The moment the enemy ranks began to shift again, Sun Longzi's eyes narrowed. The front lines of Chixia and Yelan had started their descent. Hundreds of thousands of men, their armor gleaming and war banners flying. The ground shook with each synchronized footfall, an avalanche of blades coming to crush them.
He raised his hand, voice rising like thunder above the wind.
"Red Demons!" he roared. "Today is not the day we die in retreat. Today is the day we carve our names into the bones of this field. The enemy may have numbers. But we have blood, we have steel—and we have each other."
He turned his warhorse toward the rows of soldiers behind him, his blade raised high.
"They believe we are broken. They believe we are weak. But we are the fire that refuses to burn out!" he bellowed. "For Daiyu. For our families. For the legacy we leave in the dirt and the blood. We do not wait for death—we ride out to meet it!"
Swords lifted. Roars answered.
