Chapter 50 : The City Falls, Guan Ning Arrives
Chapter 50: The City Falls, Guan Ning Arrives
Outside Jinsha County.
Aruba reined in his horse half a mile from the county city, narrowing his eyes as he observed the gray, earthen walls before him.
Sparse soldiers stood atop the walls; there weren’t even a few proper bed crossbows.
Just as the Eagle Riders’ scouts had reported—only the old, weak, sick, and crippled were left to guard this place.
“Brothers,” he slowly drew his curved blade, “let these Blue Wolf bastards witness what the fury of the prairie truly means.”
Tens of thousands of Queshe warriors drew their bows at once, the arrowheads glinting coldly beneath the setting sun.
But the most terrifying were the thirty hawks circling high above, each with a special oil pouch strapped to its talons.
“Release!”
The first volley of arrows had barely left the bowstrings when the hawks swooped down.
Before the defenders could even react, the oil pouches had already smashed precisely onto the gate tower and the granary rooftops.
The second wave of flaming arrows followed instantly, and the entire gate tower was engulfed in flames.
“Again!”
Aruba sneered savagely as he slung the great bow from his back.
As he drew it to full tension, a cyan whirlwind swirled around him, the power of wind coiling around the arrow and shrieking sharply.
“Boom—!”
The arrow exploded, blasting apart half of the city gate.
The defensive line that had just been formed instantly fell into chaos, while Aruba spurred his horse straight into the smoke and dust.
The moment his curved blade left its sheath, three wind blades fanned out, slicing the dozen soldiers charging at him clean in half!
“Kill!”
The Queshe cavalry surged through the breach like a tide.
These prairie warriors had no respect for conventional tactics—some threw lassos to climb the walls, others urged their mounts to leap over the burning barricades.
The fiercest of the centurions even performed “human towers on horseback,” stepping on their comrades’ shoulders to vault up the seven-zhang-high walls!
In less than half an hour, the Blue Wolf flag over the county office was replaced by the red banner of the Golden Eagle.
Aruba stepped on the local commander’s head and spat blood onto the ground. “Bah! Not even a worthy opponent.”
Compared to the “swift capture” of Jinsha County, the siege of Huangping was a complete disaster.
Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin rode side by side, gazing at the small city ahead—more dilapidated than Jinsha.
The two didn’t even bother with tactics. Against a mud wall without a moat, the Black-Armored Army had far simpler methods.
“Old rules?” Cheng Yaojin grinned, swinging his door-sized Xuānhuā Axe.
Qin Qiong silently unhooked the Mo Blade from his saddle. “You take left, I’ll take right.”
They charged at once.
Flames of crimson energy erupted around Cheng Yaojin, and when he swung his axe, a three-zhang phantom of the weapon appeared. “Open—!”
“Boom—!”
The left side of the wall was cleaved open, leaving a two-zhang-wide gap.
Almost simultaneously, Qin Qiong’s Mo Blade unleashed a crescent-shaped arc of energy that sliced through the right wall as if it were tofu.
Even worse, the section where the two attacks met collapsed under the uneven force, creating a breach over ten zhang wide!
“Black-Armored Army! Charge!”
The five thousand Black-Armored Cavalry didn’t even use the gate—they stormed straight through the three massive openings.
The defenders had never seen such power.
A captain had just raised his command flag when Cheng Yaojin’s axe strike crushed him into a mist of blood.
Qin Qiong was even more ruthless—he thrust his Mo Blade into the ground and performed Earth Dragon’s Flip. The stone slabs along the main street heaved up, burying the archers hidden on both sides.
Cheng Yaojin, exhilarated, dismounted completely and stormed toward the county office with his massive axe.
By the time Qin Qiong finished clearing the remnants and arrived, Cheng Yaojin was already sitting in the main hall, gnawing on a lamb leg.
Beneath him lay a bruised and swollen official—judging by his attire, at least a county magistrate.
“Old Qin!” Cheng Yaojin waved his greasy hand. “This bastard says he’ll lead us to cut off the Blue Wolf Army’s supply route!”
Expressionless, Qin Qiong flicked the blood off his blade. “His Majesty wants swift results.”
A flash of steel later, the magistrate’s head rolled to Cheng Yaojin’s feet.
“Hey! You—”
Cheng Yaojin had just started to complain when alarm horns blared outside the city.
They exchanged a look and leapt onto the rooftop. From the southeast horizon, a dense mass of cavalry was charging toward them.
It was a mixed formation of Blue Wolf riders—heavy iron cavalry clad in black armor at the front, their thunderous hooves shaking the earth; light mounted archers followed behind, quivers full at their sides.
Most alarming of all was their formation—heavy and light cavalry interlaced, clearly prepared to shift tactics mid-charge.
The Blue Wolf reinforcements had arrived.
“Well, finally some decent opponents.”
Cheng Yaojin licked his lips and flung the half-eaten lamb leg off the wall.
Before it hit the ground, he vaulted several zhang down, landing beside his warhorse with a thunderous crash.
Qin Qiong’s movements were even swifter—he pushed off the parapet with one hand, flipping like a hawk to land squarely on his mount.
The gilded Mo Blade shimmered blood-red under the sunset, the carved words “Demon Slayer” faintly aglow.
Beyond the walls, fifteen thousand Black-Armored Cavalry who had not entered the city were already arrayed in a solid, iron-linked formation.
The vast army was silent, save for the snorts of restless warhorses.
