And the existence of Yue Pengwu was like a flag, a superb mockery of the majesty of the entire Chen Kingdom Royal Family; thus, it was more beneficial for Ying Country that Yue Pengwu and his men were alive.
Even more so, Ji Yanzhong felt that with the spirit of the Emperor of Ying, he would treat Yue Pengwu with great courtesy, willing to humbly forge a friendship, thus stepping on the face of Chen Dingye and establishing his own reputation for valuing and loving his generals. With such a reputation, all great generals of the world would be willing to devote their lives to him.
Ji Yanzhong thought that this army had already passed what was, up to now, the most difficult hurdle.
When had the world last seen such tumultuous waves?
The elderly man with white hair sighed. Quickly, a flurry of arrows rose in the distance. The arrows exploded in the air and turned into big clusters of glimmering light, signifying that Yue Qianfeng and the others had successfully escaped. Ji Yanzhong turned to look inside the city walls.
The city of Zhenbei, unlike Jiangzhou City and Guan Yi City, had a curfew at night and wasn’t as bustling.
Therefore, the clear sound of the elite border troops of Zhenbei City rushing towards the City Lord Mansion, weapons in hand, resonated distinctly, dull like thunder. The wind suddenly picked up fiercely, sweeping across the sky as Ji Yanzhong’s sleeves billowed.
He saw Xue Zhaoji, who had been rescued by Li Guanyi, ignoring his own wounds. After confirming that Yue Qianfeng and the others had left successfully, the old man, clad in blood-stained robes and tormented for three days, personally fired the signal arrow.
The force was so great that his not yet healed wounds burst open, and blood flowed out.
But ignoring his wounds, he simply stared wide-eyed as his signal arrow shot up into the sky, paused at a great height, then exploded violently, once more taking on the auspicious form of the Qilin. The firelight was brilliant, and after a moment of brightness, it fell like rain, sliding down towards the ground below.
Bit by bit, the streaming light tore through the night, cascading over the city.
The Zhenbei City garrison soldiers rushing to the City Lord Mansion looked up, as did Chen Chengbi and Tu Shengyuan, who were in the midst of battle, along with those four Grandmasters, the anxious Lord Tong in his heart, Yuwen Hua who was retreating from the front, and even Yuwen Tianxian.
Nangong Wumeng sitting leisurely on the corpse of a Guest Elder, manipulating a short sword in his hand.
All saw the falling stars above.
This night, perhaps they had failed...
A thought unbidden came to the depths of Yuwen Tianxian’s mind. He was a general experienced in a hundred battles; he could feel the faint yet constant trembling of the ground. This tremor did not come from an earthquake or the turning of a dragon beneath the earth but from the galloping of Heavy Cavalry.
The Yue Family Army had already broken free from the battle line; they had failed to hold them back.
The appearance of Chen Chengbi and the combined effort of the four Grandmasters would likely be impacted as well.
The attempt to sway Lord Tong had also ended in failure.
It was precisely because of these many failures that it became necessary to seize the final key! The three hundred elite Heavy Cavalry left by Yuwen Lie stayed outside the city wall, while Yuwen Tianxian currently commanded the private army of the City Lord Mansion.
Even the private army of the City Lord Mansion, under his command, was demonstrating capabilities beyond their usual ability; the roads leading out were all sealed off, and the remaining hundreds of men, all operating Carriage Crossbows, had driven the carriages of the City Lord Mansion over.
The City Lord Mansion lived a life of luxury, and the materials of their carriages were very solid.
Yuwen Tianxian, using the outer shafts of the carriages as a perimeter, enclosed the attic where Li Guanyi was currently located. Outside the carriages, he scattered Poisoned Iron Rhombus.
Then he set up large crossbow mounts in the second line, all with steel spikes facing outward.
Atop these, he positioned the Shixuan Machine Crossbows, connected by ropes to the mechanism. If someone touched the ropes, the crossbow mechanism would spin and fire, making it difficult, even for highly skilled martial artists, to avoid, and beyond these, arrayed around the perimeter were Bell Pillars, to act as alarms. Further beyond that, he positioned five hundred crossbowmen.
Infantry and vehicles coordinated together.
At close range, they primarily relied on mechanisms, followed by support from crossbowmen.
This was a battle formation on the battlefield that advanced steadily and reliably.
Yuwen Tianxian directly changed into armor; lifting his Treasure Weapon in his hand, his features were not particularly handsome, but at this moment, they revealed a steadiness and a coldness that younger generals like Ye Buyi and Yuwen Hua did not possess:
"Use Fire Arrows and Fierce Crossbow Arrows, pour Kerosene over them, and directly bombard this entire area."
Lord Tong’s face turned pale, "This, General Yuwen, if we do this, won’t it be taking things too far? If the garrison commander of Zhenbei City discovers it, wouldn’t I be doomed?"
Yuwen Tianxian said coldly, "Lord, what you were doing was always a matter of losing your head."
"How can you stand firm in this world without paying a sufficient price?"
"You want benefits, yet also safety - this is an era of great conflict in the world, where heroes risk their lives in battle, competing for fame and success. Where is there a chance for someone like you, sitting there, holding beauties, drinking and enjoying yourself, to be granted a Duke’s title?!"
"Do you take us all for fools?!"
Tong Zhicai’s face turned pale, and Yuwen Tianxian, with a wave of his hand, flung the City Lord aside.
With a spear in his right hand, he raised his left hand upwards, pointing directly at the sky.
Inside the room, Li Guanyi finished the last egg. He exhaled a breath as his blood surged within him, his Inner Qi erupting.
These Exotic Beasts seemed to have some special effect.
Li Guanyi felt that his hearing and vision were enhanced, his veins throbbing with power that seemed to have swelled more than usual.
These creatures could well be what is described in texts like the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," where eating them leads to this and that effect. Li Guanyi looked at the Qilin and said, "How about it?"