Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 834 - 692: Xiangyang Has Fallen

Chapter 834: Chapter 692: Xiangyang Has Fallen

In the thunderous drumming, hundreds of thousands of Jin Army soldiers were arraying themselves just two li from the city walls, on the land nearly packed solid.

At the forefront were the more than two hundred thousand sin and surrendered soldiers. From a distance, Lord of Baihu Palace, Shi Tianze, saw confusion etched on the faces of these soldiers.

Clearly, they couldn’t understand why the County Prince Fenyang would have them beating drums and forming up in the middle of the night.

Nevertheless, under the command of their officers, these sin soldiers obediently arranged themselves into neat shield formations.

For two months, the Lord of Baihu Palace had been trying to "use spies" to incite trouble amongst these sin and surrendered soldiers, attempting to disrupt their morale, but all efforts had proved fruitless.

It was evident that the County Prince Fenyang had a knack for managing the army. The one hundred and forty thousand soldiers from Prince Ning’s Sin Army were one thing, as their families were in Jiangxi, naturally they did not dare to act recklessly.

But it was unexpected that so few of the surrendered soldiers from Xiangyang would be dissatisfied with the County Prince Fenyang.

"Master Shi."

Dasiming’s brow was deeply furrowed, "What in the world does the Jin Army intend to do?"

Shi Tianze shook his head, "I can’t make sense of it. It seems like they want to attack the city, but also not quite so."

Although the Jin Army soldiers had arranged thick shields at the front of their formation, the formation itself was designed for attack, ready to switch to offensive mode at any moment.

However, it was surprising that they did not bring any siege equipment, not even a single siege ladder.

Strangely enough, atop those tall stone platforms a li away, though densely packed with firearms and bows, there were also a large number of shields set up in front.

And the Jin Army’s spellcasters were also casting spells on a large scale.

There were many spellcasters in the Jin Army; Xiangyang was close to Wudang, and Li Xuan’s army had marched from Jiangxi.

This person had summoned a great number of taoists from Wudang and Longhu Mountain to serve as accompanying army spellcasters.

They were using a spell called ’Wall of Water Elemental’, creating layers upon layers of thick barriers of water, densely covering the front of the formation.

However, the primary use of such a technique was to defend against arrows and bullets.

Shi Tianze couldn’t see what purpose they served?

Over the past two months, under the firepower of the Jin Army, the heavy artillery positions in Xiangyang City had all been dismantled. The musketeers and archers on the city walls had long since lost the ability to directly confront those high platforms in front.

What exactly did Li Xuan seek to defend against with these ’Walls of Water Elemental’? The air?

Dasiming was also puzzled, "Could it be related to the tunnels they are digging?"

Besides constructing artillery platforms on the ground, the Jin Army was also extensively digging tunnels underground, some of which collapsed during their counterattacks.

"Unlikely, those tunnels reach only as deep as the city walls’ foundations, being blocked by them, unable to penetrate into the city. They couldn’t possibly bypass our monitoring."

After speaking, Shi Tianze couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, "I don’t quite understand Prince Fenyang’s military tactics. However, just to be safe, let’s still prepare the troops inside the city."

Indeed, without his command, the officers inside the city had already taken initiative, gathering their subordinates to hide inside the Hidden Soldier Cave.

These ’Hidden Soldier Caves’ were usually set up behind the city walls, allowing the defending soldiers to hide within to avoid arrows and bullets. When the enemy began to scale the walls, they would be able to quickly go up to defend.

This would prevent piling up forces on the city walls, causing unnecessary casualties.

For the last half-month, the army of Prince Xiang had utilized this method to repel several probing attacks by the Jin Army with minimal casualties.

At that moment, many knights were riding to and fro in front of the formation.

"The order from County Prince Fenyang! After today’s successful breach, all sin and surrendered soldiers will have their rebellion charges rescinded! Those who first enter the city will be promoted by two ranks! For each enemy head taken, a reward of ten taels of silver!"

"The order from County Prince Fenyang! After entering the city, all troops must not engage in rape, plunder, or falsely claim achievements; those who disturb the civilians will be executed according to military law without pardon! After the event, County Prince Fenyang will bestow generous rewards; all Jingying soldiers and those from the Weisuo Institute will receive twenty taels of silver, all sin and surrendered soldiers will be rewarded with seven taels."

