In the darkness of the night, Chen Ji and Li Xuan marched with the army, maintaining a distance of five paces from each other, ready to assist one another at any moment.

Chen Ji cast a questioning glance at Li Xuan. The Crown Prince had been left behind alone, yet Li Xuan, as the commander of the Imperial Guards and the Left Palace Guard, had not stayed to protect him. Instead, he had infiltrated the Heavenly Strategy Army and helped Chen Ji rescue Xiao Man.

Li Xuan noticed his gaze but merely patted the long sword at his waist before surveying their surroundings once more.

Carrying the captives, their pace was slower than the rest of the Heavenly Strategy Army, causing them to gradually fall behind.

Chen Ji deliberately slowed down further, intending to “fall behind” later.

But the moment he did, the supervising centurion behind him sternly declared, “Those who shirk battle will be executed.”

A chill ran down Chen Ji’s spine, and he immediately increased his pace again.

Once the centurion’s attention shifted elsewhere, Li Xuan moved closer to Chen Ji and quietly asked, “Do you think the border army will win, or the Heavenly Strategy Army?”

If the border army prevailed, they could take their people and covertly lie low afterwards. If the Heavenly Strategy Army won, they would likely have to fight for their lives.

Chen Ji did not answer hastily. He wasn’t sure if Yuan Zhen had any hidden cards, but he knew that Bai Long held a trump card that had yet to be played.

After a long moment of thought, he murmured, “A Pyrrhic victory.”

Li Xuan paused, pondering the meaning of “Pyrrhic victory” to himself.

The main force of the Heavenly Strategy Army’s central division marched north, from Qiemo Street to Gumo Street, and then from Gumo Street to Xumi Alley. Their speed increased steadily, like a sharp, slender cavalry spear, thrusting towards the border army’s defenses.

A spear measuring one zhang and eight chi (about 6 meters) in length was called a ‘shuo’ (cavalry spear).

To forge a cavalry spear, one first had to select the wooden shaft, with mulberry wood being the finest choice.

Craftsmen would weave bamboo strips to encase the wooden shaft, then soak it in tung oil, apply raw lacquer, and wrap it with kudzu cloth. This process required soaking for a year and a half, followed by a year and a half of air-drying.

Crafting a single cavalry spear took three years. It would be flexible yet unbreakable, capable of piercing through anything.

And this “cavalry spear” — the Heavenly Strategy Army — had been drilled by Yuan Zhen for far more than three years. When Yuan Zhen commanded them to break through the northern defenses, they did so, never once disappointing him over the years.

As they neared the border army’s defenses, the Divine Archer Battalion drew their arrows and readied their bows.

Within fifty paces, in the span of three breaths, the armored soldiers of the Divine Archer Battalion loosed three arrows each.

After emptying their quivers, the Divine Archer Battalion split at a crossroads, like floodwaters diverging, revealing the Cavalry Spear Battalion behind them.

The armored soldiers of the Cavalry Spear Battalion tucked their two-man long spears under their right armpits. With their left hands, they drew short knives from their waists and stabbed them into their warhorses’ hindquarters, making the horses charge even more furiously.

“Kill!”

The charge was on.

Arrows rained down like black torrents on the border army. The first arrow merely pierced a hole in the earthen wall, the second created another… and when the twentieth arrow struck, the wall collapsed with a crash.

This time, even the mud houses the border army used for cover were shot down.

The Cavalry Spear Battalion rode through, their armored soldiers, holding their spears, swept aside the chevaux de frise and the border troops. The central division of the Heavenly Strategy Army, like a raging flood, dispersed all shield-bearing soldiers blocking their path, trampling them into a bloody pulp!

Just as the nearby armored infantry tried to form a new defensive line, the Divine Archer Battalion, which had flanked them, had recovered their breath. They swiftly drew three more arrows from their quivers, held them in their palms, and loosed them in rapid succession!

This combined cavalry tactic, utilizing bows and spears, treated the border army’s defenses as if they didn’t exist.

The border army, starving for three days, had fought from noon until late evening, completely exhausted. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Strategy Army’s central division was well-rested, their spear tips sharp, and their armor resilient.

The engagement resembled an unequal slaughter. The Heavenly Strategy Army gave the border troops no chance to react, piercing straight through their defenses with a single charge and galloping towards the North Gate.

Yuan Zhen surveyed the decimated border army defenses, his expression arrogant. “Without relying on Guyuan City, how could these remnants of the Guyuan border army ever hope to contend with my Heavenly Strategy Army?”

Yet, at that very moment, dozens of blood-soaked veteran soldiers of the border army blocked the Heavenly Strategy Army’s path. Their rattan armor was riddled with holes, but they stood, leaning on their swords, panting like defeated dogs.

From a distance, Yuan Zhen watched, then slowly shed his arrogant expression, stating impassively, “The Guyuan border army is truly stubborn and repugnant, like stinking, hard rocks… Crush them.”

