Chapter 227: The Sassanid Dynasty

When two armies engage in battle, the most important thing is intelligence.

Inside the central command tent of the Tian Ce Dynasty, Guo Guo Po Yun was constantly adjusting the sand table to command the various army divisions.

Intelligence personnel were also running in from the entrance one after another, reporting in real-time.

Meanwhile, the messengers waited nearby for Guo Guo Po Yun's commands.

Guo Guo Po Yun was the commander-in-chief, so he did not need to go to the front lines; his task was to coordinate.

After all, Li Chen had come personally, and Li Chen's combat power was beyond doubt, not to mention he had so many Sage Realm experts by his side.

Guo Guo Po Yun just needed to do his own job well, but just at this moment, an intelligence officer reported news that the interior of Ardashir City was already in great chaos.

All four great monster legions had left Ardashir City, and the Empress was furious due to the betrayal of other families.

As he spoke, the intelligence officer handed a captured secret letter to Guo Guo Po Yun.

A general nearby saw this and said, "Marshal, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Sassanid Dynasty's army has broken into small units, distributed throughout the rainforest mountain range, and set up various traps. Our troops are unfamiliar with the terrain and have suffered great losses here."

"Moreover, the supply lines are too long, and the transport troops have been attacked. It would be better to take advantage of the situation and capture Ardashir City; that way, the Sassanid Dynasty will collapse across the board."

His suggestion was also affirmed by the surrounding officers and soldiers.

The current war situation was exactly like this: apart from the vanguard army where Xu Zifeng was located encountering strong resistance, other armies had all encountered harassment. These Sassanid Dynasty troops simply did not want to engage in battle; they were just planning to drag things out.

When Guo Guo Po Yun heard this news, his head swelled; he had not expected that there would actually be a command genius among the enemy troops.

And now, it looked like an opportunity to make the opposing side collapse across the board.

It was said that Empress Alisha was in Ardashir City. As long as they captured Ardashir City and captured the Empress alive, then the Sassanid Dynasty would surely surrender.

Guo Guo Po Yun did not understand much about Sage Realm battles, but he did not think there was anyone who could resist Li Chen.

Tuoba Zhen had been fierce to that extent, yet he had still been killed twice by Li Chen.

Another point was that Guo Guo Po Yun knew His Majesty Li Chen was very cautious and not the type of person to act recklessly. He prioritized stability in all his dealings and would certainly not make a move without certainty.

The chaos in Ardashir City was indeed a heaven-sent opportunity.

But Guo Guo Po Yun always felt something was wrong. If the opposing commander had such ability, his subordinates couldn't possibly be undermining him like this. Could it be that they had encountered some conflict?

Guo Guo Po Yun continued to check the intelligence. The Sassanid Dynasty's Lionheart Legion and Earth Dragon Legion had indeed left the city long ago and had engaged in battle with the Tian Ce Dynasty's army; these two legions were definitely not in Ardashir City.

According to the scouts' intelligence, it was indeed discovered a few days ago that the Green Bull Legion had left Ardashir City.

It was said that the Giant Elephant Legion had also mysteriously disappeared that same night.

Then the changes inside Ardashir City should, nine times out of ten, be true. At the very least, from the intelligence, there were no major problems.

Without these four legions, the strength of the Sassanid Dynasty's other units would be greatly discounted.

The correct course of action now was indeed to concentrate forces to attack Ardashir City.

While Guo Guo Po Yun was thinking, the surrounding generals requested to lead their own troops to support Li Chen's main force.

Just at this moment, Guo Guo Po Yun's pupils suddenly contracted sharply.

"No, this is the enemy's scheme. They are deliberately letting us attack Ardashir City."

As he spoke, he began to arrange troops on the sand table.

"Look, the Sassanid Dynasty's three monster legions have all left Ardashir City, but the ones that left were all legions skilled in plains warfare and raids. As for the missing Giant Elephant Legion, no one knows where they went. What if they remained in the city?"

Guo Guo Po Yun continued his analysis: the Sassanid Dynasty was doing this to make our Tian Ce Dynasty army concentrate near Ardashir City.

Even if Ardashir City's morale was low, the Empress was still there, and the infantry regiments were still there; defending the city was not too big a problem.

Then, those legions that left the city could assemble scattered units and, while we were attacking Ardashir City, launch a raid on our rear defenses.

As long as the monster legions took the lead, our legions would be scattered and fall into a chaotic situation.

At that time, if the Giant Elephant Legion inside the city killed their way out, then the Tian Ce Dynasty's defeat would be certain.