"The order from County Prince Fenyang! All soldiers are required to stuff their ears with cotton and squat down, and must not stand up before the city is breached! Listen well, all soldiers must squat down, and must not stand up before the city is breached!"

As they galloped in front of the various armies, proclaiming the orders repeatedly, their voices reverberated through the night sky.

"Breaching the city?"

The son of Prince Xiang, Yu Qiyong’s face twitched, and then he scoffed, "Foolish dreams! They don’t even have a ladder. With what will they breach the city?"

Yet deep in his eyes, a trace of awe and anxiety was visible.

Even though Yu Qiyong did not believe the Jin Army could take the city tonight, he couldn’t help feeling panicked inside.

At this time, Dasiming’s delicate brows tightened as she looked up at the night sky, her face showing a hint of suspicion.

"Dasiming?"

Feeling an intuition, the Lord of Baihu Palace, Shi Tianze, glanced over, "Is there anything abnormal about the stars in the sky?"

Indeed, he too felt something amiss; the star power of the stars led by the Big Dipper was exceptionally strong that night.

Dasiming nodded slightly, "Someone outside Xiangyang City is using the power of the Big Dipper stars to lay out a ’Zhengfan Xiantian Beidou Stars Array’, but it’s strange, this array has virtually no effect in terms of sieging the city."

"Zhengfan Xiantian Beidou Stars Array?" Shi Tianze frowned.

He was familiar with this array; its purpose was primarily ’killing’ and secondarily ’trapping’, focusing on the former and assisting with the latter.

Should Heavenly-level cultivators occupy the positions of the Big Dipper within this Array, even a Great Heavenly Position would face a deadly perilt if they actively entered the formation at night.

However, the Array is fixed and cannot be moved.

And at night, mana reaches its peak, while during the day, its power is greatly diminished.

Shi Tianze inexplicably felt unease settling in his heart. He began to focus and think carefully, silently contemplating whether there were any oversights in the current situation.

"Feigning complexity!" Dasiming shook his head, "No need to pay it any mind, as long as Xiangyang remains unbreached, the grand trend of this world remains with me."

Indeed, the Array was terrifyingly powerful, but as long as they avoided entering it, it could not exert its influence—what difference would it make compared to the mountains, rivers, and all things in the world?

At this moment, Dasiming realized that the Lord of the Qinglong Palace, Si Shenhua, seemed to have thought of something, the corners of his lips curling into a cold smile.

Dasiming narrowed his eyes, glancing sideways, "Si Shenhua, if you have any thoughts, feel free to share."

The Lord of the Qinglong Palace chuckled softly, "I was just pondering that over the past several months, County Prince Fenyang has been undefeated in battle, successful in every attack! But now, he has halted his forces at the foot of Xiangyang City for two months without any progress—could there be a hidden agenda?"

Dasiming was about to dismiss the notion as absurd. The reason why the Jin Army and Li Xuan, that nefarious obstacle, had been halted for two months at Xiangyang City was that the city itself was impregnable!

At this moment, however, Lord of the Baihu Palace, Shi Tianze changed his expression, "Something’s not right! Dasiming, up to now, we haven’t received any golden eagle messages from the Jinque Heaven Palace."

The Jinque Heaven Palace raised twelve ’Dari Golden Eagles’ that also carried the bloodlines of the Dari Golden Crow and the Golden Winged Dapeng. They could fly eighteen thousand li within two hours.

Ever since Dasiming took her post in Xiangyang, these ’Dari Golden Eagles’ set out every twelve Shichen to maintain communication and pass messages between the two sides.

But tonight, the ’Dari Golden Eagle’ has yet to arrive.

Dasiming couldn’t help but pause, thoughtful, "Are you suggesting they might be targeting the Jinque Heaven Palace? Is Li Xuan’s intent to tie me down here while aiming for the Heaven Palace?"

As she spoke, her heart skipped a beat, the unease within her beginning to grow wildly.

