastward. Now, if they didn’t sacrifice this small group of people, the entire world would be harmed by them…

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” The court’s instruction came from the distance. Zhang Yuangen also lowered his head, silently thinking in his heart: “Child, I’m sorry. For the sake of the greater world, I can only sacrifice you.” The food was returned to his belt—Big Brother Soldier wouldn’t give it anymore. That hungry ghost child had been waiting for food, and seeing the dried food was gone, couldn’t help but cry out loud. Zhang Yuangen lowered his head with tears, wanting to give but unable to give. That child, unwilling to accept this, suddenly roared and reached through the gap in the shields, actually trying to snatch the dried food.

“How dare you!” Seeing the hungry ghost grabbing at people, a comrade nearby saw the situation was bad and immediately raised his sword to strike. Zhang Yuangen realized this urgently and quickly shouted to stop him: “Stop! Don’t hurt him!” Zhang Yuangen was a step too late. A scream rang out, blood splattered on the spot, and the hungry ghost child cried out in pain. A pitiful little hand left its owner and fell to the ground.

Zhang Yuangen was so frightened. He looked out through the gap in the shields and saw that hungry ghost child rolling on the ground, wailing. Many hungry ghosts came to his side. Unexpectedly, they did not eat their injured companion but instead picked up the pitiful little child, crying together.

Ah… those were the hungry ghost child’s family… Though they were ghosts, they were still relatives to each other…

“Martial Prosperity Inner Regiment Camp… draw bows…” Shouts came from behind. Hundreds of thousands of archers responded by raising their iron-tipped great bows. Draw bows… draw bows… draw bows… The sound of bowstrings creaking could be heard everywhere. Suddenly they heard Prince Lin’s angry roar: “Release arrows!”

Swish swish swish, swish swish swish—three hundred thirty thousand arrows flew into the air and fell into the sea of ghosts. In an instant, wailing sounds arose greatly. The hungry ghosts fell to the ground or cried in pain, already routed. Immediately, Prince Qing responded: “Divine Pivot Twelve Divisions! All troops draw swords! Advance and counterattack!”

It was time to show the hungry ghosts some color. They were finished because the court had decided to start killing. The great army advanced again, but this time they not only held shields but also carried swords. The hungry ghosts began crying and screaming. As they fled for their lives, they cried out. Some knelt on the ground praying to heaven, others embraced each other weeping bitterly. Slowly, that melancholy crying infected one hungry ghost after another. They gradually gathered together, turning their cries into a haunting sad song, singing in unison…

“Morning court assembly! Evening to bed! Corrupt officials steal silver and grain!

Curse your mother! Screw your mother! Rich households take concubines, screwing your mother!

No meat to eat, no tears to cry! All the poor men under heaven hang themselves!”

The terrible song—no one knew how many sang it in unison. It was the mournful cry of billions of souls from underground. The Loyalist Army soldiers were extremely frightened. Prince Lin again boosted morale: “The entire army must not waver! Release arrows! Release arrows!” Arrows flew out like rain, but the singing never stopped. No matter how many were hit by arrows and wounded, no matter how many fell covered in blood, they kept singing. Only their song became more and more hateful, more and more fierce. Slowly it was no longer song but a kind of… sorrowful roar.

“Slaughter cattle and sheep! Prepare wine! Open the city gates early for a rampage…” The hungry ghosts went mad. Suddenly millions of people simultaneously roared out their heart’s desire: “Rage into the city… refuse to pay grain!”

“Charge toward Beijing! Kill!” All the hungry ghosts charged over. Their numbers were like the sands of the Ganges, countless. Suddenly a tremendous boom rang out, and they heard angry roars from the distance: “Quick, fill the gap! Quick! Quick! The shield formation is breaking!”

The shields shook violently. The hundred forty li shield wall tilted, and already some people were falling backward. Seeing the critical situation, Prince Hui behind them immediately gave orders: “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp prepare to replace the Vanguard Camp at any time!” “Three Thousand Camp listen to orders! Left and right flanks advance forward! Must scatter the hungry ghost groups!” The armored cavalry were going to campaign. Three hundred thirty thousand war horses neighed loudly. They heard “Prince De” Zhu Ji call out clearly: “Cavalry charge!”

Rumble rumble, rumble rumble—the iron cavalry of “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp” heard the signal and set out. Left and right flanks immediately advanced into the sea of hungry ghosts. The court’s strategy was very clear: they wanted to trap the hungry ghosts within the shield formation. Only by defending the Bazhou defense line could these demons be prevented from wandering into the capital.

“For the nation!” “For the people!” “For the greater self!” Whips struck forcefully, a million troops shouted with all their might, arrows fell like rain, plus three hundred thousand cavalry charging from both flanks—this power could make the hungry ghost groups scatter like smoke at any time. But the hungry ghosts were not afraid at all. They were not soldiers; they were family. The hungry ghosts had fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. Though they were weak and sickly with no strength, as long as the court harmed even one of them, they would risk their lives and share life and death with their relatives. Because since the emperor wouldn’t let them live, they would begin to…

“Kill! Charge toward Beijing! Charge toward Beijing!” The hungry ghosts’ strength grew greater and greater, truly forged from hellish flames. Officers behind them looked up to heaven in grief and anger, commanding the steel city wall: “All troops listen to orders! We would rather die than give way! Stop them! Stop them!”

Both sides shouted in deadlock. Zhang Yuangen also gritted his teeth in grief and anger. He hated the hungry ghosts more and more. Why did these people want to kill their way into the capital? If they couldn’t take care of themselves, could they come rob others? Zhang Yuangen regretted it—he regretted feeding the enemy’s child. Next time if he had the chance to encounter this again, he would never again show womanly compassion. He absolutely would not feed them again. Not only that, he would also… kill them…

Clang… As soon as the killing thought arose, there was a strange sound by his ear. Zhang Yuangen stared blankly and looked down to see a broken iron chain lying alone at his feet. In front of him stood a child—a hungry ghost child with tears streaming down his face, looking up at him. The iron chain had broken. It was the chains linking together that held shield after shield, forming the ten-thousand-foot steel city wall. But now the iron chain had broken under pressure and fallen off. What would happen? Zhang Yuangen stared blankly at his own shield falling to the ground, watching the hungry ghost child cry and turn his head to walk back into the sea of people.

