The next day, news of Zhao Pu's violent death spread throughout Hulao Pass.
Unexpectedly, it did not stir up the anticipated waves or mutiny. Wang Yang personally stepped in and soothed the unrest within the Zhao Family Army.
Apart from several rebel armies friendly with the Zhao Clan denouncing the act at first, everything ultimately calmed down.
A struggle for power began within the Zhao Family Army, and no one cared about the murderer behind it.
Several Master Realm martial artists in Hulao Pass examined Zhao Pu's corpse. Afterwards, they all fell silent and shook their heads.
They knew who it was, but they were unwilling to say it aloud.
In the end, the Zhao Clan's camp and part of its military supplies were quietly swallowed up by other forces.
You and Lu Yu had planned this long ago. Leveraging the Lu Family Army's current prestige, you absorbed more than two thousand men.
When your father learned of Zhao Pu's death, he knew it had been done by you and your brother. Helpless, he instead covered up your tracks in secret.
You comforted your father. "To achieve great things, one must not be bound by trifles."
Your father looked at you, then saw how methodically you had settled the newly recruited Zhao Family soldiers, while never lacking thunderous methods in the shadows.
At the merest suspicion, you would wipe them out completely...
He could not help thinking, Handing the Lu Clan over to you may be a very good choice.
At this point, the weight in your heart finally eased somewhat. The Lu Family Army had grown to eight thousand men.
In high spirits, you pulled your father and younger brother over for a few drinks.
Lu Yu was somewhat puzzled. It was the first time he had seen such excitement on your face. It was only eight thousand men; the Northern Xuan Kingdom had a full hundred thousand well-equipped troops.
You smiled. "Eight thousand against a hundred thousand—the advantage is mine."
Your father laughed. "Shenzhou truly has such spirit. That sixth prince of the North Wind, Tuoba Shuyi, only dared proclaim that he would sweep across the Four Seas after gaining a hundred thousand mighty troops."
You smiled. "Soldiers are prized for their excellence, not their numbers."
Time slipped quietly by.
The atmosphere within the city grew increasingly tense, thick with a murderous chill.
You also met the several Master Realm martial artists in the city: the Spear King, Yuan Chenghao; the Yangtze Wave Sword, Li Li; and the Ground-Traveling Dragon, Cheng Baxian.
The strongest among them was the General Sword, Ouyang Jingyu, who was also Wang Yang's personal guard.
Every one of them possessed extraordinary auras. If you faced them in battle, you would absolutely be no match for them.
You asked Lu Yu about the strength of these Master Realm martial artists.
Lu Yu answered lightly, "If they joined forces, I might need to put in some effort."
This only made you more astonished. Just what realm had Lu Yu reached?
Your father drilled the Lu Family Army day and night in formations for fighting the Iron Pagoda Cavalry.
At last, the day the North Wind would attack the city was drawing near, and the Lu Family Army's morale soared.
Wang Yang held a grand feast to reward the three armies, signaling that the true decisive battle was about to begin.
That day, the iron cavalry of the North Wind Profound Kingdom surged forward like a tidal flood. The true battle for the city had begun.
Cannons roared, siege engines rolled forward, deathsworn charged... The cruelty of war was enough to make one shudder in terror.
Countless corpses piled up like mountains, a scene of utter misery.
After four or five days of fierce fighting, more than half of Hulao Pass's defenders had been killed or wounded. Their morale was low, and the situation hung by a thread.
Yet most of the defenders had resolved to die. Even though the city's food, fodder, and medicine were already stretched thin, they continued to hold their ground.
With the city on the verge of falling, the Western Gate defended by the Lu Family Army was not a main target of the North Wind Profound Kingdom. It faced only scattered feint attacks.
The South Gate had become the focal point of the battlefield, where Wang Yang had already assembled twenty thousand elite defenders.
However, several rebel armies within Hulao Pass harbored thoughts of retreat. They went through the motions without putting in the effort, each preserving its own strength, leaving the defenders to support the situation with bitter struggle.
Lu Jiaxuan saw through all of this. He summoned you and Lu Yu to discuss a response.
