A steel mountain range crashed into a forest of flesh and blood.
There were no screams.
Because the moment a sound tried to rise in the throat, the person was already gone.
The front ranks of the coalition infantry formation were erased—like wiped away by an invisible giant hand.
They vanished in an instant.
Under the black iron hooves, shields, spears, and human bodies all became a blurred mass.
A red mud.
A crimson sludge.
“Stop!!”
“No retreat!!”
A Chu officer swung his ringed saber, cutting down a soldier who was trying to flee.
Behind him were more soldiers.
They couldn’t see what was happening ahead.
They only knew that people in front were falling… disappearing.
Fear had seized every heart.
They wanted to run.
But those behind kept pushing forward.
The most terrifying thing wasn’t the Qin spears.
It was the backs and heels of their own comrades.
“Stop pushing!!”
“My leg!! Ahhh!!”
“Help me!!”
The tide of people turned into a meat-grinding millstone.
Some were knocked down.
Then countless feet trampled over them.
Not even a muffled groan escaped—only another “meat patty” on the ground.
Deaths caused by trampling far exceeded those caused by Qin spears—faster, and more numerous!
Xiang Liang’s army was killing itself.
……
On the city wall.
Wang Jian’s hands gripped the battlements tightly.
He stared at the chaotic hell below.
In his entire life of war, he had never seen anything like this.
Three hundred thousand troops—
had not even managed a proper resistance.
And just… collapsed?
Ying Ziye tapped his arm with a small hand.
“General Wang.”
Wang Jian jolted and immediately bowed.
“Your Highness!”
Ying Ziye pointed at the chaotic battlefield below, at the coalition officers still waving flags and trying to reorganize the troops.
“Those flags… are annoying.”
Wang Jian understood instantly.
He turned and raised a small red flag toward the signal soldiers behind him.
“Stirrup Crossbows!”
“Free fire!”
“Target all flag bearers! All officers!”
“Release!”
Behind the battlements, the chilling sound of mechanical triggers rang out again.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
This time, it was no longer a blanket rain of arrows.
It was precise, lethal, targeted execution.
A Zhao deputy general was swinging his sword, screaming at fleeing troops.
“No retreat! Hold the line!”
“Puchi.”
A black crossbow bolt shot straight through his back and out his chest.
His expression froze.
He fell forward.
A Qi army commander had just gathered over a hundred men, trying to form a defensive line.
A bolt flew in.
The flag bearer behind him—flag and body—was nailed to the ground.
When the banner fell—
the newly gathered soldiers instantly scattered again, fleeing faster than rabbits.
The coalition command structure was completely shattered.
Flags kept falling.
Officers were being picked off one by one.
No one could organize resistance anymore.
The coalition had become a swarm of headless flies.
……
Xiang Liang stood frozen beneath the command banner.
He watched his army.
No—that was no longer an army.
It was a flock of sheep being hunted by wolves.
No.
Even worse than sheep.
Sheep could still cry out.
Many of his soldiers died without even having time to scream.
Dying under Qin iron hooves.
Dying under their own comrades’ feet.
His grand campaign to destroy Qin.
His so-called 300,000-strong allied army of the Six Kingdoms.
Could not even last an hour.
It had already become a joke.
A bloody, horrifying joke.
Clang.
The bronze sword in his hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
He didn’t even have the strength to pick it up.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Just then—
A thin, dry hand grabbed his arm forcefully.
“Lord Commander!”
Xiang Liang slowly turned his head.
It was Fan Zeng.
His most trusted advisor.
Fan Zeng’s face was covered in sweat and urgency.
“Lord Commander! We must leave!”
“As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood!”
Xiang Liang’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
Leave?
Where to?
In all this vast world… where was there still a place for him?
Fan Zeng pointed toward the southeast and shouted hoarsely:
“Wujiang!”
“Lord Commander! We go to Wujiang!”
“There are ships we prepared in advance!”
“As long as we cross the Wujiang River and return to Jiangdong, we still have a chance!!”
Wujiang…
Ships…
A chance…
These words were like a faint light piercing the dead darkness in Xiang Liang’s heart.
Yes.
As long as he returned to Jiangdong—
He still had the families of his eight thousand Jiangdong soldiers.
He still had a chance to rise again!
The desire to survive surged back into his mind.
“Go!”
Xiang Liang suddenly turned his horse.
“Retreat! Retreat toward Wujiang!!”
His guards immediately surrounded him and changed direction.
The central command banner moved.
And that movement became the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
“The commander is fleeing!”
“Xiang Liang is running!!”
“Run!! Run!!!”
The thirty-thousand-strong army completely collapsed.
Defeat came like a collapsing mountain.
Every soldier threw away his weapon and armor.
Only one thought remained:
Run!
Run faster than the others!
……
On the city wall.
Wang Jian stepped forward as he watched the fleeing army stretch across the mountains.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness!”
“This old minister requests permission to pursue!”
“We shall annihilate all 300,000 rebels here!”
Ying Ziye gently waved his small hand.
“No need.”
He picked up a small brass telescopic lens that Ying Zheng had just handed him.
He didn’t look at the panicked troops scattering like headless flies.
Instead, he looked toward the two towering peaks on either side of Hangu Pass.
He lowered the telescope and smiled with childlike innocence.
He waved at Qinglong behind him.
“The time has come.”
Qinglong stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
“Please issue your orders, Your Highness.”
Ying Ziye’s voice was clear and bright.
“Release the ‘big birds.’”
He paused slightly.
“And tell them this.”
“Not a single one is allowed to escape.”
“Understood!”
Qinglong stood up.
He turned and gestured to the row of Jinyiwei behind him, who had stood like statues all this time.
Hundreds of Jinyiwei said nothing.
Silently, they unfastened the large, heavy canvas bundles on their backs.
They split into two groups.
One rushed toward the left mountain.
The other toward the right.
Their movements were swift—like ghosts.
……
Meanwhile—
Xiang Liang, with several hundred loyal guards, cut a bloody path through the collapsing army.
He did not dare look back.
All he could hear was the wind—and his own frantic heartbeat.
Run!
As long as he reached the Wujiang River!
As long as he got on the ship!
He would be safe!
After an unknown amount of time—
The world suddenly opened up ahead.
A wide river appeared before him.
Its surface shimmered under the light.
A wave of wild joy surged across Xiang Liang’s face.
Wujiang!
It was Wujiang!
He had found the road to survival!
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