Grind grind grind grind grind… Teeth clenched tight. In front of him was a pair of angry red eyes. No, not one pair—two pairs, three pairs, more… countless eyes, all red… In the vast wilderness there were one million, no, more than one million… that was several million… ten million… A full twelve million four hundred ten thousand red eyes were glaring at him!

“Kill him! Don’t show womanly compassion! Absolutely must kill him!” There was no longer any barrier in front. Hungry ghosts poured through the gap. Zhang Yuangen suddenly woke up and shouted loudly: “Help! Help!” Just as he was about to draw his sword in self-defense, suddenly his arm tightened and he was dragged away by a large group of hungry ghosts. They heard him cry out: “Don’t grab me! Don’t grab me! I’m just following orders!” Zhang Yuangen became a scapegoat. His body left the ground, his feet in the air, crying and shouting continuously. His military comrades were shocked and panicked. Seeing their comrade captured, they couldn’t care about guarding the shield formation and were about to rush out to rescue him, when they heard Duan Fengjie roar sternly: “Don’t move!”

The officer rushed forward personally to block up the shield, not allowing anyone to leave their post without permission. The soldiers were greatly shocked: “Commander Duan! Let’s quickly save him! Zhang Yuangen is going to be eaten!” Duan Fengjie angrily said: “Bastards! If the shield formation collapses, we’ll all die together! Block the gap and reform the shield formation!” The troops urgently pleaded: “Commander! We’re all brothers—you can’t just watch him die!” This was indeed true. Seeing Zhang Yuangen dragged away by hungry ghosts, he would probably die without a complete corpse. The soldiers, thinking of their comradeship, were about to chase out through the gap when Duan Fengjie drew his sword and roared angrily: “Stop right there! Tell me, what is our army’s mission?”

“For the nation, for the people, for the greater self!” The small soldiers began to cry. Duan Fengjie glared furiously and said sternly: “Exactly these seven words! If the skin doesn’t exist, where can the hair be attached? For the safety of the capital’s people, what does Zhang Yuangen’s one life count for? Now the shield formation has a gap. If we sacrifice our lives for him alone, wouldn’t that mean the entire army perishes here?”

The small soldiers’ hearts grew cold, but they also understood the logic. The shield formation stretched a hundred li. Currently the gap was still small. If they didn’t seize the opportunity to patch and fill the void, once a few more shields fell, the consequences would be unthinkable. Seeing everyone still standing there stupidly, Duan Fengjie roared sternly: “What are you still standing there for? Quickly patch the hole!” As he spoke, he personally took iron chains and tightly bound them, desperately blocking the gap. Soldiers on both sides frantically helped with the work.

After working for a while, the gap was blocked again and the shield formation was intact once more. But Zhang Yuangen would never return. All the soldiers, thinking of their comrade’s friendship, couldn’t help but lower their heads and weep. Suddenly, knocking sounds came from outside the shield wall, and they heard someone scream: “Commander Duan! Wait! I escaped back! I escaped back! Quickly save me! Save me!” Everyone was both shocked and delighted, not expecting Zhang Yuangen could actually escape back alive. Everyone urgently unlocked the iron chains, wanting to let their comrade in.

Bang, bang—the shields shook without rest. The hungry ghosts had come again. They all followed Zhang Yuangen, planning to break in. Duan Fengjie was greatly shocked: “Stop! Don’t touch the iron chains!” His subordinates were confused and at a loss. Duan Fengjie was also sweating all over, knowing that if they unlocked the shields, they would certainly let in countless hungry ghosts. He gripped the iron chains with both hands, somewhat hesitant in his heart, when he heard Zhang Yuangen outside crying continuously: “Commander Duan! I’m still alive—let me in!”

Everyone was panicked and afraid, not knowing what to do. Duan Fengjie suddenly gritted his teeth and said sternly: “Zhang Yuangen! Thank you!” Zhang Yuangen was crying and shouting continuously, frequently knocking the shields, not knowing why people were thanking him. While crying and shouting, he heard Duan Fengjie roar: “Zhang Yuangen, today you sacrifice the small self to complete the greater self. I thank you on behalf of all the people under heaven! You can rest assured and die for the country!”

The situation before them—what was light and what was heavy was self-evident. No matter how valuable Zhang Yuangen’s life was, once compared with the survival of the thousand-man squad, it was truly insignificant. At this moment of decisive action, only by cutting off the limb could the whole be saved.

“Save me! Save me! Save me!” Zhang Yuangen desperately knocked the shields, crying and screaming miserably.

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” Duan Fengjie put his hands on his waist and gave stern instruction: “Zhang Yuangen, your death is worthy—better than living ignobly for a hundred years. Next year at this time, I’ll burn incense for you!”

“I don’t want to die… save me… please… save me…” Under his superior’s instruction, the knocking sounds outside the shield wall grew weaker. Though people couldn’t see the miserable state, they also knew Zhang Yuangen was about to be bitten to death by hungry ghosts. But with military law before them, though the soldiers felt sympathy, no one dared save him.

The sounds grew weaker and would eventually fade away. Duan Fengjie bit his teeth and lowered his head, as if his conscience was uneasy, still loudly persuading: “Zhang Yuangen! Look how proud you are today! Think of your family, think that you’re dying for them—how worthwhile that is! Show your courage and don’t fear death!” Hearing the words “family,” suddenly a shrill cry came from outside the shield formation: “I cannot die!”

Clang! A steel sword was unsheathed, slashing straight toward the iron chain. Sparks flew and a loud clang rang out. Zhang Yuangen’s final strike before death—this sword truly had power, actually cutting the iron chain in two.

Even ants steal life, let alone a living person? Zhang Yuangen had family, had wife and children—he didn’t want to die.

