Chapter 755
Chapter 755
“Brother, what should we do?”
At Zhong E’s question, Zhong Yao replied.
“Order them to leave Zhenxi City, return to the battlefield at Gunan Fortress, and eliminate the Nirvana Army.”
Zhong E shouted from atop the city wall.
“The Lord has given an order! You are to immediately return to the battlefield at Gunan Fortress and kill every last one of Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army!”
But the Rampage Army, the effects of the Fudao Elixir having worn off, were endlessly disheartened. For days and nights, they had rushed four hundred *li* and slaughtered tens of thousands. Their minds were utterly exhausted; all they wanted was to find a place to lie down and do nothing. The Heavenly Moon City guards had been the same when the elixir’s effects faded. No matter their combat strength, their spirits had been completely broken. It was Ning Zheng’s willingness to sacrifice himself that had reignited their morale back then. Yet now, Zhong Yao was ordering this Rampage Army to turn back and fight the Nirvana Army.
“Great Marshal, we just want to lie down and rest. We don’t want to fight anymore.”
Zhong Yao spoke to them.
“I can open the gates for you. But tell them to lay down all their weapons.”
Zhong E repeated Zhong Yao’s words.
“We can let you in, but you must lay down all your weapons.”
One of the Rampage Army’s warrior leaders stepped forward and asked.
“Lord Zhong E, are you planning to disarm us, let us into the city, and then kill us all?”
A silence fell at his words. The situation before them was an impossible knot to untangle. If a dog bit and killed a person, what would become of it? No matter how calm the dog became afterward, it would surely be put down. Because no one could guarantee it wouldn’t fall into a frenzy and attack again. This Rampage Army had slaughtered so many of the Zhong Clan’s troops; their fate was sealed beyond redemption. By any military law, they would be sentenced to death.
“That will not happen. I know this was not your will, but the treacherous scheme of that villain, Shen Lang. Lay down your arms. I will give you time to enter and compose yourselves, and then, over time, we will let all of this fade.”
In response to Zhong E’s words, the Rampage Army leader said.
“It seems this is a situation that cannot be salvaged. Brothers, let’s go. We’ll find any city and live there.”
And so, the five thousand or so soldiers of the Rampage Army turned to leave Zhenxi City, to find a place to take refuge.
“We will go and seek refuge with Shen Lang and the King!”
Only a few warriors from the Rampage Army said such a thing. But upon hearing it, Zhong Yao’s eyes narrowed.
“Move!”
At his command, countless arrows were fired from the city walls in unison. The now-lucid soldiers of the Zhong Clan’s Rampage Army fell to the ground, one after another, as casualties mounted. Then, two columns of cavalry charged out to attack them.
“They’re trying to kill us! They’re trying to kill us!”
The Zhong Clan’s Rampage Army cried out.
“Fight them! Storm the city! We are going home!”
The Rampage Army raised their weapons and charged forward with all their might. They took out grappling hooks and ropes, latched them onto the walls, and desperately tried to scale them. A bizarre siege had erupted. For the Zhong Clan’s army, the tragedy of fighting their own had begun once more.
* * *
Four hours later, the bloody battle concluded. The five thousand or so soldiers of the Rampage Army were annihilated, their tragic fate sealed. But before they died, they mounted an astonishing counterattack, mercilessly killing three thousand of the Zhong Clan’s thirteen-thousand-strong army. This was because the effects of the Nirvana Elixir had not completely faded from their bodies, leaving their strength and agility far greater than normal. Though they had been utterly disheartened and broken, the Zhong Clan army’s ambush had completely enraged them, reactivating the ferocity in their hearts. Thus, even when attacked from both inside and out by a force three times their number, they displayed incredible combat prowess, inflicting immense casualties upon the Zhong Clan. This left Zhenxi City with fewer than ten thousand defenders.
* * *
Standing atop the wall, Zhong Yao looked down below and asked.
“Will Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army come to attack the city?”
