The thirty-meter-long dagger phantom bore down overhead, and the air instantly froze.
Lin Yuan and Shen Qing felt their scalps prickle, the thought rising within them that they could not withstand it.
But even if they could not, they had to.
If this blow really brought down the city wall, all of Ping'an County would become a living hell.
"All or nothing!"
Shen Qing shouted coldly, gripping her embroidered spring saber tightly in both hands and slowly raising it above her head.
A presence that made hearts tremble erupted from within her.
Just then, a hand settled on her shoulder, and Lin Yuan's voice sounded beside her ear.
"Let me."
Lin Yuan stepped forward and slowly raised his long saber.
Shen Qing stood frozen, staring doubtfully at the slender figure before her.
Had this brat gone mad?
Hadn't he already used a secret art back at the Lin residence? Could he still use it now?
And just what price did he have to pay for this secret art?
What exactly had he lost?
Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the terrifying black shadow drawing ever closer.
To be honest, he was rather panicked himself.
His chest was empty now, leaving him with very little sense of security.
The fierce wind overhead pressed down until his robes snapped, even making his breathing falter slightly.
In that lightning-flash instant, memories of his previous life flickered through his mind.
His eyes suddenly lit up, and he roared wildly inwardly.
Appendix, sacrifice yourself!
Boom!
A sudden wrenching pain shot through his lower right abdomen. A surge of pure power rushed through his meridians into his arms, pouring entirely into the blade.
The blade trembled violently with a humming sound, bursting forth with three inches of saber light!
It worked!
Wild joy filled Lin Yuan's heart. He hurriedly examined this power in detail, then frowned.
This vestigial organ really was useless. The power it bought was nowhere near enough.
The dagger phantom overhead had already descended to within ten zhang, and the black stone of the city wall cracked inch by inch.
No more hesitation. Raise the stakes!
Adenoids, explode!
Tonsils, explode!
Pfft! Pfft!
Two muffled sounds came simultaneously from deep within his throat and nasal cavity. Two streams of heat burst forth one after another, surging along his arms into the blade.
Hum!
The saber light instantly shot up another stretch, growing to six inches!
After sensing it carefully, Lin Yuan's face fell.
Still not enough!
If I can't hold this off, I really will die here today!
He desperately searched his memories of his previous life, and inspiration suddenly struck.
Got it!
Vomeronasal organ, explode!
The final surge of power thundered into the blade, and its light instantly swelled to seven inches!
"Break!"
Gripping his saber in both hands, Lin Yuan boldly slashed at the black shadow blotting out the sky overhead!
Opening Move Shakes Kunlun!
Thirty meters of blood-colored Saber Qi rose from the ground, howling as though tearing everything apart, and slammed into the dagger phantom!
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out in midair.
Red and black light frantically intertwined, devouring each other.
Violent shock waves swept outward. Entire stretches of battlements collapsed, sending rubble flying through the sky.
Lin Yuan took the brunt of it. The tremendous force striking him head-on hurled him straight off the city wall!
"Lin Yuan!"
Shen Qing cried out in alarm. She tried to save him, but the shock waves forced her back again and again.
In midair, Lin Yuan's head swam. He shook it hard, forced himself to concentrate, and lightly tapped the city wall with his toes.
His fall immediately slowed.
Then he stepped on his right foot with his left, shooting a zhang upward, before stepping on his left foot with his right and rising another zhang or so.
Like that, one foot after the other, he climbed awkwardly upward and scrambled over the battlements.
Tap.
Lin Yuan landed safely.
Shen Qing hurried over, patting her full chest as she let out a long breath.
"You scared me to death. I thought you..."
"I'm hard to kill. I won't die."
Lin Yuan waved a hand and turned to look at the other side of the city wall.
The seven figures in black lay sprawled in pools of blood, without a trace of life.
Woo, woo, woo.
Just then, low horn blasts suddenly sounded below the city.
The bandits retreated like an ebbing tide.
The surviving soldiers froze for two seconds, then all collapsed into the bloody water, utterly drained, and let out heavy sighs of relief.
They had finally weathered this assault!
Before long, a squad leader with a blood-smeared face limped over, his expression sorrowful.
"Commandant Shen, we've finished counting the casualties."
Shen Qing's expression tightened.
"Report!"
The squad leader's lips trembled. Head lowered, he reported.
"Of the eight hundred city defense troops, one hundred and twenty-eight were wounded or disabled, and two hundred and seventy-seven were killed."
"Counting everyone, we have fewer than four hundred men left who can still defend the city."
At that number, Shen Qing swayed, nearly losing her footing.
She angrily kicked the battlement beside her, a chill spreading through her heart.
A single battle defending the city had crippled half their force!
How could the remaining men hold out until Uncle Fu brought reinforcements?
After all, Zhao Wuya still had an army of thirty thousand that had yet to move!
Meanwhile, in the rebel camp.
Someone flung aside the tent flap, and a burly man in his forties strode inside, a savage saber scar stretching across his face.