As the Heavenly Strategy Army drew near, the veteran border soldiers simultaneously raised their notched pudaos (simple broadswords).

“Armored! Armed! Defend the border!”

“Enemy! Heads…”

The border army’s morale-boosting battle cry was cut short, drowned out beneath the iron hooves of the Heavenly Strategy Army.

They were like countless nameless souls.

History turned a page here, leaving not a single word about them.

Yuan Zhen remained expressionless. “It would be so much better if these veterans were under my command. Keeping them in the Southern Dynasty is a waste.”

A close confidant rode forward and asked, “Commander, where do we go now? Why not seize Guyuan City while we have the momentum? After this, it will be a clear path, and Taiyuan Prefecture and Xianyang Prefecture will be within reach!”

Yuan Zhen replied without hesitation, “Nonsense! Hu Junxian dared to lure me into the city, so he must have another trick up his sleeve. Don’t linger in battle; break out of the city immediately!”

The confidant acknowledged, “Yes… Commander, there are flames outside the city!”

Yuan Zhen abruptly turned, seeing the sky outside the city glow orange, as if the night itself were on fire. “That’s the direction of the main camp. Someone is attacking it.”

With the main force and commander of the central division absent from the camp, the supplies and infantry within were being slaughtered in the opportune attack.

The confidant quickly calculated, “Our scouts are dispersed within a twenty-li radius, and no news had returned before we entered the city… To penetrate the scout perimeter in such a short time, it must be a cavalry unit, with each rider on two horses for a long-distance raid—elite among elites!”

As the confidant spoke, his expression suddenly changed. “Commander, how could an elite cavalry unit appear here? Weren’t they all at Chongli Pass?!”

Yuan Zhen’s face also grew grim. War was the art of killing, but also the art of intelligence; sometimes, a single piece of information could dictate the course of a war.

Yet, maintaining an elite cavalry force required immense wealth, years of time, effort, and dedication. How could the Ning Dynasty suddenly conjure such a cavalry unit out of thin air?

The confidant asked, puzzled, “Is it the Prince of Jing’s Millennium Army?”

Yuan Zhen frowned. “No, the Millennium Army is still in Luocheng, not a step has left!”

The confidant looked bewildered.

Yuan Zhen seemed to realize something. “No good! Break through the North Gate and leave Guyuan!”

The Heavenly Strategy Army spurred their horses towards the North Gate. But as they caught sight of it from afar, they discovered dozens of men in black, working together to push open the city gate!

The men, bent over like boat pullers, heaved the gate wide open, revealing the thunderous sound of iron hooves from outside the city—a grand and magnificent roar!

Yuan Zhen’s heart sank.

He abruptly looked up, seeing a figure in a green robe standing high on the battlement of the city gate tower, composed and at ease.

The scholar in green, seeing Yuan Zhen look up, slowly bowed towards him from the majestic city tower of Guyuan.

It was a polite invitation into a trap.

It was Master Feng.

This man, the head of the top three of the twelve zodiac signs of the Directorate of Ceremonials, stood alone at the highest point of the city, solemn yet gentle, as if he had been waiting for this very moment for over a decade, cherishing it immensely.

As he bowed, a force of black-armored cavalry charged in through the newly opened North Gate. Wearing face masks and wielding iron halberds, their ferocity was blatant!

When Yuan Zhen saw the face masks on the cavalry, his expression finally changed. “It’s the Liu family’s Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry! They actually managed to get the Liu family’s six thousand Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry to fight for them!”

In that case, the armored infantry that had appeared in the city earlier must have been the Elephant-Armored Guard from Yanshi Grand Camp.

These were elite troops, raised by the Liu family with immense wealth to rival the three Imperial Capital garrisons. They had vanished without a trace after the Luocheng Incident, but now they were here.

But Yuan Zhen couldn’t fathom why the Liu family’s Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry and Elephant-Armored Guard would serve the Ning Dynasty. Who was behind this, daring enough to employ a rebel army?

It seemed that only now was the full scope of the Luocheng gambit revealed to the world.

The Prince of Jing’s death created a far-reaching echo, first annihilating the Liu family and reclaiming Yuzhou, then destroying the Heavenly Strategy Army to secure five years of reprieve for the Ning Dynasty.

Master Feng had been embroiled in this scheme for seven years, and not just to destroy the Liu family. On the night of the rebellion’s suppression, he had gone to great lengths simply to seize control of the Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry.

But when had this game begun?

And when would it end?

The Prince of Jing…

Chen Ji watched the scene silently, observing the Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry charging into the city, his emotions a complex mix. He knew he was also part of this scheme. The Prince of Jing had given him ‘Ice Flow’ before his death, but what other machinations did he have in mind?

At that moment, Yuan Zhen turned his horse. “Divine Archer Battalion, cover the rear! Cavalry Spear Battalion, clear the path! We’re exiting through the West Gate!”

