Ren Xiong emerged from the thin mist wearing heavy armor. Each of his steps was enormously heavy, splashing rotten muddy water. Each step was taken extremely steadily. Coming to a position beyond the range of the eight-ox crossbows, he planted his horse-cutting saber in the ground. His magnificent form in the freezing rain was like a demon god descending to the world.

“Yang Wanchun, come out! This general’s blade does not strike nameless nobodies!”

Hearing Ren Xiong’s bellowing voice, Li Daozong laughed despite himself. Reining in his horse, he asked Zhang Shigui beside him: “This officer is quite imposing, but is Marquis Yun planning to engage in single combat with the Goguryeo people?”

“This old man has never seen single combat before. If Marquis Yun can provoke Yang Wanchun into battle, this old man would very much like to see how they conduct single combat. However, in this old man’s view, Marquis Yun’s intention doesn’t lie in this. He’s probably just buying time for those two trenches. After all, with that drainage channel in the middle, the other two trenches should have little water in them. Placing gunpowder should be very convenient.”

Zhang Shigui soothed his prized horse beneath him and spoke indifferently to Li Daozong.

Li’er, however, was looking left and right, seemingly searching for someone. When Duan Hong wanted to ask, Li’er smiled and stopped his inquiry, fixing his eyes on the area before the city wall with a smile, saying nothing.

The city wall continuously hurled down boulders and poured down bucket after bucket of oil. The entire wall’s edge was wreathed in black smoke with roaring flames. Beneath the iron shields, suddenly great heaps of muddy sand were thrown up, covering the burning shields. The mud and sand quickly extinguished the flames. The clanging sounds of chiseling the wall continued to come.

Ren Xiong walked step by step toward the city wall. Dense arrows struck his armor, yet he remained fearless. One hand wearing an iron finger guard blocked his face. One foot crushed the head of a dead Goguryeo soldier as he continued roaring: “Where is Yang Wanchun? Let your grandfather see you, so when the time comes to chop off heads, at least I won’t chop the wrong one!”

Ren Xiong, who came from bandit origins, had dreamed his whole life of establishing merit and achievements, receiving a title and having his wife ennobled and children provided for. Now with this excellent opportunity before him, how could he miss it? From behind, he retrieved a broken and battered skull, grasped it in his hand and said loudly: “Yang Wanchun! Want to see your son one more time? Hahaha, here he is!” After speaking, he swung the skull by its hair and hurled it far against the city wall. The entire head immediately shattered upon impact, brains splattering everywhere.

“Yun Ye! You wicked thief! This old man will surely devour your flesh and blood alive! If you have the capability, come attack the city!” The voice from atop the wall had barely fallen when the eight-ox crossbows on Yun Ye’s side almost loosed ten thousand arrows simultaneously, instantly covering the area where the voice had come from.

After one volley of crossbow bolts, the voice from the city wall transmitted again: “Despicable wretch, wounding people with hidden arrows! Yun Ye, this old man is here!” As soon as he finished speaking, naturally another volley of crossbow bolts covered the area.

This game continued throughout. Yun Ye seemed to be locked in contest with the so-called Yang Wanchun. The mobile eight-ox crossbows with wheels were gradually led by that voice to deviate from the frontal battlefield.

“This is warfare, not child’s play. How can Yun Ye act so emotionally? With the eight-ox crossbows diverted, how can we mount a strong attack?” Many generals simultaneously harbored this question in their hearts. Such purposeless attacks were completely wasting expensive crossbow bolts.

Li’er smiled without speaking. Li Ji looked thoughtful. Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda closed their eyes to rest, paying no attention to the generals’ whispered discussions. Duan Hong was also continuously observing the battlefield. Suddenly his body stiffened. Involuntarily, he drove his warhorse forward one step, imperceptibly blocking Li’er’s right front.

A flag rose atop the walls. A white-haired and bearded old general stood on the wall with a deputy general, saying loudly: “That brat Yun Ye is as stupid as a pig! This old man used a small trick and played you in the palm of my hand! This old man Yang Wanchun is right here! My excellent head is here—who can take it?”

The gaunt middle-aged deputy general also laughed hoarsely at the top of his lungs, pointing at Yun Ye beneath the commander’s flag with an elated manner, seemingly very contemptuous of Yun Ye’s petty tricks.

“Yang Wanchun should die now!” Following Li’er’s light words, a towering figure suddenly appeared from a mud pit not far from the city wall. Having just barely stood firm, he pulled the trigger of the powerful crossbow in his hands. Three faint shadows all entered the deputy general’s body. That figure immediately threw down the crossbow, hefted the corpse of a nearby Goguryeo soldier onto his back, and ran back.

Li Ji wasn’t concerned about the life or death of that soldier running back, but rather asked Cheng Yaojin suspiciously: “Why did that person attack the deputy general and not Yang Wanchun?”

Cheng Yaojin glanced at Li Ji and said: “Have you seen Yang Wanchun?”

Li Ji shook his head thoughtfully, then immediately gave his deputy general the order to prepare for attack. Because Cheng Yaojin didn’t need to explain—the old general atop the walls, holding the deputy general, was so shocked he didn’t know what to say. If he were Yang Wanchun, at this moment he should first hide himself behind the battlements—that would be logical. Seeing how he valued the deputy general’s life more than his own, Li Ji understood that the deputy general must be Yang Wanchun.

Cheng Yaojin turned back and swept the generals behind him with a contemptuous gaze, saying: “A bunch of fools! Remember this: when you think the enemy is a fool, it’s very possible you’ve already become a damned fool yourself!”