He was none other than Cao Hu, leader of the bandits and vanguard general of the Heaven-Pacifying Army.
The moment Cao Hu entered, he pointed at Zhao Wuya in the seat of honor and roared.
"General Zhao! How much longer are you going to sit back there and watch the fucking show?"
In the seat of honor, Zhao Wuya slammed his teacup onto the table.
"General Cao, you have the nerve to question me?"
"I should be asking you where the men your Heaven-Pacifying Army planted inside the city to support us are!"
Cao Hu choked on his words, his bluster instantly halved. Stiffening his neck, he muttered.
"Even so, you can't just watch my brothers throw their lives away for nothing, can you?"
Bang!
Zhao Wuya slammed the table and sprang to his feet.
"What do a few deaths matter? They're nothing but refugees! There's a great drought in the north. We can get as much cannon fodder like that as we want!"
He glared at Cao Hu, his face full of fury.
"But what about me? My entire clan was lost in there!"
Cao Hu instinctively retreated half a step.
The command tent instantly fell silent.
Watching the furious Zhao Wuya, Cao Hu's expression shifted several times.
He snorted coldly, turned, and strode out.
"Send your own men up for the next assault. I'm not playing along!"
The tent flap fell shut.
The assembled officers exchanged looks, not daring even to breathe loudly.
A moment later, a scholar in blue robes stepped forward, waving a feather fan, and cupped his hands.
"My lord, given the current situation, what do you intend to do?"
At these words, everyone abruptly turned their heads toward him.
With his hands behind his back, Zhao Wuya paced a couple of steps around the tent, his expression shifting uncertainly.
After a long while, he stopped and gave a direct order.
"Pass down my command. Once darkness falls, we turn north and head for Yun Prefecture."
"What?"
An officer on the left widened his eyes, utterly baffled.
"General, Yun Prefecture has nearly been reduced to ruins by the fighting. Why would we go there?"
Another officer hurried to agree.
"Exactly! The court has stationed two hundred thousand troops in Yun Prefecture. With our little force, wouldn't going there be jumping into a fire pit?"
Zhao Wuya said nothing. The blue-robed scholar beside him spoke to clear up their confusion.
"Generals, please be patient."
The scholar held out a finger and began a clear, orderly analysis.
"First, Ping'an County is heavily defended. A direct assault will inevitably cost us dearly. Once reinforcements arrive from the prefectural seat, we will be trapped in a deathtrap, attacked from front and rear."
"Second, the army is already short of provisions. If we don't head north to plunder, are we supposed to stay here and live on the northwest wind?"
At this point, the scholar paused, then added with a smile.
"Once we enter Yun Prefecture, refugees will be everywhere. Will we still need to worry about expanding our ranks then?"
The two subordinate generals exchanged looks. Thinking it over carefully, it did seem to make sense.
Since they had already boarded this pirate ship, they had no way back except to follow this road into darkness.
The two said no more. Cupping their fists, they accepted the order, then turned and left the command tent.
Once only the two of them remained, the scholar stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"My lord, are you planning to absorb the entire Heaven-Pacifying Army?"
Zhao Wuya turned to glance at the scholar, finally showing a hint of a smile.
"You know me well, strategist."
In truth, the thought had occurred to him the moment they lost contact with their inside men in the city. He simply had not made up his mind.
Only during that second assault just now, when even the shadow guards he had painstakingly trained were lost on the walls, had he finally abandoned all thoughts of taking the city by force.
Rather than batter his head against it here, he might as well leap off the chessboard and stir up wind and clouds in the great quagmire of Yun Prefecture!
Still, whenever he thought of the Zhao Clan's entire scheme going down the drain, his heart could not help dripping blood.
He secretly gritted his teeth, cursing viciously inwardly.
Which son-of-a-bitch bastard ruined the grand plan I spent years preparing?
I had better never find out, or I will grind your bones and scatter your ashes!
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Lin Yuan had only just descended from the city wall when he could not help sneezing twice in succession.
He rubbed his nose, somewhat puzzled.
Passing through the rather desolate streets and alleys, he returned to the residence in the north of the city.
The moment he entered, everyone crowded around to ask about the battle.
"We've held them off for now."
Lin Yuan waved a hand and headed straight for the rear courtyard.
After washing and changing into a clean long robe, he came to the main hall.
The square dining table was already laden with steaming dishes.
His wet nurse, Yunniang, stood beside it, rubbing the corner of her clothing with some unease.
Lin Yuan sniffed, and his stomach gave an uncooperative growl.
He swept through the meal like wind scattering clouds.
After lunch, Lin Yuan hurried out of the residence and headed toward the Treasure Pavilion.
While the rebels outside the city were quiet for the moment, he had to seize the time to obtain a decent primary cultivation technique and raise his cultivation further.
That slash atop the city wall had squandered every usable scrap he had.
If another emergency arose, he would have no choice but to make his little brother suffer one less layer of clothing.