Chapter 741: East City Main Camp!

Qing Wang charged to Zhou Jinhua's horse, thrusting his long sword repeatedly, each thrust aimed at the horse's leg.

Though the warhorse was a fine steed, it could not evade such a dense sword assault.

Zhou Jinhua raised his long spear and kept stabbing downward, but Qing Wang dodged extremely fast, the several spear thrusts all missing.

Soon, the horse's front leg was struck by a sword; the horse let out a mournful whinny and fell to its knees.

Zhou Jinhua rolled off the horse, and before he could steady himself, Qing Wang's sword came swinging at him.

He hurriedly raised his spear to block, the sword blade scraping the spear shaft and sliding down, sparks splashing his face.

Qing Wang's eyes turned blood‑red, sword after sword flashing by, a completely reckless fighting style.

Zhou Jinhua's long spear could not be wielded in close combat; the shaft was too long and Qing Wang was too close, so he could not thrust out, only moving the spear horizontally to parry back and forth.

At that moment, the sound of hooves thundered in.

Three thousand elite cavalry surged in like a torrent, making the ground tremble slightly.

Zhang Wu'an brandished a great sword, the first to charge through the city gate, roaring forward.

Zhou Jinhua looked up and thought, "Great! The main army has finally entered the city!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "He is Qing Wang—!"

Hearing the shout, Zhang Wu'an turned his head, and the warhorse beneath him kept its speed unchanged.

In the instant he brushed past Qing Wang, he twisted his waist, and the great sword, driven by the horse's momentum, swung down horizontally.

The swing was heavy and forceful; Qing Wang hurriedly drew his sword to block, and with a "Clang!" the long sword slipped from his hand and flew away.

The blade slashed in from his left shoulder, cutting across to his right rib, and fresh blood gushed out.

Qing Wang staggered backward, his foot gave way, and he knelt on one knee.

Zhou Jinhua's eyes flashed brilliantly; this was the moment he and his men had been waiting for!

He stepped forward and, with all his strength, thrust the long spear violently into Qing Wang's chest.

The spear tip entered through the chest and exited the back; blood surged along the shaft, dripping onto the ground.

Qing Wang's mouth opened as if to speak, but only a mouthful of blood foam erupted.

He lowered his head to look at the spear shaft in his chest, then slowly raised his head, staring intently at Zhou Jinhua.

The light in his eyes faded bit by bit, and his body slumped weakly to the ground.

Zhou Jinhua withdrew the spear, picked up his long sword, and sliced off his head with a single swing; he then drove the spear tip forcefully, hoisting the blood‑soaked head high.

Three thousand elite cavalry whistled past him without stopping, charging deeper into Jingcheng.

On the city wall, because Qing Wang had taken some guards to close the gate, the remaining commanders and soldiers struggled to hold back the increasing numbers of enemies climbing in from the siege ladders, already beyond their strength.

Suddenly, a few embrasures, pointing at the guards on the gate, raised a finger and shouted:

"The gate is broken!"

"The enemy troops are breaking in!"

"We can't hold it!"

The guards in front of the embrasures dropped their weapons and turned to run down the wall.

Bai Buluo forced Chen Wang back with a slash and glanced toward the city outskirts.

The main army was pouring into Jingcheng in a massive wave.

He smiled mischievously at Chen Wang, shook his head and said, "Tsk tsk, the gate is already broken, the main army is entering the city, how will you fight this battle?"

Chen Wang's face turned ashen, and he said nothing.

Suddenly, he lunged two swift steps to the side and thrust a sword at Xiao Ze, who was seated against the wall.

Xiao Ze quickly recoiled, and Xiao Ningxun raised his sword and swung it horizontally.

"Eh eh eh!" Bai Buluo extended his blade to push Chen Wang back: "Where is there one that dry?"

"Can't beat me, so you sneak attack someone's child?"

He showed no mercy, curving his curved blade and forcing Chen Wang to retreat repeatedly toward the gate: "Won't you discard your sword and surrender quickly? What are you waiting for?"

Chen Wang saw his chance, feigned a thrust, then turned and fled.

Bai Buluo chased after him; as his curved blade was just raised, Chen Wang grabbed a nearby guard and hurled him behind him.

The guard let out a startled cry, and before understanding the situation, he slammed toward Bai Buluo.

Bai Buluo stepped aside, planting his foot.

In that brief moment, Chen Wang had already rushed to the stone steps of the wall.

The guards were running down the stone steps, crowding together.

"Move aside! All of you, move aside for me!" Chen Wang plunged into the crowd without hesitation, flinging his arms left and right, grabbing the blocking guards and pushing them back forcefully.

Several guards were consecutively shoved behind him, blocking Bai Buluo's path tightly.

Chen Wang shouted hoarsely from within the crowd, "Follow me back to the Main Camp! Defend Jingcheng!"

"I still have a hundred thousand troops stationed inside the city! Those who return to the camp will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver!"

"Hold the Main Camp! Fight the enemy to the death!"

The fleeing guards all halted, recalling that the Imperial Court still had a hundred thousand soldiers!

Returning to guard the camp would earn a hundred taels of silver!

Bai Buluo kicked aside the blocking guard, rushed to the foot of the stone steps and looked down, but Chen Wang's figure was already gone.