"The other side is forcing us to fight; if we don't fight, they will stretch the battle lines." Seeming to think of something, Guo Guo Po Yun asked urgently: "Where has His Majesty's army marched to now? Have they already attacked Ardashir City?"

Because the war had been going on for some time, according to the plan, even if Li Chen's army's marching speed was slow, they should have reached the vicinity of Ardashir City by now.

This army was commanded by Li Chen personally; if he felt it could be fought, then they would certainly have already started engaging.

As long as Li Chen started fighting here, then the surrounding legions, having nothing to do, would certainly have to support Li Chen.

Coincidentally at this moment, an intelligence soldier walked in: "Report to the Marshal, His Majesty's great army has already begun attacking Ardashir City. The generals of each army are asking whether to provide support."

Hearing this news, Guo Guo Po Yun's heart began to panic.

In his view, Li Chen must have known about the news of the internal chaos in Ardashir City, so he had started attacking the city early.

He immediately gave orders for the two surrounding legions to cover Li Chen's withdrawal, while other legions were to continue searching for the traces of the monster legions and carry out encirclement and suppression; they could not let them hurt Li Chen.

Seeing the messengers running out frantically, Guo Guo Po Yun actually began to pray, hoping that Li Chen would hear the news quickly and not be dragged down by Ardashir City, otherwise it would be too late.

At the same time, Li Chen was indeed attacking Ardashir City.

On the walls of Ardashir City, Empress Alisha looked at the distant army and revealed a confident smile.

Duke Azman, who should have disappeared, was now nearby; he wore a cloak, his face hidden within it, and also revealed a smile of a scheme successfully executed.

The actual situation was exactly as Guo Guo Po Yun had guessed; this was the Sassanid Dynasty's scheme.

When the Empress proposed the plan to break into small units, Duke Azman had agreed, but he prepared a scheme within a scheme.

He let the Green Bull Legion leave Ardashir City to assemble the army.

Once the Tian Ce Dynasty failed to capture the city after a long time, the Green Bull Legion could swoop down from the northern slopes at dawn and directly destroy the Tian Ce Dynasty's rear defense line.

This was a war concerning the fate of the nation; Duke Hassan of the Nasser family could not possibly choose to leave privately for the sake of his own selfish interests, no matter what.

Because if the capital was destroyed, the Nasser family would have no meaning, unless they surrendered.

But having fought to this point, surrendering was already too late and had no meaning.

So the monarch and subjects worked together to stage this scheme.

As the saying goes, to deceive the enemy, one must first deceive one's own people.

At the time, when the Empress heard that Duke Azman had disappeared with the Giant Elephant Legion, she was so angry she wanted to kill someone.

However, that same night, Duke Azman came personally to express that he had only hidden the army to create the appearance of chaotic morale.

As long as the Tian Ce Dynasty had scouts in Ardashir City, they would certainly pass the news out.

Or if they captured other messengers, they would also obtain the intelligence.

But this intelligence could not be given too deliberately, otherwise the people of the Tian Ce Dynasty would not believe it.

Upon hearing this, the Empress was overjoyed.

In her view, this time the Sassanid Dynasty's monarch and subjects were of one heart, and they would definitely make that Li Chen never return!

And today, Li Chen's slow-moving army had reached the city.

As expected, they seemed to have received the news and began to prepare for the siege.

This made the Empress ecstatic; she felt that after this battle, the Sassanid Dynasty would surely become famous across the continent, and her own great achievements would be sung in every corner of the world.

She would let the whole world know that the invincible Tian Ce Dynasty army would also be defeated at the hands of their Sassanid Dynasty.

Thinking of this, the young Empress felt that this honor had come too suddenly.

Li Chen was definitely the best stepping stone for her to reach the pinnacle of the world.

Looking at Li Chen riding on his horse opposite, the Empress was preparing to deal with Li Chen's challenge.

Once Li Chen asked her to come out for a duel, she would directly give a sharp and merciless refusal, making Li Chen turn red with anger, and then Li Chen would order a fierce attack on the city.

A duel before the battle? Do you really think I'm stupid? I'm not Tuoba Zhen.

Occupying the city as I am, how could I possibly duel you?

If it were a duel, then what would be the point of having a city, what would be the point of formations and pulse arrays?

But the Empress still did not understand Li Chen very well; Li Chen was not the type of person who liked to talk nonsense either.

This guy didn't say anything at all, just blindly launched an attack!

This made the Empress, who had prepared a pile of words to humiliate Li Chen, unable to say them, leaving her feeling stifled and thinking that Li Chen really didn't play by the rules.

