At first glance, Wei Yuan had given him the power to choose between two options, but in truth there was no choice at all. There was no way he could go back to reinforce Qianlong City.
Xu Pingfeng’s thinking was very clear. Compared with the elite troops of Yunzhou, if Qianlong City was lost, then so be it. It was a pity, certainly, but the elite army was what mattered most.
Once he had made his choice and abandoned Qianlong City, there were two roads before him.
The first was to cover the Yunzhou army’s retreat back to Yongzhou or Qingzhou, turning from the offensive to the defensive, letting the Great Feng come to attack cities and seize strongholds while the Yunzhou army defended the cities.
The advantage of this strategy was that the Great Feng, now having suffered grievous losses, would most likely not have the strength to retake Yongzhou and Qingzhou. They would probably choose to recuperate and fight again after the autumn harvest.
But in terms of beyond-mortal combat strength, Yunzhou would then fall into the same predicament the Great Feng had previously faced, and defeat would be inevitable.
Moreover, whether Agaruka Bodhisattva and Baidi, who were now in the northern frontier, could withdraw unscathed under the siege of the Great Feng’s beyond-mortal experts was still unknown.
If Agaruka Bodhisattva and Baidi were to be slain in a crushing defeat at this moment, then retreating to Qingzhou would only mean waiting for death.
The second option was to capture the capital at all costs, support Ji Xuan in claiming the throne, and then take the opportunity to forcibly break through to the Master of Heaven’s Mandate realm.
At present, he had only refined the fortune of Yunzhou, Qingzhou, and Yongzhou. The fortune of three provinces was not enough to produce a Master of Heaven’s Mandate.
But if the capital of the Great Feng was added, if he captured the capital, slew the Emperor, and supported Ji Xuan’s enthronement, then he would have a chance to break through to Master of Heaven’s Mandate.
If a Master of Heaven’s Mandate who had refined the whole Central Plains was considered the peak of first rank, then a forcibly advanced Master of Heaven’s Mandate like himself would probably only be at the initial stage.
In truth, there was no choice. He could only stake everything on one throw. There was no road left to retreat along.
Amid the drumbeats, Xu Pingfeng brought his palms together, then violently pulled them apart, drawing out one palm-sized little flag after another. The flags were of many colours, black, white, red, azure, yellow, and more.
He had prepared for this siege battle for twenty years. He had considered every detail, so how could he possibly have overlooked the capital’s defensive grand formation?
Each of these little flags had a different formation inscribed upon it, and every single flag represented one flaw in the city’s defensive formation.
“Ding ding…”
Two small flags shot out. The tails of their staffs were sharp, and they easily embedded themselves into the city wall.
Crack!
The corresponding section of wall split apart, and cracks spread like a spiderweb.
The protective formation shrouding the city wall instantly weakened by several degrees.
Buzz!
From the space at Xu Pingfeng’s side, a vast sabre qi that twisted the air burst forth and, swift as lightning, cleaved him in two.
The white-robed figure appeared over a hundred feet away like a dream bubble, then flung out another two small flags.
Thunk thunk!
Amid the sound of steel nails piercing the wall, the little flags embedded themselves in the bricks and stone, splitting the wall and destroying the formation in the corresponding area.
That sabre intent which annihilated everything could not catch up with the white-robed Arcanist who could teleport at will, so it immediately changed strategy and slashed towards the dense black mass of the Yunzhou army.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort sounded from Xu Pingfeng’s nostrils.
Kou Yangzhou was taking advantage of the fact that the Yunzhou army had no grand formation protecting it. Under normal circumstances, beyond-mortal experts were relatively restrained and rarely struck at ordinary soldiers. This mutually destructive style of fighting did no one any good.
Only when driven to the end of the road, when one side was about to be finished, would they disregard everything and start slaughtering ordinary armoured soldiers.
Before the final moment, everyone believed they could still win, and so they were unwilling to use such mutually destructive methods.
