The Xiu Tu King could only see his fellow men trying to break through the encirclement.

When they clashed with these seemingly ordinary soldiers, their desperate attempts to escape were not as strong as their opponents’ determination to fight.

This was a scene he had never imagined would happen.

But what did he know?

These Hedong Bandits were just trying to take down the Xiu Tu Army to earn a pardon and a chance to join Le Ping.

To them, these fierce Xiu Tu Army were just a stepping stone.

So they killed without hesitation!

As these Bandits approached, the Xiu Tu King finally noticed the most conspicuous presence in the group.

Compared to the cavalry that appeared earlier, the young girl in strong clothing, though riding a horse, was advancing slowly with the infantry, displaying the calm demeanor of a leader.

She was not in the range of the bonfire’s light but was bathed in the moonlight and starlight.

Even though the Xiu Tu King had never seen a woman as a leader among the Han’s Army and people before, he immediately identified her as the leader of this strange troop.

She quietly watched as the Xiu Tu King, after surviving three near-death experiences, finally gathered some men and then fixed his gaze on her.

Just as most of the Xiu Tu couldn’t understand her command of “Follow me to kill the enemy,” she also couldn’t understand the Xiu Tu King’s wolf-like howl of an order.

But it was likely an order to “capture the leader to defeat the enemy.”

Could he really achieve this?

After giving another command to Xu Huang, Qiao Yan raised her bow and arrow again.

With the Xiu Tu King’s keen eyesight, the special color of the white-feathered arrow was enough for him to recognize it as the arrow that had previously shot down the flagpole.

That arrow, which once signaled the enemy’s attack, was now aimed at his head.

The trouble was, he no longer had the shield-bearing guards by his side to ensure his escape from such a sharp and precise shot.

Moreover, this arrow wasn’t the only threat to him now.

The Han soldiers were advancing around him.

The advancing infantry posed just as much of a threat as the cavalry.

Strangely, the Xiu Tu King and his regrouped men sensed a wild, untamed ferocity in their opponents, making it difficult to feel any advantage in strength or morale.

This made his plan to capture the enemy leader seem like a futile attempt within a tightly sealed cage.

The leader, whom he had saw was now drawing her bow, the string taut.

The Xiu Tu King sensed danger.

Though the situation had escalated, there was still the protective formation led by Dian Wei between them.

Especially Dian Wei.

His formidable display with the long halberd made it clear that he could guard Qiao Yan with impenetrable defense, preventing anyone from breaking through.

As the arrow’s tip gleamed in the moonlight, the Xiu Tu King had a strange realization.

Wasn’t this the same tactic he had used against the Han people in Guyang City?

They had encircled them, leaving no escape.

A few brave souls tried to attack him, the leader, but were stopped at a distance, while he picked them off with his arrows like prey in a hunt.

Now the roles were reversed—he was the hunted!

This reversal was a source of extreme humiliation.

But this was precisely what Qiao Yan wanted.

She looked at Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and Zhang Yang, who all tacitly agreed to let her take down the Xiu Tu King, seeing it as the most appropriate action.

With no hesitation, she prepared to shoot.

The arrow was ready.

The bow was in her hand.

The Xiu Tu King was not the first target of her archery.

Her previous shot that broke the flagpole proved her accuracy, even in the dim conditions of a nighttime celebration.

The atrocities she had witnessed in Guyang City and the murals on the road to Guyang, along with the anger that had been simmering during the march, all fueled her determination at this moment.

Her jade thumb ring hooked the bowstring, her eyes fixed on the Xiu Tu King, who was trying to evade the arrow.

In that instant…

Her mind remained exceptionally clear, driving her body to act decisively.

As the Xiu Tu King tried to move, she released the arrow.

Both sides watched as it seemed the Xiu Tu King moved right into the arrow’s path.

The white-feathered arrow pierced through his skull, leaving only the fletching protruding from his forehead.

An arrow through the head, fatal.

As the Xiu Tu King fell, he seemed to remember a saying: “One Han warrior is worth five Xiu Tu”

---

The sounds of battle gradually faded.

With the Xiu Tu King dead, the remaining Xiu Tu lost their courage.

Their opponents, however, seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment.

Without the will to fight back, the Xiu Tu were defeated.

When the last Xiu Tu fell, Qiao Yan rode her horse slowly to the Xiu Tu King’s body.

The fallen Xiu Tu King, toppled from his dreams of greatness, lay with a look of utter despair and terror etched on his dead face.

Compared to the Han people who suffered in Guyang City, treated as playthings or food, his death seemed merciful.

Thinking of this, Qiao Yan looked at the boiling cauldron on the high platform.

For a moment, she regretted not making him experience the feeling of being cooked alive like fish.

But she quickly reminded herself that humans are humans; she couldn’t abandon her principles.

She couldn’t start a precedent of repaying barbarism with barbarism.

She closed her eyes and thought deeply.

When she reopened them, her gaze was clear.

While she wouldn’t resort to throwing people into boiling cauldrons, she could still take actions that would serve as a powerful deterrent.

Especially considering the signs of deliberate destruction on the Inner Great Wall outside Guyang City, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

She indeed needed to instill fear—not just among the Xiu Tu forces north of Yin Mountain, but also among those meddling within the Great Wall.

Glancing around to ensure there were no survivors from the Xiu Tu, and seeing all eyes on her, she ordered in a stern voice, “Cut off the heads of the Xiu Tu Army here.”

But building a mound of skulls here was not enough.

Xiu Tu people from beyond Yin Mountain and those behind the Great Wall needed to witness this.

She suspected the damage on the Great Wall was caused by the Southern Xiu Tu who had already submitted to the Han.

Dissatisfied with the court’s conscription order and plotting against the Xiu Tu Shanyu elected by the Protector of the Xiu Tu, they might have guided the Xiu Tu forces through the gate.

Without evidence and since they had already “submitted” to the Han, Qiao Yan could only annihilate the gathered Xiu Tu forces.

She couldn’t rashly act against the Southern Xiu Tu.

But showing them the fate of their allies and the Han people’s resolve? That was a different matter.

“Hang their bodies on the walls of Shouxiang City, and their heads…”

These heads were distinctly Xiu Tu, not Han.

“Tie their heads to your horses’ sides and shoulders. We will return triumphantly, passing through the Southern Xiu Tu’s territory in Xihe Commandery!”

By making a display of their victory and the Xiu Tu’s defeat, she aimed to send a clear and terrifying message.