"Aow... aow..." That sound, akin to a beast's roar, grew steadily closer, weaving through the continuous undulations of the terrain like a dirge for life itself.

"So this is the siege from all sides that the history books record," Ye Xiu stood coldly beside Xiang Yu, leaning down to observe the Hegemon of Western Chu from history. While handsome, he was ultimately a failure, and failures were never deserving of sympathy. "No matter how hard Xiang Yu fought to conquer the world, he was merely a mortal. But Han Xin? Han Xin, who wields the Soul Weapon Talisman?"

With a deafening "Boom," more bones were scattered into the air. A monster flew overhead, its massive body resembling a great fish, yet its head was undeniably that of a dragon. It flew using its fins, spewing bubble-like projectiles from its mouth that crashed down, reducing the Chu forces to scattered flesh and gore.

"Susu, have you ever seen a monster like this?" Ye Xiu felt a surge of Soul Energy within him. He knew the Chu army could see this thing, and so could he, and crucially, this creature was bound to cause him harm.

Though only a spirit, Susu possessed some knowledge. He drifted close to Ye Xiu. "That is a Chiwen, an ancient divine beast, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon. Why is it appearing here? Why would a divine beast join a human battle?"

Ye Xiu nodded. He knew everything. The Chiwen was ranked ninth among the Nine Sons of the Dragon, possessing a dragon's head and a fish's body, with a thick throat known for swallowing. It shouldn't be appearing at such a juncture. It must be that mysterious woman, Ji Jiang, who gave Han Xin the Soul Weapon Talisman; this creature was undoubtedly a demonic beast summoned by Han Xin.

"Roar, roar..." Dust and smoke billowed up from the high slope. Row upon row of towering, three-meter-tall skeletal giants, clad in iron helmets, dragged long sabers as they advanced slowly. Their faces were a sickly blue, and fire erupted from their mouths, instantly incinerating the surrounding mountain grass wherever they passed. The Chu soldiers ahead of them turned to ash in an instant.

"Whoosh... whoosh..." Streaks of high-speed light flashed down from the slope. A pack of immense beasts charged toward the Chu army. They resembled wolves but weren't, like cats but weren't, yet they were ferociously savage, swallowing anyone they encountered. Many Chu soldiers, pursued relentlessly, chose to abandon resistance and slit their own throats on the spot.

"Ah!" At this moment, Xiang Yu, who had been paralyzed by fear, suddenly cried out and sprang to his feet. He raised his long sword, pointing it at the slope, and roared, "Han Xin! You ghost, if you have the guts, come out and fight me!"

Ye Xiu was startled by Xiang Yu's furious shout. Looking at the somewhat desperate Hegemon, he felt a flicker of sympathy.

Dragons soared high in attack, and the ground below was a scene of desolation. The remaining Chu soldiers were encircled by monsters on the riverbank, frozen in place, daring not to move, placing their faith in their king's last, desperate gambit. But their king was destined to disappoint them.

"Truly a tragic siege of Gaixia," Ye Xiu surveyed the surrounding skeletal giant soldiers and those monstrous wolves. In the sky above, the Chiwen writhed and played, its fierce countenance seeming to fix its attention squarely on Ye Xiu.

"Han Xin, come out and fight me!" Xiang Yu roared until his voice was raw. He struggled to hold his long sword aloft as the surrounding monsters snarled at him. His hand trembled—the helplessness and terror of a mortal confronting a legion of demons.

"Hahahaha, ah hahahaha!" At last, a deep, resonant laughter echoed from the hilltop, a laugh that was sharp, merciless, and filled with contempt. A horse, a single figure, materialized calmly on the high ground. The banner fluttering behind him bore the mark of a king: HAN!

"How can this be?" Ye Xiu watched coldly as a figure resembling a general appeared. That man was undoubtedly the Grand General Han Xin, but Ye Xiu found it bizarre that Han Xin's attire differed from that of any other general. This was the late Qin era; Han Xin was an ordinary mortal, his dress should not be so distinct, as if he had transcended time and space. At this moment, the Han Xin before Ye Xiu wore deep black battle armor. Every scale on that armor was surely not simple; the reflected light and hardness suggested an unknown metal. A red cloak draped his back, and he grasped a long sword. At his waist hung that Tiger-headed Soul Weapon Talisman. Most unbelievable of all, Han Xin's face was nothing but a black void; he possessed no features, not even a single strand of hair.

"Whoosh... thud!" Han Xin leaped from the hilltop, instantly plummeting before Xiang Yu. He tapped the ground with his long sword and circled Xiang Yu halfway before speaking, "Xiang Yu, do you know why you have reached this day?"

"You are a ghost... a ghost..." Xiang Yu was terrified. He frantically swung the sword in his hand toward Han Xin. "I will kill you!"

"Heh." Han Xin smoothly dodged and vanished from sight. When he reappeared, the heads of Xiang Yu's surrounding soldiers and his adjutant had already been severed by his sharp blade. "A foolish brute only meets this fate. Do you think the power in my hands is confined to this single era?"

Xiang Yu missed his strike and crashed heavily to the ground. Gasping for breath, he looked at the scattered remains of his comrades and stammered incoherently, "It's an illusion, all of this is fake. My Xiang family remains, this world is still my world! You ghosts, ghosts!"

"This age will not change because of you, because you lack absolute power." Han Xin tightly clenched his fist, and black flames erupted above it. He turned to the monsters beside him and commanded, "Everything on this battlefield belongs to me, Han Xin. I alone know everyone's nightmare. Let the Han forces I brought disappear as well. I don't want anyone to fear my current appearance; Grand General Han Xin should look like the usual ever-victorious general, hehe."

Upon receiving Han Xin's command, the Chiwen and the other monsters immediately turned back to attack. The Han soldiers still beating the drums for support on the slope had no idea that Gaixia, the tragedy of the Chu army, would also become their tomb.

"You are the enemy of humanity!" Xiang Yu knew the tide had turned. His only regret was not reclaiming a sliver of dignity for humankind. Without hesitation, he crawled over, retrieved his long sword, and brought it down in one stroke, sending blood soaring several yards. This was the self-immolation of the Hegemon of Western Chu at the Wu River, the end of the Chu-Han contention.

"Hoo..." Ye Xiu let out a long breath. He couldn't be sure if what he witnessed was true history, but the featureless Han Xin was right beside him now. He had no idea why the Seven Star Dragon Trapping Formation had brought him here.

"My friend, I think you have seen the truth!" Suddenly, Han Xin stopped before Ye Xiu, pointing his sword at him with a laugh. "Heh, since you have seen everything, I certainly cannot let you live!"

"What..."