Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

October 17th, Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Luoyingpo.

Shen Qingci stood on the makeshift observation platform at the top of the slope.

Holding a monocular telescope in his hand—this was made by Mo Shisan according to the drawings she gave him.

The "telescope," made of polished crystal lenses and copper tubing, can see details three miles away.

Through the telescope, on the northern horizon, a dark mass of cavalry surged forward like a tide.

Fifty thousand people.

Leading the procession was a golden wolf banner, beneath which stood a young man in magnificent armor, presumably the new Khan Temujin.

He was thirteen years old, his face still showing signs of childishness, but his eyes were fierce, and he held a lance that was longer than his own height.

"Give the order." Shen Qingci put down his binoculars, his voice calm. "First strike: tripwires."

"yes!"

The command flag was waved.

On the gentle slope five hundred paces before Eagle's Fall,

The seemingly flat grassland was suddenly lifted up—it was a shallow trench that the engineers had dug overnight.

The ditch was densely covered with specially made "triangular nails".

These nails are only the size of a palm.

The three iron spikes are arranged in a star shape, so no matter how you throw them, one spike will always point upwards.

Blood grooves were cut into the iron spikes, and a paralyzing poison made from datura and aconite was applied.

It's not fatal, but if it gets stuck in a horse's leg, it will immediately become paralyzed, causing the rider and horse to fall off.

The first wave of the Northern Desert cavalry charged extremely quickly.

Three thousand cavalrymen, their hooves thundering, raised clouds of dust.

They clearly didn't take the 30,000 defenders on the slope seriously—

The intelligence report said that Emperor Nangong did not come; instead, a woman did.

Can women fight?

Then--

"Hissing sound—!!!"

The screams of agony blended together!

The warhorses in the front row collapsed in droves.

The cavalryman on horseback was violently thrown off and crashed into the charging ranks that followed!

The chain reaction instantly threw the three thousand heavy cavalry into chaos!

"Stop! Stop!!" the centurion behind shouted hoarsely.

However, the momentum of the charge was too great, and the cavalry in the rear simply couldn't stop it.

They rushed headlong into the stumbling block, then followed in the footsteps of those in front.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, more than half of the three thousand heavy cavalry had been lost, and the rest retreated in disarray.

A deafening cheer erupted from the Nangong army formation on the slope!

"Long live the Empress!!!"

Shen Qingci showed no sign of smugness.

It's just an appetizer.

"Prepare for the second salvo," she ordered. "Catapults, ammunition number three."

"yes!"

Twenty improved catapults were pushed to the front lines.

These catapults used a torsion spring mechanism she designed.

Its range is nearly twice that of traditional catapults, and its accuracy is also higher.

Ammunition is not stone.

It's an earthenware jar.

Each earthenware jar was filled with lime powder.

A mixture of chili powder and pepper powder.

The mouth of the canister was sealed with a thin cloth soaked in kerosene, and then ignited before launch.

"put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The pottery jar flew in a famous arc towards the Northern Desert army formation.

It shattered in mid-air, and white powder fell like mist!

The north wind blew and blew right into the faces of the second wave of cavalry who had regrouped!

"Cough cough cough—!!"

"My eyes! Ah—!!"

"The horse is startled! Hold it back!!"

The second wave of 5,000 cavalrymen didn't even get close to Nangong's army before they were thrown into chaos in front of their own lines!

Shen Qingci watched from the observation platform, silently calculating in her mind.

Two waves of attacks depleted the enemy's forces of 8,000, while our side suffered zero casualties.

But this is not a long-term solution.

"Give the order," she turned and stepped off the stage, "heavy infantry, advance; spear formation, prepare."

The archers switched to armor-piercing arrows and aimed at the horse's legs.

"yes!"

---

At noon, the Northern Desert army formation.

Temujin's face turned ashen.

He sat on a chariot inlaid with gold and jade—

This was made for him by Chiju before his death, who said that "the Khan should sit on the chariot and overlook the battlefield."

But now he thinks this thing is incredibly stupid; it's too far from the front lines, and he can't see anything at all.

"It's been two hours!"

He smashed the golden cup in his hand.

"They didn't even make it up the hill! Useless! All of them are useless!!"

"Khan, please calm your anger."

An old general forced himself to persuade him.

"Nangong used many... strange weapons."

Tripwires, poison powder, and catapults with exceptionally long ranges.

We need to revise our tactics...

"What kind of policy is this?!"

Temujin jumped off the chariot, seized a horse, and mounted it.

"Order the entire army to advance!"

Fifty thousand people charged together!

I refuse to believe they can stop them!

"Khan! No! The terrain at Luoying Slope is too narrow; the army cannot deploy effectively—"

"Then let's fill the gaps with human lives!" Temujin's eyes were bloodshot.

"I'd like to see just how many tricks that Empress Nangong has up her sleeve!"

He personally raised his lance: "All troops, listen to my command! Charge!!"

The first person to charge up the hill will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold and appointed as a commander of ten thousand men!

Whoever kills Empress Nangong will be made a king!

Enticed by the generous reward, the Northern Desert army erupted in a frenzied roar!

Fifty thousand people surged toward Luoyingpo like a flood bursting its banks!

---

On Luoying Slope.

Shen Qingci remained calm as she watched the dark mass of enemy troops surging towards her.

"Finally, they've taken the bait," she whispered.

"Your Majesty," the lieutenant's voice tightened, "the enemy is pressing forward with their entire army, we..."

"Proceed according to the third contingency plan."

Shen Qingci mounted his horse—

It was a magnificent, pure white horse.

It was a prized horse that Xiao Jue seized from the Northern Desert Royal Court; it was said to be able to travel a thousand miles a day.

She wore that dark red battle robe on purpose today.

