Chapter 39: Iron Guards of the Royal Tent

Having swiftly dispatched the archers’ lackeys, Su Yao hurried toward the city gate, gasping for air. It was not enough to have killed the soldiers operating the mechanism; over a dozen more were still manually pushing the gates shut to block the Han reinforcements outside. Only by eliminating them could the gate be truly secured.

As he reached the entrance, he collided head-on with the Royal Guard led by Lan Ya. Emerging from the left and right corridors respectively, both groups froze for a split second, locking eyes on their targets. Su Yao recognized Lan Ya instantly by his high-ranking officer’s armor, while Lan Ya, seeing the blood-soaked man standing before him, immediately identified him as the source of the chaos.

"Seize him!"
"Goodbye!"

The gate was already three-quarters closed, and the anxious faces of Cheng Lian and his men were clearly visible outside. Su Yao had no intention of wasting time on a boss fight. He drew a deep breath, stomped hard, and surged forward with all his might, charging at the gate like a maddened bull.

"Who goes there?!"
"What!"

Just as he reached the gate, Su Yao stopped abruptly, brandishing his twin blades. With two swift strikes, six heads fell to the ground. Lan Ya’s eyes widened in fury; he never imagined that this man would dare to slaughter his men right under his nose.

"Charge with me! Stop him, now!"

However, the iron armor of the Royal Guard was both their greatest asset and their burden. By the time the fully armored soldiers reached the gate, only one man remained, cowering on the ground against the massive bolt, sitting in a pool of his own filth.

"You bastard, die!"
"Scum, drop dead!"

In the blink of an eye, a metallic clang echoed—neither man’s threat had come to fruition. Su Yao had dodged Lan Ya’s scimitar, while his own killing blow had been parried by the guard’s neck armor, shattering his blade upon impact.

"Trash weapon!"

For the first time since entering the game, Su Yao retreated a step to avoid the enemy's edge. Two more iron-clad Royal Guards had flanked Lan Ya, launching a joint assault. Facing the twin flashes of steel, Su Yao stepped back again and let out a roar:

"Trash, you think you're worthy!"

Unwilling to retreat further, Su Yao chose to counterattack. If these foot soldiers dared to press him, they were asking for death. The gap between a boss and these lackeys was made clear. Catching them in the split second after their momentum had spent itself and before they could recover, Su Yao lunged. His blades moved like vipers, sliding past their arms to strike directly at their faces.

"No—"

Before the eyes of their commander, Lan Ya, his two personal guards collapsed with mournful cries; their iron armor could not protect their exposed faces.

"So strong!"
"Watch your defense!"
"Fall back, form up!" Lan Ya commanded calmly.

Su Yao’s double kill shocked the Xiongnu. Watching him stand before the gate, defiantly inviting them to fight, they were struck by the illusion that he was a lone warrior capable of holding off ten thousand. But an illusion it was. They were the King’s most elite Royal Guard, the cream of the crop among the Xiongnu commanders. Under Lan Ya’s orders, they quickly stabilized their ranks.

No longer charging recklessly, the Royal Guard utilized the narrow terrain of the gatehouse, using their sturdy armor and tight formation to push Su Yao back step by step, determined to drive him out.

"Huff... huff... The armor is too thick, and this weapon is garbage!"

Su Yao panted, throwing away his two broken scimitars, which clattered uselessly against the stone floor.

"Close the gate!"
"It's too late!"

Indeed, in the time they had spent entangled with Su Yao, he had achieved his goal. The Bingzhou Legion made their grand entrance.

"Squad leader!" "Squad leader Su!"
"Leave this to us!"

Cheng Lian, holding a small shield and brandishing a long saber, stepped up beside Su Yao. Song Xian, Hou Cheng, Jin Fangyan, and the others poured in, confronting the Xiongnu led by Lan Ya with grim expressions. Jin Fangyan raised his bow and hissed a warning:

"Be careful, these are the Royal Guard!"

They didn't need the reminder. As the remnants of the Bingzhou Legion, they had already faced the Royal Guard once on the battlefield.

"So, they are Han soldiers?"

Seeing these invaders face-to-face and hearing them inadvertently speak in their native tongue, Lan Ya’s expression relaxed completely. Though he did not know how these Han soldiers had reached this point, if this was the ultimate threat behind the riot, the outcome of the night was already decided.

"Defeated foes, how dare you act so brazenly here? Kill them all!"
"Kill!"

At Lan Ya’s shout, the standoff shattered, and the two forces collided in a violent clash.

However, in that fleeting moment, the cries of pain reaching his ears made Su Yao realize a problem he had ignored while relying on his own prowess: the gap in troop quality and equipment.

48 rested, full-stamina Xiongnu Royal Guards in heavy iron armor versus 80 exhausted, unarmored Han infantrymen. The outcome was clear at a glance.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Su Yao shouted.

"Hold," Lan Ya gestured lightly, and the Royal Guards stopped their pursuit, maintaining their tight formation. Yes, these barbarians could hold a formation. Through their long wars and extended coexistence with the Han, while their common herdsmen remained undisciplined, these elite tribal warriors had mastered tactical levels equal to the finest Han troops.

In that brief contact, the ratio shifted from 48 to 76. The four Han corpses on the ground were an eyesore, while the enemy remained unscathed. This was the disparity of equipment; their own scimitars could not pierce the barbarian iron, while every swing from the enemy brought lethal damage. Their only advantage as light infantry—mobility—was rendered useless by exhaustion and the cramped terrain.

"Damn it, we can't win. Royal Guard... how are we supposed to fight this?!" Song Xian gritted his teeth, clutching his injured wrist as he looked at his shattered blade.

"Advance!"

Lan Ya commanded steadily, pushing forward step by step as the Han soldiers retreated.

"We can't fall back any further, or we'll be pushed outside," Hou Cheng warned, glancing behind him. If they were pushed out, the rain of arrows from the city walls would be enough to finish them off, regardless of whether the barbarians closed the gate.

"Squad leader Su, what do we do?!"

Facing the cold-faced Lan Ya and his advancing Royal Guard, Su Yao’s breathing grew increasingly rapid. *Is this hidden boss a bit too broken? Royal Guard? That’s a top-tier unit, and you’re putting them in a beginner-level scenario? Is the difficulty curve a joke? Damn the developers!*

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Su Yao gripped his chest tightly. His status bar showed fatigue had stacked to the point where his stamina cap was reduced by 80%. He was not far from collapse.

"Ah—"

Before he fell, the first to be annihilated would likely be the Bingzhou Legion he had brought. This cry of pain came from a soldier at the back who, as he was squeezed out of the gatehouse, was showered by arrows from the gate tower—the archers had been waiting, bows drawn and aimed at this very spot.

"We have nowhere left to run!" Song Xian shouted.