Hot flashes

As dawn broke

Xiao Jue's attack was swift, precise, and multi-layered, completely exploiting Huo Yi's fatal weaknesses of insufficient troops and excessively long defensive lines.

"Report! The third camp on the east flank has fallen, and Lieutenant Li has been killed in action!"

"Report! The enemy's offensive on the front is fierce; more than half of their logs and boulders have been used up!"

"Report! A large enemy force has been spotted on the west flank... They have broken through 'Ghost's Bane' and are advancing towards the central army!"

Bad news followed one after another. Huo Yi, fully armored and holding the iron spear that had accompanied him for half his life, stepped out of the central command tent.

The camp was ablaze with fire, filled with shouts of battle, screams of agony, and the clash of weapons.

"Wang Hui! Take your men and block the breach on the west side! Push the enemy back at all costs!" Huo Yi ordered hoarsely.

"Hand over the frontal assault to Military Advisor Zhao! Contract the defensive lines and rely on the remaining fortifications to resist step by step!"

"On the east side... abandon the outer fortifications and retreat to the second line of defense!"

Wang Hui accepted the order and, with his remaining few hundred personal guards, rushed towards the western highlands.

There, Xiao Jue's elite Third Army was consolidating its positions, attempting to widen the breakthrough. Both sides were composed of elite troops, and the battle quickly intensified.

Wang Hui was like a mad tiger. His knife was chipped, so he picked up the enemy's weapon and continued to slash. He was covered in wounds, but he remained firmly in front of the enemy, refusing to retreat even half a step.

His personal guards fell one by one, using their flesh and blood to slow down the enemy's advance.

On the main battlefield, Zhao Canjun commanded his exhausted soldiers, making use of the terrain and remaining fortifications to stubbornly resist wave after wave of attacks from the Second Army.

Arrows were quickly exhausted, so they used stones and sharpened sticks to pierce the ground. People kept falling, and those behind silently filled their positions, their eyes numb yet resolute.

On the east side, the order to abandon the outer perimeter was not fully carried out.

Some of the soldiers who were cut off and surrounded, knowing that their way out was dead, instead unleashed an astonishing fighting spirit, fighting to the death and giving their lives to buy precious time for the rear to redeploy defenses.

Huo Yi, stationed in the central command, continuously received battle reports from various locations and deployed the few remaining reserves at his disposal.

Every decision means abandoning some subordinates, which is heartbreaking.

He looked towards the southern capital, where only the increasingly bright sky reflected the bloody carnage.

"General! General Wang Hui... General Wang, he..." A messenger covered in blood staggered in, sobbing uncontrollably, "He led a counter-charge, fell into an ambush, and was... was killed by a hail of arrows... We managed to retrieve his body!"

Huo Yi swayed, and the iron spear in his hand slammed heavily on the ground before he regained his balance.

"Bring it over here," he said hoarsely.

Wang Hui's body was brought before them, with seven or eight arrows stuck in his body, his eyes wide open, glaring at the sky, and a broken knife still clutched in his hand.

Huo Yi slowly squatted down, reached out, and closed his eyes.

"A proper burial." He uttered only two words before abruptly rising to his feet, the last trace of emotion in his eyes vanishing into a deathly coldness. "Imperial Guard, follow me!"

He mounted his horse, and the equally aged warhorse seemed to sense its master's resolve, raising its head and neighing.

Huo Yi took the lead, charging with the last two hundred or so personal guards toward the western breach where the fighting was most intense.

The old general's white hair fluttered, and his iron spear was like a dragon. Wherever he went, Xiao Jue's soldiers were intimidated by his imposing presence and dared not confront him directly.

The guards followed closely behind, using Huo Yi as the spearhead, and forcefully tore a gap in the enemy ranks, temporarily stabilizing the crumbling western defense line.

However, this was already at the end of its rope. Xiao Jue's army was receiving a steady stream of reinforcements, while Huo Yi's army was losing men every minute.

The second line of defense on the east side was breached around noon, and the front line of defense was also compressed to its limit.

The entire Cangyun Ridge has been compressed into a small area centered around the spring and the central military tent, with broken walls and corpses everywhere.

The remaining soldiers of Huo Yi's army spontaneously moved towards the central army.

They were ragged, covered in blood, and their weapons were broken, but they still gripped their weapons tightly, gathering around their old general. Their numbers had dwindled to less than two thousand.

After completing the encirclement, Xiao Juejun temporarily halted his offensive.

A huge banner bearing the character "Xiao" was erected at the foot of the ridge, fluttering in the wind. A troop of cavalry escorted a man, slowly advancing until they stopped at the edge of arrow range.

That was Xiao Jue. He wasn't wearing full armor, just a black outfit with a dark cloak over it. His gaze was calm as he looked at the group of people trapped in the perilous place on the ridge, finally settling on Huo Yi, whose white hair was stained with blood and who stood holding a gun.

