The report arrived at night.
Not sealed.
Not formal.
Carried by a man who had ridden himself half-dead to deliver it.
Wu An read it once.
Then again.
Then placed it down.
"They've broken through," Liao Yun said quietly.
Wu An did not respond.
From the harbors of Yunhai Port, the war had looked controlled.
Measured.
Even victorious.
But the east—
Was collapsing.
"The outer defenses have fallen," Shen Yue added. "Han Liang is still holding… but barely."
"And Sun Ke?" Wu An asked.
Silence.
That was answer enough.
Wu An turned away from the sea.
For the first time in this campaign—
He moved immediately.
"Prepare to leave," he said.
"To the north."
Shen Yue stepped forward.
"And Chu?"
Wu An did not slow.
"You'll hold it."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You trust me with a conquered kingdom?"
Wu An glanced back.
"I trust that you won't lose it."
No more words.
No hesitation.
Because this—
Was no longer a campaign.
It was survival.
Far to the northeast—
The fortress still stood.
Barely.
Stone walls were no longer stone.
They were cracks.
Lines.
Weakness.
Han Liang stood atop the battlements, armor broken in places, blood not entirely his own.
Below—
Wei infantry advanced again.
Disciplined.
Relentless.
"They're pushing the breach," an officer shouted.
"I see it."
The bombardment had stopped.
That was worse.
Because now—
They were coming.
The gates had held for days.
Weeks.
They would not hold today.
"Reinforce the inner line!" Han Liang ordered.
"Pull back from the outer wall!"
Men moved.
Slower now.
Tired.
Too tired.
The first Wei unit broke through before noon.
Then another.
Then more.
The fortress—
Had fallen.
Not in a single moment.
But in a shift.
A line crossed.
A defense broken.
Han Liang did not shout.
He did not panic.
He drew his sword.
"Fall back to the inner district," he said.
"Make them bleed for every step."
Because even in defeat—
Time still mattered.
Further north—
Zhao did not wait for breaches.
They moved around them.
Cavalry did not need gates.
They needed gaps.
And Zhao—
Always found gaps.
A rider burst into Sun Ke's command post, breathless, face pale.
"My lord—!"
Sun Ke turned.
"What?"
"They're not at the walls anymore!"
A pause.
"What do you mean?"
The soldier swallowed.
"They're… behind us."
Silence.
Sun Ke stepped outside.
Looked toward the horizon.
And saw it.
Dust.
Not in front of the fortress.
Behind it.
Zhao cavalry.
Already inside.
They had bypassed everything.
The camps.
The defenses.
The lines.
They had not broken through.
They had gone around.
Sun Ke let out a slow breath.
"Of course they did."
Because this—
Was Zhao.
No walls.
No rules.
No patience.
Only speed.
At the same time—
In the Wei camp—
The commanders gathered.
Reports came in rapidly.
"The fortress is breached."
"Zhao units have advanced beyond the eastern line."
"They've moved ahead of us."
One general frowned.
"They're moving too fast."
Another spoke sharply.
"They want the capital."
Silence followed.
Because they all understood.
This alliance—
Was ending.
Not in words.
In movement.
"We push," one commander said.
"Now."
Because if Zhao reached Beiliang first—
Wei would gain nothing.
And Wei—
Did not fight for nothing.
Back on the road north—
Wu An rode without stopping.
Behind him—
The sea.
Chu.
Victory.
Before him—
Fire.
Collapse.
War.
Liao Yun rode beside him.
"They're moving faster than expected."
Wu An nodded.
"Yes."
"Zhao?"
"Yes."
"Then we're already late."
Wu An did not respond immediately.
Then—
Quietly—
"No."
He looked ahead.
Eyes steady.
"We're just in time."
Behind them—
Smoke rose from the east.
Ahead of them—
War waited.
And for the first time—
The battlefield was no longer something Wu An controlled.
It was something he had to reclaim.
The fortress gates shattered.
Han Liang's last line broke.
And far beyond—
Zhao cavalry banners rose—
Inside Zhou territory.
Already riding toward the heart.