Chapter Six: Midnight Assassination

  Tong Dashuai and Qin Hao met at the exit of the mountain valley, Qin Hao counted the soldiers, each team leader was alive, only some were slightly injured, and 3,200 other soldiers had died. The remaining army had 7,100 people, of course, Dashuai and Lei Ming were not included. Qin Hao asked: "Dashuai, where are we going now?"

  General Tong hesitated for a long time, then analyzed: "Now we can't go back the same way, there are Wu and Yue's armies on that side. If we take a detour, we don't have enough food in our hands, dry rations can only be gnawed for one or two meals, not enough for us to take a long detour, this strategy won't work. Staying put is even more impossible. There is only...” General Tong stopped here, and solemnly swept his gaze over the surrounding generals.

  "Charge into the vast sky!" Mr. Wen and Qin Hao exclaimed in unison, Qin Hao clenched his fists, and Mr. Wen's eyes gleamed with intensity.

  "Alright! We charge towards the dawn!" Tong Da Shuai said with a smile at the corner of his eyes, "We'll seize back the Black Chicken Garrison, and then we won't have to worry about the grain guardians anymore."

  "What about our border defense?" Qin Hao worried about the national border.

  "Haha!" Mr. Wen smiled and said, "Don't worry, the Wu Yue army has many soldiers but little food, we've destroyed all the grain that we couldn't take with us, so they won't be able to go far in that direction." Everyone had no further objections...

  "Pass on my orders! Prepare the entire army, advance at full speed towards Wujijun! No noise is allowed!" General Tong gave the order to advance the whole army in front of the raging mountain fire.

  Tong Dashuai led the army to quietly arrive at Wujicheng, the Heavenly Army rushed at full speed, many soldiers were so tired that their legs cramped, and they could only make it to Wujicheng with the help of other soldiers. At this time, the sky was already near dawn, the city gate was tightly closed, and a few sleepy guards stood idly on the city wall. Looking at the 10-meter-high city wall and the tightly closed city gate, the generals and soldiers were at a loss, without any siege equipment, unable to break open the large gate, and all the bows and arrows had been used up last night...

  Tong Dashuai saw the soldiers' eyes glaze over, and thought to himself, if he didn't think of a way to attack soon, he feared that all the soldiers would scatter. But where could they escape to? It was just a matter of running away for a little while, only to die later. Suddenly, his gaze fell on Lei Hong beside him, and an idea flashed in his mind, perhaps he had a plan.

  Lei Meng was carefully observing the movements on the city wall under the dim sky, when he suddenly felt a scorching gaze coming from his left side. He quickly turned around and saw Tong Da Shuai staring at him with piercing eyes, just like a wolf eyeing a beauty or a miser gazing at gold.

  Lei Meng took a step back and asked, "Don't look at me like that, just say what you want to say."

  Watching Lei Meng's inexplicable movements, Tong Da Shuai couldn't help but laugh and said: "Lei Meng, do you have a way to deal with the people on the city wall? Our bows and arrows are all used up."

  "Uh, okay, but please don't stare at me like that, it's uncomfortable!" Lei Meng replied, but also made his own request.

  "Alright, alright! Go quickly and wait for your good news." Tong Dashuai was overjoyed.

  "Take care of Yang Tian!" After finishing speaking, Lei Meng brandished his knife and swiftly ran out.

  "Good!" Tong Dashuai responded with a voice, found no one around, and stopped what he was about to say.

  Yang Tian emerged from one side, his left upper arm tied with a few strips of hemp cloth, and hummed softly: "Just them?"

  Then they saw Lei Meng quietly arrive at the foot of the city wall by the gate, and then, as if riding the wind, he floated straight up, only lightly tapping his feet on the city wall twice before flipping over the top. The soldiers guarding the city were still dozing off, apparently feeling very confident about Wujitun, not even knowing that a large army had arrived at the foot of the city.

  A loud thunderclap shook the air as he lightly chopped the back of the man's neck, knocking him unconscious and gently laying him down to the side. Then, following the same method, he knocked out all the guards on the city wall - even if they were awake, they would be scared silly by such a godly figure! How can you fight someone who can fly?!

  The figure of Lei Meng disappeared from the city wall, and after a while, the city gate in front of Tong Da Shuai "creaked" open from the inside, with Lei Meng's short stature pushing the big door. At this time, the red sun was rising from the eastern mountain, casting a reddish glow on Lei Meng... Tong Da Shuai and others were shocked from seeing Lei Meng fly up the city wall until now, were they watching a myth? Was it true that there were immortals?

  Yang Tian saw that the people around him didn't react, and he waited a bit impatiently. He lightly asked Tong Da Shuai: "General, aren't we going into the city?"

