Tang Dynasty: Starting with 3,000 elite cavalry, a bloody battle to retake the city.

Inside the imperial study, candlelight flickered.

Li Shimin, along with Changsun Wuji, Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, and others, plotted and strategized, their brows furrowed in worry.

Suddenly, the latest battle report arrived—still no news.

He abruptly closed his eyes, his throat bobbed, and his voice was hoarse, unlike that of an emperor: "It's alright... he'll be fine."

He paused, his voice almost choked with emotion:

"Wait a little longer... just hold on a little longer... I'll come and take you home right away."

The wind rose and the clouds surged, a chill seeped into the bones.

A sense of sorrow quietly permeated the entire city of Chang'an.

Like frost descending, like snow falling, like the first dirge beginning.

And at this moment—

Beyond Youzhou on the frontier lies a desolate village.

The setting sun was like blood, amidst broken walls and dilapidated tiles, black armor stained with mud.

General Han Ye, with his masked face, sat quietly on the ground, leaning against a withered tree.

Beside him were only a hundred or so masked soldiers, all wounded, their armor torn and soaked in blood, yet their eyes still gleamed like wolves.

Yes, only a little over a hundred remain.

Facing hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry under Jieli Khan, it was already a miracle that they had managed to get here alive.

But they couldn't escape.

Dust billowed from all directions, and the sound of hooves thundered.

The Turkic army surged like a black tide, advancing layer by layer, forming an impenetrable encirclement.

Once you've caught a turtle in a jar, it can't escape.

"kill!!"

"kill!!!"

"kill!!!!"

The roar tore through the sky, and the horses' hooves shattered the earth.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen pressed in, their murderous aura soaring to the heavens, changing the very color of the sky and earth!

But just as the end of the world was about to arrive—

Han Ye slowly raised his eyes.

His gaze was cold and unwavering, as if he were facing not a vast army, but a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

Because he knew...

They couldn't run anymore.

And he was still standing.

For ten consecutive days, these few hundred men managed to keep the Turkic army running around in circles.

How could someone not be exhausted from being chased by so many people? How could they possibly hold on?!

To put it bluntly—

Han Ye was already on the verge of collapse! He was only kept alive by sheer willpower!

And now...

It's been ten days.

He's run out of time.

I can't run anymore.

They stopped running.

"It's just a pity..."

Han Ye murmured to himself, gazing towards the distant Youzhou City, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I originally intended to return to Youzhou City and visit my Han family... but I never expected that I would end up being trapped and dying in this wasteland."

The Han family mansion in Youzhou.

That's where Han Ye and his three thousand Tiger Leopard Iron Cavalry started their careers!

It was also the last vestige of his obsession.

But now...

The road home is blocked, and it's hard to return to my homeland.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the remaining soldiers behind him.

Xiahou Dun's face was ashen, his right arm severed at the shoulder, blood already soaking half his body, yet he still leaned on his sword and stood there, refusing to fall.

The remaining soldiers were all covered in wounds, their armor tattered, and their breathing was as heavy as broken bellows, but their eyes remained fixed on the front.

Even he himself was no longer the invincible Ghost-Faced General.

No matter how high your attributes are or how strong your physique is, after days of fighting and running day and night, even the strongest person will turn into a bloody mess.

too tired.

I really... can't take it anymore.

His throat was dry and cracked, his limbs felt heavy, and even the hand holding the knife was trembling slightly.

But they're still standing! Still guarding!

Xiahou Dun spoke hoarsely, his voice sounding as if it had been ground from sand and gravel: "General... how about we fight one more time? Fight our way out and try to get a chance to go home?"

Han Ye glanced sideways at his brother who had followed him for many years, then slowly swept his gaze over the remaining hundred or so afterimages behind him.

They were covered in blood and swaying precariously.

But they did not back down!

Even if I only have one breath left, I will fight to the death for Han Ye!

Han Ye's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and his nose stung, but he smiled and shook his head.

He raised his hand and gently stroked the warhorse's mane, his tone calm to the point of being gentle: "No need."

"This is fine."

"Not far from Youzhou, dying on this land... is fine."

He no longer intends to live.

"Ghost-faced General! Hahaha—!"

Suddenly, a burst of wild laughter ripped through the sky!

In the midst of the Turkic army, Khan Jieli rode out on horseback, his eyes bloodshot like a beast's, his killing intent overwhelming!

"Your death is finally here!"

That roar shook the earth, and the crows took flight in fright!

Only he knew—

Just how terrifying is this masked man in front of you?

In a ten-day raid, they moved the enemy a thousand miles away, managing to hold back a Turkic army of 100,000 with just a few hundred cavalry!

If it is not eliminated, the consequences will be endless!

Now, surrounded on all sides, there's no escape!

They've caught a turtle in a jar; now it's time to pull in the net!

Even though the strategist had complained about wasting time, he fell silent at this moment.

Because the longer it goes on, the clearer they become—

This man is more terrifying than the legends say!

"They must be killed!"

"Leave no one alive!"

