Chapter 518: The Defenders’ Will, Crushing Force, and the Disappearance of the Yang Clan |
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.
Since the Battle of Hongmen in the eighth year of Great Xia, when Xia Hong defeated Yang Zun and ascended to the throne as the strongest in the Southern Foothills, his fame had spread completely throughout all the towns of the Southern Foothills.
For the past four years, Xia Hong had no further public records of taking action. Even the people of Great Xia themselves did not understand his true strength, let alone outsiders.
However, even so, Xia Hong's prestige as the number one expert of the Southern Foothills was not affected in the slightest. In fact, because he never acted lightly and never made public appearances, it even increased his own mystique. While it made people curious about his strength, it also deepened the wariness the northern towns felt towards him.
The facts proved that the wariness of the northern towns was not mistaken in the slightest!
In last night's great battle at Baimu City, Xia Hong, who took action again after four years, first beheaded Army Commander Yang Jian with the force of a thunderbolt, then nearly killed Yang Zun. If it weren't for Town Lord Yang Fa and five other Sun Manifestation Level experts desperately coming to his rescue, Yang Zun most likely would not have escaped back to the town city in the end.
Although Yang Zun ultimately escaped back successfully, Yang Fa and those five Sun Manifestation Level experts all fell into the hands of Great Xia. To this day, it's unclear whether they are alive or dead.
Mo Haiwen had broken through to the Sun Manifestation Level for almost four years now. Unfortunately, during the Battle of Hongmen four years ago, he happened to be present at the time, so his impression of Xia Hong was exceptionally profound.
Therefore, when he looked up and saw Xia Hong holding a long saber in the sky above, his pupils immediately revealed a trace of despair. Yu Dongxin, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, also instantly had a look of defeat on his face, not much better off.
"Shut up!"
Xia Hong, interrupted angrily, stiffened slightly. He looked down at Mo Haiwen below, a flicker of killing intent passing through his pupils.
"I, Mo, have received the Lord Leader's grace for generations. How could I commit the act of betraying my master and joining the enemy? Brothers, the time has come to repay the Lord Leader. Hold off the Xia troops, we absolutely cannot let them breach the city gate..."
"Even if we die today, we must take a bite of flesh from the Xia troops. The Lord Leader's injuries will recover soon. Brothers, follow me and kill..."
Mo Haiwen and Yu Dongxin, with their two roars one after the other, actually managed to stir up the fighting spirit of all the Beishuo defending soldiers on the city wall above.
"The Lord Leader's grace is difficult to repay even with nine deaths. What is there to fear from mere Xia troops?"
"Brothers, the city gate hasn't been breached. We still have hope. Push the Xia troops back down, charge..."
"The Lord Leader's injuries will be healed soon. Don't be afraid, kill..."
"Our Beishuo has lasted over a hundred years. How could it be overthrown by Great Xia? Brothers, follow me and charge. There are less than five hundred Xia troops on the wall. If we unite our efforts, we can definitely repel them. Charge!"
………………
The eastern wall of Beishuo City was only fifteen meters wide, but it was long enough. Mo Haiwen and Yu Dongxin clearly had sufficient confidence in the city gate, so they stationed roughly five to six thousand people on the wall.
The several thousand people were not frightened by Xia Hong's appearance. Instead, incited by Mo and Yu, they suddenly erupted with ferocity, roaring as they charged towards the several hundred Xia troops on the eastern outer section.
Naturally, several thousand people couldn't all swarm forward at once. But with the crowd's fervor, the densely packed, noisy human tide almost instantly forced the several hundred Xia troops into a corner, actually suppressing them for a moment.
"Stubborn and unyielding!"
Seeing the actions of the Beishuo defenders, Xia Hong felt a slight surge of anger. Seeing that the Xia troops on the scaling ladders couldn't come up because there was no space on the wall, he finally stopped holding back. Drawing the Dragon Sparrow Saber from his waist, he abruptly descended from mid-air, landing directly at the position of Mo Haiwen and Yu Dongxin.
Hum…………
Before Xia Hong even landed on the wall, the surrounding temperature suddenly rose. That was the phenomenon caused by the full activation of skeletal energy.
"Be careful!"
Seeing the saber blade descending from above, Mo Haiwen had no intention of taking it head-on. He immediately shouted a warning to Yu Dongxin, then the two of them rapidly retreated left and right.
However, they were not only inferior to Xia Hong in strength, but also in speed.