  "What? Enter the city? Enter, of course. Ah? The city gate is open! Enter the city!" Tong Dashuai slowly came to and finally gave the order to enter the city.

  "Oh...!"

  The exhausted soldiers lifted their spirits and cheered as they poured in through the city gate. The Thunderbolt at the entrance hastily dodged to one side, letting everyone pass. Yang Tian also jumped lightly a few times, dashing to Thunderbolt's side, smiling and asking: "Was it exciting last night?"

  "Lei Meng laughed and said: 'It's quite exciting, I didn't think we were so powerful.'"

  "It's because they're too weak!" Yang Tian sneered.

  "Come on, let's have some fresh fun here?" Leimeng said with a sneer.

  "Uh..." Yang Tian was speechless.

  The residents of the city were startled by the shouts of the Jin army and quickly closed their doors and windows, covering their ears. The other defending soldiers in the city also heard that it was the Jin army entering the city and hastily fled outside. The whole city was in a state of chaos, like a chicken flying and a dog jumping, making a big mess.

  Tong Dashuai ordered Qin Hao to lead a thousand vanguard troops to climb up the city wall, closing and guarding the gates. At the same time, he ordered some people to go to the military camp to find food and cook meals, while others found bows and arrows from the city guards and moved them to the top of the city wall for use.

  Then spent an hour cooking and eating, and went to rest on shift. The vanguard army on the city wall also leaned against the battlements and dozed off.

  At noon, the sun shone brightly on the city walls, making the soldiers even more drowsy. Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from afar. Wu Yue led his army, the Haotian Army, and after putting out the mountain fire, they crossed the valley without finding any Jin Yuan Army troops. They decided to lead their main force back to Wujitown to rest. However, when they returned to the outskirts of Wujitown, they found that all the guards on the city walls were dozing off. Upon closer inspection, they realized it wasn't the Haotian Army and that the number of troops left behind by Haotian was not this many. Wu Yue was shocked and enraged, shouting: "The despicable Jin Yuan Army has actually occupied Wujitown! Unforgivable!" The exhausted generals remained silent.

  Wu Yue furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, although the Jin army was small in number, they had already rested for an entire morning; the Huan Tian army had been running back and forth, and were now exhausted. It would not be suitable to attack the city at this time. Why not surround them and wait for an opportunity to strike? They probably wouldn't dare to come out and launch a strong attack!

  At this point, Wu Yue regained his spirit and shouted: "Li Hun! Take 10,000 soldiers to bypass the city and block the west gate, and camp nearby! I want to trap the Jin army to death here!" — Li Hun was a capable general under Wu Yue's command. Although he couldn't be said to be exceptionally brave or wise, he was steady and reliable in his work, and Wu Yue's orders were generally carried out thoroughly.

  "Guards, go to the White River and invite Master Li Tian Nan to come!" Wu Yueh ordered, then muttered: You have a master, let my Haotian's master entertain you!

  Yang Tian killed many of Hao Tian's generals in the mountain valley, which really made Wu Yue furious. He decided to take revenge!

  Qin Hao on the city wall was relatively awake, he discovered when the Haotian army came from afar and woke up the troops, but there were few soldiers, so they pretended to sleep well to let the Haotian soldiers approach, giving them a concentrated strong shot. Also, someone was sent to report to General Tong.

  Tong Dashuai didn't stand on ceremony, and after arriving, he occupied Wu Yue's city, laughing loudly with joy, eating his fill and sleeping soundly. However, the tense nerves of war didn't let him sleep for long, and as soon as he woke up, he heard a messenger report that the Wu Yue army had returned and was blocking the east and west city gates.

  Dong Dazhuang thought, if they block the way, then so be it. With Lei Ming and Yang Tian there, the whole army can rest well and still charge back! So he ordered Zhang Shan, Lin Chong, Wang Li, and Song Yi to replace the soldiers on guard at the city wall, while the remaining troops continued to rest and recover their spirits.

  In the late afternoon, Wu Yue's entire army was eating dry rations, which would be their last meal of dry rations. After finishing this meal, they would wait for Master Li Tian Nan to come and kill the Jin Yuan generals, then create chaos in the Jin Yuan army and launch a charge to capture the city.

  At this time, a horse came running from the northwest, and Wu Yue looked up to see that it was Li Tian Nan, dressed in black, riding a fine black horse. Wu Yue hurriedly waved his hand and shouted: "Li Zong Shi, over here."

  Li Tian Nan rode a black horse to the vicinity of Wu Yue, jumped off the horse, and saw that he was short and sturdy, about 1.68 meters tall, with rough muscles. Wu Yue went forward to greet him, saying: "Li Zong Shi, it's been a long time since we last met, I suppose your martial arts skills have become even more powerful?" Li Tian Nan laughed loudly: "Haha! Wu Da Shuai, it's been a long time since we last met. I don't know what level of expertise this time's master is at, but hearing your message has made me a bit itchy."

