The morning was bitterly cold.
Gourd Mouth Pass lay in deathly silence.
Only eight hundred and one men stood along its sprawling walls.
And a great command banner towered above them.
The eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards remained silent, merely donning fine armor and gently running their hands over their Embroidered Spring Sabers.
"Afraid?" a General Banner asked.
"What is there to fear?" a Small Banner asked in return.
The two exchanged a smile.
In truth, they knew they were certain to die.
Yet not a trace of retreat stirred in their hearts.
What was loyalty?
Did they have to serve him faithfully and lay down their lives simply because he was the Pacification Commissioner?
No.
It was because he was Lord Jia!
They had followed Lord Jia through Northern Liang, down to Western Shu, across Jiangnan, and into the Southern Borderlands. They had shared in his glory, received martial arts rewards, and gained enough confiscated riches to make their families prosperous, even free from worry over food and clothing. They had fought beside Lord Jia and earned promotions through their achievements.
More importantly, they knew full well that Lord Jia was rooting out villains and evil for the world. That same conviction had been their original reason for joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
So they followed him without hesitation.
Faithful unto death!
Gourd Mouth remained sunk in boundless, deathly silence until noon.
The wind rose.
An immense, savage force stirred in the distance. The earth swayed amid rumbling thunder, as though a black tide filling the sky were bearing down upon them.
The eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards walked onto the battlements one after another, taking their assigned positions and gazing ahead with resolute expressions.
Northern Mang's Iron Pagoda Cavalry appeared first. Riders and horses alike were clad in