The Heavenly Strategy Army chose to avoid the Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry’s vanguard, not because they couldn’t defeat them, but because they couldn’t afford to be trapped. If they became embroiled in a prolonged battle, the Heavenly Strategy Army would be finished.

However, no sooner had Yuan Zhen changed direction than he saw Hu Junxian and Zhou You riding towards him from behind, leading blood-soaked border infantry and the Elephant-Armored Guard, who were fully prepared for battle!

The border infantry looked exhausted, their bodies battered and torn.

Some had one eye matted with blood, yet the other still stared fixedly at the Heavenly Strategy Army. Others spit a mouthful of bloody foam from the side of their mouths and re-gripped their sword handles.

Yuan Zhen froze for a moment, then sighed deeply. “Crush them!”

The Heavenly Strategy Army surged forward, the Cavalry Spear Battalion once again tucking their spears under their armpits.

Hu Junxian drew the long sword from his waist, slapped its flat against his chest armor, and roared, “Where are the Guyuan border army?!”

All the border infantry stood ramrod straight. “Here!”

“Are there any cowards among you?”

“None!”

Hu Junxian spurred his horse forward. “Kill!”

“Armored! Armed! Defend the border!”

“Enemy! Heads! Drink blood!”

This was the border army’s battle cry, unfinished by the veterans earlier, as rough and heavy as Guyuan’s loess and stones.

The veteran border soldiers watched the surging flood of cavalry approach, raised their pudaos, and instead of retreating, charged forward, fearlessly clashing with the Heavenly Strategy Army.

One border infantryman was pierced through the heart by a cavalry spear, and his comrade behind him immediately took his place.

Another was pierced through the shoulder, but this infantryman braced against the spear, letting the long shaft pass through the bloody hole in his shoulder, and stubbornly pushed forward a few steps, trying to swing his blade at the horse. Yet the spear was too long, and he still couldn’t reach.

But it didn’t matter. With enough deaths, the spears would eventually break, and the Heavenly Strategy Army’s speed would eventually slow.

Layer after layer of border troops surged forward, not for any other reason than to build a wall of flesh and blood in the Heavenly Strategy Army’s path of retreat to the west, buying time for the Tiger-Armored Iron Cavalry.

Seeing this path blocked, the Heavenly Strategy Army immediately turned to another route, but that path was also packed with border troops.

Within the Heavenly Strategy Army, Li Xuan stared blankly at the scene.

He suddenly recalled the words of a veteran border soldier who had taunted him that afternoon:

“Still half-asleep, city boy? There’s no fancy stuff on the battlefield, just throw your life at it!”

In that instant, Li Xuan’s hair stood on end, as if something had pierced through and opened his mind.

“Enemy… Heads… Drink blood…”

Li Xuan suddenly tore off his helmet, turned to Chen Ji, and exclaimed, “Now!”

He drew the short knife from his waist, cut Xiao Man’s ropes, then tossed the knife to Chen Ji. He then unsheathed his long sword and plunged into the Heavenly Strategy Army.

The nearby Heavenly Strategy soldiers were drawn to Li Xuan. Chen Ji used the knife to cut Zhang Xia’s ropes, then helped him upright and placed him behind him. “Hold on tight!”

He then tossed the short knife to Xiao Man. “Xiao Man, help the others!”

As he spoke, a cavalry spear lunged at Chen Ji, but he firmly gripped its shaft.

With a powerful shake of both hands, an immense force bent the long spear shaft, transmitting through it to the Heavenly Strategy soldier wielding it, who was forced to let go.

Chen Ji seized the spear and swept it left and right. The long spear, like a whip, struck the Heavenly Strategy soldiers, instantly denting their iron armor and making them vomit blood.

Someone attacked from behind, and Chen Ji, without turning his head, shouted, “Duck!”

Zhang Xia immediately pressed his forehead against Chen Ji’s back. Chen Ji retracted the spear and used its butt to thrust backward, directly smashing a Heavenly Strategy soldier’s nose bridge and collapsing his face.

Chen Ji thrust forward again. The opposing Heavenly Strategy soldier, mounted on his horse, held a long spear vertically in front of him to block the cavalry spear. But with a slight flick of Chen Ji’s wrist, the spear in his hand suddenly bent, bypassing the long spear and striking the enemy’s throat.

The art of the long spear, known as “Pear Blossom,” was renowned for its fluid, unpredictable, and infinitely changing, almost divine, movements.

Li Xuan looked back and was astonished to see Chen Ji’s mastery even with the cavalry spear. A single long spear had caused the surrounding Heavenly Strategy soldiers to fall from their horses, and within eighteen feet, no Heavenly Strategy soldier could get near him!

He breathed a sigh of relief and charged into the Heavenly Strategy Army once more!

Two imperial officials suddenly broke out from the chaotic formation, momentarily delaying the Heavenly Strategy Army’s surge.

Hu Junxian keenly noticed this and immediately looked up, seeing Li Xuan, with just one sword, fighting his way straight towards Yuan Zhen!