  "This, I'm afraid I'm not good enough to see through that person's true nature." Wu Yue sold a pass and continued, "I only know he is short in stature, about 1.4 meters tall. He is extremely formidable, coming and going freely among the troops. Don't laugh at me, I was forced to retreat again and again, and finally withdrew!"

  Li Tian Nan was taken aback, this Wu Yue's military tactics were renowned, and his own martial arts skills were not bad either. How could he be forced to retreat by just one person? It seemed that this person had some weight. He said that in the midst of a million soldiers, he could come and go freely; I should also be able to do it, and I'll show him right now.

  Li Tian Nan asked: "Where is this person?"

  Wu Yue pointed to Wujitown and said, "Wujitown has been occupied by them. Now we have nowhere to go. We can only wait for Master Li Zong to eliminate their commander and experts before we can enter the city!"

  "This... " Li Tian Nan hesitated, "Isn't this going to lead to a massacre of innocent lives?"

  Wu Yue said seriously to Li Tian Nan, "Li Zong Shi, these Jin Yuan soldiers have entered our Huāng Tiān territory and killed countless Huāng Tiān compatriots. If you don't eliminate them, when they reach the White River and harm your loved ones, I wonder what you will think?"

  Li Tian Nan listened, silent and unmoving. He also knew that the war between the two countries had no moral justification, and all talk of martial virtue was nonsense. Just as he was about to make a ruthless decision, Wu Yue added fuel to the fire: "Do you know that your brother Chu Fei was beheaded on the battlefield yesterday?"

  "What! Brother Chu is dead!" Li Tian Nan exclaimed in shock and anger, "How detestable! The crime cannot be forgiven!" After finishing speaking, he suppressed his anger and coldly said to Wu Yue: "Speak, Commander Wu. What should we do."

  Wu Yue secretly rejoiced and said, "Later when the sky is a bit darker, please have Li Zongshi sneak into the commander's headquarters and kill their commander. The Jin Yuan army will surely fall into great chaos. We'll hear the commotion inside the city from outside and launch a fierce attack!" After a pause, he added, "You can fight that expert in the chaotic army, anyway we won't be able to hurt you."

  Li Tian Nan nodded and took a piece of dry rations from the soldier who handed it to him, Wu Yue Jun. He started eating, but his face scrunched up in distaste. It seemed like the food had gone bad. These days, everything tasted about the same - just some flour mixed with meat scraps, dried vegetables, and rice grains steamed together, then kneaded into a ball and dried out. When you first ate it, the flavor was okay, but after a day or two, the taste would change. But when you were in battle, there was no choice, so as long as you had something to eat, that was good enough.

  Time passed quickly for an hour, and night fell. Tonight there are some clouds blocking the stars in the sky, it's so dark that you can't see your fingers when you stretch out your hand, and it seems like there might be a change in the weather. At this time, all the soldiers who had eaten their fill were almost rested, and they could engage in intense exercise.

  Li Tian Nan didn't wait for Wu Yue's urging, he smeared his face black and inserted the 30-centimeter-long treasured sword - although it was a bit short, but still in the shape of a sword, so it could be called a sword - under the cover of night, he quietly made his way to the corner of the city wall. He drew out the treasured sword, occasionally reflecting the cold light from the fire on the city wall, and with a burst of speed, he jumped up four meters high, then "whooshed" as he inserted the sword into the wall, stabilizing his body. Next, using the elasticity of the treasured sword, he sprang upwards, pulling out the sword just before his body was about to fall, and again inserting it into the wall. After doing this once more, he flipped over the city wall and quickly hid in the shadows.

  Li Tian Nan glanced around, found no one was paying attention, and quickly climbed down the wall. He landed with a roll, but didn't make any noise. Then he dodged east and west, taking only three or four minutes to sneak into the city.

  At this time, Tong Da Shuai and Lei Meng, Wen Xian Sheng, Qin Hao, and Yang Tian Zheng sat around a square table in the hall to discuss military strategy. Tong Da Shuai sat alone on one side with his back to the window, while Lei Meng and Yang Tian sat together on the left side of Tong Da Shuai. Qin Hao sat opposite Tong Da Shuai, and Wen Xian Sheng sat on the right side. It was unclear whether Lei Meng and Yang Tian were too focused and didn't notice their surroundings, or if they were careless and underestimated the abilities of others, but somehow Li Tian Nan managed to sneak up to the windowsill without being detected.

  Li Tian Nan couldn't help but applaud his own sneaking ability, and also secretly ridiculed Wu Yue for not discovering him even though he had reached this point. This was a master of considerable skill, seemingly not much different from himself, Li Tian Nan concluded. In that case, let's take out their commander first.

