The Body Climbs the City

The moment he saw the "Ocher Face" of the Xianbei, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a sense of suppression emanating from the two strands of Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire within his body.

Although the protection of the Deep One had been broken, it was actually the least affected.

His blood and qi surged, and the pierced wounds rapidly congealed into scabs.

They were repairing Zhu Yuanzhang's damaged body.

Facing the gleaming sabers and long spears of the seven Xianbei Shock Cavalry in front of and behind him, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he could still fight after pulling out the two long spears.

But unfortunately, because the first wave of Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire had failed to achieve its goal, time had already run out.

The opportunity for battle had vanished in a flash.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed with regret.

With his final two punches, he sent the two Xianbei knights charging at the front flying.

He then calmly faced his fate of being turned into a hedgehog by the long spears of the Xianbei cavalry.

[You have died]

From the Sima Gate of Taicheng to the Xuanyang Gate of Jiankang City, they had not seen the White Bone Dharma Image that Faci had transformed into after his death along the way.

"Your token is fake; it was intentionally released by the Xianbei to capture the Xiao Liang dignitaries in Taicheng and extort ransoms."

Looking at the sparsely guarded Xuanyang Gate due to the arrangements made by Yang Kan, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

Fu Qi's expression changed, and he muttered, "No wonder those few Xianbei didn't even haggle before giving me the token."

Fu Qi looked at the Prince of Yuzhang beside him with a face full of remorse.

"It was my negligence; I almost harmed His Highness."

"Commander Fu is also working hard and worrying for the imperial court; what fault could there be?"

Xiao Dong reined in his horse and shook his head slightly at Fu Qi.

"The most urgent matter is to find a way to find another path."

Watching the harmonious display of monarch and subject between Fu Qi and Xiao Dong, Zhu Yuanzhang held up two fingers and said, "We have two choices now: one is to return to Taicheng and find another way out, and the second is..."

But before Zhu Yuanzhang could finish, the expressions of both Xiao Dong and Fu Qi changed in unison.

"Returning to Taicheng is absolutely out of the question." Fu Qi exchanged a look with the Prince of Yuzhang, their eyes filled with an indescribable fear. Without any hesitation, he said, "Zen Master Minghe should tell us the second plan instead."

"Very well."

Zhu Yuanzhang withdrew his fingers.

He had just been bluffing the two of them.

After all, there was only one day left until the mission ended.

Before being certain of the extent of the [Taicheng] area defined by the system, Zhu Yuanzhang was even more anxious to leave the city than they were.

And from the expressions of Fu Qi and Xiao Dong, it was not difficult to see

that both of them believed Taicheng was even more dangerous than Hou Jing.

Fu Qi's change was particularly obvious.

He had likely seen something at the Hualin Garden Office that subverted his understanding.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep look at Fu Qi and asked, "Since we cannot return to Taicheng, there is only one path left: to take it by force."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not ask Fu Qi what exactly he had seen at the Hualin Garden Office.

He knew that even if he asked, Fu Qi would not say.

It was better not to ask at all.

Picking a civilian residence that had already been emptied by the Xianbei, the group hid inside, concealed their figures, and discussed countermeasures.

Pushing open the window to let the fresh air flow in, Zhu Yuanzhang looked into Fu Qi's eyes and asked.

"When will the reinforcements from outside the city arrive?"

Fu Qi gazed at the night sky outside the window, silently calculating based on the star-observation methods found in Heguanzi.

With the Big Dipper as the central star, the positions of the Twenty-Eight Mansions indicated that it was just past midnight.

"About half an hour."

After verifying the calculation once more and reaching the same conclusion, Fu Qi replied.

"Then we wait for half an hour."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was firm.

Without a doubt, the safest method was for the group to slip out of the city and rendezvous with the loyalist army without alerting the guards at Xuanyang Gate.

The secondary option was to coordinate from within and without, escaping during the ensuing chaos.

The latter carried far more variables than the former.

Yet, as things stood, the latter actually seemed to have a higher probability of success.

The only question was.

"Can the loyalist army truly breach Xuanyang Gate?"

But looking at the confident Fu Qi.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not voice the doubts in his heart.

Regardless of the combat strength of the loyalist army or what plans they might have.

Those were matters for much later.

Zhu Yuanzhang only needed a little bit of chaos.

Even if he disregarded Fu Qi and Xiao Dong, he had to leave this place before the first day of the eleventh lunar month.

