"We've arrived." Lu Xiang tied his horse to a tree and pointed to the city below. He liked to personally survey the terrain, and he had visited this place twice before.
Looking around, Li Jun saw the city walls, hundreds of feet high, built against the mountain. The terrain dictated that a full-scale attack was impossible; the only option was to attack from the south. This would inevitably inflict heavy casualties on the invincible army, something Lu Xiang could not tolerate. Therefore, he chose this risky attack.
To my shame, Lu Xiang, as the deputy commander of the Su Kingdom, had been granted the title of Marquis of Wu by King Li Gou for his military prowess, but in reality, the troops he commanded were less than one-tenth of the Su Kingdom's million-strong army. Due to the obstruction of powerful ministers and King Li Gou's suspicion, the invincible army, renowned throughout the land, numbered only a mere 20,000 men. This time, Li Gou even followed the plan of his minister Wu Shu, ordering Lu Xiang to lead these 20,000 troops to attack Wu Yin, a territory that had previously been conquered even with an army of 300,000.
Meng Yuan, who was extremely oblivious to politics, naturally couldn't understand anything. He even thought it was Li Gou's trust in the Invincible Army, and an opportunity for them to make a name for themselves. However, Li Jun, who possessed both ambition and talent, could smell the conspiracy behind the imperial edict.
“If we win this battle, they will allow us to continue the attack until the Invincible Army is exhausted. If we lose, they will use this as an excuse to remove the deputy commander from his command. Therefore, the deputy commander should rebel.” Only Li Jun in the Invincible Army dared to make such a rebellious request. Just as Li Jun himself knew, Lu Xiang only gave him a cold glance and then ordered him to lead the vanguard into battle.
Li Jun could understand Lu Xiang's helplessness. He was bound by the concept of "loyalty" that had been passed down for millions of years in the Divine Continent. If Lu Xiang had any flaws, this was it. Li Jun could also understand his own helplessness. Knowing what the future would bring, he had no choice but to follow Lu Xiang and face that outcome. He himself was also bound by the unique charm that permeated Lu Xiang.
"We've circled around. Now we need to cut off Wu Zhi's head." Lu Xiang's order snapped Li Jun out of his thoughts. Before every battle, he would always use a few words to inspire his men's fighting spirit, even though there were only two of them under his command at this moment.
The three men wrapped themselves in thick white felt, carrying only their short weapons; Lu Xiang's legendary Heaven-Stabilizing Silver Halberd hung on his horse. Then they tumbled down the cliff. The entire city wall was lowest on the side closest to the mountain.
The wind and snow obscured the sentries' vision and hearing. In fact, the sentries had no idea that such a treacherous army from the Su Kingdom would attack. If it were a large force, the beacon towers ten miles away should have sent out warning signals, but they never expected that Lu Xiang would arrive at the city walls with only two people, taking advantage of the cover of the wind and snow.
When the sentry who was sheltering from the wind and snow in the outpost saw Meng Yuan's flushed face, he was already a corpse.
"Wu Yin City has 50,000 defenders. Unless we launch a direct assault with ten times that number of troops, it's impossible to breach the city head-on. Therefore, a surprise attack is the only option. The key to a surprise attack is finding the weaknesses in Wu Yin's defenses." This is how Lu Xiang explained his tactics before setting off. "Wu Yin has three major weaknesses. First, it has never been captured before, so the defenders will be overconfident in the strength of its defenses. Second, the hundreds of thousands of people in Wu Yin are remnants of the Su Kingdom, and they will respond to us when the time is right. Third, Wu Yin's commander, Wu Zhi, is known as the Pillar of Lan Kingdom, and the soldiers greatly admire him. If we can achieve our first victory against him, the Wu Yin defenders will collapse without a fight."
Of course, Li Jun understood that Lu Xiang hadn't revealed the weakness of this tactic. If the three of them were discovered deep in the besieged city, there would be no way to resist the swarming enemy of 50,000.
Li Jun's confidence in Lu Xiang allowed him to ignore these weaknesses. The three threw the sentry's body off the city wall; the wind and snow would soon cover everything up, and the garrison, upon discovering the sentry was missing, would at most assume he had deserted and not think anything more.
The layout of Wuyin City was very compact; the once spacious areas were now crammed with civilian houses. To facilitate command, Wu Zhi's residence was located near the south side of the city.
