The ground trembled as Hei Xiezhi, crossed the border of Lianhua with his fearsome army. Banners fluttered like dark wings in the air. The rhythm of hooves and the thud of war drums echoed through the mountains—Hei Xiezhi had came with one purpose: to conquer Lianhua.
But he wasn't alone.
As they passed the tree line, at the valley's edge, Emperor Han Zixuan stood tall in silver armor, his soldiers lined behind him, fewer in number, but unshaken.
Hei Xiezhi saw them and scoffed. "This is it?" he sneered. "This is your defense?"
The two emperors and their generals rode forward and stopped in the center of the battlefield as dust swirled around them. There was no words uttered at first—only silence, and the kind of stare that could set kingdoms aflame.
"Go home, Hei Xiezhi," Han Zixuan said, his voice calm but cold. "Before your blood waters this land."
Hei Xiezhi smirked lazily. "Home?" he said. "I am home. You've sat on the throne long enough. It's time for someone with real power to rule Lianhua."
Han Zixuan's gaze hardened. "Leave now, before your head rolls like your father's."
That made Hei Xiezhi flare with rage. He turned to his general and barked, "Tell him what we plan to do once we take this cursed kingdom."
The general chuckled darkly, stepping forward. "We will take your city, kill you, burn your halls, and make your empress our Master Queen," he said with a twisted grin. "And as for your daughter, we will make her our pleasure to—"
But the words died in his throat.
A blur of silver light flashed across the space between them and his head fell with a hard thud. Blood sprayed into the dust as his body crumpled to the ground. Standing behind him was Prince Tian Yu, eyes glowing with quiet fury and his sword still dripping red.
"No one talks about her. You're not worth it".
Han Zixuan didn't smile, but the ghost of pride flickered in his eyes. The air crackled with tension.
"Kill them all!". Hei Xiezhi screamed, and then__his armies surged forward like a tide of darkness. Steel started clashing and arrows sliced the wind. The battlefield exploded into wild chaos.
At the heart of it all stood Prince Tian Yu, his red eyes gleaming like embers in the storm. With every swing of his blade, a soldier fell. He was a blur—too fast to follow, too savage to stop.
One soldier lunged at him with a halberd—Tian Yu caught it mid-air, snapped the shaft in two, and drove his sword through the man's chest without blinking. Another tried to shoot him from behind but Tian Yu twisted, his fangs bared, and flung a blood-drenched dagger straight into the archer's throat. He did not fight like a man, he was fighting like a demon.
The battlefield seemed to slow around him. His senses heightened and he could hear hearts beating, lungs gasping and footsteps in the mud. He moved like smoke and strucked like lightning, his blade became an extension of his fury. Soldiers screamed and some ran. But Tian Yu did not spare them.
They had come to defile his home, his people—and the girl he loved. Not one would leave alive.
---
Elsewhere on the field, Prince Leng Yue rode like a tempest through the enemy ranks. His black robe was stained with blood and his blade was flashing in and out like a serpent's tongue. He was fighting alongside his father and the two men cut through the invading army like reapers in a wheat field.
"Fall back to the ridge!" Han Zixuan ordered one squad of soldiers to slash down an enemy commander. "Regroup and hold!"
Leng Yue parried a spear, spun, and kicked the attacker down the hill. "They're trying to circle us from the left flank!"
"We'll break their line before they do!" the emperor shouted.
The battle was not what Hei Xiezhi predicted. He flew to the hill as he continued to fight. From atop a hill, he watched the carnage unfold—eyes narrowing as he focused on one figure cutting down his men faster than any mortal should.
That young man. That demon in silver and red.
He watched as Tian Yu threw a soldier across the field like a ragdoll, then leapt into the air, spinning with impossible grace, and landed behind three more—cleaving them down with one brutal stroke. His eyes were crimson as blood and his movements like shadows.
As the fight intensified, what most didn't know was that a princess was among the soldiers, fighting in disguise as a man.
Tian Yu was slashing through the enemy ranks, his sword drenched in blood, when suddenly—he paused. Something caught his senses. A presence, a feeling and a familiar scent. Something painfully familiar.
A voice murmured in his heart.
"Mei Lian…"
But no—this wasn't Mei Lian.
His sharp eyes darted across the battlefield… until they landed on a soldier, moving fiercely, sword swinging with graceful, precise strikes. It was someone he had known for a long time. His heart pounded as his gaze sharpened.
It was Mie Lian.
She was dressed as a man, her hair hidden and her face dirtied by battle. But he could never mistake her. She was moving with skill and fury, cutting down every enemy that dared approach.
She was fighting one of the Scorpion's strongest warriors—a brutal man with a black iron blade. Their swords clashed violently, sparks flying with each blow.
Just as she pushed him back, another enemy appeared behind her, raising his blade to strike.
Tian Yu didn't hesitate.
He moved with blinding speed, blocking the second soldier's attack just in time. Their blades clanged, and he spun around to protect her with his eyes burning.
Yuyan turned, startled and their eyes met.
"Who's this handsome man? I have seen this face before", she murmured as she continued to fight.