Chen Ping's Sword

The morning sun was as red as blood.

The cooking smoke faded away.

All the soldiers buried their pots and cooked, and after a hearty meal, they hurriedly packed up, saddled their horses, put on armor, and formed ranks to prepare for departure.

"Everyone, since the Hu People invaded southward, Celestial Gate fell, Yang Mountain was massacred, Hot Spring turned to ashes, and the people of the Three Prefectures became like pigs and dogs. What we’ve seen and heard makes one clench their fists in frustration..."

Chen Ping sat on his horse at the front of the army, his voice like rolling thunder echoing across the open fields for a hundred miles, causing the forty thousand elite cavalry to stand solemnly, their hearts involuntarily filled with a sense of sorrow.

In their hearts lay a boundless hatred.

Especially for those cavalry who had lost relatives and friends in the Three Prefectures, their eyes reddened, breathing heavily, wishing to brandish their weapons and charge into the Beizhou military camp thirty miles ahead, to have a good fight.

Among these cavalry, at least half were chosen from the refugees fleeing southward from the north, including honest farmers, young and strong, defeated scattered soldiers, and naturally, the personal guards from the ruined noble families.

They fled all the way south, only catching their breath upon reaching Xingqing Prefecture.

Not only did they suffer through chaos and hardship, but they also had enough of the bloody pursuit of the Beizhou Hu Cavalry.

They were extremely dissatisfied with the Court and had lost all hope in the Ji Family.

But all their dissatisfaction and disappointment couldn’t compare to the hatred for the Beizhou Barbarians... chased like livestock all the way south by the Hu Cavalry.

As families traveled, they got separated, and after days of hunger, they perished.

Selling sons and daughters held a hope of future reunion, but exchanging children for food was gut-wrenching.

Chen Ping stopped speaking here, feeling that saying more was meaningless.

That deep-seated hatred, suppressed in the past due to fear, the instinct for survival, and the opponent’s strength, was hidden away tightly.

The desire to survive was above all else; that was the truth.

When someone raised their arm to call, letting them see hope for victory and revenge, this hatred would transform into a monstrous wave, destroying everything in its path.

"We must achieve complete victory in this battle, wipe out the Hu Cavalry advancing south, sweep through twenty-eight cities, and retake Celestial Gate Pass. This is our home, and it must not be destroyed. For the peaceful life ahead for everyone, I ask all of you to fight bravely with me."

Chen Ping raised his long halberd, as if speaking a truth as fundamental as heaven and earth.

He didn’t consider what failure might bring, whether they could defeat Divine Master Duran, or if they might be encircled by Yuwen Zao’s Ten Thousand Beasts Devouring Heaven Array.

The feeling given was simply to march forward together with him, trampling whatever was ahead.

Such powerful confidence was infectious to everyone, and at that moment, life didn’t matter anymore, as long as they followed the person ahead, they would be invincible and unstoppable.

"For each head cut off, ten gold will be awarded. For ten heads, a promotion... Any casualties, I will take care of their wives, children, and parents. Kill..."

Inspirational words were ultimately empty talk.

Tangible rewards, like bounty, land division, promotion, and noble titles were different.

Given such tangible benefits, the cavalry immediately roared enthusiastically.

"Kill the Hu."

"Kill the Hu..."

"Kill the Hu!"

The tsunami-like shouts were deafening.

Chen Ping said no more, raising his combat halberd, and advanced on his horse, followed by forty thousand cavalry, hooves like wild thunder rolling over the sky, dense with killing intent, charging toward the Beizhou camp.

At this moment, both military arrays faced each other, forming squares, banners like a forest, each side brewing killing intent, without probing or pre-battle shout-outs.

Beizhou Hu Cavalry wore black clothes and mysterious armor, while the forces of Xingqing Prefecture wore black armor and blue clothes, both sides had a steadfast belief in victory, neither yielding, surging forward like raging tides, soon to crash together.

All around were heart-wrenching roars, long spears held flat, eyes ferocious, every face veined with tension.

"Form the array!"

"Form the array..."

Both sides simultaneously issued military orders, the drumbeats hastened.

Bang...

From within the sixty thousand Beizhou Wolf Riders, a large blood-red circle seemed to form, and on every brawny Hu Cavalry’s body, a red glow appeared, each becoming larger, muscles swelling, roaring forward with all their might, both strength and speed increased by nearly seventy percent.

Originally, these soldiers coming out from the ice and snow had physical qualities far superior to the Southern soldiers, especially the one hundred thousand Rushing Wolf Cavalry following Yuwen Zao and Yuwen Hao southward, of which over sixty thousand rode Black Wolves, regarded as the elite dispatched by each tribe.

The vanguard wolf cavalry bore the most dangerous breakthrough tasks, opening the battlefield, slaughtering recklessly, wildness at its peak.

It was precisely because of this idle elite wolf cavalry moving southward that the Beizhou Court could confidently break through the stalemate in the north and open the battlefield from the south to gain an absolute advantage.

After concentrating their forces, they could encircle from both sides, breaking through the defenses in the Capital Region, completely eliminating the last hope of the Nanli Court.

This elite force carrying such heavy responsibility, under the leadership of Beizhou’s famous general, Yuwen Zao, was definitely not something ragged assemblies could resist.

Yuwen Zao sat in the central army, a cold smile on his lips.

The previous battle had caught him off guard.

He never expected the opponent would be so bold, daring to charge head-on despite Beizhou’s strength.

Thus, allowing the opponent to make a quick strike and retreat, while suffering considerable losses himself.

Even as a renowned general, who could calculate everything under heaven, he couldn’t foresee Chen Ping, this variable, this unexpected factor.