The girl's eyes were lowered, filled with tears. Her brimming gaze paid no heed to the incoming arrow, and she continued chanting. A Peace Army soldier roared and leaped into the air to shield her, but the arrow pierced his chest from behind. The soldier stared intently at the girl, a slight smile on his face, and knelt down on one knee. The girl reached out to help him up, but his armored body was unusually heavy. His blood stained her clothes, and she struggled to lift him, but they both fell to the ground.
"Sing...sing...for me..." the soldier murmured, reaching out to wipe away the girl's tears, but his hand froze halfway down. The girl slowly stood up and continued singing.
"What joy is there in life, what fear is there in death? What sorrow is there, what pleasure is there?"
The Japanese chieftain drew his bow and fired another arrow. Another Peace Army soldier leaped out to block the arrow for the girl. The arrow pierced through his right shoulder. He staggered, switched the knife in his right hand to his left, and still stood proudly upright!
Two squads of the Peace Army's Crimson Dragon Formation immediately rushed over and surrounded the girl. At this moment, not a single Peace Army soldier rebuked the girl for appearing on the battlefield. All they wanted was for the girl to continue singing that song.
"Ship! Ship!" a Peace Army soldier suddenly shouted, pointing at the port.
"Commander Yun, the Dragon Slayer, is back!" At this moment, the joy in the hearts of the Peace Army soldiers was inversely proportional to the frustration in the hearts of the Japanese pirates. Knowing they had fallen into a trap, they still lingered with the Peace Army, largely because the Japanese chieftain firmly believed they could easily crush the Peace Army's meager defenses. However, the number of Peace Army soldiers remaining exceeded their expectations, and their bravery and skill in battle forced the Japanese pirates to admire them. Having half again as many troops, and after two hours of attack, they still hadn't set foot in the city—a rare occurrence in the history of Japanese plundering.
The timely return of Tu Longziyun, who had deliberately left to lure the Japanese pirates into attacking, was crucial to the war. Obviously, it was unlikely that they could escape back to the ship and set sail now. The only way out was to rush into the city and find a way to escape by land.
"Charge!" The Japanese chieftain angrily threw down his bow and arrow, brandishing his blood-dripping sword as he gave the order again. At the same time, the Peace Army also ordered, "Charge! Don't let a single Japanese thief escape!"
With morale low and soldiers demoralized, the Japanese pirates charged forward under pressure from their leader, brandishing their swords. The Peace Army, however, launched a fierce counterattack, and the two armies clashed violently, creating waves of blood.
The girl's song continued. She even stood on a high place, singing to the battlefield where countless men had sacrificed their lives and shed blood. Two squads of peacekeepers stood guard beside her, cutting down any Japanese pirates who dared to block or approach her, and shielding her from their arrows. As soon as one soldier fell, another immediately took his place. Wherever the girl went, the Japanese pirates were utterly powerless to stop her.
The Japanese chieftain realized that the girl's singing was unusual. Enraged, he cut down two Peace Army soldiers who rushed in front of him, fought his way through them, and charged toward the girl. Just then, Tu Longziyun's shout came from the sea.
"Japanese chieftain! Fight me to the death!"
With a shout, Tu Long Ziyun leaped from the ship and onto the dock. His naval soldiers followed him ashore. Tu Long Ziyun paid no attention to the arrows shot by the Japanese pirates. He used one hand to block with his Fulong Shield and the other to deflect them with his Tulong Blade, approaching the Japanese chieftain at an astonishing speed.
"Take this!" As he passed Sun Yu, Sun Yu suddenly lunged forward and slashed at him with his sword.
"An ordinary person? You're the one who colluded with the Japanese pirates!" Tu Long Ziyun roared angrily, swinging his shield to deflect Sun Yu's blade. The Tu Long blade flashed with blood and slashed towards Sun Yu.
Sun Yu blocked with his sword, but the Dragon-Slaying Saber was heavy and sharp, and his sword was shattered with a "bang". The two spiritual energies clashed, and Sun Yu roared, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and rolled over to dodge the Dragon-Slaying Ziyun's series of slashes.
Tu Long Ziyun slammed the Fulong Shield down hard, and the immense pressure hit Sun Yu's back. He coughed up blood again, but he still struggled to get up. Tu Long Ziyun kicked him in the waist, breaking his vertebra with a "crack" and sending him flying far away.
"You can't escape!" Tu Long Ziyun threw down these words and then ignored him, striding towards the Japanese chieftain. Before the Japanese bandits could even get close to him, they were cut down by his sword and struck by his shield, either torn in two or knocked unconscious to the ground.