At 1:45 AM.

Cries of battle rose from outside Xuanyang Gate.

"The time has come."

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes.

"Zen Master Minghe."

Fu Qi watched the commotion atop Xuanyang Gate, his eyes, previously dim from the approach of his final days, now glowing faintly.

"Follow me."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not waste words.

He picked up his monk's staff.

Practical experience had proven that the physical strength of a Deep One could ignore crude iron weapons and farm tools.

However, it could still be pierced by the refined iron lances used by Xianbei cavalry during a charge.

"Two in front, one to the front-left, one behind, one to the rear-right."

Arriving before Xuanyang Gate.

Zhu Yuanzhang, as if possessing a cheat for x-ray vision, precisely called out the positions of several Xianbei scouts in the darkness.

There were five in total, half as many as in his previous life due to the arrival of the loyalist army.

Yet, they were still distributed in their original positions.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, who possessed the dark vision of a Deep One, determining the positions beforehand made finding the hidden sentries much simpler.

Outside Xuanyang Gate, the water of the moat, diverted from the Qinhuai River, surged with waves.

That sense of summoning, which had been coming from the eastern sea ever since he witnessed the Guixu, grew increasingly intense.

Upon hearing the sound of the Qinhuai River's currents in the moat outside the city.

It was as if the final piece of the puzzle had been put into place.

The body of the Deep One and the soul, fully transformed after Zen Master Minghe faced the Bitter Sea, merged perfectly.

Zhu Yuanzhang had never felt his body move with such fluid power.

"Dingguang Fumo."

Flames flickered before him.

He "saw" the disdainful expression behind the mask of the elite Xianbei cavalryman before him.

It was as if he were saying.

"Heretical path."

"Aside from dazzling the eyes..."

"How could you possibly break..."

"Urgh!"

But it was in this split second of distraction.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaped high, his Zen staff imbued with immense force, striking a Xianbei knight and knocking him off his horse in a single blow.

A deep, caved-in depression appeared on the chest of the fallen Xianbei knight.

Blood flowed out through the gaps in his chainmail.

The bones in his chest were shattered, and his internal organs were crushed into a pulp.

The body lying on the ground twitched, fragments of viscera spilling from the corners of his mouth; clearly, he would not live long.

The other four Xianbei iron cavalrymen saw this, a flash of shock crossing their faces behind their bronze masks.

They tightened their reins, turned their mounts, and drew their bows, preparing to put some distance between themselves and Zhu Yuanzhang.

Sensing their movements, Zhu Yuanzhang simply abandoned his horse and sprinted.

The short-distance acceleration of a Deep One was actually faster than a Xianbei steed.

He leaped onto the back of the nearest Xianbei knight's horse.

Then, taking advantage of the two Xianbei soldiers' panicked attempts to switch weapons, he swept his Zen staff horizontally through the air, knocking both of them off their horses.

Afterward, he gripped the head of the Xianbei knight in front of him with both hands and gave it a violent twist.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Three screams rang out.

Blood sprayed like a fountain from the neck of the headless corpse.

Zhu Yuanzhang pushed the corpse off the horse, then drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang's knowledge of archery was limited to his university martial arts club.

But...

Under the weight of extreme stats, the technique you take such pride in appears so laughable.

What's more, at this distance, even a beginner could likely hit the mark.

The bowstring snapped.

The four-sided armor-piercing arrowhead pierced through the back and out the heart of the last Xianbei knight attempting to flee.

With a thud, the knight tumbled from his horse.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

A few cries of terror erupted from the ranks of the Zahu Barbarians.

Zhu Yuanzhang could not understand the language of these Zahu.

But judging by their expressions.

It likely meant something along the lines of "Demon" or "Ogre."

Zhu Yuanzhang paid no mind to these Zahu soldiers who had already been scared out of their wits; relying on the bloodline suppression of the Deep One, he rode the Xianbei warhorse and galloped toward Xuanyang Gate.

The path was completely unobstructed; among the hundred-plus Zahu soldiers, not a single one dared to step forward to block him.

Behind him, the envy in Xiao Dong's eyes could no longer be concealed.

Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at the base of the city wall.

At this moment, three-inch-long white bone claws had sprouted from each of his two pairs of Deep One webbed hands.

As he reached out, the claws acted like blades, stabbing fiercely into the rammed earth of the city wall.

Leaning forward, he began to scale this massive Southern Dynasty city with nothing but his own physical body.