At this moment, the defenders on the walls of Ardashir City could see the black mass of the opposing side, saying nothing, then blowing horns and beating the heaven-shaking war drums. The next moment, the harmonic pulse arrays erupted from the hundreds of thousands of Tian Ce Dynasty troops, like giant heavenly soldiers, suppressing them with overwhelming force.

Watching the black flood kill its way over, the oppressive atmosphere and terrifying feeling made even the defenders in the city feel shocked.

They were occupying the city, but that sense of fear was still very heavy.

Seeing morale being suppressed, the Empress immediately erupted with heaven-tilting power, the phantom of a holy lion roaring behind her, the sound waves rolling across the firmament like thunder.

That holy lion was entirely gilded, its mane like ten million burning golden spears piercing the sky, and when its four claws stepped on the ground, spiderweb-like cracks actually appeared in the void.

Its appearance made the very heavens and earth tremble!

The firmament hung low! The earth shook!

This was not an illusion, but a change in heaven and earth triggered by the pure overflow of power.

The defending soldiers looked at the phantom that almost seemed to crush half the city, feeling their blood boil and morale soar, and even the runes circulating on the city-protecting array were plated with a layer of pale golden radiance.

This was the Sassanid Dynasty's strongest Empress, the symbol of supreme authority.

However, they did not know how terrifying the enemy they were about to face was.

Li Chen opened his mouth to speak, proving he was testing them.

!

Once he didn't speak, it meant he didn't even have the need to test them.

His silence was more oppressive than any words.

The most powerful thing about Ardashir City was the city-protecting array, but this time the city-protecting array had to face several Sage Realm experts, Li Chen, and the attack of hundreds of thousands of troops!

This was not Holy Shancheng; Holy Shancheng was an upward charge, easy to discharge force, making it hard to exert strength.

At this moment, Li Chen thoroughly activated his pulse technique, a giant god a thousand feet tall descending into the world!

Like the Emperor himself arriving! The firmament overturned! Heaven and earth shocked!

Seeing Li Chen erupt with power, the Empress did not dare to be negligent.

"Activate the array!"

The Empress's sharp shout resounded through the clouds.

Seventy-two towers in Ardashir City simultaneously erupted with purple-gold pillars of light, and layers upon layers of runes moved on the surface of the city walls like living things.

The first layer, "Heavenly Steel Rampart," revealed thirty-six star constellation totems.

The second layer, "Earth Fiend Crucible," spewed out magma-like crimson pulse currents, and the outermost layer, "Void Mirror Realm," refracted ten thousand layers of distorted illusions.

This was the "Three Enclosures Nation-Protecting Array" that the Sassanid Dynasty had spent a hundred years building.

Generations of Sages had engraved their lifelong insights into it, and once, three peak Sage Realm experts had joined forces to bombard it for three days without breaking it!

Before the Tian Ce army formation, eight Sage Realm experts lined up like stars, their pulse energy turning into tangible chains that wrapped around the thousand-foot giant god phantom behind Li Chen.

That giant god's face was identical to Li Chen's, yet it carried the indifference of an ancient emperor, and what it held in its hand was not a precious sword, but a collapsing, scorching white prideful sun.

That was the world-destroying pulse energy gathered by the harmonic pulse arrays of hundreds of thousands of troops!

Li Chen finally moved.

The prideful sun in the giant god phantom's hand suddenly collapsed into a line, and a bowstring vibration sound, so vast it was indescribable, rang out between heaven and earth.

The seven Sage Realm experts behind Li Chen simultaneously activated magic incantations, their pupils turning pure silver-white, chanting ancient forbidden spells.

They were gathering all their power onto Li Chen.

Only Li Chen could withstand so much power; if it were anyone else, they would have exploded by now.

When the energy gathered to the extreme, Li Chen's pupils erupted with heaven-topping power, and he pointed his sword finger at the city-protecting array in front: "Break!"

The scorching white light beam in the giant god's hand behind him seemed to pierce through time and space, crashing into the city-protecting array with a boom.

Boom!

In an instant, cracks appeared on all seventy-two towers simultaneously.

The star constellation totems of the first layer, Heavenly Steel Rampart, melted instantly like paper licked by flames.

The magma of the Earth Fiend Crucible evaporated into nothingness before even touching the white light.

The Void Mirror Realm even emitted the mournful sound of shattering glass.

The Empress watched helplessly as that irresistible pillar of light crashed into the center of the city wall, the holy lion phantom instinctively pounced forward, but was torn into a sky full of golden rain the moment it touched the light beam!

The array's defense was thoroughly torn apart, and a huge crack appeared on the towering city wall, extending from the top of the wall all the way to the ground, with gravel flying and dust rising.