On one hand, Dasiming thought it was impossible, for the "Nine-square Divine Array of the Large Circle" of the Jinque Heaven Palace was impregnable, and no one could penetrate it; on the other hand, she considered whether among the seven left in the Heaven Palace, there could be former subordinates of Shaosiming or insiders working for Master Zhongliu.

Especially Master Zhongliu, who mastered the technique of ’Hunxiao’ that could even deceive the ’Book of Jinque’.

It was at this moment that she heard another heavy thud of drums from outside the city.

With the drumbeat, the King’s banner inscribed with "County Prince Li" and adorned with the pattern of a Jiao Dragon also moved forward, advancing to a position two li from the city.

At this moment, the entire Jin Dynasty force let out a roar like a tidal wave, and all the soldiers, including every deserter, showed flushed faces, brimming with excitement.

Dasiming was watching from a distance, her gaze meeting with the figure riding on the Jade Kylin beneath that great standard. Their eyes collided, as if sparks were flying.

Both had murderous intent brimming in their eyes. The difference was that Dasiming was filled with suspicion and doubt, with speculative caution; Li Xuan, on the other hand, was self-assured and composed, confident in his plan.

Li Xuan soon voluntarily withdrew his gaze, for Zhang Yue had already galloped up to his side, "The pyrotechnicians from the Shenqi Union have checked from every direction and guarantee it’s foolproof!"

Li Xuan nodded slightly, "Then light it! We can’t delay any longer."

The Jinque Palace had already started to act on his orders—any delay could lead to complications.

At Li Xuan’s command, more high-cultivation knights rushed forward in front of the army formations, loudly shouting, "Order from the County Prince of Fenyang! All soldiers must stuff their ears with cotton and crouch down until the city is breached—you are not to stand up! Did you hear that you need to block your ears?"

"Order from the County Prince of Fenyang! Do not panic later on, after the tremor ahead, wait a moment, until the rain of stones has fallen before you charge! Prop your shields above your heads! The prince didn’t issue shields to you to just look at. Prop them up, all of you, hold them up!"

Atop the city walls, both Dasiming and the Lord of the Baihu Palace were bewildered, watching the scene unfolding beneath them.

Though they did not understand what was happening, they could see that Li Xuan was completely confident in his ability to breach the city, or else he wouldn’t be putting on such a display.

The son of Prince Xiang, Yu Qiyong, clenched his fists tightly, his veins bulging on his arms, "Pretentious posturing, trickery and deceit! He wants to break through Xiangyang, let him try!"

But at that moment, he heard a thunderous roar like the sky tearing and the earth splitting. Even with Yu Qiyong’s cultivation, his eardrums nearly burst, and he was uncontrollably launched into the air, his internal organs suffering a massive shock.

What shattered his courage even more was the sight before his eyes. Not only was the gatehouse they were occupying collapsing, but large sections of the wall were crumbling down as well.

In an instant, the five-li stretch of the eastern wall of Xiangyang now had a breach two li long.

And at the moment the blast occurred, ’The former Zongbing of Nanchang and Zhihuishi for the right Weisuo of Prince Ning’, Dou Zilong was crouching behind a shield, among the Sin Army.

Not understanding what was happening, he wondered to himself what Prince Fenyang intended to do?

Dou Zilong felt anxious and tense. The high command of the Jin Army must have had military discussions about the battle; unfortunately, as a commander of the Sin Army, he couldn’t partake.

Deep down, Dou Zilong even felt a sense of panic and dread. He pondered whether, after a two-month stalemate, Prince Fenyang had grown impatient and was finally ready to cast off his kind facade and send them, the Sin Army, into a bloody siege.

The problem was that they didn’t even have scaling ladders at the moment—

Until that instant, when the earth-shaking, deafening boom left Dou Zilong nearly deaf.

The immense force of the impact made it impossible for the forward archers to steady themselves; they staggered back, bleeding from their mouths and noses.

Luckily, they were crouching with their bodies low, or else they would have been flung into the air at that moment.

Shortly before that, a rain of shattered stones erupted from the front, and at the same time, a vast mushroom cloud soared into the sky.

After this rain of stones passed, Dou Zilong looked up, stupefied, at the collapsed wall ahead.

Then he yelled with a hoarse voice like a wolf’s howl, "Xiangyang has fallen! All troops advance, follow me to storm in!"