The charcoal fire burned brightly, making the room warm and cozy. But Wu Zhi felt a chill in his heart. Five years ago, he had led 50,000 men to a crushing victory against the 300,000-strong siege force of the Su Kingdom. But this time, the one attacking the city was the invincible Lu Xiang. In the world of Shenzhou, there was a saying, "Lu in the North, Liu in the South," meaning that Lu Xiang was the number one general in the North, and only Liu Guang of the Huan Kingdom in the South could be considered his equal. Although Wu Zhi was known as the Pillar of the Lan Kingdom, he was self-aware enough to know that he was no match for the Lan Kingdom's Star thirteen years ago, and certainly no match for Lu Xiang, who had killed the Lan Kingdom's Star.
"Fortunately, with this weather, Lu Xiang can't attack the city, so I can think of more countermeasures." Wu Zhi paced back and forth, deep in thought. Just then, he heard a commotion outside the door.
"What's wrong?" he asked with displeasure. The servant who rushed in replied, "There's been a fire in Baibao Hutong."
"Hmm." Someone must have accidentally started a fire while warming themselves by the fire, Wu Zhi thought to herself. "You lead men to put out the fire. Pass on my orders: no chaos or noise! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
The attendant hurriedly left again. Wu Zhi stretched his arms; it had been snowing for several days, and he hadn't moved his body at all, so his fists were itching to get moving.
He stepped out of his room and gazed at the fire, a place where wealthy families of Wuyin lived. If his servants understood his intentions, it should bring him new income. Thinking of this, he smiled smugly.
"Who goes there!"
A questioning voice came from the front door, which made Wu Zhi frown. Could it be that the servants hadn't handled things properly enough and caused trouble? He quickly dismissed the thought; the servants had only just left with their men, and it wasn't that quick for trouble to arise.
"Thump!" The sound of someone being thrown to the ground was followed by screams, and someone shouted "Assassin!" Wu Zhi shook his head, somewhat helpless with his subordinates. As long as he, Wu Zhi, was there, what kind of assassin would dare to come and die?
The courtyard gate was kicked open and flew directly towards Wu Zhi. Wu Zhi met the gate with his own kick, sending it flying back. He sensed a strange force emanating from the flying gate and was somewhat surprised. What kind of assassin possessed such ability?
Li Jun strode in, followed by Lu Xiang. Wu Zhi's gaze immediately focused on Lu Xiang. Every movement Lu Xiang made seemed very natural, and his expression was very calm, but Wu Zhi felt as if she were facing a vast ocean. Lu Xiang walked in, and just by standing there, the boundless aura emanating from him surged towards Wu Zhi like a tidal wave, making it almost impossible for Wu Zhi to breathe.
"You are..." In fact, he had already guessed who this person was. Only Lu Xiang in the whole world had such an aura and could give him such a powerful pressure. Wu Zhi's face was ashen, but he asked instinctively.
"I am Lu Xiang." Lu Xiang answered gently, with a slight smile on his face, and muttered to Wu Zhi like a friend chatting in a teahouse, "The snow is so heavy today."
"Yes... the snow is so heavy..." Wu Zhi felt as if his consciousness was being sucked into a powerful vortex, and he had no choice but to follow Lu Xiang's rotation. He didn't know how to face this suddenly appearing enemy general.
"Wu Yin City is not bad, is it?" Lu Xiang spoke in a very calm tone, but Wu Zhi sensed an undeniable power in his voice and subconsciously replied, "Wu Yin has a population of 600,000; it is indeed a prosperous place."
His gaze finally left Lu Xiang and returned to Li Jun's face. From the somewhat disdainful smile on Li Jun's face, he realized what was going on and said sternly, "Guards!"
The guards who had come upon hearing the news stopped at the gate. Meng Yuan, who stood with his arms crossed, was not tall, but the chilling killing intent he exuded made them feel colder than the weather. Moreover, with a valiant general like Wu Zhi present, it didn't matter whether they went up or not.
"What do you want to do?" Wu Zhi's somewhat submissive words made the guards realize something was wrong. The bolder ones rushed towards Meng Yuan, who simply reached out and drew his sword. The cold glint of the blade was chilling even in the snow. With a single strike, the heads of three of the charging guards were severed from their necks, and the remaining soldiers didn't even see how Meng Yuan drew his sword.
