Boom!
A military encampment was blasted into three deep craters.
Not a single soul survived.
Amidst the chaotic sounds of men shouting and horses neighing, Jiang Xingyan slowly turned her head. Her entire body was drenched in blood, which made General Huo Ci’s features—now her vessel—look even paler.
When the soldiers saw the massive craters behind her, not a single one of them could hide their shock.
“Did our general just blow up Beiluo’s arsenal?”
“Probably. I mean, look how deep those pits are. It’s not like the general dug them by hand, right?”
“Does that black powder really have that much power?”
Amid the murmurs of the troops, Jiang Xingyan spoke slowly:
“I’ve already contacted the Imperial Advisor. The main army will march into Beiluo territory immediately and capture the capital city closest to Shanhe Pass. We’ll rendezvous with the advisor’s forces inside the city.
What do you all think?”
“We’ll follow General Huo’s orders!”
“Finally, we can vent the frustration that’s been building up these past few days.”
“Tonight, in this battle, show me what you’re made of!”
Jiang Xingyan swung onto the horse that Huo Ci had brought for her. Led by scout outriders, she advanced toward Qiyan City—the closest junction between Beiluo and Western Zhou.
Speaking of which, the King of Beiluo was truly senseless.
He had already unified the various nomadic tribes and seized control of a tract of land, yet he still acted like a guest in someone else’s home.
Instead of thinking about how to build cities and let the people live in peace, he still harbored thoughts of pillage and plunder, treating his subjects like beasts of burden.
When the nobles ran out of money, they bled the commoners dry.
The King indulged in extravagance while the common folk toiled like oxen and horses, suffering beyond measure.
But what Beiluo excelled at most was using faith to control the masses.
They preached that hardship was the lord’s chastisement, and that suffering in this life earned blessings for the next.
Anyone who dared to object would be marked with a bounty, killed, and made an example of.
Over time, the people came to believe those flimsy, untenable doctrines without question.
With the backing of faith and heavy rewards, their soldiers charged into battle with suicidal ferocity.
But such reckless exploitation could not last forever.
So the King of Beiluo set his sights on their neighbor, Western Zhou.
Though Western Zhou was not as vast as Great Xia, it was rich in minerals, had fertile land, and boasted the fertile Jiangnan region—the land of fish and rice. It made them green with envy.
Jiang Xingyan pressed her thin lips together tightly, the wind howling past her ears.
She was burning with the urge to charge straight into Beiluo’s royal palace, raise her sword, and cut off the King’s head in one stroke.
Yun Ge’er had once told her the full story of how Beiluo and Western Zhou became mortal enemies.
Western Zhou had originally been friendly to both neighboring states, opening trade routes and promoting shared prosperity.
But Beiluo pushed too far—they actually allowed their merchant caravans to raid and pillage Western Zhou’s borders, catching their garrison forces completely off guard.
The battle that followed was devastating.
Every single man fell in battle. Women were either violated to death or captured and enslaved.
Even the children were not spared—each one was impaled on spears and burned together in piles.
When the news reached Western Zhou’s capital, the entire court was seized with terror and grief.
From that day on, Western Zhou and Beiluo became sworn enemies, locked in an endless blood feud.
Back then, Huo Ci could have wiped them out for good—if not for Great Xia meddling.
The more Jiang Xingyan thought about it, the more she suspected Shangguan Hanshan’s true motives.
After all, ever since he returned to Great Xia, not only had there been no word from him, but He Han—the commander of her Embroidery Raiment Guard she had sent to Great Xia—had been lost there.
Yu Jiaojiao’s fate remained unknown. Jiang Xingyan was consumed by grief and regret. That faint thought of forgiving him was ruthlessly snuffed out.
If this campaign ended in victory—even if she and Huo Ci swapped back—
She would join Yun Ge’er and march on Great Xia again, to avenge He Han and Yu Jiaojiao!
Upon receiving Jiang Xingyan’s message, Yun Chunfeng immediately mustered thirty thousand troops.
Though they had kept casualties to a minimum the previous night, nearly a thousand soldiers had still suffered injuries of varying severity.
And the arrows fired by Beiluo were all coated with deadly poison.
Those struck were hanging by a thread. Even with antidote pills, Sun Yaxiang and the dozen or so physicians accompanying the army were utterly overwhelmed.
Jiang Xingyan had already allocated ten thousand troops to Shanhe Pass. Of the remaining forty thousand, some had to stay behind to guard the city.
Thirty thousand was the absolute maximum they could spare.
Yun Chunfeng solemnly entrusted Jingyu Pass to Xiao Chonghua.
“Third Prince, this is the throat of all Western Zhou. You must not let your guard down for even a moment.”
Though Xiao Chonghua was anxious inside, uncertain whether he could hold Jingyu Pass,
the situation left him no room to refuse.
Others might defect. Even Huo Ci had the fallback option of becoming a royal consort in Great Xia.
But he had no such escape.
He was a prince of Western Zhou.
The legitimate son of the Emperor and Empress.
And likely the next Emperor.
If even he could not hold the line, who would still be willing to fight for Western Zhou?
Xiao Chonghua felt as though he had suddenly broken free from the petty scheming of the past and stepped into a far wider world.
He fixed his gaze on Yun Chunfeng, clad in dark green battle robes, and spoke with unwavering resolve:
“Rest assured, Imperial Advisor. I will defend Jingyu Pass with my life—to the very end.”
Yun Chunfeng raised an eyebrow.
Hearing such words from Xiao Chonghua’s mouth was no small feat.
The thirty-thousand-strong army marched forth in full force, steamrolling over the remnants of Beiluo’s scattered troops that Jiang Xingyan had blown apart the night before. They seized a good number of weapons and black powder.
Yun Chunfeng gathered them all into his storage pouch, contemplating how to maximize their destructive potential.
Those Beiluo fools had been using soldiers as human bombs.
But that approach was too conspicuous and too slow—easy to spot from a distance and shoot down early.
If only he could increase the throwing speed and use mechanical devices to launch them… wouldn’t that save manpower and deliver precision strikes?
Speaking of mechanical devices…
Just as a certain person’s face surfaced in Yun Chunfeng’s mind—a flash of celestial-blue Daoist robes—that very person appeared before him.
“Oh, my devout little believer~ What is it you wish to obtain from me this time? And how much ‘faith’ are you willing to offer?”
Yun Chunfeng rolled his eyes.
“Sixth Senior Brother, remember when you tattled to Master last time and got seven of our senior brothers fined two hundred taels apiece for nothing? They still don’t know about that, do they?”
Sixth Senior Brother, Daoist Wumian, immediately clamped his hand over Yun Chunfeng’s mouth.
“Shh! Keep your voice down!
I’ll help you for free this time. Don’t you dare say a word. And this is the last time—got it?”
Yun Chunfeng smirked.
No one had ever managed to fleece him before.
The silver he’d given to his senior brothers over the past few times had all mysteriously appeared under his pillow the very next day—at half price.
After all, he was Master’s most beloved little disciple.
Now, where else could you find logic like that?
Sixth Senior Brother, Daoist Wumian, usually liked to shut himself away and tinker with all sorts of strange contraptions.
After listening to Yun Chunfeng’s description, inspiration struck him instantly.
“I do have a few blueprints that could help. But I have one condition.”
Yun Chunfeng picked up his communication jade and made as if to shout.
His mouth was once again smothered by Wumian’s hand.
“Enough, enough! No conditions! None!
I’ll give them all to you for free—is that good enough?!”
