His army was too weak, and Jilan’s tactics were barbaric. Not long after the battle began, he was already at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, before the departure, Wen Yuesheng had already considered the issue of his team’s weakness.

All the generals under her command in the Knife Camp were transferred to Jiang Yan’s side.

The internal situation in Haozhou was dangerous, and the force under Jiang Yan couldn’t be made up of weak troops. Otherwise, not only would they fail to break the city, but Jiang Yan himself might also find it hard to escape unscathed.

So after the battle at Yuwang Town, almost all of the Knife Camp’s generals remained in the town.

However, Ye Qiuyun and others, who were with Wen Yuesheng, returned.

Not only that, but Wen Yuesheng also sent Ye Qiuyun, leading three thousand Knife Camp soldiers, to turn back.

Ye Qiuyun had previously joined the army in the capital and had spent nearly half a year in the Knife Camp.

Her personal strength was far inferior to the generals of the Knife Camp, but she was very familiar with their battle tactics.

It was because of Wen Yue Sheng’s foresight that Ye Qiuyun managed to arrive just before Liu Yi couldn’t hold on any longer. She led the Knife Camp soldiers to help Liu Yi break through and turn the tide of the battle.

Among Liu Yi’s troops, there were still some people he had picked up from the bandits on the road, including the second leader and Gousheng.

The second leader wasn’t good at combat, but he was experienced in other matters, like sneaky tricks. Before the battle, he quietly entered Chixi Town and learned that Jilan, after hearing about Nulie’s actions, had sent his deputy with half of his army to stop Zhang Yulin.

As a result, Jilan’s original force of fifty thousand was suddenly halved. The second leader saw an opportunity and, in broad daylight, lit the signal fireworks.

Thanks to the timely warning, Liu Yi was able to break through Jilan’s forces with his two thousand weak troops and Ye Qiuyun’s three thousand Knife Camp soldiers.

They wiped out a large portion of Jilan’s army.

Jilan couldn’t believe that Liu Yi, whom he had always looked down on, was able to defeat him. Furious, he wanted to counterattack.

However, just then, he received the news that reinforcements from Da Hui were arriving.

With no other choice, he had to retreat.

But Jilan’s decision-making was too slow, and as a result, he lost seven thousand men from the remaining fifteen thousand soldiers during the retreat.

By the time he reached the interior of Chixi Town, his army was left with only about three thousand men.

For Jilan, this was a true disgrace.

Not only had he been defeated by the weak forces of Da Hui, but due to his repeated hesitation, he had lost many of his soldiers, and the remaining three thousand had been forced into Chixi Town, walking into a dead end.

With Da Hui’s reinforcements soon to arrive, there was no way for him to escape with the three thousand men he had left.

The town he had intended to conquer would now become his tomb.

And the person who had put him in this situation wasn’t Zhang Yulin, nor the Lu brothers, but a little-known person named Liu Yi!

In his rage and disbelief, Jilan finally lost control.

He sent his remaining three thousand soldiers to take many innocent civilians of Da Hui from Chixi Town as hostages, threatening to kill them if Liu Yi didn’t let him go.

The night had grown late. Outside the town, Liu Yi’s army was stationed, while he and Ye Qiuyun, with only three thousand Knife Camp soldiers, confronted Jilan.

In front of them, Jilan’s soldiers held many civilians, with cold blades pressed against their necks, including children who were barely older than four or five years.

The townspeople’s faces were pale, and they were on the verge of collapsing. The children cried out in fear, making the scene particularly desolate under the cold, dark night.

Liu Yi’s expression darkened as he looked at Jilan and said in a deep voice, “What will it take for you to release the people?”

Jilan wiped his face, and his right cheek was marked by a deep scar left by Ye Qiuyun’s dagger. Blood flowed endlessly.

At his wit’s end, Jilan’s eyes turned cold and vicious as he glared at the two of them.

Behind them, he could see the elite force, the Knife Camp, and outside the town, large numbers of Da Hui soldiers were stationed.

Jilan’s face darkened as he heard the children crying. His eyes turned icy, and he coldly ordered, “Make them shut up.”

One of his soldiers, following orders, raised a large blade to strike the child.

