Chapter 158: The Ghost King Arrives

……

For the next three days, the defending troops of Falcon City endured hellish days.

Every night, the Ming army launched raids.

Sometimes at midnight, sometimes before dawn.

The sounds of gongs, battle cries, and arrows whistling through the air each lasted a quarter hour before fading.

The defenders dared not relax; each time all were on guard, and only after the Ming army withdrew could they rest.

But barely after lying down, the next wave of raids arrived.

After three days, every defender's eyes were darkened and spirits waned.

Kikuchi Takefumi knew this was the Ming army's strategy, but he could do nothing.

The Ming army's raid locations changed each time; he could not dispatch troops to pursue every raid, lest they fall into an ambush…

By the fourth morning, the defenders' morale had sunk to its lowest.

On the city walls, many soldiers could fall asleep while standing.

Kikuchi Takefumi inspected the city defenses, and seeing this scene, his heart grew heavy.

He knew they could wait no longer.

"Send the order, assemble the whole army, today we leave the city to battle the Ming army!" Kikuchi Takefumi gritted his teeth.

Vice General exclaimed: "General, the Ming army is overwhelming; a battle outside the city may…"

"Whether we stay or fight, death awaits; better to die in battle… Falcon soldiers are no cowards who fear death!" Kikuchi Takefumi shouted.

The order was relayed, and ten thousand defenders within Falcon City gathered.

The city gates opened, and Kikuchi Takefumi led the troops out, forming a formation on the open ground in the valley.

The news reached the Ming army Military Camp.

Li Wenzhong smiled, "Finally they come out."

He ordered: "Assemble the whole army, prepare to meet them."

Thirty thousand Ming troops quickly formed ranks, Flintlock Gun soldiers at the front, spear troops behind, cavalry on both wings awaiting orders.

Zhu Yong lifted the Double Hammers, standing before the formation.

The two armies faced each other in the middle of Falcon Valley, about three hundred Hundred Steps apart.

Kikuchi Takefumi looked at the Ming army's Formation, and his heart sank.

The Ming formation was orderly, flags vivid, armor glittering in the morning sun.

Especially the front‑line soldiers wielding strange firearms, standing upright, expressionless.

He had heard of the Ming army's new firearms, which required no match cord, fired rapidly, and were highly accurate.

But the arrow was already on the string; it had to be released.

Kikuchi Takefumi drew his tachi, pointed at the Ming army and said, "Falcon warriors, today's battle decides the fate of the Southern Dynasty, charge with me!"

"Charge!" ten thousand Falcon soldiers shouted in unison, their cries shaking the valley.

They brandished their weapons and surged toward the Ming army.

Three hundred Hundred Steps, two hundred, one hundred fifty…

Li Wenzhong watched calmly until the enemy entered Hundred Steps range.

"Flintlock Gun unit, prepare!"

The front line of a thousand Flintlock Gun soldiers raised their guns and took aim.

"Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang…

Smoke billowed, lead balls whistled out.

The Falcon soldiers at the front fell like wheat being reaped.

One volley fell hundreds.

"Second unit, fire!"

The second line of Flintlock Gun soldiers stepped forward, raised their guns and fired.

Another several hundred fell.

The Falcon soldiers' charge stalled.

But they did not retreat; under Kikuchi Takefumi's lead they kept charging.

Eighty Hundred Steps, sixty…

"Spear troops, advance!" Li Wenzhong ordered.

Flintlock Gun soldiers fell back, spear troops moved forward, their three‑meter spears forming a forest of weapons.

Falcon soldiers crashed into the spear forest, shrieks of agony rose everywhere.

But their numbers were overwhelming; they kept pouring forward, literally piling bodies to forge a path.

The Ming army's Formation began to loosen.

At that moment, Zhu Yong moved.

He lifted the Double Hammers, broke through the line, and met the enemy.

"The Ghost King has arrived!" the Falcon soldiers shouted in terror.

Zhu Yong grinned, swinging the Double Hammers wide.

His Hammer Technique was simple and brutal—horizontal sweeps, vertical smashes, diagonal chops—each blow taking several lives.

The hammer wind howled; wherever it passed, men and horses were thrown.

The Falcon soldiers' attacks were as fragile as paper before him.

