The night grew deeper.

There were no stars or moon in the sky, only heavy clouds silently spreading out. In such an open area outside the city, this made one feel increasingly oppressed.

A fully armed troop of soldiers marched swiftly along the official road. No voices could be heard, only footsteps, breathing, and the friction of armor and clothing.

If anyone were to see them, they could determine this was a well-trained force, definitely not some ragtag militia.

They reached the city gate.

The troop stopped. Before them stretched the moat glinting with cold light.

The soldiers on duty patrolling the city tower noticed the anomaly and called out: “Who goes there?”

The leading officer replied: “I am Lei Ming, entering the city by imperial command.”

The defending general on the city tower could make out Grand Commander Lei’s appearance, but his vigilance did not diminish: “Please have Grand Commander Lei present the deployment order.”

Lei Ming displayed the deployment order.

“Please wait where you are, Grand Commander Lei.”

Shortly after, a guard descended along the city wall, swam across the not-too-wide moat, and came before Grand Commander Lei: “Please temporarily hand over the deployment order for our general to examine.”

Soldiers entering the city was a major matter, especially at night, so naturally they could not be careless.

Lei Ming didn’t hesitate and immediately handed over the deployment order.

The guard secured the order, returned, and nimbly climbed up the city wall using a rope for leverage, presenting the order to the defending general.

The defending general accepted the order and examined it carefully, then passed it to another defending general for inspection. Only after the other defending general also nodded did he say: “Lower the bridge, open the city gate.”

The moat bridge slowly lowered, and the ancient, heavy city gate gradually opened.

Lei Ming waved his hand: “Enter the city!”

The orderly formation crossed the moat bridge and passed through the city gate without a sound.

“Please keep this safe, Grand Commander Lei.” The defending general returned the deployment order to Lei Ming, not asking about Lei Ming’s purpose for entering the city.

“You’ve worked hard.” Lei Ming cupped his hands toward the defending general and led the troops forward.

The defending general immediately instructed his subordinates: “Close the city gate, raise the moat bridge.”

The heavy city gate closed again, the moat bridge was also raised, and under the night curtain, the moat rippled with cold waves, as if nothing had happened.

The defending general’s expression wasn’t very good. He sighed softly: “Tonight there will likely be bloodshed.”

The other defending general’s demeanor was equally poor. He lowered his voice: “By my estimate, at least a thousand men.”

This number of soldiers entering the city was enough to stir up a storm of blood.

The defending general shook his head: “We can’t control these matters. Just guard the city gate properly.”

“Yes, just do our duty.”

The force of over a thousand men walked through the empty, silent streets. Even deliberately lightening their steps, it was difficult to avoid making noise.

Fortunately, it was now deep into the night. The myriad household lights had long been extinguished, clusters of residential homes merged with the darkness, fallen into slumber.

A pair of eyes looked out through a wooden door. After the soldiers at the rear of the formation passed by, they hurried to report.

“Grand Commander, they’ve entered the city!”

“Continue watching.”

The person who came to report accepted the command and left. All those waiting looked together at the Grand Commander Luo.

The Grand Commander Luo’s expression was calm: “Don’t panic. We need to wait a bit longer.”

Regarding the Grand Commander Luo’s words, the trusted aides he had brought out naturally had no doubts. Though the concubines usually made a fuss, they also knew to listen to the master during major events.

Luo Yue was young after all and couldn’t help asking softly: “Father, are those people going to our home?”

Looking at his daughter whose eyes flickered with unease, the Grand Commander Luo nodded slightly: “Yes.”

“Then how do we leave the city?”

This was also where everyone was confused.

One city gate, one moat—even if tens of thousands of troops came to attack, it wouldn’t be such an easy matter. Among these people, there were many elderly, weak, women, and children. If they tried to force their way through, there would only be a dead end.

“Just wait.” Facing the pairs of curious eyes, the Grand Commander Luo didn’t explain in detail.

Luo Yue pressed her lips together and didn’t dare ask again.

The Grand Commander Luo clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the pitch-black sky. He sighed inwardly but appeared very composed on the surface.

He was the pillar of this family, so naturally he couldn’t panic.

The night grew even deeper.

The defending general had just lain down to rest when his subordinate came to report movement outside the city again.

The defending general hurriedly threw on his outer robe and walked out cursing.

The spring night breeze was still somewhat cool. Standing on the high city wall, one could feel the spring chill even more. The defending general hunched his neck, widened his eyes to look out, and nearly thought he’d seen wrong.

He rubbed his eyes, and half his drowsiness fled.

How could there be more soldiers again?

“Who goes there?”

Below the city wall, the leading officer was a young man. Hearing the question, he cupped his hands toward the defending general: “I am an officer under Grand Commander Lei, entering the city to provide support according to Grand Commander Lei’s arrangements.”

Lei Ming had led troops into the city not long ago, so the defending general naturally didn’t become suspicious of this. He only asked in confusion: “Why enter the city separately from Grand Commander Lei?”

The young officer replied: “This is tonight’s action plan. The Grand Commander has his reasons for such arrangements, but it’s not convenient to explain to outsiders. I hope the general will understand.”

The defending general nodded and asked again: “Do you have a deployment order?”

“The deployment order is in the Grand Commander’s hands. This is my command token.” The young officer took out his command token and held it high toward the defending general.

In this light, at this distance, one naturally couldn’t see clearly. The defending general, being cautious, still instructed his subordinate to cross the river to retrieve it.

Shortly after, the subordinate who went into the water for the second time returned soaking wet and presented the command token to the defending general.

The defending general accepted it and examined it. Seeing that the design indeed belonged to Grand Commander Lei’s subordinates, his doubts completely vanished, and he instructed his men to open the city gate.

The heavy city gate opened once again.

The young officer suppressed the joy in his eyes and was the first to step onto the moat bridge.

Soon the soldiers filed in, quiet and solemn.

After this troop of soldiers had gone far, the defending general murmured: “Another several hundred men entering the city. Tonight there will really be quite a spectacle to watch.”

The young officer led his troops along the spacious, quiet main street just like the force that had entered the city earlier. However, after turning a corner, they didn’t continue forward but stopped in front of a residential dwelling.

Before the young officer could knock on the door, it creaked open.

The young officer saw the Grand Commander Luo standing inside the door and immediately bowed: “Your son greets his adoptive father!”

The Grand Commander Luo stepped aside: “Come in, part of you first.”

The not-so-large courtyard quickly filled with people.

Luo Yue saw the young officer’s appearance clearly and cried out softly: “It’s Fifth Brother!”

The young officer was none other than the Grand Commander Luo’s adopted son, Yun Dong.

Luo Sheng wasn’t surprised.

Yun Dong was the Grand Commander Luo’s most valued adopted son, yet he hadn’t appeared these past days. She had guessed he was very likely part of arrangements the Grand Commander Luo had made in secret.

Now, Luo Sheng had to admire the Grand Commander Luo’s arrangements.

He hadn’t chosen to flee when soldiers surrounded the Luo residence, but had withdrawn early, seizing the best opportunity when the defending general lowered his guard after Grand Commander Lei led troops into the city, allowing Yun Dong to lead men and infiltrate the city.

Attacking from outside the city inward was difficult, but breaking out from inside the city was much easier. With these men, even if they couldn’t leave the city peacefully, they had the strength to force their way through.

“Is all the armor prepared?” the Grand Commander Luo asked.

“All prepared.” Yun Dong raised his hand to indicate.

The Jinlin Guards in the courtyard wearing the same armor as Lei Ming’s subordinates immediately began removing their clothing.