Their hearts sank upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, but after a moment of contemplation, they merely sighed and said nothing more.

They knew in their hearts that Jiang Chen's leniency was already a great act of grace. To persist further would not only fail to alleviate their situation but would also push them into even greater danger.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness."

After taking their leave from Jiang Chen, they all began preparing their weapons. At this point, all they could do was fight the enemy as bravely as possible to atone for their sins.

While they were preparing, the Xiongnu who had recuperated within the Shimen Pass finally launched an attack on the last tower.

Perhaps the allure of the vast benefits of breaking through Shimen Pass had made these Xiongnu completely forget the painful lessons they had learned earlier.

Some even charged straight up without wearing any armor at all.

As they rushed forward, the imperial guards who had been prepared on the city tower began to fight back.

The Xiongnu at the front kept rolling down the stairs like stones.

The complex alleys within the city became the biggest obstacle to the Xiongnu's advance.

Although they wanted to use siege ladders to directly attack the city tower, the narrow terrain within the city made it impossible for them to deploy the ladders. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and attack upwards from the stairs.

Although the imperial guards on the city tower fought bravely, they were, after all, an army that had been exhausted to the extreme.

Although they were determined to fight to the death here, they were ultimately unable to withstand the Xiongnu's overwhelming attack.

As the first staircase leading to the long tower was breached by the Xiongnu, several other staircases were subsequently lost. The people outside the city watched the fierce battle on the city tower and couldn't help but clench their fists in their hearts, but no one could rush up to help them.

"If everyone could be like them, why would we fear the Xiongnu?"

Jiang Chen's words plunged all the generals present into silence. In the past, whenever they went into battle, they had more or less harbored some selfish motives, but after seeing these imperial guards fighting so hard to buy time for everyone, the beliefs that many had once held in their hearts began to waver faintly.

After fighting hard for half a day, the imperial guards on the city tower could no longer maintain their defensive position and had to retreat slowly.

In the end, only less than ten people were struggling to hold on.

And they were divided into several sections by the Xiongnu.

"Your Majesty, you must avenge us!"

As someone shouted, they directly lit the torch next to them and jumped into the city.

After someone took the lead in doing so, the remaining few did not hesitate at all and jumped towards the city below one after another.

Noticing the flowing oil at the foot of the city wall, the Xiongnu who had just been boasting about their victory were instantly dumbfounded.

Before the panicked expressions on their faces could form, the raging flames instantly burst into flames, and the entire Shimen Pass was completely reduced to a living hell.

Watching the raging Shimen Pass, Jiang Chen signaled the orderlies next to him to sound the horn for formation.

This was the last thing that the people in Shimen Pass could do. All the pressure was now on them.

As all the troops outside the city spread out, everyone's face was full of solemnity, quietly staring straight at the soaring flames of Shimen Pass.

When the flames went out, it would be time for them to face these opponents directly.

While many people were silently counting down in their hearts, the Jiangnan army that came to support noticed the fire in Shimen Pass in the distance.

"General Su, if we rush up now, it might be a great achievement. After all, that guy was seriously injured. There's no way he could escape back."

Hearing the persuasion of the staff beside him, the young man known as General Su shook his head.

"You don't understand. If we go up now, all the credit will go to Jiang Chen. He is already the emperor. Why does he need so much popular support? Only when he is completely defeated, and we save Jiang Chen from the situation as gods descending to earth, and kill all the Xiongnu, will we be the biggest contributors in this war."

His eloquent statement sounded so harsh to the staff's ears.

It can be said that this guy, known as General Su, has taken egoism to the extreme, even disregarding the safety of his country and his home.

Recalling the extremely tragic orderly, the staff planned to take a group of people to the front line to support them, but as soon as he turned around, General Su's saber was already on his shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't forget that from the moment your sister entered our Su family, you are a member of our Su family in life and a ghost of our Su family in death. I advise you not to do anything irrational."

"Even if I kill you now, at best, I'm just killing a slave who has no status at all. I advise you to weigh it carefully, is your life more important, or is your so-called feelings more important."

After speaking, General Su returned to his camp without looking back.

Hearing the seductive sounds coming from General Su's tent, the staff lowered his head, clenched his hands tightly, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging, as if he was making some ideological choice.

After all, not everyone is like General Su, who can abandon everything else for their own benefit.

When they were all nervous and didn't know what to do, the fire in Shimen Pass in the distance began to gradually dim. Everyone understood that the moment the fire in Shimen Pass was completely extinguished, it would be the time for the Xiongnu to launch an attack.

Thinking of this, the staff knelt down in front of General Su's camp and kowtowed heavily several times.

"Thank you, General Su, for your upbringing and cultivation over the years. With family feuds and national hatred at stake, please forgive me for not being able to turn a blind eye to all of this. Since General Su is unwilling to intervene in this matter, then I will go alone. Everything is my personal behavior and has absolutely nothing to do with the Su family."

"If I am lucky enough to return from the front line, whether it is as a horse or a soldier, I am willing to obey General Su's orders."

After speaking, this person took off the gorgeous clothes he was wearing, and just wore a coarse linen cloth, holding a long stick, and left the camp without looking back.

Looking at the determined figure, General Su did not take his actions to heart.