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

At the summit of Wolong Mountain, the night wind howled.

Helian Yunni stood there alone, trembling as she gazed at the firelight below the mountain.

She squatted down, hugged her knees, buried her face in her arms, and cried like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

Those personal guards had already gone far away.

She doesn't need to hold back anymore.

"mother......"

"I'm so tired..."

She remembered that when she was a child, no matter how big the problem was, she would feel better after crying in her mother's arms for a while.

After her mother died, she never cried again.

Even when her father passed away, she only gave a cold smile: things are finally going to get chaotic.

But now, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

......

At the foot of the mountain, Chen Shao rode a donkey and met up with Zhao Yun and the others.

"His Majesty."

Chen Shao nodded and glanced at the battlefield.

The remnants of the Northern Barbarian army have been divided and surrounded. Most of them have surrendered and laid down their arms. A few small groups are still putting up a stubborn resistance, but the overall situation is already decided.

The Northern Barbarians have been defeated!

The stone that had weighed on Da Yan's head for decades has finally turned to dust.

"Where is Helian Yunni?"

Zhao Yun pointed towards the mountaintop.

"There."

Chen Shao looked up, but the mountaintop was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

"Let's go up and take a look."

"You lead the men to clean up the mess, incorporate those who surrender, and leave no one alive who resists."

Zhao Yun, Cheng Yaoyin, Bai Qi, Lu Bu, and others responded and left.

Chen Shaochao waved to Dian Wei.

"Old Dian, come with me up the mountain."

......

The top of Wolong Mountain.

Helian Xiong rushed up the mountain path, covered in sweat and blood. When he saw Helian Yunni still standing there, he almost had a stroke from anger.

"Your Majesty, what are you still doing here!"

He rushed over and grabbed Helian Yunni's arm.

"Hurry! I'll cover our retreat! If we wait any longer, it will truly be too late!"

Helian Yunni raised her head, her face streaked with tears.

She looked at Helian Xiong, who was covered in blood, and gave a bitter laugh:

"Why...did you come back..."

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go!!"

"Look down the mountain, you can't go any further, and you... you can't go any further either."

Helian Xiong turned his head and glanced down the mountain.

The entire mountain was surrounded by torches, densely packed, layer upon layer, stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way to the mountainside.

"..."

What's the point of even leaving now!

Helian Xiong plopped down there, knowing there was no hope of escape, but he relaxed completely.

As soon as he relaxed, excruciating pain swept over him, making even this tough guy wince in agony.

It kept hissing and making strange noises.

"Alright, wow... I guess I've had my money's worth today."

"To be able to die with Your Majesty... bah, bah, bah, to be able to serve Your Majesty at the last moment, I can say that it was all worth it."

His words made Helian Yunni cry even harder.

He had reached the point of being incoherent.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...It's my fault..."

"Your Majesty..." Helian Xiong stood there, stunned.

This was truly the first time he had ever seen the Empress like this.

Is this still the same decisive and ruthless female war goddess who unified the grasslands?

Although his mind wasn't working very well, he could still understand to some extent why this was the case.

But he doesn't know how to offer advice... he doesn't know how to comfort her.

Or rather, there was simply no one who could offer comfort.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's no need for that.

Helian Xiong just stood there, stunned and speechless.

After crying for a long time, Helian Yunni finally came to her senses and wiped away her tears.

"General, are you afraid of death?"

"Afraid of death? Hahaha."

Helian Xiong scoffed, "What makes Your Majesty say such a thing? Am I, Helian Xiong, not brave enough?"

"Brave enough, brave enough..."

When it comes to bravery, Helian Xiong dares to claim second place, and who dares to claim first?

no one!

The Battle of Beijing was absolutely unprecedented and will never be repeated.

"Then today, you and I, ruler and subject, will die here."

"Um."

Helian Xiong suddenly stood up, his face instinctively wary.

"Your Majesty, they have arrived."

......

Chen Shao stopped ten steps away from Helian Yunni.

Dian Wei tried to shield Chen Shao, but Chen Shao raised his hand to stop him.

"Chen Shao, what do you want to do!" Helian Xiong glared angrily.

He stretched out his arms and blocked the Empress's path.

"General, you may step back."

"His Majesty..."

"It's pointless now. I have something I want to talk to him about."

Helian Xiong reluctantly withdrew, giving Chen Shao a threatening look.

"Helian Xiong, retreat over there," Chen Shao pointed down the mountain.

"Old Dian, you may all step down."

Although the guards were not at ease, they gradually retreated to a distance of more than a hundred feet after thinking about Chen Shao's martial prowess. Helian Xiong was also persuaded to leave by the Empress.

After everyone had left, Chen Shao took a few steps forward, sat on a rock, and pointed to the empty seat next to him.

"sit?"

Helian Yunni looked at him for a while, then stepped over and sat down next to him.

The mountain wind howled, making their hair fly wildly.

"I originally thought you would bring a large army directly, with two rows of axemen and three ropes binding them."

Facing Chen Shao, Helian Yunni had long since stopped crying.

His face was calm, showing no trace of the pain he had just endured.

At this moment, she was still the invincible empress.

"So respectable? You don't seem to be a respectable person."

"I've never been a respectable person," Chen Shao laughed. "Respectable people can't fight wars."

"Helian Yunni, even now, do you have any regrets?"

Helian Yunni remained silent for a moment.

He raised his head, his eyes gleaming.

"I'll trade two hundred thousand men for a world, a world where the grasslands and the Central Plains no longer have to fight each other."

"I will not regret even if I die nine times; though there be thousands of people, I will go!"