Valen's Great Victory

On August 2, Imperial Year 779, the Imperial Capital awoke early: today was the day Central Army Commander Sterling would lead 150,000 troops to reinforce Valen Fortress. Chief Zichuan Canxing saw the army off and bestowed wine upon them. Since the Central Army's soldiers were mainly sons of the Imperial Capital, over a million residents lined the roads to admire their imposing ranks, trying to spot their own relatives among them—elderly mothers held their sons' hands and wept, while newlywed wives clung tightly to their husbands, sobbing uncontrollably. The air was filled with crying.

Commander Sterling was the center of attention today. The Chief and every member of the Commanders' Office escorted him more than ten kilometers beyond the city. Only after Sterling repeatedly knelt and begged did the Chief reluctantly take his hand and say, "Sterling, this is as far as I'll see you. Remember, everyone at home will be waiting day and night for news of your victory!"

Sterling was so moved that tears filled his eyes. Kneeling, he said, "Please rest assured, sir. I will surely crush the rebellion and restore peace as soon as possible! If I fail, Sterling would rather die on the battlefield than show his face before you again!"

Zichuan Canxing made a soft shushing sound and whispered to Sterling, "Don't say such unlucky things! Victory and defeat are commonplace in war. I only want you to return safely. You know, I have no son. I have always regarded you as my own..." Tears streamed down his aged face as he spoke.

"Li Qing is here too. Do you want to go say a few words to her?"

Sterling had long noticed Li Qing among the farewell party, but he merely nodded to her. "Sir, I bear the weighty responsibility of the nation. This is no time for personal feelings. Sorry for the trouble, but please convey my greetings to Banner Commander Li Qing on my behalf."

"Ah, a true man may put his country before his home, but Sterling, you are a little too... cold-hearted. You are too rigid!"

Li Qing's face was pale as Zichuan Canxing sighed. Neither of them noticed that Commander Sterling had seemed absentminded all day, his gaze repeatedly sweeping over the cheering crowd before returning in disappointment...

"I say, Sister Kadan, since you came all this way, why not go up and say a few words to Brother Sterling?" Zichuan Ning asked Kadan in confusion.

Wearing a hazy veil, Kadan kept gazing at Sterling, surrounded by the crowd. She gently shook her head. "With my status, going to him now would put Lord Sterling in a difficult position..."

A scorching drop landed on Zichuan Ning's hand. She widened her eyes and looked through the veil at Kadan's lovely face. "You're crying..."

Standing beside them, Zichuan Xiu sighed silently and reflected, "Since ancient times, behind the dust of national wars lie women's hot tears. Even a man and woman as exceptional as Sterling and Kadan cannot escape this fate..."

As Zichuan Xiu pondered deeply and sighed with feeling, he also...

"Big Brother, why is your hand... on that girl in front of you... there?"

"Oh, I saw she was so sad, so I wanted to comfort her..."

Slap! A loud slap rang out. The woman standing in front of Zichuan Xiu turned around, her face blazing with fury. "Pervert! You're trying to take advantage of me—my husband has gone to Far East with Lord Sterling, risking his life for the country—and you dare bully a lone woman here! Is there no justice left in this world?!"

Her words stirred public outrage, and the crowd cracked their knuckles as they surrounded him...

"Ha, ha, ha, everyone, listen to my explanation—it's obviously a misunderstanding!"

"I have always been a most devoted admirer of those noble people who defend the Family... ha ha... how could I possibly do such a thing?"

"Listen, this was completely accidental—because of time, space, atmospheric circulation, Earth's magnetic field, gravity, and various other factors, my hand just happened to overlap to a certain extent with the protruding lower rear portion of this lady's body—it was fate's arrangement! No one can be blamed, ha ha..."

"Hey, don't hit me—Ning, Kadan, where are you two going? Hurry up and help explain!"

"Oh, we were just passing by. We don't know this pervert—do whatever you like, everyone!"

"You ungrateful wretches! Ah, don't kick there—it hurts... Help!"

On August 6, the battle for Valen Fortress reached its most critical moment. After more than ten days of continuous attacks, the rebel army finally tore open a breach in Valen's sturdy walls. Hundreds of thousands of rebels poured through it, shouting "Waa! Waa!" By then, Valen City had already mobilized every citizen, and there were no reserves left to block the breach. Far East Army Deputy Commanders Luo Bo and Lin Bing watched the rebel army outside the city stretch across the horizon and exchanged bitter smiles. At this point, they had truly reached the end of the road. They had already prepared to kill themselves in service to their country...