Clang…………
The Dragon Sparrow Saber was already exaggeratedly long. As Xia Hong's body descended, he held the long saber horizontally in his right hand, so the slash was a horizontal downward chop. The air current, pulled by the blade with immense force, condensed into a hundred-meter-long silver saber blade that suddenly slashed down.
Mo and Yu, being the first in line, realized they couldn't dodge when the blade was upon them, and both raised their weapons to block.
Unfortunately, whether in weapons or strength, they were far, far inferior to Xia Hong.
Crack…………
The weapons in their hands shattered with the sound. Although their bodies narrowly avoided the blade itself, they couldn't escape that gigantic saber blade.
Boom…………
The saber blade spread out from the center to both sides. The two had no power to fight back at all and were directly blasted away for dozens of meters. Their armor was also shattered along the way. One left, one right, they knocked down at least dozens of defending soldiers.
Not just knocked down. The force of Xia Hong's slash was too strong. The impact force with which the two were sent flying by the blade was extremely terrifying. On the left and right front rows, at least a dozen soldiers were directly turned into bloody mist, dying on the spot.
If two Sun Manifestation Level experts were like this, the soldiers sent flying by the blade further back need not be mentioned.
Xia Hong's saber blade was a full hundred meters long, already exceeding the width of the wall. The soldiers scattered to both sides of the blade numbered at least two to three hundred. The subsequent shockwave overturned several hundred more.
With this one slash, the wall originally filled with Beishuo defenders directly became a vacuum zone over ten meters wide with no one in it.
Of course, it wasn't just devoid of people. The wall, which had remained intact despite the Xia army's assault for so long, also gained a two-meter-deep trench. Below the trench, the forging patterns of the Hundred-Forged Grade iron slurry casting were clearly visible.
"Gulp…………"
Whether it was the Beishuo defenders who had just erupted with ferocity, or the several hundred Great Xia elites who had just charged onto the wall, they first looked at the trench on the wall, then looked up at Xia Hong in mid-air. Their pupils were instantly filled with terror.
After the terror, the emotions of the two sides became completely different.
On the faces of the Beishuo defenders, thick despair rose once more.
The Xia troops, however, had flushed faces, excited expressions, and raging flames instantly ignited in their pupils. Looking up at the Beishuo defenders ahead, all of them seemed as if pumped with adrenaline, roaring as they charged forward to kill again.
"Make room for the brothers behind, kill!"
"Even Yang Zun is scared into hiding. You vermin think you can block the advance of our Great Xia army?"
"Kill all these Beishuo dogs!"
………………
Bang!
As if to coordinate with the second wave of counterattack from the Xia troops above, a tremendous noise suddenly came from below the wall.
That was clearly the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground!
Yue Feng, Liu Yuan, and Xiao Kangcheng, who had already fought their way to the middle section of the wall, heard the sound and their expressions all suddenly perked up.
"The city gate is breached! The fall of Beishuo is today!"
"Brothers, charge!"
"Brothers of the Dragon Garrison Captain, protect the Divine Machine Crossbows, break through their army formation!"
………………
The city gate was breached!
"Hahahaha, Beishuo's doomsday has arrived..."
Liu Yuan slashed apart three Beishuo defenders in front of him with one saber. Looking at the vast Beishuo town city before him, his emotions surging, he let out a fierce shout and directly leaped up, flying to the western edge of the wall.
Looking at the slanted ladders on the inner side of the wall, and the Beishuo defenders continuously coming up, his pupils were full of killing intent. Gripping his saber with both hands, he abruptly descended to the entrance of the slanted ladders.
After half an hour of fierce fighting, the Ten-Thousand-Forged silver armor on Liu Yuan's body actually already had many cracks. But his cultivation was high enough; even if some blades and weapons struck his body, he could rely on his skin membrane and flesh to withstand it.
At worst, there were the bones deeper down!
The Beishuo defenders had no way to deal with him, and could only rely on a desperate spirit to continuously assault him, trying to force him back from the slanted ladder entrance.
Unfortunately, no matter how many came, they could only end up as souls under his blade.
Only a few dozen breaths after landing at the slanted ladder entrance, the armor on Liu Yuan's body, which was originally only half red, was instantly dyed completely red. That fresh red blood was partly his own, but mostly sprayed out from Beishuo soldiers.
One man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot open it!
These eight words were most fitting to describe Liu Yuan at this moment.
But it must be said, the defensive will of the Beishuo soldiers was truly firm.
