48: Chapter 47 Black Wind Pass

The fires at the Northern Border Camp burned for an entire night.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan stood on the southern hillside, watching the camp where he had stayed for less than a month collapse amidst the flames. The granaries, tents, and gates—everything that could burn was burning. The firelight illuminated half the sky, even reflecting a crimson hue onto the distant snowy plains. This was Crown Prince Xiao Xuan's command: anything that couldn't be carried away was to be burned to the ground. Not a single grain of food or piece of timber would be left for the Northern Di.

General Zhao Kuo stood behind him, his face ashen. He had built this camp brick by brick and guarded it for fifteen years; burning it down with his own hands felt like a knife carving into his heart. But he remained silent, for he knew the Crown Prince was right—it was better to burn what could not be held.

A sound like muffled thunder echoed from the distance. It wasn't thunder, but the sound of horse hooves. The sound of twenty thousand warhorses galloping simultaneously made the very earth tremble.

"They are here." Crown Prince Xiao Xuan vaulted onto his horse and glanced back. Twenty thousand men, all cavalry, were fully arrayed. Blades were unsheathed, arrows were notched, and every face flickered in the distant firelight. General Guan Yu took the lead, his green dragon crescent blade held behind him. His face was the color of a dark date, and his magnificent beard fluttered in the night wind. He didn't speak, merely glancing at Crown Prince Xiao Xuan. In that gaze, there was no tension or fear, only Battle Intent.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan nodded to him, turned his horse around, and faced south.

"Move out."

The twenty thousand cavalry did not head north to meet the enemy; instead, they retreated south. The sound of hooves was steady and unhurried, like a defeated army. The Northern Di gave chase.

The first to catch up were the Northern Di's vanguard cavalry, roughly thirty thousand strong. They were all light cavalry with fast horses and sharp blades. Seeing the backs of the Great Yan's army, they charged forward with howls like hungry wolves sighting meat. Crown Prince Xiao Xuan did not look back, merely urging his horse forward. The twenty thousand men consistently maintained a distance of three to five li from the Northern Di vanguard—not too far, not too close, just enough to be seen but not caught.

After chasing for about an hour, the commander of the Northern Di vanguard sensed something was wrong. The Great Yan army ahead was running at a moderate pace, neither turning to fight nor fleeing desperately; it felt like they were fishing. He pulled his reins, about to order a halt to the pursuit, when a horn sounded from behind. It was the Chanyu's horn—a full-scale pursuit, no stopping. He gritted his teeth and continued the chase.

After another hour of pursuit, Crown Prince Xiao Xuan finally reined in his horse.

Ahead, between two great mountains, lay a long and narrow valley. The entrance was barely three li wide, flanked by steep, dark rock walls that looked like two massive gates. They had reached Black Wind Pass.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan turned around to look at the twenty thousand men behind him. They had ridden for a full two hours; the horses were panting, the men were panting, but no one had fallen behind. The firelight was no longer visible, and only darkness remained between heaven and earth behind them. Within that darkness was the Northern Di's army of two hundred thousand.

"General Zhao." Crown Prince Xiao Xuan's voice was soft.

General Zhao Kuo spurred his horse forward.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan pointed to the cliffs on either side of the valley entrance: "Have your men lie in ambush up there. Once the Northern Di have all entered the valley, seal the entrance."

General Zhao Kuo cupped his fists: "This general obeys the command!" He led one hundred thousand men and silently vanished into the slopes on both sides.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan then looked toward General Li Mu: "General Li, take fifty thousand men and set an ambush in the middle of the valley. Once the Northern Di enter, cut them off from the center."

General Li Mu nodded and rode off.

Finally, Crown Prince Xiao Xuan looked at General Guan Yu and General Lu Bu: "Yunchang, Lu Bus courtesy name, stay with me. Once the Northern Di enter the valley, I will lead the twenty thousand to run ahead, and you two will slaughter them from behind."

General Guan Yu frowned slightly: "Your Highness, using twenty thousand to lure the enemy is too dangerous."

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan shook his head: "It's not dangerous. The Northern Di have no supplies; they only have three days. If they can't take the camp in three days, they'll have to run back on empty stomachs. Since I'm not defending the camp, they don't need to attack; they can pass right through. But what will they see once they pass? An empty camp. No grain, no fodder, nothing. If they pursue, I retreat. If they retreat, I pursue. Once they run into Black Wind Pass, we'll close the door and beat the dog."

