Hua Ruo, covered in blood, led her men through the city once more in search of their next target. When she heard the sounds of fighting coming from a courtyard, she waved her hand. “Go!”
Bang!
Unexpectedly, the courtyard gate was sturdier than it looked. One of the Jinyang Army soldiers put all his strength into kicking it, yet still failed to force it open.
Hua Ruo frowned slightly, then took two steps back. With a running leap, she vaulted onto the two-meter-high courtyard wall.
She jumped down, and almost at the same moment, the twin blades in her hands came slashing down. Blood sprayed through the air.
Bang, bang, bang…
The Jinyang Army soldiers followed her over the wall and leaped into the courtyard, joining the battle.
Before the aristocratic soldiers could even figure out where so many people had come from, the fighting was already over.
“You—you’re the Jinyang Army?” the limping soldier asked in a trembling voice.
He had taken another blade to the abdomen. Dark-red blood dripped from the wound, splashing onto the ground before seeping into the earth.
He had to lean on the hilt of his sword just to remain standing.
The other Han soldiers who were still alive retreated to his side. They stared at Hua Ruo and the others with wary yet hopeful expressions.
Hua Ruo nodded. “That’s right. Are you soldiers of the aristocratic families?”
Only after hearing her confirmation did the aristocratic soldiers secretly relax. Then overwhelming joy surged through them.
“You—you came to save us?”
“That’s right,” Hua Ruo replied. “My lord ordered us to come rescue the soldiers and civilians in the city.”
It was only a simple sentence, yet the men who had been fighting for their lives moments ago felt their noses sting.
The aristocratic families they had fought for had abandoned them, while the Jinyang Army had risked their lives to enter the city and save them!
At last, they were no longer fighting alone, nor were they trapped in a certain-death situation.
They were saved!
Hua Ruo waved her hand. One of the Jinyang Army soldiers immediately took two rolls of gauze and a small bottle of hemostatic powder from his pack.
“Treat your wounds for now. We have to keep moving.”
With the enemy and allies so difficult to distinguish in the current chaos, Jiang Jin had not allowed any physicians to accompany the army into the city. It was simply too dangerous.
However, most of the Jinyang Army soldiers had received training in emergency first aid and carried basic medicines in case of unexpected injuries.
As the Jinyang Army turned to leave, one of the aristocratic soldiers suddenly called out, “I know Feng’an well. I can guide you.”
“And me! I can still help fight.”
“Me too…”
Hua Ruo looked back and saw that, apart from the wounded soldiers, everyone else had gotten to his feet and declared that he could still fight.
A smile touched her eyes. “All right!”
Only three thousand Jinyang Army soldiers had entered the city. Facing Quzhao’s army of tens of thousands while also diverting men to protect the civilians, they were bound to be under tremendous pressure. By joining forces with every available ally, they could capture Feng’an more quickly.
These aristocratic soldiers were familiar with the city’s terrain. They would be an enormous help.
After Hua Ruo and the others left, the limping soldier stared at the corpses of the Quzhao soldiers scattered across the courtyard, as well as the bodies of his comrades. Sorrow spread through his eyes.
“We’re saved?” a wounded soldier asked hoarsely.
The limping soldier took two steps back and leaned against the courtyard wall. One hand pressed against his abdomen, which was still dripping blood, while a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“Probably.”
He lowered his head and looked at the bloodstained ground. It was a pity that he himself would not live to be saved.
He really wanted to see it—to see whether the Jinyang Army could save Feng’an County, and what the county would become under the Jinyang Army’s rule.
Just then, a shadow fell over him.
He looked up to see a comrade with relatively minor injuries approaching with medicine and gauze.
“Your injuries are the worst. Let me treat you first.”
“Hang in there. The Jinyang Army is here—we’re saved. Don’t you want to see what the world will be like under Jinyang Army rule?”
“I’ve heard that the common people under the Jinyang Army live very well. They have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.”
Pfft!
Foxin pierced through the heavy armor and plunged into Qu Shilang’s abdomen.
Qu Shilang spat out a mouthful of blood, yet madness filled his eyes. As Quzhao’s great general, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? To think he would actually lose to a child!
“Great General!” Yu Chengda cried out in panic, his body writhing incessantly despite being bound like a worm.
Ignoring the wound in his abdomen, Qu Shilang retreated rapidly. The saber in his hand swung toward Yun Chengxuan.
Yun Chengxuan pursued him relentlessly, twisting the blade in his grip.
The ugly sounds of metal splitting and flesh tearing rang out. Foxin was like a meat grinder, violently ripping open Qu Shilang’s body and wreaking havoc on his organs.
The unbearable pain forced Qu Shilang to grunt. His vision darkened, and most of the strength left his hands, but the momentum of his saber did not lessen. It continued to descend toward Yun Chengxuan.
Just as the saber was about to strike his neck, Yun Chengxuan tilted his head slightly, barely avoiding the blade. At the same time, he thrust forward with renewed force.
Pfft!
Foxin pierced through Qu Shilang’s abdomen and emerged from his back, dragging out scraps of flesh and viscera.
Qu Shilang spat out another mouthful of blood.
Yun Chengxuan’s gaze was vicious as he swept Foxin to the left.
Whoosh!
Foxin tore through the right side of Qu Shilang’s abdomen, bringing a gush of blood with it.
Qu Shilang staggered back two steps.
His saber struck the floor with a bang. He bent forward slightly and finally managed to steady himself.
Blood poured continuously from his waist and abdomen, splashing onto the floor in blooming crimson flowers.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Yun Chengxuan, then at Jiang Jin and Yao Ji. His face held unwillingness and hatred, along with a trace of fear.
How could such a young commander be so formidable? He had been utterly powerless against him!
Against an army like the Jinyang Army, what could Quzhao possibly use to fight?
Yun Chengxuan was extremely dissatisfied that he had failed to chop the shit out of Qu Shilang. He stepped forward again, preparing to cleave him in two.
“That’s enough,” Jiang Jin said.
Qu Shilang’s waist and abdomen had already been severed nearly in half. His death was only a matter of time.
Yun Chengxuan obeyed at once and did not attack again. He merely flicked the blood from Foxin’s blade.
Qu Shilang’s hand trembled slightly around the hilt of his saber. He glared fiercely at Jiang Jin.
“Who… are you?”
This woman seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. No one knew where she had come from, yet she possessed countless methods and abilities.
In little more than a year, she had seized half of Fengzhou.
Now, she had even taken Feng’an County, which he had only just conquered, into her hands.
There was no need to doubt it. He was certain that after his death, Feng’an County would fall into the hands of the Jinyang Army.
Jiang Jin did not hide the truth. “The sixth daughter of Emperor Yan. My title is Jinyang.”
Confusion flashed through Qu Shilang’s eyes.
The sixth daughter of Emperor Yan?
He had never heard of her. He knew only of the deceased crown prince of Yan and the First Prince of Sizhou.
Jiang Jin had no idea what was going through his mind. With a smile, she offered him a final reassurance.
“You can die now. Don’t worry—I’ll leave a way out for your soldiers. I won’t kill them all.”
Pfft!
Qu Shilang was so enraged that he spat out another mouthful of blood. Already at the end of his strength, he finally could not hold on any longer and collapsed backward.
