The soldiers at the north gate had just sounded the war drums, but there was no movement from the patrol guards inside the city or the soldiers in the watchtowers.
Not daring to abandon their posts lightly, they were currently discussing how to handle the situation before them. Even the soldiers guarding the gateway had climbed up to the city tower.
"Captain, give the order. Let's go to the military camp to save them; all our brothers are there."
"No, Captain. I suggest we go to the nearby county town for help. It looks like the enemy has quite a few people. How could the dozen of us possibly save anyone? We'd just be throwing our lives away."
"It's too strange. Where did these people come from? Could the south gate have been breached? Why wasn't there any noise?"
"The south gate breached? Impossible! I suspect it was the doing of the commoners in the city, but do they even have such capable people?"
"Bah, capable people? Those Han people in the city are almost starving to death. They don't even have an ounce of strength left. How could they pull this off?"
"Exactly. Besides, they don't have any weapons. We even confiscated their farming tools. What would they fight us with?"
"Should we send someone to the south gate to check the situation?"
"Are you stupid? If the south gate has been breached, wouldn't going there be walking right into a trap?"
The squad captain's face was dark. "Enough. We have too few people to realistically mount a rescue at the camp. Qu Shan, Qu Hu, the two of you leave the city immediately and seek help from the garrison near Zhou County."
Qu Shan and Qu Hu exchanged a glance and asked, "Captain, are we... walking there?"
Given the current situation, the horse farm must have already been taken by the enemy.
The captain nodded. "It's our only option. The rest of you, stay with me and defend the city to the death..."
Thwack. Before the captain could finish his sentence, an arrow pierced his neck.
Qu Shan met the exact same fate.
The crowd panicked and shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Quick, get inside the tower!"
They couldn't figure out which direction the arrows were coming from, nor did they know how many enemies there were. They could only retreat into the nearby city tower to defend themselves.
However, Jiang Jin and Yun Chengxuan were even faster. The second pair of arrows was fired almost simultaneously, claiming the lives of two more soldiers.
After firing their second arrows, the two quickly charged into the city tower and engaged in close combat with the Quzhao soldiers.
At this moment, noises came from the east wall; Xia Chanyi and the others had finally arrived.
Seeing that the fighting had already started, Xia Chanyi grew anxious. She released an arrow from her bow, taking a life.
Shuangjiang was also anxious. She sprinted forward, determined to take down the Quzhao soldiers!
Through their training along the journey, she had learned horseback riding and archery, but she wasn't exactly proficient. After all, their travel mainly consisted of running, practicing swordplay, and unarmed combat; there hadn't been much time to practice archery.
Besides, archery wasn't something that could be mastered overnight. She still lacked the ability to shoot with precision.
Fortunately, her unarmed combat and swordplay were quite good. Backed by her great physical strength, taking on several ordinary soldiers at once was no problem for her.
The three female soldiers behind her quickly caught up. Their current strength wasn't enough to face the Quzhao soldiers individually, but fighting three-on-one was manageable.
Luo A'man jogged alone in the back. Ever since the night raid began, she had just been tagging along.
She didn't dare to get close to the Quzhao soldiers for fear of being killed. After all, she had only joined the group a couple of days ago and hadn't learned anything yet.
At the same time, she didn't dare to get too close to her own people, afraid she would bring them trouble.
Shuangjiang charged at the very front, swinging her blade at a Quzhao soldier.
The soldier was momentarily stunned when he saw Shuangjiang. She was so short and small that the sword in her hands looked massive, like a child who had stolen an adult's weapon. It looked incredibly bizarre.
In that brief moment of distraction, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and blood spilled out along with his internal organs...
Xia Chanyi put away her bow as she charged fiercely forward, drawing her saber to face a Quzhao soldier.
Clang. Sparks flew. Xia Chanyi swung again, and just as she was about to strike the man dead, she suddenly heard a shout: "Wait!"
Startled, Xia Chanyi hastily halted her momentum, nearly cutting herself with her own blade.
Seeing that she had finally stopped her blade, a flash of joy appeared in Yun Chengxuan's eyes. He stepped forward and brought his sword down.
Pfft. Blood sprayed all over Xia Chanyi's face.
She turned her head numbly to look at Yun Chengxuan, her face full of bewilderment. "What is the meaning of this?"