  He listened for a while, and then he heard the location of Tong Dashuai, and also knew which one it was. It turned out that Tong Dashuai was facing away from the window, three meters away from the window. So, he slid onto the windowsill, quietly and soundlessly leaped forward, creating a slight ripple in the air, and stabbed straight at Tong Dashuai's left back heart.

  Lei Meng and Yang Tian only discovered someone when Li Tian Nan jumped up, and was making a surprise attack, couldn't help but be greatly shocked. Qin Hao saw the person flying over to stab him, his mouth open and eyes wide, unable to shout out.

  It was too late to shout for Tóng Dàshuài to dodge, Léi Míng swung his hand and struck out with the Force-Infused Taixing, charging straight at Lǐ Tiānnán. This was the tactic of "besieging Wèi to rescue Zhào". Lǐ Tiānnán felt a strong gust of wind coming, his body slightly shifted to the right, leaning more to the right, but still charging forward. The short sword stabbed into Tóng Dàshuài's right chest with a "puff" sound. Lǐ Tiānnán was overjoyed in his heart, thinking, "It's done."

  He didn't want to, but he stabbed Tong Da Shuai. The force of Lei Meng's blow also grazed his left shoulder. All that could be heard was the sound of "crackling" as Li Tian Nan's entire left arm bone shattered. The sword sheath in his left hand fell to the ground with a "clap". A piercing pain surged up, and Li Tian Nan's forehead began to sweat profusely. It's over, this is a high-level master! Another gust of wind blew by, and Li Tian Nan flipped backwards, pulling out the sword stuck in Tong Da Shuai's right chest, as well as a gush of hot blood. It turned out that Yang Tian had swung his Tang knife with his right hand, striking him down. Only then did everyone hear the "whooshing" sound of the knife being swung, followed by the knife sheath flying out due to inertia, revealing the grayish-white Tang knife.

  Yang Tian swung his Tang knife and flashed towards Li Tian Nan. Li Tian Nan raised his treasure sword to block, but only heard a "ding" sound, as the knife and sword clashed and produced sparks. Yang Tian saw that his strong slash was ineffective and knew that the assassin's short sword was extraordinary, so he changed his strategy, raising his knife to make a fierce slashing motion. Seeing the assassin raise his sword to block again, he quickly changed direction and slashed towards the assassin's hand. Li Tian Nan reacted quickly as well, but his left arm had just been injured and was still throbbing in pain, trying to suppress the pain and reduce his strength. He rolled up his sleeves and deflected the knife with a cold sweat. Yang Tian used all his energy to slash down hard, and again heard a "ding" sound, as the short sword flew out to the left side. After all, Yang Tian's internal strength was too strong, while Li Tian Nan was at his weakest.

  Li Tian Nan stumbled back two steps, apparently exhausted from his shattered left arm. Yang Tian took a swift step forward and stabbed in succession, severing the tendons of Li Tian Nan's right arm and both legs before leaping back to create some distance.

  Li Tian Nan's eyes were wide with anger, his teeth clenched, and sweat dripped from his head. He knew that things had gone too far to be reversed, and he was finished. He had made up his mind to end it all. His legs gave way beneath him, unable to support his body, and he fell forward, crashing onto the ground. Just as Lei Meng was about to step forward to ask questions, Li Tian Nan's waist suddenly contracted, and his head hit the ground with a loud "thud", shattering into pieces. His body went still in an instant.

  "What a dangerous and tough guy!" Lei Meng sighed lightly.

  Yang Tian hummed lightly: "Another stinky temper! However, dying like this is more straightforward, no need to suffer anymore!" After finishing speaking, he went to find his knife sheath.

  Turning back, Lei Meng saw Qin Hao and Mr. Wen anxiously surrounding Tong Da Shuai, who was sitting upright, with their hands pressing on his back and chest, where fresh blood was gushing out, Tong Da Shuai's face was pale. Lei Meng swiftly moved over, pointing his fingers at the wound, and the bleeding stopped immediately.

  Mr. Wen and Qin Hao saw this, and their tight hearts loosened. Mr. Wen asked: "General, do you want to call someone over to bandage it?"

  Tong Dashuai raised his hand and shook it lightly, saying: "The arrow hit the right chest, but he won't die yet. Let other generals know that they will only cause everyone to worry and there is a risk of unstable military morale."

  He stopped and said to Lei Meng: "I owe you another life, Lei Meng. I won't say more, thank you!"

  "You're welcome, it's what I'm supposed to do."

  "Qin Hao, go get some wound medicine, we'll bandage each other up and change clothes later, it won't be noticeable then."

  Then there was another flurry of activity. Tong Dashuai bandaged his wound and changed his clothes. Except for a slightly pale face and softer voice, he looked no different from usual.