Inside the city, in a dilapidated, low-ceilinged house, dozens of people sat or lay scattered about. Their eyes held both despair and resignation.
Despair, because they knew no one could save them—this battle was already decided.
And they had long since prepared themselves for death, facing it with calm acceptance.
"Have Qu Zhao’s troops entered the city?" asked a gaunt man seated against the wall.
Wang Tong stood by a window frame stripped of its wooden lattice. The cold wind poured in, numbing his entire body.
He seemed to have lost all feeling as he gazed at the fighting on the distant city wall, his voice hoarse: "Yes. They entered from the West Gate. Aside from the South Gate, the others should all be breached."
The gaunt man leaned back against the wall, listening to the clamor of battle outside the city, gripping the wooden club in his hand: "The Qu Zhao people will find this place soon, won’t they?"
Wang Tong’s eyes were calm, but the hand holding a broken sword had turned white: "Probably."
The children and infants had already been hidden away in various cellars.
Those who remained on the ground were adult men and women aged fifteen and above, regardless of age or frailty, scattered throughout this district of low but relatively intact dwellings.
They intended, before they died, to take a bite out of the Qu Zhao army.
As for the children and infants hiding in the cellars—whether they starved, froze, or were discovered by the Qu Zhao—they could no longer manage that.
They couldn’t bring themselves to kill their own young, so they left it to fate.
"Hah, I never thought that I, a woman, would still have the chance to kill barbarians," a gaunt woman muttered in a raspy voice.
In her hand, she clutched a bloodstained arrow she had picked up from beneath the inner city wall.
"I feel I have strength now. In a moment, I’m going to drive this arrow into a Qu Zhao man’s neck and see if their blood is cold." Her voice carried a restrained hatred.
Her words stirred the others’ ferocity. Their numb eyes gradually grew determined, their fear slightly abated, though a bitter solemnity spread through them instead.
Wang Tong was about to speak when his expression suddenly shifted. He squinted toward the distance: "There seems to be a change."
With a dull, grating screech, the heavy city gate—shut for so long—slowly swung open, signaling that this battle was entering its final phase.
When the crimson banner of Jinyang was raised atop Lin County’s city wall and fluttered in the wind,
it declared to all that this city now belonged to the Jinyang Army!
The already high-spirited Jinyang troops became even more energized. They galloped forward, howling as they charged into the fourth city to fall under Jinyang’s control, storming toward Lin County’s interior and the other three gates...
The sounds of fighting inside and outside the city grew fiercer, mingled with the clash of steel and screams...
Just as the blood-red banner was raised on Lin County’s wall, Qu Shilang’s heart jolted. He turned to look.
Clang!
A moment of distraction, and Zhou Sui’s Cold Scale blade struck his shoulder.
A sharp pain hit him. Qu Shilang grunted, but fortunately, his armor was thick, and he instinctively dodged—otherwise, that shoulder would have been ruined.
"Great General!" His deputy and personal guards were panicked and rushed to assist, but they were blocked by the Jinyang troops, temporarily unable to break free.
Zhou Sui glanced at the Qu Zhao soldiers retreating from the walls and gates. He didn’t press the fight: "Withdraw!"
At his command, the Jinyang troops locked in combat with the Qu Zhao soldiers disengaged swiftly.
If they didn’t retreat now, once the Qu Zhao troops attacking the city withdrew and regrouped, it would be hard to get away.
By this time, the Qu Zhao soldiers had little will to fight left. Seeing the Jinyang forces pulling back on their own, they too halted.
Jiang Jin stood on the southern city wall, flanked by a row of Dragon Shadow Guards armed with Dragon Feather Crossbows, their bolts aimed at the Qu Zhao soldiers outside the city.
"Great General?" Ruan Jian looked to Qu Shilang, his heart full of resentment.
But Qu Shilang seemed not to hear him. He stared from afar at Jiang Jin, his gaze malevolent.
He had lost!
Though, as the Qu Zhao troops withdrew from their various points of attack, he now had nearly twenty thousand men here.
But the Jinyang army, strong, well-equipped, and armed with repeating crossbows, was nothing like the previous Luolan forces.
He nearly ground his molars to dust. He had been this close to taking Lin County.
Clearly, the Jinyang army had been in Liuxiang Commandery, at least a thousand li from Lin County, yet they had descended like divine soldiers out of nowhere—and Qu Zhao had received not a single piece of intelligence!
"Great General, aren’t we giving chase?" Ruan Jian asked hoarsely, unwilling to let go.
"The Jinyang troops inside the city can’t be killed, and those who haven’t entered yet number less than a thousand. And they’re led by the Great General of Yan! Kill him, and it will surely boost our army’s prestige!"
Yu Cheng frowned: "You also said he is the Great General of Yan. Do you think he’s so easy to kill?"
Utterly brainless, he thought. Haven’t you seen how the Great General fought him for so long without gaining any advantage, ended up on the losing side, and even got wounded?
He pointed again at Lin County’s wall: "Look again. That’s the Jinyang repeating crossbow. With our troops’ morale as it is now, how can we fight?"
Ruan Jian was no fool; he was just truly unwilling to accept it. They had been so close!
He was also unconvinced. The Jinyang army had only succeeded by striking during Qu Zhao’s siege, catching them off guard.
Otherwise, with just a few thousand men, how could they possibly have beaten the Qu Zhao forces?
Yu Cheng’s heart was bleeding too. They had fought for nearly a month, lost so many soldiers, and now the Jinyang army had snatched the fruit of their labor.
But he had to admit, the Jinyang surprise attack had been brilliantly executed.
While Qu Zhao was scattered in the midst of their siege, the Jinyang forces had driven like a blade straight into the heart from one direction.
Clearly, they had planned it—some of their men held the already thin Qu Zhao defensive lines, while others directly stormed the city.
Worse still, the Qu Zhao had even left their siege ladders ready, as if handing the enemy the knife to kill you. Who wouldn’t feel furious over that?
Who could accept it?
Who wouldn’t be choked with resentment?
Who would be willing to yield?
Regardless of the Qu Zhao army’s frustration below the walls, reports of one victory after another reached the Jinyang troops on the ramparts.
"Report! The North Gate is secured."
"Report! The East Gate is secured."
"Report! The West Gate is secured."
"Report! The city interior is cleared."
At each successive report, Jiang Jin nodded slightly, gazing into the distance at the Qu Zhao army.
In the vast sea of troops, she spotted Qu Shilang standing on horseback at the front. The distance was too great to read his expression.
But Jiang Jin could feel his fury and reluctance.
The scene fell silent, even the biting wind seemed to stop.
Jiang Jin curved her lips, her voice clear and resonant: "Go back and tell your Grand Chanyu: Lin County—the Jinyang army is taking it!"
"If your Qu Zhao wants it, then come and take it. I’ll be waiting!"
Perhaps because of the stillness, her voice carried to everyone present, her bold words like a declaration of war.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Dragon Shadow Guards and the Jinyang crossbowmen on the wall raised their Dragon Feather Crossbows almost in unison, aiming at the Qu Zhao army below and shouting with fierce fervor.
Their voices thundered with killing intent, deafening and unstoppable!
[Four thousand words per day, updated at 0:02 AM. Readers who go to bed early can save it for the next morning. I’ve been working overtime lately and struggling with writer’s block—these chapters have been painful to write. If there are typos, please tag me, and I’ll fix them when I can. Thank you for your support! Please toss a few love-driven power-ups—I love you all (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤～]