But now, the capital had the defensive grand formation protecting it. As long as the formation stood, it could not be taken, whereas the Yunzhou army had no such protection.
That gave Kou Yangzhou the confidence to fight in a “mutual destruction” style even before reaching a dead end.
Xu Pingfeng decisively gave up on breaking the formation and teleported back to the Yunzhou army formation, blocking the sabre qi. One hand stretched out flat, palm facing forward, propping up layer after layer of dim earth-element defensive formations. As the sabre qi shattered the successive formations, he raised his other hand and lightly wiped across the air.
The terrifying sabre qi that twisted the air seemed to lose its support and slowly “went out”.
In that instant just now, Xu Pingfeng had screened off the “sabre qi”, causing Kou Yangzhou to forget for a moment that he had unleashed sabre intent. Since sabre qi had no physical form and was the condensation of its master’s will, once Kou Yangzhou forgot it, he naturally had no power to sustain it.
In full view of the crowd, the art of screening off Heaven’s secrets would lose effect the moment it took hold, but that instant of concealment was enough against sabre intent, which had no physical body.
After neutralising the sabre intent of a second-rank martial artist, Xu Pingfeng flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending the small flags flying out. They vanished one after another, then appeared by the wall in the next moment, nailing themselves into the masonry and breaking the formations in the corresponding areas.
He had turned teleportation into an art.
How could a crude martial artist who only knew brute force destruction possibly stop him from breaking the formation?
Amid the repeated thunks, the formation shrouding the capital could no longer hold out and collapsed with a crash.
Xu Pingfeng’s figure appeared high in the air. He joined the thumbs and forefingers of both hands together, framing the city wall below within them.
Twelve circular flame formations layered over one another, stacking together as the power of the fire spirit gathered frenziedly.
Buzz!
With a tremor of qi, a dazzling pillar of fire descended from the sky, as if to burn the Great Feng soldiers on the city wall into ashes.
Sun Xuanji raised twelve dim circular formations with both hands towards the sky. The section of wall beneath his feet rapidly turned to sand, and a wave of earth surged up into the sky, colliding head-on with the descending pillar of fire.
Earth beats fire!
The Sitianjian’s second disciple and third disciple completed the first exchange of moves.
Boom boom boom!
The drums thundered as the Yunzhou army carried siege equipment and launched their charge. Just as they neared the city wall, killing intent suddenly erupted from the ground. Explosions rang out without end. The charging soldiers had not even understood what had happened before their bodies were blasted into pieces and sent spinning through the air.
Some of the soldiers at the side who had been lucky enough not to die were splashed by white phosphorus thrown up by the underground explosions. At once, raging flames engulfed them. No matter how they tried to beat them out, the fire would not die, and they were burned alive into skeletons.
Song Qing’s landmines dealt a painful blow to the soldiers attacking the city.
…
Yunzhou, Qianlong City.
Blood dyed armour red. Nangong Qianrou stood on the mountaintop, sabre in hand, overlooking the city where smoke of war rose in plumes. Usually feminine in bearing, he now carried a rare additional streak of iron-blooded martial valour.
Everywhere there were fleeing figures. The common people screamed and ran in panic with their heads in their hands. Yesterday, they had still been dreaming of becoming noble citizens of the capital.
Today, they were butchered and died miserably beneath the enemy’s blades.
The five thousand armoured soldiers in Qianlong City, led by the experts within the city, had fought bitterly for an hour before gradually being overwhelmed and turning to street fighting.
By this point, the main force had already been wiped out by the Great Feng’s heavy infantry. Only a few remnants remained, relying on the terrain to resist stubbornly.
Behind Nangong Qianrou lay rows of corpses, all dressed in splendid finery. They were the imperial clan from the line of five hundred years ago. After five centuries of multiplying and thriving, the population of this branch was extremely large. In the great courtyard on the mountaintop alone, there had been several hundred members of the Ji clan.
He had had no intention of leaving survivors, and had issued the order to kill without mercy.
