We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The cold mountain stream water seeped out from the cracks in the rock at the top of the cave, dripping onto the wet stone surface, making a monotonous and annoying dripping sound.

A group of warriors were leaning against the smooth stone wall and were drowsy. There was not even a single person standing guard at the cave entrance.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How can the cannon still fire?"

Suddenly, a shrill scream tore through the silence in the cave.

The Japanese warrior who was taking a nap against the rock wall suddenly jumped up like a frightened rabbit.

His bloodshot eyes hadn't fully opened yet, but his hand had instinctively reached for the sword at his waist. The sound of the sword being drawn was particularly harsh in the small space.

The warriors looked around nervously, but in the dim light there were only jagged rocks and the frightened faces of their companions.

His sight finally focused on the figure curled up under a tattered cloak deep in the cave.

Kaibu Munemora had his eyes closed tightly, his body was shaking violently, and beads of cold sweat were oozing from his forehead. He was obviously trapped in a horrific nightmare.

The warriors' tense nerves relaxed, and they silently pushed the half-drawn swords back into the sheaths.

No one spoke, but everyone found a slightly drier place to sit down again, trying to take another short rest.

Obviously, this is not the first or second time that he has been woken up like this.

The cave fell silent again, with only the sound of dripping water and Kaibu Munezane's heavy, disordered breathing.

However, this silence did not last long.

"I'm not dead! I'm still here!"

There was another, sharper howl.

Kaibu Munezana suddenly straightened up in his sleep, waving his arms wildly, as if trying to grasp at some illusory life-saving straw.

The warriors who had just barely closed their eyes were awakened again, and everyone looked at Kaibu Munezana with complicated expressions.

This Japanese warlord must have suffered psychological trauma from the Fengtian Army.

The last howl was so shrill that it woke Kaibu Munemasa up completely.

He opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently, gasping for breath, as if he had just struggled back from the brink of drowning.

It was pitch black before my eyes, with only the moonlight filtering through the cave entrance barely outlining the vague contours of the rock wall.

"This...where is this?" Kaibu Munemori's hoarse and dry voice sounded.

He felt as if all the bones in his body were falling apart, his left shoulder and chest and abdomen were aching slightly, and even breathing was accompanied by tearing pain.

One of the closest personal soldiers quickly knelt forward and asked, "My lord, are you awake?"

"This is a hidden cave under a mountain stream outside Xiaguan City. We were lucky enough to escape from that hell..."

The bodyguard began to tell the story of their escape.

They fought desperately to protect the seriously injured and unconscious Haibu Zongzhen in the chaos, but were held tightly by the Fengtian Army's light cavalry like a thorn in their bones, and could not break free no matter what they did.

In particular, there was a young general of the Fengtian Army who seemed to have opened his third eye and could always track their whereabouts miraculously.

In the end, in order to get rid of the plague god, everyone had no choice but to jump into the cold and turbulent mountain stream with the unconscious Kaibu Munemasa when they were at their wit's end.

"I thought you were doomed..." the soldier's voice choked with sobs. "Perhaps Amaterasu protected us, but we were swept to the entrance of this cave by the torrent. We risked our lives to drag you in..."

After hearing the narration of his personal soldiers, Kaibu Munemasa felt as if a needle had pierced his head.

Fengtian Army's artillery fire, the rout at Xiaguan, the pursuit by light cavalry...

Scenes of blood and despair surged in his mind like a tide and exploded in his head.

"I... lost?" Kaibu Munemasa muttered to himself.

He subconsciously looked at the dozen or so remaining guards around him, hoping to get a denial from them.

However, all he received in response was dead silence.

The guards lowered their heads deeply, and no one dared to look him in the eye.

Silence itself is the cruelest answer.

It's more than just a defeat.

An army of more than 100,000, almost all the elite troops of his Hai family, were wiped out in just one day!

Only a dozen or so remnants of soldiers were left, like stray dogs.

The immense sorrow almost suffocated Kaibu Munemasa. He covered his chest and coughed violently.

The pain from the wound was so severe that he felt dizzy.

A clever guard quickly scooped up some mountain stream water that seeped down the cave wall and carefully handed it to Haibu Zongzhen's mouth.

The cold liquid slid down his dry throat, finally bringing a brief moment of clarity to Kaibu Munezane.

He took a few deep breaths of the damp, cold air and struggled to sit up straight with the help of his personal guards.

His eyes slowly swept over the dozen or so remaining faces around him, and Kaibu Munemasa finally regained the calmness that a hero should have.

"Where is Mr. Fujiwara?"

The guards looked at each other in confusion, and finally an elderly warrior shook his head solemnly: "We couldn't find any trace of Fujiwara-sama amidst the chaos. I'm afraid..."

The words "most likely a bad omen" were not uttered.

Fujiwara no Toshiyuki was an aide to the Kaifu family, but he was just a weak man. How could he escape?

