Jiang Jin walked in with Yun Chengxuan, followed by a unit of Dragon Shadow Guards.
Qu Shilang’s pupils contracted. “The Lord of the Jinyang Army?”
Jiang Jin smiled and nodded. “That’s right.”
Qu Shilang frowned. “How did you get in?”
Jiang Jin looked at him, puzzled. “I walked in, naturally. Your eyesight isn’t very good.”
“You!” Qu Shilang was so furious that he laughed. “Arrogant. Ha! You came at just the right time. I can kill you and celebrate Qu Zhao’s capture of Ze’a Prefecture.”
He pointed his blade at Jiang Jin. “Once I chop off your head, I’ll take Ge Feng and the surrounding areas, then slaughter all your people—”
Before he could finish, a childish roar of fury rang out.
“How dare you point a blade at my aunt! I’ll beat the crap out of you!”
A dark shadow flashed before Qu Shilang’s eyes. He had never expected the other party to attack without warning, but his reactions were swift. He raised his blade and blocked the strike.
Clang!
The sharp collision of metal rang out, accompanied by a flicker of sparks.
Qu Shilang’s tiger web went numb. His body reacted faster than his mind, and he quickly changed from holding the blade with one hand to gripping it with both.
The immense force bent his body slightly and sent him staggering backward. He retreated more than three yards before finally managing to stop.
Qu Shilang was shaken to the core.
What incredible strength!
Clang!
Yun Chengxuan brought his blade down again, carrying the force of a thousand pounds.
Blue sparks flew.
Clang!
Before the sparks had even faded, Yun Chengxuan’s blade descended once more, determined to beat the filth out of the man before him.
Clang, clang, clang…
In the space of just a few breaths, the two had already exchanged more than ten blows.
Yu Cheng’s face was filled with horror. This was the first time he had ever seen their Great General of Qu Zhao being completely beaten down.
And his opponent still looked like little more than a child.
Such a commotion had erupted inside the hall, yet not a single soldier outside had come in. Clearly, something had happened. Most likely, they had all been dealt with.
Yu Cheng turned to look at the young woman, whose face was just as youthful. It was this woman who had turned Fengzhou upside down.
Taking half of their territory in Fengzhou had not been enough for her. Now she had come to meddle in Ze’a Prefecture as well.
What exactly did she want? Could she really intend to snatch Ze’a Prefecture from their Great General of Qu Zhao?
Jiang Jin saw that Yun Chengxuan had the upper hand and secretly relaxed. She smiled at Yu Cheng.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon.”
Yu Cheng: “…”
What was he supposed to be worried about?
What would be over soon?
“You came in through a tunnel dug by the prominent families?” he asked despite himself.
Jiang Jin nodded honestly. “Good guess.”
Yu Cheng let out a soft breath. “Were the prominent families of Ze’a Prefecture released by the Jinyang Army?”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “Not a bad idea, but you’ve got the wrong direction.”
Yu Cheng understood at once. The Jinyang Army and the prominent families of Ze’a Prefecture clearly had completely different ways of doing things, which meant their principles were different as well. Naturally, their interests could not align.
Their earlier cooperation had only been temporary.
Since they were not allies, had Jiang Jin really come here believing she could take Feng’an County from Qu Zhao?
Where did she get that confidence?
After all, apart from the tens of thousands of troops Qu Zhao had brought to attack Feng’an County, there were also garrison troops stationed in the other counties of Ze’a Prefecture.
Yu Cheng kept his expression neutral. “You dealt with our people inside and outside the Sheng residence?”
Jiang Jin answered honestly. “We had no choice. Your people were rude. If I didn’t kill them, I couldn’t get inside.”
Yu Cheng: “…”
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that logic.
Jiang Jin looked him up and down. “Are you planning to die, or are you planning to surrender?”
Yu Cheng gave a cold laugh. “It’s not certain that we’ll lose.”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “You’re bound to lose.”
Yu Cheng frowned. “How many men did your Jinyang Army bring? Qu Zhao has tens of thousands of troops. Even if your entire army were deployed, you might not be a match for us.”
Jiang Jin smiled, her tone carrying an infuriating hint of modesty. “You do have more men, but your men are weak. Having too many of them only makes you a burden. They waste food and air.”