“They wouldn’t dare. The King of Chu mobilized three hundred thousand troops to attack Zhenxi City and failed to take it even after more than a month. How could Shen Lang attack with a mere four thousand? What kind of madman would do such a thing?”
To Zhong E’s words, Zhong Yao replied.
“But Shen Lang took the King of Chu’s capital with just ten thousand men. The capital fell because its gate was burned through. Fortunately, we have modified the gate of Zhenxi City. It has three layers—one of wood, one of steel, and one of thick stone. How could it be burned through? We may only have nine thousand defenders, but they are all the clan’s most elite warriors, equivalent to twenty or thirty thousand elite soldiers. Shen Lang cherishes his Nirvana Army; how many casualties would he suffer if he led them to attack the city? Besides, the Nirvana Army must be low on arrows. I am certain that Shen Lang will not attack the city with the Nirvana Army, but will instead mobilize the army of the Jiang Kingdom. That will give us time to request aid from the Empire.”
Just then, a black mass appeared to the north, and everyone in the Zhong Clan was stunned.
‘Shen Lang truly is a madman. To come and attack the city with only four thousand Nirvana soldiers. He must be low on arrows, and he has no siege equipment, yet he comes to attack a great fortress like Zhenxi City. In any case, we’ve already modified the gate. You have no chance.’
* * *
An hour later, Jin Mulan stood at the head of four thousand Nirvana Army soldiers at the foot of the city walls. Seeing their imposing formation, Zhong Yao, Zhong E, and the others were utterly enraged.
‘Shen Lang, you are too arrogant. Coming to attack the city with just four thousand men? Fine, just fine. I’ll be watching to see how many of your men have to die to take our Zhenxi City.’
Just then, a giant clad in full steel armor ran out from the ranks of the Nirvana Army. Big Dummy ran straight for the city gate, and the Zhong Clan members sneered inwardly.
‘Are you trying to use the same gate-breaking method you used at the King of Chu’s capital? A pipe dream. The Zhenxi City gate has been modified with three layers. Even with that fearsome weapon of yours, it’s impossible to burn a hole through our gate.’
They did not know. This time, what Big Dummy brought to break the gate was not just thermite, but also explosives. If he could not take Zhenxi City within half a day, Shen Lang would be at the mercy of the Fourth Lady Zhong for a very long time.
* * *
“Stop him! Stop him!”
Zhong Yao shouted. No matter how impregnable the gate was, facing a battlefield monster like Big Dummy filled him with dread.
“I will go!”
A booming voice was heard as a massive spiked club crashed violently onto the ground. Then, an even louder sound followed as a giant leaped down from the city wall. It was Nampo, a remnant of Jiang Li’s forces, a man with a special bloodline, a former battlefield titan who had always served Ning Qi and the Zhong Clan. To this day, he had fought for Ning Qi and the Zhong Clan, unaware that the Great Yan Empire sought to erase his very existence from this world.
“Brother Big Dummy, I have no animosity toward you. But if you wish to pass through this gate, you must first get through me.”
Nampo raised his spiked club and looked at Big Dummy. Though he spoke in the most ordinary tone, his voice boomed like thunder. As he said, Nampo felt no hostility toward Big Dummy; in fact, he felt an inexplicable kinship. Big Dummy glanced at Nampo, then set down the box he was carrying and raised his darksteel staff.
“Come, brother!”
At Big Dummy’s words, Nampo roared in response.
“Aaaargh!”
Nampo immediately swung his spiked club and charged at Big Dummy. He looked like a charging rhinoceros.
*Crash!*
The two giants collided, as if Mars had crashed into Earth. The darksteel staff and the spiked club slammed into each other with a tremendous roar that sent shudders through everyone watching from the city walls, making their hair stand on end. The sound of the two weapons clashing was just that sharp and loud. Cracks spread across the ground where the two stood. But this was merely their first exchange; the two soon began to fight like madmen.