"Japanese chieftain, take this!" Tu Longziyun gathered his spiritual power, and the blade light was as dazzling as the sun, relentlessly striking the Japanese chieftain.
"Damn it, how dare you underestimate me!" Seeing that Tu Long Ziyun didn't take him seriously at all, the Japanese chieftain also attacked with all his might. Both of them were using a frenzied offensive style, but Tu Long Ziyun had the Fulong Shield in his left hand, while the Japanese chieftain was wielding a long-handled Japanese sword with both hands. Although his sword strikes were fast, they were not as steady as Tu Long Ziyun's. After the two swords clashed several times, the Japanese chieftain was forced to retreat several steps, and the Japanese sword he was holding, forged from fine iron, broke into several pieces.
"Go!" Seeing Tu Long Ziyun pressing closer, the Japanese chieftain grabbed one of his men and threw him at Tu Long Ziyun. Tu Long Ziyun parried with his sword, cutting the Japanese bandit in half at the waist. His internal organs spilled onto the ground. Tu Long Ziyun stepped on the still writhing entrails and almost slipped.
Tu Long Ziyun was momentarily hindered, and the Japanese chieftain took off running. Although he was wearing wooden clogs, he was surprisingly fast. Tu Long Ziyun was surrounded by the Japanese bandits and unable to break free for a moment, so he could only watch helplessly as they left.
The barbarian girl suddenly stopped singing, took the bow and arrow from the Peace Army soldier, aimed at the Japanese chieftain's back, and swiftly shot an arrow. The arrow pierced the Japanese chieftain's body from behind. The barbarian girl was weak, so the arrow did not penetrate very deeply, but it was enough to pierce the Japanese chieftain's heart.
The Japanese chieftain turned around with great effort and discovered that it was the barbarian girl who had shot him. He stared wide-eyed, but before he could say anything, a Peace Army soldier rushed over and beheaded him.
This brutal battle devolved into a one-sided massacre. Although the Japanese pirates, leaderless, put up a stubborn resistance and displayed a fearless spirit, their resistance couldn't last long under the combined attack of the two thousand naval troops brought back by Tu Longziyun and the original garrison inside the city. Tu Longziyun ordered the pirates to surrender, but they refused to lay down their weapons; all that awaited them was extermination.
Although the battle at Kuanglan City weighed heavily on Li Jun's mind, he was currently in Leiming City, a hundred miles away. His strategy of luring the Japanese pirates to attack and then wiping them out in one fell swoop was his own, but the sheer number and ferocity of the pirates far exceeded his expectations. Although the garrison in Kuanglan City wasn't the main force of the Peace Army, the loss of over two thousand dead and an equal number wounded was unprecedented in the Peace Army's history. Although over four thousand pirates had been killed, for the Peace Army, where every soldier was extremely valuable, a hundred pirates were worth less than one Peace Army soldier. If Li Jun received the battle report from Kuanglan City, his heart would surely be filled with immense sorrow.
This battle also made the people of Kuanglan City, who had gradually settled into peace, realize that war was not far away. The soldiers of the Peace Army used their blood and lives to block the Japanese pirates at the last line from the dock to the city, thus preventing the pirates from causing any damage to the city. Tactically speaking, this was too simple and reckless. If they had lured the pirates into the city and then divided and destroyed them, their own losses would have been smaller. However, strategically, the people of Kuanglan City truly felt that the Peace Army was indeed protecting them with their lives. Therefore, this bloody battle made the people of Kuanglan City even more supportive of the Peace Army.
These thoughts didn't cross Li Jun's mind at the moment. Aside from being concerned about the war, he wasn't thinking too much. For him, the more pressing matter was dealing with Peng Yuancheng's next plan. The reason he rushed back from Kuanglan City was that he seemed to have handed over the strategic initiative to Peng Yuancheng. In order to reverse this situation, he had no choice but to order the four allied forces to launch a full-scale attack on the Zhu family.
"What will happen to Peng Yuancheng?" Meng Yuan asked Li Jun, thinking that Li Jun had overestimated Peng Yuancheng's abilities.
“He’s still in Yuyang right now. The four allied forces won’t really go all out in their attack; Zhu Wenhai’s men are more than capable of handling it.” Li Jun’s eyes gleamed as he stroked his short beard and said, “He’s also assessing my strategy. If I’m not mistaken, Peng Yuancheng is definitely holding back in Yuyang City, observing my movements. He must have known about my trip to Kuanglan City last time, and his spies must have informed him of my hasty return. Therefore, he’s somewhat uncertain right now.”
