Kong Youde stood atop the city gate tower, directing the battle.
Suddenly he heard a huge commotion erupt from the enemy ranks. Voices were shouting:
"General He has arrived!"
Kong Youde looked over.
And then he saw it.
The enemy's masked supreme commander had personally joined the assault on the city.
The shock was enormous.
But the moment the shock passed, it was replaced by wild joy.
Kong Youde shouted loudly, "Brothers, our chance to reverse the battle has arrived!"
Geng Zhongming had the exact same thought.
"Kill their supreme commander."
Shang Kexi laughed.
"We were about to lose, and now their commander has personally run to the front line. Heaven is helping us. The three of us attack together and kill that man. If he dies, we turn the whole battle around."
The three of them did not hesitate.
They immediately led their personal guards down from the tower.
Ahead of them the city wall was already a chaotic battlefield. Their guards quickly became entangled with the Gao Family Village militia and the fierce soldiers of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry.
But Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi slipped through the crowd.
Soon they arrived in front of Cheng Xu.
Kong Youde drew his blade with a sharp motion.
"The supreme commander personally comes to the battlefield. Heh. Your head will belong to me, Kong Youde."
Cheng Xu tilted his head slightly.
"Huh? Are you not also a supreme commander?"
From behind his left shoulder came Geng Zhongming's voice.
"But you are alone."
From behind his right shoulder came Shang Kexi's voice.
"Three against one. You have no path to survival."
Cheng Xu chuckled.
"Oh my. It has been a long time since I have seen a scene like this. When was the last time again?"
The last time had been...
Cheng Xu thought for a brief moment.
The last time was when he had been hunted by a group of Imperial Guards. Surrounded, fighting many enemies alone. Back then Dao Xuan Tianzun had saved him.
He clicked his tongue.
"Ah. The past is too painful to recall."
That sigh only made the Gao Family Village soldiers nearby even more certain of their assumptions.
"Returning to Liaodong has stirred General He's memories."
"These lands hold the stories of when he was one of the Three Heroes of Liaodong."
"The past really is painful to recall."
While the soldiers were thinking these things, Kong Youde suddenly stepped forward and slashed his blade toward Cheng Xu's face.
Cheng Xu's body suddenly swayed.
Kong Youde thought Cheng Xu was about to counterattack. Instinctively he pulled back some of his strength so he could shift to defense at any moment.
But Cheng Xu's movement was not an advance.
He stepped backward.
Toward the left rear.
Geng Zhongming had been waiting there, ready to ambush Cheng Xu from behind once he engaged Kong Youde.
But suddenly Cheng Xu's back was right in front of him.
Geng Zhongming blinked.
"Huh? He is retreating?"
Realizing the danger, Geng Zhongming quickly swung his blade.
But it was already too late.
Cheng Xu seemed to have eyes on the back of his head.
His blade flicked backward.
Thrust.
The knife plunged straight into Geng Zhongming's abdomen.
This was one of Cheng Xu's signature tricks. Years ago he had used this same move to kill Imperial Guards who surrounded him. It felt completely natural to him.
Kong Youde and Shang Kexi roared in fury and rushed forward.
Cheng Xu pulled his blade free from Geng Zhongming's body. Using the momentum of the motion, he slid one step to the side and arrived beside Shang Kexi.
Shang Kexi was startled and twisted his body to face him.
Cheng Xu might not have been the greatest battlefield general, but as a former patrol officer who had fought countless street fights and Jianghu brawls, he possessed an endless supply of strange tricks in close combat.
At the exact moment Shang Kexi twisted his body, Cheng Xu hooked his foot around the place where Shang Kexi's foot was turning.
Shang Kexi instantly lost his balance and stumbled forward.
Cheng Xu's blade came down.
One clean strike across the back of Shang Kexi's neck.
Blood sprayed half a meter into the air.
Kong Youde froze completely.
It had only been a single exchange.
And both Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi were already dead.
The enemy commander was terrifying beyond belief.
The Gao Family Village militia immediately erupted into cheers.
"General He is mighty!"
"As expected of General He!"
"One of the Three Heroes of Liaodong!"
When Kong Youde heard the words "Three Heroes of Liaodong," his entire body went numb.
The Three Heroes of Liaodong were Zu Dashou, He Kegang, and Zhao Shuaijiao.
All three were famous generals.
And this masked man in front of him had the surname He.
That could only mean one thing.
He Kegang.
Kong Youde roared, "Impossible. You cannot be him. He is already dead. I personally saw his severed head."
Cheng Xu shook his head.
"Yes, yes. I am not him. My surname is He as in the grain character."
Kong Youde's pupils shrank.
"So it really is you. You did not die?"
Cheng Xu waved his hand.
"No, no. I told you already. My surname is He with the grain radical."
Kong Youde shouted, "He Kegang. It really is you!"
Cheng Xu rolled his eyes.
"Damn idiot. Can't you hear the Shaanxi accent in my speech?"
Kong Youde glared at him.
"You even learned a Shaanxi accent just to hide your identity?"
Cheng Xu fell silent.
Kong Youde gritted his teeth.
"Persistent ghost. Take my blade!"
He knew surrender was impossible. The Ming court would never forgive him. The only option left was to fight to the death.
He stepped forward and swung his blade toward Cheng Xu's neck.
Cheng Xu sighed softly and stepped forward.
The two men passed each other.
For a moment, the scene froze.
Then Kong Youde slowly collapsed.
Blood quickly soaked through his armor.
At that moment, the battle was essentially over.
What remained was merely the cleanup phase.
...
Across the Yalu River.
A group of Koreans stood staring with wide eyes at the battle unfolding in Dandong.
For a small and weak country like Joseon, both Great Ming and the Qing were terrifying giants.
When those two giants fought right beside them, it was something they had to watch carefully.
Because it concerned their very survival.
In the hearts of many Koreans, Great Ming was the greater civilization.
But Qing was the stronger military power.
Caught between greatness and strength, they had been forced to submit to the stronger side.
But now the situation seemed to be changing.
Across the Yalu River, Ming forces were beating the Qing army mercilessly.
The Qing side could barely fight back at all.
The Korean spectators could not help whispering among themselves.
"Great Ming is incredibly strong this time."
"Yes, yes. Dandong is such a powerful city, yet it was captured so easily."
"I heard the Qing suffered massive losses during the battle of Pi Island."
Ordinary civilians did not know much.
That was all they understood.
But hidden among them were Korean spies.
And those spies knew far more.
They knew that the Mongolian steppe was in turmoil. The Qing main army did not dare withdraw forces to reinforce Dandong.
Right now the Qing army was busy in the north digging trenches and pits to stop the advance of the Great Iron Wagons.
Dandong was being defended only by the Three Shun Kings.
How could they possibly hold it?
The Ming forces sent this time were simply too powerful.
Just the fleet of warships on the sea made the Korean spies tremble in fear.
There was no way to defeat that.
Even if Joseon's famous turtle ships joined the battle, they would still be destroyed.
No.
This information had to be sent back to the king immediately.