Wearing silver soft armor,

Her long hair was tied up high and fluttered in the wind.

Red clothes, white horse.

On the dusty battlefield, it stood out like a flag.

"Soldiers!"

She rode slowly ahead of the formation, her voice carrying across the hillside through a specially made copper trumpet.

"I know what you're thinking—"

Thirty thousand against fifty thousand, how could they possibly hold out for two days?

She paused, her horse stopping in the center of the formation:

"But I tell you—maybe!"

"Because we're not just guarding a hillside."

It was Blackrock City behind them.

"They are the people of the North, the gatekeepers of the Southern Palace!"

"Because we didn't use brute force, we used our brains!"

She raised the command flag in her hand.

"The people of the Northern Desert only know how to charge on horseback, but we have tripwires, poison powder, and catapults!"

"One of us can do the work of three!"

She abruptly pointed the command flag at the enemy troops surging down the mountain:

"Now tell me—do you believe me?!"

A brief silence.

Then--

"letter!!!"

The roar was deafening!

"Your Majesty the Empress!!!"

"I swear to follow you to the death!!!"

A very faint smile appeared on Shen Qingci's lips.

"Alright." She turned her horse around to face the enemy. "Then let them see—"

What is a real war?

---

The battle lasted from noon until late afternoon.

Five hours.

The Northern Desert army launched seven assaults, each of which was repelled.

The first time, Shen Qing used the term "fire ditch"—

The shallow trenches that had been dug beforehand were filled with kerosene.

It is ignited when the enemy approaches, forming a wall of fire.

The second time, she used a "chain of horse traps"—

The surface appears to be flat.

Stepping on it immediately causes it to collapse, with sharpened wooden stakes stuck at the bottom.

The third time, "Rolling Thunder"—hollowing out the giant rock.

Stuffed with gravel and iron pieces, it rolled down the slope and exploded in the enemy ranks.

the fourth time……

the fifth time……

Every time is different.

Every time the Northern Desert Army charged, they faced a completely new and never-before-seen defensive tactic.

Temujin was so angry in the rear that he almost vomited blood.

"That woman... just how many tricks does that woman have?!"

He roared hoarsely.

"Did she crawl out of hell?!"

Meanwhile, on Luoyingpo, the morale of Nangong's army rose higher and higher with each battle.

Each time the enemy was repelled, a deafening cheer erupted from the hillside: "Long live the Empress!"

They watched with their own eyes as that figure in red robes on a white horse always stood at the forefront.

Wherever the command flag pointed, a rain of arrows followed.

As the drums and gongs sounded, the battle formation changed.

Unlike traditional generals who charge into battle, she did not.

But every command she gave hit the enemy's weakest spot with pinpoint accuracy.

"Your Majesty," an old soldier, his face covered in blood, couldn't help but say during the change of guard.

"You...you must be a deity descended to earth!"

Shen Qingci is checking on the wounded.

She specifically set up a makeshift first-aid station behind the lines.

The area was divided into clean zone, treatment zone, and intensive care zone according to the concept of a modern field hospital.

Upon hearing this, she didn't even look up:

"Not a god."

She tore open the bandage on a soldier's leg; the wound was deep, but the artery hadn't been damaged.

She quickly cleaned, applied the medicine powder, and re-bandaged the wound.

The movements were so practiced, as if they had been done a thousand times.

"But..." she paused.

"I've read more books and used my brain more than them."

The old soldier's eyes welled up with tears, and he knelt down with a thud: "This humble general swears to serve Your Majesty to the death!"

The surrounding soldiers all knelt down.

Shen Qingci looked at them, a mix of emotions welling up inside her.

Many of these people were only seventeen or eighteen years old, and their faces still showed signs of immaturity.

In the 21st century, that would still be high school age.

But now, they hold knives, wear armor, and could die at any moment.

"Get up, all of you." Her voice was a little hoarse. "Save your energy; we'll have to fight again tomorrow."

---

At dusk, the Northern Desert army temporarily retreated.

Shen Qingci returned to the observation platform and picked up the telescope to look at the enemy camp.

The people of the northern desert are setting up camp, and wisps of smoke are rising from their chimneys.

Judging from the number of tents, at least 10,000 men were lost today.

As for her own side... she looked at the casualty statistics.

Three hundred and seventy-one people were killed in action, five hundred and twenty were seriously wounded, and more than one thousand were slightly wounded.

A casualty ratio of 1 to 30.

In modern warfare, this is an incredible victory.

But in this era...

"Not enough," she muttered to herself.

Two days. Only one day has passed.

Tomorrow, the people of the Northern Desert will go even crazier.

She descended from the watchtower, intending to visit the wounded soldiers' camp.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar flapping sound from the sky.

Before "Lightning" landed on the ground, bamboo tubes were tied to its legs.

It's a letter from Bao'er.

She quickly opened it; it was still a drawing: a little red person standing on a hillside.

The number of black spots around them has decreased.

But a larger cross was drawn on the southeast corner of the hillside.

There are also a few wavy lines drawn next to it—representing water?

Southeast corner... cliff.

Is there water below the cliff?

Shen Qingci's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Guards!" she shouted sternly.

"Go check the southeast cliff immediately! See if there's an underground river or pool at the bottom!"

"yes!"

Half an hour later, the scout returned with news: twenty feet below the southeast cliff,

There is indeed a hidden underground river outlet, forming a small pool.

Fresh footprints were found at the edge of the pool—not the standard boots of the Northern Desert Army.

These are soft-soled boots from the Central Plains.

A man of Prince Jing.

Shen Qingci stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the dark pool below, a cold smile curving her lips.

"So this is where you were waiting for me."

She turned to her deputy and said, "Order the southeast corner defense line to retreat fifty paces."

Tonight, I'm going to prepare a... big gift for them.