Chapter 412
Chapter 412
Su Jianyan raised his hand and declared.
“Zhang Chong, when my hand falls, the heads of your son and grandson will fall to the ground. Surely you won't just stand there and watch your son and grandson die before your very eyes? Your grandson isn't even five, yet he looks so bright and clever. Zhang Chong, if you don't want your son and grandson to die, it's very simple. Take your own life in front of this crowd!”
Hearing those words, the defending soldiers on the city wall were shocked, and Princess Ningjue was also startled.
‘How utterly vicious of the Su Clan. To think they'd threaten Zhang Chong into taking his own life. Do they care nothing for their reputation or honor?’
Looking at the Su Clan's allied forces, most of the soldiers didn't seem to think they were doing anything wrong, nor did they appear to feel any shame. I see! It seems the Su Clan, being close to the Western Regions and the Qiang Kingdom, has adopted the values of the Western world. The various nations of the Western Regions did not emphasize values like etiquette and honor. Su Nan's act of taking Zhang Chong's family hostage to threaten him was a shameful act condemned in the Eastern nations, but in the Western Regions, it was a trivial matter where the ends justified the means. Since the Su and Qiang were about to unite, Su Nan was acting as if they were already a Western nation.
“Zhang Chong, surely you won't just watch your son and grandson die, will you? I will count down from five. If you don't take your own life in front of everyone, the heads of your son and grandson will fall to the ground. Five! Four! Three!...”
Zhang Chong forcefully drew his sword and held it to his own throat. Princess Ningjue, shocked, cried out loudly.
“Lord Zhang, don't! Even if you take your own life, they will not release your son and grandson.”
Zhang Chong knew this, of course. But was he to do nothing while his son and grandson were about to die before his eyes? That would violate his principles as a scholar-official. Moreover, Zhang Chong even thought that his death could boost the morale of the defending troops. If they fought for their lives, perhaps they could defend White Night Commandery City a little longer. They might even be able to hold out until Shen Lang's army arrived, and if White Night Commandery City did not fall because of it, he thought his death would be truly worthwhile. At that moment, Zhang Shun, on the execution platform, shouted loudly.
“Father, no!”
Zhang Shun tried to kill himself by forcefully slamming himself against the executioner's blade. Five-year-old Zhang Jun also cried out loudly.
“Grandfather, no!”
Princess Ningjue lunged toward Zhang Chong with all her might.
*Ting!*
A hidden weapon shot from her hand struck the sharp sword in Zhang Chong's hand. But the sword, mercilessly, did not stop. It slashed across Zhang Chong's neck, and as bright red blood sprayed everywhere, Zhang Chong's gaunt body collapsed.
“No!”
“No!”
“No!”
All the defending soldiers cried out, shedding tears. Princess Ningjue quickly ran to support Zhang Chong, pressing hard on the wound on his neck to stop the gushing blood.
‘Thank goodness, thank goodness!’
She had fired the hidden weapon just in time, and because Zhang Chong was so gravely ill, he lacked the strength to kill himself properly; the sword had not severed his artery. On the execution platform outside the fortress walls, Su Jianyan trembled, watching the scene in disbelief. He hadn't even finished counting to five, yet Zhang Chong had actually committed suicide.
Zhang Shun also failed in his suicide attempt, spitting fresh blood from his mouth as he collapsed headfirst to the ground. The surviving five-year-old Zhang Jun wailed loudly.
“Grandfather, Grandfather...!”
Since Su Nan had ordered their deaths, Zhang Shun and Zhang Jun had to die regardless of Zhang Chong's suicide. But now that things had turned out this way, they couldn't be killed publicly here; they would be killed in secret. Su Jianyan looked at the defending soldiers on the city wall. To a man, their eyes were bloodshot, and they looked at the Su Clan's army with extreme rage, as if they wanted to devour them. Zhang Chong's suicide had instead boosted their morale. Hadn't their own scheme backfired on them?
But Su Zhan looked down on them and sneered. How long could they last on morale alone? Princess Ningjue might be a powerful martial artist, but leading troops in war was another matter entirely. With Zhang Chong's death, the defenders inside the city had lost their leader and were bound to be defeated. Su Zhan quickly climbed onto the command platform and shouted.
“Zhang Chong is dead! All forces, attack the city!”
Deafening war drums thundered.
“Kill, kill!”
The Su Clan's allied army of over ten thousand men charged madly toward White Night Commandery City. An extremely fierce siege began once more. The defending forces inside the city numbered less than two thousand, but due to Zhang Chong's suicide, all the soldiers were enraged and frenzied, their morale soaring.
“Avenge Lord Zhang!”
“Kill them, kill them! Let's take those beasts down with us!”
A fierce battle erupted once again. The war cries and killing intent of both armies seemed to pierce the heavens. Commander Su Zhan stood on the command platform and breathed a sigh of relief. Although the battle was fierce now, that was all it was. The defenders would not be able to hold out much longer; once their energy was spent, White Night Commandery City would fall. After today, no one in Tianxi Province would be able to stop the Su Clan's army. Our Su Clan will rise like a phoenix today.
Just then, from the southwest, an astonishing cloud of dust rose, like a dark storm cloud rolling in. Su Zhan saw this and sneered.
‘The vanguard of the Qiang Kingdom's cavalry has finally arrived.’