Lin Bing raised his sword and said sorrowfully, "My only regret is that I never saw Lei Hong, the murderer of our lord, die before our eyes... Heaven is unjust!"

Luo Bo grabbed her hand. "Wait!"

"At a time like this, what are we waiting for? Don't tell me you want to confess your feelings?"

"You dead hag, how can you say that at a time like this? The rebels are acting strangely!"

Indeed, hurried gongs rang out from the rebel ranks. They did not sound like the joyous noise of imminent victory. Flags waved everywhere, messengers ran back and forth, and officers shouted loudly, panic evident in their voices. Their formations were hastily being rearranged. Soldiers hesitated and stopped, at a loss—utter chaos!... A rumbling sound came from the northwest!

The two deputy commanders, who had believed death was certain, exchanged a glance and said together, "Could reinforcements have arrived?! So soon?" Their emotions surging, they clasped each other's hands tightly!

"Troops have appeared in the northwest!"

"They're human troops! Sir, reinforcements have arrived! Reinforcements are here!"

"They're all cavalry! Numbers unknown!"

"Sir, we can see the banners! It's the Central Army! The Central Army is here!"

"Sterling... it's Lord Sterling's troops!"

"Long live the Chief! Long live the Central Army! Long live Lord Sterling!"

As if to prove their words, the cavalry let out an earth-shaking roar: "Yalimei!" There was no doubt about it—this was the Central Army's battle cry!

Luo Bo and Lin Bing were overjoyed. How had they arrived so quickly!?

After leaving the Imperial Capital, Sterling gathered the army's most mobile cavalry and formed ten cavalry divisions and twenty infantry divisions. Believing that rescuers must move as swiftly as firefighters, he ignored his subordinates' objections and ordered Deputy Commander Qin Lu to lead the infantry onward, while he himself led the cavalry toward Valen day and night without rest. The result set a new record for forced marches: they traveled from the Imperial Capital to Valen in the Far East in only four days.

Upon reaching the battlefield, Sterling saw the rebels' formations thrown into confusion by their hasty turnabout and immediately ordered, "All troops, charge!"

A staff officer objected, "Sir, the enemy vastly outnumbers us, and our troops are exhausted from the long journey. Would it not be better to enter Valen first, rest and reorganize, then wait for the main army before deciding what to do?"

Sterling said, "We have just arrived, and our morale is at its peak! The rebels have attacked Valen unsuccessfully for more than ten days and have lost their edge. Now, unaware of our true strength, they are frightened and confused—this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

The rebel camp hurriedly turned around. In their panic, they only managed to deploy six infantry formations, mainly composed of Beastmen, to hold the line. As long as they could delay Sterling's troops for a while, the main force could calmly assemble and form up before using its superior numbers to surround and attack!

Several thousand powerful Beastmen waved their massive hands and let out wild howls.

The Central Army roared, "Yalimei!" Hooves thundered as orderly ranks pressed swiftly toward the Beastmen like a dark, solid wall!

A volley of arrows flew! Beastmen in the front ranks fell one after another, struggling on the ground and screaming.

Both the rebels and the Far East Army watching from the walls were astonished. "Why are all Sterling's troops archers? They're firing as they advance and charge—but how can archers charge?"

When the assault force came within a hundred meters of the rebels, Sterling's clear voice carried across every corner of the battlefield. "Front ranks, switch to lances!"

With a sharp swish, the Central Army cavalry, galloping at full speed, simultaneously put away their bows and leveled their lances. Their crisp, flawless, perfectly synchronized movement showed why the Central Army deserved to be called the Family's finest elite force. To perform such a maneuver while racing at full speed terrified the rebels. The horses did not slow in the slightest as the cavalry lowered their bodies, their lances extending one and a half meters beyond their horses.

The rear half of the Central Army cavalry continued firing, increasing the rebels' casualties and confusion.

The two armies drew closer and closer. Fifty meters, thirty meters, ten meters...

A thunderous roar erupted: "Yalimei!"

From the other side came another cry: "Waa! Waa!"

The bloody battle began!

With the immense force of their charge, the cavalry easily drove their lances through the Beastmen's tough bodies—some even skewered two or three at once and lifted them off the ground. The second rank of Beastmen began striking back with wooden clubs and iron rods, knocking cavalrymen from their mounts. The cavalry behind them switched to sabers suited for close combat and cleaved the Beastmen in two... In an instant, hundreds of human soldiers tumbled to the ground—the loved ones who had longed for them from afar would never see them again—while more than a thousand Beastmen were stabbed and cut down...

