Chapter 337: Troops at the City Gates

Just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu, with a smile on his face, was preparing to launch the general assault, he suddenly felt a chill rise to his heart.

This feeling was too familiar.

Alarm bells rang loudly in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart; he immediately looked around and indeed, in a dark blind spot, a thin and cold figure faintly emerged.

That person's face was covered by semi-transparent white gauze, making their features indistinguishable; only a pair of eyes emitting venomous, cold light was revealed, staring fixedly at Jiang Jiang Mingyu and advancing step by step.

"Surname Jiang... you have finally come!" a cold and gloomy female voice sounded beside Jiang Jiang Mingyu's ear; before the words had finished, the veiled woman's figure had already vanished without a trace.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face changed slightly; he felt things beginning to slip out of control and vaguely sensed that Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's appearance would bring unpredictable variables to his plan.

"Hey! Southern Barbarian! Zoning out in front of Your Majesty, are you afraid?" Just then, the triumphant voice of Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian came from the city wall, "If today we do not wipe out you Southern Barbarian rats to the last, I will take your surname Wei!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyebrows twitched; he glanced at Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian and said indifferently, "A mere defeated general, on what grounds do you bark in front of me?" Having spoken, he raised his hand and beckoned, "Beat the war drums! Prepare to assault the city!"

Amidst the rumbling sound of war drums, Jiang Jiang Mingyu held the Wang Sword, calmly and composedly giving orders: "Transmit my military order: strengthen the left flank's vigilance to guard against spies launching surprise attacks!" Knowing Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's intentions were not good, he made precautions immediately.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's expression remained normal; he had the soldiers stabilize the army's morale and prepare to respond at any moment. At the same time, he gave a signal with his eyes, quietly ordering dozens of spies to infiltrate the Wang Cheng of Other Xi Xia separately to search for Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's whereabouts.

At this moment, war drums on all four sides thundered like rolling thunder, and hundreds of thousands of troops had surged like a tide to the foot of the city. Jiang Jiang Mingyu raised the Wang Sword helplessly, leading the charge and attacking the city gate with speed. Only the sound of a huge boom was heard; dozens of siege engines simultaneously crashed into the city gate, which immediately began to totter.

"Attack and enter!" "Kill!" "Kill!" Amidst the howling whistle like a flood, the Other Xi Xia defenders fought back fiercely. However, our army's assault was so fierce that the city gate entrance was immediately littered with dead and wounded, in a wretched state.

Just at this critical moment, a streak of silver light suddenly shot out from the crack in the city gate, striking Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face like lightning!

Caught off guard, Jiang Jiang Mingyu quickly withdrew to dodge. That silver light just grazed his cheek and shot into the earthen wall behind him. Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately understood that was a ruthless long arrow, a hidden weapon; it came extremely fast and left extremely urgently; it was likely the work of Zhang Zhang Jiaqi! Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face darkened, and he shouted loudly, "Spies have infiltrated; strengthen the defense on the left flank!"

Only a sound of chaos was heard from behind, as if some shadow figure was moving quickly through our army. Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately pointed his sword at that person: "Who exactly are you, daring to cause trouble within our army formation!" Before he finished speaking, that shadow figure had already vanished like a ghost, leaving only a string of laughter like silver bells.

A chill ran through Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart, and his face immediately turned deathly pale; he was too familiar with that voice.

"Hahaha!" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian suddenly burst into loud laughter from the city wall: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu! I told you, you Southern Barbarian rats can never be completely wiped out or killed! Do you still have the mood to assault the city now?!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu laughed in extreme anger: "A mere defeated general dares to speak so arrogantly? I think you are impatiently eager to retrace the path of ruin from ten years ago!" Having spoken, he waved his sword and shouted: "Attack for me!"

Liu Yi, having heard this, turned his head, spurred his horse, and shouted loudly.

"Your Majesty has issued an order: assault the city immediately; archers, prepare."

In an instant, tens of thousands of archers stepped forward together, their long bows drawn like full moons, with the cold, sharp arrowheads pointing obliquely towards the sky.

Seeing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, without the slightest hesitation, opened his mouth and spoke.

"Release the arrows."

While he was speaking, a storm of feathered arrows rained down crazily upon the Wang Cheng of Other Xi Xia.

At the same time, a feathered arrow carrying thick crimson smoke also shot up into the clouds at great speed.

That was precisely the signal Jiang Jiang Mingyu had given to Li Goudan.

Indeed, in less than one shi and three ke, the earth-shattering sound of shouting and killing erupted at the west gate of the Wang Cheng of Other Xi Xia.

Watching the cubs constantly falling in the rain of arrows, the fire in Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's eyes grew even more intense.

He shouted fiercely.

"What are you standing there for? Release the arrows, shoot them dead, give them a taste of our power..."