With hundreds and thousands of people desperately assaulting, Liu Yuan ultimately retreated. Seeing that his saber-wielding arms clearly showed signs of exhaustion, several Beishuo officers roared as they charged forward, actually managing to clamp down on his arms together.
With his arms locked, Liu Yuan's face darkened. Seeing more soldiers pouncing towards his legs, realizing the enemy wanted to completely lock him down, his pupils narrowed slightly. Just as he was about to kick off the ground and rise into the air—
"Liu Yuan, no need to retreat. Everyone's here!"
It was Yue Feng's voice.
Liu Yuan turned his head to look, and his face instantly filled with joy.
It turned out that during these few dozen breaths he was blocking the slanted ladder entrance, Yue Feng and Xiao Kangcheng had already led several hundred Great Xia elites to almost completely clear a section of the wall.
No, at this moment, over a thousand Xia troops had already climbed onto the wall.
The frontmost Xia soldiers were less than two or three meters away from him.
Bang…………
Xiao Kangcheng sent several Beishuo soldiers behind Liu Yuan flying with one saber slash. The wall was completely cleared. The Xia soldiers directly linked up with Liu Yuan.
"Hahahaha, we've secured the wall! Brothers, split into two groups and clear the Beishuo dogs from the wall! No one can come up from the slanted ladders here anymore!"
Liu Yuan's words made Xiao Kangcheng, who had just arrived, pause. He hurriedly looked down towards the city below, and a smile also appeared on his face.
"Kill…………"
The city gate was breached. The Xia troops outside the main gate were already flooding in like a tide.
Those attacking the eastern gate were all Great Xia elites. Their average cultivation was already superior to the Beishuo defenders, and the quality of their war armor and weapons far surpassed the enemy's, plus the enhancement of the Golden Body Pills.
Using "breaking through enemy defenses like a hot knife through butter" to describe the current battle scene at the city gate was already far insufficient. "Crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood" was more fitting.
The twenty Divine Machine Crossbows protected by the Dragon Garrison Captain were already set up less than ten meters outside the city gate. The two thousand soldiers operating the Divine Machine Crossbows specifically targeted the flanks of the Xia army's advance to fire. The zhang-long silver crossbow bolts transformed into streaks of silver light pouncing on the Beishuo defenders. Under the pressure of dozens of Jun of immense force, the defenders were as fragile as paper, with dead and wounded everywhere. In less than a dozen breaths, they retreated dozens of meters.
The flag officers plunged like sharp knives deep into the defenders' ranks. Seeing dozens of flag officers being surrounded and attacked, Yue Feng directly jumped down from the wall to help them hold the army flags.
Once the army flags were planted, the Xia troops flooding in from the city gate had a main direction of attack.
Instantly, the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens.
Bang... Bang…………
Suddenly, two enormous commotions exploded from the wall, followed closely by Xia Hong's slightly angry questioning voice.
"Lay down your weapons and surrender. This Lord Leader can spare your lives. If you continue to stubbornly resist, the post-war reckoning won't be so lenient!"
Xia Hong's loud voice clearly reached the ears of every Beishuo defender on the battlefield. They turned their heads to look at the position on the wall where the sounds came from, their pupils all slightly narrowing.
On the wall above, a long, narrow saber was nailed into it, skewering two corpses like kebabs. Those two corpses were none other than Mo Haiwen and Yu Dongxin.
Xia Hong looked at the two corpses, a flicker of anger passing over his face.
In a normal battle, even if Mo and Yu joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for him in a single exchange. The problem was these two were also clever enough, always hiding within the crowd of defenders on the wall, not rising into the air to fight him.
In those few dozen breaths just now, he had killed at least three to four hundred defenders before finally succeeding in killing the two of them.
The resistance will of the Beishuo defenders made him appreciate them, but also genuinely angered him somewhat.
If both sides were evenly matched, that would be one thing. But this was clearly a situation where they were bound to lose. These Beishuo soldiers, relying solely on their fervent loyalty to Yang Zun, stubbornly defended for over half an hour.
"Brothers, don't be afraid. The Lord Leader won't abandon us. Keep holding off the Xia dogs. Hold out until the Lord Leader comes, and we can win!"
"Block the Xia dogs. Killing one breaks even, killing two is profit. Even if we die, we must block them!"
"There are no surrendering Beishuo people. Brothers, kill!"
………………
Xia Hong's attempt to persuade surrender still didn't work!
