Jade Tower Gate
Slanting threads of rain cut through the darkness, sweeping past before their eyes with a faint crystalline gleam.
The sky remained dim, yet the murky clouds in the distance gradually revealed a trace of white.
"Fire!"
Twenty bed crossbows were pushed forward. At the command, there came a hum, and a rain of arrows fell. Dozens of men atop the gate screamed as they tumbled down.
More than that, the Three-Bow Bed Crossbow was also called the Eight-Ox Crossbow. Its bolts were like javelins, sinking five inches into stone and pinning themselves into the city wall, allowing the besieging soldiers to climb up along them.
This was the Imperial Feather Guards' capital.
"Kill!" Almost at the same time, drums shook and thundered in a dense rhythm. A military formation charged forward like surging tides, stepping onto crude cloud ladders and climbing the gate tower.
Below, upon the rain-soaked and slippery brick road, a massive, heavy battering ram was being pushed forward, gathering speed—BOOM!
One deafening impact after another echoed within and without.
"Set it on fire!" Li Xiang shouted at the same time. Oil jars were immediately hurled down at the gate, followed by dozens of torches. With several whooshes, the battering ram was set ablaze.
"Kill!" Figures fell one after another from the cloud ladders, but quite a few successfully climbed onto the wall.
"Die, rebel!"
Li Xiang's blade flashed. With a clang, sparks flew, and with a casual sweep, two soldiers who had climbed up fell onto their backs with two wet thuds. Blood spattered everywhere; even iron armor could not withstand it.
"Kill!" The followers' morale surged. Together with Li Xiang, they charged back and forth like a whirlwind, continuously stirring up waves of bloody light.
"Heh!" The guards shoved away a cloud ladder,