Gu Yun took a deep breath and forcefully kicked out this last bit of thought. Not picking and choosing, he pulled the moldy rug on the haystack, laid it on his body, and closed his eyes to rest.

Only with good spirits could one face a difficult future.

No one could bother this half-deaf in the prison. Gu Yun soon fell asleep; he had a dream amongst the cold musty smell.

Gu Yun dreamed he was lying on his back under a giant butcher knife, the heavy blade pressed on his chest, bit by bit cutting through the skin and flesh into his bones, breaking him alive in two halves, disconnecting his body from all his limbs. Only the wound across his chest ached incredibly. In his ears lingered the noises of crying, gunfire, and howling, combined with the intermittent sound of hu jia*, off-toned and vague, like a spider web…

*a type of musical instrument like a flute

He was split by the knife, but there was no blood in the wound. Instead, a signal arrow fell out and surged to the sky with an ear-piercing noise, exploding and shaking the nation.

Gu Yun woke up with a muffled groan. The old wound on his chest ached inexplicably. The piercing sound of the signal arrow in his dream continued to echo in his ears, forming into a strange type of tinnitus.

There seemed to be a bizarre link between him and his Black Iron Camp. That night, the first ominous signal arrow exploded in the night sky at the garrison in the Western Regions.

The emergency battle report arrived in the capital only one day later. The Black Eagle soldier who came to deliver the message had only one leg left. With one last dying breath, he arrived at the Northern Camp that was in a state of panic and died before he could say a word.

Two hours later, the surprise attack on the Black Iron Camp in the Western Regions shocked the government, frightening the people.

When news of the incident in the capital spread, He Rong Hui led people to besiege the Northwest Governor Manor. As soon as he left, Ku Cha Kingdom sent 160 Sand Tigers as the lead, forcibly piercing through the Black Cavalry patrol camp located at the entrance of the Western Regions.

The chariot Sand Tiger was the biggest enemy of the Light Cavalry. For a moment, smoke and dust covered the air, flames rose like a curtain, battle horses cried out and died, iron cavalry fell down one after another.