With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

The Wang family army swarmed in, heading straight for the heart of the county town. Because Lin Jiawu was located at the rear of the town, they had to traverse the entire town to reach him.

The remaining dozen or so Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceroses continued to charge ahead, with the soldiers close behind. The Wang family no longer hesitated to use these Daoist soldiers, who had once been considered treasures.

They were so large and easily spotted that they couldn't be taken with them when they fled south, so they were all left on the battlefield, their fates inconsequential.

But for the Lin family soldiers who were preparing for street fighting, the charge of these behemoths was a nightmare.

Ordinary arrows can't even leave a mark when they hit thick armor.

As the mountain-splitting bull continued its advance, although the Wang family soldiers in the rear were ambushed by the Lin family and suffered increasing casualties, they still steadily approached the center of the county town under the cover of the Dao soldiers, getting closer and closer to Lin Jiawu.

Xiangxian is just a small county town with limited depth.

Despite the losses along the way, seven or eight rhinoceroses still survived, and with their momentum, it was only a matter of time before they broke through the remaining distance.

Sudden--

"Whoosh whoosh!"

More than twenty martial artists leaped down from the eaves on both sides, their movements as swift as eagles, landing precisely on the backs of the running rhinoceroses. They channeled their inner strength, their spears striking like venomous snakes, aiming straight for the weakest point on the rhinoceros's head.

The warrior contracted with the Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceros was prepared and immediately activated his beast body to dodge, swung his forelimbs to sweep away the attacker, and even drew his sword to fight the opponent in close combat.

But the Lin family warriors ignored the warnings and continued their offensive.

Among these twenty-odd people were four second-rate true disciples of the Qingyuan Sword Sect.

Although the Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceros is a second-rate Dao soldier, its combat strength is mainly reflected in siege warfare. However, it is no match for second-rate martial artists who can reach the top.

The spear, imbued with internal energy, easily pierced through the thick armor of the rhinoceros, penetrating straight into its brain from the top of its head.

"Awooo—!"

The bull bellowed and collapsed to the ground with a thud, its limbs convulsing, throwing the contracted warrior on its back away.

Seeing this, the other third-rate martial artists from the Lin family also plunged their spears into the necks and joints of the bulls, hastening their deaths.

At the same time, a large number of Lin family soldiers emerged from the depths of the alley. Led by martial artists, they formed a shield formation, raising their heavy tower shields to meet the remaining bulls.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The bull's charge slammed into the shield wall with a dull thud.

The soldiers behind the shields were so shocked that their arms went numb, and many were thrown into the air by the shockwave.

In the end, they managed to hold on thanks to the third-rate Daoist shield and halberd guards gifted by the Su family. The Su family gifted a total of ten shield and halberd guards. Lin Ye's accompanying guards had four under contract, and there were six on the Xiang County side.

Fearless, they used their shields to hold off the wounded mountain bull.

This time, the momentum of the charge was finally stopped.

The oxen were huddled together in the narrow alley, their maneuverability limited, and their speed gradually decreased.

In this clash, the Lin family paid a price: five third-rate martial artists died and three were seriously injured.

But they achieved their goal, and all the Rift Mountain Bulls were eventually killed, causing the Wang family's advance to slow down drastically.

The street fighting has finally entered the stage Lin Yi envisioned.

The Wang family's army of five thousand included more than a dozen second-rate martial artists, nearly a hundred third-rate martial artists, and other Dao soldiers contracted by the martial artists.

Most of the high-ranking martial artists in the Wang family fled south a few nights ago; otherwise, there would not only be these second-rate martial artists, but even first-rate martial artists.

After all, the Wang family possesses a second-rate lair, and the spiritual land it nurtures can cultivate second-rate spiritual plants, thus producing more second- and third-rate martial artists.

However, even when facing the martial arts prowess of the Wang family, the Lin family was still far behind.

Even with the advantage of terrain, the fall of Xiang County was only a matter of time.

The Lin family's strength was far too weak, consisting of only four second-rate martial artists who were true disciples of the Sword Sect, ten third-rate martial artists of the Sword Sect, two first-rate Dao soldiers, Sword-Winged Mantises, and eight second-rate Dao soldiers, Azure Edge Riders.

In addition, there were nearly twenty third-rate martial artists from Xiang County.

