Chu's Reinforcements Arrive, Counter-Siege Battle

Inside the grand hall, Ying Zheng placed the silk scroll upon the desk and pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, he tapped the desk three times with the black jade ring on his thumb.

The faint sound echoed through the hall, crisp and melodious.

Before long, a man clad entirely in black appeared behind Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng tapped his finger on the name "Zhao Cheng" in the military report. "Dun Ruo, take the secret agents of the Black Ice Terrace and go there yourself to investigate this man."

"Find out the details of his life and bring them back to Us."

Dun Ruo bowed his head. "As you command."

He retreated silently, his footsteps making not a single sound.

Ying Zheng looked again at the conferment of titles in the military report, his brows knitting slightly in dissatisfaction.

After a moment of contemplation, Ying Zheng shook his head. "At this time, the main army should be attacking Ye County. Once Ye County is taken, Chou City will be in our grasp. With Wan City isolated and without aid, Nanyang will fall before long."

"Let us see how much military merit you can claim in this battle. No matter the amount, We will not treat you unfairly..."

In the Ye County camp.

Meng Wu's hair was disheveled as he scratched his head repeatedly; the ink on his brush had dried, yet he still could not think of how to phrase his report.

"To have a headache because a subordinate has achieved too much merit—this is a first."

Meng Wu offered a wry smile.

After some thought, he decided to simply write the truth.

"To His Majesty the King:

Your subject, Meng Wu, bows his head and pays his respects again, daring to report on the border affairs.

In this campaign against Han, your subject first implemented the strategy of cutting off the water, damming the Zhi River to besiege the isolated city. The Han forces relied on the dangers of Kunyang and the solidity of their ramparts, closing their gates and refusing to fight.

However, one Zhao Cheng led twenty death-defying soldiers, disguised as hunters, and infiltrated the city.

In the dead of night, he hunted the enemy troops within the city, drawing thousands of Han soldiers to surround and kill him.

Zhao Cheng fought as he moved, engaging in street battles; wherever he passed, enemy heads fell like rain, and blood splattered the thoroughfares.

Upon reaching the government office, he slew three hundred guards alone, beheaded the County Commandant before his desk, burned the official seals, and held the gate.

Two thousand Han soldiers gathered to surround him, arrows falling like rain, yet Zhao Cheng stood his ground alone, steady as a rock. He returned fire with arrows, each one sealing a throat; corpses piled up on the steps, and nearly a thousand enemies were slain, leaving the rest afraid to advance.

When the enemy forces broke and fled, Zhao Cheng charged out, pursuing over a thousand men into the city alone, where he encountered two thousand enemy reinforcements.

He fought while retreating, breaking through on all sides, until he was finally surrounded and besieged in an alley.

The enemy soldiers fought with blood-crazed courage, wave after wave, yet he managed to kill more than half of them, terrifying them into retreat.

By dawn, Zhao Cheng disguised himself as a hunter, carrying wild game to the ramparts, feigning to be a food bearer to approach the Han commander.

Before the two armies, Zhao Cheng struck unexpectedly, slaying the commander on the city wall with his sword.

The garrison fell into chaos. Zhao Cheng wielded a halberd, sweeping through the ranks, and the enemy fell like rain.

He seized the barbican, broke the hanging gate, and opened the heavy barriers, allowing your subject's army to drive straight in and take Ye County without staining their blades.

This man's courage surpasses the three armies, and his wisdom exceeds that of ten thousand men:

Breaking the government office by night, he was like a tiger among sheep; slaying the general by day, he was like an eagle striking a sparrow.

Fighting alone, he cut down over a thousand; cutting off the enemy's throat and tongue, he shattered their heart and soul.

Such martial prowess is not merely the crown of the Qin Army, but truly a rarity under heaven.

In the battles of all previous generals, I have never heard of one who could repel the enemy single-handedly and seize a city in an instant.

According to the laws of military merit: 'Those who are first to scale the walls and breach the formation are granted three ranks of nobility; those who behead over a hundred are appointed Left Shuzhang.'

Yet Zhao Cheng's merit transcends the standard, and the old laws cannot encompass it.

Your subject is ignorant and dares not decide alone, hoping that Your Majesty will grant special grace to honor this extraordinary feat.

Your subject, Meng Wu, bows again. The sixteenth year of King Zheng of Qin, the first month of winter."

After much deliberation, Meng Wu sighed once he finished writing, then ordered someone to attach the military report and send it to Xianyang.

"Summon Zhao Cheng to see this general."