Yun Chengxuan chuckled. "I was just short by one. Thank you, Lady Xia."
He then looked at Jiang Jin, flashing his bright white teeth. "Auntie, Auntie, exactly ten. Hehe, scared me to death, I thought I wouldn't have enough."
Only then did Xia Chanyi remember the matter of the ten Quzhao soldiers. She ground her teeth. "Yun. Cheng. Xuan!"
She had thought this soldier had some important background, which was why she had hurriedly stopped when Yun Chengxuan yelled "Wait." She hadn't expected this treacherous scoundrel to steal her kill!
Yun Chengxuan beamed with a wide smile and thanked her again. "Thanks!"
Jiang Jin glanced at the furious Xia Chanyi and pursed her lips. "Ahem, Xia Chanyi, you all hold the north gate. I'll go into the city to check the situation."
Without waiting for Xia Chanyi to respond, she hurriedly led Yun Chengxuan down the city tower, afraid that if they walked any slower, Yun Chengxuan would get beaten up by Xia Chanyi.
Watching the aunt and nephew hurry away, Xia Chanyi felt both angry and amused. She turned back and ordered, "Clean up the battlefield. Finish off anyone who needs it."
Hearing the screams echoing through the air, the commoners in the city trembled in fear. Aside from the children, almost no one could sleep.
Ah Le lay in bed, her consciousness somewhat hazy. Long-term starvation had severely impaired her hearing and vision.
But she still heard the miserable howls, as well as the galloping of horse hooves that had rushed past earlier.
Her grandma had already sat up. She could feel her grandma's fear, feeling her body trembling.
She wanted to hug her grandma to tell her not to be afraid, but she had no strength. She struggled to open her eyelids, staring at the pitch-black ceiling.
She thought that perhaps dying like this would be fine. Life was so bitter, why keep living? If dying meant she could be with her grandma and her father, she felt that would be perfectly fine.
A man stood at his doorway, gripping a wooden stick. He knew someone was attacking the city. He didn't know who the attackers were today, nor did he know what ordinary commoners like them would have to face next.
Perhaps it would be another plundering. Both the Jiaoren and the Quzhao people had attacked the city before. He had lost his father, his wife, his youngest son, and his youngest daughter.
Now, he only had his mother and Ah Le left. Was heaven going to take them away too?
Jiang Jin and Yun Chengxuan soon arrived at the military camp. Zhou Sui had already led his men to begin cleaning up the battlefield.
Seeing Jiang Jin approach, joy appeared on his face. "Has the north gate been taken?"
Jiang Jin nodded. "How is the situation on your end?"
Zhou Sui replied, "We are cleaning up the battlefield, tallying the number of enemies killed, as well as the number captured alive."
Jiang Jin looked around and asked, "Do we have any casualties?"
Zhou Sui sighed. "Three soldiers suffered minor injuries. Once things stabilize, I will intensify their training."
The hardest part tonight was actually taking the south gate. As long as that step was successful, Xie Nanxiao and the others could enter the city, and everything after that would be much simpler.
They had moved swiftly. When they reached the barracks, most of the Quzhao soldiers were still groggy and hadn't reacted.
Even with such an advantage, they still had soldiers injured, which showed that their training was insufficient and they lacked combat experience.
Jiang Jin agreed with this point, but she still offered comfort: "The main issue is that the training time has been too short, and there hasn't been much actual combat experience. It will get better with more practice later."
"By the way, send someone to tell Yao Ji and the others to enter the city overnight. Things are about to get busy around here," Jiang Jin added.
The warm morning light slowly crested the horizon, signaling the arrival of a new day at last.
Having worked through the night, Jiang Jin washed up and took her seat at the head of the county office's council hall. She glanced at her pocket watch: 6:02 AM.
Seated below her were Zhou Sui, Yun Ci, Yao Ji, Xie Nanxiao, Xia Chanyi, Luo Qingci, Mu Qing, and the rest. A shared look of thrill and excitement illuminated their faces.
After more than half a month on the run, they had finally found a place to settle. They now had a territory to call their own.
Though small, this was the first city they had snatched back from the barbarians. It belonged to them, and it would serve as their starting point.
Its significance was monumental.
September 11, Year 369. This was a day that would be recorded in the annals of history by future generations.
It was Jiang Jin's first official foray into the fierce struggle among the warring factions, the true beginning of her legendary rise!
