Chapter 511: Side Story Two: Chaos in the Human World

Side Story Two: Chaos in the Human World

Yu Lin returned to the lands of Huaxia; besides watching those two "brawls," there was one urgent matter—

To "return" the Chi Xiao Sword to the Han Empire.

In fact, it was just sending equipment to his past self.

With his resolve set, his gaze pierced the clouds and fell upon Kunyang City, shrouded below by a heavy night veil.

At this moment, Kunyang was like a flat boat in raging waves, ready to capsize at any instant.

Outside the city stood a hundred‑thousand‑strong army led by New Dynasty Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi and Grand Minister of Education Wang Xun; their campfires stretched endlessly like a reversed Milky Way, sealing the city airtight, with killing intent thick as clouds.

Moreover, troops kept pouring in from all directions, constantly replenishing their numbers.................

Inside the city, the garrison numbered only eight or nine thousand.

Upon the city wall.

A tall figure was hidden in the shadow of a parapet opening.

He wore armor, his features clear, yet his lips were tightly pressed, his eyes flashing like lightning as he scanned the suffocating enemy formation outside, his expression gravely serious.

It was the future Guangwu Emperor, at this moment the deputy general—Liu Xiu.

At his side stood two equally steady‑minded commanders: Wang Feng and Wang Chang.

It was these two who later led Kunyang's defenders with unbelievable tenacity, stubbornly holding off Wang Mang's army for over a month, turning the lone city into a tenacious wedge lodged deep within New Dynasty's heart!

Liu Xiu withdrew his gaze from the boundless sea of campfires outside and turned to Wang Feng and Wang Chang:

"Two generals, holding this lone city is not a long‑term strategy."

"We must send someone to break out, contact the outside, seek reinforcements, coordinate internally and externally, only then will a sliver of hope exist."

Wang Feng and Wang Chang exchanged a glance, each seeing worry in the other's eyes.

Wang Feng said in a deep voice: "General Liu, the enemy outside numbers a hundred thousand, with layers of camps and countless checkpoints."

"Breaking out now would be like striking stone with an egg, walking into a net! Please, General, think carefully!"

Wang Chang added: "Indeed, General, we have held for over a month; the enemy's vigor has waned. Perhaps we should hold longer, wait for the enemy to change, and maybe find a better opportunity."

Liu Xiu slowly shook his head, his gaze sweeping past the outside, then turning toward the faint silhouettes of weary defenders and civilians inside the city.

"The chance for battle slips away in an instant; how can we just wait?"

"Tonight is our chance. The enemy has been attacking for over a month; their veteran troops are tired, their defenses must be lax. Our elite strike can catch them off guard and perhaps carve a breach!"

He paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, as if injecting belief into himself and his companions:

"Back then, the High Ancestor dared to face the might of the Western Chu Hegemon; the Hegemon himself broke through the encirclement at Gaixia, leading cavalry out of three hundred thousand Han troops."

"Today, I, Liu Xiu, will follow the bravery of our predecessors and dare to breach this hundred‑thousand‑strong army!"

His tone suddenly surged, resolute: "No need for more words! Only death!"

"A true man dying on the battlefield is also a fortunate thing!"

Having spoken, he abruptly turned, faced Wang Feng and Wang Chang, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply:

"My fate now is uncertain; the safety of the city and its people rests entirely on you two generals!"

"Xiu, thank you!"

That bow carried deep affection and weighty trust, a burden as heavy as a mountain!

Wang Feng and Wang Chang stared at the young commander before them, seeing the resolve and trust in his eyes, feeling a surge of hot blood in their chests, the fatigue of days of holding and the fear of breaking out being largely swept away by his momentum!

Almost simultaneously, the two stepped forward and bowed deeply to Liu Xiu:

"General, rest assured! We will spare no effort, sharing Kunyang's life and death!"

"Your departure will surely turn misfortune into fortune, bringing reinforcements!"

"We... only death, we will not betray the trust you placed!"

"Good!" Liu Xiu straightened, a satisfied smile on his face, saying no more, leaving only one line:

"Let's go!"

Before the words finished, he had already turned, strode down the wall steps toward the southern gate at a galloping pace.

Armor plates clanged, emitting a resonant clang in the silent night, like the prelude of war drums.

