Chapter 370 So It’s a Woman

Chapter 370: So It's a Woman

Zhou Mingqi's gaze rested on Liu Ben for a moment. Without pleasantries, he spoke directly: "Liu Ben."

"Your servant is here." Liu Ben clasped his fists, back straight as a ramrod, eyes burning with resolve.

"The northern border is in dire straits, and an old hand is urgently needed to hold the line. I hereby appoint you to oversee northern military affairs, and also oversee provisions and pay." The emperor's tone was steady, yet carried immense weight.

"All garrison troops along the route, passes and defenses, grain storage and transport, weaponry repair and manufacture—all of it is under your command and discretion. In urgent matters, you may act as circumstances dictate and report to me afterward."

This was effectively handing over the entirety of the northern border's military and logistical authority, along with great freedom to make on-the-spot decisions.

Liu Ben drew a deep breath. Without superfluous words, he clasped his fists heavily and declared in a voice like a great bell: "Your servant, Liu Ben, accepts the decree! I'll give my all to repay Your Majesty!"

The decree was clear—the appointment was final.

The Second Prince's faction exchanged uneasy glances, lips twitching as if they wanted to object.

Phrases like "General Liu is advanced in years," "his leg ailment makes movement difficult," and "he has been long absent from the battlefield" were nearly on their lips.

However, their sharper allies beside them shot them stern warning looks.

Startled, they looked up toward the throne. Emperor Zhou Mingqi, after delivering his appointment to Liu Ben, swept his gaze lightly across their side.

That look was calm and unruffled, yet fathomless, carrying a wordless pressure.

Willing to employ an idle old general rather than their own man they'd pushed so hard—the emperor's displeasure was unmistakable.

Pressing further now would only court the emperor's wrath and invite humiliation.

They swallowed the words that had risen to their lips, exchanged glances with each other, and ultimately dared not utter a sound.

...

The cold wind whipped snow flurries like razor blades across the low earthen walls of Cloud City.

The "Zhou" banner atop the gate tower snapped violently, its edges already frayed.

Suddenly, a low, heavy rumble came from the northern plains, growing louder until it became the thunder of hooves!

"Everyone out! The city commander is dead—stay and we die!"

"Take your families and valuables, leave through the south gate! Head for Qianzhou!"

"Horses! Give me horses!"

The officers fled first, dragging their trusted men and servants, sweeping up everything they could carry, and surging madly toward the south gate.

Their flight spread like the plague. The remaining garrison soldiers, seeing this, lost all will to fight.

Some dropped their weapons and ran; others took advantage of the chaos to break into homes and shops, looting whatever they could.

The few remaining civil officials, pale with terror, were swept along by the fleeing soldiers and joined the tide of refugees.

When the messenger stumbled in, his face was a mask of blood and pure terror.

"Captain Yun... Captain Yun! General Liu has been stabbed—the city won't hold!

Deputy General Wang, Captain Li... they've all run toward the south gate!"

The tent went instantly silent. The few remaining Yun family veterans clutched their sword hilts, their eyes turning as one to Yun Mingyue.

Yun Mingyue's hand on her sword hilt was steady as a rock. "Don't panic. The sky hasn't fallen yet."

Yun Mingyue—daughter of the late General Yun Nanqian, who pacified the west. She once had two older brothers, both followed their father into battle and died in succession on horseback.

The Yun men were all dead, leaving only this one daughter, raised at her father and brothers' side, growing up rough in military camps.

She'd mastered the art of war and was skilled with bow and horse, and—more rare—had an almost instinctive feel for the battlefield, sharpened by her father and brothers' influence.

Yet the Yun family's stubborn integrity had earned them no shortage of enemies at court. Even though Yun Mingyue repeatedly rendered real service, in the end, the credit often went to other men. Years passed, and she never got promoted.

Now, with the city on the verge of falling, those high-ranking generals with impressive records were fleeing in panic, leaving her and this lone city to the bloodthirsty Western Rong.

She strode to the simple sand table in the courtyard, her eyes sweeping over it rapidly.

The Western Rong army had come too quickly, with several times their usual numbers—clearly a deliberate strike aimed right here.

The main city was in the thick of fierce fighting; General Zhao Cheng could barely hold his own. Requesting reinforcements? That's like trying to put out a distant fire.

The Western Rong clearly meant to tear a gap here, loop around, and disrupt the whole western line of the northern border, perhaps even drive straight into the interior!

"Listen," she said, raising her head, her words fast and clear, leaving no room for argument. "Organize people immediately. Draft the militia to hold off the enemy. Also, have someone lead the civilians out through the south gate in an orderly way, heading toward Qianzhou!"