Kaibu Munezana's heart sank, and he asked again, "Where's Akai Hidetsugu?"

"Lord Oni Akai...seems...seems to have been captured by the Fengtian Army..." another guard answered in a low voice.

His left and right arms, one civil and one military, were all broken.

Kaibu Munezana closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

Ever since he started the Jingnan Rebellion, he has been invincible in Japan. When has he ever suffered such a great loss?

Li Che's way of fighting... is too evil.

Until now he still doesn't understand why the Fengtian Army's artillery fired.

Also, who on earth could have rushed into the enemy camp and spread the rumor that the enemy commander was dead?

What made him most angry was that his own people actually believed it!

Kaibu Munezana quickly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with ferocity:

"The Fengtian Army is powerful. We cannot stay here for long. We must leave here as soon as possible and head to Shanyang City."

Shanyang City is the closest city to Shimonoseki City, but it is a small city. The garrison commander is an ordinary warrior, and the garrison has only a few hundred people.

A personal guard asked cautiously, "My Lord, are we going to Shanyang City... to continue defending it?"

He subconsciously thought that Kaibu Munemasa was going to regroup, and he couldn't help but feel fear.

Haibu Zongzhen shook his head: "Shanyang City has low walls and weak defenses. How can it resist the fierce Fengtian Army?"

"We're just going to Shanyang City to rest for a while, and gather as many scattered soldiers as possible along the way, and then..."

Kaibu Munezana paused, then uttered three words in a low voice: "Return to Kyoto!"

"Go back to Kyoto?!"

The guards were stunned at first, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves instantly relaxing a lot.

What they feared most was that Haibu Zongzhen would have to stay on the front line and fight to the death with the terrifying Fengtian Army.

The combat effectiveness displayed by the Fengtian Army has completely crushed their fighting will.

Although he would have to fight against the Fengtian Army sooner or later after returning to Kyoto, it would be good even if he died just one day later.

Kyoto is the capital after all, with high walls and deep moats. Perhaps... there is still a glimmer of hope?

A braver warrior followed Kaibu Munezana's lead and said, "My lord, you are wise! This is the best approach. We will gather up the remaining troops along the way and send a message to the defenders of each city, ordering them to abandon their cities and quickly gather in Kyoto."

"In this way, we will be able to mobilize a large army in Kyoto. Relying on the strong city and the large army, we may be able to defeat the Fengtian Army!"

When the guards heard the scene described by this person, a glimmer of hope rekindled in the eyes of many of them.

However, Kaibu Munezana shouted, "Stupid!"

These guards can call Kaibu Munezana "Lord" instead of "General", which shows that they are obviously loyal to Kaibu Munezana.

Therefore, Kaibu Munemasa did not hide anything and told his plan truthfully:

"Why gather those good-for-nothings? Are we going to let them get bombarded by Fengtian Army artillery again and die in vain?"

"On the contrary, not only can they not be allowed to retreat, but they must be strictly ordered to live and die with the city!"

"We must tell them that the Fengtian Army suffered heavy losses at Xiaguan City and is at the end of its strength."

"As long as we hold the city firmly, reinforcements will arrive soon. Let them stay in their respective cities and not retreat a single step!"

"Wha...what?!"

The guards were all stunned and looked at Kaibu Munemasa in disbelief, as if they were meeting their lord, whom they swore to follow to death, for the first time.

"Lord! Aren't you going to organize a defense in Kyoto?" The warrior who had spoken just now was trembling in his voice. "Then... then why are you letting the defenders of each city die in vain? They... they are also your people, and you have warriors loyal to you!"

Kaibu Munemasa's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any human emotion. "The defense of Kyoto will take time. Reorganizing the troops will take time, gathering food and fodder, mobilizing the people, and even more time will be needed to strengthen the city's defenses!"

"And the Fengtian Army...will they stop and wait for us?"

Kaibu Munezana paused, then narrowed his eyes and said hatefully:

"No! That madman Li Che will only keep advancing and blasting open every city gate with artillery!"

"I will use those small towns to delay the Fengtian Army. Every day they hold out, even if it's only half a day, is buying us the most precious time."

"With this time, I can mobilize the military and civilians to defend our capital."

The cave was dead silent, with only the sound of dripping water and Kaibu Munezana's cold words echoing.

The blood drained from the guards' faces and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

They looked at Kaibu Munezane's paranoid eyes and felt a chill in their hearts.

In order to buy time, he did not hesitate to treat all the local garrisons as pawns to delay time.

Is our lord still the invincible hero that everyone is willing to follow?

Kaibu Munemasa didn't care about it. He rubbed his face and slowly stood up from the ground.

"We've rested enough. The Fengtian Army will definitely intensify their search. We can't delay any longer. Let's set off immediately!"

After saying that, the first one walked towards the cave entrance.

Although the guards were exhausted physically and mentally, they did not dare to resist at all and followed behind Kaibu Munemasa silently.