Clang… The merciful sword fell, cutting through the heartless, selfless iron chain. The shield in front fell over, and stumbling and staggering, a person rolled in—it was Zhang Yuangen. He looked around distractedly, his lips mumbling, when suddenly he heard Duan Fengjie roar in fury: “Damn bastard! You don’t care about the big picture either! Someone! Quickly block the gap!”

“Charge!” It was too late. Countless hungry ghosts poured into the shield wall, all following Zhang Yuangen to beg for food. Bang bang bang—large numbers of shields fell to the ground. Hungry ghosts submerged the soldiers, numbering in the millions.

Large numbers of soldiers panicked and hurriedly drew their swords to kill, but the hungry ghosts were too numerous. Their swords had barely left their sheaths when they were pressed to the ground by hungry ghosts, bitten all over their bodies. For a time, the rear of the position was full of hungry ghosts, the gap grew larger and larger, shields kept falling, and the position was about to be lost.

Seeing the critical situation, Duan Fengjie could only shout: “Bastards! Can’t hold anymore! All squads retreat! All squads retreat!” The soldiers retreated in panic. After running less than a hundred feet, they were shocked to see friendly forces moving back and forth. In an instant, the shield formation closed, actually blocking their own escape route. Duan Fengjie was shocked and could only knock the shields and scream: “Open the road! Open the road! Let us in!”

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” The shields remained motionless, but orders came from behind the position. Divine Strategy Division Supervisor General Geng Guozhen said sternly: “Commander Duan! You are a good general—you should understand better than anyone that we absolutely cannot take risks for you few! Rest assured and sacrifice your life—I’ll take care of your wife!” Saying this, he waved his banner and gave orders: “Other thousand-man squads come up! Block the gap!”

Thinking of how his superior was lustful and specialized in sleeping with subordinates’ wives, Duan Fengjie was unwilling to die no matter what. He could only continuously draw his sword to resist the hungry ghosts. But the scene before him was so terrifying—his subordinates ran and cried, everyone fighting one against a hundred, even one against a thousand. No matter who fell to the ground, hundreds of people would press on top of them, and in the blink of an eye they would disappear without a trace.

Duan Fengjie was shocked and his fighting spirit completely collapsed. He could only desperately knock the shields and shout: “Supervisor General Geng! You cannot just watch us die! Open the road! Open the road!” The soldiers behind him also cried for help, but the soldiers behind the shields had made up their iron minds and not one was willing to heed their comrades’ calls for help.

The cries for help resounded through the clouds. Geng Guozhen hid behind the shield formation, only squinting his eyes and coldly shaking his head. Currently the Divine Strategy Division had tens of thousands of people. If they were to save this small group, the shield formation gap would inevitably be larger. When millions of hungry ghosts broke into the rear, that would be the tragic situation of total army annihilation.

There was no way. To complete the greater self, there always had to be a few people to sacrifice the small self. If the skin doesn’t exist, where can the hair be attached? Before the lives of the Divine Strategy Division’s twenty thousand officers and soldiers, what did a mere five thousand six hundred forward guards count for?

“Someone!” Geng Guozhen raised his whip and gave orders: “Hold the position firmly!”

Duan Fengjie’s martial arts were not weak. He fought desperately with his sword to kill enemies, but the hungry ghosts were simply too numerous. After killing thirty or forty people, his blade edge had long since curled. When he wanted to gather his subordinates to flee westward, he was shocked to discover that his men had suffered more than half casualties and could no longer form a formation. Duan Fengjie desperately cried and shouted: “Let us in! Let us in!”

No one paid attention to him at all. Someone behind the shields actually yawned, and there were even people chatting there.

Damn bastards… Duan Fengjie’s nameless fire arose. His eyes gradually turned red, slowly becoming as red as the hungry ghosts. He simply no longer resisted the hungry ghosts but put his shoulder against the shield behind him and roared angrily: “Everyone do as I do! Quick!”

The remnant defeated soldiers threw away their weapons and put their shoulders against the shields. They heard Duan Fengjie roar strangely: “Pre…pare… exert force… one, two, three!” All the small soldiers roared together: “Push! Push! Push down and screw his mother!”

Bang! United in purpose, a thunderous sound finally arose. More than ten shields fell to the ground, having knocked open a gap. Amid cursing about screwing fathers and mothers, the remnant defeated soldiers rolled into the formation, followed by thousands of hungry ghost feet also charging into the rear of the Divine Strategy Division.

“Damn bastards worse than pigs and dogs! You don’t care about the big picture either!” The tragic scene of people eating and dogs biting was about to occur. Geng Guozhen was shocked and angry, hurriedly giving orders: “Everyone quickly act! Block the shields! Block the shields!”

All around were flashing swords and sabers, killing anyone they met. Large numbers of officers and soldiers drew their swords, not caring whether those before them were hungry ghosts or defeated soldiers—they killed anyone they met. Seeing friendly forces showing no mercy, the defeated soldiers naturally roared and fought back. But the hungry ghosts could never be killed completely—kill one and a group emerged, one group died and an entire batch charged in. For a time, bang! A great sound rang out—another gap appeared. Bang! Another thunderous sound—the gap became a whole area. Finally, violent sounds rang out as a shield wall stretching over a li collapsed to the ground and vanished into smoke.

“All is lost…” Geng Guozhen stood dazed, seeing the tide-like ghost soldiers had already submerged the position. How could they resist? He knew the situation was hopeless and immediately raised his sword to give orders: “Divine Strategy Division listen to orders! All troops retreat to the far rear!”

Supervisor General Geng remained calm in the face of danger and immediately led his remnant forces in urgent retreat toward the friendly rear forces. Who would have thought that before they could even seize the escape route, they heard cannons firing from the “Vanguard Camp.” The “Divine Grace,” “Divine Righteousness,” and “Divine Might” three military routes had moved to block their retreat.

