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Chapter 226 - Chapter 226: The Tragedy!

Northern Borders of Yan Kingdom

Once a relatively prosperous land, the region was now filled with refugees fleeing for their lives.

Everywhere along the roads, men and women, young and old, carried whatever they could as they desperately fled southward. Many had no time to gather their belongings, focused only on escaping.

In just over a month, more than ten cities on Yan's northern border had fallen to the invaders. The barbarians slaughtered indiscriminately violated women and behaved like wild beasts.

The entire northern region of Yan was in the midst of a mass exodus, with people seeking shelter further south.

Since the Yan King had ordered the withdrawal of border troops, fewer than ten thousand soldiers remained scattered across dozens of cities mostly local militias meant for maintaining order. Facing an invasion force of 200,000 barbarians, these defenders stood no chance.

Even though the barbarians were not skilled at siege warfare, their sheer numbers ensured victory.

For ordinary people, there were only two choices: flee or die fighting. Those with courage resisted, but ultimately, they were slaughtered.

"Run! The barbarians are right behind us! If they catch us, we're dead!"

"Run for your lives!"

Countless citizens of Yan fled in panic. The fast ones rushed ahead, while children and the elderly struggled to keep up.

A Shadow Looms Ahead

As the refugees pressed on southward, a deep rumbling filled the air like thunder shaking the very earth.

Terrified, people turned their gaze forward.

What they saw filled them with despair.

"No! There's an army up ahead!"

"We're trapped! We're surrounded!"

"The barbarians have cut us off!"

Cries of hopelessness rang out as people froze in fear.

Then, from behind them, another panicked shout:

"Run! The barbarians are catching up!"

"There are so many of them!"

"They're almost here! Hurry!"

The refugees were now caught in a deadly predicament barbarians in pursuit from behind, an unknown force blocking the way ahead.

As the advancing army came into clearer view, banners bearing a bold, black character fluttered in the wind.

It was the character "Qin".

"Wait, that's not the barbarians that's Qin's army!"

"What do we do?"

"Qin is our enemy! They're invading Yan! Won't they kill us too?"

"The barbarians are behind us, but Qin's forces are ahead… Is this the end for us?"

To the people of Yan, the Qin army was as fearsome as the barbarian invaders.

Their king had spread countless terrifying tales of Qin's brutality to rally the nation against them.

But Then… A Surprising Turn

As the refugees trembled in fear, unsure whether to advance or retreat, a group of over a thousand Qin cavalry surged forward from the massive Qin army.

"They're coming!"

"The Qin soldiers are going to kill us!"

At the very front, some of the refugees were paralyzed with despair.

Yet, when the cavalry reached them, something unexpected happened.

The Qin soldiers did not attack.

Instead, a strong voice rang out:

"I am Zhang Ming, commander of the personal guard of Qin's General Zhao Feng!"

"The barbarians are closing in from behind!"

"All civilians, listen carefully! Move toward our army formation immediately!"

"We will cover your retreat!"

The refugees stood in stunned silence.

Was the Qin army… protecting them?

"We have conquered Yan!" Zhang Ming declared. "You are now subjects of Qin! And as Qin's people, we will defend you!"

"Hurry! Retreat now!"

His voice was commanding and firm.

The Qin soldiers spread out, forming a protective formation.

A sudden wave of realization swept through the refugees.

"Quickly! The barbarians are coming!"

"Run!"

Fear of the invaders overpowered their hesitation. With renewed desperation, they rushed into the open paths created by the Qin formation.

Despite their fearsome appearance, the Qin soldiers did not harm them. Instead, they silently watched as the civilians passed through to safety.

Within moments, tens of thousands of refugees had made it to the rear of the Qin army.

And then

A vast horde of barbarian cavalry surged forward, their blades dripping with the blood of those unfortunate enough to have fallen behind. Arrows rained down, cutting down the stragglers.

"Kill them all!"

"Slaughter the men! Seize the women!"

"The women will bear our children and strengthen our nation!"

"What about the children?"

"Kill them all! Filthy Yan brats!"

The barbarian warriors roared as they charged. Their eyes burned with the thrill of slaughter, their blades eager to reap more lives.

"Commander!"

"Enemy forces approaching! They are heavily armed!"

A barbarian scout pointed forward.

Their commanding officer a high-ranking leader of the Eastern Hu sneered.

"Qin's army?"

His lips curled into a smirk.

"They're here to invade Yan, just like us. We are on the same side."

