When Jiang Rui arrived, he learned that his mother hadn’t been willing to be taken to Haozhou.

He was furious upon hearing this.

That very night, he rode back to the Bor family, captured a few of the family’s servants, tortured them, and after questioning the Bor matriarch, he learned that Jiang Fu had been killed by Bor Lieheng’s order because she refused to please him and stay in Haozhou.

Bor Lieheng had ordered his generals to torture her to death.

Jiang Yan went mad.

He burned down the Bor family’s generals, who had once oppressed and humiliated him and his mother, and took Jiang Rui to kill his way back to Yuan City.

He slaughtered countless Haozhou generals in Yuan City and opened the gates, allowing Da Hui generals to invade under the cover of night.

He became the traitor everyone in Haozhou wanted dead.

Because of Jiang Yan’s betrayal, Bor Lieheng nearly lost all of his power.

Although Bor Lieheng had many sons, if Jiang Yan hadn’t been useful, he might have forgotten about him entirely.

Jiang Yan’s actions forced Bor Lieheng to lead thousands of elite soldiers to hunt him down.

During those desperate days of fleeing, if it weren’t for Jiang Rui’s presence, Jiang Yan might have completely lost his sanity.

But due to the deep hatred between him and Bor Lieheng, he gritted his teeth and survived.

He wanted to see Bor Lieheng die, preferably at his own hands.

For this reason, he even considered joining the Da Hui army.

But because of his bloodline and past experiences, Da Hui rejected him outright.

He was a bastard, an existence neither Da Hui nor Haozhou wanted.

With no other choice, Jiang Rui’s old illness flared up, and with nowhere else to go in either Da Hui or Haozhou, Jiang Yan resorted to becoming a bandit.

He blocked these women from entering Yuan City because of what his mother and aunt had suffered.

Over the past four years, he had killed many Haozhou soldiers who had invaded Da Hui.

But because of his bloodline, he wasn’t welcomed by Haozhou or Da Hui.

He had resorted to plundering merchant caravans, planning to live the rest of his life as a bandit.

When Bor Lieheng personally led an army to Yuan City, he would make sure to kill him.

This was the only hope left for Jiang Yan to survive.

However, he didn’t expect that this battle for Yuan City had just begun, and as he planned to plunder a caravan and leave enough silver for his aunt before heading to the main battlefield, he was unexpectedly captured by Wen Yuesheng.

Jiang Yan believed that none of Haozhou’s five great generals, including Nulie, were a match for him.

It wasn’t because he was especially strong, but because he always fought with no mercy.

Either the opponent died, or he died.

But today, he was ruthlessly crushed by Wen Yuesheng.

Just as he was struggling to regain his composure, he looked up and saw Wen Yuesheng leading Jiang Rui over.

Jiang Yan’s expression changed dramatically, and he shouted, “What do you want?!”

He could die, having lived like a dog all his life, but Jiang Rui shouldn’t be dragged into this.

He roared loudly, but Wen Yuesheng merely told Liu Yi, “Shut him up.”

Without hesitation, Liu Yi stuffed a piece of cloth into Jiang Yan’s mouth.

Jiang Yan could only grit his teeth and watch as the women from the village were brought out.

This Da Hui princess had the women loaded onto ox carts, while the bandits were put on donkey carts, heading straight to Qingyun Town.

Qingyun Town was a few dozen miles away and had suffered the most from Haoxhou’s invasions.

The Da Hui had often sent reinforcements, but it was hard to stop Haozhou’s cavalry.

Now, with the war starting, only a few dozen men remained to guard Qingyun Town.

In the past, when a thousand elite soldiers were stationed there, the women dared not return.

Only the men of the village would go to the town to buy goods.

But now, with only a few dozen soldiers left, the women on the ox carts huddled together as they entered the town.

The streets were empty, and every house was closed.

The town looked desolate due to years of war.

This town, nestled in beautiful mountains and rivers, had a picturesque landscape, but now it was a scene of sorrow.

When Wen Yuesheng, accompanied by several generals, entered the town, unrest broke out that night.