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” Here it came again—someone was using that same routine. The all-too-familiar shouts came from behind, from the mouths of their friendly colleagues. Geng Guozhen was speechless as he heard his superior officer call out: “Geng Guozhen! The situation does not permit this prince to save you! For the sake of all people under heaven, this prince can only sacrifice you! Rest assured and die for your country—this prince will take care of your several wives for you.”

The time to serve the country loyally had arrived. It was a bit like following a script, only the roles of host and guest had switched. Geng Guozhen was both shocked and angry, urgently knocking the shields and shouting: “Your Highness! You cannot do this—preserving our strength is important! Quickly let us in!”

Bang! Bang! Geng Guozhen desperately knocked the shields, pleading: “Open the shields, quickly open the shields! I beg you, I’ll kowtow to you.” He really did kneel—over ten thousand warriors knelt before the shields, their cries shaking the heavens.

“Do not open them!” Prince Qing summoned his energy and roared angrily: “All troops prepare swords! Anyone who dares break into the shield formation shall be killed without mercy!”

“Don’t kill us! Don’t kill us!” The entire Divine Strategy Division wept loudly, continuously knocking the shields. But Prince Qing remained unmoved, secretly giving orders. He brought large numbers of archers from the rear—as soon as the shields showed signs of falling, ten thousand arrows would immediately be released.

Old ginger is the spiciest—this was truly a good method for preserving strength. “Prince Qing” Zhu Xin, as Right Commander of the Vanguard Camp, understood the principle of cutting off limbs to survive better than anyone. At this moment, to stay alive, one absolutely could not show mercy. The earlier “Divine Strategy Forward Guard” and the later “Divine Strategy Division” had all made the same mistake, which was why they were completely annihilated. To truly preserve strength, he had to kill Geng Guozhen before he could resist.

“Supervisor General Geng! Don’t force me to act! Withdraw immediately!” “Counterattack! Supervisor General Geng! Your way out is not behind you but in front! Don’t get the direction wrong! Charge!” Geng Guozhen was stunned. He mumbled and turned to look ahead—twelve million hungry ghosts, stretching as far as the eye could see, so numerous that twenty thousand troops were like a drop in the ocean. How could his subordinates possibly resist?

Twenty thousand challenging twelve million—that wasn’t heroic sacrifice but suicide, and after death, probably not even skin and hair would remain. Geng Guozhen stared open-mouthed, listening to his former good colleagues loudly encouraging him: “Supervisor General Geng serves the country loyally! Quick, charge! Your name will remain for a thousand years!” “Supervisor General Geng! We salute you! You are a true hero! A true champion! Everyone admires you!”

The colleagues behind the shields were so brave. Looking at these people, they were truly worthy of being good brothers—everyone was speaking words of encouragement, everyone had also prepared bows and arrows, prepared to meet him again in the next life. Suddenly, Geng Guozhen burst into tears. He turned around and gently called to his subordinates: “Divine Strategy Division, all troops form ranks.”

The final formation was about to begin. Geng Guozhen was going to be a martyr. In an instant, all the division’s officers and soldiers, regardless of their situation, responded in unison: “Divine Strategy Division! All troops form ranks!” More and more officers retreated toward him, slowly gathering four to five thousand men. Geng Guozhen wiped his tears while picking up shields from the ground. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly: “All… troops… live or die with me!”

“Live or die together! Live or die together!” At this moment, all the officers and soldiers bent forward, following their commander’s example to grab shields. Clang clang clang… clang clang clang… Thousands of shields were raised again. The Divine Strategy Division was going to form ranks once more. Prince Qing behind them was overjoyed and shouted: “Well done! Geng Guozhen form ranks and advance again!” The supervisor generals all shouted: “Everyone look! This is a true hero! A true champion! Double the compensation!”

“All troops listen to orders!” Geng Guozhen hoisted his shield over his shoulder and looked up to the sky to deliver his final command: “Turn toward the capital…” Everyone held their breath as they heard their commander give this final order: “Charge!”

“Charge!” The Divine Strategy Division summoned their final courage, immediately drawing their sabers and crying out in grief and anger. Twenty thousand troops shared a common hatred for the enemy, immediately hoisting their shields and all charging toward their own camp’s position. Swish swish swish, dong dong dong—countless arrows shot toward the sky, all striking the iron shields. Old ginger is the spiciest—not only was Prince Qing spicy, but Geng Guozhen was even spicier. Knowing he still had strength for one fight, at the final moment he turned his formation around and attacked his own camp’s shield wall.

Boom! The shields shook once. Boom! The second sound rang out, iron chains broke. Boom! The third explosion—the shield formation developed several gaps, and the remnant defeated soldiers surged in like a tide with one concentrated effort.

“Divine Righteousness Division retreat!” “Divine Protection Division retreat!” “Divine Might Division retreat!”

They couldn’t hold anymore. Though the Vanguard Camp’s supervisor generals were desperately resisting the hungry ghosts, they couldn’t stop their own people’s offensive. In the blink of an eye, the formation loosened and the entire army was in chaos. At this life-and-death moment, “Prince Qing,” as Right Commander of the Vanguard Camp, everything depended on his judgment and decision. He gritted his teeth and urgently gave orders: “Vanguard Camp listen to orders! Rear army becomes front army! Retreat! Retreat!”

The moonlight illuminated the mountains and rivers. The flesh and blood wall built by the “Vanguard Camp” had collapsed. Shields fell one by one. The Divine Strategy Division, Divine Protection Division, and other “Divine Pivot Twelve Divisions” were all pursued and attacked by the sea of ghosts. All troops were isolated, all officers and soldiers fought desperately. At this moment, every warrior was fighting against hundreds of hungry ghosts. Unless one possessed unparalleled courage, no one could spare a hand to save others. Prince Qing drew his sword in self-defense and with great difficulty rolled to the edge of the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp’s” shield wall. He immediately urgently knocked the iron shields and shouted: “Open the road, open the road! I am Prince Qing Zhu Xin, let me in to escape!”

