Beheading a General on the City Wall, Halberd Sweeps a Thousand Troops

Zhao Cheng was waiting for the meat to roast.

This Han Jiang must be a noble of Han; the ingredients brought out from his kitchen were all rare and fine things.

Combined with Zhao Cheng's own culinary skills, this roe deer had already reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Since it was originally prepared for himself, he naturally had to put his heart into it; now that the task was nearing completion, he was fully focused and extremely earnest.

There were many opportunities to kill, but such a perfectly roasted roe deer was not something one could find at any time.

Adjusting the heat, sprinkling on spices, and brushing on a layer of fine honey, Zhao Cheng's movements were leisurely and relaxed, his expertise tinged with a sense of elegance.

At this moment, the roe deer looked like a work of art, and the soldiers nearby stared with wide eyes, their throats bobbing as they swallowed mouthful after mouthful of saliva.

Seeing Zhao Cheng suddenly lift the wooden spit, he examined the deer before his eyes, took a sniff, and revealed a satisfied smile.

He stood up and walked toward Han Jiang.

Everyone's gaze remained fixed on that artistic roasted roe deer, and no one felt that anything was amiss.

Until Zhao Cheng reached out, tore off a piece of the deer, and took a bite, his mouth dripping with oil!

The Commandant's eyes widened in sudden fury, "Are you, this hunter, completely out of your mind?!"

He stepped forward and kicked out.

The next moment, his vision blurred, and he saw his own sword, which he didn't know when had been snatched, now in Zhao Cheng's hand.

The sword slashed across, and a line of coldness spread across his thigh.

Before he could even react, the leg he had kicked toward Zhao Cheng had already flown off.

As the excruciating pain hit, the Commandant collapsed to the ground, staring in extreme terror at the harmless-looking hunter.

"You... how dare you! Ah!!"

The Commandant's severed leg flew straight to the front of Han Jiang, blood spraying out and abruptly staining Han Jiang's armor and the roasted meat in his hand.

Han Jiang, who had been in the middle of holding court, was stunned into silence.

Behind him came the Commandant's miserable wail.

"What is going on!?"

He turned around in shock, only to see Zhao Cheng holding the roasted roe deer in his left hand and a blood-stained longsword in his right.

He was walking toward him while taking large bites of the meat.

Beside him, the Commandant was clutching his leg and screaming; clearly, the leg that had flown over was his, and the sword that had severed it was in the hunter's hand.

This sudden turn of events was something even Han Jiang could not process for a moment.

The rest of the soldiers were left with blank minds.

The next moment, Zhao Cheng frowned, "Noisy."

Without even glancing at the Commandant beside him, he flicked his longsword, and the Commandant's head flew into the air, his screams cut short.

Such a light, casual strike, appearing on the ramparts lined with heavily armed troops, was so abrupt, so incongruous, and so unexpected.

Everyone stared blankly at Zhao Cheng, thinking this hunter had truly lost his mind.

A mere hunter, daring to kill a Commandant on the city walls?

It wasn't until a trusted aide shouted, "Protect the General! Kill this man!"

But it was too late; how close was Zhao Cheng to Han Jiang?

Only a few trusted aides who had been boasting alongside Han Jiang drew their swords to intercept him.

Yet, with a slight movement of Zhao Cheng's wrist, the longsword flashed like an afterimage, and the heads of the five aides were severed one after another.

Before the first head had even hit the ground, the last man's head was already flying through the air.

Thud, thud!

The five aides died instantly, and Zhao Cheng, as if walking through an empty courtyard, strolled up to Han Jiang.

Their eyes met.

Han Jiang felt as if he were being pinned under the claws of a ferocious tiger; his hair stood on end, and his back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.

"Who... who exactly are you??"

At this very moment, the Qin Army below the city suddenly surged, charging forward; a boundless black torrent rushed up, reaching the foot of the wall with lightning speed.

"Bravo!!"

"The Assault Cavalry Commandant is divine!!"

"Great Wind!!"

"Our general is peerless in bravery; the enemy general is doomed! Charge the walls and support the Commandant!"

"Kill!!"

As the city gates groaned and the sound of the wall foundations collapsing echoed, the shouts of those entering the city and the miserable cries of the soldiers became incessant.

Amidst such a drastic turn of events, Zhao Cheng wiped his face, revealing a heroic countenance as he grinned.

"Weren't you looking for the Qin Army spy?"

"I am he!"

His calm voice, intermingling with the intense clamor of the city wall's upheaval, sounded jarringly out of place.

Han Jiang's heart plummeted to the depths of despair in an instant; as scenes from last night flashed through his mind, his entire body turned cold!

How did this fiend manage to get right up to him??

And he even had the nerve to make him grill meat—Xu Shan, you son of a...

"I'll kill you!"

Han Jiang raised his sword, but a chill touched his throat, and the city wall suddenly began to spin...

Zhao Cheng caught Han Jiang's severed head, leaped up, and stood upon the Parapet, holding the garrison commander's head high!

"The commander is dead! Those who open the city gates and surrender will be spared!"

"All others, no mercy!"

Countless soldiers on the wall had just swarmed over, only to see their general's lonely head; with nothing but a noggin left, what was there to protect anymore!

Coupled with the thunderous sounds of the city being breached below, which continuously battered the soldiers' resolve, some truly began to jump off the wall to open the gates.

Yet, atop the wall, another deputy general rushed out from the gate tower, shouting orders.