This was the dignity Nangong Qianrou left for the imperial clan. Otherwise, men aside, those delicate golden branches and jade leaves would have had no escape from becoming playthings.
The armoured soldiers had spent five months in that abandoned military town. Every one of them was starved of pleasure. To them, even a sow would have started to look fair and fine-featured.
At that moment, a general in bloodstained armour strode out of the courtyard, came behind Nangong Qianrou, and cupped his fists.
“Gold Gong Nangong, the brothers found two female family members in the cellar.”
Nangong Qianrou said flatly:
“Just kill them. Why report it?”
The general’s expression turned strange.
“Sh—she claims to be Silver Gong Xu’s birth mother.”
At those words, Nangong Qianrou’s brows lifted. He had already learned of Xu Qi’an’s background from Emperor Huaiqing’s chief guard.
After Xu Pingfeng had formally stepped onto the stage, the lords of court had all recalled this figure, and naturally they had learned of his relationship with Xu Qi’an.
This matter was no secret among the upper ranks of officialdom, but the ministers had, through unspoken agreement, sealed off the news and forbidden anyone from spreading word of the connection between Xu Qi’an and Xu Pingfeng.
They were certainly not trying to preserve the Xu family’s reputation. It was simply that Xu Qi’an’s prestige was too important to the court, and could not be allowed the slightest stain.
As a close minister of the Son of Heaven, the chief guard belonged to the upper echelon. That very night, he had told Nangong Qianrou everything in full detail without omitting a single point.
When Nangong Qianrou had learned of Xu Qi’an’s identity, he had felt gleeful schadenfreude on one hand, while on the other thinking the lad was truly pitiful beyond words.
“Kill her.”
He gave the order in an indifferent tone.
Parents worse than pigs and dogs, what use was there in keeping them alive?
“Yes, sir!”
The general cupped his fist, accepted the order, and withdrew. He had only taken two steps when Nangong Qianrou called him back and changed his mind.
“Bring her here.”
After thinking it over, Nangong Qianrou felt it was not appropriate to overstep in this matter. Better to take her back and let Xu Qi’an deal with it himself. That way, he could also earn some favour.
Not long after, two armoured soldiers escorted two women over. Nangong Qianrou automatically ignored the maid and examined the well-featured, graceful woman. She was fairly calm, without panic or fear.
Her steps were light as she walked, clearly showing she had some cultivation.
Of course, that “some” was only in comparison with ordinary people.
“You are Xu Qi’an’s birth mother?” Nangong Qianrou asked coldly.
The richly dressed woman looked around and asked:
“Where is my child?”
Her voice was gentle and soft, carrying the composed steadiness of a noblewoman, neither servile nor overbearing, unhurried and calm.
The maidservant, on the other hand, trembled with fear, her little face deathly pale.
“So eager to die?” Nangong Qianrou laughed.
He assumed that, with disaster bearing down on her, this woman wanted to find Xu Qi’an and play the family card, hoping to escape this calamity.
But from what Nangong Qianrou knew of Xu Qi’an, although the lad was not exactly ruthless, he was decisive in killing. This blood-is-thicker-than-water card would most likely be useless.
The woman’s eyes dimmed. She drew a breath and asked again:
“How goes the war in the Central Plains? Did Xu Pingfeng lose?”
Nangong Qianrou said flatly:
“I do not know whether he lost or not, but you are certainly doomed. When you decided to treat him as a discarded pawn all those years ago, did you ever think this day would come?”
The woman gave a bitter smile.
“My big brother and the clan regret it beyond words. As for Xu Pingfeng, judging by what I know of him, he probably wants to kill me.”
Nangong Qianrou scrutinised her.
“Kill you?”
But the woman said no more.
At that moment, a figure shot up from the foot of the mountain and slammed down beside Nangong Qianrou with a boom. It was Yang Yan, carrying a silver spear.
Expression hard and cold as if carved from stone, Yang Yan glanced at the corpses behind Nangong Qianrou, then at the beautiful woman, and finally at Nangong Qianrou.
