Xiqi's Crushing Defeat

(Dear readers, this little author hasn't finished writing yet. Please wait until there's a title before reading. My apologies.)

After an entire day of high-intensity siege warfare, even martial artists felt a trace of exhaustion.

Not to mention that it had gone on for several days in a row.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the entire camp crimson. Days of continuous siege battles had filled the encampment with the heavy stench of blood and sweat. Soldiers lay sprawled across the ground; some hugged their spears as they slept, while others stared blankly at the sky, their eyes filled with numbness. Even the martial artists who were usually full of vigor now leaned against their weapons, their faces written with fatigue.

Inside the central command tent, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost suffocating. Shen Gongbao sat in the seat of honor, his face as dark as water. The generals standing on either side all hung their heads dejectedly, their armor covered in bloodstains and blade marks, looking like eggplants wilted by frost.

"The latest word from the State Preceptor is that Sishui Pass has held out for so long because those weren't rebels at all, but Chaoge reinforcements. We were deceived!"

A general broke the silence in a low voice, his face filled with resentment.

"Mm... What plans do you all have next?"

Shen Gongbao nodded slightly and swept his gaze over everyone.

"Fight!

"We prepared for this expedition for a long time. If we retreat now, when the Shang Dynasty counterattacks, Xiqi has no dangerous pass to defend!"

An old general gritted his teeth.

"What are we supposed to do then?"

The old general's words stirred up an uproar in everyone's hearts. Indeed, Xiqi was unlike the Shang Dynasty, which possessed formidable passes everywhere. Though Xiqi