Chapter 2: The Stormy Weather of Yan and Zhao Section 13

  The enemy on the city wall is getting more and more, the soldiers have been gradually unable to withstand, morale is also rapidly falling, if no measures are taken, the main city wall will be lost immediately.

  Tian Jingguo gave a decisive order to beat the drum.

  Like thunder, the war drum sounded throughout Lulong Pass. The sound of the drums stirred up the soldiers' determination to continue fighting bravely, dispelled their hunger and fatigue, and solidified their conviction in victory. In an instant, cheers, roars, and battle cries echoed the earth-shaking drumbeats, and the Han soldiers suddenly burst forth like fierce tigers out of a cage, each one brave and fearless, forgetting life and death, and charging forward with abandon at the enemy before them.

  The enemy was repelled.

  On the city wall, the corpses of both sides filled the entire ground, it was truly a scene of carnage, with blood flowing like rivers, and a sight that was unbearable to behold. Whether they were alive, dead or wounded, they all lay on the ground in a chaotic mess.

  Tian Jing let out a loud roar: "How many of you are still alive? Stand up for me!"

  More than 200 people stood up on the city wall, swaying back and forth, while dozens of others, too seriously injured to stand, raised their hands from where they lay half-reclined on the ground.

  Tian Jing's confidence was thoroughly shattered by the reality before her eyes.

  Jun Sima Chai Ting is still alive, Wang Jin and the other two false Sima (deputy of Jun Sima) were killed in action. Eight military candidates and false military candidates only three are left. Only four officers at the level of Tun Chang, including Li Hong and Ji Ming.

  Looking at the soldiers retreating quickly, Wu Yan hated them so much that he wanted to kill them.

  He leapt off his warhorse, drew his battle knife, and strode out of the ranks to meet the retreating soldiers, shouting: "For the glory of warriors, for the fame after death, follow me!"

  Qiao Ji, Xiong Ba immediately jumped off their war horses together.

  "Sound the charge, all reserve troops, follow me to storm the Lulong Pass."

  A loud bugle call suddenly echoed through the winter dusk.

  Wu Yan held up his war knife and shouted loudly: "Hū hǒu......"

  The soldiers were inspired by his bravery and all shouted loudly: "Hurray..."

  Wuyan rode his horse forward, charging towards the Lulong Pass. Behind him, more than 3,000 soldiers surged like a tide, shouting and rushing forward.

  The low and mournful sound of the ox horn echoed repeatedly under the city, the enemy's roar grew louder from afar, and Tian Jing's heart suddenly calmed down.

  Tian Jing knew that things were beyond recall, and the main city wall of Ludong was about to fall, which was an indisputable fact. He slowly walked in front of the soldiers, looked at their fearless faces, and said loudly:

  "Today, Ludong is about to be lost in our hands, this is our shame."

  Tian Jing waved his hands excitedly and shouted hoarsely: "We will tell the enemy with our own blood that we must retake Lulong Pass."

  "Kill... for the great Han River and Mountains, kill..." Chai Ting stood beside Tian Jing, raised his battle knife high, and shouted loudly. The warriors were united in their anger and indignation, all raising their weapons and shouting in unison:

  "Kill...... kill......"

  The sky suddenly darkened. Dusk quietly passed away. The night wind began to howl between the mountains and fields.

  The two sides engaged in close combat, with neither side having any intention of sparing each other's lives. Kill or be killed.

  Li Hong was covered in blood, slashing left and right, his subordinates were all top-notch generals. Ji Ming was by his side, looking like a madman, his long sword cutting through everything in its path.

  The wounded soldiers were fearless in the face of death, bravely shooting their last arrow and cutting out their last knife. Even in death, they would go out with a bang.

  Tian Jing's steel spear danced up and down, striking down the enemy soldiers surrounding him from time to time. However, the enemy soldiers surrounding them not only didn't decrease in number but instead grew more numerous, everyone could see that he was a high-ranking officer.

  A wounded soldier lay on the ground, Tian Jing stepped on him with one foot and was about to lift his foot and move forward, but found that his leg was tightly held by the enemy. Tian Jing's body shape was greatly affected for a while, and the flexibility of the steel gun was immediately greatly discounted, and he was hit by two arrows in an instant. Tian Jing was furious, let out a loud roar, and heavily stepped on the enemy's chest with one foot. The enemy soldier's breastbone shattered, but his two hands still held tightly onto his calf like a pair of steel pincers.

  Tian Jing's cry startled the surrounding soldiers. Seeing the school lieutenant in danger, the warriors immediately showed their skills and rushed towards him with all their might. Li Hong and Ji Ming charged the most fiercely, killing the enemy and retreating, and some had nowhere to hide, having just climbed over the city wall and temporarily standing on the cloud ladder.