“Old Cheng, it’s not like you designed Yang Wanchun’s death. What are you being so arrogant about? That little bastard Yun Ye—his schemes are both devious and vicious! Yang Wanchun wanted to devour him? Never thought he’d be swallowed whole by Yun Ye instead.”

While everyone was talking, the eight-ox crossbow formations that had run far away returned. The soldiers in the trenches also flew out of the trenches like startled rabbits. The gunpowder had been ignited.

Only at this moment did Xue Rengui, his nose and mouth bruised and swollen, run back. The corpse on his back was bristling with arrows. If he hadn’t been frantically running in a zigzag pattern as Yun Ye had instructed, he would have already perished beneath the Goguryeo people’s eight-ox crossbows.

Duan Hong handed two balls of snow-white cotton to Li’er. Li’er pouted and shook his head. He had a peculiarity—he liked hearing such ear-splitting booms. How could someone who even liked thunder sounds give up such a moment of enjoyment?

The city wall seemed to jump up. Some Goguryeo suicide soldiers who had hurriedly descended all seemed to grow wings and fly into midair. The sound wasn’t loud—it was very muffled. The shockwave produced by the explosion made breathing impossible for an instant.

The warhorses emitted continuous neighs of distress, constantly stamping in place. The trembling ground made them feel extremely uncomfortable. Seeing rubble fall not far in front of the horses, Li’er sighed and said: “The city is breached!”

Without waiting for the dust to be suppressed by the freezing rain, Yun Ye’s vanguard was already rapidly advancing. Lai Chuanfeng and Yang Yueli took the lead, drilling into the smoke-filled area. When they reappeared, they were already inside the city. The tall city wall had become rubble scattered throughout Ansi City. A squad of Goguryeo soldiers lay quietly in the pile of rocks. Whether injured or alive, all seemed to be resigning themselves to fate. A Goguryeo soldier with a broken leg crawling through the stone crevices saw Tang troops entering and howled once, then picked up a stone and threw it over. He hadn’t forgotten—the Emperor of the Great Tang had long ago said that not a blade of grass would remain in Ansi City.

Eager for merit, Lai Chuanfeng, Yang Yueming, Ren Xiong, and Xue Rengui—who had just eaten something before changing into battle armor—split into four routes, racing wildly along Ansi City’s only four streets.

The marine corps was born for narrow battlefields. Six men per squad, wielding their powerful crossbows and advancing in alternating cover. At first Xue Rengui charged ahead most boldly, but he quickly discovered that squad after squad of marine soldiers killed no fewer people than he did, and far more efficiently. Wiping the rainwater from his face, he brandished his crescent-blade halberd and pressed toward the city’s tallest structure—the City Lord’s residence. Perhaps there he would find the merit he desired.

The Goguryeo people’s resistance was resolute. Regardless of gender or age, all were carrying out desperate resistance. Yun Ye entered the city through the breach. Beneath his feet was entirely sticky blood-mud. When the gunpowder exploded, there must have been many people here. The breach over ten feet wide was sufficient to let the black-armored Xuanjia Army pour in like a tide.

Yun Ye knew why they were entering. Li’er had been insulted. Now they were here to avenge Li’er. This city could not possibly have any living people left. Liu Jinbao and Gou Zi helped Yun Ye to a doorway to shelter from the rain. During combat, there was no cloak to block the rain. Rainwater drilled through the armor seams, chilling to the bone marrow. The Marquis was unwell—they absolutely couldn’t let him get cold.

“Gou Zi, blow the horn. Our mission is complete. Now we should withdraw. Better not to stain our hands with civilians’ blood if we can avoid it. We don’t need to claim merit with civilian heads.”

Gou Zi acknowledged and stood in the rain, blowing the horn with woo-woo-woo sounds. This was the emergency assembly call. Soldiers who heard it and didn’t arrive within five drum beats would be beheaded.

Lai Chuanfeng also found the slaughter very boring. He had just spared a little brat, but who knew this brat would immediately give him a stone in return. Just as he was considering whether to cut him down, he heard the horn sound. After hesitating, he spat and turned to leave. That boy, scared until both excrement and urine flowed, sat on the ground holding a stone, at a complete loss.

Xue Rengui was killing with great satisfaction when he suddenly discovered he was the only person left on the battlefield. The others were all rapidly withdrawing from the battlefield. They provided alternating cover when advancing, and did the same when retreating, causing those Goguryeo people who thought the Tang army was routed to suffer heavy casualties.

Xue Rengui chuckled. This bout of fighting had just loosened his stiff muscles and bones. Right now was the time to establish merit and achievements. So what if only this old man remained? Swinging his crescent-blade halberd, he impaled a stubborn old man and heavily hurled his body toward the crowd. The Emperor said not a blade of grass would remain in Ansi City, so he just needed to kill people—who cared who he killed?

Ren Xiong had just smashed open the treasury. After one glance, he withdrew. Inside was empty—not a single coin. Cursing his bad luck, he planned to split open other doors to look. Faintly hearing the horn sound, he listened carefully, then dragged his horse-cutting saber back. Not arriving within five drum beats meant beheading—this rule couldn’t be violated.

When Yun Ye bent down his last finger, the sound of the entire formation reporting came. Not bad—none had died in battle. All one thousand two hundred men had returned. Although quite a few were wounded, being alive was good enough.

“Hahaha, Marquis Yun! Truly heroes emerge from youth! We elders attacked furiously for over half a year without recourse, yet Marquis Yun took Ansi City in three days, washing away His Majesty’s humiliation. Truly remarkable! This old man admires you!”

Li Daozong’s sinister voice rang in Yun Ye’s ears.