Morning mist, thick as dark ink and laced with a biting chill, completely shrouded the canyon of Eagle Beak Cliff. Shen Mingyue, wearing a cloak soaked in frost, traced her fingertips along the cold, rough battlements. Every indentation seemed to recount the vicissitudes of time. The chevaux-de-frise hastily assembled just three nights prior loomed indistinctly in the haze, their sharp iron spikes gleaming with a gloomy blue light that flickered through the lingering fog like lurking vipers awaiting their prey. Behind her, five thousand archers and crossbowmen held their breath, suppressing even the sound of their breathing to the utmost limit. Arrows were already firmly nocked, the taut bowstrings trembling slightly and primed for action, awaiting only that single command that would decide between life and death. Cold sweat beaded on the soldiers' palms as they gripped their bows tightly, their knuckles turning white with exertion, their eyes filled with a mixture of tension and steadfast resolve.
"Reporting! The enemy vanguard has crossed Qingyang Ferry!" The sound of rapid hoofbeats drew near from afar, startling a few cold crows whose harsh caws sounded jarringly loud in the silent canyon. Shen Mingyue unfolded the secret dispatch, her gaze like a torch as her fingertips traced precisely across the map, as though able to pierce the fog and perceive the enemy's movements. "They are still five miles from the valley entrance. Pass my order: everyone remain concealed. Anyone…
Chapter 108