Chapter 647: The Chance to Turn the Tables

Prince, what should we do? It seems the Duan clan's people have already discovered the Princess Consort's presence in Yingzhou.

Ling Feng's face was filled with extreme anxiety; right now, these people of ours cannot quickly take Yingzhou.

Every extra day the Princess Consort stays in Yingzhou City adds to her danger; now the Prince, wary of harming her while attacking, finds it hard to launch a full assault while she remains inside.

Xiao Yin's long fingers clenched tightly around the portrait in his hand, his expression unusually cold and stern.

Wait!

Xiao Yin finally exhaled with difficulty, then said slowly: "She's in the city; she wouldn't have entered Yingzhou for no reason—she must have made some preparations."

Now the Duan clan's people in Yingzhou City are frantically trying to capture her; perhaps this girl has already started something.

If we launch a blind attack, it will only make her situation more dangerous; tell our people they must not act rashly, and at the same time secretly seek the Princess Consort's whereabouts to contact her as soon as possible.

Ling Feng acknowledged with a sound, turned and left, conveying Xiao Yin's order downward.

By now Xiao Yin had guessed that this girl had risked herself to enter Yingzhou City, likely having made preparations in advance, so he needed to keep waiting.

Surely, at the darkest moment before dawn, a burst of firelight suddenly came from the southeast corner of Yingzhou City, the flames so huge they nearly set half the sky ablaze.

Soon after, a large expanse of red lanterns rose slowly amid the firelight.

A faint flicker passed through Xiao Yin's eyes; he remembered that Gu Jiu Ling had once played with this together with him.

Gu Jiu Ling had said those were Kongming lanterns used for blessings, but now this vast array of Kongming lanterns rose slowly, appearing rather eerie on this desolate battlefield.

Xiao Yin suddenly turned, leapt onto his horse, and rode toward the central tent.

Pass the order! Attack the city!

Attack the city! Attack the city!

In an instant, the military command surged like a mountain and sea, mighty and grand, spreading throughout the entire Azure Dragon Army.

Clad in silver armor and riding a crimson warhorse, Xiao Yin led the charge toward Yingzhou City.

At this moment——he had waited nine full years.

Instantly came cries of killing, the neighing of warhorses, and a rain of arrows tipped with burning oil; countless sharp arrows shot straight at the towers of Yingzhou City.

The siege ladders were erected from all directions against the city walls.

The first batch had already been placed on the walls, but at a command, huge boulders were hurled down by catapults from the walls, smashing toward the troops of the Golden Dragon Army's engineering unit.

However, the Azure Dragon Army also suffered heavy casualties; then another large expanse of red lanterns rose slowly, and Xiao Yin instantly understood, continuing to adjust the siege strategy by directly placing those ladders at the southeast and northwest corners.

Sure enough, as expected, the defenders' strength at those two corners noticeably weakened, and some soldiers even went berserk, turning to stab their own comrades.

This sudden change caused the southeast corner to fall into disorder first, and the towering city wall was instantly breached with a gap.

Thereafter, the Azure Dragon Army directly crossed the east wall and entered Yingzhou City.

After the first group entered, the northwest corner was soon breached as well.

Xiao Yin realized this was Gu Jiu Ling's signal released from within the city; after all, the Eight Great Clans had been besieged by him for so many days, leaving no hope of outside aid.

The people of Yanbei Pass had already been neutralized by him; now Yingzhou is an isolated city.

Its troop deployment will certainly be affected, after all there are only so many soldiers; for such a large city, holding the north gate means losing the south gate.

However, the information released by the Eight Great Clans is chaotic and unreliable.

Xiao Yin understood that wherever the red lanterns rose, it must be the weakest point in Yingzhou City.

At this moment he was anxious as if on fire, and the Longquan Sword in his hand let out a resonant hum.

Xiao Yin and his horse seemed to become one; wherever he went, he was unstoppable, striking down countless foes.

Seeing the gate's defenses gradually weaken, suddenly with a boom, the northwest corner was also set ablaze.

It is likely the storehouse where the Eight Great Clans kept their grain; this fire utterly burned away the defenders' psychological resolve.

Some timid soldiers had already begun to think of abandoning the city and fleeing; seeing that Yingzhou might not hold, Xiao Yin's offensive surged forward like a bamboo shoot splitting.

Inside Yingzhou City, chaos had already reigned, and the vanguard of the Azure Dragon Army had already stormed into the city.

On the streets east of the city and northwest of the city lived the elders of the Duan clan.

At this moment, the person in the courtyard was nearly mad, with fleeing servants everywhere.

The Duan clan's order had collapsed; the other few families had fled, especially the Cao clan escaping the fastest, yet where could they possibly get away?

The Azure Dragon Army had encircled the entire city, blocking all passageways in every direction tightly.

The Cao clan had left less than half an hour, but were forced to turn back, only to be slain by the Duan clan's guards; in an instant, internal strife erupted among the great families.

The Duan elder knew this government office could no longer be held; once the Azure Dragon Army breached the office, they would have no place to bury their dead.

He hurriedly ordered people to prepare an inconspicuous blue-canopied carriage, loading all the gold, silver, and valuables from the mansion into it.

He then walked into the study, trembling as he looked at the black cannon person standing in the middle.

"My lord, the carriage is ready; shall we not find a place to hide?"

"Xiao Yin's assault is fierce; the southwest corner has also been breached, and we see the Azure Dragon Army charging toward the office from this side."

"Please, my lord, mount the carriage!"

The black-robed person stood there like a statue, staring straight out the window.

The great fires at the southeast and northwest corners continued to burn unabated.

One of these two places stored grain and fodder, the other housed the armory; both have now been burned to utter ruin.

Although his face was concealed by a mask, his eyes were blood‑red, almost oozing blood.

The Duan elder dared not speak, standing bowed behind the black cannon person.

After a long while, the black‑robed person slowly turned, gazing fixedly at the Duan elder before him; without a word, he slowly raised his hand, and his arm then fell limp.

The guard standing behind the Duan elder suddenly lifted his hand, the sword blade piercing through his chest.

He slowly lowered his head, gazing at the sword tip protruding from his chest, his whole body frozen there.

He looked in disbelief at the black‑robed person; just as he opened his mouth to say something, he thudded to the ground and never moved again.

The black‑robed person flicked his hand in disgust; a few dark‑clad, sturdy guards entered from outside, dragged the Duan elder's corpse out, blood pooling on the floor—a gruesome sight.

The black‑robed person took a deep breath: "Men! Pass the order down—on the wanted notice, the two people with bounties, especially that Xiao Wu, whoever captures this person will receive a reward of one hundred thousand taels of gold."

"Right, spread the word that Xiao Wu is the Princess Consort of Rui, also draw her portrait; we still haven't captured this woman, but once she falls into our hands, we still have a chance to turn the tables."