They settled in a large abandoned house, but after entering, Wen Yuesheng didn’t allow anyone to untie Jiang Yan or the others.

However, the women could move around and rest freely.

Jiang Rui, however, was not allowed to approach Jiang Yan.

Later that night, a commotion broke out, and a loud sound of footsteps could be heard outside.

Liu Yi, who was keeping watch, hurriedly came in to report, “Princess, Haozhou’s army is attacking.”

The women had heard that this place had long been a target of invasion, but they hadn’t expected the Haozhou forces to arrive on the very first night they were there.

Jiang Yan’s dark eyes scanned the women in the courtyard.

He saw one standing in the yard, illuminated by the cold moonlight, her presence starkly unapproachable.

Under the moonlight, she wore a black dress, and when the gates of the mansion were suddenly burst open, she still showed no expression.

The Haozhou army that rushed in didn’t expect to see such a scene.

Wen Yuesheng was more beautiful than any woman they had ever abducted.

But what shocked Jiang Yan most was the sight of Bor Kui, his half-brother, the legitimate son of Bor Lieheng, the man who had participated in the humiliation of his mother.

For many years, the Kingdom of Haozhou and the Great Hui had been at war, and Qingyun Town had always been subjected to the invasions of Haozhou’s soldiers.

Bo Erkui had frequently led troops to attack.

The small, weak frontier town became a playground for these Haozhou soldiers, who oppressed the common people, looted gold and silver, and even massacred innocent civilians in Qingyun Town.

Knowing that the war had started in Yuan City, the Great Hui military couldn’t spare attention for this remote, weak town, so the soldiers from Haozhou were particularly unrestrained.

Such occurrences were common, and because of Qingyun Town’s weak defenses, the Haozhou soldiers would raid in the dead of night, never fearing the few soldiers stationed there.

Some of them didn’t even carry weapons.

Most of the invaders entered the town without even unsheathing their swords.

The 20,000 troops led by Wen Yuesheng, despite being a relatively weak force, had no difficulty eliminating all of the Haozhou soldiers that attacked late at night.

This situation was so shocking that not only had the people of Qingyun Town never seen such a thing, but even the bandits held captive nearby were stunned.

There were many strong generals in the Great Hui, and they had heard of figures as powerful as the three generals of the Lu family.

But a female general was a first for them, let alone one who acted so decisively and without mercy.

Even the fierce Haozhou general Bo Erkui met his end at her hands.

Jiang Yan sat quietly, unable to snap out of his stupor, as the muffled, stunned sounds of the second leader, whose mouth had been silenced, continued to echo in his ears.

His expression was unclear, and his heart remained unsettled.

The enmity between them had been long-standing, and he had dreamed of killing Bo Erkui for years, but he never imagined that one day, the man would die before him like this.

And the person who killed him…

He lifted his gaze, finally landing his eyes on Wen Yue Sheng, who was bathed in the cool moonlight.

Before he could think further, the sound of rapid footsteps came from outside.

Liu Yi hurried over, standing by Wen Yue Sheng’s side, and whispered, “Princess, we’ve found the person who was sending messages to Haozhou.”

Their arrival in Qingyun Town was no accident.

The women in the village had said that several nearby towns had long been harassed by Haozhou’s soldiers.

It seemed that someone had the ability to predict the arrivals of merchant caravans or when there was a lack of guards, allowing Haozhou soldiers to attack at those times.

It was as if someone was secretly sending reports to the Haozhou army.

Bo Erkui’s personal appearance that night proved this theory.

Wen Yuesheng and her team had only arrived in the afternoon, and by late night, the Haozhou army had already come to attack.

Such coincidences were hard to believe.

Suspecting this, Wen Yuesheng had arranged for several capable generals to hide around the town to gather information.

As soon as the town’s message reached Haozhou, her men would catch the messenger.

Now, they had captured the mole.

Liu Yi continued, “The person sending the messages to Haozhou is a merchant from the town. He often travels to the nearby towns under the pretext of business.”

He paused, then added, “As you suspected, there is indeed a large Haozhou army stationed nearby.”

Wen Yuesheng was not surprised by this news. Coldly, she said, “If he likes sending messages so much, let him continue.”