"We would like to borrow your head, General," Lu Xiang said calmly, as if it were nothing more than borrowing a bowl and a cup.
Wu Zhi had already guessed the other party's intentions. What reassured him somewhat was that Lu Xiang hadn't brought many men. As long as they could escape, he could still wipe out these three enemies with his 50,000 soldiers.
Li Jun pulled down the dragon head mask from his helmet. Mo Rong's helmet, crafted from a red dragon's head, also featured a dragon head mask. The ferocious mask made Li Jun look even more terrifying, earning him the nickname "Angry Dragon" over the past three years. When he pulled down the mask, it meant he would pounce on his opponent without mercy, tearing them to shreds like a dragon attacking its provocateur.
Wu Zhi was naturally aware of this legend. The fact that Lu Xiang had a dragon-slaying general under his command was already old news in the Divine Continent. But compared to the unfathomable Lu Xiang, Wu Zhi was still willing to test the power of the raging dragon.
“A one-on-one duel, I am Wu Zhi, the pillar of Lan Kingdom.” Wu Zhi drew his sword and saluted Li Jun. He trusted Lu Xiang completely, knowing that Lu Xiang would never join forces with Li Jun.
Li Jun also gave a military salute. This was not a battle between mercenaries, but a duel between regular army generals, so it had to be done according to the etiquette of a general. He shouted loudly, "A duel! I, Li Jun of the Su Kingdom, declare!"
The moment the sword was drawn, Wu Zhi's aura completely changed. If before the sword was drawn he had appeared somewhat weak due to his fear of Lu Xiang, now he displayed his strength. An invisible aura of power emanated from his eyes, so oppressive that even snowflakes failed to fall on him.
Li Jun knew, of course, that this was because Wu Zhi's internal energy was distributed throughout his body. The powerful spiritual energy transformed into internal energy made Wu Zhi and his sword become one. In a duel between such masters, ordinary spells were almost useless; they couldn't reach the enemy, who was brimming with spiritual energy, to launch an attack, nor could they defend against the opponent's attacks. This was a true duel between martial artists. Against an enemy of this caliber, even if Li Jun had a hundred of them attacking at once three years ago, they would have been easily defeated. Li Jun, of course, wasn't thinking about these things at the moment; his hand stroked the cold hilt of his short sword.
Lu Xiang looked at the two men, both frozen in place, and then glanced at the sky. He understood their tactics: Wu Zhi intended to kill or severely injure Li Jun in one strike and then escape, while Li Jun had no intention of engaging Wu Zhi in a prolonged battle. Therefore, this battle would surely end quickly.
Li Jun and Wu Zhi's eyes met like lightning, their fiery fighting spirit making them oblivious to the cold weather.
Chapter Five: Snowfield Starfall
Section 1
Before the snowflakes could even touch Li Jun and Wu Zhi, they melted amidst their surging fighting spirit, turning into water droplets that fell to the ground, leaving a dark patch of mud in the snow-covered courtyard—a stark contrast to the otherwise pristine white landscape.
Time was of the essence for Li Jun. They had lured away most of the guards protecting General Wu Zhi's residence with a ruse, and if they couldn't end the battle before these guards returned, their surprise attack would completely fail.
But Wu Zhi's defense was extremely tight, and his momentum showed no signs of weakening. Moreover, Li Jun could feel the pressure exerted by his opponent still growing. Li Jun ran at full speed, rushing towards Wu Zhi at the fastest speed he could muster.
Wu Zhi immediately felt an immense pressure. He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, channeling his spiritual energy into the blade. The sword emitted a dazzling red light, standing out conspicuously in the white courtyard. He knew that Li Jun's attack would be all-out, and if he could defend against it, his counterattack would leave Li Jun with no way to escape. This was precisely his tactic.
Lu Xiang smiled. The instant Li Jun made his move, he understood Li Jun's intentions. Sure enough, when Wu Zhi's attention was entirely focused on the rapidly approaching Li Jun, Li Jun's short sword flashed with golden light and flew towards Wu Zhi at several times the speed of sound.
Wu Zhi tried his best to block the golden light. His opponent had thrown a short sword, which meant he would be facing a counterattack empty-handed. He was already confident of victory and was very confident that he could block the sword.