Inside the southern gate, a solemn killing atmosphere prevailed.

Thirteen hand‑picked, death‑defying warriors were fully armed, waiting here.

Each bore a weathered face, eyes sharp as hawks, gripping reins, beside them warhorses similarly fed and shod in thick cloth.

No clamor, no restlessness, only fighting spirit.

Liu Xiu strode forward, his gaze sweeping the thirteen faces, his heart swelling with heroic fervor.

He reached the crowd, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply to the thirteen brothers willing to die alongside him:

"Brave warriors! Tonight we break out, nine deaths to one life! Xiu, I beg you all!"

"Victory tonight!"

The thirteen warriors simultaneously clasped fists in reply, movements uniform, their voices like muffled thunder:

"Victory!"

No superfluous bravado, only these simple yet weighty two words.

Liu Xiu straightened, vaulted onto his horse, moving cleanly and decisively.

The other thirteen likewise leapt onto their horses.

"Open the gate!"

Accompanied by Liu Xiu's low shout, the heavy gate, under the winch's groan, slowly pulled aside, creating a gap just wide enough for a few riders to pass side by side.

The boundless darkness outside and the faint enemy fire surged in at once.

"Ride!"

Liu Xiu rode ahead, being the first to charge out of the city gate!

Thirteen riders followed close behind, like arrows loosed from a bow, like moths flying into a raging blaze, charging without hesitation into the death net outside the city that seemed able to swallow everything, formed by a hundred thousand troops!

The horses' hooves, wrapped in cloth, made a muffled sound, like a ghost slipping through the dark night, and they surged wildly toward the weakest junction of the enemy camp.

However, outside the city was still a heaven‑and‑earth net laid by a hundred thousand troops; even though Liu Xiu chose the cover of night and the enemy's fatigue, moving as swift as wind, they could not completely avoid the pervasive watchful eyes and patrols.

They had only charged a few hundred steps before the shrill alarm whistles and bronze gongs tore the night sky!

"Enemy attack! Cavalry breaking through!"

"Stop them! Not a single one may escape!"

In an instant, the seemingly silent enemy camp erupted like a disturbed beehive; torches flared up all at once, and shouts, footfalls, and the clashing of armor thundered.

Countless Black Shadows surged from behind the tents and beside the anti‑cavalry obstacles, crazily converging on the direction of the fourteen riders!

Arrows began to rain down sporadically, carrying a mournful whooshing sound.

"Kill—!!"

Liu Xiu's eyes widened to the brink of bursting, knowing life and death hung by a thread, with no retreat left!

Liu Xiu let out a thunderous shout that shook the surroundings; the ordinary iron‑spined long spear in their hand quivered, and they were the first to meet the charging enemy troops head‑on!

"Kill!!" The thirteen riders behind roared in unison, without hesitation following their commander, crashing fiercely into the surging enemy tide!

In an instant, blades flashed, flesh and blood flew everywhere!

Liu Xiu's spear shot out like a dragon, thrusting and sweeping rapidly, brutally tearing a bloody wound through the dense enemy formation!

The thirteen riders beside Liu Xiu fought to the death without retreat, each fighting bravely, cutting with swords and trampling with horses, forming a small yet sturdy spearhead formation with Liu Xiu as the tip, charging wildly southward!

Warhorses whinnied, human cries wailed, and the sharp clang of metal striking and the muffled thud of blades entering flesh never ceased.

Flames flickered, reflecting countless ferocious faces, fallen bodies, and splattering blood.

These fourteen, like a lone boat in a raging sea, used their flesh and blood to confront the towering waves!

Yet the enemy forces were simply too many!

Layer upon layer, the killing could not be finished!

For every chi they advanced, a huge price had to be paid.

Around them, comrades kept falling from arrows, being cut down by chaotic blades, screaming in agony as they were swallowed by the enemy.

The formation began to loosen, the pressure mounting ever higher.

Liu Xiu was already drenched in blood, unable to tell whose was whose.

Until, when they forcefully blocked a slashing strike from the side, blood splashed into their eyes.

Their vision turned a deep crimson.

An enemy warlord seized a clear opening, brandishing a long spear that whistled through the air like a red dragon, thrusting straight at their chest!