Even though some of the Wang family's second-rate martial artists had fled south, their strength was still far inferior to that of the Wang family's military force.

Every street and alley in the county town was a battleground.

Led by martial arts officers, the Lin family soldiers used their familiarity with the terrain to set up ambushes and launch surprise attacks through corners, courtyards, and collapsed walls.

In a short time, Wang's soldiers were hit one after another, suffering continuous casualties.

However, the Wang family had too many martial artists. Whenever the Lin family successfully ambushed, second- and third-rate martial artists from the nearby Wang family would rush to their aid, using their superior strength to forcefully defeat the ambush force.

Although the Lin family's tactics were effective, they were unable to maintain sustained pressure.

The four true disciples of the sword sect played a significant role in the alleyway battle.

Their swordsmanship was sharp and precise; ordinary royal soldiers didn't even have time to raise their shields before being slit in the throat with a single sword strike.

The Wang family was forced to adjust their strategy, sending out twice the number of second-rate martial artists to specifically guard against them, using a series of attacks to wear down the physical strength and true energy of the sword sect's true disciples.

At the same time, two sword-winged mantises began to wreak havoc among the crowd.

They are incredibly fast; with each swing of their scythe-like arms, they can take several lives.

Once the soldiers of the Wang family are locked onto by them, they have almost no chance of survival.

However, their slaughter was eventually stopped by several second-rate martial artists from the Wang family, who then entangled them.

Even so, the Wang family still had surplus resources.

The remaining second-rate warriors were not completely restrained by the sword-winged mantises. They roamed the battlefield, leading the infantry to break through the Lin family's defenses.

The Lin family's territory is being squeezed little by little.

The street fighting was still fierce, but the balance of power was gradually tilting towards the Wang family.

At this moment, reinforcements from the Wei, Chen, Su, and Gao families were rushing in from all directions.

However, they were delayed by a day, and their distance from Xiang County varied.

The Chen family, though they had set off from Yun County half a day after the Wang family's arrival, would still take half a day to arrive even with their horses galloping.

The other three armies are even further away, and no matter how fast they march, they can't keep up with the ever-changing battlefield.

The terrifying advancing power displayed by the Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceros in the early stages allowed the Wang family army to penetrate deep into the heart of the county town with almost no effective resistance, making it possible that Xiang County could not hold out for even half a day.

It is possible that Xiang County had already been captured before the Chen family arrived.

Just as the Lin family was suffering heavy casualties and their defenses were retreating step by step, another reinforcement finally arrived in Xiang County.

Amidst the rising dust, Lin Qiang led his soldiers from Qinghe County to the scene.

They numbered less than a thousand, and had marched hastily from Gongchang Prefecture, their armor covered in dust and their breaths ragged.

The appearance of this team stemmed from the propaganda guards that Lin Ye had previously dispatched.

After spreading the message in Qing County, where the Wang family was located, that "the fall of Lulong City may be due to an inside agent, and the inside agent is the Wang family," the guard, fearing that he would be investigated by the Wang family, fled to Qinghe County in Gongchang Prefecture overnight.

He then rescued the family head Lin Ye from General Lü Fang and learned that the Wang family might be an inside agent, and that they were responsible for spreading the news. He told Lin Qiang everything about it.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Qiang immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

If the Wang family truly colluded with the Northern Xiongnu, they would most likely take a desperate gamble and seize Xiang County once the news was exposed.

He dared not delay, and immediately mustered the elite troops of Qinghe County, who rushed to provide support day and night. Finally, at the critical moment when Xiang County was about to fall, they arrived in time for the great battle.

The addition of this fresh force revitalized the Lin family's already weakened defenses.

Although the Qinghe County army numbered less than a thousand, and included only a dozen or so third-rate martial artists, they brought fresh energy and a determination to fight, quickly filling the gaps in the street fighting.

Engaging in close combat with Wang's army once again severely hampered Wang's advance.

However, the gap in strength remains enormous.

Although the Qinghe reinforcements were brave, they were unable to fundamentally reverse the course of the battle.

All they could do was temporarily hold off the surging enemy forces and buy the Lin family a chance to catch their breath; their true fate remained hanging by a thread.

Fortunately, the Chen family is finally about to arrive at the battlefield.