Chapter 2

In early spring, the slanting sun hung in the sky, and the earth came back to life.

Outside the southern gate of Zhongmu County.

The fields were desolate, vast and empty, with no signs of human habitation for dozens of miles.

On the open plain, tens of thousands of troops faced each other, swords drawn and bows taut.

At the forefront, two generals in armor spurred their horses forward, shouting at each other from a distance.

The two opposing generals began with curses, their roars like thunder. Words were exchanged, and they soon drew their swords.

"Charge!"

"Clatter, clatter, clatter!"

The side by the southern gate, backed by the city, was the imperial army, and they launched the first attack.

Three thousand cavalrymen charged out with a roar.

The cavalrymen were all strong and robust, wielding long wooden spears, and they charged forward with fierce cries, the sound of their battle cries filling the air.

Their steeds, uniformly large and powerful, galloped with grace and speed, their hooves thundering, their strides consistent, and their momentum like a tidal wave, sweeping toward the enemy to the south.

Behind the cavalry, thousands of infantrymen armed with long halberds, spears, and large shields followed closely, charging forward with a mighty roar.

The southern force numbered nearly twenty thousand, with more infantry than cavalry, only about five hundred cavalrymen at the front, the rest being infantry.

Their armor varied, less than half were clad in iron armor, most wore leather armor; their weapons were of different lengths, and the soldiers included both the elderly and the young, making up half of the force, the other half being young and strong men.

The strengths and weaknesses of the two armies were clear at a glance.

However, although the imperial army seemed elite, they were outnumbered and outmatched by the southern force, which had a more imposing formation.

"Bang, bang, bang! Charge!"

The two armies were a hundred paces apart, and the cavalry charged, reaching the enemy in an instant.

In a moment, weapons clashed, horses collided, and the sound of battle cries filled the air.

The two armies clashed like a flood of ferocious beasts, their long weapons meeting, and they fought with all their might.

In an instant, the sounds of hooves, roars, and screams mingled, creating a deafening din.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter!"

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The three thousand imperial cavalrymen were exceptionally brave, charging forward without hesitation, leaving a trail of severed heads in their wake.

The twenty thousand southern troops were not lambs to the slaughter, fighting to the death, fearless in the face of danger. The five hundred cavalrymen charged head-on, and nearly twenty thousand infantrymen stood in formation, holding long halberds to repel the horses, and gripping long spears to charge forward; the large shields were deeply embedded in the ground, carried on their shoulders, forming a dense wall of shields.

"Boom, boom, boom! Thud!"

Horses stumbled and fell suddenly; weapons pierced flesh, and blood spurted.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, and the scene was brutally intense.

"Watch out, young general!"

Among the three thousand imperial cavalrymen, a young general in black iron armor, with excellent horsemanship, charged forward with great bravery. No one could stand against him, and in a short time, dozens of southern soldiers fell to his blade, cut in two, their heads separated from their bodies.

Just as he was charging forward with great momentum, his horse suddenly stumbled, and he was thrown off.

The several bodyguards who had been protecting him were instantly alarmed and shouted in panic.

A horse stumbling was a great taboo in battle. Many brave warriors had their ambitions unfulfilled and died in vain, leaving only sighs of regret.

In the face of sudden change,

At this moment, the young general's excellent horsemanship came into play.

As the horse stumbled and fell, he suddenly leaped up, dismounting, and with the momentum of the fall, he flipped through the air, trying to land steadily.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Just as the young general was about to land, the enemy's dense wall of shields suddenly dispersed, forming a hollow circular shield formation.

In the cleared space, dozens of spear soldiers appeared, raising their spears, waiting for the young general to fall onto their spear tips.

"Ha!"

"Thud, thud, thud!"

In the face of great danger, the young general shouted, gripping his sword with one hand, and with a horizontal slash, he deflected a dozen spears to the side. Then, he fell sideways, landing on five spear soldiers who couldn't dodge in time.

"Thud!"

With a not-so-loud sound of armor and flesh colliding, the five spear soldiers fell, rolling with the young general.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, a dozen spears stabbed at the young general again, disregarding the lives of the five spear soldiers entangled with him, trying to impale all six of them.