On and below the ridge, all was silent. Only the sound of the wind passing through the tattered banners and the suppressed groans of the wounded could be heard.

Xiao Jue's voice, driven by his inner strength, resounded clearly and steadily throughout the mountains: "General Huo, things have come to this, the outcome is decided. I respect your loyalty and bravery, General, and cannot bear to see all my men perish here."

"If the general is willing to surrender, I, Xiao, guarantee with my life that the general and his soldiers will be treated well. Past grievances can also be temporarily set aside. The northern border has just been pacified, and everything needs to be rebuilt. We need a pillar of strength like the old general to bring peace and prosperity to the people."

His words were sincere, his conditions were generous, and he genuinely cherished talent.

If a figure like Huo Yi could be subdued, his symbolic significance and actual abilities would greatly benefit Xiao Jue's ambition for hegemony.

On the ridge, the surviving soldiers looked at their commander with complex emotions. Most others remained indifferent, awaiting Huo Yi's decision.

Huo Yi slowly raised the iron spear in his hand, pointing it at Xiao Jue. His voice, also delivered with internal force, was desolate yet firm, echoing through the valley: "Xiao family brat, no need for further words! I, Huo Yi, was born a subject of Wei, and I will die a ghost of Wei!"

Your father may have been wronged, or there may have been injustice, but you raised an army in rebellion, carved out your own territory, and caused immense suffering to the people. You are a great traitor to the country!

I, Huo Yi, am utterly incompetent, unable to quell the rebellion for the nation. Today, I have no choice but to die to repay the Emperor's grace and preserve my honor! Fellow soldiers—”

He surveyed the faces around him, young and old, bloodstained yet still standing tall, a fleeting glint of tears in his eyes that quickly transformed into a blazing fire: "Are you willing to join me in this final battle?!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The response to him was a deafening, yet hoarse and tragic roar.

The remnants of less than two thousand men unleashed a terrifying fighting spirit, the final roar of a dying beast, the last glimmer of light as their faith burned out.

Xiao Jue closed his eyes, then opened them again, his eyes now devoid of any hesitation, only a cold, murderous aura remained. He slowly raised his hand.

Behind him, command flags waved.

The bugle call for the final assault pierced the sky with a mournful sound.

The final battle was a foregone conclusion, filled only with bloodshed and destruction. Huo Yijun's remaining troops huddled together to defend their last stronghold, using their flesh and blood to hold back the surging enemy forces.

The battle for every inch of land was exceptionally fierce. People fell one after another, and those behind them continued to fight, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

Huo Yi always charged to the front lines, his iron spear felling countless enemies. The spear tip had long since broken, so he used the shaft to smash it down, and even his fists.

His personal guards dwindled until only a handful remained, forming a shrinking circle.

The setting sun, like blood, dyed every stone on Cangyun Ridge red.

Huo Yi leaned on the broken spear shaft, panting heavily. His body was covered in wounds, and blood soaked through his tattered armor.

He looked around, and the last few of his guards fell one after another.

In the distance, Xiao Juejun's soldiers slowly surrounded them, their weapons gleaming coldly, but no one dared to step forward. The old general's final display of authority still sent shivers down the spine.

Xiao Jue pushed his way out of the crowd and walked closer to his old friend and rival, who was now at his wit's end.

Their eyes met in mid-air. No words were spoken, yet it seemed as if a thousand words were unspoken.

Huo Yi suddenly smiled, a smile both desolate and serene. He glanced one last time in the direction of Nandu, then, with his last ounce of strength, straightened his back, gripped the broken spear tightly in both hands, took a step forward, and let out a hoarse yet earth-shattering roar:

"kill--!"

Like moths drawn to a flame, they resolutely charged towards the forest of swords and spears.

He was attacked by a flurry of blades.

The white-haired general's figure slowly fell, onto the land he had defended until his last moment, into the blood-red setting sun.

The wind howled as it swept across the mountains, dispersing the pervasive stench of blood and stirring the tattered yet unyielding banner bearing the inscription "Huo," its corners fluttering as if telling a tragic tale of loyalty and bravery in the final days of an era.

Xiao Jue stood rooted to the spot, gazing at Huo Yi's body for a long time. Finally, he spoke slowly, his voice low and somber:

"Give General Huo a grand funeral, with the honors due to a duke."

"The remaining fallen soldiers shall be properly buried. The surrendered soldiers... shall be dealt with as previously stated."

He turned away, no longer looking at the horrific battlefield. The setting sun cast a long, lonely, and heavy shadow over him.

Zhou Heng stood not far away, taking in everything. He saw Huo Yi's tragic and stubborn spirit, and he also saw the complex and indescribable look in Xiao Jue's eyes at that moment.

The taste of victory is not always sweet.