"Will he take advantage of Zhu Wenhai's dispatch of troops to resist the four-family coalition to seize the Zhu family's strength?" Meng Yuan asked. This was their biggest concern. With Peng Yuan's wisdom, if he obtained the Zhu family's 60,000 troops and sufficient supplies, it would pose a fatal threat to the Peace Army.
Li Jun stood up, his eyes flashing with a cold, starlike light: "How can I let him succeed? What we need to do is fully exploit the distrust between Peng Yuancheng and Zhu Wenhai!"
In Yujiang City, at the Yuzhou Governor's Office.
"Is Peng Yuancheng still in Yuyang, refusing to obey orders?" Zhu Wenhai's voice echoed in his luxurious mansion. The flickering candlelight seemed startled by the anger in his tone, swaying violently.
“Indeed, Governor, you must be wary of this kid. I fear he harbors ulterior motives.” Pang Wu seized the opportunity to say, “I received a secret report that he intends to annex the Governor’s subordinates. If someone is colluding with him, the Governor will be in danger.”
"Who are you talking about?" Huo Ze roared. "The four allied forces are nothing but a minor nuisance; Li Jun is the real wolf in sheep's clothing. Peng Yuancheng controls the strategic pass of Yuyang, preventing Li Jun from advancing south. If Peng Yuancheng is transferred away for the sake of a mere four allied forces, this man is probably trying to hand over the Zhu family's centuries-old legacy to that brat Li Jun!"
Zhu Wenhai snorted coldly, interrupting their argument. He wearily slumped into his armchair, letting out a long sigh. Over the past year, he had truly experienced the difficulties of running a family in chaotic times. Perhaps he should have passed the family business to his second brother, Wenyuan; he had plenty of drive, but unfortunately, he had died in battle at Leiming City. Of the Zhu family's direct descendants, only he remained; he was the only one they could rely on. Peng Yuancheng certainly had ill intentions, but if it weren't for him, who in the Zhu family could withstand Li Jun's ferocious army?
A jumble of chaotic thoughts swirled in his mind, and at this moment he felt utterly exhausted. At just over thirty, in the prime of his life, this feeling stemmed from the fact that the current crisis was beyond his personal capacity to handle. No one around him could reassure him, no one seemed reliable; all he felt were enemies, greedy eyes…
"Governor, Governor!" Pang Wu and Huo Ze called out softly when they saw that he was silent for a long time, only his chest heaving rapidly.
"Oh...I see," Zhu Wenhai said, "How is the fighting at the front?"
"The four allied forces, forced by Li Jun, have captured my towns of Guliu, Qinghe, Pingxiang, Fengkou, and Xiushan, and have reached the walls of Yuping City. Our army has retreated into Yuping City, but the four forces are attacking the city very urgently."
"How many troops are still in Yuping City?" Zhu Wenhai asked.
"A urgent report from Yu Pingcheng: There are still 15,000 garrison troops in the city," Pang Wu said.
"In that case, there's not much of a problem. Let's just abandon the surrounding villages and towns and let them hold Yuping. Peng Yuancheng is unwilling to go to reinforce, so let's leave him be for now."
“Yes…” Pang Wu and Huo Ze exchanged a glance. Zhu Wenhai’s decision was the same as not making any decision at all. Was he simply trying to deal with the situation by remaining unchanged, or did he simply not know any way to deal with it?
"Pang Wu, I appoint you as military supervisor and send you to Yuyang City. Peng Yuancheng is to hold back Li Jun's army in Dagu City and Leiming City. He is unwilling to send reinforcements. Is that acceptable?" Seeing his advisor's distrust, Zhu Wenhai perked up. He was not about to easily abandon his ancestral business to others. Even if it was useless, he would make one last struggle.
"Yes!" Pang Wu was overjoyed. The supervisor of the army had great power and could even interfere with the commander-in-chief's command on the spot. Appointing him as the supervisor of the army meant that he was to monitor and deal with Peng Yuancheng. He had never trusted this person. If he could find fault with him, he could further undermine Zhu Wenhai's trust in Huo Ze.
Huo Ze, however, felt a different kind of unease. Upon leaving the hall, he said to Pang Wu, "Brother Pang, this matter is of utmost importance. Please, Brother Pang, do not let our dispute jeopardize the Governor's important affairs!"
"I don't need you to teach me. I naturally know how to be the most advantageous governor," Pang Wu replied coldly before striding away.