  A Wudang soldier saw Tian Jing's overwhelming strength, and despite his unstable physical condition, he continued to wield his large spear, killing multiple comrades in a row. His cruelty and hatred were finally triggered, and he lost his mind, charging towards Tian Jing with a loud roar. Tian Jing shook his hand and stabbed the spear into the soldier's chest. The Wudang soldier let out a loud cry and suddenly charged at Tian Jing, allowing the long spear to pierce through his body. Blood splattered everywhere. Tian Jing wanted to pull out the spear, but his body couldn't move. He thought of throwing away the spear and drawing his sword. Just as he hesitated for a moment, five battle knives and three arrows almost simultaneously hacked into his body and pierced through it.

  Li Hong arrived, killing one person with a slash and kicking another to death. He then cut off the two arms that were tightly embracing Tian Jing with one knife. Tian Jing fell into Ji Ming's arms.

  Chai Teng killed his way over. He gritted his teeth, fighting the enemy while shouting at Li Hong beside him: "Quickly take Commander Xia back to Lulong Tower, quickly!"

  Li Hong swung his sword and killed one of them with a single slash, then grabbed Tian Jing's armor collar and dragged him back quickly. Ji Ming followed closely beside him, covering him while shouting loudly: "Withdraw, withdraw to the Lu Long Building, withdraw..."

  The soldiers heard Ji Ming's shout and immediately gathered in groups of three or five, gradually retreating backwards.

  The pressure on the front suddenly eased, and more enemies surged up onto the city walls.

  Chai Teng led the last thirty or so people in a determined defense at the front of the corridor, refusing to retreat one step.

  Wu Yan's whole body was filled with murderous intent, holding a bloody battle knife upside down, leading a group of soldiers, like wolves and tigers, madly killing towards the last batch of Han soldiers on the city wall. Chai Ting and his soldiers were swallowed up by a pack of bloodthirsty wolves in the blink of an eye.

  Tian Zhong took over Tian Jing from Li Hong's hands, half-dragging and half-hugging her, and rushed towards the Lu Long Building. Li Hong looked at the enemy swarming down from the main city wall, while on top of the city wall, the enemy archers had already begun firing indiscriminately. Li Hong loudly shouted to the remaining fifty or sixty people: "Leave ten people behind to block the attack. Gong Yi, take them and retreat, quickly retreat..."

  Ji Ming didn't say another word and with a wave of his hand at the surrounding soldiers, he ran towards Lulou Tower at top speed.

  Li Hong swung his sword and shouted, "Kill..." as he charged towards the enemy soldiers who were rushing down the stone steps with great momentum. Wu Yan was at the forefront, and the two clashed swords, sending out a burst of sparks. Li Hong couldn't withstand Wu Yan's powerful blow and was sent flying. He rolled on the ground several times before getting up, cursing viciously as he charged towards Wu Yan again. The other soldiers had already been surrounded by the enemy and were quickly defeated under the chaotic sword strikes. Li Hong gripped his sword with both hands and struck eleven consecutive blows, the sound of which was like hammering iron. After the eleventh blow, Wu Yan's sword flew out of his hand, leaving him wide open. Li Hong seized the opportunity to strike another blow, a thunderous and decisive one that would surely claim victory.

  Xiong Ba appeared. Xiong Ba knew that Li Hong was in the Lu Long Fortress. Wu Yan's soldiers had met him on the grasslands before. After climbing up the city wall, he saw Li Hong. He kept following him at a distance. He didn't know why he wanted to do this? But he knew that if Li Hong were to be in danger, he would have to save his life. For Tie Lang, and also for Murong Feng.

  When Murong Feng heard that Li Hong and Tuoba Jian had fallen off the cliff, he was depressed for many days. When he bid farewell to him, Murong Feng repeatedly instructed him to investigate his whereabouts. Now General must have received his message. Knowing that Baozi is still alive, General will definitely be happy. As long as it makes General happy, he will do it.

  Xiong Ba intercepted the knife, but he saved Wu Yan instead. Li Hong's knife was too powerful. Xiong Ba's tiger mouth was shocked, his war knife slanted, and Wu Yan's chest immediately gushed out blood. He was still stabbed by the tip of the war knife. Li Hong saw Xiong Ba. Although they had been together for a very short time and only met a few times, Li Hong had a deep impression of him. A man named Xiong Ba looked like an ordinary little hunter.

  Li Hongchong smiled and took it as a greeting, then turned around and ran. The soldiers chasing behind him were frantically shouting and pounced on him. Li Hongchong fought and fled, without any fear.