As dozens of Beishuo officers roared loudly, the vast majority of Beishuo soldiers behind the city gate, as if pumped with adrenaline again, reorganized their resistance.
Of course, not everyone was like this.
There were also Beishuo soldiers who laid down their weapons and surrendered. But compared to those trying to continue resisting, their numbers were minuscule. Xia Hong roughly estimated it was less than a hundred people.
"Since you seek death, then I'll fulfill your loyalty..."
Xia Hong took a slight breath, a cold glint flashing through his pupils. He ordered in a deep voice to those below: "Yue Feng, Liu Yuan, Xiao Kangcheng, continue leading the troops to charge and kill. From this moment on, anyone wearing armor or holding a weapon, regardless of gender, age, or youth, will be considered an enemy soldier. Show no mercy!"
Show no mercy...
Even though the battlefield was currently filled with the sounds of slaughter, completely chaotic and noisy, the chill conveyed by Xia Hong's final four words still clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I surrender... I surrender..."
Thud...
"Traitor! A few words scared you?"
"Beishuo men would rather die standing than live kneeling. We absolutely will not surrender to Great Xia! Brothers!"
"Xia dogs, you wish..."
Thud!
Seeing that there were still officers among the Beishuo defenders constantly speaking out to incite, Xia Hong didn't waste any more words. He swiftly swept to the wall, picked up a long sword, and directly threw it at those few people shouting loudly.
His strength, capable of dozens of Jun, was something mere Warmth Realm cultivators could block. The long sword struck the ground, creating a five to six meter sword crater, directly taking the lives of dozens of Beishuo soldiers, including those few Beishuo officers who were inciting others.
Xia Hong said no more. He pulled the Dragon Sparrow Saber out of the wall, letting the corpses of Mo and Yu fall to the ground. Pointing towards the direction of Beishuo City's interior, he shouted fiercely: "Kill..."
"Charge!"
"Slaughter all the Beishuo dogs!"
"Kill..."
………………
The final wave of the charge finally began.
In less than a hundred breaths, the twenty Divine Machine Crossbows, under the escort of the Dragon Garrison Captain, also crossed the city gate and entered directly into the city, assisting the front-line Xia troops in continuing to crush the Beishuo defenders' lines.
"A siege battle, yet the casualties are minuscule. This Golden Body Pill can be considered a divine-grade item. It's a pity the quantity is limited. If there were enough, the three town cities of Wuchuan, Jinshan, and Yangju could probably be taken with a flick of the finger..."
Xia Hong roughly scanned the battlefield. Seeing the casualty situation of the Xia army, his pupils were filled with excitement.
Coincidentally, two voices came from above again at this moment.
"The southern gate is breached! Why not quickly surrender?"
"The northern gate is breached! Why do you still not surrender?"
Xia Hong naturally recognized these as the voices of Xia Chuan and Mu Longhe. Before he even looked up, the two quickly flew towards him.
"Eldest Brother, I just asked a few surrendered soldiers. Before dawn, Yang Zun summoned all Yang Clan blood relatives to the Lord's great hall. It looks like he's preparing to perform some sinister sorcery or secret technique..."
"I know!"
Xia Hong directly waved his hand, looked up towards the Lord's great hall in the west, and sneered before continuing to ask: "Have the six Sun Manifestation Level experts from Chencang all appeared?"
"Two at the northern gate, both from Chencang. I killed one."
"Two Sun Manifestation Level experts at the southern gate, also people from Chencang. This subordinate failed to kill them. I beg the Lord Leader for forgiveness."
Hearing Mu Longhe's plea for forgiveness, Xia Hong waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
Including Yang Zun, there were twelve Sun Manifestation Level experts in the city originally. Six were from Chencang. Not counting Chu Xuanling, who lost both arms, there were only five left. Four actually came out to defend the city.
In contrast, of the five from Beishuo, only Mo Haiwen and Yu Dongxin, the two Sun Manifestation Level experts with different surnames, were mobilized.
"Yang Rong, Yang Ying, Yang Cang—the three Sun Manifestation Level experts from Beishuo who didn't appear are all Yang Clan blood relatives. They must be cooperating with Yang Zun in some sinister sorcery or secret technique. Separate a portion of people to seal off the western gate. The rest continue to clear out the remaining troops in the city. No one is to approach the Lord's great hall. I'll go take a look..."
Hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression tightened, and he immediately prepared to speak out to dissuade him.
But Xia Hong didn't give him a chance to speak. As soon as the words fell, he directly flew towards the direction of the Lord's great hall.