Green Mountain
Chapter 330 - 270, Slaughter the City

Chapter 330: 270, Slaughter the City

The signal arrow pierced through the air.

On the long street, two Heavenly Strategy Army Iron Cavalry followed the direction of the signal arrow, dragging an iron chain towards Chen Ji to strangle him. The iron hooves kicked up yellow dust, and the clashing armor roared.

When the iron chain reached him, Chen Ji neither dodged nor yielded. He grabbed the chain with both hands and fiercely pulled, yanking the two heavily armored Iron Cavalry off their horses, which then ran away with empty saddles.

After being dragged from their horses, the two Iron Cavalry did not panic. They let go of the chain, drew their waist knives, and sprang up in one fluid motion, slashing towards Chen Ji from either side.

The battle-hardened soldiers of the Heavenly Strategy Army, fearless and relentless, slay indiscriminately wherever the signal arrow points, regardless of whether they are killing the old, weak, or Executive Officers.

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Ji used the iron chain in his hands like a snake with eyes, and ferociously lashed it at the helmets of the two soldiers. The iron helmets caved in, and the two Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers were knocked to the ground by the chain, unable to rise.

Seeing that the Iron Cavalry could not surround and kill him, the Divine Archer immediately shot an Iron Arrow with tricky timing, precisely when Chen Ji was still exerting force.

Chen Ji watched helplessly as the Iron Arrow drew close, and just as he was about to forcibly split the cold arrow with his sword seed, he saw a flash of blade light from a corner. Wu Yun hid in a spot unseen by the Divine Archer, cutting down the Iron Arrow.

Wu Yun meowed, "The Jing Dynasty’s Divine Archer is so troublesome, shall I sneak over and kill him?"

Chen Ji whispered, "Don’t go, it’s too far!"

Wu Yun acknowledged with an "Oh."

At this moment, the Divine Archer had decisively switched to three signal arrows and shot them simultaneously towards this place.

The sharp whistles arose, and the nearby hundred Iron Cavalry, who were slaughtering through the city, abruptly halted, silently watching the three signal arrows streak across the sky.

The next moment, all hundred riders tightened their reins and galloped towards where the signal arrows landed.

Chen Ji heard the thunderous sound of hooves; he instantly threw out the iron chain, looping it around the neck of a fleeing horse, letting the Heavenly Strategy Army’s horse drag him towards the North.

As he passed a corner, he bent down and scooped up Wu Yun into his arms.

Chen Ji tugged hard at the iron chain, lifting himself into the air and gently landing on the back of the warhorse.

The warhorse, realizing that it wasn’t its master, nervously shook its body. However, Chen Ji only pressed his hand down on its spine, with the pattern of Molten Flow boiling instantly, calming the warhorse and allowing it to be driven at will.

Chen Ji lowered his body, urging the horse forward; winding through alleyways, he observed Guyuan City enveloped in war and carnage.

Wu Yun asked, "Shall we save people?"

Chen Ji was silent for a long period: "We cannot save everyone."

After that, he spurred the horse in the direction of Dragon Gate Inn.

...

...

In the Dragon Gate Inn, the Crown Prince, Li Xuan, Chen Liqin, and Qi Zhenzhuo, among others, stood in silence in the upper-floor suite.

The Crown Prince stood by the window, looking into the distance. He saw a man cradling a child in his left hand and holding his wife’s hand in his right, running frantically, yet he was still overtaken and stabbed to death by the Heavenly Strategy Army’s Iron Cavalry.

The wife fell to the ground, and in a panic, crawled a few steps forward using her hands and feet, protecting the fallen child beneath her body. The Iron Cavalry rode over her back, crushing both her and the child in her arms.

Several men with knives on the street glared angrily; seeing the Heavenly Strategy Army not sparing even young children, they cursed and charged forward with their knives. But before they could engage the Iron Cavalry, an iron arrow shot from afar pierced through two men, spilling their blood on the spot.

Ruined walls and blood rivers.

A few streets away, the border army, hastily redressed in bamboo armor, set up barricades with cavalry obstacles along Dohun Street and Qie Mo Street, trying to patch the porous defenses of Guyuan.

Yet this defensive line only lasted thirty minutes before it was breached by the Heavenly Strategy Army. The border soldiers could only fight while retreating, using tables, chairs, and other household furniture from the civilians’ homes in Xuwei Lane to block the path of the Jing Dynasty’s Cavalry.

The Crown Prince turned around and headed for the door: "Lord Li, gather the Yulin Army, block the Heavenly Strategy Army at Xuwei Lane!"

