Only a few spear tips pierced through the gaps in the armor, and the monks who were stabbed groaned as they staggered backward.
These monks all possessed Internal Skill, and their explosive power far surpassed that of ordinary people. Upon getting close, they unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, the blades even crossing the shield wall and slashing at the soldiers behind them!
A flash of blood appeared, and the front row was forced to retreat step by step as they were slaughtered!
Most of the garrison troops present were wearing leather armor, except for Xu Dengyun and a few of his personal guards who were wearing lamellar armor.
The huge gap in equipment, coupled with the fact that the warrior monks who attacked were all elites, caused the spear formation that Xu Dengyun had organized to begin to crumble in just a short time!
Seeing that the formation was about to be broken, Xu Dengyun led his personal guards to charge forward.
His martial arts skills were outstanding among the guards. After dodging a monk's slash, he slashed at the monk's neck with a backhand.
Although the armor wasn't pierced, the immense force brought the monk to the ground, and two guards seized the opportunity to rush forward and subdue him. Xu Dengyun stepped forward and plunged his blade into the monk's eyebrow, killing him instantly!
He and his personal guards worked together to kill three enemies in succession, while simultaneously unleashing their Internal Skill and shouting:
"Hold on! Don't let them open the city gates! If the gates fall, the bandits will rush in, and your parents, wives, and children will all be doomed!"
Xu Dengyun led his personal guards in a fierce battle, shouting incessantly.
He was highly respected for never withholding his subordinates' pay when leading troops, and now he was leading from the front.
Some of the defenders in the back who were planning to escape heard his shouts and, seeing how desperately he was fighting, gritted their teeth, raised their spears again, and continued to charge forward.
The ranks, which were on the verge of being routed, were miraculously regrouped by Xu Dengyun!
Just then, an enemy also wearing infantry armor walked towards Xu Dengyun.
The man was not holding a knife, but an iron rod. This iron rod was more than a meter tall, completely black, and covered with Sanskrit characters.
When the others saw this person, they all made way for him.
As the man approached, two of Xu Dengyun's personal guards drew their swords and charged forward.
The newcomer swept his iron bar horizontally, creating a sound like thunder.
With two muffled thuds, two bodyguards, dressed in lamellar armor and weighing over 200 pounds each, were sent flying like two sacks!
Xu Dengyun's expression changed drastically. He had been practicing Internal Skill cultivation since childhood and had good eyesight. Just by looking at the explosive power of the newcomer, he knew that the other party must be First Rate master!
But instead of retreating, he led his personal guards and charged at the man.
The newcomer swung his iron bar again, without any fancy moves, just simple left and right sweeps, knocking away one of the charging guards after another!
Xu Dengyun raised his sword overhead with both hands, stepped forward, and slashed fiercely, unleashing the most violent move in his family's swordsmanship, "Sever the Pillar of Heaven."
Even the pillar that supports the sky will be cut down with a single strike, turning the world upside down!
Xu Dengyun had pushed his Internal Skill to its limit, his blood was surging, and he only had eyes for the enemy in front of him!
The next instant, the iron bar swept towards him, and the knife and bar clashed.
Bang!
The long sword in Xu Dengyun's hand snapped in two instantly, flying out of his grasp. The iron rod continued to strike his chest, denting the lamellar armor on his chest.
He was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground like a kite with a broken string, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Your swordsmanship is good, but you're not."
Before Xu Dengyun was knocked away, he heard the man say this.
Several guards rushed forward and protected him tightly.
The morale of the remaining defenders plummeted as they watched Xu Dengyun being knocked away!
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the street behind, and a thunderous shout echoed through the long street:
"Stop your arrogance, you thief!!!"
Cheng Yi has arrived!
He was riding a horse, wearing a suit of lamellar armor, holding an iron mace in each hand, and followed by three mounted disciples.
Cheng Yi charged into the battlefield, mace in hand, and using the momentum of his horse, he bent down and struck a monk in the chest with his mace.
With a loud bang, the monk's breastplate caved inward, and he was sent flying, knocking down his companion!
Without pausing, Cheng Yi spurred his horse forward, wildly wielding his double maces, and in the blink of an eye, sent two more monks flying!
The man wielding the iron bar immediately turned to look at Cheng Yi and stepped forward to meet him.
Cheng Yi also noticed this person. He was hot-tempered and, relying on the momentum of his horse, neither dodged nor avoided him, charging straight at him!
On the long street, Cheng Yi rode his horse, wielding a mace, and charged at an enemy holding an iron rod.
The two sides drew closer and closer, and the iron rod swung down again.
The moment the opponent made their move, Cheng Yi's Cheng Yi changed on horseback. He raised both maces and simultaneously slashed at the iron bar that was coming at him.
Bang!
The clang of metal against metal echoed through the long street, deafeningly loud!
Cheng Yi Yi's attack, which used the momentum of his horse's charge, did not gain him the slightest advantage. Instead, his horse was struck on the head by the enemy's iron club!
With a neigh, the warhorse lurched forward and threw Cheng Yi off.
He had barely landed and regained his footing when the man strode after him, his iron rod coming at him again!
Cheng Yi wielded his double maces to parry, engaging his opponent in combat.
Each collision between the two was deafening, sparks flew, and their movements were so fast that only a series of afterimages remained, making it difficult for onlookers to see clearly.
Like two whirlwinds colliding violently, the street stalls were caught in the blast and torn to pieces in the blink of an eye!
The terrifying force of the attack caused everyone around to instinctively move away from the two combatants.