General Guan Yu was silent for a moment before cupping his fists: "I understand."

The Northern Di army finally reached the valley entrance.

Chanyu Huyan Lie reined in his horse, looking at the long, narrow valley before him. He was at the Late Stage of the True God Realm, had lived for over a century, and had fought hundreds of battles. He knew that this kind of terrain was the easiest place to be ambushed.

"Scouts!" he shouted. "Enter the valley and scout the path!"

Five hundred scouts spurred their horses into the valley. Fifteen minutes later, someone returned to report: "Chanyu, there are no ambushes in the valley. There are only footprints heading south."

Chanyu Huyan Lie was silent for a moment. Footprints heading south. That meant the Great Yan's army really was fleeing south. He looked up at the dark cliffs on either side. The cliffs were barren, and nothing could be seen. Yet, he felt as if something was watching him.

"Chanyu," a general beside him whispered, "should we send more men in to investigate?"

Chanyu Huyan Lie did not answer. He closed his eyes, extending his Divine Sense toward both sides of the valley. The Divine Sense of one at the Late Stage of the True God Realm could cover a radius of ten li. On the cliffs, there was nothing.

"Pursue."

The army of two hundred thousand poured into Black Wind Pass.

The valley was long and narrow, with cliffs as steep as if they had been sheared by a blade. The Northern Di cavalry were squeezed together, unable to spread out or charge effectively; they could only move forward slowly. Chanyu Huyan Lie rode in the middle of the formation, his Spiked Mace resting across his horse. He kept watching the cliffs, sensing that something was amiss.

After traveling about five li, the front of the column suddenly stopped.

"What's happening?" he asked in a low voice.

A scout ran back: "Chanyu, the Great Yan army has been spotted ahead, about twenty thousand men, fleeing south."

Chanyu Huyan Lie gave a cold laugh: "Twenty thousand? Fleeing? Catch up and devour them."

The column continued forward. After another five li, the front stopped again.

This time, it wasn't the Great Yan army blocking the way. The road was gone.

The valley ahead suddenly narrowed, the tightest point being no more than a hundred yards wide. On the cliffs on both sides, people stood in dense ranks. Archers and crossbowmen, at least fifty thousand of them. Their arrows were aimed toward the valley entrance.

Chanyu Huyan Lie's expression finally changed.

"Retreat!" he roared, smashing his Spiked Mace against the cliff. With a strike from the Late Stage of the True God Realm, half the cliff collapsed. Falling boulders crushed dozens of Northern Di cavalry. But more people emerged from the cliffs, and arrows poured into the valley like rain.

"Chanyu! The rear is blocked too!" someone screamed in agony.

Chanyu Huyan Lie looked back. At the valley entrance, General Zhao Kuo led one hundred thousand men to seal off the retreat. Two hundred thousand Northern Di cavalry were stuffed into a ten-li-long pocket.

On the hillside, Crown Prince Xiao Xuan stood up and drew the zhutian sword. The blade emitted a faint black glow under the moonlight, and the golden patterns on the edge seemed to flow as if alive.

"Kill."

A single word, spoken softly, yet it echoed throughout the entire valley.

Arrows fell like locusts from the cliffs on both sides. The Northern Di cavalry were packed so tightly they had nowhere to hide; every twang of a bowstring claimed a life. This wasn't a battle; it was a massacre. Chanyu Huyan Lie went frantic. He swung his Spiked Mace, sending over a dozen Great Yan soldiers flying, but his cavalry couldn't deploy. No matter how high his cultivation, he couldn't protect two hundred thousand people.

"Xiao Xuan!" He roared to the heavens, his voice echoing in the valley.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan did not answer. He stood on the hillside, watching the massacre he had orchestrated.

Chanyu Huyan Lie finally made a decision. He spurred his horse to the very front of the column and swung his Spiked Mace forward. With the full power of the Late Stage of the True God Realm, the valley ahead suddenly opened up. Half the cliff collapsed, and the rubble and earth leveled the path ahead. He had forcibly smashed out an opening.

"Charge with me!"

The Northern Di cavalry followed him, surging toward the gap. General Zhao Kuo's men tried to block them, but Chanyu Huyan Lie led the charge. Every time his Spiked Mace swung, over a hundred men fell. In such narrow terrain, a Late Stage of the True God Realm expert was a meat grinder.