"If we let one person go today, they will surely become a major threat in the future!"

The strategist gritted his teeth and whispered, his eyes filled with fear and hatred.

Khagan Jieli roared, raising his sword high: "Attack!!"

"kill!!"

"kill!!"

"kill!!"

In an instant, the whole area erupted in excitement!

The Turkic cavalry surged like a black tide, arrayed in neat formation, advancing step by step!

The horses' hooves thundered, dust billowed, and the world seemed to change color!

Compress the space! Block off the escape route!

A hunt has officially begun!

Jieli Khan grinned as he looked at the few lone figures in the center of the battlefield, as if he could already see them being torn apart by a flurry of blades.

This time, you can't escape!

however--

Despite being surrounded, Han Ye showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead, there was a faint sense of melancholy.

He was just disappointed.

There are too many things left undone, too many words left unsaid.

Life is like the wind; what is left unfinished becomes regret.

But he has no regrets.

With a push of his feet, he flipped and leaped onto his warhorse. His black armor was stained with blood, his face was covered by a demon mask, and his long sword was drawn, its cold light gleaming!

He reined in his horse and turned around, his gaze sweeping over every pair of bloodstained eyes behind him, his voice as steady as a mountain:

"To have fought alongside you all to this point, and to die on the same battlefield—this is the greatest honor of my life, Han Ye!"

A moment of silence.

Immediately afterwards—

"I am willing to fight to the death for the general!"

"I am willing to fight to the death for the general!"

"I am willing to fight to the death for the general!"

More than a hundred remaining soldiers roared in unison!

His voice was hoarse, yet it resonated through the heavens!

Blood flowed endlessly, yet their fighting spirit soared to the heavens!

They were covered in wounds and swayed as they stood, but their spines were straighter than a blade!

Han Ye laughed loudly, his laughter piercing through the battle and echoing across the wasteland!

This battle is the end.

This is also the final chapter of the legend!

"Buzz—!"

The sound of swords cutting through the wind, the hoofbeats of warhorses rearing up.

The final battle has begun!

The moment the Azure Dragon Spear was drawn, its cold light tore through the sky and trembled violently in Han Ye's palm.

As if sensing its master's resolute will to die, the spearhead emitted a roaring hum, its entire body glowing with a ghostly blue-bloody light!

At this moment, Han Ye stood under the setting sun, with only a hundred or so masked soldiers behind him.

The sound of hooves thundered all around as the Turkic cavalry advanced in layers, their dark, surging numbers encircling them like a tidal wave.

But he laughed.

With a smirk, his gaze sharpened like a knife, fixing on the distant, fluttering banners of Khan Jieli!

In that instant, the world seemed to fall silent.

"The final battle..."

He spoke in a low voice, hoarse yet burning with fiery intensity, "Then—let this life burn out in the flames!"

Before the words were even finished, a thunderous roar resounded through the sky!

"kill!!!"

Han Ye spurred his horse forward, his Azure Dragon Spear slicing through the void like a bolt of lightning tearing the earth apart, heading straight for Jieli!

He wanted no way out, no way out, he just wanted a spectacular finale!

"kill!!!"

A hundred people roared behind him, each with a blood-stained demon mask on their face, grinning wildly.

That wasn't laughter; it was the most frenzied outburst before death!

They followed! They smashed their way through the blood with their broken bodies and shattered the enemy's courage with their severed blades!

At the very moment of the charge, Xiahou Dun glanced back at his comrades.

Eyes met, no words were needed—

In everyone's eyes, the same flame of despair ignited!

They had no intention of going back alive!

"Hmph, like an ant trying to shake a tree, it's courting its own destruction."

Jieli Khan looked over coldly, a disdainful sneer on his lips.

Surrounded by an army of 100,000, how dare a mere hundred men rush toward his throat?

absurd!

But the next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted!

Han Ye appeared like a demon descending to earth, single-handedly piercing through the front ranks with his spear!

"Pfft—!"

Blood gushed out, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

Every thrust of the Azure Dragon Spear brought forth a torrential downpour of crimson light.

The earth was dyed red, and corpses were piled up half a foot high!

He wasn't just killing, he was slaughtering!

With all skills unleashed, blood and energy surged, and bones and muscles cracked! He entered a state of frenzy, his five senses were heightened to the extreme, but his sense of pain was completely severed!

Injury? Exhaustion?

It doesn't matter anymore.

This battle is not for victory, but for burning everything to ashes!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

Han Ye's eyes were bloodshot, like a ferocious humanoid beast crawling out of hell. He charged left and right through the enemy ranks, and no one could stop him wherever he went!

Those watching were terrified—this was no longer human; it was a demon in armor!

He was covered in wounds and his breath was almost gone...

The power it can unleash is even more terrifying than at its peak!

"Khan!" The strategist's voice trembled. "If this man isn't killed, he'll cause endless trouble! He must be executed immediately!"

How could Jieli not know?

He stared at the figure who was killing madly amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and a chill ran through him.