They had originally planned to head straight for Yuan City after leaving Luo City, but they had made a detour upon receiving a letter from the Loyal and Brave Marquis.

The letter mentioned that most of the reinforcements attacking Yuan City came from the Haozhou army camps near the city.

Wen Yuesheng had ordered the detour to cut off these reinforcements before entering Yuan City.

The night was deep, and the once-bright moon was gradually covered by clouds.

The dark, windy night was perfect for an ambush.

The Haozhou army was not far from Qingyun Town.

This army had been sent to reinforce Yuan City.

Yuan City, due to its strategic location, had always been valued by Haozhou, and the leader of the reinforcements was none other than Bo Erlie Heng.

To catch Yuan City off guard, Bo Erlie Heng had split his 50,000-strong army into two groups.

One part, led by him, had already gone to support the battle in Yuan City, while the other was stationed nearby, with Bo Erkui and other generals commanding it, waiting for orders.

This was Bo Erlie Heng’s backup force, crucial to the eventual attack on Yuan City.

But with Bo Erlie Heng absent, Bo Erkui grew reckless and, despite being under important military orders, launched a late-night raid on Qingyun Town.

From the beginning, Bo Erkui had never taken Qingyun Town or the Great Hui soldiers seriously.

He was the eldest son of Bo Erlie Heng, and he would eventually succeed his father’s position.

The other generals turned a blind eye to his actions.

But no one had anticipated that this unspoken tolerance would become the very root of their downfall.

As dawn approached, a sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out through the otherwise quiet Haozhou camp.

In the midst of a sudden, sharp sound that startled the still-sleeping soldiers of the Haoshou army, chaos erupted.

As the soldiers hurriedly rushed out of their tents, they were greeted by a sky filled with flames.

The entire camp was set ablaze, the roaring flames turning the area into a sea of fire, lighting up half the sky.

The sentries stationed within the camp had already been killed by the infiltrating troops from the Da Hui army.

Amidst the inferno, countless arrows rained down violently.

Several generals under the banner of the Borl clan were stunned.

Their unit was part of Borl Lieheng’s reserve forces and was stationed far from the main battlefront, so they never expected to face an invasion.

Even if Da Hui reinforcements arrived, they likely wouldn’t come this way.

None of them had anticipated the appearance of Da Hui soldiers here, and not just any soldiers, but as many as twenty thousand.

Many of the Haoshou soldiers, still in the throes of sleep, never had a chance to react.

Before they could even arm themselves, they were slain.

In the dim light of early dawn, those few generals who managed to awaken were also caught off guard.

One of these generals was Borl Ru, the younger brother of Borl Lieheng, and the commanding officer of this force.

He acted quickly, rising as soon as he smelled the scent of burning flesh, and swiftly gathered his generals in front of the main tent.

But the fire spread too rapidly.

The Da Hui soldiers, concealed by the night, gave them no chance to respond.

Despite his prompt efforts, Borl Ru only managed to assemble a few thousand elite soldiers.

Yet even before they could fully regroup, the Da Hui forces breached the main tent.

Before he could issue any orders, he was already forced into combat with the intruders.

To his surprise, he realized that the invading Da Hui soldiers were not particularly strong, though their audacity in attacking under the cover of night was clear.

His expression turned grim as he called out, “These are nothing but weaklings. Haoshou soldiers, follow me and break out!”

But as his voice rang out, a figure appeared in the distance, emerging from the breaking dawn, with a trail of fiery red light behind her.

Riding a pitch-black horse and wielding a long, slender blade, she cleaved through countless Haoshou soldiers with ferocity, riding straight toward them.

In the glow of the fire and the impending daylight, she was dressed in a black gown, her face cold and emotionless.

It was a female general.

Borl Ru’s expression shifted dramatically.

The Borl clan had always viewed the women of Da Hui as mere spoils of war, and their nature was one of conquest.

He had never imagined that the one leading the attack, the one responsible for so many Haozhou casualties, would be a woman.

This shock deepened as he saw her kill several of his generals with a single stroke of her blade.