The next morning, at the horse market in Wangyuan City.
Under the horse trader's watchful gaze, Li Qing and Qi Kang each led a horse out.
"Let's go. To the imperial capital!" Li Qing swung himself onto his horse first and headed unhurriedly toward the west city gate.
Qi Kang, meanwhile, looked utterly nervous. This was the first time he had ever ridden a horse. Both hands clenched tightly around the reins, and he did not dare let go in the slightest.
Fortunately, the horses sold at the market were all fairly docile cargo horses, not fierce steeds. They were not too difficult to ride.
Just as the two reached Central Street and were preparing to leave through the city gate.
Several deafening booms suddenly rang out from the east city gate behind them, as though cannonballs had exploded there.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground itself trembled faintly from those thunderous blasts.
Very soon, urgent bell-ringing sounded from the city gate. This was the signal that someone was attacking the city.
"The Liang people are attacking! The Liang people are attacking!"
"It's ballistas—Three-Bow Ballistas! The Liang Kingdom brought several Three-Bow Ballistas!"
"Hold the gate! All of you, hold the gate!"
Wangyuan City's Central Street ran directly between the eastern and western gates. The instant the bells rang, peddlers, laborers, and commoners on the street vanished cleanly away. Not a single figure could be seen on the broad street.
Yet the next moment, one armored figure after another rushed out from both sides of the street and hurried toward the east city gate.
The Wu Li Army, an army made up of martial artists, was superbly trained. Even in the face of such powerful siege weapons, not a trace of fear could be seen on their faces.
Among the crowd, several thousand-commanders of the Wu Li Army were the first to scale the city wall. Agile as monkeys, they borrowed force several times against the towering wall, using both hands and feet to climb swiftly upward.
Li Qing's gaze remained fixed on one of the figures climbing the wall. She was a woman, valiant and dashing, her long hair tied up. She wore light armor, with a slender sword hanging at her waist.
She was none other than Thousand-Commander Qian Hong, whom Li Qing had previously seen in the army—the only woman in the Wu Li Army.
As though she had sensed something, after climbing onto the wall, Qian Hong subconsciously took a look behind her.
From afar, she swept her gaze over Li Qing. But because of the great distance, and because Li Qing's appearance and bearing had changed considerably, he no longer looked like the honest, dark-skinned blacksmith's apprentice he had once been.
For a moment, Qian Hong did not recognize him. She only found him somewhat familiar, yet could not recall where she had seen him.
Before she could continue thinking, the city wall was struck once more by the immensely powerful ballistas.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even a wall so solid and heavy shook and swayed violently beneath such bombardment.
The expressions of the several thousand-commanders atop the wall turned grim. As they watched the tens of thousands of Liang Kingdom soldiers roughly a thousand meters beyond the city gate, their hearts rose slightly into their throats.
"Even from so far away, it has such power. Those Liang Kingdom craftsmen are truly skilled."
"Even internal energy martial artists like us would probably die on the spot if a ballista struck us."
"Hmph. These ballistas may be useful for attacking cities, but using them to kill us is nothing but wishful thinking."
"Exactly. Although the Liang Kingdom's weapons are impressive, if they dare approach the city walls, we can charge out and slaughter through them a few times, leaving their morale in complete disarray!"
Qian Hong said nothing. She frowned slightly as she looked at the several ballistas before the army, seemingly lost in thought.
As the ballistas continued their bombardment, the city gate seemed on the verge of falling several times, but it was ultimately held by the martial artists behind it using brute force.
But all of this no longer had much to do with Li Qing.
When he noticed Thousand-Commander Qian Hong turn around to look at him earlier, his heart tightened slightly. He quickly turned away, urged his horse onward, and headed for the west city gate.
Although he had spent a long time in the Eternal Night World and his appearance had changed greatly, only four months had passed here. He did not know whether Qian Hong could still recognize him.
No matter what, he did not wish to remain in Wangyuan City any longer. He immediately cracked his whip and raced toward the city gate.
Fortunately, the west city gate had not been closed. Those leaving the city were allowed through without even having their identities checked. Security was extremely lax.
Thus, Li Qing and Qi Kang smoothly left the city, carrying ample food supplies as they rushed toward the imperial capital.
However, over the following days, the situation in Wangyuan City took a sharp turn for the worse. The citizens, once brimming with confidence, became increasingly panic-stricken.
This was because the Liang Kingdom army's Three-Bow Ballistas continued to increase over those days, rising from the original three to eight!
Under the relentless bombardment, even Wangyuan City's sturdy gates were blasted open several times. Though large numbers of martial artists desperately braced themselves behind the gates, they could not withstand such terrifying city-destroying force.
But the martial artists of the Wu Li Army were no pushovers either. Whenever the Liang Kingdom army attempted to storm in through the gate, the Wu Li Army's martial artists would leave the city to meet them in battle.
Led by more than a dozen thousand-commanders who were internal energy martial artists, and supported by the Wu Li Army's other martial artists, they forcibly slaughtered the far more numerous Liang Kingdom army into retreat, inflicting no small number of casualties.
In the end, the situation was stabilized.
The Liang Kingdom army could breach the city, but they could not push their way inside. The Wu Li Army was clever as well; they did not pursue deeply. After driving the Liang forces out, they immediately withdrew back into the city.
After several clashes, the Liang Kingdom army had actually suffered far heavier losses.
Thus, both sides fell into a stalemate once more.
Li Qing had only heard all this through rumor. When he heard that Wangyuan City's gates had been breached, he was even glad that he had left the city early and had not been caught up in it.
Then, after nearly another ten days had passed, Li Qing and Qi Kang finally arrived in the central heartland of the Feng Kingdom, nearing the imperial capital—Shengtian City!
The scenery here was exceptionally beautiful, far beyond anything the desert landscape could compare with. Even with winter approaching, the climate remained quite pleasant, and the air was moist.
The two had rushed here all the way from Wangyuan City and were already exhausted from the long journey.
Shengtian lay ahead of them now. They could already see its towering city walls from afar, and Li Qing could not help growing excited.
"We've arrived. Get ready to enter the city." Li Qing gazed at the walls, whose solidity did not lose to those of Wangyuan City, and murmured softly.
After so many years in this world, this was his first time nearing the imperial capital.
Qi Kang was no less excited. These past ten-odd days had been truly exhausting. Sitting on horseback and being jolted along the entire way had been unbearably uncomfortable.
Now, with the renowned Shengtian City right before his eyes, how could he not be excited?