Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 359 - 253 The Fall of the Northern Border

Chapter 359: Chapter 253 The Fall of the Northern Border

"Alas....." Xu Yuan sighed softly, fully aware of the meaning in Li Qingyan’s words.

The fate of Northern Border City had been sealed the moment the Barbarian Army circled to the south.

When the city would fall did not depend on the resolve and morale of the defenders, but on how much the Barbarians were willing to pay for its conquest.

To change the future, to break the stalemate, would require a miraculous battle of few against many for the ages.

Li Qingyan had tried to do just that but failed.

The Barbarian Strange King was not Sun Shiwan.

Although Li Qingyan had made significant gains in his campaign, given the absolute mismatch in military strength, even if the Barbarians lost double, as long as their morale wasn’t shattered leading to a domino effect of defeat, the campaign was a failure.

The records from the post-battle accounts showed approximately 60,000 soldiers remained capable of fighting for Northern Border City.

But most of those 60,000 soldiers were second-tier Border Army men with only Eighth or Ninth Grade abilities; the real elite troops had been decimated in the battle at South City.

And the dire straits extended far beyond that,

Now, Northern Border City faced a scarcity of Source Crystals for the Protective City Formation, the Formation Patterns in South City had been completely destroyed, flying Demonic Beasts were nearly all gone, and... the snow had started to fall again.

In the silence,

Xu Yuan suddenly understood Li Qingyan’s plan:

"By leaving the city... you actually wanted to show weakness to the enemy?"

"Not entirely."

Li Qingyan, leaning against the desk behind him, lifted his pale chin, his phoenix eyes gazing at the high ceiling of the tent, his tone leisurely:

"Prince Consort, in military affairs one must always plan for every eventuality. If this campaign had been a success, the siege of Northern Border could have been lifted. If it failed, it would still inflict heavy damage on the Barbarian Army and deter them from launching a costly assault on the city."

Now bereft of its great protective formation, all the Barbarians needed to do was to keep bombarding Northern Border City with their miraculously mighty catapults from afar, and they could capture this towering city that had blocked their southward march for centuries without shedding blood.

Naturally, the Barbarian King would not waste resources assaulting the city when it could be taken over time without bloodshed.

And this was the outcome Li Qingyan desired.

If the Barbarians waited that long, the high-level cultivators she had sent to Dali Mountain for reinforcements would have given Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng enough time to return to the aid of the city.

By then, with the ’Cloud Qi Bomb’ to scatter the fierce snowstorm, the entire Barbarian Army would be trapped.

Silence spread through the tent as Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"In that case... my decision to detonate the ’Cloud Qi Bomb’ in Houting County indeed disrupted your plan, Qingyan."

His action had startled the snake, alerting the Barbarians to their trump card prematurely.

Upon learning that the snowstorm in Houting County had been dispersed by Dayan’s celestial weapon and Sects’ elite troops had begun to head south, the Barbarian King was left with only a desperate gamble.

Disregarding losses, continue to assault the ruins of Northern Border City, to capture it before the Sects’ elite troops could arrive, and block the passage of 700,000 elite troops of Dayan in the snowy fields.

Li Qingyan bore no blame:

"Prince Consort, you had good intentions but caused trouble. The Barbarian King, being severely wounded, should not dare to enter the battlefield again. With proper coordination, and with the military presence still inside the city, holding back those Barbarians for two days should not be too difficult. However, it seems unlikely we’ll be able to completely wipe out these barbarians this time around."

After a pause,

Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan, lips curved into a smile: "Come, let’s walk the wall within the city. My presence is needed to stabilize the soldiers’ morale."

...

...

...

The Feathered Forest Army camp had become much emptier; the soldiers who used to patrol the camp were gone, leaving only a few officers and messengers in armor scurrying with their orders.

Exiting the camp, Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan, each riding a horse, headed toward the city walls along the desolate avenue.

The Barbarians’ catapults continued their relentless bombardment of everything inside Northern Border City.

The pure white snowflakes fell silently from the sky like fluff, whirling and drifting without a speck of dust, gently landing atop the ruins.

All the way there, Xu Yuan was silent.

The horses’ hooves stirred the snow, leaving hoof prints in their wake.

Some cried out for help amid the wreckage, but no one paid them heed.

Warriors, unwilling to stand against the enemy on the walls, were pinned down and dragged away by the pursuing Sect Border Forces.

There were young men with numb expressions sitting beside the rubble.

And there were Border Troops weaving through the ruins, rescuing civilians.

When the word ’war’ falls upon an individual, it weighs as heavy as Mount Tai.

Turning a corner in the street, upon reaching South City, Xu Yuan involuntarily furrowed his brows.

The battlefield here had yet to be cleared.

Corpses...

Large and small, whole and dismembered corpses.

Cleared spaces around the city walls were filled with the bodies of the Northern Border’s defenders. Lacking enough shrouds, it was impossible to see the end of the makeshift coverings of green and other colored fabrics, a meager attempt to shield the soldiers from being exposed to the open air.

Xu Yuan thought he had become accustomed to such scenes, but each time he was confronted with them, his heart would still churn with waves of emotion.

A few hours ago, they might have been jesting with their comrades, discussing where the hostesses served best, and if they survived, they would all go out and have fun with their military pay.

A few hours later, they were cold, silent corpses.

War...

"Prince Consort..."

Li Qingyan’s voice suddenly came from beside him.

He turned at her words.

She looked at the bones of the soldiers, her voice calm: