The Tiě-Mén (铁门) defile was drowned in a deathly silence; as if the ancient crags had held their breath. Only the low thud of hooves and the severed shrieks of vultures prowling the heights scratched the silence. With the entry of the barbarians, a dark and dense army occupied the entire width of the narrow passage. The Chief, with half-closed eyes and a gaze oscillating between the rocks, rode at the vanguard. He suddenly pulled the reins, and the animal stopped. Then turned to his men and growled in a raspy voice:
"Form up in rows of six! Keep your distance from the walls. We must pass through this bottleneck at full speed. Move it!"
The barbarians took formation and the order to move was issued. But as soon as the heart of the army reached the middle of the pass, an ear-splitting roar suddenly shook the mountain. A massive boulder, with a crushing weight, fell from the top of the cliffs. The barbarian formation broke, and the horses reared in terror and retreated. The rock slammed into the ground a short distance from their first row, blocking the exit of the defile with an explosion of dust.
Then, from atop the cliffs, a single ominous word echoed: " Loose!"
Soldiers who had been lying in wait in the crevices of the walls rained a shower of arrows upon the trapped troops. The barbarians rushed toward the walls in a frantic attempt to climb them; the soldiers descended upon them with drawn swords. A bloody war broke out. The barbarian Chief was shouting:
"Do not scatter! We are countless, attack in groups!"
At that moment, the whinny of wild horses from the entrance froze the blood in the barbarians' veins. Heavy cavalry, with long spears and polished armour, blocked the escape route. Hēiláng (黑狼) stood at the front of the ranks, powerful and invincible. Terror ran through the eyes of the barbarians.
Hēiláng shouted: "Attack!"
The cavalry broke the barbarian ranks from behind like a scythe harvesting a wheat field. The barbarian Chief, knowing that defeat was certain, turned to the rider holding Hàn Yuè (汉月) on the horse and growled:
"Hurry! Get ahead of the others and take the girl!" and then ordered his men to attack to break the siege and retreat.
Hēiláng was slaughtering the enemy with ruthless skill and smouldering rage, his wet and dishevelled hair dancing in the air with every strike. Suddenly his gaze fell on the rider carrying a half-dead body. In a fraction of a second, he sharpened his eyes, his heart stopped, and he murmured under his breath in disbelief:
"Hàn Yuè...?!"
In this moment of shock, a barbarian rushed through the dust and, with a cowardly blow, cut the leg of Hēiláng's horse. He hit the ground as the horse fell, but immediately rose with a professional roll, took guard, and grounded the barbarian with a side strike. Seeing the rider moving away, he shouted with all his might:
"Archer! Shoot that rider!"
His shout caught Mùyě (牧野) 's attention, and he too recognised Hàn Yuè. The first arrow missed. The second arrow hit the rider's shoulder, but the man was continuing to flee with stubborn persistence. Hēiláng, unable to bear seeing him escape, ran toward the archer, snatched the bow from him, and took an arrow. He narrowed his eyes, drew the bow at a specific angle, and just before releasing, pulled the string to the limit of his strength. The arrow flew with a deadly hiss and landed right in the back of the man's neck. The rider fell from the horse.
The bow was still in Hēiláng's hand when a heavy sword sliced his arm. Hēiláng pulled back in pain and pressed his bloody wound with his opposite hand. Opposite him, the barbarian Chief jumped down from his horse. The Chief's wild gaze circled the ground and locked onto a flail lying among the corpses. He dropped his sword and picked up the flail with manic fury.
Hēiláng took his hand off the wound and squeezed the hilt of his Jiàn (剑). A barbarian's sword had fallen on the ground; with a lightning movement, Hēiláng put his foot under the sword blade, kicked it into the air, caught it in his other hand, and stepped forward.
The barbarian Chief growled:
"Who the hell are you, you piece of filth?!"
Hēiláng spun both swords simultaneously and said coldly:
"The man who's going to gut you, Hēiláng... grandson of Léilóng (雷龍)."
Hearing the name 'Léilóng', a tremor fell in the Chief's eyes. He let out a ragged scream:
"You bastard!" and swung the flail in the air. The blows of the flail were so heavy that they crushed the walls of the pass. Hēiláng was barely managing to parry and dodge him.
Suddenly Hēiláng, in a daring move, jumped into the air, kicked his foot against the stone wall of the defile, and returned toward the enemy with a spectacular reflection, tearing the flail chain in mid-air with his sword. The Chief took guard with the flail handle, and Hēiláng struck the handle with two swords.
But Hēiláng did not hesitate; he took one of the swords out of the guard immediately and drove it into the man's chest. Then, with all his might, he shoved the Chief backward with the sword still embedded in him; the Chief stumbled back until his spine slammed against the stone wall of the defile with a heavy thud. A muffled, pained groan escaped the Chief's throat. In that instant, with a savage thrust, Hēiláng buried the sword up to the hilt in his chest.
Then, with a massive kick, he tore the flail handle from his grip and, with the other sword, in a lightning strike, severed the Chief's head from his body. The head fell to the ground and rolled on the dirt. He took the severed head by the hair and held it up as a sign of victory.
With the death of the Chief, the remaining barbarians surrendered. Hēiláng ran hurriedly toward Hàn Yuè. She was leaning half-dead against Mùyě.
Hēiláng took her numb and cold face between his trembling hands:
"Hàn Yuè... are you okay?"
The girl could only whisper his name and then, from the pain of hanging on the horse for a long time, before saying anything else, turned away and vomited. Her face was the colour of chalk. Hēiláng's hands trembled with intense anger and grief.
He quickly mounted the horse and said to Mùyě:
"Give her to me."
He sat Hàn Yuè in front of him on the saddle. Then he turned to Mùyě and said:
"Send two people to take the news of success to Hǎilán (海蓝) and Luòyáng (洛阳), then join me in the city."
Mùyě asked with hesitation:
"Your Highness, what shall we do with the prisoners?"
Hēiláng looked at the surrendered and wounded barbarians; a look that no longer had a sign of mercy in it. He said only one word:
"Kill them... all of them."