"A-Qing, pick the two sharpest men. Slip out of the city through the abandoned canal to the east, using the chaos as cover. Get to the main city at all costs and find General Zhao Cheng to deliver the message!

Cloud City is about to fall. Beg him, by any means, to send troops to help us within three days!

Tell him: if Cloud City falls, the western line will be wide open, and his flank will be exposed as well!" It was a desperate gamble, but it had to be done.

Her gaze swept over the Yun veterans and the few soldiers who hadn't fled—no more than two hundred all told.

"Everyone else, follow me up the gate tower! Stand with me and defend the city," she said, jabbing her finger firmly at the south gate's position on the sand table.

"Swear to hold this escape route for the people. Hold it as long as we can! At the very least, until the civilians have finished evacuating!"

She grabbed her sword, tightened her helmet strap, and strode out first.

Her armor clinked with a cold, hard sound as she moved against the tide of fleeing people and climbed the south gate tower.

The cold wind carried the swelling cries of battle from the distance. Below the walls, the Western Rong infantry and cavalry surged like a dark tide of ants.

Yun Mingyue's hand rested on the cold, rough crenellations, her gaze sweeping over the scene below.

The Western Rong cavalry vanguard had already charged within bowshot, and further back, the main infantry formation pressed forward in a black, slow-advancing mass.

"All arrows—standard issue or hunting bows—string them all and distribute to everyone who can shoot!

Move the jars of fire oil to the crenellations directly facing the gate and where the scaling ladders might lean!

Concentrate the rolling logs and boulders on the northern wall section under the heaviest pressure! Move!"

Yun Mingyue's voice cut through the surrounding chaos with piercing clarity.

The gate tower erupted into a flurry of frantic but swift activity. Arrows were shoved into the hands of hunters and old soldiers.

Jars of fire oil were hauled up to the battlements. Rolling logs, boulders—even dismantled beams, door panels, and millstones—were piled at the wall's edge.

Almost as soon as the defenders were in position, the Western Rong's first wave struck.

The cavalry did not directly charge the blocked city gate, but swept past at the edge of bow range, loosing a dense volley of arrows.

Arrows screamed through the air, clattering off the crenellations and brickwork.

"Down! Take cover!" Yun Mingyue shouted from behind the battlements.

The moment the arrow volley let up, she immediately leaned out and saw that the Western Rong infantry had already made it to the foot of the walls, carrying long ladders under the cover of shields!

"Logs! Roll them over!" Logs went over the edge, whistling as they slammed into the crowd below.

Screams erupted, and several ladders snapped in two, but more managed to hook onto the walls, iron claws biting into the brickwork.

"Fire oil! Douse the ladders!" Thick black oil splashed down, followed by ignited fire arrows.

With a roar, flames shot up the oil slick, engulfing several scaling ladders and the Western Rong soldiers beneath them. The stench of burning flesh and oil choked the air.

Yet the Western Rong were ferociously tenacious—the next wave climbed over their comrades' burning bodies and the falling debris, still clawing their way up like madmen.

"They're on the wall! Over here!" Someone screamed.

Yun Mingyue drew her longsword and rushed to a battlement.

A Western Rong soldier had just popped his head up when a spear from the side caught him square in the face, and he tumbled off the wall. But another pair of hands was already clawing at the edge.

Yun Mingyue slashed down—blood sprayed, and severed fingers fell with a scream.

Without a second glance, she twisted her blade and drove it into the throat of the next enemy hauling himself over the parapet.

"Captain! The gate bar's cracking... we can't hold it!" A soldier, his face smeared with soot, staggered over, his voice cracking with tears.

Yun Mingyue cut down the man in front of her, then rushed to the inner wall and peered down—

Inside the gate tunnel, dozens of Western Rong soldiers were heaving a battering ram, slamming it into the doors over and over.

They can't break through! If that gate falls and their cavalry floods in, it's all over!

A cold, desperate fury surged through her. She barked: "Anyone who can still sit a horse, with me!

Twenty riders—no, make it thirty! Open the barbican's side gate now. We ride out and smash that ram!

The rest hold the walls and cover us!"

"Captain! It's too dangerous!" Yun Zhong blurted out.

"That's an order!" Yun Mingyue's gaze was iron-hard. "If the gate falls, what's the point of the wall? Go!"

The surviving cavalry quickly gathered—between Yun Mingyue's personal guard and any militia who could still mount up, they scraped together barely thirty riders.

Every man was hurt, every horse spent, but their eyes burned with grim, death-or-glory resolve.

The barbican's heavy side gate creaked open a crack as the winch turned.

Yun Mingyue charged out first, the riders flooding through behind her like a broken dam.

They swung wide around the chaos at the gate and hit the Western Rong infantry battering the doors from the flank!

This cavalry charge caught the Western Rong flat-footed.

