When Fengyu arrived, she had already written a letter and placed it together with the Soul Suppressing Pearl. She had explained everything in detail. The wounds on her body were not as severe as Xie Xun’s. Forcing herself to endure the pain, Fengyu rasped out a call for help. A soldier stationed at the door heard her voice and hurriedly entered. "Prince, what are your orders?" The most update n0vels are published on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁 "Where is Feiying?" Fengyu asked. "Please wait for a moment, your servant will call him immediately." The soldier quickly went to summon Feiying. Upon hearing of Fengyu’s presence, Feiying was both astonished and overjoyed. This was because news of Fengyu’s death had long since reached Ningzhou. After Fengyu was captured by the Jinyi Guards, Nuanyang had failed to catch up with them for three days and subsequently sent men to inform Xie Xun. Xie Xun dispatched a team of soldiers to the Capital City, setting up defenses along the way in hopes of intercepting the Jinyi Guards. Although Dugu Jing had been pushed back to the foot of Sha Ling Tian Mountain, his counterattacks were fierce. He continuously organized the Beiman Army to launch assaults, and once the winter snow had melted, their offensives became even more relentless. While Ningzhou had many generals, and Xie Jue was overseeing operations, generals like Xie Xun—capable of commanding armies with both bravery and strategic acumen—were rare outside of Fang Chuning. On a battlefield where situations change in an instant, the decisions of the commanding general had to be both precise and adaptive. Xie Jue’s battle strategies were meticulously crafted based on his experience, the Beiman’s tactics, and the unique features of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. First, the strategies had to be executed flawlessly. Second, they required the commanding general to adjust flexibly to battlefield dynamics, with an ability to adapt to circumstances. Xie Xun was a versatile talent—he could command, plan strategies, fight, and endure. On the battlefield, soldiers naturally adhered to his orders without question. With Xie Xun present, he was the linchpin of the army. There was no way he could leave Ningzhou. He could only send one of his own troops to intercept Chen Mo. But he was human, not a deity. On the battlefield, the greatest folly was to carry unresolved worries. Xie Xun was preoccupied with thoughts of Fengyu. Xie Jue feared that such distractions could lead to mistakes on the battlefield and therefore temporarily assigned Fang Chuning to take over command of the three armies. However, Fang Chuning could not truly replace Xie Xun. Even though Fang Chuning’s martial prowess was on par with Xie Xun and his adaptability slightly exceeded Xie Xun’s, he had a fatal flaw. He was not the son of Marquis Zhenbei. This Ningzhou Iron Cavalry was exceedingly loyal to the Marquis Mansion. The three armies needed Xie Xun more than anyone. While Xie Jue could command respect among the generals in the military headquarters, only Xie Xun could lead the hundreds of thousands of Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. Even this was something Xie Jue could not achieve. The lower-ranking soldiers only followed a commander who led them in charging forward with boundless courage. The terrain of Sha Ling Tian Mountain was perilous—it was easy to defend but difficult to attack. After three prolonged failed attempts to breach it, Xie Jue mobilized the entire army once again. This time, Xie Xun and Fang Chuning led their troops into battle simultaneously. The battle was extraordinarily fierce. Dugu Jing lost two formidable generals, and the courageous Prince Eleven—who had the potential to be as fierce as Dugu Jing himself—also perished in this conflict. That prince was like a ferocious tiger newly unleashed. Xie Xun, fighting at the forefront, was struck in the chest by an arrow fired by the prince. The bows and arrows crafted from Beiman’s red sandstone were utterly unstoppable. In addition to Xie Xun’s grievous injury, General Zhou also lost his life in this battle, along with two young generals. However, their greatest achievement was forcing the Beiman Army to retreat once again. Despite incurring heavy losses, they managed to decimate Dugu Jing’s elite Left Wing Camp, nearly annihilating it entirely. Dugu Jing was compelled to retreat once more. This time, they abandoned the outpost in front of Sha Ling Tian Mountain and withdrew to positions beyond the mountain. The first full-scale offensive reclaimed the contested battlefield. The second full-scale offensive drove Dugu Jing to the far side of the mountain. After Dugu Jing retreated behind the mountain, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry could not advance further. The area between Sha Ling Tian Mountain and the Beiman base was connected by only a single passage. This passage was narrow and perilous, a perfect location for an ambush. Occupying the higher ground allowed the enemy to bury the Iron Cavalry with an avalanche or worse. The Beiman had already piled rocks and fire oil at the mountaintop. Any attempt to pursue further would mean certain death. The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry could only wait for the Beiman Army to attack proactively or for Dugu Jing to surrender! Though the battles were fierce and devastating, the tide was steadily turning in their favor. Feiying noticed Fengyu’s anxious expression and hurried to reassure her. "Miss, rest assured. The Prince is resilient. Although this arrow looks terrifying, it didn’t damage any vital organs. As long as he recuperates for a month, he will fully recover." "Did he... hear news of my death before heading to the battlefield?" "Yes!" Feiying replied with equal helplessness. As fate would have it, Ningzhou received news of Fengyu’s death just after Xie Jue had finalized the battle strategies. Xie Xun had only an hour to compose himself. According to Xie Jue’s tactics, both Xie Xun and Fang Chuning were irreplaceable. Regardless of how heartbroken, despairing, or anxious Xie Xun was, he absolutely could not let his sorrow show. He could not bring despair to the battlefield. Even more importantly, he could not allow the soldiers of the three armies to witness his vulnerability. Under such circumstances, Ningzhou launched its second general offensive against the Beiman Army. Xie Xun threw himself into the fray without regard for his life, charging at the frontlines. He directly faced off against Dugu Jing’s brothers and was shot by Prince Eleven’s arrow.