The bodyguard's shout of "young general" had revealed the young general's identity. Moreover, he was wearing armor that only generals could wear, leading the southern spear soldiers to mistake him for a general from Liang, and they wanted to eliminate him quickly.

In fact, the young general was not a general, nor was he a young general from a prominent family. He was the nephew of the imperial army's main general, Longxiang Commandant Li Jue, the eldest son of Li Jue's deceased elder brother, Li Li.

Li Li was not yet sixteen years old and had joined the army a few months ago to train under his uncle Li Jue. He was currently the Left Commandant of the Longxiang Camp, in charge of a thousand-man cavalry unit.

Li Li lost his father in childhood, and his mother died of illness five years ago.

After his father's death, he and his younger brother Li Xian, along with their mother, lived in his uncle Li Jue's house for ten years.

Uncle Li Jue treated Li Li and his brother very well, like his own children, like a strict father; he also respected Li Li's mother, treating her like a mother. However, Li Li's mother died of illness five years ago.

Therefore, Li Li's position in the Longxiang Camp was very special, and he was regarded as Li Jue's own son, called "young general."

In every battle, he was protected by dozens of bodyguards. However, he had not fought in a major battle before, only participating in a few minor skirmishes. This was his first major battle, and he was eager to prove himself, charging forward quickly, leaving his bodyguards far behind.

Desperate to achieve glory and eager to show his bravery, relying on his natural strength and family martial arts, he charged deep into the enemy, not knowing his limits, which put him in a desperate situation.

"Thud, thud, thud! Ah!"

Falling with the five spear soldiers, Li Li was in great pain.

Just as he was in pain and had not yet regained his strength, a dozen spears suddenly appeared.

In a hurry, he had no time to dodge, and he was stabbed by three spears, causing him to scream in pain.

The intense pain instead triggered Li Li's ferocity and strong survival instinct. He endured the pain, rolled continuously to dodge the enemy's spears, and kicked to death the five enemy soldiers who were rolling with him.

After rolling to dodge the spears, Li Li got up, picked up a wooden spear from the ground, and fought with all his might.

"Die! Charge!"

The wooden spear was not Li Li's preferred weapon; he was more skilled with a long-handled broadsword. However, at this moment, he had no choice, and his survival instinct drove him to fight to the death. The wooden spear in his hands became a long stick, wielded like a broadsword, creating an impenetrable barrier.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Li Li, with wounds on his left arm, abdomen, and back, paid no attention to his injuries or the blood gushing out. He used the spear like a sword, fiercely counterattacking.

He swung horizontally, again and again.

Each of Li Li's strikes was powerful, knocking dozens of enemy soldiers to the ground, their weapons falling, and being thrown back, knocking down a group of shield soldiers.

"Quick, young general, go!"

Just as Li Li was fighting back in a desperate situation, seven bodyguards finally broke through the hollow circular shield formation.

Three bodyguards dismounted, killed several enemy soldiers, and helped Li Li onto a horse.

The three of them did not rush to escape but used their bodies to block dozens of enemy soldiers, buying Li Li a chance to turn the horse and escape.

Under the protection of the remaining four bodyguards, Li Li broke through the shield formation, leaving the three bodyguards behind, each pierced by at least eight spears, and the enemy soldiers couldn't even pull out their spears in the chaos.

As Li Li broke through the shield formation, he saw the tragic deaths of the three bodyguards out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with tears, and his anger burning.

"Ah! You will all die!"

After breaking through the shield formation, Li Li did not flee but instead seized a broadsword from a bodyguard and charged back.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Li Li, with red eyes, fiercely spurred his horse, charging back onto the layers of shields.

The horse's hooves trampled the shields carried on the shoulders of the enemy soldiers, and Li Li's broadsword flew, cutting off the heads of dozens of enemy soldiers who were exposed between the shields.

Enraged, Li Li's eyes were red with blood, and he fell into a frenzy of killing.

As long as there were enemy soldiers resisting in front of him, he would charge forward without hesitation, until he had killed them all.

As the sun set, the fighting on the open plain gradually became sparse, and the twenty thousand rebel soldiers were defeated and scattered.

The blood-stained sunset, after Li Li killed the last fleeing enemy soldier, he was exhausted, his body swaying, and he fell off the horse. In the glow of the setting sun, he looked like a mountain collapsing.

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