In the depths of winter, Tianlang Lake had once again become an icefield. A vast army set out from the Western Sea Protectorate and slowly advanced toward the Eastern Lake Fortress on the opposite shore.
The once-abandoned Eastern Lake Defense Line had also been completely renewed. Battlements built along the natural defenses of mountains and rocks towered beside the lake, with countless Northern Liang soldiers and siege-defense engines behind them. Viewed from the clouds, they resembled a forest of spears and a sea of blades.
Their military bearing was imposing. Their equipment and fortifications alike displayed the grandeur of a great nation. Compared to them, the Western Sea coalition about to reach their walls looked almost like a motley army with a jumble of banners.
Yet the morale of the soldiers defending the pass had sunk to rock bottom. Before they had even seen the beacon fires on the icefield, countless men already felt defeat was inevitable. Even their officers were no exception.
The battle outside Yanjing's Imperial City in August had broken Northern Liang's spine. Even the Liang Emperor knew the tide had turned against him and had all but abandoned his struggle.
Although some commanders had intercepted Wang Chihu's surprise attack on the snowfield and even uncovered most of the intelligence on the Western Sea coalition, that could not halt the surging tide. Ye Jingtang's acquisition of the title Number One Under Heaven had become the final straw that broke Northern Liang's back.
Over the past two months and more, nearly every great clan in the Eastern Lake Circuit had been paying lip service while acting against orders. Publicly, they contributed men and resources and called for resistance; privately, they tried every means to contact the Southern Dynasty. As for the martial world's factions, Tian Wuliang, the Azure