General Guan Yu gripped his green dragon crescent blade: "Your Highness, I will go stop him."

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan shook his head: "You can't stop him."

General Guan Yu was stunned.

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan looked at him: "Yunchang, you are at the Early Stage of the True God realm, and he is at the Late Stage. There is a difference of two minor stages; you cannot stop him. I will not send you to your death."

General Guan Yu fell silent. He knew Crown Prince Xiao Xuan was right.

Chanyu Huyan Lie led the remnants of his army through the gap. Of the two hundred thousand, fewer than eighty thousand made it out. The rest died in that valley. Covered in blood, Chanyu Huyan Lie stood outside the valley entrance, looking back at the canyon that had swallowed one hundred and twenty thousand of his soldiers. His eyes were red, not from sorrow, but from fury.

"Xiao Xuan!" His voice echoed in the north wind. "This King will remember you!"

He turned his horse and galloped north. Behind him, eighty thousand remnants followed, vanishing into the night.

On the hillside, Crown Prince Xiao Xuan watched Chanyu Huyan Lie's receding figure and remained silent for a long time. General Zhao Kuo walked up behind him, covered in blood, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Your Highness, the Northern Di have fled. One hundred and twenty thousand were killed, thirty thousand captured, and the rest escaped."

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan nodded.

General Zhao Kuo suddenly knelt: "Your Highness, I have guarded this place for fifteen years and have never fought a battle like this."

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan helped him up: "General Zhao, I didn't fight it; you all did."

General Zhao Kuo looked at him, his eyes turning red.

General Li Mu walked over, also bloodstained, though not as much. He had been commanding the middle section and hadn't charged into the very front.

"Your Highness," he began, "Chanyu Huyan Lie is at the Late Stage of the True God Realm. He can break our encirclement alone. We let him escape this time, but next time—"

"Next time," Crown Prince Xiao Xuan interrupted, "I will have someone ready to deal with him."

General Li Mu looked at him and suddenly asked, "Your Highness, could the person behind the scenes forcing the Northern Di to move south be targeting you?"

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan did not answer. He turned to look north. Chanyu Huyan Lie had fled, and eighty thousand remnants had fled. But the person behind the scenes who had forced them south had yet to appear.

"General Li," he suddenly spoke, "when do you think that person will make their move?"

General Li Mu thought for a moment: "The Northern Di have been defeated, so he certainly won't let it go. Perhaps soon, or perhaps he'll wait until Your Highness returns to the capital."

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan nodded and said no more. He turned to look at the battlefield strewn with corpses. Dawn was approaching, and a sliver of light appeared on the eastern horizon.

"Pass down the order to give the fallen brothers a proper burial. As for the Northern Di prisoners, those willing to surrender shall be incorporated into the border army. Those who aren't, release them."

General Zhao Kuo was stunned: "Release them?"

Crown Prince Xiao Xuan nodded: "Release them. Let them go back and tell the Northern Di that the Crown Prince of Great Yan is not their enemy. Their enemy is the person behind the scenes forcing them south."

In the distance, General Guan Yu and General Lu Bu stood side by side on the hillside, gazing north. The sun was about to rise, and the clouds on the horizon were being dyed gold.

"Yunchang," General Lu Bu suddenly spoke, "do you think we can stop that Chanyu Huyan Lie if he comes again?"

General Guan Yu was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "We can't."

General Lu Bu was taken aback.

General Guan Yu looked north: "The Late Stage of the True God Realm is not something we can block. Unless—"

He didn't finish, but General Lu Bu understood. Unless someone of the same level intervened. And on their side, they had Jiang Ziya.

The Imperial Capital. A Taoist temple in the south of the city.

Jiang Ziya sat cross-legged on a prayer mat and slowly opened his eyes. He looked toward the north, a faint smile touching his lips.

"One hundred and twenty thousand... His Highness fought this battle beautifully."

He raised his hand, his withered fingers lightly plucking at the Void Realm. An invisible ripple spread out, instantly enveloping the entire capital before continuing to extend north. A moment later, he withdrew his hand, his gaze becoming profound.

"Chanyu Huyan Lie escaped... No matter. He will come again. Next time, this old man will meet him."