“Still, I can offer you some advice. Have all your weakest Qu Zhao soldiers kill themselves. That way, only your elite troops will remain.”
“Of course, considering your soldiers’ abilities, at least eighty percent of them would have to die. And the twenty percent you call elite still wouldn’t come close to matching my Jinyang Army.”
A cold glint flashed through Yu Cheng’s eyes. “As arrogant as ever!”
Jiang Jin did not take offense. She asked again, “Well? Are you planning to die now? I can do it myself. I guarantee it won’t hurt.”
Yu Cheng glanced at the Great General, who had already suffered several cuts and was struggling to hold his own. Anxiety churned within him, but he knew that he could not change the situation alone.
All he could do was stall for time and hope the soldiers in the city noticed that something was wrong.
“If we surrender, can we live?” he asked.
Jiang Jin shook her head. “That depends on how much you’re worth. If your Great Chanyu is willing to pay a high enough price, perhaps you can live.”
Yu Cheng: “…”
When Yao Ji entered, he saw his own lord engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with Qu Zhao’s strategist, while on the other side, the battle raged fiercely, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.
The one fighting with overwhelming force was Yun Chengxuan.
The one sending blood and flesh flying was Qu Shilang.
Yao Ji: “…”
What a bizarre scene.
Jiang Jin looked toward him. “How is it?”
Yao Ji nodded. “The Sheng residence and the Qu Zhao soldiers nearby have all been dealt with.”
“Leave Qu Zhao an escape route through the north gate later. There’s no need to drive them into a corner,” Jiang Jin instructed.
Yao Ji acknowledged the order. “Yes!”
Yu Cheng: “…”
Were they really discussing how to wipe out their people right in front of him? Where was their sense of propriety?
Still, from their conversation, he could tell that the Jinyang Army had indeed brought only a small number of men. Otherwise, they would not have left an open gate.
But when he looked at the Great General, who was being forced back step by step, his heart was filled with shock.
He did not dare imagine what would happen to Qu Zhao if the Great General truly lost.
Although he was confident that, with their numerical advantage, Qu Zhao would not be easily defeated by the Jinyang Army, everything would change if something happened to the Great General…
As though she had only just remembered that Yu Cheng was there, Jiang Jin waved a hand. “Bind him.”
Yu Cheng had intended to struggle a little, but a Dragon Shadow Guard kicked him directly in the chest. He nearly passed out.
By the time he recovered, he had already been tied up like a dumpling.
To the southwest of Feng’an County, dozens of Qu Zhao soldiers were going door to door, capturing people and slaughtering them.
Strangely, however, there was not a single Han Chinese civilian in this area.
The Qu Zhao soldiers sensed that something was wrong, but there were many of them, and the surrounding residents were all Qu Zhao people. They had nothing to fear, so they continued forward.
At last, they spotted several Han Chinese civilians in a courtyard, apparently scrambling to escape.
Smiles spread across the faces of the Qu Zhao soldiers. They charged into the courtyard, howling.
Bang!
The courtyard gate suddenly slammed shut with a tremendous noise.
The Qu Zhao soldiers jumped in fright and turned around. Hiding behind the gate were two Han Chinese soldiers—the same soldiers who had been driven back by them earlier.
Creak.
The sound of another wooden door opening rang out.
The Qu Zhao soldiers turned toward it and saw several soldiers from the prominent families rushing out of the house. Two of them were wounded.
One had an arm wrapped in strips of cloth torn from his clothing, the fabric soaked through with dark-red blood.
The other had a cloth bandage around his lower leg. He leaned against the doorframe, gripping a chipped blade in his hand, his eyes fixed fiercely on the Qu Zhao soldiers in the courtyard.
“Kill!” he shouted, charging forward on tiptoe.
If Qu Zhao had not slaughtered the city, if they had not completely surrounded it, if there had still been even the slightest chance of survival, they might not have stayed behind to fight to the death.
But Qu Zhao had left them no way out, and neither had the noble families. Everyone wanted them dead!
If that was the case, then they would all die together!
The other soldiers in the city were in the same situation. Even the common people rose up in resistance.
Because they had nowhere left to go!
The “commoners” who had hurriedly fled the courtyard earlier also threw themselves at Qu Zhao’s soldiers.
