Chapter 23: I Haven

Everyone's expression changed.

They knew that soon the enemy would realize the siege tactic had failed and would launch an attack.

But why are they attacking right now?

It shouldn't have happened!

Ning Jinli felt her heart jump to her throat and couldn't bother to press the remote's button.

The man dismounted quickly and reported anxiously, "The enemy has mobilized about thirty thousand troops and will soon assault the city wall!"

"His Majesty, what should we do?!"

——

At this very moment.

In the caves north of Lin Xian Village, fifteen thousand fully armed Yu Guo elite soldiers had already slipped in silently.

Meanwhile, Ba Yong, with another five thousand elite troops and the remaining thirty thousand soldiers, headed straight for the front wall of Lin Xian Village.

Last night, in the early hours, he sent men escorting Zhou Da Kui to scout the caves.

To avoid alarming anyone, they did not enter the interior of Lin Xian Village.

But it was already confirmed that Zhou Da Kui's intelligence about the caves was accurate.

Thus, Ba Yong and his subordinate commanders and strategists held an urgent meeting until late night, then launched the current offensive.

When the fifteen thousand elite soldiers emerged from the caves into the village, it would be like tigers entering a sheepfold, and the slaughter would begin!

At the same time, he attacked the city wall from his side.

Lin Xian Village had only ten thousand soldiers; even adding twenty to thirty thousand laborers to the fight, under this pincer situation, neither side could cover everything, leaving absolutely no room for resistance!

A pale dawn was breaking on the horizon.

Ba Yong, clad in imposing Grand General armor, sat in a war chariot, snarling as he stared at the increasingly close earthen stone wall ahead.

"Send the order down: once we breach, everyone except Xiao Qidi should be butchered; let's kill them to our heart's content!"

He shouted loudly.

"Yes!" the Deputy General, with a bloodthirsty grin, eagerly relayed the command.

Zhou Da Kui and his remaining four companions rode their horses alongside the battlefield.

The five were both nervous and fearful, yet also proud and smug.

Because Ba Yong said they had earned great merit, would not be killed, and would be given important positions.

Their days of soaring to fame were about to arrive!

When the thirty thousand troops here stood before the city, the fifteen thousand elite soldiers there also reached the middle of the caves.

"Wait, what's that?"

The elite commander raised a torch high, frowning as he looked ahead.

Looking around, the ground was littered with square boxes and strange, unknown lines linking them together like a massive spider web.

Clearly, these strange objects were not there during last night's reconnaissance.

How did they suddenly appear?

The other soldiers were equally baffled, standing in place awaiting the commander's orders.

The commander saw a box glowing green and hurried over.

He had no idea it was the indicator light on a detonator.

Mistaking it for a luminous precious gem, he immediately showed a greedy smile, drew the dagger at his waist, and tried to pry the "gem" out.

Unintentionally, the blade cut through the casing, and the tip pierced the densely packed batteries inside.

A crackling sound rang out.

A spray of sparks erupted, igniting the Blasting fuse.

The commander let out a startled sound.

Then—

Boom!

Boom boom boom!

Bang!

The fifteen thousand Yu Guo elite soldiers had no time to react and were instantly engulfed by the terrifying explosion!

The cave's Blasting caused a collapse, shaking earth and mountain.

The whole Lin Xian Village felt the tremor.

Xiao Qidi and the others hurriedly looked toward the mountain on the north side, watching the great mountain collapse, each staring in stunned amazement!

Sss…

Is this the Blasting?

Is this the power of the explosives?

"Strange…" Ning Jinli muttered while staring at the remote.

She hadn't detonated yet; how did the mountain explode?

Could there have been a problem when the explosives were placed?

She shivered, relieved that everyone had gotten out.

If the explosion had occurred while everyone was still in the caves, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

"Miss Ning," Xiao Qidi withdrew his gaze, his expression resolute, "I will go lead everyone to resist the enemy; you hurry back!"

Having said that, he turned and left.

Ning Jinli took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and hurried to keep up!

The great enemy is invading; not being afraid is impossible.

But she doesn't want to leave!