The following troops showed neither disorder nor fear. Their charge continued—within moments, they had all plunged in, and the melee began!

Sterling's troops held an absolute advantage in numbers, and their weapons and equipment far surpassed the rebels' wooden clubs and shovels. To counter the Beastmen's tremendous strength, the human soldiers usually fought in formation, three against one Beastman, using organization to destroy disorder with seamless coordination. The rebels had been hastily assembled, and in this chaotic battle—a test of both cooperation and courage—they found it even harder to withstand the well-trained regular army whose coordination was so precise. They could only fight on their own. In less than five minutes, the six Beastman divisions had been broken up and were fleeing in every direction.

Sterling let out a sharp cry, and the scattered formation reassembled with dreamlike speed into an imposing battle array.

"Ignore the routed troops. Charge at the enemy's main camp!"

Inspired by their first victory, the soldiers shouted again, "Yalimei!" Like hungry wolves, they pounced upon the enemy's main force, which had just withdrawn from the siege and had not had time to organize itself. Seeing the murderous cavalry wipe out the formidable Beastmen in no time, many Snake Clan, Dragon Clan, and dwarves had already begun to slip away. They were, after all, a motley rabble. In victory they looked fierce and imposing, but at the first setback they panicked and thought only of fleeing.

Those who remained hesitated somewhat: should they obey the officers and form ranks to stop the charge, or follow the others and run away too?... Before they could decide, the cavalry had already crashed into their midst, and screams rang out one after another—so nobody hesitated any longer!

Snake Clan: "Gula gu mi!" (Run!)

Beastmen: "Wala wala ke! Waga!" (You cowards! I'm running too!)

Dwarves: "Lihongte! Milihongte!" (Surrender! We surrender!)

The Dragon Clan said nothing and strode away.

The rebel army's only regular force was Lei Hong's division, but it had departed three days earlier to deal with the Far East's only two provinces that had not rebelled: Deya Province and Ilibat Province. He could never have imagined that hundreds of thousands of rebel civilians would be beaten into such a miserable state by fewer than fifty thousand cavalry...

On August 11, a messenger who had nearly ridden his horse to death brought news to the Imperial Capital that sent the entire city into jubilant cheers:

"Victory report from Valen!

71,000 enemies killed, 116,000 captured. The rebel army has collapsed and fled one hundred kilometers, with Lord Sterling pursuing closely!

Valen Fortress remains safe and sound!"

Chief Zichuan Canxing ordered the entire city to pray and observe five minutes of silence for the soldiers who had fallen in battle.

The Commanders' Office ordered: Sterling was formally appointed Commander of the Central Army, with the word "acting" removed.

After the silence came a night of celebration for millions. Every mention of Sterling's name triggered the cheers of tens of thousands: "Long live!"

In taverns, glasses were raised three million times to celebrate the great victory and wish that "Lord Sterling may live forever!"

Sales of Imperial Capital beer, flowers, firecrackers, protective charms, and colored balls soared, greatly stimulating effective demand and causing economic indicators—which had been sluggish since last year—to rise sharply.

Shrewd booksellers rushed out editions that very night: Biography of the Famous General Sterling, The Story Li Qing and I Had to Tell—Banner Commander Li Qing's Absolute Private Secrets, and Sterling Steps Down from the Altar.

To demonstrate that newspapers were faster than books, reporters hurriedly conducted interviews and wrote The Famous General Sterling Through a Friend's Eyes,

The Great Man Beside Me—An Interview with Sterling's Neighbor,

My Experience Dining with Sterling!,

I Knew He Would Be a Famous General Even Then—Sterling's Kindergarten Teacher Says His Greatness Could Be Foreseen from the Way He Urinated,

and He Even Passed Me Notes Back Then!—Miss Liu Meili, Lord Sterling's Female Middle School Desk Mate, Declares: I Was Not in Love with Him!

Another piece of news released that same night, August 11 of Imperial Year 779, passed without a sound and attracted no attention at all. It appeared only as a one-sentence item beneath the lost-and-found notices in the Imperial Capital Evening News:

"In view of the tense situation in the Far East, the Commanders' Office intends to dispatch reserve Deputy Commander Lord Zichuan Xiu to Mosuofu, Jixin, and Anxing Provinces to gather reserve soldiers and establish a contingency force. The new army will be named Xiu Battalion."