Ballista

The next morning, at the horse market of Wangyuan City.

Li Qing and Qi Kang, under the watchful eyes of the horse dealers, walked out, each leading a horse.

"Let's go, to the capital!" Li Qing was the first to mount his horse, unhurriedly heading towards the west city gate.

Qi Kang, on the other hand, looked nervous. This was his first time riding a horse in his life. He gripped the reins tightly with both hands, not daring to loosen them at all.

Fortunately, the horses sold at the market were all quite docile, meant for hauling goods, not fierce steeds, so riding them wasn't too difficult.

Just as the two reached the middle of the street and were about to head out of the city gate, Several loud booms suddenly echoed from the east city gate behind them, as if they had been hit by cannonballs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

These loud noises even caused the ground to tremble slightly.

Soon, the urgent sound of bells rang out from the city gate, signaling an attack on the city.

"The Liang people are attacking! The Liang people are attacking!"

"It's ballistae, Three-Bow Ballistae! The Liang Kingdom brought several Three-Bow Ballistae!"

"Hold the city gate! Everyone, hold the city gate!"

The middle street of Wangyuan City led directly to the east and west city gates. As soon as the bells rang, the vendors and common folk on the street cleared out instantly. Not a single person could be seen on the vast street.

However, in the next moment, figures clad in armor rushed out from both sides of the street, heading directly towards the east city gate.

The Wu Li Army, an army composed of martial artists, was well-trained. Facing powerful siege weapons, not a trace of fear could be seen on their faces.

Among the crowd, several Wu Li Army Centurions were the first to ascend the city wall. With agile movements, they used the towering wall for leverage, scrambling up quickly with hands and feet.

Li Qing's gaze was fixed on one of the figures climbing the wall. It was a woman, heroic and valiant, her long hair tied up, wearing light armor, with a slender sword hanging at her waist.

This person was none other than Centurion Qian Hong, whom Li Qing had met in the army before. She was the only woman in the Wu Li Army.

As if sensing something, Qian Hong instinctively glanced back after reaching the city wall.

From a distance, she swept her gaze over Li Qing. However, due to the distance and the significant changes in Li Qing's temperament and appearance – he was no longer the honest, dark-skinned blacksmith's apprentice he once was –

Qian Hong didn't recognize him immediately. She just felt a sense of familiarity but couldn't quite place it.

Before she could ponder further, the city wall was once again bombarded by the powerful ballistae.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even this sturdy and thick city wall trembled and shook violently under such bombardment.

The faces of the Centurions on the wall grew solemn. They looked at the tens of thousands of Liang Kingdom soldiers about a thousand meters away from the city gate, their hearts tightening slightly.

"To have such power from this distance, the craftsmanship of those Liang Kingdom artisans is indeed impressive."

"Even us Internal Energy martial artists would likely die on the spot if hit by one of these ballistae."

"Hmph, these ballistae might be useful for attacking a city, but to think they can kill us is wishful thinking."

"Precisely. Although the Liang Kingdom's weapons are not bad, as long as they dare to approach the city, we can charge out a few times and throw their morale into disarray!"

Qian Hong remained silent. She frowned slightly, looking at the several ballistae in front of the army, lost in thought.

With the continuous bombardment of the ballistae, the city gate seemed on the verge of falling several times, but it was ultimately held firm by the warriors behind it using brute force.

However, all of this no longer concerned Li Qing.

When he noticed Centurion Qian Hong looking back at him, his heart tightened slightly. He quickly turned his horse and hurried towards the west city gate.

Although he had spent a long time in the Eternal Night World and his appearance had changed considerably, only four months had passed here. He didn't know if Qian Hong could still recognize him.

Regardless, he no longer wanted to stay in Wangyuan City. He immediately cracked his whip and sped towards the city gate.

Fortunately, the west city gate was not closed. Those leaving the city were allowed passage, and their identities weren't even checked; it was very lenient.

Thus, Li Qing and Qi Kang successfully left the city, carrying a considerable amount of food and supplies, and set off towards the capital.

However, in the following days, the situation in Wangyuan City took a sharp turn for the worse. The initially confident citizens became increasingly panicked.

This was because, over these days, the Liang Kingdom army's Three-Bow Ballistae continued to increase, from the initial three to a total of eight!

Under the relentless bombardment, even the sturdy city gate of Wangyuan City was breached several times. Even with a large number of warriors desperately holding the gate from behind, they couldn't withstand such terrifying destructive power.

However, the Wu Li Army's warriors were not to be trifled with. Every time the Liang Kingdom army attempted to breach the city gate, the Wu Li Army's warriors would sally forth to engage them.

Led by over a dozen Centurions who were Internal Energy martial artists, and supported by the other warriors of the Wu Li Army, they managed to repel the Liang Kingdom army, which far outnumbered them, inflicting considerable casualties.

Ultimately, the situation was stabilized.

The Liang Kingdom army could breach the city, but they couldn't advance further. The Wu Li Army was also wise; they didn't pursue deeply. After driving the Liang Kingdom army back, they immediately returned to the city.

After several rounds of engagement, the Liang Kingdom army suffered even heavier losses.

Thus, the two sides fell into a stalemate once more.

All this news was hearsay for Li Qing. Hearing that Wangyuan City's gate had been breached, he felt fortunate that he had left early and avoided being affected.

Then, another ten-plus days passed, and Li Qing and Qi Kang finally arrived at the heartland of the Feng Kingdom, nearing the capital, Shengtian City!

The scenery here was exceptionally beautiful, far surpassing the desert landscapes. Even though winter was approaching, the climate was pleasant, and the air was quite humid.

The two had rushed all the way from Wangyuan City and were already exhausted from their journey.

At this moment, Shengtian was just ahead, and they could already see the majestic city walls in the distance. Li Qing couldn't help but feel excited.

"We're here, get ready to enter the city," Li Qing murmured softly, looking at the walls, which were no less solid than those of Wangyuan City.

In the years since he'd arrived in this world, this was the first time he'd ever been near the imperial capital.

It wasn't just him; Qi Kang's face was also filled with excitement. These past ten-plus days had been incredibly tiring. Sitting on horseback, enduring the constant jolting, had been unbearable.

Now, with the renowned Shengtian City within sight, how could he not be thrilled?