Zhu Yong alone rushed into the enemy lines as if entering an empty realm; wherever the Double Hammers passed, flesh and blood flew, and no one could block a single strike.

He headed straight for Ju Chi Wu Zheng.

Ju Chi Wu Zheng saw Zhu Yong charging, gritted his teeth and met him.

The two engaged.

Ju Chi Wu Zheng's sword technique was superb, the blade flash like snow, swift and fierce.

But Zhu Yong didn't dodge at all; a hammer struck toward the blade flash.

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions.

Ju Chi Wu Zheng's tiger‑mouth split open, his great sword slipped from his hand and flew out.

He was shocked and pale, and before he could react, Zhu Yong's other hammer already struck.

Poof…

Ju Chi Wu Zheng was thrown backward, his chest caved in, and blood spurted from his mouth.

"General!" the Falcon soldiers shouted.

Zhu Yong stepped forward, looked at the dying Ju Chi Wu Zheng, and said slowly, "You have lost."

Ju Chi Wu Zheng gave a grim laugh, "Ghost King… the name lives up to its reputation…"

Having said that, he died of a sudden loss of breath.

The commanding general fell in battle, and the Falcon soldiers' morale collapsed.

"The general is dead! Run!"

Someone shouted, and the Falcon soldiers began to rout.

Li Wenzhong saw this and ordered, "Cavalry, give chase!"

The two wing cavalry surged out, pursuing the fleeing troops.

The Flintlock Gun troops and spear troops also advanced forward, clearing the remaining enemies.

The fighting lasted from dawn until the afternoon.

Ten thousand Falcon soldiers: six thousand fell in battle, two thousand were captured, and two thousand scattered.

The Great Ming army suffered fewer than five hundred casualties.

Inside Falcon City, the defending troops, seeing their main force wiped out, opened the gates and surrendered.

Li Wenzhong entered the city, and the first thing he did was tally the spoils.

"Cousin, the city has plenty of Grain and Fodder, enough for us to eat for three months," Zhu Yong said.

Li Wenzhong nodded, but his expression was not relaxed.

"What's wrong, cousin?" Zhu Yong asked.

"Falcon City has been taken, but the Southern Dynasty still has remnants that fled to Shikoku Island, and… according to the captives, the Southern Dynasty's last forces are concentrated on Yakushima; the terrain there is complex, easy to defend and hard to attack."

Li Wenzhong looked at the map and said.

"Yakushima... where is it?"

Li Wenzhong pointed to an island on the map and said, "Here, a hundred li from the southern tip of Kyushu; the island is mountainous and forested, and about five thousand Southern Dynasty remnants are entrenched here."

Zhu Yong looked and said, "Then let's go fight there."

"We will fight, but not now; Yakushima needs a navy, and our fleet is still being repaired at Hakata Port, so we must wait for the fleet to arrive."

Li Wenzhong said.

He thought for a moment and ordered, "Send word: the whole army will rest in Falcon City for ten days, and at the same time dispatch people back to Hakata Port to move the fleet southward."

"Yes!"

Zhu Yong suddenly remembered something and said, "Cousin, the Wa Country's Gold and Silver mine…"

Li Wenzhong laughed, "You do remember clearly. In the Falcon Valley, thirty li east, there is a silver mine; the captives say its output is substantial.

Once we take Yakushima, we'll start mining."

Zhu Yong's eyes lit up.

Li Wenzhong patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, once the war is over, the Gold and Silver will belong to Great Ming, but for now, we must finish the war first."

Zhu Yong nodded heavily and said, "I understand."

The two walked out of the city tower, looking at the scarred battlefield.

The setting sun sank, and in the Falcon Valley, corpses lay everywhere, the smell of blood spreading.

The Great Ming army cleared the battlefield, collected the bodies of fallen soldiers, and the captured Wa Country troops were bound in a chain and escorted to a temporary camp.

In this battle, the Southern Dynasty's last stronghold in Kyushu was eliminated.

Next are Shikoku Island and Yakushima.

Zhu Yong gazed south, where the vast ocean stretched.

Beyond the sea, there were still enemies.

Still wars to fight.

He gripped the hammer handle tightly, and there was no fear in his eyes, only resolve.

The seventh year of Hongwu's campaign against Wa Country was still ongoing.