“For the nation…” In the dong dong knocking sounds, Prince Qing’s heart grew cold and his hands and feet went weak. In his ears, he heard his own lines: “For the people…” Without any surprise, the Martial Prosperity Inner Regiment Camp’s forces were moving back and forth, about to form ranks.

“For the greater self!” Shield after shield stood upright on the ground, once again blocking the retreat route. Prince Qing was unwilling to die and desperately knocked the shields: “Big brother! It’s me, your fourth brother! The fourth brother you played with since childhood! At least let me alone in! Please! Please! At least open one shield!” Lin, Hui, De, and Qing—these four princes who celebrated together under heaven were all cousins who had grown up together since childhood. Prince Lin, as the eldest of the four princes, hearing his fourth brother’s frequent sorrowful cries and remembering their brotherly bond, hurriedly shouted: “Open the iron shields and let my fourth brother in! Remember! Only allow him alone!” The personal guards received the order and were about to open the iron shields when suddenly there was an “Ah!” scream—they had been killed with a sword.

“Long live! Long live! Ten thousand years of long life!” Amid the shouting of all the officers and soldiers, the Loyalist Army’s supreme commander, “Prince Hui” Zhu Qi, had arrived. They heard him shout sternly: “The imperial sword is here—whoever dares show favoritism and rashly open iron shields, this prince will certainly execute without mercy!”

Prince Hui had come. This Zhu Qi was no ordinary prince. As commander of the Loyalist Army, he deeply understood his heavy responsibility. The situation was becoming increasingly critical now. The first line “Vanguard Camp” had all fallen. If the second line “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” also collapsed, the hungry ghosts would continue northward along the roads and reach the capital in a few days. Then the imperial city would be submerged by the tide-like hungry ghosts, and no one would survive.

“All troops listen to orders! Lock down the roads! Do not allow anyone to enter!” With Prince Hui’s command, hundreds of war drums beat. They heard him shout loudly: “Vanguard Camp brothers! The moment for your heroic sacrifice has arrived! Death is not to be feared—what is to be feared is living in disgrace! Go! Show the warrior’s spirit and kill all those bandits! I thank you on behalf of all people under heaven!”

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” The three hundred thirty-six thousand men of the Martial Prosperity Camp shouted solemnly, their righteousness reaching the Jade Emperor’s heavens.

Countless small selves cried loudly—their cries were mournful, their sorrow filled the fields. At this moment, everyone understood their own fate. The earlier Zhang Yuangen, the later Duan Fengjie, then Geng Guozhen—they were all small selves, and even the three hundred thirty thousand great army was also a small self. After all, before the billions of people under heaven, what did the lives of a mere few hundred thousand troops count for? The fate of the entire army’s tragic death was before their eyes. Prince Qing was grief-stricken, Geng Guozhen regretted his actions, and Duan Fengjie was in tears.

Sacrifice the small you to complete the great me. You will always be you, I will always be me.

“Vanguard Camp! Understand the big picture!” “Vanguard Camp! Having eaten the ruler’s salary, you must obey orders!” “Vanguard Camp! Do not approach any closer!”

Vanguard Camp… Vanguard Camp… Amid the panicked crying and shouting, Prince Qing knocked the shields and cried: “Second brother, I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! For the sake of my mother, at least let me alone in! I beg you! I really beg you! Second brother… second brother…” Hearing his cousin’s shameful pleading, Prince Hui was naturally furious and scolded: “Fourth brother! You coward who fears death! Do you still know shame? Your subordinates are all fighting bloody battles, yet you’re here disgracing yourself! Shameless!”

“We can’t win! There are too many of them!” Prince Qing continued crying and shouting, leading his subordinates in crying and charging. Boom, boom—the small self crashed into the great self. Thousands of shields swayed backward, and the hungry ghosts naturally jumped with joy, biting anyone they saw regardless of who it was.

Outside the shields, crying and shouting continued with fierce fighting. Inside the shields, it was deathly silent. They could not open them. At this moment, they absolutely could not show mercy. The “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” was already the last Great Wall. Once they were defeated like a collapsing mountain, not only would the million troops be annihilated, but all people under heaven would suffer. For the safety of the common people, Prince Hui not only had to heroically cut off limbs—he had to go one step further.

An undertaking even more tragic than “sacrificing the small self” was “destroying relatives for righteousness.” Seeing the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp’s” shield wall continuously swaying and Prince Qing still crying and knocking, disgracing the imperial family, Prince Hui gritted his teeth and immediately raised his sword to the sky, using his final move, saying sternly: “Fourth brother! Turn around and fight the enemy immediately! Otherwise, don’t blame me for stripping your entire family of their titles and executing them by slow slicing when I return to the capital!”

Prince Qing was frightened. He fell to the ground and could no longer speak, because his mother was Prince Hui’s aunt. If Prince Hui wanted to execute his entire family by slow slicing, it would be equivalent to slicing his own nephew and his own aunt.

But that was nothing. For the nation, for the people, for the greater self—before these seven words, what brotherly affection, what filial piety and friendship were all small kindnesses and small righteousness. Prince Hui only cared about true great benevolence and great righteousness. To preserve the happiness of all people under heaven, he could sell even his father, kill even his son, even give his wife to others to sleep with. He was the most righteously stern prince of this dynasty!

“Someone! Bring out the cannons!” At this critical moment, even if it were his own father or mother coming, he could not show mercy. The moment for destroying relatives for righteousness had arrived. Prince Hui gave the order: “Tell the Elite Cavalry Camp cavalry! Prepare to scatter the rebellious troops!”

Rumble rumble, rumble rumble—the “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp” formation circled out from the left and right flanks. The “Divine Engine Imperial Camp” also set up large cannons. The Divine Martial cannons, once loaded, could kill dozens of people. As long as the Vanguard Camp rebelled, “Prince Hui” would use military force to suppress his own rebellion.

“Don’t kill us! Don’t!” All the soldiers cried in unison. With hungry ghosts outside and cannons inside, they had completely lost their fighting spirit. Many had already held their heads and wept bitterly, allowing the hungry ghosts to repeatedly kick and beat them without daring to move.