“Stop!” Liu Yi suddenly stepped forward, pointing his sword at Jilan. “I remember the new emperor of Haozhou issued an edict forbidding the slaughter of innocents. Jilan, you are now unwilling to spare even a defenseless child?”

Upon hearing this, Jilan sneered.

He looked at Liu Yi’s solemn face. Liu Yi was not in a desperate situation, so it was easy for him to speak those words.

At this point, Jilan was already on the verge of death. What did he care about any edicts?

Jilan coldly said, “Since you’re so kind-hearted, fine.”

Having fought for nearly a day and night, his hair had come undone, and he looked maddened.

He glanced at Liu Yi’s sword, mocking, “Why don’t you come and exchange yourself for them?”

The child held hostage by Jilan was no older than four or five, bewildered and crying. After Jilan grew impatient with the cries, a nearby adult covered the child’s mouth, but the child’s eyes were still full of tears.

Liu Yi felt a great sense of pity.

He wanted to speak but, in the silence of the night, he suddenly heard a voice say, “Use me in exchange.”

Everyone, including Jilan, was startled and looked up.

Jilan’s expression darkened as he saw the figure of Wen Yue Sheng walking toward them, her gaze cold.

She was one of the generals who had accompanied Yu Shun to Da Hui, and Jilan naturally knew her reputation and methods.

Before her appearance, he thought that he still had a slim chance of survival by using the civilians as shields.

But now, with her arrival, Jilan knew that his chances of escaping unscathed were almost nonexistent.

His expression darkened further as he stared at Wen Yuesheng for a long time before finally speaking, “Fine! Trading a lowly commoner for a Da Hui general… it’s still a good deal.”

But Wen Yue Sheng’s emotionless eyes swept over him, and she said, “I mean, use me to exchange for all of them.”

“Princess!” Liu Yi’s expression changed.

It was late at night, and the visibility was poor, with no stars or moon in the sky. There were several hundred civilians held hostage in the town, both young and old, men and women.

The soldiers under Jilan used these innocent civilians as shields.

In the dim light, if archers were to shoot, the first to die would definitely be the civilians.

Liu Yi looked into the terrified and helpless eyes of the civilians, and his heart ached. He even avoided looking at the eyes of the child from before. He lowered his voice and said to Wen Yuesheng, “The archers are ready.”

At any time, an order could be given to execute all the soldiers of the Hao Zhou army here.

However, Wen Yue Sheng did not respond to his words and only looked towards Ji Lan.

Ji Lan froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.

His gloomy eyes, after sweeping over Wen Yue Sheng, revealed intense emotions that seemed to shift under the surface.

He knew that he could not escape today, that he would not survive.

He also knew that Wen Yue Sheng had killed many of Hao Zhou’s famous generals and was no weakling.

But at this moment, he had no other choice.

He could kill all the citizens of Da Hui in his hands, but none of them would be as valuable as killing Wen Yue Sheng.

She had delivered herself into his hands. If he killed her today, it would be a victory in battle, even in death.

At that moment, Ji Lan calmed down, his eyes darkened as he said, “Good.”

“But before the exchange, you need to remove all your weapons, and also…” He raised the weapon in his hand, pointing at Liu Yi and the others.

“These two people, and everyone else from Da Hui by your side, must leave the town.”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Yi and Ye Qiuyun’s expressions changed drastically.

Ji Lan still had over three thousand men, but he wanted them to leave.

This was the main road of Chui Xi Town. If they withdrew, Wen Yue Sheng would be left to face all the people here alone.

Liu Yi immediately said without hesitation, “No!”

Unexpectedly, as soon as his voice fell, Wen Yue Sheng threw her knife to the ground.

Clang.

The knife fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Wen Yuesheng’s face was expressionless as she said, “Good.”

“Princess!?” Even Ye Qiuyun, who stood by her side, looked alarmed.

Liu Yi, too, immediately said, “Princess, you must not!”

He closed his eyes. In this desperate situation, he could abandon the townspeople, but Wen Yuesheng was the commander of the entire border.

Only if she survived could the peace of the frontier be preserved.

They wanted to speak, but they were interrupted by Wen Yuesheng.