The two had served at Wei Yuan’s side for many years and had long since developed tacit understanding. Nangong Qianrou read the look in his eyes and said:
“We did not find the Qianlong City Lord. He is most likely in Baidi City. Since Xu Pingfeng still has not returned, that means he has abandoned Yunzhou. Once we finish clearing out the forces here, we will kill our way to Baidi City.”
After charging onto the mountaintop, Nangong Qianrou had only captured a group of royal clansmen and had not found the city lord who had proclaimed himself Emperor.
Still, he was not too disappointed. It would have been stranger if the other party did not have life-saving means such as a teleportation jade talisman.
Yang Yan gave a slight nod.
“No need to worry about him.”
The decapitation mission was not just about beheading that city lord. It was about wiping out the rebel headquarters in one sweep.
Once the headquarters was levelled, even if the city lord lived, he would not amount to much.
Yang Yan said:
“Kill all the experts and armoured soldiers in the city, then disperse the common people and raze this place to the ground.”
After Nangong Qianrou nodded, he looked at the beautiful woman again.
“Why has this woman not been killed?”
“She is Xu Qi’an’s birth mother,” Nangong Qianrou explained.
Yang Yan understood at once.
…
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The muskets spat flames, bowstrings cracked like thunder, and bullets and arrows cut down wave after wave of enemy troops trying to break through the line.
On the streets of the outer city, sandbags and piled-up debris had been made into defensive works, blocking cavalry charges. Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng led the Nightwatchers and fifty yudao guards, hiding behind the fortifications.
Ahead of them lay the bodies of outer-city commoners and enemy soldiers.
They had already repelled the third wave of attack. Their arrows and bullets were almost exhausted.
Zhu Guangxiao leaned towards Song Tingfeng and said in a deep voice:
“We’re nearly out of arrows and bullets. At most we can hold off one more wave. After that we’ll have to fight these rebels for our lives.”
“What fight for our lives? What fight for our lives?” Song Tingfeng turned and spat in his face, cursing:
“Pig brain. If you fight like that, ten lives would not be enough. Once the arrows and bullets are gone, of course we retreat. Duke Wei set up nine lines of defence in the outer city. We fight as we fall back, that is all.”
The city wall was only the first line of defence. Behind it was the outer city, and behind the outer city was still the wall of the inner city. Even if the rebels pushed into the inner city, they would still have to face the even more tightly defended imperial city.
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were responsible for the second line of defence in the southern part of the outer city. Of the capital’s four gates, only the southern gate had fallen at present, and the rebels were pouring in.
Just… very unlucky!
Although Song Tingfeng had never read military texts, he was quick-witted. He did not panic just because the city gate had fallen. The capital had enough strategic depth, with line after line of defence. They could absolutely wear down the Yunzhou army.
He utterly disdained the stubborn way of fighting used by people like Zhu Guangxiao, the sort who believed that if the tower stood, they stood, and if the tower fell, they died.
On the battlefield, the most important thing was never killing the enemy, but surviving.
…
The Imperial Palace.
In the underground palace beneath the Western Garden, the imperial harem’s consorts and the female relatives of officials had been settled into this shelter.
It was sixty feet beneath the ground and had been furnished with magical artefacts that concealed their aura. Even a high-rank Arcanist would find it hard to detect anything unusual here in a short time.
Auntie was just like the other women, frightened like a quail, her face pale, her beautiful features full of terror and unease.
Xu Lingyue sat silently beside her mother, holding her hand and comforting her.
“Mum, don’t be scared. We’ll be alright.”
Auntie had never weathered storms in her life. She was only an ordinary woman, so how could she not be afraid?
“The rebels have already reached the capital. They may break into the palace at any moment.” The more Auntie thought about it, the more frightened she became.
Mu Nanzhi waved a hand.
“Hasn’t Wei Yuan come back to life? With him here, they won’t lose.”
