It was indeed a young general, as he had seen. Yu He did not seem to care. Raising the iron ax in his hand, he pointed it at Yun Chengxuan. “Boy, state your name.”
Yun Chengxuan charged straight at him. “I’m the Dung-Splitting General! Just watch me split your shit right out of you!”
Yu He was unfamiliar with the fighting style of the Jinyang Army. He had assumed that before a duel, the opposing generals would exchange a few words and threats, trying to overwhelm each other with sheer presence.
Instead, his opponent had completely disregarded convention, charging at him without a word and insulting him at the same time.
Yu He’s face flushed with anger, but as a veteran general, he quickly regained his composure. He drove his heels into his horse’s flanks and charged at Yun Chengxuan. “You little brat, you’re looking to die!”
There was no suspense in this duel.
Foxin was long and heavy. When Yu He’s iron ax struck it, sparks flew, but Foxin pierced straight through Yu He’s abdomen with irresistible force.
Yu He spat out a mouthful of blood in disbelief. In that instant, he saw the disdain in the young man’s eyes.
Yun Chengxuan had run Foxin through Yu He’s waist and abdomen. With a powerful thrust, he lifted Yu He’s entire body into the air, then flung him away.
Blood sprayed through the air. Yu He went flying several yards before crashing heavily to the ground, sending dust billowing everywhere.
The Grand Chanyu’s pupils contracted. He finally understood why Qu Shilang had been killed. With such terrifying combat prowess, who could possibly stand against him?!
The city wall was packed with people, yet at that moment, not a single voice could be heard.
The Jinyang Army’s strength was truly horrifying!
Even the Jiao Army seemed to forget how to react, their minds completely blank.
Their great general had been knocked from his horse in less than one exchange?!
Before they could recover from their shock, another gust of wind tore through the air.
A black speck seemed to be approaching from afar. It grew larger and larger.
Then came a deafening boom, and the earth itself trembled.
A massive boulder slammed into the city wall, crushing an entire formation of Qu Zhao soldiers into pulp.
Boulders rained down from the sky, smashing into the city wall, the watchtower, the gates…
At almost the same time, several giant treadle arrows were fired like bolts of lightning toward the enormous iron chains holding up the drawbridge.
Clang, clang, clang…
Several huge arrows struck the same spot on the chains. Amid the grating shriek of metal, the chains finally gave way.
With a resounding crash, the massive chains fell to the ground, sending dust surging into the air.
In front of the watchtower, the Grand Chanyu was splattered with blood. Looking at the shield-bearing soldiers ahead of him who had been crushed into bloody mush by the boulders, he felt a chill run through his entire body. Throwing back his head, he screamed, “Raise the drawbridge! Close the gates!”
At last, he understood why the Jinyang Army had challenged them to a duel between generals this time.
The soldiers inside the watchtower reacted quickly and hurried to operate the drawbridge mechanism.
One of them pulled with all his strength, nearly falling over. When he saw that the mechanism could be raised with practically no resistance, his face turned pale.
“The chains… They’re broken?”
Then he suddenly shouted, “The chains are broken! We can’t raise the drawbridge!”
The soldiers trying to close the gates were even more desperate. Several huge boulders had blocked the gate passage, and no matter how hard they pushed, the rocks did not budge an inch.
After flinging Yu He away, Yun Chengxuan spurred his horse and charged toward the gates.
The soldiers on Qu Zhao’s walls had been stunned by the first wave of boulders, but they soon recovered and hastily formed ranks. Shield-bearers moved to the front while archers took position behind them, preparing to draw their bows and fire at the young Jinyang general racing below the wall.
However, the Jinyang Army’s crossbowmen had been ready for this, and they were faster. Arrows rained down in a dark, sweeping mass over Yun Chengxuan’s head and struck the soldiers on the wall. Screams rang out.
A smile spread across Jiang Jin’s face. The Great Demon King pointed forward.
“Kill!”
The soldiers surged out like a tide, like countless galloping horses, rushing toward Wuqin City.
Thud, thud, thud.
Arrows pierced shield after shield, killing one Qu Zhao soldier after another…
Under the cover of the crossbowmen, the Jinyang Army charged toward Wuqin City with hardly any resistance.
Meng Su was frantic. “Grand Chanyu, the Jinyang Army came prepared. The drawbridge can’t be raised, and the gates can’t be closed. What are we supposed to do?”
The Grand Chanyu knocked away an incoming arrow, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes. “Kill them! I refuse to believe the Jinyang Army can really break through.”