"Listen to my command! The Third Battalion, surround and kill the enemy spy! The Second Battalion, hold the wall! Corner Tower, prepare the Crossbow Mechanism, drop the Rolling Logs and Defensive Stone, and hold the Barbican at all costs!"

"Prepare the Barbican..."

Zhao Cheng's gaze locked onto this man instantly; he charged into the chaotic ranks like a tiger descending a mountain, a Precision Cast Great Halberd suddenly appearing in his hands.

The Great Halberd was twelve feet long and weighed over seventy catties. Held in Zhao Cheng's grip, every swing possessed the force of a mountain, sweeping across the ranks!

His internal energy erupted like a sea. The moment he entered the formation, a single swing of the halberd cleared the space before him.

Over a dozen soldiers were cleaved in two, men and weapons alike, while seven or eight others were swept off the wall by the shaft of the halberd, sent flying toward the ground below!

In an instant, seventeen or eighteen life-stealing notifications appeared in the system, his lifespan surging by nearly three hundred years!

Soldiers fell like rain.

The troops below, still attacking the city, were stunned.

Looking up at the wall, it was as if dumplings were being dropped; waves of enemy soldiers were sent flying, bones snapping and tendons tearing as they vomited blood and plummeted from the ramparts.

This rain of bodies never ceased. As soon as one group of enemies was sent flying off the wall, another large wave followed, crashing down with a rhythmic clatter.

It even accidentally injured many Qin Army soldiers who couldn't dodge in time.

Seeing this, the commanders quickly ordered, "Clear out of that area!"

"No one is allowed to stand beneath the wall where the Captain is!"

"Hey, move faster! Lord Captain is killing too quickly—he's faster than you can run!"

"Get out of the way! The Captain is coming, watch out for being smashed to death!"

"Good heavens, why is it like raining dumplings?"

"Ouch, that force is too great! They flew so far, and one still hit me and blacked out my vision. The Captain truly has divine strength. Ouch, ouch, someone save me..."

Zhao Cheng, alone on the city wall, struck such terror into the hearts of the thousands that even his own allies scrambled to dodge, many crying out as they were struck by falling bodies.

With every swing of his Great Halberd, he cleared a massive area, his speed so great that he could sweep a ten-zhang radius in the blink of an eye.

He was like a sharp arrow, piercing straight toward the deputy general who had issued the orders.

The deputy had just finished giving his two commands when he saw the fiend charging rapidly toward him, nothing able to block his path.

The tidal wave of soldiers before him was like paper, swept away in an instant.

Facing this man directly, he finally understood the fear Wen Mao and Du Shuang had felt the previous night; struck by the Sha Qi in those eyes, his legs turned to jelly.

He turned and ran.

Alas, before he could take two steps, Zhao Cheng had already caught up. He brought the halberd down like Mount Tai, cleaving the deputy general in two.

"Let's see who dares to bark orders now!"

Zhao Cheng swung his halberd again, clearing a ten-zhang radius of enemies with a boom, and stood tall in the empty space.

"All of you, listen to my command!"

"Withdraw from the wall and open the gates, or I will kill every last one of you!"

Clang, clatter.

Many weapons fell to the ground. Facing such a fiend, the soldiers felt truly desperate and powerless.

Many actually ran down from the wall, preparing to surrender.

At this juncture, someone else shouted, "Chu State reinforcements will arrive any day! As long as we hold out today, the Qin Army will surely be destroyed! Brothers, kill him!! He is only one man!!"

"The general died by his hand; whoever kills him shall be the new general!"

Hearing this, many soldiers began to stir restlessly once more.

Zhao Cheng grinned; he loved these tough nuts to crack.

Then let the slaughter begin. After all, talk of surrender and opening the gates was nothing but a smokescreen, merely a ploy to minimize casualties among his own troops.

Come to think of it, the Precision Cast Great Halberd was truly a joy to use.

He charged once more into the dense ranks of the defenders, cutting down a thousand men as he made a beeline for the walls of the Barbican.

The Origin Energy within his body surged like a tide; even when he unleashed his full power, it replenished within a single breath.

It was truly inexhaustible, an endless supply that left Zhao Cheng feeling exhilarated.

Zhao Cheng leaped several zhang into the air, his Great Halberd whistling sharply as he swung it. In the blink of an eye, he landed atop the Barbican and brought the halberd down in a single stroke, cleaving through the Crossbow Mechanism and the Rolling Logs alike, slicing the soldiers behind them clean in two.

At that very moment, a massive crossbow on the Barbican quietly took aim at him. A giant bolt, drawn by the combined strength of four men, roared off the string and hurtled straight toward Zhao Cheng.

By the time Zhao Cheng noticed, the giant bolt was already upon him. He did not dodge or evade, instead swinging his halberd to meet it head-on.

As the Great Halberd made contact with the giant bolt, it instantly began to bend. The immense force traveled from Zhao Cheng's arm through his entire body. He braced himself against the impact, his Origin Energy erupting throughout his frame as he stomped his foot down.

BOOM!

As the top of the wall shattered, he forced the giant bolt to a dead stop.

He grabbed the giant bolt in his hand, his internal Origin Energy swelling before erupting like a volcano, hurling the projectile back along its original path.

With a loud bang!

The giant bolt actually broke the sound barrier, reflecting back toward the crossbow at an even greater speed!

The soldiers beside the crossbow were stunned into idiocy.

It took three or four of them working together just to draw the string!

He had thrown it back all by himself—was that force even greater than the power of the crossbow itself?

How the hell is this something a human being can do!?