Wolves in front, tigers behind—Prince Qing was in hell when he suddenly awakened. Not only he, but every officer and soldier of the Vanguard Camp had also figured out one thing: what was there to fear for a person who didn’t even fear death?

“I’ll screw your ancestors for eighteen generations first, you bastard worse than dogs…” Prince Qing’s eyes blazed. He climbed onto his mount, drew the precious sword from his waist, and shouted to the sky: “My three hundred thirty thousand Vanguard Camp brothers! Listen to my words!”

Duan Fengjie got up, Zhang Yuangen rushed over, Geng Guozhen also mounted his war horse. Everyone was of one mind, all drawing their long swords. Prince Qing turned his horse’s head, raised his sword high and called out: “Officers and soldiers of our army listen to orders! Since we’re going to die anyway, if we don’t kill Prince Hui Zhu Qi today to accompany us in death, we swear we’re not human!” The horse’s head turned toward the north. The Vanguard Camp’s ten thousand troops gritted their teeth as they heard Prince Qing roar angrily: “Charge!”

“Charge!” Divine Strategy Division, Divine Righteousness Division, Divine Might Division, Divine Martial Division—all divisions united. In an instant, three hundred thirty thousand small selves condensed into one body, becoming one great self. With a thunderous boom, the Vanguard Camp’s twelve supervisor generals led their troops in charging toward the Martial Prosperity Camp, shaking the friendly forces backward by one foot.

Boom! Boom! Boom! You are you, I am me—today who is the small you and who is the great me? Everyone raise your swords and speak clearly!

Without the hungry ghosts needing to spend a single soldier, they now had additional reinforcements. Not only the Divine Strategy Army but also all the Vanguard Camp forces had rebelled. With the moon silver like sea and dust and smoke like waves, three hundred thirty thousand troops turned their spear points around. Defeated soldiers mixed with hungry ghosts charged straight toward the hundred-li shield formation.

“How dare you!” Prince Hui was shocked and angry, shouting loudly: “Anyone who dares violate prohibitions again shall have their entire family executed!”

“You want to kill my whole family…” Prince Qing bit his teeth, raised his sword to hack wildly at the shields, and roared angrily: “I’ll slice you to death first, then screw your mother rotten!” Geng Guozhen angrily said: “Kill!” Duan Fengjie responded: “Kill!” The hungry ghosts cheered and jumped, also joyfully shouting: “Kill!”

“Kill!” The Vanguard Camp went mad, the hungry ghosts were enraged. With everyone united in purpose, all began killing. Amid the boom boom heavy sounds, the Vanguard Camp increased their charging force. The two formations met like muffled thunder, like sorrowful cries, like ghosts weeping, like gods howling. Tens of thousands of shields could collapse at any moment. Seeing the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” retreating steadily while the Vanguard Camp’s swords and spears continued their wild hacking, Prince Hui was extremely shocked and angry, shouting: “Divine Martial cannons, catapults, and all long-range weapons listen to my command—all troops prepare cannons!”

The “Divine Engine Imperial Camp” took action. They turned their cannon mouths toward their own people. With just one command, the Vanguard Camp would suffer more than half casualties. Prince Qing knew the cannons were fierce and intensified his shield-charging, shouting: “Everyone charge back to Beijing! Protect your own families!”

There was no way out. Tonight, at this moment, if they couldn’t kill Prince Hui, their own families would be exterminated. Could they still show mercy? The entire army had killing-red eyes and had gone mad, hacking at the shields. In the ding ding dang dang震响中, the “Martial Prosperity Inner Camp” could lose at any moment, and then the “Loyalist Army” would also be completely defeated. Then… the entire Orthodox Dynasty would also be finished…

Both sides had risked their lives—sword against sword, blade against blade, bows and arrows against cannons. Their own people were about to fight to the death. Prince Hui sneered coldly and was about to order the cannons fired when he suddenly heard shouting from the far rear: “Orthodox Army Military Discipline Article One…”

The Orthodox Army had come. At this moment of life and death, the court had still sent reinforcements. The million Loyalist Army turned back in amazement to hear that long whistle, so sacred that it drowned out the crying of ghosts and howling of demons. He spoke so earnestly and sorrowfully: “In battle formation…”

“Rather die than abandon fallen brothers!” A purple light sped forward, faster than a flying horse. The dynasty’s first military general had arrived, bringing the most fundamental iron law of military tactics and instantly igniting the Vanguard Camp’s morale.

“Grand Commander! Grand Commander!” Explosive cheers and beloved sentiments could be heard across the four fields. Wu Dingyuan had still arrived. He came with bare hands, having traveled the entire two hundred li distance—half on horseback, half running—finally reaching Bazhou.

“Loyalist Army…” Wu Dingyuan broke into the rear and gave a long whistle: “Open the roads and let the brothers in!”

“For the nation! For the people! For the greater self!” Someone in the commander’s camp was angry. Prince Hui, as commander, hearing Wu Dingyuan usurp his authority—how could he not be angry? He immediately roared: “Don’t listen to him! This is the Loyalist Army! Not the Orthodox Army! The Loyalist Army must guard the roads and absolutely must not let them in!” Military orders were like mountains, military law merciless. Prince Hui held an imperial gold medallion granted by the emperor, like the Orthodox Emperor himself being present. Who could disobey the imperial edict? The generals could only grip their shields tightly and once again shut their comrades outside the wall.

Wu Dingyuan was extremely anxious. At this time, the battlefield soldiers were divided into three groups. The innermost was Prince Hui’s “Divine Engine Imperial Camp,” next came the “Elite Cavalry Three Thousand Camp,” and the “Martial Prosperity Inner Regiment Camp” formed shields for defense, slowly retreating in the form of a long wall, isolating the “Vanguard Camp” in the sea of ghosts. Pitifully, their formation had long since collapsed. With steel cities blocking the road ahead and the sea of ghosts attacking from behind, in less than half an hour, they would all be dead or wounded.

