Even so, as more and more death warriors continuously swarmed the city walls, the battle situation became increasingly out of control.
Li Ping still brandished his battle saber, chopping relentlessly, his movements mechanical yet sharp.
With a crisp clang—after slaying an unknown number of enemies, his saber finally gave way and snapped.
This was immediately followed by wave after wave of frenzied attacks from the death warriors.
"General!"
The Vice Commander (deputy general) shouted, attempting to rush forward to protect Li Ping, but was ambushed from behind by another death warrior climbing the city wall, a sharp blade piercing his chest.
Scalding hot blood splattered on Li Ping's face, and he jolted, as if awakening from a dream.
This wasn't a battle; it was a meaningless slaughter.
"Retreat! All troops, retreat!"
He roared hoarsely, but it was too late.
More and more death warriors scaled the city walls, and the defenders were harvested like wheat in a field, one after another.
A disfigured death warrior was run through the chest by a long spear, but he used the momentum to lunge at the spear-wielding soldier, biting off his throat with his teeth.
The city had fallen into chaos; the lurking death warriors coordinated perfectly with the enemy outside the city, and the defenders were attacked from front and rear, retreating steadily.
The streets were piled high with severed limbs and bodies, blood gathered into streams, flowing into the moat and staining the water a dark red.
Li Ping, with his remaining dozen personal guards, retreated to the top of the city tower.
Looking at the death warriors closing in, he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter:
"Come on! You demons!"
He gripped the broken half of his saber, attempting to swing it again, but he was already exhausted.
Before he could strike, he was pierced by a death warrior who lunged at him.
Watching the blood gush from his chest, he laughed:
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Using his last ounce of strength, he swung his saber, slaying the enemy in front of him, and slowly collapsed amidst his laughter.
Judong City was declared lost.
Yun Fei stood atop the city wall, looking down at the city stained red with blood, his expression still calm.
Liu Ming approached quickly, reporting in a low voice:
"My Lord, Judong City has fallen. The city has ample provisions, enough to sustain our army for two months."
Yun Fei nodded and said, "Issue the order: the entire army will rest for a quarter of an hour, then depart immediately and head straight for Chang'an."
A flicker of excitement flashed in Liu Ming's eyes: "My Lord, according to scout reports, the imperial court has dispatched Yang Ye, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to lead thirty thousand elite troops north to reinforce Jubei City. Chang'an's defending forces are greatly reduced, and most of its masters have been transferred away."
Yun Fei's lips curved slightly, his tone calm yet with a hint of anticipation:
"Very good."
He slowly turned, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if piercing through the rolling mountains, directly to that majestic and solemn imperial capital.
"Chang'an, it's time for a new master."
...Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming, who was defending Jubei City, stood atop the city tower at this moment, holding a battle report, his face grim.
The losses in this battle were heavy—a full fifty thousand soldiers killed, and another thirty thousand with light to severe injuries.
The price paid to capture this city was simply too great.
He personally checked the casualty figures, his hands trembling involuntarily.
He wasn't grieving for the fallen soldiers, but rather worried that once his Lord learned of such heavy losses, he might not escape punishment, or even death.
What was infuriating was that defending general, who used every trick and set up numerous traps.
Several times he caused Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming to lose thousands of troops, and if it weren't for their superior numbers, overwhelming the city walls with a human wave tactic, this battle would have dragged on indefinitely.
"Report—"
Just then, a scout rushed in with an urgent report, making the already frustrated Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming even more irritable.
"Reporting, Marshal, we found tens of thousands of enemy troops behind the city!"
"Further ahead, there are three figures—an old man soaring through the air, a middle-aged knight galloping on horseback, and a monster, neither man nor beast, charging through, unstoppable."
"These three are exceptionally powerful."
"Just the three of them combined have already slain over three thousand of our troops."
"And they are advancing towards our positions at an astonishing speed."
...One day later.
Outside Chang'an City, seven hundred thousand troops loomed like a dark cloud, silent yet exuding a suffocating pressure that made the defenders on the city walls weak in the knees, barely able to stand.
Yun Fei and Liu Ming were hidden ten li behind the main army, not showing themselves in a prominent position, to prevent the enemy from launching a decapitation strike.
"My Lord, the army is ready, we can launch the attack now."
Liu Ming said in a low voice, a fervent Battle Intent in his eyes.
Yun Fei nodded slightly.
Due to the great distance, he couldn't clearly see the battle situation ahead, but the ten-zhang high city walls and the roaring moat were enough to make one feel the enemy's formidable stronghold.
But he did not hesitate.
"Attack!"
With Yun Fei's command, the battlefield suddenly erupted.
