Shielding

Chaotic screams erupted in the Qi camp, but were suppressed by the even stronger blizzard and the sudden fear of death.

"Charge!" Xiao Jue's roar was like thunder, drowning out all the noise. He held his long spear level and charged ahead, crashing into the Qi army camp through the gap torn open by the rapid-fire crossbows!

"kill--!"

Fifteen thousand Northern Liang cavalrymen roared like a landslide and a tsunami, following their commander like a flood bursting its banks or a hungry wolf pouncing on a flock of sheep on a snowy plain, surging into the Qi army camp!

Iron hooves trampled the camp, swords flashed and felled the panicked Qi soldiers, and spears pierced the hastily organized and weak defenses.

The blizzard became their best ally.

Under the might of heaven and earth, the command system of the Qi army's 100,000-strong camp was almost paralyzed, and the communication between units was cut off. The soldiers hurriedly crawled out of their warm tents, only to be faced with chaotic darkness, biting wind and snow, and the fierce and ruthless Beiliang iron cavalry that seemed to have descended from the heavens!

Many people were crushed by the whistling hooves and blades before they even found their weapons and officers.

The King of Qi's central army camp was located at the very heart of the camp, so its defenses were naturally the most formidable.

When the chaos and screams came from the perimeter, the central army commander realized that something was wrong and tried to organize his personal guards and core troops to form a defensive formation.

However, the Northern Liang army's attack came too fast, too fiercely, and too illogically!

They didn't bother with any resistance along the way; their goal was terrifyingly clear—the Nine-Spear King's Banner and the Great Banner, which still stood tall in the wind and snow, representing the authority of the King of Qi!

Xiao Jue charged at the forefront, his long spear flashing, causing men and horses to fall wherever he went, with no one able to withstand a single blow.

Chen Zhen and a thousand personal guards stood guard around him, like the sharpest tip of an arrow.

The subsequent Northern Liang cavalry split into several groups, like red-hot iron rods inserted into butter, charging left and right through the massive Qi camp, constantly cutting, driving, and creating greater chaos, making it impossible for the Qi army to effectively regroup.

Zhou Heng, swept along by his personal guards, also rushed into the Qi camp. What he saw was a scene of carnage, a veritable hell.

Broken tents, toppled banners, burning supplies, mutilated corpses, splattered blood... all of this intertwines with the swirling snowflakes, presenting a bizarre and cruel beauty.

The strong smell of blood filled his mouth and nose, making his stomach churn.

He saw the ferocious expressions on the faces of the Northern Liang cavalry, heard the beast-like roars coming from their throats, and witnessed the entire process of the Qi soldiers going from initial astonishment to fear, and then to collapse and fleeing.

So this is what war is like... a million times more bloody and direct than he had imagined.

He followed closely behind Chen Zhen, mechanically dodging stray arrows and the occasional stragglers rushing by, his mind a complete mess.

After paying a considerable price, the Northern Liang army's spearhead finally approached the core area where the Qi King's central army banner was located.

Here, the King of Qi's most elite personal guards, the "Xuanjia Guards," had barely managed to form a circular formation. Shields stood like walls, and spears formed a forest. Although hastily assembled, they still exuded an aura of iron and blood.

In the center of the circular formation, a magnificent carriage with a canopy and several heavily guarded figures could be vaguely seen.

Xiao Jue abruptly reined in his warhorse, his long spear pointing diagonally at the enemy formation. His face, stained with blood and snow, was expressionless, only his eyes burning with a cold flame.

He raised his hand, and the fierce Northern Liang cavalry behind him slowly stopped their charge and began to reorganize their formation. Their panting and the soft clinking of weapons were particularly clear in the wind and snow.

The rapid-fire crossbowmen were urgently deployed, and the crossbowmen silently and swiftly reloaded. The fierce soldiers of the guerrilla force also converged from all directions, their bodies stained with blood and reeking of smoke.

A brief standoff. The wind and snow howled, whipping up the blood-stained flags of both sides.

Within the circular formation, a middle-aged man clad in golden armor and surrounded by numerous generals—it was none other than the Prince of Qi—looked with a mixture of shock and anger at the Northern Liang army outside the formation, which seemed to have emerged from hell, especially Xiao Jue, who led the charge like a god of war.

He couldn't understand how the Northern Liang army could cross hundreds of miles of icy rivers and launch such a precise and deadly attack in such a blizzard!

"Xiao Jue! You traitor! How dare you offend my royal army!" King Qi shouted, his voice trembling as it traveled through the wind and snow.

Xiao Jue didn't bother to answer. He simply raised the long spear in his hand slowly.

Just as he was about to give the order to launch the final assault, a sudden change occurred!

From one side of the Qi army's central formation, a cavalry unit of about two hundred men suddenly charged out from the flank!

They were not Xuanjia Guards; their armor was a mixed bag, yet they were exceptionally brave and had a clear objective, rushing headlong into Xiao Jue's location without regard for anything else!

Judging from their charge route and timing, they were clearly a hidden force of the King of Qi, or perhaps just hired desperados, intending to carry out a beheading at the last moment!

The appearance of this cavalry was extremely sudden and fast, and it happened to be in the weak gap when the Northern Liang army was reorganizing and the crossbows were not yet fully in place!

"Protect the Marquis!" Chen Zhen shouted fiercely, his eyes bloodshot. His guards immediately huddled together and drew their weapons.

But the cavalry came too fast and too fiercely, and in the blink of an eye they were close. The bowstrings twanged, and a volley of arrows rained down! The guards raised their shields to block, and with a clang, several men were still hit by arrows and fell to the ground.

Xiao Jue's eyes sharpened, and he swung his spear to deflect the stray arrows. Instead of retreating, he advanced, intending to personally confront the cavalry attack!

In that split second, everything went into slow motion from Zhou Heng's perspective.

He saw a cold arrow, angled sharply, pierce through the gap in the guards' shields, and with a piercing whistle, head straight for Xiao Jue's unprotected right side of his neck!

Xiao Jue's attention was drawn to the enemy cavalry charging towards him. He swung his long spear, but his old strength was exhausted and no new strength had been generated!

In that instant, all thoughts of the mission, going home, and fear vanished from Zhou Heng's mind. Only one primal, instinctive thought exploded within him—he couldn't die!

"My lord, be careful!"

He didn't even realize that he had shouted out loud, and that his body had already reacted.

With a burst of strength from who knows where, he suddenly leaped forward from his horse, heading towards Xiao Jue!

"Pfft!"

A muffled thud.

Zhou Heng felt a piercing pain in the back of his right shoulder, as if he had been pierced by a red-hot iron rod. The huge impact knocked him forward, and his vision went black as he crashed heavily onto the cold ground mixed with blood and snow.

The icy snowflakes splashed on his face, and a sharp pain exploded from near his shoulder blades, quickly spreading to half of his back, causing him to almost instantly lose consciousness.

In my ears came a sudden, even more intense burst of shouts and clashes of weapons, and... there seemed to be an extremely suppressed growl, very close by.

He struggled to turn his blurry eyes, and the last thing he saw was Xiao Jue suddenly turn around, his usually calm and deep eyes reflecting shock and anger for the first time, and a hand stained with the enemy's blood reaching out to him.

Then, darkness completely engulfed him.