Chapter Fourteen: The Crisis of Life and Death

  While they were fighting fiercely outside the city, a crushing massacre was taking place inside.

  Due to Feng Yu and Luo Xin's attack, the civilians were able to safely escape into the city, also giving enough preparation time for those inside; after bypassing Feng Yu and Luo Xin's phalanx, the Hulan cavalry followed up and charged over the first outer city wall, only to find Chen Liang's White Tiger Battalion neatly lined up at the entrance of the second city wall.

  Just as the heroic Hulan warriors were brandishing their swords and trying to charge through the White Tiger Battalion's defenses into the city, two massive boulders suddenly fell from the gate of the first city wall, blocking their retreat.

  At the same time, the warriors of the Qinglong Army on the city wall began their attack.

  Due to Feng Yuezhang and Lu Xiang's obstruction, the Hulan people's large-scale siege equipment did not keep up, and those who charged forward were all cavalry. Therefore, Bai Qi sent out a group of soldiers to throw stones and shoot arrows outside the city, easily blocking the enemy; while the Hulan people inside the city were not so lucky, huge boulders fell like shooting stars, and arrows rained down like dense rain, in the narrow space with nearly 50,000 Hulan soldiers, making every round of attack extremely deadly. Due to the narrowness of the passage, the Hulan people could not break through the densely formed White Tiger Army.

  After the attack had lasted for a short while, bucket after bucket of black stuff suddenly fell from above, followed by several rockets shooting down at the same time.

  "It's bad! The Sheng Long people have launched a fire attack!"

  "Oh no, save me!"

  "Get out quickly!"

  "No, get out of the way, I don't want to die here!"

  The Hulan people wailed and screamed, the fierce fire burning in the crowded crowd, the entire army plunged into madness. Many people killed each other in despair; many were futilely striking at the giant boulder blocking the gate with their swords; of course, most of the Hulan soldiers lived up to the honor of being a mighty army, launching a final desperate attack on the White Tiger Battalion.

  Although the White Tiger Battalion was under considerable pressure, due to geographical constraints, only the soldiers in the front row could engage in actual combat with the White Tiger Battalion, while those behind them had nothing to do but worry.

  Looking at the thick and long queue of the White Tiger Corps, one can't help but feel a sense of helpless despair that is impossible to kill.

  The battle didn't last long, but its destructive power was enormous. The entire city below turned into a human hell, and Ou Jing, standing on the city wall, had already vomited uncontrollably.

  As time went on, the Hulan people's resistance grew weaker and weaker, and the White Tiger Corps began to charge out, launching a final attack on the besieged Hulan people.

  However, the Hulan army was indeed a famous and powerful force in the world. Even at this moment, no one was willing to surrender. Unfortunately, such bravery only added to the slaughter under the current circumstances.

  The storm outside the city is getting worse. Under the command of the storm, the Imperial Guard and the Red Lion Army have finally come together. However, facing tens of thousands of Hulan people's siege, this army seems so helpless.

  In the brief and intense battle, the casualties were astonishing. The Red Lion Battalion was left with only over 10,000 men, while the Imperial Guard suffered more than half of its losses. Facing the invincible Hulan cavalry in this open terrain was like hitting a stone with an egg, which made Feng Yu criticized by many military historians later on.

  Feng Yu's numb hands wielded the treasured sword, facing nearly endless enemies. After a long battle, fatigue began to overwhelm his entire body, and Luo Xin's injuries also made Feng Yu feel anxious and distracted.

  This guy is not just anyone who doesn't care about his life. After suffering such severe injuries, he still fought tenaciously until the arrival of the storm, and then fainted without saying a word, as if everything was settled once the storm arrived.

  All he could do was smile wryly at the wind and rain, although in his heart he was deeply moved that this big fellow trusted him so much. However, with the enemy pressing in like a tide before him, and having to command the entire army's advance and retreat, it truly wasn't an easy task.

  Suddenly, Feng Yu felt a strong surge of true energy coming towards him without warning. His instinctive reaction was to gather all his strength and barely avoid the crisis in front of him, but he was also left with floating blood and weakness in his hands and feet. When he looked around, he saw that three red-robed lamas had formed a circle around him from three directions.

  It seems that Geshu Hanwen has finally mobilized his elite troops - thought Feng Yu with a bitter smile.

  Originally, Geshu Xingwen had intended to attack Lunyu Pass with all his might, sending large batches of troops to bypass the pass from both sides and charge into the city; he hadn't expended too much energy on this side. It was precisely for this reason that Fengyu was still able to survive on the battlefield until now.

  Many people have also criticized Geshu Han after the fact, believing that he should not have hesitated and missed the opportunity to attack, and if he had mobilized the entire army from the start, perhaps the course of history would have been rewritten.

  If Feng Yu heard this afterwards, he would probably sneer coldly and say: "It's easy to be wise after the event!"