The divided intentions of the various rebel armies had long been noticed by those with sharp eyes. Now, with rumors spreading everywhere and talk of abandoning the city and fleeing growing ever more rampant, the situation became increasingly grim.
They likely would not be able to hold out for many more days.
Your father watched the battle at the South Gate, already having made his decision. He intended to reinforce the South Gate. If the fall of the city could not be avoided, he would have you two brothers leave on your own, preserving a trace of the Lu Clan's bloodline. He wanted you to head south and find your mother.
For the Lu Clan, it was enough for Lu Jiaxuan alone to die. The Lu Clan had not failed Great Qing.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu hurriedly said, "Father, I can protect you and Brother as we break out of the encirclement."
But your father firmly shook his head.
Lu Yu's expression darkened. He knew his father's resolve could not be shaken.
Lu Yu understood that although his strength allowed him to fight a hundred men alone, before military formations numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands, he could only fight until exhaustion and die.
Faced with this scene, you decided...
1. Leave with Lu Yu. So long as green mountains remained, there would be no fear of running out of firewood.
2. Follow your father and resist the North Wind together.
3. Participate personally (1/3)
Yu Ke naturally chose 2. Follow his father and resist the North Wind together.
This time, he had chosen to descend the mountain in order to change the great tide of the world and reap explosive rewards.
If he fled at the crucial moment now, would that not be a complete waste of time?
He might as well have remained in the mountains to cultivate.
He would gamble on it. He believed in the strategy of that Martial Saint whose name had echoed through the ages in the history of the past.
You did not hesitate. Gripping your father's and Lu Yu's hands tightly, you said firmly, "Since Father will not leave, then we three, father and sons, will live and die together."
Lu Yu likewise declared without hesitation, "Wherever Father is, that is where we will be."
Your father shed tears. This old general, who had fought for years and wished to reclaim the rivers and mountains, wept like rain. The words family and country seemed to weigh upon his heart.
Your father laughed loudly. "Good! Father and sons shall fight side by side on the battlefield."
At this moment, you believed that sending reinforcements was instead the wrong decision.
They should open the city gates and meet the enemy. The reason Hulao Pass had remained on the defensive without sallying forth was, first, the disparity in military strength. Tuoba Shuyi had one hundred thousand iron cavalry, with another two hundred thousand North Wind troops marching behind him.
How many defenders did Hulao Pass have? Among them were rebel armies with extremely weak combat strength.
The North Wind's troops were all elite soldiers and fierce generals, each capable of matching several men.
Second was the North Wind's invincible Iron Pagoda Cavalry, which had long beaten Great Qing into trembling at the very mention of its name, like a meat grinder upon the battlefield.
Then they would do the opposite.
When you laid out your plan, your father and Lu Yu were both shaken.
You decided to use eight thousand Lu Family soldiers to directly face those thirty thousand Iron Pagoda Cavalry, clashing with the enemy openly and head-on.
The moment those words were spoken, both your father and Lu Yu were stunned.
After all, in past battles, thirty thousand Great Qing soldiers had once been slaughtered by merely three thousand Iron Pagoda Cavalry.
The strategy you proposed—breaking the horses' legs and scattering their formations—had never been tested in actual battle. No one could foresee the risks and variables involved.
However, Lu Yu was willing to believe you.
After careful consideration, your father also ultimately chose to trust your judgment.
He understood that this was a bold gamble.
His son was willing to accompany him to death. How could a father not believe in his own son?
You smiled. "Eight thousand breaking a hundred thousand—why not? The advantage is mine."
Lu Yu's heart surged with passion upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Yu Ke recalled how, when he had participated personally, he had witnessed the discipline and fearlessness of the Lu Family Army.
This was an iron army that feared no death.
Most of them had suffered persecution under the Northern Xuan Kingdom and bore blood feuds as deep as the sky.
Their families had been slaughtered, and their homeland occupied.
Even if several thousand of the eight thousand had only recently joined, with the previous four thousand leading the charge, it was not impossible.
Before you continue