Ashes to Crown

Chapter 242: Chapter 58: Immovable (3)

Accompanied by the beat of war drums, the distant Western Liang Soldiers had already drawn their bows. Arrows, carrying flurries of snow, swept toward the city wall.

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After the volley of arrows, several more men were wounded. Under its cover, the Western Liang Soldiers pushed even closer to the city wall. To the defenders’ shock, they were dragging siege ladders behind them—

”Have the conscripts prepare to defend the walls,” the General ordered.

’I wonder how many of the conscripts sent to the wall this time will make it back down alive.’

The sound of crying from within the city seemed to swell in an instant, and the General’s ears rang as he stood on the wall.

”Lord Li!” he couldn’t help but roar. ”Did one injured arm sap all your strength for beating the drum?”

The official’s drumming had indeed stopped. He gripped the drumstick, staring blankly into the distance beyond the city walls.

”Look, are those reinforcements?” he said.

’Reinforcements?’

The General looked over in disbelief. Sure enough, a cloud of snow and mist was rising from the land in the distance, as if a mighty army was galloping toward them.

A large banner emerged from the snowy mist, unfurling in the wind. Against the vast white expanse of heaven and earth, the character for ’Chu’—embroidered in gold thread on a black background—shone like a sunbeam breaking through the clouds.

Chu!

”Reinforcements from General Chu!”

”General Chu is here!”

The soldiers on the wall, who had been numb with despair, erupted into cheers. The shouts swept over them like a gale, causing the advancing Western Liang Soldiers to falter, their formation falling into disarray.

’General Chu?’

’Chu Ling is here?!’

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In the fierce wind, the sleet had turned into snowflakes, covering the distant land in a white veil. But none of it settled here, before the city gate.

The thundering hooves, the glint of flashing blades, and the spray of blood and flesh prevented any snowflake from touching the ground.

The official on the wall, still clutching his drumstick, thought that the battle wasn’t even that fierce. ’From the moment we saw the ’Chu’ banner, that thunderous force arrived in the blink of an eye.’

Some of them wore armor, while others wore none. The ones at the front were well-equipped enough, with a full array of swords and spears. But the men behind them carried a chaotic jumble of weapons: sabers, spears, sickles, hammers—anything they could get their hands on.

They had no formation to speak of. It was just a mob surging forward, cutting down anyone in their path—

But this ferocious, unrefined style of fighting caught the Western Liang Soldiers—masters of open-field combat—completely off guard. They went from being a pack of wild beasts to a flock of headless chickens, scattering in every direction with no power to resist.

That was why it didn’t look so fierce.

In truth, however, it was incredibly intense. This was especially true of one young commander. He brandished a long horse-lance, and wherever he passed, the blood and flesh of Western Liang Soldiers flew through the air with the snowflakes, creating a grotesque, shimmering light.

The sounds of slaughter were deafening, yet the battle seemed to be over in the blink of an eye.

The Western Liang Soldiers who had charged the city were slaughtered to the last man. Those who fled didn’t escape with their lives either. In the distance, another group on horseback had been watching the battle, the ’Chu’ banner fluttering among them. This group was even stranger; not only were none of them wearing armor, but there were even women in their ranks.

The fleeing Western Liang Soldiers thought they had found an opening and charged toward this group with their last ounce of strength. But one of the girls spurred her horse forward to meet them. With a single slash of her saber, she cut one of the soldiers down from his horse. The others then swarmed forward, finishing off the rest of the deserters in a few quick moves. The remainder of the party spread out like an eagle’s wings, fanning out in all directions to block every possible escape route.

The battle was over.

The official stood on the city wall and looked at the others around him. They were all draped in cloaks of white snow.

”You—” The General took a step forward, shook the snow from his shoulders, and shouted, ”Are you the reinforcements sent by General Wei, Chu Ling?”

Down below the gate, the young commander with the horse-lance looked up. Framed by mangled corpses and amidst the swirling snow, his phoenix eyes were sharp and a smile touched his lips. ”No.”

’No?’

The General and the soldiers on the wall were all stunned. It was hard to say whether it was by the sight of the young commander or by his answer.

The young commander swept his horse-lance toward the distance and declared in a loud voice, ”It is Empress Chu.”

’Empress Chu?’

The people on the gate were even more dumbfounded. Their gazes followed the young commander’s lance toward the distance, where the group of riders that had been watching was now galloping toward them. At their head was a woman on a black horse, wearing a black cloak, her face as pale as snow.

’The Empress?’

’The Empress!’