The spearhead's cold glint rapidly expanded within Liu Xiu's sharply contracting pupils!

Their old strength was exhausted, new strength not yet born, and the void gates around them flared wide!

To die here, then?

That thought flashed through their mind in an instant.

The grand plan unfulfilled, Kunyang unsaved, elder brother's great vengeance unavenged… unwilling! Endless unwillingness!

At that hair‑trigger moment, when life and death hung in the balance—

The whole world seemed gently pressed by an invisible giant hand.

The howling wind, the earth‑shaking battle cries, the clashing of weapons, the whinny of warhorses, even the spear's whoosh toward the chest… all sounds suddenly vanished.

Everyone charging, slashing, parrying, or screaming—whether Liu Xiu, their comrades, or the surrounding enemy troops—had all their motions frozen!

The expressions on their faces froze—anger, fear, resolve, ferocity… like the most lifelike statues.

The released arrows hung suspended in the air, the splattered blood droplets solidifying into bright red amber, and the tips of the burning torches ceased their flicker.

Time had been pressed on the pause button.

Only Liu Xiu's consciousness seemed to drift within an endless sea of blood‑red and silence.

They could "see" the spearhead inches away that would take their life, could "feel" the viscous blood and heavy fatigue surrounding them, yet the body could not react at all.

Above the sky, Yu Lin, hidden behind the clouds, quietly looked down upon the frozen battlefield below.

"Fine, brave enough."

He whispered to himself, then sheathed the Chi Xiao Sword that had hung at his waist.

"Go."

Yu Lin twitched his wrist, not with force, merely releasing his fingers.

The Chi Xiao Sword transformed into a red streak of light, silently piercing the frozen spacetime, precisely striking the spot where Liu Xiu stood below.

At the instant the Chi Xiao Sword touched the ground before Liu Xiu—

Time's flow resumed!

"Roar—!!!"

A dragon's roar, not echoing across the fields, but exploding directly in Liu Xiu's mind.

The spear, like a poisonous dragon, continued to thrust forward at a terrifying speed!

But at the same time, Liu Xiu felt a heaviness in the hand; the iron‑spined long spear that had fought alongside them for so long, its blade already curled, was swapped in an unnoticed instant!

A long sword now rested in their grasp!

The hilt's feel was warm and intimate, as if connected by blood.

"Descendant of the Han Court, I am Chi Xiao; your bravery I have observed; tonight, follow my spear, and break this heavy siege."

The voice, like the Stabilizing Needle of the Sea God, instantly steadied Liu Xiu's mind on the brink of collapse.

The spear, now at the chest!

Swish!

The iron spear, whose thrust was certain, at the moment it met the edge of the Chi Xiao Sword, was sliced apart as easily as rotten wood or withered grass!

The front half of the spearhead, emitting a mournful howl, flew off at an angle and plunged deep into the earth!

The enemy commander holding the spear had his palm split, his face filled with terror, before he could even react—

The Chi Xiao Sword, riding the momentum, flicked, its crimson blade edge barely glimmered.

The enemy commander, together with his warhorse beneath him, was split in two by this seemingly casual sword flash!

Fresh blood and entrails splattered the ground; the scene was horrifying!

Liu Xiu grasped the Chi Xiao, feeling an overwhelming, unstoppable warm current surge from the hilt into his limbs and bones, instantly dispelling fatigue and pain, and his aura surged upward.

He laughed loudly, "Hahaha!"

"Everyone, I have the Chi Xiao in my hand, Destiny is fulfilled, follow me and kill again!"

He let out a booming laugh, thundering, pointed the Chi Xiao Sword forward, its crimson blade edge flickered erratically, as if a red dragon truly coiled around the blade, emitting a deep dragon roar!

Where the blade points, none can block!

Liu Xiu, mounted on his horse, led the charge like a red whirlwind, cutting a bloody path through the impenetrable enemy formation!

The few remaining warriors behind him, witnessing this divine might, were invigorated and followed tightly, truly trailing that divine sword and the blood‑reborn figure, racing southward toward the gap in the encirclement!

The Chi Xiao dragon roar echoed through the night of Kunyang!

It's not over yet; a hint: the final chapter will be about creation.