"Is that a prince?" Vice-General Zheng tilted his head in mock wonder, then exaggerated a dramatic shiver.
"Good heavens, he's still wet behind the ears! Tell me, is this truly what Tian Sheng calls a battle line?"
He let the silence hang a moment before spitting to the side.
"So this is what the once-proud empire sends to the front—a Crown Princess who ought to be locked in the inner palace birthing heirs, and a little princeling who probably still sleeps with a wet nurse tucked at his side."
Scoffing openly now, he added with a sneer, "Has your court run so dry of steel that it must throw babes in brocade to the wolves?"
Laughter erupted from the Annan ranks. Harsh and echoing, it cut through the darkness like whips.
"No wonder your lot barricades itself behind those crumbling walls, day after day. Scared to come out, are you? Afraid we might break your toys?"
He took a step forward, voice booming now, thick with derision.
"How about this, then? If you kneel right here, knock your foreheads on the ground three times, and call me 'Grandfather Zheng'—who knows, I might be moved by pity."
A pause, then his grin twisted cruel.
"Perhaps I'll even beg His Majesty of Annan to let you cowards scamper back to your palace, tails tucked between your legs like beaten dogs."
A soldier nearby guffawed. "Better yet, let them crawl all the way back to the capital. That way the empress can nurse the little prince herself!"
More jeers followed.
"Hahaha! Turtle-hearted cowards!"
"Turtle-hearted! Turtle-hearted!"
"Kneel! Kneel! Kneel!"
The chant swelled, voices crashing together like waves. Thousands of Annan soldiers roared the word in unison, stamping their feet, pounding spears to shields, the rhythm thunderous and mocking.
Kneel! Kneel! Kneel!
The sound pulsed in the darkness, a single word hurled like a spear.
From the moment he was born, Yun Chuhuan had never tasted such disgrace. No tutor, no court official, no rival princeling had ever dared raise their voice at him. And now, under the open sky, before torchlight and the eyes of an army, he stood drowned in a flood of humiliation he had never imagined.
He clenched the edge of Yun Shu's cloak tightly, his gaze fixed on the arrogant soldiers gathered outside the city. His voice emerged through gritted teeth, each word steeped in rage.
"Fifth Sister, how can we still not fight back?"
"We truly cannot, not yet."
Yun Shu let out a resigned sigh.
"You weren't here earlier, so you wouldn't know. When I arrived, the Yongzhou army had just suffered a heavy defeat. It happened on a night much like this. The Annan forces feigned retreat, and the Yongzhou commander, hot-blooded and prideful, pursued them deep into the forest.
But instead of killing the enemy, we lost ten thousand soldiers for nothing."
"The forest…" Yun Chuhuan's mind sparked with sudden clarity.
"Fifth Sister, isn't today's so-called 'Flying Squad' mission to fly into that very forest?"
"They're only there to scout the terrain," Yun Shu explained.
"Once they return and provide a full map of the forest, we can mount an effective counterattack. Without it, the Annan army holds far too much advantage in those woods."
"…"
So he still had to endure these insults in silence?
Yun Chuhuan's fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Then, in one fluid motion, he leapt up to the top of the wall, his figure outlined against the flames. Wind tugged at his sleeves, but his voice rang out clear and sharp, echoing across the field.
"Why bark like dogs if you can't even speak your own tongue properly? Or have you been crawling on all fours for so long you've forgotten what it means to be men?"
The jeering below stuttered, thrown off by the venom in his tone.
"A pack of hollow beasts, snapping your jaws because you've got nothing else to show. Can't fight head-on, can't hold a line—just run, yelp, and bare your teeth from behind a crowd."
He swept his gaze across their ranks with open disdain.
"And what's this? You wear your age like some badge of honor, as if becoming a withered mutt makes you wise. Pathetic.
So what if This Prince is young? So what if my Crown Princess Sister is a woman?"
His eyes blazed now, voice growing colder.
"We're still worth a thousand of you. No, ten thousand. Because at least we don't fear the battlefield like rats fear the torchlight.
You sneer at women while hiding behind your spears. If your mothers had known their sons would grow into cowards who mock women out of fear and jealousy, they'd have drowned you in the bath or tossed you into a latrine before your first cry!"