Wu Dingyuan raised his voice and shouted: “Zhu Qi! I order you by Orthodox military discipline to open the roads! Otherwise, don’t blame military law for prosecution!”

Wu Dingyuan was the dynasty’s first military general, with illustrious reputation. Prince Hui, deeply afraid that military morale would waver, hurriedly displayed his imperial gold medallion and said sternly: “Mighty Marquis listen to orders! My Loyalist Army will not yield an inch of ground. If you dare disobey the imperial edict, don’t blame military law for prosecution!”

Two grand commanders faced off directly. That gold medallion displayed was like the imperial presence in person. That one’s martial arts were unparalleled, like a god descended from heaven. Pitifully, outside the Vanguard Camp wailed continuously, with many already pressed to the ground by demons, bitten all over their bodies. They heard personal guards urgently report: “Your Highness! The Martial Prosperity Camp can barely hold on!” Prince Hui was shocked and furious, immediately raising the military flag and saying sternly: “All troops prepare! Fire…”

At this moment, the military flag was raised. As soon as his hand fell and the word “cannon” was spoken, the Vanguard Camp would immediately suffer heavy casualties. The word “cannon” was held in his mouth, the command flag had not yet fallen, when suddenly a purple lightning bolt darted into the main formation. The imperial commissioner’s body inexplicably floated up, flying straight toward the horizon like a kite with a broken string.

Prince Hui flew away, and his hundred or so personal guards were shocked beyond measure. The commissioner was in mid-air but also knew it was Wu Dingyuan who had ambushed him. He heard him curse loudly: “Bold Wu Dingyuan! Actually rebelling against superiors! Someone arrest him…”

Bang! His mouth contained words, but his buttocks hurt. Prince Hui fell to the muddy ground. Before he could cry out in pain, he suddenly saw there were no more of his own soldiers around, but instead thousands of big-bellied hungry ghosts, all with ill intentions, staring at his buttocks meat.

Prince Hui remembered his life’s aspirations and immediately lowered his head, gasping: “For the nation, for the people, for the greater self…” Suddenly dozens of hungry ghosts pounced over, biting him until he looked up and cried loudly: “Someone save me!”

“Help! Help!” With hungry ghosts pursuing from behind, Prince Hui ignored his pain and urgently fled. Seeing shields right before his eyes, he hurriedly rushed over and desperately knocked, panicking: “Quick, open the gate! Quick!” Hearing the prince’s shouts, Wu Dingyuan raised his iron hand, holding the gold medallion high, and said in a deep voice: “Brothers, Prince Hui has given orders… open the gate!”

That phrase “open the gate” was like dragon songs and tiger roars, heard for a hundred li. The Grand Commander personally gave the order. Prince Hui was first to charge in, crying and shouting in his mouth. Behind him, remnant defeated soldiers surged in with the momentum, and tens of millions of hungry ghosts immediately followed like shadows, squeezing through gaps and crashing into the Martial Prosperity Inner Camp’s formation, throwing it into chaos. For a time, countless shields were abandoned on the ground, but the disaster victims were as numerous as the sea—no matter what, they could never all be killed.

It was over. Wu Dingyuan’s strategy had failed. At this time, not only had the “Vanguard Camp” fallen, but the remaining camps had also fallen deep into the sea of ghosts. The supervisor generals panicked: “Grand Commander, what do we do? What do we do?” Wu Dingyuan was first to run to the shields and roar loudly: “All troops abandon weapons! Everyone follow me forward—don’t fight back when hit, don’t curse back when scolded! All together block the shield gaps!”

“Can’t listen to him! Can’t listen to him!” Prince Hui, having escaped death, immediately roared again: “Everyone fight desperately against the enemy! Fight the hungry ghosts to the death! Quick! It’ll be too late if we delay!” Seeing the court forces already had momentum to slaughter the disaster victims, this instead forced the hungry ghosts to become even more fierce. Wu Dingyuan, in his urgency, could only run around stopping the killing, continuously shouting: “Loyalist Army, everyone work together to quickly block the shield wall!”

Dozens of personal guards ran about in panic, already relaying orders back and forth among the supervisor generals. But with the two great ministers having conflicting opinions, the officers and soldiers looked at each other, all losing their composure. Some raised swords to kill wildly, others turned and fled. The entire army became a scattered mess. The clever ones in the formation immediately rode straight to the main camp, urgently seeking the supervising eunuch and shouting: “Eunuch Qiao, who should we listen to?” That eunuch surnamed Qiao—how could he know anything about military affairs? Seeing hungry ghosts coming like sea tides, he was already so frightened he was crying, only weeping and covering his face: “I don’t know, I don’t know.”

The formation of a million officers and soldiers scattered, hungry ghosts broke through the defense line. The next stop would be to pass Baoding City and head directly to Beijing. Speaking of it, everything was Wu Dingyuan’s fault. Prince Hui was so angry his heart was on fire, and he said sternly: “Someone! Wu Dingyuan has confused the military’s morale—arrest him first! Quick!”

A large group of personal guards shouted and all rushed toward Wu Dingyuan, pulling and tugging in all directions, hoping to drag him away. Wu Dingyuan became even more anxious. No matter how great his power, it was only useful within the Orthodox Army—he had no power to command the Loyalist Army. Seeing military discipline scattered, he could only lead by example, rushing to the front of the shield formation, planning to use his own strength to hold up the shield wall.

“Take Wu Dingyuan away! Quick!” Prince Hui became even more angry. All the personal guards exerted themselves desperately, jumping onto Wu Dingyuan’s back one by one, hoping to press him down. Wu Dingyuan was unmoved. He immediately bent his knees slightly, bent at the waist, and with his left and right hands each supporting a shield, exerted his strength and shouted: “Rise!”

The scene before them was quite intimidating. This wasn’t one shield or two shields, but an entire hundred forty li of three hundred thirty thousand shield walls. Wu Dingyuan actually wanted to use his own flesh and blood to lift them up?

Purple lightning flashed, extending along the shield chains. Soldiers and hungry ghosts clinging to the shields were not shaken down by the internal energy. Wu Dingyuan gasped in his mouth, white steam rising from his head, and roared sternly again: “Rise!”