He hummed, "He ran pretty fast."

Chen Wang ran to the base of the wall, turned his head toward the gate, and at a glance saw the blood‑dripping head hoisted high on the spear tip.

Qing Wang's eyes widened, his face a mask of rage, his eyes refusing to close.

"Xiao Jichang!" Chen Wang shouted, stumbling and nearly falling.

A nearby guard hurriedly steadied him, "Your Highness!"

Chen Wang shoved him away with one hand and stared intently.

The man holding a spear, sitting proudly on his horse, turned out to be Marquis Jinghai Zhou Jinhua!

He kept shouting loudly: "The rebel chief King Qing is dead——!"

"Why haven't you all surrendered yet!"

Chen Wang's vision went black, a surge of stale qi rose to his chest, and the smell of blood rushed straight to his throat.

Damn you, Zhou Jinhua!

Back then you opened the city gate at night to welcome this prince into the city, and today you've repeated the same trick, even bringing Xiao Jieyun inside!

Shameless villain!

He clutched his chest, gasping heavily several times before barely calming down.

A deputy commander led a horse up to him and said, "Please mount, Your Highness!"

"Go!" Chen Wang swung onto his horse: "Follow me to the nearest Eastern Main Camp!"

"Yes!"

Chen Wang lay flat on the horse's back, the wind whistling in his ears, gripping the reins tightly.

Xiao Jichang, you really died just like that?

His heart ached; the person who had followed him behind, calling him "Brother Prince" for decades, actually died at Zhou Jinhua's hands!

This prince should have killed him earlier!

Hooves struck the blue stone slabs, racing swiftly toward the Eastern Main Camp.

On the roof of the Fortune Tea House, Tuan Tuan lay in Lu Qi's arms, a pair of big eyes unblinking, fixed on the direction of the city gate.

The distant shouts of killing rose and fell with the wind, surging in waves like a tide.

Suddenly, her eyes widened sharply.

Not far down the street, a troop surged forward like a tide.

Tuan Tuan shot up from Lu Qi's arms with a scrape, her little feet stepping on the tiles, her body lunging forward, almost slipping off.

"Miss!" Lu Qi was frightened out of his wits by her, grabbed her waist and pulled her back into his arms, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.

"Be careful! This roof isn't flat……"

"Uncle Seven!" Tuan Tuan clenched his sleeves with both tiny hands, her eyes shining brightly, "Look! Is Father's army coming in?"

Lu Qi followed her gaze into the distance.

A cavalry unit was galloping down the street.

Lu Qi narrowed his eyes, staring at the figure at the front wielding a big blade for a moment—broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, the blade laid across the saddle—who else could it be but Zhang Wu'an?

"Yes, Miss!" Lu Qi's voice rose involuntarily, "The leader is Deputy Commander Zhang! The main army has entered the city!"

"Great!" Tuan Tuan clapped her little hands, bounced once more in his arms, the tiles beneath her feet clacking, "Uncle Seven, shall we go find Uncle Zhang?"

Lu Qi hesitated a moment; the Miss had been waiting here in the wind for so long—wasn't she waiting for the main army to enter the city?

"Uncle Seven," Tuan Tuan blinked, "Second Uncle only said not to take me to the city gate, but didn't say not to take me to find Uncle Zhang, right?"

Lu Qi: "……"

That makes perfect sense!

"All right!" Lu Qi no longer hesitated, scooped her up in one arm, "Miss, let Divine Doctor Mo know—we're leaving now!"

"Master!" Tuan Tuan shouted urgently, "I'm going to find Uncle Zhang and the others! Stay here, don't move!"

"No!" Mo Zhanggeng's angry shout, full of vigor, came from inside the house, "You can't go anywhere! Don't you know there's a battle outside……"

But by the time he ran to the courtyard, there was no one on the roof.

Mo Zhanggeng stamped his feet in anxiety: "Nonsense!"

Lu Qi had already carried Tuan Tuan on his back and leapt onto the adjacent roof.

He glanced occasionally at Zhang Wu'an's position, darting along the continuous rooftops on both sides of the alley, taking shortcuts, leaping and sprinting.

Soon he caught up with Zhang Wu'an, who was riding forward.

Lu Qi shouted loudly, "Deputy Commander Zhang! Wait a moment!"

Zhang Wu'an slightly reined in his horse, turned his head toward the sound, and at once saw Lu Qi and the tiny figure on his back—his eyes nearly popped out.

He didn't stop, merely slowed his pace to let Lu Qi keep up: "Little Princess? What are you doing here?"

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out from Lu Qi's shoulder and waved at him: "Uncle Zhang! Where's my father? Where are Third Brother and Third Elder Brother?"

"The Prince is behind! With the main army!"

"Princess, you weren't on the high platform? The Third Son and Seventh Prince were rushing to get on the siege tower to find you, fighting each other—the walls have turned into a mess, how……"

"I was there all along! I only came back after Little Eleven took his medicine!"

Zhang Wu'an completely didn't understand, glanced at Lu Qi for help.

Lu Qi held back a laugh, shook his head, didn't explain, and asked, "Where are you headed?"

"Eastern Main Camp!"