  Wuyan's siege troops had all surged onto the city tower, and then rushed to the Lubulong Square. The horn was blown simultaneously on the Wangri Tower, which was the victory horn, and the loud sound echoed in the sky above Lubulong. The soldiers were inspired by the horn, each with an excited expression, and their morale was greatly boosted. They shouted excitedly, holding up their weapons, like a tide surging towards the square of Lubulong, surging towards the Lubulong Building.

  Ludong Fortress, the impregnable Ludong Fortress, has finally been taken by them.

  The war drums on the top of Lulong Tower sounded again, and the huge drumbeat seemed to respond to the invaders' victory horn, telling them their determination to retake Lulong Pass.

  The war drums never stopped. The drummers roared, using all their strength to swing the drumsticks in their hands and wildly beat the dozen or so large drums on top of the Loulong Tower.

  The giant banner on the top of the building was flying in the night wind, its huge surface violently shaking and making a dull "popping" sound, giving people a sense of its anger and power.

  Wu Yan's body was weak, and fresh blood had already stained his upper body. He fell into Xiong Ba's arms, one hand tightly pressing against his chest, the other pointing at Lu Long Lou, laughing and saying: "Today, we finally got what we wanted."

  Li Hong faced the swarming enemy, looking at their excited and almost frantic faces. He had no choice but to retreat quickly. Suddenly, he thought of himself struggling in the turbulent waters of the Niushui River. Now he was like a leaf on the river, helpless and rolling with the waves, facing disaster at any moment.

  Ji Ming and several soldiers overturned the large pots in the center of the square, pouring out boiling oil that flowed everywhere. They lifted up the still-burning cauldrons and threw them into the oil. The oil ignited the scattered firewood with a loud "boom", erupting into fierce flames that lit up the entire Lulong Pass Square in an instant.

  The soldiers on the city wall, under the command of Queji, fired a volley. Hundreds of arrows whizzed into the night sky, towards the fire in the center of Lulong Pass Square.

  Li Hong was blocked by the big fire, so he had to muster up his remaining strength and charge into the enemy formation again. But he really was like a leaf blown away by a strong gust of wind, immediately dizzy and disoriented, and then swept away by the crowd, bypassing the large fire in the center of the square, rushing towards the Lu Long Building.

  Li Hong saw Ji Ming. Ji Ming was lying on the ground, waving his hands in the air for help, screaming in pain. The big fire was slowly approaching him.

  Li Hong only felt like a pile of dry firewood that had been ignited, his whole body burning with rage. Suddenly, he burst out with infinite strength, letting out a wild beast-like howl from his mouth. He charged towards the fire scene, step by step getting closer to his comrades.

  Li Hong was covered in blood, cutting down the last enemy in front of him, and leaped into the sea of flames. The fire had already reached Ji Ming's body. Li Hong held up Ji Ming with both hands, let out a loud roar, and carried him onto his own shoulders.

  Li Hong charged out of the sea of flames. He held Ji Ming in one arm and his sword in the other, his roar no longer human. He rushed into the midst of the enemy soldiers. The enemies saw a ball of fire rushing towards them from behind and dodged to make way, allowing this madman with disheveled hair to slaughter his way out. This madman was their death god from the start, the battle was almost over, yet he still hadn't died. All the enemies who had faced him were terrified of him. Let him run, anyway, he would be dead soon.

  Ji Ming endured the immense pain, using all her strength to call out to Li Hong in a hoarse voice: "Promise me, you must take care of Xiao Yu for the rest of your life, forever."

  Li Hong ran frantically, "I promise you, I promise you, you won't die, you won't die!"

  "You... swear..." Ji Ming's voice grew weaker and smaller.

  "I swear!" Li Hong shouted loudly, "I swear!"

  Li Hong felt that Ji Ming was dead. He ran wildly, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, and nervously shouted all the way: "I swear, I swear..."

  Li Hong ran at top speed to the foot of Lulong Tower City.

  The giant city gate of Ludong Building was tightly closed. Li Hong's heart was as dead as ashes, and he no longer cared about his own life. He put down Ji Ming and flailed at the flames on his body with all his might.

  "Justice, justice..." Li Hong shouted loudly as he held him in his arms. Ji Ming had been pierced through the chest by a long arrow from behind and was already dead. His hand tightly grasped the green sachet. The sachet had been soaked with Ji Ming's fresh blood and turned red.

  The giant gate behind made a loud "creaking" sound as it slowly opened.

  The thousands of enemies who came running towards them saw that the gate had signs of opening and all shouted in unison, quickening their pace.

  The door is slowly opening, and it's getting bigger and bigger.

  Suddenly, the enemy's footsteps slowed down. They could hardly believe their eyes.