In the dim night, Wen Yue Sheng’s gaze was cold and detached as she said, “Knife Camp generals.”

“Yes!”

“Withdraw from Chui Xi Town.”

To the soldiers of the Knife Camp, Wen Yue Sheng’s orders were their sole guiding principle.

Even though they knew that this situation was not favorable, they still obeyed Wen Yue Sheng’s command without hesitation, saying, “Yes.”

The generals of the Knife Camp marched in perfect unison, retreating in formation.

As the Knife Camp soldiers withdrew, Liu Yi did not want to leave, and Ye Qiuyun did not either. The two of them remained standing behind Wen Yue Sheng.

But with the absence of the elite Knife Camp soldiers, the atmosphere around them shifted.

Ji Lan, seeing this, could not help but sneer. He looked at Wen Yue Sheng as if watching a show, stroking his chin.

His eyes were filled with excitement.

Even if he died today, taking Wen Yue Sheng with him wouldn’t be such a bad outcome.

Meanwhile, before she walked towards the Hao Zhou generals, Wen Yuesheng first stopped in front of Ye Qiuyun.

Ye Qiuyun’s expression changed multiple times, and he whispered, “Princess…”

Wen Yuesheng, without showing any emotion, said, “Leave.”

At the moment she spoke, Ye Qiuyun lowered his eyes and suddenly noticed Wen Yue Sheng raise her hand, removing a string of purple jade Buddhist beads from her wrist.

Since Ye Qiuyun had known Wen Yuesheng, she had always worn these beads, which had become their primary understanding of her.

In the harsh conditions of the frontier, Wen Yue Sheng had gradually reduced the time spent on Buddhist practices since arriving here.

But no matter what, she always wore the simple beads.

Today was the first time Ye Qiuyun saw her take them off.

The beads were still warm when they were handed to him.

But Wen Yuesheng’s voice and eyes were as cold as the frost of the coldest winter.

In the dark night, Ye Qiuyun heard her say, “Take care of them.”

Subconsciously, he tightly grasped the beads in his hand. The next moment, he saw Wen Yue Sheng directly turn and walk towards the Hao Zhou army.

As Wen Yue Sheng approached, Ji Lan’s excitement grew in his eyes.

He gestured for the Hao Zhou soldiers holding the citizens to slowly release them.

The citizens of Chui Xi Town were frantic, hurried and pushed forward, their necks held by blades, leaving them no room to think.

They could only watch as Wen Yue Sheng, in her black attire, passed by them, coldly indifferent.

From her emotionless gaze, some of the hidden, deeply buried emotions could be seen in this dark night, growing with each step she took.

On the empty streets of Chui Xi Town, countless blades gleamed coldly, all pointed at Wen Yuesheng.

They only awaited Ji Lan’s command to kill her on the spot.

A few hundred people surrounded her, trapping her in the center.

Ji Lan stood outside, watching as she, unarmed, was surrounded by the Hao Zhou army.

He smiled lightly, then his expression turned serious as he was about to give the order to execute her.

Suddenly, Wen Yue Sheng raised her head, and her previously emotionless eyes showed an overwhelming killing intent.

In almost an instant, the streets of Chui Xi Town fell into absolute silence.

Only her cold voice broke the stillness: “Is it done?”

Just as Ji Lan was about to speak, a shrill scream pierced the air.

The scream startled not only the Hao Zhou soldiers but also Liu Yi and Ye Qiuyun, who had reacted.

They exchanged a glance and rushed forward. One seized the last child held by a general, and the other quickly killed a Hao Zhou soldier standing in their way.

Behind them, countless generals from the Knife Camp rushed into the town.

When they entered, they saw Wen Yue Sheng standing before countless Hao Zhou soldiers. She held a blade she had taken from somewhere, and with every step, she killed several people.

Numerous soldiers fell by her side, the ground beneath her feet stained with another color.

Not far ahead, against the wall, Ji Lan’s massive body was pinned to the wall with a large blade.

Even in death, his wide-open eyes stared blankly.

In the darkness, Wen Yuesheng walked through the Hao Zhou soldiers, and no one she passed remained alive.