"Send an envoy," he ordered.

"Tell them that our people demand only fifty cities in northern Yan. We will take the land and the people but everything south of that, we shall leave alone."

His expression was one of arrogant confidence.

He did not doubt that Qin would accept his terms.

A Xiongnu centurion rode forward from the crowd, galloping over the corpses of innocent civilians they had slaughtered, charging straight toward the Qin army.

Soon, he arrived before Zhang Ming.

"Are you the commanding general of the Qin army?"

The Xiongnu officer arrogantly scanned Zhang Ming up and down before speaking.

Zhang Ming did not respond. Instead, he slowly raised the long spear in his hand.

"By the order of my king, the northern frontier of Yan now belongs to the Xiongnu."

"You Qin troops must withdraw immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite!" the Xiongnu officer declared haughtily.

"Impolite to my Great Qin?" A cold glint flashed in Zhang Ming's eyes.

The next moment

He charged forward, thrusting his spear in one fluid motion.

With a sickening squelch

The spear pierced directly through the Xiongnu officer's chest.

"You... how dare you kill... me…" The Xiongnu officer's eyes widened in disbelief.

"A filthy Xiongnu dares to act recklessly on the sacred land of Great Qin?" Zhang Ming twisted his spear, flinging the Xiongnu officer's body to the ground.

At that moment

Zhao Feng had already raised his Overlord Spear, his gaze locked onto the countless Xiongnu troops ahead, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"Qin warriors!" Zhao Feng shouted.

"Wind! Wind! Wind!"

"A mighty wind!"

The Qin cavalry raised their spears and roared in unison.

"Xiongnu!"

"Leave none alive!"

"No matter how many come, kill them all!"

"Spare not a single one!"

With a chilling order from Zhao Feng

The iron cavalry charged.

Along with them were seventy thousand Yan border troops.

A combined force of 170,000 cavalry thundered forward like a rolling storm, crushing everything in their path.

The air was thick with an overwhelming killing intent, and their battle cries shook the heavens.

Suddenly

The Xiongnu soldiers, who had been so arrogant moments ago, panicked.

"Wanfu Commander! The Qin army is attacking us!"

"How dare they?"

"The centurion was just killed by the Qin army!"

"Are they not afraid of making an enemy of our Xiongnu?"

"How do these Qin troops dare to challenge us?"

Panic spread through the Xiongnu ranks.

Before the Qin army acted, they had been dismissive, believing the Qin troops wouldn't dare to fight them. After all, to them, the people of Yan and Qin were no different both inferior to the mighty Xiongnu.

But now

Faced with such an overwhelming force

They were terrified.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"The Qin army is too many!"

"We're no match for them!"

The Xiongnu commander shouted, immediately turning his horse to flee.

"Kill!!"

The Qin army's battle cries shook the sky.

At the frontlines, countless Qin archers pulled their bows.

With the twang of bowstrings

A rain of arrows poured down upon the enemy.

The sky darkened with the deadly barrage.

The Xiongnu soldiers barely had time to react before they were struck down by the merciless arrows.

"Aaahhh!"

Screams of agony filled the air.

In the blink of an eye

The once-arrogant Xiongnu warriors, who had been slaughtering civilians just moments ago, fell into complete chaos, fleeing in desperation.

But no matter how frantically they tried to escape

There was no way out.

Under the relentless volley of arrows

The Xiongnu soldiers fell in droves, their bodies piling up on the battlefield.

"Kill every last one of them!"

"Leave no survivors!"

Zhao Feng's voice was ice-cold.

His warhorse galloped over countless Xiongnu corpses as he plunged into the enemy ranks.

"Die!"

His Overlord Spear swept through the air.

With a single swing

More than a dozen Xiongnu warriors were obliterated, and crushed into pulp.

In his campaigns across the Central Plains, whether against the Three Jin or Yan, Zhao Feng had always exercised restraint. Even when killing enemies, he had allowed them to keep their corpses intact.

But against these Xiongnu invaders

He showed no mercy.

His Overlord Spear whirled wildly, wielding a force of over ten thousand pounds.

Each sweep, combined with the power of his internal energy

Turned bodies into shredded flesh.

Zhao Feng wanted them to die without remains.

This was the price of invading China.

"[Killed a Xiongnu soldier, gained 1 strength point.]"

"[Killed a Xiongnu soldier, gained 1 day of lifespan.]"

"[Killed a Xiongnu soldier, gained 1 constitution point.]"

