Chapter 464: Ascension

Latest URL: "Enemy attack!"

"Boom, boom, boom..."

On the city walls, the generals exclaimed in alarm, and at the same time, the war drums were sounded.

The soldiers who had been resting under the city walls were urged by the generals and climbed onto the walls one after another.

Yang Feng was also on the city wall, looking at the Beidi soldiers surging over like a blanket, and his heart sank to the bottom.

During this period, the Beidi had not been attacking the city with all their might.

The war had been proceeding in a mild manner.

But now, the Beidi clearly wanted to take Xian City in one fell swoop.

"What on earth happened?" Yang Feng could not figure it out.

But the urgent battle did not allow him to think; he immediately deployed troops and ordered the soldiers to climb the city walls to prepare for a fight to the death.

At the same time, the only eighty pieces of Artillery on the city walls let out a thunderous roar.

Black Cannonballs flew back and forth over the city walls for a time.

At this moment, the Second Prince, after his initial panic, immediately ran back to the Ma Family residence.

He brought the news of the Beidi siege to Zhao Heng.

"It's over, it's all over." Zhao Heng sat down dejectedly.

The Beidi were not prepared to negotiate at this time, but rather wanted to capture him alive.

Thinking of this, his whole body began to tremble slightly with fear.

Having lived in luxury since childhood, he had never suffered the slightest hardship.

He could not imagine what kind of life he would lead if the Beidi took him back to the Grassland.

"Sob, sob, sob... Father Emperor, what should we do?" The Second Prince suddenly burst into tears.

Zhao Heng was the Emperor, so the Beidi might still keep him alive.

He was merely an Imperial Prince.

There was no need to mention the fate of the Third Prince; he dared not imagine how the Beidi would treat him.

Zhao Heng also wanted to cry,

but he had no tears left to shed.

Now, he could only wait in despair for the moment Xian City fell.

In the forest.

Zhong Li suddenly pricked up his ears; the small forest was only twenty li away from Xian City.

The roar of the Artillery could still reach this place.

"The sound of the cannons has suddenly become much denser; I fear the Beidi are attacking the city fiercely," Zhong Li muttered to himself.

"Could it be that the Beidi Khan knows the plan to go south from the sea has failed?" he said again.

Then he looked at the red clouds in the western sky; it would be dark soon.

After thinking for a moment, he did not change his plan and decided to let the Hot Air Balloons ascend at dawn.

For him, as long as his location was exposed, the rescue plan would fail.

He could not lose his composure just because the war was urgent.

Gradually, the sky grew dim.

At night, the Beidi seemed to have stopped the siege.

But in the middle of the night, a loud noise, even louder than the Artillery, suddenly came.

Everyone was startled awake.

Thinking of something, Zhong Li's expression changed, and he said, "Oh no, the Beidi are using Gunpowder Barrels to blow up the city wall; heat the Hot Air Balloons immediately."

In the middle of the night, Beidi scouts basically would not patrol anymore.

After all, they could basically see nothing.

He had chosen dawn, not because it was darker then.

It was because departing at that time would mean it would be just daybreak after rescuing the Emperor.

In this way, they could make it clear to the Beidi that the Emperor had been rescued by them, and that besieging Xian City no longer had any meaning.

But now that the city wall might be blown open, it was different.

He did not know how much longer the soldiers of Xian City could hold out under such circumstances.

Upon receiving his order, the nine Hot Air Balloon Troop members immediately opened the mouths of the envelopes and ignited the fuel to heat the air inside.

The firelight illuminated a small patch of the forest.

Half an hour later, the envelopes gradually inflated, but because the baskets of the Hot Air Balloons were tied to wooden stakes, the Hot Air Balloons did not fly away.

Another half hour passed, and the Hot Air Balloons were fully inflated.

At this time, the Hot Air Balloon Troop members climbed into the baskets.

"You must be careful; your mission concerns the success or failure of His Highness's plan," Zhong Li said to the nine soldiers, his eyes full of worry.

Using Hot Air Balloons to rescue the Emperor this time was in itself a risk.

Although Wang Chong had built the Hot Air Balloons, they were not one hundred percent safe.

The Hot Air Balloon that had been flying around Yancheng had experienced several dangerous situations.

Therefore, whether Zhao Heng could be rescued this time also depended partly on heaven's will.

"General, rest assured, we will definitely do our utmost," the nine soldiers saluted.

Zhong Li nodded and ordered the soldiers to untie the ropes on the wooden stakes.

The restraints were released, and the Hot Air Balloon slowly flew up into the sky.

In the night, it was as if three fireballs had flown out from the forest.

"The rest of you, immediately find positions to hide in the forest. If any Northern Di soldiers sneak over, you must not let them escape," Zhong Li said sternly.

Upon receiving his order, the soldiers picked up their Weapon and vanished into the darkness.

Xian City.

A large hole had been blasted into the East City Gate.

Amidst waves of battle cries, the soldiers of the three factions—Xiliang, Northern Di, and Ma Jin—were charging madly at this spot.

Yang Feng had already come down from the city wall to keep a close watch here.

He had concentrated all the Heavy Infantry from the Imperial Guards here.

Ever since he had Artillery and muskets, Yan Wang no longer hid the heavy Armor he manufactured.

During trade with the Imperial Court, he had provided the Imperial Guards with five thousand sets of such Armor.

The Armor the Imperial Guards received might not be as good as what Yan Wang used himself.

But in war, this kind of Armor still demonstrated good protection.

Therefore, after a breach was blasted into the East City, he immediately mobilized all the remaining two thousand Heavy Infantry to this location.

At this moment, these soldiers were like a wall of steel, blocking the enemies attempting to break into the city.

However, even so, his heart remained ice-cold.

Although these Heavy Infantry were excellent, it was clear that Xiliang had also learned how to counter this kind of Armor during their battles with Yan Wang.

He kept seeing Xiliang soldiers holding hammers rush up and strike the Heavy Infantry fiercely.

Under the strikes of the hammers, the Heavy Infantry kept falling.

Gazing at this scene, his heart sank bit by bit.

As a veteran of a hundred battles, he was actually very clear that hammer-type Weapon could counter any Armor.

By comparison, this heavy Armor at least still provided decent protection against other Weapon.

"Drive the enemy back! The Emperor is in the city; if the Emperor is captured, you and I will both be sinners," Yang Feng shouted.

Despite being very disappointed in Zhao Heng, the Yang Family, like the Mo Family, had been loyal to the monarch and the country for generations.

Even if only a drop of blood remained, he would still fight for Zhao Heng.

"Kill!" Upon receiving his order, the Imperial Guard soldiers let out waves of roars.

He had no way out; other than fighting to the death, there was no other method.

Northern Di Great Camp.

Mule Hongzhen was not asleep; he stood behind the Artillery, gazing at Xian City.

To him, the east city wall had been breached, and what followed would be much simpler.

They held a great advantage in troop strength, not to mention that they were more adept at fighting than the Great Song army.

Capturing Xian City would take only these one or two days.

Tiemuta stood guard by his father's side, likewise watching Xian City and looking at the torches flickering on the city walls.

Half an hour passed, and he was just about to urge his father to return to the tent to rest.

At this moment, a commotion suddenly broke out in the camp.

Many soldiers looked up at the sky and let out waves of exclamations.

Tiemuta also raised his head, only to see three fireballs in the sky slowly flying toward Xian City.

"What is that!" Mule Hongzhen saw it too and was greatly alarmed.