  In fact, no one expected that in such a decisive battle, as the commander of an army, he would personally rush to the front line and put himself in a desperate situation. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Geshu Hanwen's main goal this time was to retake Lunyu Pass. The stormy killing team that broke out of the city was just a daredevil squad with a diversionary attack effect in the face of Hulan's large army. Even if only a part of the troops were dispatched, facing the powerful impact of Hulan's invincible cavalry, this hard-fought unit should be able to be solved soon.

  However, due to the personal command of Feng Yu, both the morale and the command methods made this army perform above its standard. Therefore, after fighting for so long, it still maintained its complete formation.

  The development of the battle has now made this accidental attack by Feng and Yu a crucial factor in the overall situation. Firstly, their distraction gave Bai Qi time to deploy his troops comfortably within the city, while the Hulan people's siege engines did not arrive on time, making it even easier for Bai Qi to win the battle of annihilation.

  Secondly, this team is like a tumor in the Hulan army, making it impossible for the Hulan people to exert their strength in attacking the city with a large army, and also making the overall movement of the Hulan army restricted everywhere, each unit cannot arrive at the key combat position in time, producing the overall effect of the whole army.

  It wasn't until he began to feel that this team, which should have been eliminated long ago, was still struggling to support his plan to capture the city, and it was a hindrance. When he decided to solve this army first, he lost the most favorable opportunity.

  Thirty miles before the Linyu Pass, there is a wide river surrounding the entire city. Between the river and the city wall is flat open land. Due to this terrain, Geshu Han was forced to deploy his troops in batches - more than 400,000 troops were too many, all squeezed under the city, facing the powerful lethal weapons on Linyu Pass, could only serve as live targets.

  So although the battle was extremely fierce, only half of the Hu Lan army was on the battlefield, and nearly 200,000 people were on the other side of the river as a reserve force, not taking advantage of Bai Qi's concentration of forces inside the city to cross the river and fight. Although this is generally considered an orthodox and mature way of fighting, in this war it led to a fatal loss of opportunity.

  When Gongsun Yangwen finally made up his mind to send out a large army to crush the Hu Lan tribe, Bai Qi had already completed the annihilation battle within the city. The large stones shot from the catapults hit the heads of the Hu Lan people, causing the reserve troops who were about to cross the river to delay their action. However, even so, the elite part of the Hu Lan army had already taken action, and Feng Yu would face even greater pressure.

  The three red-robed lamas who had formed a circle around Feng Yu began their attack on him. Three powerful forces came at Feng Yu mercilessly, the entire offensive route was so tight that he couldn't avoid it at all.

  Amidst the wind and rain, he gritted his teeth and struck with all his might. His sword pierced through one of the Hulan soldiers in front of him, then his body leapt into the air, dodging two true energy attacks from left and right. He focused his energy on his dan tian, using force to block the incoming attack from the front. Then, he let out a loud roar and swiftly stabbed his sword towards the red-robed lama in front of him.

  That guy obviously didn't expect the storm to be so ruthless, and that sword was so fast, he was stunned for a moment, and then he was pierced through the heart by the storm.

  But at this time, Feng Yu was also exhausted, his dantian was empty and hollow, as if all his strength had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

  "Not good!" Feng Yu exclaimed, realizing from the start of his martial arts training that this technique took a shortcut, vastly different from other techniques. The benefits were twofold: it was extremely effective and the flow of true energy was unique, running at twice the speed and power as others; but the downside was that before breaking through the ninth level, it often led to insufficient follow-up, and after prolonged battles, there was even a risk of dispersing attacks.

  Just now, I was killing in the midst of a large army, and had already exhausted a lot of my true energy. Now, facing the attack of three red-robed lamas with powers no lower than that of a seventh-grade master, even more is being consumed. And at this critical moment right before my eyes, my internal breath is going to cause trouble again. I'm really unlucky.

  (Note: The Hulan people believe in Lamaism, so there are many Lamas serving as personal bodyguards for military leaders, sometimes also engaging in secret activities. They are divided into four levels: green, yellow, red and white. Red-robed Lamas are equivalent to seventh-grade masters in the Central Plains, only someone like Xianggong Shixing can possess; as for White-robed Lamas, their martial arts skills are not inferior to eighth-grade masters in the Central Plains, and even decades ago, there was a White-robed Lama who fought evenly with a ninth-grade master from the Central Plains; currently, there are only seven White-robed Lamas)

  Looking at the remaining two red-robed lamas attacking again, a feeling of "my life is over!" flashed through Feng Yu's mind. Luo Xin was heavily injured, and the army was trapped in a fierce battle. It seemed that his own time had indeed come to an end!

  As he thought about it, the wind and rain suddenly gave him a feeling of having done something wrong that could not be undone.

  It's really a retribution. A month ago, when I conquered the Lengyu Pass myself, I killed two red-robed lamas and inadvertently discovered a major conspiracy within Hulan. It was precisely because of knowing this conspiracy that I designed to let Geshu Xingwen come here and have a decisive battle with me, and prepared to leave a hidden soldier for future contention for the world.

  I didn't expect that the perfect plan I had carefully set up would not even be halfway through, yet it would be ruined because of these two damned lamas, and it's a case of one retribution for another!