...

The notifications continued to appear.

But Zhao Feng's slaughter did not stop.

He cut down enemies relentlessly.

He killed without hesitation.

Deep in his soul, no matter what era he lived in

One truth remained engraved in his very being:

Those who dare challenge the might of China no matter how far they shall be exterminated.

Every last one of these invading Xiongnu would be utterly wiped out.

"Leave no survivors!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Countless elite Qin warriors roared, their spears thrusting madly.

These Xiongnu, who had been so ruthless toward innocent civilians, were now nothing more than helpless lambs before the might of the Qin army.

Their former arrogance had completely vanished, replaced only by terror and despair.

The Qin cavalry moved swiftly, utilizing mounted archery and flanking maneuvers.

Of the ten thousand Xiongnu troops, barely any managed to escape. The rest were surrounded and mercilessly slaughtered by the elite Qin warriors.

The Qin army was already formidable, and with their strength tripled in battle, they became an unstoppable force.

These Xiongnu never stood a chance.

The Yan border troops who had surrendered watched the massacre unfold.

Even though they had the advantage in numbers, they were still shocked to see the Qin army cutting down the Xiongnu with such terrifying efficiency.

"General Gongsun," one of the border cavalry soldiers murmured, his face frozen in disbelief.

"Are these Qin soldiers even human?"

"How are those Xiongnu falling so easily before them?"

"This is the power of the Qin army," Gongsun Guang said with a sigh.

"The gap between us and them is simply too great."

"The Qin cavalry's mounted archery surpasses even the legendary Zhao cavalry of old."

"If our border troops had encountered these ten thousand Xiongnu, even with our defenses, we would have struggled to wipe them out. The battle would have been fierce, and our losses significant."

"But the Qin army has annihilated them with ease."

"And with almost no casualties on their side."

Gongsun Guang's voice carried deep admiration.

At first, when they were ordered to march north, Gongsun Guang had assumed that Zhao Feng would use them as cannon fodder, forcing them to engage the enemy first.

But he had been wrong.

They hadn't even been given the chance to fight.

All they could do was watch from the sidelines there wasn't even an opportunity to strike down the wounded.

Because in this battle

No Xiongnu had the chance to play dead; they were trampled to death by the Qin warhorses before they could even try.

"Good thing we surrendered," some of the border soldiers muttered.

"Going up against them would have been suicide."

Soon, only a few dozen Xiongnu warriors remained, forming a desperate circle around their commander.

"I am a Wanfu Commander of the Xiongnu!"

"We have no enmity with your Qin state!"

"Why have you attacked us?"

The Xiongnu commander looked around at the surrounding Qin warriors, his face filled with terror.

"You invaded China's sacred land."

"You slaughtered our people."

"And you dare ask why we fight?"

"Today, it is your ten thousand men. Tomorrow, every last Xiongnu who dares invade our land will be exterminated."

Zhao Feng's voice was cold and unwavering.

With a wave of his hand

There was no need for further words.

"Kill!"

The Qin warriors roared.

A hail of arrows rained down.

In an instant

Every last one of the remaining Xiongnu was shot dead.

Aftermath

"Gongsun Guang," Zhao Feng commanded.

"At your service, my lord!"

"Gather all the warhorses from the battlefield and bring them back."

"The Xiongnu may be worthless, but their horses are top-quality."

Zhao Feng's voice was steady.

Gongsun Guang immediately bowed. "Understood, my lord."

"But, Supreme General," he added eagerly, "gathering the horses only requires a few thousand men. I would like to march alongside you."

"To slay the Xiongnu."

His eyes burned with anticipation.

Zhao Feng nodded.

Then, raising his Overlord Spear high, he shouted:

"Warriors, we march forward!"

"The faster we move, the more Xiongnu we kill!"

"The fewer civilians will suffer!"

"Kill!"

With a battle cry, Zhao Feng spurred his horse northward.

"Follow the Supreme General!"

"Kill!"

One hundred thousand iron cavalry roared in unison, surging forward once more.

Yan's Northern Border – Wulin City

The city walls were eerily silent there were no patrols in sight.

The air reeked of blood.

Inside the city, corpses lay scattered everywhere.

Xiongnu soldiers ran rampant, looting and slaughtering at will.

Some Xiongnu warriors were even raping women openly in the streets.

The entire city was bathed in blood, its streets dyed crimson.

Screams of agony.

Laughter of the invaders.

The sounds echoed endlessly.

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