Li Xuan grabbed him, anxiously saying, "Your Highness, the more than four hundred troops of the Yulin Army cannot hold off the Heavenly Strategy Army. Look at the city gate, more cavalry are charging in. It was just the Vanguard Camp before, but now even the main force of the Central Army has arrived. Isn’t the Yulin Army just throwing a cup of water on a blazing cart?"

The Crown Prince solemnly said: "Does Lord Li want to avoid battle and surrender to the Jing Dynasty? You all can hand me over to the Jing Dynasty in exchange for a way out. Is it possible that after marrying into the Qi family, you no longer have any courage?"

Li Xuan’s expression darkened: "What are you saying, Your Highness? The Li Family has served loyally in the Longevity Army for generations, how can there be any who are afraid to fight? I will immediately call up the Yulin Army to fight the enemy, but Your Highness, you must not go!"

The Crown Prince shook his head: "Although I am not an Executive Officer, I am not a weak scholar without the strength to truss a chicken."

Li Xuan said firmly: "No means no... Qi Zhenzhuo, you take charge of guarding His Highness here, I will go to fight the enemy."

Qi Zhenzhuo hurriedly said: "Brother-in-law... Lord Li, I will join you in fighting the enemy!"

Li Xuan said angrily: "Are you defying orders in front of the formation? Do you believe I would execute military discipline on you right now?"

After speaking, he pulled Qi Zhenzhuo aside, lowered his voice and said: "After I lead the troops away later, you immediately knock out the Crown Prince and use the inn’s secret passage to escape. When you were entrusted to me by your sister when leaving the capital, I can die, but you must live well."

Qi Zhenzhuo got anxious: "Am I not in the Yulin Army? I won’t be a coward!"

Li Xuan grabbed his collar, whispering fiercely: "Stop acting childish, normally I indulge you for the sake of the Qi family, but I don’t have time for you at this life-and-death moment. Always saying you want to match Chen Ji, always wanting to go to battle? Are you even worthy?"

Qi Zhenzhuo was shocked, Li Xuan had never spoken to him so harshly before: "Brother-in-law, you..."

Li Xuan said fiercely: "My Li family earned our reputation through battle, if it weren’t for the aggressive pressure from your Qi family, why would I have joined the Yulin Army to entertain you? Remember, when you get back, resign your official post and just be the irresponsible noble you are!"

After saying that, he pushed Qi Zhenzhuo away, put his hand on the long sword at his waist and headed downstairs: "Where is the Yulin Army?"

The Yulin Army downstairs responded in unison: "Here!"

"Follow me to fight the enemy!"

Li Xuan left thirty men to guard the inn and then led the Yulin Army out of the inn’s main door, rushing to Xuwei Lane to provide support. Qi Zhenzhuo stood stupefied in the room, unable to snap out of it for a long while.

At this time, Chen Ji was turning his horse into Qiu Ci Street, he saw Li Xuan leading hundreds of Yulin Army troops out and immediately tightened his reins, halting his horse and asking: "Lord Li, what are you doing?"

Li Xuan’s eyes brightened, and he immediately greeted Chen Ji with a salute: "It is my duty to lead troops and fight the enemy. Right Guard, the Crown Prince is still in the inn, his safety is entrusted to you. You mustn’t let the Crown Prince fall into the hands of the Jing Dynasty’s traitors."

But Chen Ji, sitting on his horse, did not answer.

Seeing this, Li Xuan fell silent for a moment then sighed deeply and turned to leave: "Well, in the face of great adversity, it’s futile to ask for more!"

Chen Ji watched Li Xuan lead the Yulin Army out of Qiu Ci Street, dismounted hurriedly, and rushed up to the third floor of the inn.

He didn’t bother with the Crown Prince, pushed open the door, picked up his Whale Blade, and calling Zhang Zheng, Xiao Man, and Zhang Xia, he ran downstairs.

Zhang Xia asked in a low voice: "What do we do now?"

Chen Ji quietly replied: "Leave through the secret passage behind the counter, that passage should be real!"

They hurried downstairs, and as they passed the second floor, Chen Ji hesitated for a moment before rushing into the ground floor room, pulling Chen Wenzong along with him.

"Where are we going? My father and mother are still in the room!" Chen Wenzong tried to break free from Chen Ji, but couldn’t.

Chen Ji was silent, continuing down the stairs, but he had only gone halfway when he suddenly stopped, his gaze fixated on the inn’s main hall.

Everyone followed his gaze, only to see the wooden board behind the counter being lifted from beneath, and immediately, soldiers wearing black armor of the Heavenly Strategy Army burst out!

"Capture the Ning Dynasty’s Crown Prince alive!"