Since yesterday, he had received a series of urgent reports. The reports stated that King A'luotai of Qiang was besieging the allied forces of A'luonana and Shen Lang. An army of ten thousand led by the Qiang Kingdom's Great General Subutai was scheduled to enter Tianxi Province and first join with the Su Clan's army. Several messengers had confirmed that the approaching force was the Qiang cavalry. Not only had Great General Subutai come, but several other fierce generals from the Qiang Kingdom had also come to report. They were all well acquainted with the Su Clan.
Because of the news that the Qiang cavalry was approaching, Su Zhan had to conquer White Night Commandery City as quickly as possible. If the Su Clan failed to capture it, not only would the Qiang army steal the fruits of their victory after arriving, but they would surely mock the Su Clan as useless. They would say that the great Qiang army had to help them capture a mere commandery city.
“All forces! Full-scale assault and take White Night Commandery City! We cannot let our Qiang allies look down on us. Take White Night Commandery City!”
Following Su Zhan's command, nearly the entire Su Clan allied army surged forward, attacking the city like madmen. White Night Commandery City seemed to tremble, on the verge of collapse, and the sounds of battle were enough to shake the very heavens.
*Thump, thump, thump.*
The figures of the ten thousand Qiang cavalry were now becoming visible. They began their charge, and Su Zhan sneered at the sight.
‘They were dawdling just a moment ago, so why are they attacking so hastily now? Are they that eager to steal our glory? What's the point of attacking so quickly and fiercely?’
In an instant, ten thousand Qiang cavalrymen plunged into the battlefield. They did not stop; instead, they charged forward with even greater ferocity. Su Zhan was surprised by their relentless advance. Just then, he caught sight of a familiar face among them: the Qiang Kingdom's Great General Subutai. Su Zhan laughed loudly and called out to him.
“Great General, what took you so long!”
At that very moment! Shen Lang forcefully threw off his cloak, and Queen A'luonana of the Qiang Kingdom also threw off her cloak, revealing her face.
“I am Shen Lang!”
“I am A'luonana, Queen of the Qiang Kingdom.”
“We have come to save White Night Commandery City! Kill all the rebels of the Su Clan!”
At their shouts, the ten thousand Qiang cavalry charged with astonishing and fierce momentum, killing and slaughtering the Su Clan's allied forces from behind. In an instant, the Su Clan's allied forces collapsed like a landslide. A one-sided slaughter unfolded.
* * *
Su Zhan could swear to the heavens that he had never been so shocked in his entire life. Even when he heard the news of his son Su Lin's gruesome death and the fall of Zhenyuan City, his shock was not even a tenth of what he felt now. But the moment Shen Lang threw off his cloak and revealed his face, Su Zhan was utterly terrified. It felt as if his very soul, deep in his bones, was trembling. A cold chill seemed to shoot up from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. In an instant, he was frozen in place, as if nailed to the spot.
‘Heavens! What in the world happened? How did it come to this? Shen Lang, how is that wretched bastard not dead? Wasn't he surrounded by tens of thousands of the Qiang King's troops? Didn't they say Kunan Doutuo of Prajna and the Great Calamity Temple went to kill him too? But not only is he not dead, he's leading tens of thousands of troops to attack here.’
Su Zhan had seen the Qiang Great General Subutai so often that he would recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes. And since Su Zhan also knew the faces of several of Subutai's fierce subordinate generals, there was no way they could be impostors disguised as Qiang soldiers to deceive him.
‘Why are they following Shen Lang? Besides, wasn't A'luonana already dead? What happened to King A'luotai? Could it be...? Surely it can't be that both A'luotai and Kunan Doutuo were defeated, and the Qiang army pledged loyalty to A'luonana? The heavens wouldn't play such a cruel joke, would they?’
In fact, at the time, one of the Su Clan members had fled before A'luotai and A'luonana's duel. That person was Su Xiao. Her martial arts were quite skilled, and normally she would have been able to escape, but tragically, a massive avalanche had blocked all the roads at the foot of the mountain. On the snow-covered mountain, it was easy to lose one's way, and she had no choice but to follow the fleeing monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple who were escaping their duel with Shen Lang's allied forces.
Kunan Doutuo's martial arts were so profound that he could climb down the mountain even without a path, but most of the monk soldiers had to diligently clear the snow from the road before they could navigate the treacherous path forward.
However, after Big Dummy captured Su Jianting, Wulie and Yingyang did not stop there; they pursued and kept Su Xiao under surveillance. By the time Shen Lang led his army down the mountain, the monk soldiers were still clearing the path. A'luonana led her army out, killed all several hundred monk soldiers, and Su Xiao was detained by Shen Lang. Thus, not a single person from the Qiang soldiers or the Su Clan managed to escape the battle at the Great Calamity Palace.
Kunan Doutuo escaped with a dozen or so masters from the Great Calamity Temple, but his worldview had been completely overturned. His plan was to lock the gates and enter deep meditation as soon as he reached the temple. In such a state, how could he have the mind to care about the life or death of the Su Clan? Last time, when Zhenyuan City fell, Kunan Doutuo had not reported to Su Nan in time, and he certainly wouldn't report this time either. For these reasons, the Su Clan had no idea what had transpired at the Great Calamity Palace.