Her face was calm as she said:
“Besides, the capital is full of experts, and it’s huge. It won’t be easy for the rebels to fight their way into the palace. Mm, even if we really are in danger, half of that danger will probably come from Xu Pingfeng.”
Auntie thought to herself that bastard is the coldest and most heartless of all, specifically going after his own kin. Looks like I’m doomed today.
“Where is Ningyan? Is Ningyan in the capital?” Auntie grabbed her daughter’s hand and said,
“If Ningyan comes, then mum won’t be afraid.”
The consorts and officials’ female relatives nearby all brightened a little at those words, and for no reason they felt much more at ease.
In their secluded chambers, they had long been used to hearing tales of Xu Qi’an. He was the man who, with one person and one sabre, had wiped out the Church of the Warlock God army of three hundred thousand.
He was the Great Feng’s number one expert of the present age, the pillar that upheld the state.
With him here, no matter how ferocious the rebels were, sooner or later they would be crushed.
On a tall tower, Huaiqing, dressed in dragon robes, gazed into the distance. She could vaguely make out Kou Yangzhou and Xu Pingfeng chasing and battling each other in the sky. The jade talisman in her hand had not loosened for even a moment.
From where she stood, she could not actually hear the cannon fire from beyond the city, but she knew fierce fighting was taking place there.
Duke Wei had said that the Yunzhou rebels advanced with the force of the first charge, weakened on the second, and were spent by the third.
The moment the rebels broke into the city would be the moment the Great Feng shut the gates and cut off retreat. It was just that the price would be unimaginably heavy.
Huaiqing turned sideways and looked towards the northern frontier.
Today was the final day of the tribulation-crossing battle. She was waiting for Xu Qi’an.
The rise or fall of the Great Feng depended on him.
…
For the time being, the rebels still had not managed to break into the inner city. Even in the outer city, only the southern district had fallen.
The capital’s twelve guards, the imperial troops, the Nightwatchers and other forces were fighting street battles and guerrilla skirmishes against the rebels. No winner would be decided in the short term.
But panic was spreading among the common people.
They could not see the overall situation and knew nothing of strategic analysis. The most direct impression they had was that the rebels were attacking the capital, and from the thunder of cannon fire, perhaps they had already broken into the city.
This threw the common folk of the streets and markets into panic.
The Great Feng had stood for six hundred years. Apart from that one time when Wuzong purged the court, the capital had never suffered the calamity of war.
In fact, most common people did not even know that piece of history about Wuzong purging the court. Even if they did, it was still something from several hundred years ago.
They had been born in the capital and grown old in the capital. In their memory, the most dangerous battle had been the Battle of Shanhai Pass, and the Great Feng had won that one too.
So the capital’s people were proud. The prouder they were, the more intense their fear became when that confidence shattered.
A few days earlier, when the court had ordered defensive preparations and the whole capital had entered a wartime state, they had already begun to worry. From the look of it, the Yunzhou rebels might well fight their way into the capital.
And sure enough, they had come.
The streets of the inner city were empty. Rank upon rank of soldiers patrolled the streets on alert, enforcing a curfew. No commoner was allowed to leave home without permission.
This decree effectively prevented unrest caused by civilian panic.
It was impossible to commit all of the capital’s troops to the front line. Some had to be left behind to maintain order.
If these two or three million commoners were left unmanaged and trouble broke out, the destruction and consequences would certainly be far worse than anything the rebels could cause.
“The rebels really are about to break through.”
“I am starting to think that great victory at Xunzhou City was a lie. Silver Gong Xu did not beat Yunzhou at all.”
“Yes, if he had won, how could the rebels have reached the capital?”
“What do we do? What do we do?”
“Dad, do not be afraid. Silver Gong Xu will drive the enemy back.”
“Silly child, ah…!”
In household after household, people shut their doors and talked in fear and anxiety.
They longed for the court to end the war quickly, while privately cursing the court for being foolish and incompetent.
The children, on the other hand, were simple and pure. They believed that Silver Gong Xu would drive off the enemy, and they were full of confidence.
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