At this moment, Zhao Cheng was in the city camp, disciplining the few house slaves he had just acquired.

After his title was conferred, he was entitled to servants accompanying the army, but he had not found any among the prisoners from the Fang City Pass battle worth choosing.

However, in this battle, he had discovered Chai Lie, a man capable of fighting a thousand.

Chai Lie had helped him capture several other brave men from the enemy ranks who were worth using.

Unfortunately, among these brave men, there were indeed a few loyal souls who refused to follow Zhao Cheng, and as a result, Zhao Cheng had cut them all down.

The remaining three possessed some strength, and any one of them could handle a dozen opponents without issue.

"From now on, you four are my personal attendants. Chai Lie, you take charge of them."

"Understood."

Chai Lie was much more docile now; the burly man, who usually resembled a black bear, acted like a kitten in front of Zhao Cheng.

The other three, accustomed to Chai Lie's usual arrogance and violent temper, stared in shock at this display, only to be soundly beaten by Chai Lie for their trouble.

Once Chai Lie finished disciplining the men, Zhao Cheng called out, "Chai Lie, come with me."

Inside Zhao Cheng's tent, Zhao Cheng asked, "Is it because you have practiced martial arts for years that you possess such a physique?"

Chai Lie sighed, "Reporting to the Commander, I have practiced since childhood—training through the coldest winters and the hottest summers, combined with medicinal concoctions taken internally and applied externally. Only then did I forge this martial skill, which is not worth mentioning compared to yours."

Zhao Cheng asked again, "You mentioned Qi Refiners earlier. Have you ever practiced Qi refinement?"

Chai Lie shook his head, "No. Methods of Qi refinement are hard to come by. They are either top-tier family secrets, held by disciples of famous schools, or known only to hermits in immortal mountains. Such techniques are rare and precious."

"But with your level of martial prowess, are you not a Qi Refiner yourself?"

Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment, "I don't know much about it. I have relied entirely on my own exploration to reach the threshold of Qi refinement."

"Tell me what you know about Qi Refiners."

Chai Lie looked at Zhao Cheng in astonishment. He had reached the threshold of Qi refinement by himself?

Is that even possible?

He dared not hold anything back, and after a moment of reflection, he said, "Qi Refiners are also called Fangshi. Such people are rare. They generally do not move or make names for themselves in the secular world. Most of those who do are merely charlatans."

"Beyond some hereditary secret arts, certain famous hermits pass down these methods. Schools like the Yin-Yang School, the Taoist School, and the Guigu lineage all have top-tier Qi Refiner disciples walking the world."

"It is said that the Commandant of the Qin State, Wei Liao, is a disciple of Guigu. He possesses top-tier Qi refinement techniques and is well-versed in the arts of vertical and horizontal alliances. He is not only a master of military formations but also a fierce general capable of taking on ten thousand men."

"Of course, these are things I have no access to; I have only heard them as rumors."

"What I have encountered are mostly family-taught arts like mine, which can temper the physique. Some top-tier family arts, when practiced to a profound level, can allow one to step into the realm of Qi refinement. Not only does one's appetite decrease significantly, but one can also practice bigū for long periods, living by consuming Qi."

Zhao Cheng stroked his chin in thought.

If there are Qi Refiners, then things become much easier.

After the battle on the city walls, his lifespan within the system had exceeded twenty-five thousand years. However, his Basic Body Refining Technique had already reached perfection, and he needed to cultivate primordial energy next.

Yet, he still had no idea of the path forward, knowing only that he must continuously condense the primordial energy within his body. Relying solely on exploration would lead to many detours and half the result for twice the effort.

If he could obtain some techniques from Qi Refiners, he might be able to greatly accelerate his progress.

Unfortunately, Chai Lie only had a superficial understanding, and the useful information was scarce.

Fortunately, Zhao Cheng felt his current strength was sufficient, so he was in no rush to further improve his power.

Just then, an officer found Zhao Cheng, "Commander Zhao, the General summons you."

Zhao Cheng nodded and headed toward the main tent of Meng Wu.

"Zhao Cheng greets the General."

"Sit."

Upon entering the tent, he saw that besides Meng Wu, many high-ranking officers were present, including Meng Tian.

Everyone looked at him with curiosity, and some officers even had a fanatical glint in their eyes, making Zhao Cheng feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"The young divine general's reputation is well-deserved! To penetrate deep behind enemy lines, fight through the night, be the first to scale the walls, capture the enemy general, and break the city—yet still remain as vigorous as this! Truly heroic!"

"You have claimed the primary merit in two consecutive battles. With Commander Zhao here, this campaign has been truly effortless for us."