Under the thunderous roar, divine power reached everywhere. About a hundred shields near him slowly left the ground, causing shields further away to sway slightly, also showing signs of standing up. Seeing Wu Dingyuan about to seal the roads again, all the ghosts became angry and annoyed, shouting in unison: “Bad person!” They jumped onto the shields one by one, not letting the “Generation True Dragon” erect the shield formation. “Rise…” Wu Dingyuan’s arm muscles bulged, his square face turned blue-purple. His neck swelled, his Adam’s apple rolled, and suddenly his robe and armor burst, as he cried out miserably: “Rise!”

The Grand Commander planted his horse stance firmly and exerted tens of thousands of divine strength. With two crack sounds, the muddy ground under his feet was actually stepped on and cracked by him. In the blink of an eye, thousands of shields left the ground, and shields farther away were also swaying. Wu Dingyuan let out dragon songs and tiger roars from his mouth, just about to make one concentrated effort, but his hands became heavier and heavier. Hungry ghosts continuously climbed up from both sides, hoping to crush his strength. The personal guards, following Prince Hui’s orders, were even more relentless, continuously pulling Wu Dingyuan’s legs, hoping to bring him down.

“Grab Wu Dingyuan! Grab him!” “Bad person! Everyone kill him!” “Help! Quick, run!” The moment of heaven collapsing and earth splitting had arrived. The court’s officers and soldiers were panicked and didn’t know what to do—some fled, some fought, and some were still busy arresting Wu Dingyuan following Prince Hui’s orders. The hungry ghosts were also in chaos—some sat on the ground crying loudly, others desperately tried to bite the Loyalist Army soldiers.

The scene before them was very tragic. The entire field was in chaos, but only Wu Dingyuan remained supporting the shield wall. Unfortunately, he was surrounded on all sides. Not only was there no one willing to help him, but both enemy and friendly sides came to restrain him. Under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of people, Wu Dingyuan rolled his eyes white, the purple light on his body became more dazzling, but more and more hungry ghosts pressed on his body, making his knees bend more and more, ready to kneel at any moment.

Wu Dingyuan was about to collapse. Despite possessing unparalleled courage, at this moment of solitary struggle, he couldn’t help but be exhausted. The moment he knelt down, the “Scattered Purple Qi” on his body would reverse and consume its master, entering from his right arm meridians into his heart and lungs, thus taking his life. When the true dragon died, the iron walls of the “Orthodox Dynasty” would also collapse…

The purple light flashed more brilliantly. The Grand Commander’s internal energy circulation had reached its peak, but unfortunately his “Scattered Purple Qi,” though capable of lifting mountains, could not support the giant cauldron of the Nine Provinces of the world. Water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. The purple qi began to flow in reverse. Wu Dingyuan’s knees also bent more and more, ready to collapse on the ground at any moment, vomiting blood and dying.

Just as he was about to kneel to the ground, suddenly his body felt lighter. A hungry ghost jumped down, then the second, third, fourth… Hundreds of hungry ghosts jumped down from the shields, relieving the burden on the “Generation True Dragon’s” shoulders.

No one knew why this was happening. They only knew that more and more hungry ghosts jumped down. They came in groups after groups, waves after waves, urgently moving away from the shield wall, looking like a great sea at low tide. Wu Dingyuan gasped heavily, already kneeling on one knee, trying to gather his strength, when he heard slow, heavy horse hooves being dragged nearby, moving slowly from far to near, as if horses were dragging heavy objects gradually approaching.

Ten zhang away from Wu Dingyuan came a blue stallion. It was so huge that it didn’t look like a horse but rather like an elephant. Behind it, it dragged a large round barrel loaded on a large cart. The barrel dripped red paint that scattered on the ground, looking like a boundary line that wanted to separate the enemy and friendly sides once again.

“Green Claw Jade Steed” was too strong. This horse that could drag thousand-pound cannons could naturally also drag large paint barrels. Wu Dingyuan looked at the red paint line on the ground, gasping violently as he slowly raised his head and saw the giant horse’s master.

A bright moon was in the sky, but there was a great general riding on the blue horse. He was extremely imposing, nearly ten feet tall, but his appearance was refined and upright, completely scholarly! The moonlight cast his shadow down, reflecting on that gasping square face. Wu Dingyuan also saw that brocade flag fluttering high in the wind—green background with white characters reading: “Jiangdong Sail Shadow.”

Lu Guzhan had come. He was taciturn and silent, treating the battlefield scene as if it didn’t exist, only lowering his head to gaze at Wu Dingyuan. His expression showed extreme compassion, as if pitying the suffering the “Generation True Dragon” was enduring.

The old general from Jiangdong appeared, and behind him slowly surged several thousand troops. Looking at those banners and flags, they were all Jiangdong soldiers. It turned out they were the vanguard of the tens of millions of hungry ghosts. At this decisive battle moment, Wu Dingyuan summoned his life’s remaining courage, immediately covered his entire body with purple lightning, gritted his teeth and stood up, roaring angrily: “Someone! Arrest Lu Guzhan!”

“Someone! Arrest Lu Guzhan!” “Someone! Arrest Lu Guzhan!” The shouts traveled far, but there was not the slightest movement from behind. Seeing Lu Guzhan gently shake his head, Wu Dingyuan was filled with amazement and hurriedly turned back to look, only to see wind whistling behind him—the Loyalist Army had already fled without a single person remaining.

The Loyalist Army had withdrawn, and the hungry ghosts had already started toward the capital. Lu Guzhan silently looked at Wu Dingyuan once, then raised his horsewhip and pointed toward the capital. In an instant, thousands of troops all turned their horses around and headed straight for the capital.

The Jiangdong forces set off and departed. In the vast heaven and earth, only the “Generation True Dragon” remained alone. He stared blankly at the bright moon on the horizon. With a bang, dust flew up, and Wu Dingyuan had already knelt on the ground, as if he could never get up again…