He took a breath, then spat the next words like fire.
"Have you ever once made your mothers proud? Not in this lifetime. I doubt even your ancestors would claim you.
You flaunt your numbers and shout like fools, but when the first blade is drawn, you'll scatter like startled roaches.
And dung, at least, can nourish the fields."
He raised a hand, his final insult cutting deeper than the rest.
"But you—if I chopped your rotten flesh into bits and scattered it across the soil, even the worms would gag. You're too foul to rot cleanly."
Yun Shu: "…"
The Yongzhou troops: "!!!"
The Sixth Prince's battle prowess clearly extended beyond sword and spear.
It was strange. His words weren't vulgar—no foul language at all, really—yet the humiliation in them stung more deeply than any filth the Annan soldiers had spewed.
After a full month of taunts, a full month of pent-up anger, the Yongzhou soldiers turned to Yun Chuhuan with newfound admiration.
Outside the walls, the Annan army, burning with indignation, shouted even louder in response.
Yun Shu stood witness to what might have been the most chaotic insult exchange she had ever seen. The whole scene was nearing madness. At one point, someone even loosed a few arrows under cover of the chaos.
Fortunately, guards were stationed close at hand. Both sides suffered little damage.
Still, as Yun Shu stood there, watching this farce unfold, she couldn't help but question reality itself. Had war always been this… absurd? Was it her understanding that was flawed, or the world's?
Then, a pale gold firework flared in the night sky.
It burst quietly and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Many of the Annan soldiers, too caught up in their shouting, didn't even notice. Those who did turned, only to find the sky already empty.
But Yun Shu had seen it clearly. A smile of relief blossomed across her face.
At last.
At last, her ears would be spared.
She turned on her heel and strode to the war drum planted at the corner of the battlement. Grasping the mallet herself, she struck it with force.
Boom.
The deep thud silenced both armies at once.
Her expression was unreadable, gaze steady as the night wind stirred her robes. Then, without a word, she tossed the heavy mallet to a nearby soldier. The dull thud as it landed in his hands seemed to echo like a war drum, silencing those around her.
In the same breath, she drew her sword.
The blade flashed under the torchlight, cold and bright, catching the breath of heaven and earth. With effortless grace, she lifted it high above her head, the tip slicing through the night sky like a bolt of silver lightning.
Her voice followed, crisp and commanding, cutting across the battlefield like a blade.
"Why waste breath on cowards?"
She paused, letting the silence bite.
"Soldiers of Tian Sheng," her words rang like a war banner unfurling in the wind, "hear the command of your Crown Princess."
The sword fell forward like a decree from heaven.
"Kill."
A single word, and the blood of warriors ignited.
"Kill!"
From within the city walls, the Yongzhou troops—long brimming with fury—finally had permission to release it.
The great gates thundered open. With a roar like an avalanche, they surged forth, the clamor of weapons and war cries startling the enemy steeds into frantic whinnies.
Vice General Zheng's eyes glinted with cruel delight. He wasted no time in signaling retreat.
"As expected, these Crown Princesses and little princes cannot endure a few provocations. Brothers, we'll harvest ten thousand heads tonight!"
"Vice General Zheng, rest assured!"
A nearby officer laughed as he galloped toward the forest ahead.
"I want to see just how many troops Yongzhou can send out. At this rate, we'll be breaking through the province and marching all the way to the capital of Tian Sheng in no time!"
Tian Sheng.
That strong, wealthy empire—if they could conquer it…
The An Nan troops were still lost in their fantasies of conquest when the vanguard neared the forest edge.
Boom!
Boom boom boom!
A kaleidoscope of fireworks erupted in their faces.
The vibrant explosions blinded and deafened, startling horses into wild panic. The fireworks, meant for celebration, now bloomed with screams and chaos.
Mounts reared and kicked, throwing riders to the ground.
Vice General Zheng cracked reins and snapped whips until his arms ached, but he could not quell the chaos.
And in those precious moments of disarray, the next wave arrived.
Ten thousand elite soldiers of Yongzhou charged into the fray.
Five thousand Annan troops, already scattered and confused, now stood in open ground against an organized, disciplined force.
With no forest to conceal them, swords clashed in brutal close quarters.
In that instant, the battle's outcome had already been sealed.