Amidst the roar of the collapsing city wall, a crack reaching deep into the earth's pulse pierced through the entire city.

Those obsidian bricks engraved with ancient defensive runes were now as fragile as sandcastles built by children.

Even more terrifying was that it was not just matter that was torn apart; the spiritual energy of the earth's pulse within a hundred miles surged madly into that crack, as if the entire Sassanid Dynasty's national fortune was being swallowed by this wound!

The peerless city-protecting array, just like that, was broken?!

Empress Alisha widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief.

Her heart surged with heaven-topping waves; even though she had thought of countless scenarios, she had never expected it to turn out like this.

She had originally thought that with the help of the city-protecting array and two Sage Realm experts, it would be enough to resist the Tian Ce Dynasty's attack.

But now, she realized she had underestimated Li Chen and underestimated the strength of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

The surrounding soldiers were also stunned; the morale that had been high just a moment ago vanished at this moment.

They looked at that huge crack, their hearts filled with fear and despair.

The city-protecting array was their last reliance; now that the array was broken, what else could they rely on to resist the Tian Ce Dynasty's attack?

But Li Chen's attack did not end; his voice was as piercing as ice: "Attack the city!"

Following his command, the Tian Ce Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops surged toward Ardashir City like a black flood, the sound of iron armor clashing coming from within the dust.

Their steps were uniform, each step making the earth tremble.

The light of the harmonic pulse arrays shone on them, and giant heavenly soldiers were constantly bombarding Ardashir City!

The defending soldiers of Ardashir City were engaged in a bloody battle with the Tian Ce Dynasty's great army!

But the difference was that their morale had just been destroyed, and they were fighting without any organization.

The Tian Ce Dynasty's army had too strong a momentum; this was the imperial family's regular army, the army where Li Chen was! The ace of aces!

He Lan Xuan was charging in recklessly, swearing to perform well in front of Li Chen!

Without the city-protecting array, and with the city walls collapsed, the defenders simply could not block the charging iron cavalry!

The shouts of battle throughout Ardashir City were heaven-shaking, with corpses strewn across the fields.

On the city wall, the Empress heard Duke Azman's roar in her ear: "Your Majesty, leave quickly! The Green Bull Legion won't make it in time today, my Giant Elephant Legion is willing to swear to protect Your Majesty's departure!"

From this sentence, it could be seen that Duke Azman was also a loyal person.

At this time, the Empress was still unable to walk out of this blow; she stared fixedly at Li Chen opposite, then glanced at Duke Azman, and said coldly: "It seems Li Chen spent a lot of effort to break the array. The fact that he hasn't led his army in yet proves he is already very weak. If I go and kill him, can I turn the tide of the battle?"

This was the Empress finding the only hope in adversity.

One had to know, she had only had her holy lion phantom destroyed; she still retained at least eighty percent of her power.

The move Li Chen had just used was definitely not a simple move; it had a huge burden on the body, excessively consuming meridians, and he certainly couldn't continue fighting.

Hearing this, Duke Azman glanced at Li Chen in the distance and blurted out: "If Your Majesty wants to charge, my Giant Elephant Legion will certainly swear to accompany you!"

Because he also knew that once Li Chen was killed, the Tian Ce Dynasty's army's morale would be damaged, and there would still be a chance!

If Li Chen were captured, then it would be even better; the Tian Ce Dynasty's army would certainly not dare to continue fighting.

If they could really turn the situation around, Duke Azman felt it was worth a try.

At this moment, Li Chen was observing from the front of the formation; he was not interested in things like attacking a city.

With He Lan Xuan and other generals, he didn't need to go up personally.

He had come here to solve something others couldn't solve, and that was the city-protecting array.

During these few days of marching, the eight Sage Realm experts had been researching a big move.

Those present were all leader-level figures of major forces, and they certainly possessed some ancient things.

Fairy Youlan of the Tianyan Divine Sect had stated that her sect had a long heritage, and it recorded a forbidden technique, but to perform this forbidden technique, one needed a person whose body could withstand tens or even hundreds of times the energy.

Li Chen was clearly that person, so today he had tried to bombard Ardashir City, not expecting that he would really be able to break it.

Those familiar with Li Chen knew that he was just too lazy to charge at this time, but the Empress thought he couldn't do it anymore.

Then the scene that even puzzled Li Chen appeared, which was the Empress bringing the Giant Elephant Legion to kill their way over.

"Although I have some consumption, the problem is I haven't reached the point where I can't walk. Do you really dare to come and deal with me?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 228 =====