Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

......

The moonlight hung low.

Standing atop Wolong Mountain, on the edge of a cliff, Helian Yunni looked around in bewilderment.

The mountaintop wasn't large; it was just a flat area with a few large rocks, and beyond that was a bottomless abyss.

Looking down, the foot of the mountain was densely packed with people; the Great Yan Army had completely surrounded the mountain.

Looking up, the sky hung low, the moon was half-hidden by clouds, and a pale light shone on the mountaintop, turning everything grayish-white.

Having escaped to this point, Helian Yunni realized that she had nowhere else to run.

"Oh."

A night breeze blew, causing strands of hair to stick to the corners of her mouth, and Helian Yunni chuckled softly.

She looked down at the silver spear in her hand, her old companion that had fought alongside her for half her life, now riddled with chips and devoid of any light.

The spear tip was three-tenths too short.

She slaughtered the royal court and trampled across the Central Plains; this spear has always been her companion.

She's always been saved by guns, but this time even guns can't save her.

Looking at the gun, she was reminded of many things.

He recalled his first murder, how his hands trembled all night, and he continued to kill the next day.

She fought her way back to the royal court from the north of the grasslands, narrowly escaping death several times, but she always laughed it off.

I recall the day she ascended the throne, wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the throne, with people kneeling below, shouting "Long live the Empress!"

At that time, she felt she could do anything.

He unified the grasslands, marched south to the Central Plains, and became one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

She wants to do something that will never be done before or since.

A woman from the grasslands, from a different tribe, sits on the dragon throne in the Central Plains.

"The greatest emperor of all time."

"Ha ha."

She gazed into the distance and burst into laughter.

Dozens of guards stood silently behind him, all aware of the current situation.

Trying to break through again is now a pipe dream.

These are His Majesty's final moments... Everyone understands this.

So I just watched her quietly.

His Majesty said he was dead, but he is not dead yet.

His Majesty said to live, so let's go and carve another bloody path.

Helian Yunni laughed and laughed, but then tears streamed down her face.

We lost...

A complete and utter defeat...

Of the 200,000-strong Northern Barbarian army, only these few remain behind us.

"Why!"

Helian Yunni looked up and asked the heavens.

"Why is it that Heaven cannot accept me, Helian Yunni, who has such ambitions!"

Everyone says that the Northern Barbarians are bloodthirsty, and that Helian Yunni is cruel and inhuman.

She didn't think so.

That's just because people don't understand her.

In chaotic times, without severe punishments, who will listen to orders?

Without the guarantee of a butcher's knife, can the law be enforced?

Cloud City is what she envisions for the future world.

Merchants flock here, farmland stretches for thousands of acres, children are cared for, and the elderly are supported.

She truly has the ability to make a place prosperous.

"I truly want to be the ruler of the world..."

The roar turned into a sobbing murmur.

"Why...why won't you give me a chance..."

"What merit or ability does Chen Shao possess?"

The night wind grew stronger, and Helian Yunni's robes fluttered in the wind. Her appearance hadn't changed much, but she looked like a candle flickering in the wind, nearing the end of her life.

The guards behind him felt increasingly reluctant to see this.

The captain of the personal guards stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Your Majesty, under the cover of night, I am willing to feign an attack on the north side from the east and west gates, while Your Majesty rappels down the cliff from the south. There is still a glimmer of hope..."

Although he said that, he knew the hope was slim.

If Helian Yunni were a man, she might be able to get away with it, but since she's a woman, she'd be recognized at a glance.

Helian Yunni did not turn around.

"How many years have you served me?"

"Your Majesty, I followed you when you went to the northern grasslands."

Helian Yunni turned around and glanced at the dozens of faces in front of her, each one wounded and exhausted.

Not one of them looked away.

She gave a bitter smile.

"I ordered you to follow me and kill this person and that person. You haven't had a single day of peace."

The captain of the personal guards' eyes welled up with tears: "Your Majesty, this humble general..."

"Stop kneeling, stand up!"

After a moment's hesitation, you slowly stood up.

Helian Yunni slammed her silver spear into the ground, the butt of the spear sinking three inches into the gravel.

She leaned against the gun barrel and looked around.

"Two hundred thousand. I brought two hundred thousand grassland warriors with me, and now only this many are left."

"Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war..."

"This is common practice in military affairs."

Helian Yunni repeated the sentence.

"Yes, this is a common occurrence in war, but in this battle... I have lost everything, and there is no chance of turning the tide."

"Two hundred thousand, not two thousand, not twenty thousand."

The grassland population is sparse, and almost every household sends people to help. Some tribes even send their fifteen-year-old children, saying they want to follow His Majesty to make a name for themselves.

We must stand up for the people of the grasslands.

"I told them that no matter how many people went, I would bring them back... not one less."

"Now, after counting them all, I've only managed to get a few dozen of you left."

"How could I possibly have the face to go back?"

"When I reached the edge of the grassland, the first old woman I met asked me, 'Your Majesty, where is my son?' What did I answer? That he had died in the mud on the north bank of the Ying River, and they hadn't even been able to retrieve his body?"

Helian Yunni sighed deeply:

"I've let them down... I've let everyone down... I'm incompetent..."

The captain of the personal guards suddenly looked up:

"Your Majesty! You can't think like that. The way the war has turned out isn't solely your fault..."

"It is my fault, all the blame lies with me."

"My ambition and love of glory have led to the downfall of the entire grasslands..."

Helian Yunni was very clear about the current situation on the grassland.

The rest were almost all elderly, weak, women and children, who were no match for any army.

From now on, it will be nothing more than a toy that others can trample on at will.

"I'm not running away..."

"Your Majesty!!!" The guards all stared wide-eyed.

"I have one last thing to tell you."

"Your Majesty, please say..."

"You all hurry down the mountain and surrender to Chen Shao."

"Chen Shao is a magnanimous man who also wants to win over the reputation and will eventually reclaim the grasslands. He will certainly not take your lives."

"Your Majesty, we will not leave!" All the personal guards knelt down.

"You have to leave, whether you like it or not."

Helian Yunni used the gun barrel to lift his chin. "I'm not dead yet. This is my final decree. Do you dare disobey?"

"Stand up."

"Let's go now."

But what are personal guards? Only the most loyal subordinates can be selected.

Calling them suicide soldiers wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The more she said this, the more reluctant the crowd became to leave, each with their heads bowed and tears welling in their eyes.

"you!"

Helian Yunni feigned great anger:

"You've all served me for so many years, don't you understand me? Do you want me to die in vain?"

"I beg you, I don't want to be without anyone to send a message back to the grasslands..."

Helian Yunni suddenly knelt down.

The guards quickly stepped forward and helped her up.

"Your Majesty...can't we just leave...?"

The leader knelt down again and kowtowed three times.

Then, turning his head, he was already in tears, and roared at his subordinates.

"Men of the Northern Wilderness, swear to serve the Empress to the death! Everyone! Follow me!!"

Dozens of his personal guards followed him down the mountain, but after a few steps they all turned back and knelt on the ground.

Helian Yunni waved her hand: "Go, go, go, don't look back."

Footsteps gradually disappeared into the night.

The mountaintop was completely empty; Helian Yunni stood there alone, her figure lonely.