“Have the Jiao Army join the battle. Their general was killed by the Jinyang Army with a single blow.”
He did not need to give the order. After witnessing Yu He’s death, the Jiao Army had already recovered from their shock. They went mad with rage and charged toward the gates, determined to cut down the Jinyang young general and avenge their commander.
This was Zhou Leng’s first time witnessing the Jinyang Army’s method of attacking a city. He was completely dumbfounded. It had overturned everything he thought he knew about warfare. Only after a long moment did he sigh.
“Your repeating crossbows are incredible!”
He had known that the Jinyang Army was powerful, but he had never imagined that it could be this formidable. The densely packed Qu Zhao soldiers on the walls had been beaten so badly that they could not even form proper ranks.
Dong Si’s face shone with pride. “They’re our repeating crossbows. Our lord invented them.”
Boom!
Yun Chengxuan crossed the drawbridge and charged toward the Qu Zhao soldiers who were still shouting, “One, two, three!” as they tried to push the boulders aside. Wherever Foxin passed, blood sprayed like rain.
In less than two breaths, several Qu Zhao soldiers had been torn apart.
The Qu Zhao soldiers were terrified by such a brutal fighting style. Blades shattered against it, and people were cleaved apart just as easily—truly broken into several pieces.
At that moment, the Jiao Army charged over with a roar.
“Brat, prepare to die!”
Yun Chengxuan’s face was covered in blood, and he grinned wildly.
“Perfect timing! I’ll split you all into shit!”
With his own strength, he faced the endless stream of Jiao soldiers pouring out through the gates.
The Qu Zhao soldiers who had been ordered to close the gates were on the verge of tears. The boulders had not yet been moved, and now there were countless corpses piled on top of them. There was no way the gates could be closed anymore!
Just then, Shuangjiang, Nan Wen, Yun Yu, Hua Ruo, and the others reached the gates and joined the battle.
At the rear of the Jinyang Army, Jiang Jin and Zhou Sui directed the stone-throwers, treadle arrows, and repeating crossbows as they rained destruction upon the city walls.
Under such a powerful assault, Qu Zhao was barely able to organize any counterattack.
Before their formations could even take shape, they were smashed to pieces by boulders and torn apart by arrows.
The Grand Chanyu, Meng Su, and the others had already retreated into the watchtower.
Looking at the ever-growing piles of corpses along the city wall and listening to the screams echoing all around them, Meng Su’s face went white.
“Grand Chanyu, we must retreat!”
The Grand Chanyu’s expression was dark. “Where can we retreat to? Where can we go?”
Chang Gai roared, “We cannot retreat!”
Meng Su closed his eyes. “The Jinyang Army didn’t use treadle arrows to climb the walls this time. That clearly means they intend to bombard our soldiers without restraint, with no need to worry about anything else.”
“It seems that their goal this time is to annihilate our forces. Taking the city is only secondary.”
Chang Gai stared at him in astonishment. He had wondered why the Jinyang Army used treadle arrows to build ‘ladders’ whenever it attacked a city, yet had not done so this time. So this was the reason—they wanted to destroy their soldiers without any concerns.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Qu Zhao had only three cities left. Against the Jinyang Army’s divine weapons, it was only a matter of time before the cities fell.
So the Jinyang Army was in no hurry. As long as it exhausted their forces, the cities would naturally fall into its hands.
Meng Su continued, “Our drawbridge is down, and the gates are open. Wuqin won’t hold for much longer.”
His heart was filled with despair. The Jinyang Army was the most elite force he had ever seen, and the most calculating. There was no one else who came close.
It had divine weapons, brave and powerful generals, and elite soldiers.
But none of those things compared to the Jinyang Army’s schemes!
Qu Zhao had fought against the Jinyang Army before and knew how powerful it was. When insulted, they could still grit their teeth and endure it.
But the proud and arrogant Jiao Army could not.
Qu Zhao and the Jiao army were willing to “take a little loss,” which was why Yu He challenged them to a duel outside the city.
And the Jinyang Army had been waiting for them to come out.
It could be said that the Jinyang Army had seen straight through both Qu Zhao and the Jiao army. Everything had gone according to their calculations.
During the duel between generals, they had voluntarily lowered the drawbridge and thrown the city gates wide open for the Jinyang Army!
Looking back on it now, the Jinyang Army’s record of victory in every battle seemed to rely entirely on the might of their divine weapon—but how much of it was not also the result of their meticulous planning?