At first, their forms were visible, but soon, a thick cloud of dust rose, completely obscuring them. The entire ground looked as if it had been plowed. It was a battle so fierce it made one tremble in fear just watching. They used no techniques, clashing only with their raw strength and speed. The spiked club, weighing four or five hundred *jin*, and the darksteel staff, weighing four hundred and fifty *jin*, collided violently, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Anyone struck just once by their weapons would be turned into a pile of minced meat. But these two endured brutal blows from each other and continued to fight, and the ground within a thousand-meter radius around them was trampled into a cratered mess. This was not a battle between two humans, but a fight between monsters from legend.
*Bang, bang, bang.*
After fifty, a hundred, then three hundred exchanges, the two suddenly stopped their movements, and the dust that had filled the sky gradually settled. The ground beneath their feet was endlessly fractured with countless cracks, and Nampo’s feet were sunk half a *chi* into the earth. No, in truth, he had been mercilessly driven into the ground by Big Dummy. He still held his spiked club tightly in his hands.
*Clatter.*
Suddenly, the spiked club cracked with a sharp sound, then shattered and fell to the ground.
“Pfft. Ptoo!”
Immediately after, crimson blood spewed from Nampo’s mouth again and again.
“Damn it. You… you’re incredible. This brother lost to you.”
Nampo spat out another mouthful of blood, then dropped to one knee, continuously coughing up blood. In truth, he had been no match for Big Dummy from the start; he had simply forced himself to endure until he could hold on no longer.
“Brother, you’re not going to kill me, are you?”
Nampo asked, and Big Dummy shook his head.
“I won’t kill you. You’re like my brothers.”
“Good enough for me. I’ll just lie here and spit up some blood. I can’t stop you, so if you’ve got something to do, go do it.”
As Nampo continued to cough up blood, Big Dummy glanced at him and asked.
“You’re not going to die?”
“Probably not. But I’m hurt worse than last time!”
Big Dummy left, and a moment later, Nampo muttered to himself.
“Nope. I have to lie down. I can’t take it anymore.”
With that, he lay down stiffly on the ground, spitting blood as he rested.
* * *
Big Dummy hoisted the large box and ran toward the city gate.
“Drop the oil cauldrons!”
The defenders on the gate frantically attacked Big Dummy, but they met the same fate as the soldiers of the King of Chu’s capital. Even when they dropped large rocks weighing over a hundred *jin*, Big Dummy paid them no mind.
‘If you can even make me stumble once, I’ll consider you impressive.’
And the oil cauldrons? With a master archer like Mulan present, any warrior who so much as lifted a cauldron was immediately struck down by her arrow.
*Swish.*
The situation on the wall grew even more dire. Mulan fired a single fire arrow, setting all the oil cauldrons ablaze. Countless Zhong Clan defenders were burned to death in the flames. With Mulan providing cover, Big Dummy endured the assault of countless logs and stones and began to furiously smash the city gate.
*Bang, bang, bang, bang.*
With a great roar, a massive hole was torn in the outermost wooden layer of the gate, revealing the iron gate within. Big Dummy placed the thermite on the iron gate and lit the fuse.
*Fwoosh!*
As before, an incredibly dazzling white light erupted, and the thick iron gate immediately glowed red and melted. Big Dummy then swung his darksteel staff, and the iron gate was easily breached. But inside, another thick stone gate stood firm.
The Zhong Clan had anticipated this and prepared for it. The stone gate at the very back was a full *chi* thick. Big Dummy shoved a box of gunpowder into the hole in the breached gate, lit the fuse, and quickly retreated. The box of gunpowder weighed a full two hundred *jin*. Big Dummy swiftly leaped a hundred meters away.
*BOOM!*
A world-shaking explosion roared, and the ground trembled as if struck by thunder. But, in a truly bizarre turn of events, the thick stone gate still did not budge. The power of the gunpowder had been too weak. The problem was that the force of the explosion had been directed outward, with only a fraction acting on the massive stone gate. Regardless, this stone gate was unbelievably sturdy.