——

The noise of Blasting was also detected by the Yu Guo Army outside the front wall of Lin Xian Village.

They also saw the great mountain on the north side collapse rapidly under the hazy dawn light!

Ba Yong was shocked!

A perfectly solid mountain, and it collapsed?

Fifteen thousand elite soldiers were inside its cavern!

"Zhou Da Kui!"

His temples throbbed with blue veins as he drew his war knife and shouted, "Why is this? Tell this General!"

Zhou Da Kui was also dumbfounded, and the other four people were so frightened they fell to the ground.

"General... I... I don't know," Zhou Da Kui said in terror.

Ba Yong's eyes were red as if about to bleed, "Fine, you caused this General to lose fifteen thousand elite soldiers!"

Zhou Da Kui's whole body turned icy, "Grand General, spare—"

Swish!

The word 'death' hadn't even been spoken.

Ba Yong slashed his head off with a single stroke!

Splat!

Fresh blood spurted up a yard high!

The corpse collapsed onto the ground.

Ba Yong was still unsatisfied, leapt from the war chariot, swung his knife fiercely, and tore Zhou Da Kui into eight pieces!

The other four of Zhou Da Kui's companions were frightened into fainting on the spot.

Ba Yong could not let them go; not a single one would be left, he would slash them all to death!

"Charge for this General!" he roared, raising his knife, "Flatten Lin Xian Village! Slay them all!"

"General! Calm down!" the Military Advisor hurriedly urged.

"You also want to die?!" Ba Yong's blood‑stained war knife was pressed against the Military Advisor's neck.

Several Subordinate Generals nearby quickly dismounted and knelt, pleading with the Military Advisor.

The Military Advisor's face turned ashen, "General... you are in a rage; in war, impulsiveness must be avoided, you know that! Moreover, over ten thousand elite soldiers have already been lost, the covert raid is already a failure. If you force an attack now, the losses will be even greater! I beg the General to withdraw the troops back to camp and discuss further!"

"General! The Military Advisor's words are reasonable!"

The Subordinate Generals also spoke one after another, "Please, General, think thrice!"

Ba Yong was, after all, the Senior General of Yu Guo, so even though his anger was uncontainable, he still understood the situation.

He put down his war knife, gritted his teeth, "This General will muster another hundred thousand troops, swearing to grind everyone here into mush! Otherwise I cannot quench the hatred in my heart!"

"Xiao Diqi, you give this General... wait, this bill, this General will hold it against you!"

"Send the order down, withdraw the troops!"

……

Inside Lin Xian Village, Xiao Qidi hurriedly arranged the defense, and the soldiers equipped with new gear readied themselves, gathering at the front wall area.

The troops, seeing the Jinli Fairy arrive, though aware of the lopsided forces, all felt their morale surge and blood boil!

"His Majesty!"

The wall guard ran down, excitedly saying, "The enemy... has retreated!"

Xiao Qidi and the large group of newly arrived soldiers were all stunned.

Retreated?

Just wanted to clash with them, test the new gear's power.

But... they retreated?

What is going on!

Xiao Qidi's eyes relaxed, "Their retreat is a good thing for us."

"Great!" Ning Jinli cheered, "No matter what, we avoided a battle!"

The troops gradually recovered, smiles appearing on their faces.

Indeed, if they really fought now, they might not be able to hold!

The enemy's withdrawal is truly a good thing!

"Xiao Qidi, I was really terrified just now..." Ning Jinli's eyes reddened.

The enemy suddenly deployed troops to attack, truly unexpected.

She truly feared Xiao Qidi would be defeated this time.

And then...

Severely wounded and captured, just as recorded in the secret histories.

Then all her efforts these days would be in vain; he would still meet a tragic end!

She burst into tears.

Both fearful and excited.

Unable to hold back, she threw herself into Xiao Qidi's arms, hugging him tightly, "Fortunately... fortunately we didn't fight this time, you are safe, sob sob sob!"

Xiao Qidi's tall, upright body suddenly stiffened.

The surrounding soldiers fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on the scene.

A moment later, someone spoke, breaking the silence.

"Hey, look, I told you the Jinli Fairy and our His Majesty are a perfect match, right?"