"The scene of the Commander sweeping through the army on the walls truly left me in awe."

"Many thanks, Commander Zhao. If not for you, our unit would have suffered heavy casualties."

"Commander Zhao does not hoard the glory. While sweeping through the enemy, you did not forget to leave a share of the spoils for the soldiers below. This Humble One is full of admiration!"

Sieging a city is no easy task. Even with Meng Wu's extensive preparations, sieges usually result in heavy losses.

But with Zhao Cheng slaying the general and breaking the city, the victory was achieved with such ease that many generals felt a great weight lifted from their shoulders.

Most importantly, while Zhao Cheng was slaughtering his way across the walls, he did not forget to share the credit with his comrades.

Waves of enemy troops were swept off the walls by him. While they were incapacitated, they were not yet dead, and naturally, they were finished off by the soldiers below.

In this battle, they had all benefited while at the base of the walls, so they were naturally extremely grateful.

Zhao Cheng was speechless. Was that sharing credit?

It was just that those men were too light; once they touched the shaft of his Great Halberd, they went flying.

That was the downside of the Great Halberd. Its attack range was indeed massive, and a swing of the blade could instantly kill a large group.

However, the shaft of the halberd, aside from crushing people, would also send them flying.

Those people, even with broken bones, would not die immediately.

In the chaos of battle, his own soldiers would not hold back, and naturally, they snatched the kills from Zhao Cheng.

Otherwise, the lifespan Zhao Cheng gained from this battle would have been even higher.

"Enough." Meng Wu pressed his hand down and said to Zhao Cheng, "In this battle, you penetrated deep behind enemy lines, killed nearly two thousand enemies, were the first to scale the walls, slew the general, and broke the city. You deserve the primary merit."

Furthermore, the value of Ye County far exceeds that of the mountain pass; this achievement is significantly greater than the last.

"As for the promotion of your rank, this General can no longer make the assessment. Once the military report reaches Xianyang Palace, the Great King shall confer a title upon you based on this merit."

"Regarding your military post, you are hereby provisionally appointed as Vice General and Vanguard General, with the authority to command ten thousand troops and operate independently."

The Vanguard General is equivalent to the deputy commander of the entire army, reporting directly to General Meng Wu.

Zhao Cheng bowed solemnly, "This subordinate accepts the command."

"You mentioned earlier that reinforcements from Chu State are expected to arrive?"

Zhao Cheng nodded, "The reason the enemy commander was so smug, gesturing grandly atop the city walls, is that the Chu reinforcements are arriving tomorrow."

"He intends to coordinate with the Chu reinforcements to pincer the Qin Army and annihilate us beneath the city walls."

Meng Wu laughed, "If that is the case, it would indeed be troublesome if the battle dragged on until tomorrow and their reinforcements arrived."

Failing to take the city while being pincered by reinforcements would result in heavy losses, whether we attempted to force a breakthrough or retreat.

Fortunately, thanks to Zhao Cheng's surprise attack and the slaying of the commander, we were able to take Ye City before the reinforcements arrived.

Otherwise, had we proceeded according to the original plan, the situation would have turned passive by tomorrow.

Thinking of this, the gaze Meng Wu leveled at Zhao Cheng grew even brighter.

"Since Chu State dares to reach out, we shall chop off their hands!"

"Cao You, you are to lead ten thousand soldiers, don the armor and uniforms of the Han Army, and pose as the Han garrison."

"Yu Bo, you are to lead twenty thousand light infantry and lie in ambush within the southeastern mountains."

"Zhao Cheng, you are to lead three thousand Assault Cavalry and ten thousand Light Cavalry to circle around the Kunyang Mountain range. When the battle begins, you are to strike from the rear, completely severing the Chu Army's retreat and scattering their formation! Hmm... let Meng Tian serve as your deputy!"

As for Meng Wu himself, he would lead fifty thousand troops to camp east of the city once more, feigning a stalemate as if the Qin Army had yet to capture Ye County.

The men moved with incredible speed, completing the arrangements in less than an hour.

Outside the city, the Qin Army spread out like a flood; to make their numbers appear greater, the formation was dense on the outside but hollow in the middle.

The city walls were also heavily guarded and stood in strict readiness, appearing in every way to be the Han garrison.

Furthermore, twenty thousand troops lay in ambush in the southeastern mountains, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Zhao Cheng's unit circled far around the Kunyang Mountain range, simultaneously deploying a large number of scouts to probe ahead, waiting for the Chu Army to enter the trap.