Though Jiang Chen wanted to say more, seeing the grim situation outside the city, he could only nod heavily, preparing for a breakout.

"Rest assured, this time I will absolutely shatter these Xiongnu into pieces, ensuring they never have the strength to come south again."

Having said that, Jiang Chen silently drew his weapon. As a horn sounded in the distance, the people who had been holding the fortress instantly charged in the same direction. The Xiongnu reacted, but they couldn't mobilize a large force to follow in time.

After all, countless archers, who had been watching them like tigers eyeing their prey, were aiming at them in the direction they were charging.

"Why didn't you attack that fortress directly earlier? There must be a big fish who slipped inside. Now that you've let him go, the Khan will punish you severely."

Hearing the rebuke from the person next to him, the one commanding the Xiongnu army in front shook his head.

"You Xiongnu can't interfere with the Mei family's affairs. If it weren't for us acting as internal support this time, do you think you could have advanced so smoothly?"

Seeing the arrogant and smug look on this person's face, the Xiongnu general sneered disdainfully.

No matter where you go, no one wants to accept those who betray their own people.

If they hadn't foreseen a major disaster coming next winter, they wouldn't have taken such a risk, gathering almost all their strength to choose to go south.

Not long after Jiang Chen and his party withdrew from the fortress, the remaining Xiongnu turned their attention directly to the fortress.

Although the number of people defending inside earlier was less than a hundred, they had suffered unimaginable losses.

Therefore, now that the defenders inside had all withdrawn, they decided to vent the anger in their hearts on it.

The moment they rode into the fortress, they only saw a few guys sitting on the oil, laughing heartily.

"Run!"

But before they could shout for their teammates to retreat, a terrifying fire dragon directly surrounded the entire fortress.

The raging flames alarmed the Xiongnu's horses that had not yet moved, and their seemingly uniform team became chaotic.

Looking at the raging flames behind him, Jiang Chen couldn't help but shed tears.

In the end, apart from those aristocratic families, most people still loved him.

When Jiang Chen and his party entered Shimen Pass under escort, Jiang Chen found countless people on the city walls of Shimen Pass gazing into the distance at the terrifying flames.

"Carve down the names of all those who sacrificed themselves and erect a monument. I want to plant this monument above their Xiongnu's royal court, so they can repent to these people for all eternity."

Jiang Chen's anger even caused him to crush the teacup in his hand, while the others beside him just lowered their heads in silence.

While Jiang Chen and the others were resting, the Xiongnu army, which had not moved for a long time, finally began to approach Shimen Pass continuously. Perhaps because the fire had burned a psychological shadow into them, the Xiongnu's marching speed seemed extremely slow.

But the huge army formation made many people in the city feel afraid. A considerable number of them were recruited temporarily, and naturally their legs were trembling at the sight of such a scene.

"If Shimen Pass is forced, then there will be no natural barriers to defend behind us. These cavalry can肆无忌惮attack your relatives and friends." (肆无忌惮: can act without restraint)

"It will take some time to transfer troops here. All we can do now is to delay their actions as much as possible until reinforcements arrive. Before that, I will not leave Shimen Pass."

After saying that, Jiang Chen held his sword and was the first to stand on the city wall of Shimen Pass. The many generals behind him were naturally encouraged and stepped forward one after another, but only those civil officials remained silent, seemingly planning to take this opportunity to be cowards.

Looking at the dark mass of figures in the distance, Jiang Chen understood that this battle would be even more difficult and arduous than he had imagined. But even to fulfill those previous promises, Jiang Chen would never take a step back at this moment.

Just when everyone was quietly waiting for the Xiongnu to attack the city, some sharp-eyed people noticed a relatively familiar figure.

"Look at the one walking at the front of the Xiongnu's formation. Isn't he wearing our armor?"

After noticing that the other party was wearing the same type of armor as their own, many people gasped. If that were the case, once they went out of the city to meet the enemy, who knows how many spies would mix in.

But if they were to defend solely by relying on the city walls, that would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

"Why does he look a bit like that guy who was angered to death by Jiang Chen before?"

After scouts went forward to investigate, a simple portrait was sent to Jiang Chen and the others. After recognizing who this person was, everyone fell silent.

If it were really him, then it would mean that the difficulty of defending Shimen Pass would increase exponentially.

It was precisely because this person neglected his duty that Shimen Pass was almost lost. He was summoned back to the capital by Jiang Chen and beheaded in court as a warning.

But unexpectedly, the Mei family used their means to spare his life.

But now this guy was actually standing on the side of the Xiongnu, which made Jiang Chen even more suspicious of what the Mei family was planning to do.

Just as Jiang Chen was preparing to use the ballista to test what tricks the other side was playing, someone came running up in a panic.

"Your Majesty, this must be a scheme used by the enemy to shake our morale. We jointly supervised the execution of that guy, and no matter what, he could never be resurrected."

Seeing these civil officials, who were just afraid of death, now appearing beside him, Jiang Chen already understood the general situation.

If he guessed correctly, the Mei family must have used many means to bribe them, allowing this guy to escape with his life.

Just as Jiang Chen was planning to execute these negligent guys directly, the Xiongnu began to clamor.

"I heard that your current commander is just a general here for gilding. In that case, I advise you to open the city gate obediently and let us in, otherwise it won't be as simple as a massacre."

"You can think carefully about whether it is worth it to work for those big families and end up dying without a complete corpse. If you don't understand, then open the city gate as soon as possible and let us in. At least we can spare your lives."