The expanded city wall rose like a slab of iron against the horizon—nine meters high, over ten meters thick.
Not as grand as Luoyang's towering defenses… but more than enough to cage men inside.
Beyond the walls, the Xuzhou camp sprawled carelessly across the plains.
From above, everything was visible.
Every movement. Every weakness.
Zhang Xin stood atop the wall.
Zang Ba and the others followed behind him.
When they looked down—
Their faces froze.
Qingzhou soldiers.
Endless.
Layer upon layer, silent and unmoving, like a tightening noose.
The Xuzhou camp lay at the center—
Completely surrounded.
And yet…
Inside the camp, laughter echoed.
Men boasted. Slept. Gambled. Drank.
No guards at the gates. No patrols. No vigilance.
Why would there be?
They were among "allies."
Zang Ba felt a cold weight settle in his chest.
This was not an army.
This was prey.
At that moment—
Yu Jin, Zhu Ling, and Xiahou Lan entered the camp with two hundred armored soldiers.
They didn't sneak.
They didn't hide.
They walked in openly.
Like executioners entering a slaughterhouse.
Some Xuzhou soldiers noticed them.
They approached, confused.
"What are Qingzhou troops doing here?"
Yu Jin didn't answer immediately.
He raised one hand—
A severed head dangled from it.
Chang Xi.
Blood still dark along the neck.
In his other hand—an official order.
"I am Yu Jin, Commander of a Separate Division."
His voice was flat.
"Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Yin Li, Wu Dun, Chang Xi—disobeyed military orders."
"Chang Xi has been executed."
"The rest are reduced to common soldiers."
"I am here… to take over Xuzhou's army."
Silence.
Then—
"What?! Commander Chang… is dead?!"
The squad leader staggered back.
For a moment, rage surged in his eyes.
But then—
He looked past Yu Jin.
Armor. Formation. Discipline.
Cold, unmoving soldiers behind him.
And behind them—
More.
And more.
His anger collapsed.
"…This subordinate obeys."
He turned and ran.
Yu Jin stepped onto the command platform.
"Hang it."
Chang Xi's head was raised high above the camp.
A warning.
A declaration.
"Beat the drums."
Dong—Dong—Dong—
The sound rolled across the camp like thunder.
Men groaned.
Cursed.
Some buried their heads deeper into their blankets.
Others dragged themselves out, half-dressed, half-awake.
By the time the third drum sounded—
Only a little over three thousand had gathered.
Crooked lines. Whispering voices. No order.
Yu Jin looked down at them.
His eyes grew colder.
Then—
A roar split the air.
"It's them! They killed Commander Chang!"
Around eight hundred men surged forward.
Wild. Furious.
"Brothers—avenge Commander Chang!"
They charged.
Yu Jin didn't move.
He only glanced at Zhu Ling.
A shrill whistle pierced the air.
"Shields!"
"Spears!"
The Qingzhou soldiers snapped into formation instantly.
Steel rose.
A wall formed.
The charging Xuzhou soldiers slammed into it.
"Thrust."
"Withdraw."
"Thrust."
Blood sprayed.
Bodies fell.
The attackers had no armor. No formation. No command.
They died like men rushing blades with bare hands.
Within moments—
Dozens lay dead.
The Qingzhou line did not even break.
Not a single wound.
The remaining Xuzhou soldiers froze.
Confusion. Fear.
Are we fighting… or watching?
Then—
The camp gates burst open.
More Qingzhou troops flooded in.
Endless.
Shield and spear in front.
Bows drawn behind.
Zhang Liao stepped forward.
He raised his spear.
"Shoot."
Arrows fell.
Like rain.
The charging soldiers screamed as they dropped.
One by one.
Then in clusters.
Then all at once.
There was nowhere left to run.
Weapons fell from trembling hands.
Men dropped to their knees.
Silence returned.
Only broken by breathing.
And the sound of bodies hitting the ground.
Yu Jin stood.
He raised the order.
Pointed at the severed head.
And spoke.
Each word repeated by the surrounding soldiers—
Echoing.
Relentless.
So no one could pretend they hadn't heard.
When he finished—
He swept his gaze across the survivors.
"Who objects?"
No one spoke.
No one even breathed too loudly.
Yu Jin turned to Xiahou Lan.
Time passed.
Then—
More soldiers were dragged out.
Disheveled. Terrified.
These were the ones who hadn't answered the drums.
Yu Jin's voice cut through them like a blade.
"Those who ignore assembly—"
"Are executed under military law."
The prisoners collapsed.
Begging.
Crying.
Screaming.
Xiahou Lan raised his hand.
Blades fell.
Heads rolled.
Blood soaked into the dirt.
On the city wall—
Wu Dun collapsed to the ground.
His lips trembled.
"…Butcher…"
No battle.
No resistance.
Five thousand men—
Broken.
And over a thousand—
Dead.
But it wasn't over.
Yu Jin continued.
"Those who followed Chang Xi—step forward."
"Those who plundered Beihai—step forward."
No one moved.
It didn't matter.
There were no clean men among them.
"Wherever you went," Yu Jin said coldly,"You humiliated the people."
"Stole for yourselves."
"Killed for merit."
His voice dropped.
"This is banditry."
"Execute them."
Seven hundred more were dragged out.
Slaughtered.
Systematically.
Efficiently.
Orders followed.
Loot was returned.
Not out of mercy—
But to erase evidence.
The camp reeked of blood.
On the wall—
Zhang Xin turned.
And smiled.
Zang Ba felt his spine go cold.
Below—
Carts rolled in.
Steaming meat.
Fresh food.
For the survivors.
Zang Ba watched in silence.
His hands trembled slightly.
From this moment on—
These soldiers…
Were no longer his.