Before he had finished speaking, an arrow carrying the fierce sound of breaking wind flew past his scalp.

Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian was greatly alarmed; he swallowed all the words he hadn't finished back into his stomach and quickly hid behind a shield.

Arrows flew down like a rainstorm; Liu Yi shouted loudly, "Follow me and kill upwards!" holding a large knife tightly in one hand and a shield in the other, he led the charge towards the city gate. Dense rain of arrows mixed with large stones, and instantly more than a dozen sturdy warriors fell. Liu Yi showed no mercy, roaring loudly: "Don't be afraid! Follow me up!"

However, the enemy's assault was even more fierce; several wounded soldiers could only stop their steps. "Brothers, hold on a little longer; the city gate is right before our eyes!" Liu Yi's voice was hoarse and desperate, yet many were already covered in wounds, and the arrows were like mantises, difficult to resist.

"Bang!" A huge sound rang out; a large stone struck Liu Yi's right arm, and blood immediately gushed out wildly. "General!" The people nearby cried out in shock repeatedly. Liu Yi endured the pain, gritted his teeth, and continued to supervise the battle without stopping. However, the injury was truly too severe, and he gradually found it hard to hold back.

Just then, a young junior officer suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Liu Yi: "General, you are seriously injured; I will lead the soldiers behind!" Liu Yi flew into a rage and pushed him away: "If I cannot even lead myself, then who can I lead!" Having spoken, he waved his knife and rushed to the very front, roaring loudly: "Brothers, charge—!"

The seriously wounded soldiers behind also gritted their teeth and struggled to follow Liu Yi's footsteps. For a moment, blood and broken limbs were gruesome to behold, and that junior officer named Jilin Si always followed behind Liu Yi. Who knew that halfway, a poisoned arrow suddenly shot straight towards them; Jilin Si, with sharp eyes and quick hands, dove forward and shielded Liu Yi!

"Little Ji!" Liu Yi, his face pale, watched the junior officer fall with a sharp arrow stuck in him. Jilin Si had already lost his breath; Liu Yi suddenly had red eyes, and tears burst forth: "Brothers, charge—! We must capture Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian alive and avenge Little Ji!"

The soldiers howled loudly and fought even more bravely. Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian on the city wall also seemed to feel the pressure and shouted loudly: "Pour hot oil! Melt them!" In an instant, boiling oil poured like a stream, and more soldiers were scalded to death alive. "Quickly set up the siege ladders!" Liu Yi wiped a mixture of tears and blood, roaring hoarsely.

"No matter how strictly they defend, they cannot withstand our fierce assault! Brothers, follow me up; leave not one alive!" Jiang Jiang Mingyu raised his long sword high, spurred his horse, and shouted in front of the army to boost morale.

The One Da Jiang troops let out a roar as one and surged like a tide towards the high walls of the Wang Cheng of Other Xi Xia. Dense siege ladders were set up, armor bright and shining, blades and spears flashing, with a magnificent momentum.

On the city wall, Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's eyes were bloodshot; he shouted loudly: "Irrigate these ants for me!"

Only the sound of swish-swish was heard several times; more than a dozen large iron pots were overturned and poured down, with scalding hot oil cascading down like a waterfall. At the same time, millstone-sized large stones fell like a rainstorm, smashing enemy heads and flattening bodies.

"Well done!" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian laughed; just as he wanted to call for more stones to be thrown, he saw that the One Da Jiang soldiers in the hot oil were still persisting in climbing the siege ladders.

"Who is so fierce?" He squinted his eyes and saw a tall man in black armor at the top of the siege ladder, his whole body scorched, yet climbing upwards relentlessly.

"Report!" The Other Xi Xia soldier hurriedly replied, "My lord, that person is named Niu Niu Dali, a fierce general under Jiang Jiang Mingyu!"

"Hmph, a nobody dares to spar with this Great King?" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian sneered, grabbed a heavy spear from beside him, and hurled it straight at Niu Niu Dali—

Only the sound of a dull thud was heard; the long spear struck Niu Niu Dali's chest squarely, knocking him and the ladder over together, causing him to fall into a lump of rotten flesh.

"Hahaha!" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian was triumphant...

"Hahaha!" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian was triumphant; just as he was about to boast, he saw that dozens of One Da Jiang soldiers had already climbed to the city wall.

"Die!" He roared fiercely, waved his long sword, knocked two enemy blades and spears askew, and immediately followed with a thrust and a slash; the two men fell down in response.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu below the city was frowning, his heart filled with doubt.

"Something is wrong... the defenders on this city wall have clearly suffered heavy casualties; why can they still hold out? Could it be... could it be a trap?" He murmured to himself.

Just at this moment, a feathered arrow whistled through the air, aiming straight for his life point!