Seven hundred thousand black-clad death warriors surged like a dark cloud, rushing towards Chang'an City in a mighty torrent.
The deafening sound of their footsteps made the very earth tremble, and fine dust continuously fell from the cracks in the city wall bricks.
On the city tower, Zhao Bing, the deputy commander of the remaining Imperial Guards, had a face ashen as paper.
He already understood in his heart that they had fallen into the enemy's trap.
Although the news from Jubei City was of uncertain veracity, this massive army directly assaulting Chang'an was an undeniable fact.
He gripped the long spear in his hand, his knuckles white from the excessive force.
His gaze fell upon the dense, tide-like enemy forces surging outside the city, and his throat felt as if an invisible hand was strangling it.
The forward checkpoints, facing such overwhelming numbers, could barely offer a moment's resistance before being completely swallowed by the human tide.
In the blink of an eye, the enemy had advanced to the foot of the city walls.
"Loose arrows! Fire all flaming arrows!"
He commanded hoarsely, his voice raw and urgent.
Immediately, a rain of arrows poured down from the city walls; oil-soaked arrows streaked across the sky, leaving crimson trails as they fell into the enemy ranks.
But the death warriors had already soaked their wooden shields and siege engines in water; the arrows could not ignite, rendering the fire attack ineffective.
"Throw stones! Release the trebuchets!"
Giant stones crashed down with a whistling sound, pulverizing the enemies in the front ranks into a bloody mess.
However, the death warriors behind them did not flinch, stepping over the bodies of their comrades to continue their charge, their footsteps firm as iron.
By the moat, the death warriors threw huge logs into the swift current, quickly constructing pontoon bridges.
Even more, some sacrificed themselves, leaping into the water, paving the way for their comrades with their flesh and blood.
"Prepare the golden liquid!"
Zhao Bing shouted with all his might.
Scalding hot excrement was poured down from the city walls; several death warriors climbing the ladders were drenched, their skin instantly festering.
But they merely swayed slightly, then continued to climb, as if pain held no meaning for them.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the southwest corner of the city wall.
Zhao Bing spun around, his pupils contracting sharply.
Unbeknownst to him, dozens of death warriors in hemp clothing had already appeared inside the city wall, brandishing their sabers and slaying the defenders.
"How is this possible..."
Zhao Bing felt a chill run down his spine.
These death warriors had actually infiltrated the city earlier, lurking among them!
"Kill!"
With a thunderous roar, more and more death warriors scaled the city walls.
Zhao Bing drew his sword and fought, personally slaying dozens of enemy soldiers.
After slaying an unknown number of people, his sword blade was already bent, its sharpness completely gone.
"Commander, be careful!"
The personal guard's startled cry had just sounded when Zhao Bing felt a bone-chilling coldness from behind—
A blade had already pierced his body.
He looked down, only to see the blood-stained tip of a blade protruding from his chest.
At the same time.
In the Golden Imperial Hall deep within the Imperial City, the young emperor Zhao Yuanbao slumped powerlessly on the Dragon Throne, a symbol of supreme authority.
The shouts of battle from afar grew clearer, as if the footsteps of death were steadily approaching.
His face was ashen, devoid of Life Qi.
"Your Majesty, please leave quickly!"
The old eunuch beside him knelt on the ground, pleading with a choked voice,
"The secret passage leading out of the city is ready!"
Zhao Yuanbao's expression was blank; he slowly shook his head, his voice low and powerless:
"All under heaven is my territory,
Where else can I flee?"
Before his words finished, a sudden sound of orderly footsteps, shaking the heart, came from outside the hall.
Immediately after, the heavy hall doors were slowly pushed open, and hundreds of black-clad death warriors surged into the hall like a tide.
With a loud boom, the old eunuch's True Qi erupted, revealing his formidable Innate Realm strength.
He struck out with a palm, and the powerful Qi, like a sudden gale, instantly killed hundreds of rushing death warriors on the spot.
However, before he could catch his breath, another wave of death warriors followed, once again flooding into the hall.
The old eunuch's figure flickered like a ghost before the hall doors, transforming into a blurred afterimage.
His aura as an Innate master was like mountains and seas, solid as iron, enveloping the entire hall.
His withered hands drew mysterious trajectories in the air, each strike accompanied by a thunderous boom.
"Boom!"
Another violent tremor of Qi, and hundreds of death warriors were sent flying by the furious palm force; their bodies exploded before they even hit the ground, blood raining down and splattering the hall.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, more death warriors swarmed in from the hall doors, windows, and even the roof, like an endless black torrent, engulfing the entire hall.
"Your Majesty, hurry!"
The old eunuch shouted hoarsely, fighting with all his might to resist the tide-like assault.