When the two generals and their men entered formation, every cavalryman raised his long lance—the clang of steel echoing like thunder.
“Form up!”
At Qin Qiong’s command, the army split into two great torrents.
He and Cheng Yaojin each led ten thousand men, forming pincer formations that swept in from both flanks.
The Blue Wolf Army’s tactics were cunning.
At two hundred zhang from the enemy, ten thousand mounted archers split into two wings, circling to encircle the flanks.
Arrows rained down as the heavy cavalry in front launched their charge.
“Raise shields!”
Layers of iron shields rose within the Black-Armored formation, but still, dozens fell to the specially forged armor-piercing arrows.
Worse still, those arrows were coated with a paralytic toxin—before the poisoned soldiers could even collapse, they were trampled to pulp by charging riders.
“Courting death!”
Cheng Yaojin roared, driving his axe into the ground.
The earth split open in dozens of fissures as crimson serpents of fire erupted, swallowing the leading wave of Blue Wolf riders whole.
But these enemies were elite as well. The cavalry in the rear galloped forward without hesitation, trampling over their comrades’ charred corpses to continue their charge!
Qin Qiong dashed forward alone into the enemy ranks, carving out a vacuum with each sweep of his blade.
Yet the ferocity of the Blue Wolf cavalry exceeded all expectations—even when struck by lightning, they would, in their final breath, thrust their spears at the Black-Armored warhorses.
The battle soon turned into a deadlock.
Though the Black-Armored Army had superior equipment, the Blue Wolf riders’ coordination between heavy and light units was flawless.
Whenever their heavy cavalry charge faltered, arrows from the rear provided cover; when the Black-Armored troops tried to chase the archers, the heavy riders would suddenly counterattack.
“Old Qin!” Cheng Yaojin bellowed through the clash, splitting three riders with one swing. “We need a way to break this stalemate!”
Qin Qiong’s eyes turned cold, lightning surging along his gilded Mo Blade. “I’ll strike through; you cover me.”
Cheng Yaojin laughed heartily, pulling a wineskin from his waist and taking a long swig.
He spat the liquor across his axe blade—its red flames instantly turned ghostly blue.
“Watch this!”
His massive axe swept sideways, releasing three roaring blue fire dragons.
The flames intertwined midair, forming a whirling inferno that tore open a gaping wound in the enemy lines.
Qin Qiong seized the moment, charging into the breach—his blade flashed, and dozens of heads fell in an instant.
The Blue Wolf general in golden armor sensed danger and tried to retreat, but Qin Qiong leapt skyward, blade raised high.
The enemy barely had time to lift his sword—its runes flared, then shattered under Qin Qiong’s strike.
“Boom!”
With a thunderous explosion, the golden-armored general was sent flying over ten zhang away, armor shattered, chest split open, blood gushing like a fountain.
Qin Qiong’s strength was terrifying—even a commander empowered by the army’s formation was gravely wounded by his single strike.
“A pity.”
Qin Qiong sighed lightly as the enemy was dragged away by his guards.
He was about to pursue when a rain of arrows from the mounted archers forced him back.
Cheng Yaojin galloped over, the blue flames on his axe dying out. “Damn it, that didn’t kill him?”
Qin Qiong shook his head. “He’s in the Divine Power Realm. He’ll have plenty of ways to stay alive.”
At that moment, the Blue Wolf Army sounded the retreat.
Though defeated, they withdrew in order—alternating between shooting and covering, even managing to recover most of their wounded.
They left behind more than three thousand corpses, while the Black-Armored Army had lost nearly two thousand elite soldiers.
“Do we pursue?” Cheng Yaojin wiped the blood from his face.
Qin Qiong gazed at the distant dust clouds, eyes narrowing on the mounted archers whose quivers were still full.
“Don’t chase a desperate foe. Send word—reinforce the defenses and await His Majesty’s orders.”
His grip tightened on the blade. Though they had won, the Blue Wolf Army’s true strength cast a long shadow over what was to come.
Their power was far beyond appearances.
As dusk fell, Jiang Zhaoming stood atop Cangbei City’s wall, hands clasped behind his back. The Communication Talisman in his fingers had just burned to ash.
Qin Qiong’s battle report made his brows furrow—two thousand elite Black-Armored soldiers lost. Far beyond expectations.
He frowned deeper. The Blue Wolf Army truly gave him a surprise—it seemed cavalry and archery must indeed work in tandem.
Jiang Zhaoming swiftly issued new commands, transmitting them by thought to his three generals of the Black-Armored and Queshe armies.
“Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Aruba—seal off all three cities’ supply routes. Burn every Blue Wolf supply convoy you find!”
As the order went out, he lit three more talismans in succession, commanding the three infantry corps to intensify their assault.
His plan to “besiege points to strike reinforcements” was complete. Now he needed only to wait.
Within those three cities were thirty thousand elite Blue Wolf infantry. If their cavalry didn’t come to rescue them, they would all perish.
But if the cavalry did come, they would be caught between the Black-Armored and Queshe forces.
And Jiang Zhaoming’s ambitions didn’t end there—for north of Loulan County, his final trump card was about to enter the stage.
He turned toward Loulan, a cold smile curling at his lips.
By his estimation, the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry—equipped with fire lances and Tiger Squat Cannons—should already have crossed the desert, ready to bare their fangs on the northern flank of the battlefield.
“Blue Wolf Army,” Jiang Zhaoming murmured, “I want to see what storms you can still raise.”