That kind of look... even their most valiant Turkic warriors didn't have it!

That's an obsession that'd rather die than bow down even an inch!

"Give the order!" he growled through gritted teeth, "All troops, advance! Surround them! Especially that masked general—"

"I want his head to hang on my banner!"

Bugles sounded in unison, and battle cries shook the heavens from all directions!

In the blink of an eye, Han Ye and his group were completely surrounded, and the space shrank smaller and smaller, as if they were trapped in a dead end!

But they... are still laughing!

"So what if we die?!" A masked soldier swung his sword, beheading an enemy and laughing loudly, "We, a hundred men, held off an army of three hundred thousand—it was worth it!"

"General—" Another man, with an arrow stuck in his chest, still stood leaning on his sword, "Do not collect his body after he dies, do not return him to his hometown."

Before the cenotaph, lighting a single stick of incense is enough!

"Hahaha! In my next life, I'll be a Ghost-Faced Warrior again! Slaughter all the barbarians!!"

The war drums never ceased, and the sounds of battle never stopped.

Every scream is the end of a life; every swing of a gun is a cry from the soul.

Han Ye continued killing.

Cold-blooded, insane, and tireless.

He knew the ending was already predetermined.

But he insisted on dragging down even more enemies before his end!

The same was true for the hundred people behind him.

Even if you only have one breath left, you must bite off a piece of flesh!

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Blood flowers kept exploding, like red lotuses blooming in purgatory.

This battle is destined to be recorded in history.

With the bodies of a hundred men, they shook the iron torrent of the empire, burning away their last glory!

The blade flashed like snow, and blood rained down.

The Turkic cavalry's warhorses trampled the setting sun, while the Ghost Face Army's lines crumbled little by little.

Some were pierced through the chest by spears and pinned to death on the scorched earth; others roared and rushed towards the enemy, rolling into the sea of ​​fire with their enemies in their arms—their bodies were barely cold before the smoke of battle covered them.

Han Ye's eyes were bloodshot, as if his soul had been burned away.

Behind him, the figures who had fought alongside him were falling one after another.

Silently, he never stood up again.

My heart felt like it was being ripped open by iron clamps; the pain was so intense I could barely breathe.

But he can't stop.

The knife in his hand was still swinging, each strike bringing a gust of bloody wind, severing necks, splitting skulls, piercing internal organs—walking in a bloodbath, every step like purgatory.

"laugh--"

A spear grazed past his hand, tearing flesh and spurting blood!

"Ah—Kill!"

Han Ye's left hand was instantly mangled and bloodied, and he screamed in agony. But the next instant, he roared like thunder and cleaved the enemy general in front of him in two with a backhand slash!

He didn't even glance at the wound, stepping over the corpses as he continued rushing forward!

"puff!"

"puff!"

"puff!"

Arrows pierced the air, blades sliced ​​flesh, and the battle became a complete carnage.

Not only him, but all the masked soldiers were bleeding, barely breathing, and facing death!

Some crawled forward with their intestines dragging on the ground, just to throw one last short blade; others clung tightly to enemy riders even with their chests ripped open, letting the warhorses drag them for dozens of steps without letting go... They were no longer fighting, but using their lives to light lamps, illuminating their final journey home.

"Ugh—!"

A powerful arrow pierced Han Ye's shoulder blade, and excruciating pain shot straight to his brain.

He gritted his teeth, let out a muffled groan, snapped the arrow shaft in half with his backhand, and continued hacking and slashing!

"Whoosh!"

Another horizontal cut into the abdomen, blood gushed out, and the internal organs almost spilled out.

Han Ye staggered a step, kneeling halfway down, then roared as he stood up, kicking the enemy away, and raised his blade again!

But consciousness has begun to fade.

My vision went black, my ears were ringing, and my limbs felt heavy as if I were falling into an abyss.

"Is it finally... coming to an end?"

A slight smile appeared on his lips, a hint of relief in his expression.

Yeah.

I'm so tired.

If he could live, all he wanted was to return to the Han family mansion, lie on that old rattan chair, listen to the maids chattering and laughing, and watch the sunset slowly sink behind the eaves.

That kind of life, a life like that of a salted fish, was his deepest longing.

And now...

The body was tilting, as if the soul no longer wanted to support this broken body.

I can't move.

I don't want to move anymore.

"Hahaha! Good! The Ghost-Faced General can't hold on any longer!" The strategist laughed wildly, his voice almost maniacal. "Khan Jieli! He's falling! His head is right before our eyes!"

A fierce glint flashed in Jieli Khan's eyes, as if he could already see the head wearing the ghost mask, quietly placed before him.

At that very moment—

"Snapped!"

A hand suddenly grabbed his body as he was about to fall!

The force was so great that it almost pulled him back from the brink of death!

Han Ye struggled to open his eyes. Through his blurred vision, he saw a man with a blood-covered face, standing like a tattered flag. It was Xiahou Dun.

The man grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth: "General... don't forget to build us a cenotaph."

The sound was as light as the wind, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.