They never expected the defenders to dare a sortie, let alone go for the clumsy ram crew. Caught off guard, nearby Western Rong riders scrambled to intercept.

Yun Mingyue didn't waste time on the interceptors, relying on speed and surprise to cut straight to the ram's position.

Her curved blade cut left and right, her target clear—the infantry working the big timber and the braces holding it up!

"Stop them!" A Western Rong officer who looked like a centurion shouted in alarm.

But it was too late. Charging cavalry at close range was something infantry couldn't stand against.

Yun Mingyue's riders hit the ram crew like a knife through butter. Blades flashed, men screamed, and several great timbers were cut loose or toppled, and the battering ground to a halt.

But this isolated force was instantly engulfed—more Western Rong soldiers surged in from both sides.

"Form up! Fall back toward the gate!" Yun Mingyue commanded loudly, trying to fight a fighting retreat.

Just then, a thunderous bellow rang out: "Bold! Riding out to meet death!"

A Western Rong general in iron armor with a wolf-head helm, wielding a long, thick horse lance, came charging in with a dozen personal guards, cutting diagonally across the field—straight for Yun Mingyue at the lead!

He had clearly noticed something different about this small unit, especially the figure at its head. Though her armor was battered, her bearing was formidable.

The horse lance drove at Yun Mingyue's back with a shrill whistle—a swift, vicious thrust meant to impale her on the spot!

Sensing the danger, instinct honed by years of martial training and battlefield combat made her twist in the saddle and whip her blade around to parry!

"Clang—!" The deafening clash of metal rang out, jarring the ears.

Yun Mingyue's hasty block lacked full force. She was knocked off balance in the saddle, the hand gripping her blade split at the palm, blood streaming down.

The sheer power behind the lance sent her helmet flying from her head!

It clattered to the ground with a dull ring, and a mass of dust- and sweat-matted hair spilled loose in an instant.

The Western Rong general froze for a moment, then took a good look at Yun Mingyue's face.

Though smeared with blood and grime, her features were unmistakably those of a woman! The killing intent in his eyes swiftly gave way to surprise, then to a deeper, more contemptuous amusement.

"Hah!" He reined in his horse, pointing his lance at Yun Mingyue, and sneered in broken, insulting Zhou speech:

"I thought I'd found a real warrior—turns out it's just a woman! Have all the men of the Great Zhou died off?

They send a woman to defend a city?! Hahahaha... Are they afraid the city won't fall fast enough, so they've sent a camp whore to reward our Western Rong warriors?!"

His guards and the nearby Western Rong soldiers within earshot burst into jeering laughter, their leering gazes raking over Yun Mingyue.

She gripped her blade, blood dripping from between her fingers onto her horse's mane, her face utterly expressionless as she stared at him.

Her disheveled hair clung to her sweat-soaked neck, making the taut line of her jaw stand out like a drawn blade.

Slowly, she raised her long saber, the edge leveled at the laughing Western Rong general.

Her voice was low, yet it cut cleanly through the laughter and the wind: "Killing you will be enough."

The words had barely left her lips before she had already become a blur, skimming low across the ground.

The Western Rong general's sneer was still frozen on his lips when a rapidly growing glint of cold steel reflected in his pupils.

The notched long saber flew from her hand, hurled straight at his face!

The throw came without warning—fierce and decisive—forcing him to raise his lance to block.

"Clang!" The instant the saber clashed with the spear shaft, Yun Mingyue's warhorse reared up sharply.

Seizing the momentum, she planted one foot on the saddle and vaulted into the air in a falcon-like somersault, narrowly dodging the sweeping spear shaft.

Her unbound hair streaked through the air like a brushstroke of ink. Before she even landed, her left hand had already drawn a shorter, narrower straight-bladed dagger from her boot—its cold gleam subdued.

The Western Rong general knocked aside her long saber and was about to press the attack when he saw the female warrior descend like a phantom, the dagger's icy point aimed straight at his unprotected neck!

He recoiled in alarm, swinging his spear upward in an attempt to force her back.

Yun Mingyue did not dodge or evade. She twisted her body in a sharp turn, letting the spear tip graze past, while the dagger's trajectory remained unchanged—even faster by a fraction.

"Thud." The muffled sound of a blade sinking into flesh. The dagger plunged deep above the Western Rong general's collarbone—not a fatal wound, but the searing pain made him stagger for a moment.

Yun Mingyue had already used the momentum to land back in her saddle, not even sparing a glance at the dagger. Her right hand snatched a spare curved blade hanging from the saddle—one she had scooped up from beside a corpse during the earlier charge.

The Western Rong general, furious and shocked, reached to yank out the dagger, only to see the cold gleam of the curved blade surging toward him!