A few breaths later, Cheng Yi suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"First Rank?!"
The sound was quickly drowned out by the howling wind and the clanging of metal.
The two exchanged a few more blows when Cheng Yi's left shoulder was 'touched' by the iron rod, causing excruciating pain, as if a speeding carriage had run over his shoulder!
He grunted, used the momentum to step back, and shouted:
"Withdraw!"
He turned and ran, as fast as a galloping horse!
Seeing this, his three disciples also quickly broke away and fled with their master.
The expert wielding the iron rod did not give chase, but instead turned and continued his attack towards the city gate.
By this time, the guards in front of the gate had been completely routed, and only Xu Dengyun stood up again, leading his dozen or so personal guards in a desperate resistance.
His face was covered in blood, and his left arm hung limply at his side, unable to be lifted, but he was still drawing his knife, still roaring, still urging everyone to hold on, saying that reinforcements would arrive soon!
Seeing the expert wielding the iron rod walking towards him again, Xu Dengyun smiled bitterly and suddenly shouted:
"You must be Abbot Ciwen of Mist Hidden Temple! Your Mist Hidden Temple has rebelled; you will all be condemned to the deepest hell after your deaths!"
These words echoed through the long street, causing the martial monks who were in the middle of a fight to pause in their movements.
A flash of anger crossed Ciwen's eyes as she looked at Xu Dengyun after her identity was exposed, and she said:
"This person is deeply tainted by evil; let me personally exorcise this demon!"
After he finished speaking, the other monks stopped fighting and made way.
Ciwen, holding an iron rod, strode towards Xu Dengyun.
Upon seeing this, Xu Dengyun's personal guards rushed forward, shouting for Xu Dengyun to leave quickly!
Ciwen moved swiftly, casually swinging his iron rod, knocking away the charging guards one by one, none of them could stop him!
Xu Dengyun did not leave.
The Xu Clan was known for its unwavering loyalty and valor; not a single soldier deserted!
"Kill--"
He raised his knife and charged at Ciwen.
The iron rod swung down, shattering the longsword into pieces, and Xu Dengyun was sent flying once again!
He wasn't dead yet; he lay on the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.
Looking at the city gate above, he continued to shout:
"Don't let them open the city gates—"
On the city wall, some of the guards shed tears, grabbed their weapons, and charged down.
But that still couldn't stop anything...
Ciwen walked to Xu Dengyun's side and looked down at him.
Xu Dengyun remained unfazed, reaching out to grab Ciwen: "Go to hell, you bald monk..."
"I will send you to hell."
Ciwen said coldly, and slammed his stick into Xu Dengyun's helmet.
Bang!
The helmet was deformed and dented, and blood was flowing out.
Then another blow.
Bang!
Then came the third baton...
In front of the guards on the city wall, Ciwen smashed Xu Dengyun, armor and all, into a pile of minced meat with one blow after another!
The soldiers who witnessed this were utterly terrified and turned to flee.
Ciwen stood in front of the city gate, with a bloody, mangled corpse at his feet. The morning light shone in from behind him, casting a long, long shadow.
"Open the city gates."
He shook the flesh and blood off the iron bar and said calmly.
The warrior monks behind them rushed forward; some ran up the city wall to turn the winch and raise the heavy gate; some lifted the bolts of the city gate; and some lowered the drawbridge outside.
A moment later, the north gate of Yi Province opened!
Lin Qian and his entourage filed in from outside the city.
Half an hour later, all the flags on the Yi Prefecture City were taken down and replaced with a brand new flag with the four characters "Acting on behalf of Heaven".
133. If the madman doesn't retreat, how dare he speak of madness?
"Commander, a new flag has been raised on the city wall, and it reads 'Acting on behalf of Heaven!'"
The scout reported to Wu Shuangren.
Not long after, the man from the Flying Feather Hall who had visited before brought more detailed information. "Commander, our men saw with their own eyes that more than a hundred riders entered the city through the north gate, followed by several hundred people wearing black turbans."
Wu Shuangren sent people to continue gathering information. He looked at Guo Jiwang with a solemn expression. "Just as you guessed, sir. Ciwen must have already hidden in the city, which is why he was able to launch a sudden attack today and open the city gates!"
Upon hearing that the Mount Liang cavalry had set off for Yi Prefecture City ahead of everyone else, and considering the unusual behavior of the Mist Hidden Temple, Guo Jiwang immediately deduced that Ciwen must be hiding Yi Prefecture City.
But it was still too late.
"Before we came here, I thought that Mist Hidden Temple might take Yi Prefecture City before Mount Liang's forces arrived. If that happened, we would have no choice but to retreat and plan our next move."
Guo Jiwang said, "However, if Mist Hidden Temple doesn't want to be the first to act and wants to leave themselves a way out, they might wait for the Mount Liang people to arrive before making their move. That would be our opportunity."
Wu Shuangren nodded, understanding this mentality.
"But what I didn't expect was that Ciwen would choose to abandon Mist Hidden Temple and personally lead people to hide in the city."
Guo Jiwang puzzled. "I originally thought he would use the temple's elite troops to hold us off here. It would only take one day for the Mount Liang forces to arrive. He actually preferred to abandon the temple's thousands of monks and soldiers, as well as two manors, and even risk exposing Mist Hidden Temple to our blades, rather than confront us head-on?"
This was the only miscalculation he made; Ciwen fought too cowardly!
If the enemy hadn't personally led the temple's elite troops into the city, the prefecture city wouldn't have fallen so easily.
Wu Shuangren's heart stirred, and he opened his mouth to speak.