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

Lin Ye, Li Fuyun, and a group of second-rate disciples from various sword sects closely followed the elders of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, shielding them from the cold arrows and short weapons that kept coming from both sides.

As Liang Feiyu charged forward relentlessly, his mountain-like inner strength and sharp sword light shattered all resistance in his path.

Occasionally, a few fearless Wang family warriors would rush forward, attempting to exchange their lives for each other, but they would crumble instantly before the "arrow" formed by Liang Feiyu and the four first-class elders, unable to withstand even a second blow.

The head of the Wang family stood on high ground, watching helplessly as the group of people, against the direction of the martial artists and soldiers, approached step by step.

He closed his eyes in pain.

These martial artists surrounding him were all abandoned collateral branches and peripheral members, and did not actually belong to the core of the Wang family.

Even now, those who are still risking their lives to stand in front of them are all people who are loyal to the Wang family.

He wasn't without feelings for them; it was precisely because of their courage and sacrifice that the Wang family was able to dominate this land.

But now, the core of the Wang family has taken their nest far away, leaving less than a hundred people stranded in a foreign land.

In a new place, without a foundation or a group of martial artists, even if the Wang family has a second-rate nest, what kind of power can they achieve?

The thought of this filled me with a wave of guilt.

The century-old enterprise, starting from the contract that split the mountain and the ox's nest, has gradually built its great reputation through hard work and management.

Now, however, it is declining under its own control.

He had quietly moved the lair contract of the Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceros two days ago. That was all he could do.

He must not fall into the hands of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, lest he implicate the real mastermind.

As long as the plan is not completely exposed, the Wang family still has a chance to make a comeback.

But I can't see it myself.

He slowly raised the sword in his hand, a tear glistening in his eye, and looked toward Yang County.

The next instant, the sword slashed fiercely across the side of his neck.

"puff!"

A jet of blood gushed out, its warmth splashing onto the cold stone steps.

His body trembled slightly, then fell limply to his side, kissing his own neck to end his life.

The guard standing beside him paused for a moment, then slowly lowered his weapon, knelt down facing his corpse, and wept.

The Wang family warriors and soldiers, who were still putting up a stubborn resistance, saw this scene and their offensive immediately ceased.

Instead of surrendering, they took advantage of the chaos to turn around and scatter into the streets and alleys.

Lin Ye and the others did not give chase.

An eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Only the groans of wounded soldiers echoed through the empty streets.

The stench of blood lingered on the battlefield.

Mutilated corpses were everywhere—on the streets, at the base of walls, and beside collapsed eaves.

Some were soldiers of the royal family, their armor shattered and their limbs lying scattered.

Some were Lin family guards, with broken blades stuck in their chests or throats, lying in familiar streets and alleys.

Blood flowed through the cracks in the stone slabs, pooling into dark red puddles that reflected the bleak afternoon light.

The traces left by the charging of the mountain-splitting bulls were particularly horrifying. The roads they trampled were shattered, the soil was churned up, and the corpses were trampled into the mud, their limbs twisted into bizarre angles.

Some soldiers were thrown off their feet and hung on the walls, half their bodies embedded in the brickwork; others were dragged under the hooves of bulls, their flesh mangled beyond recognition.

The air was thick with the smell of rust and the stench of ruptured entrails. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, swirling up tattered pieces of cloth and broken arrows from the ground, making a rustling sound.

Soon after, the Lin family's soldiers began to clean up the battlefield.

They gathered in groups of three or five, carrying their fallen comrades to one place and wrapping them in white cloth.

The bodies of the Wang family soldiers were simply piled up, to be disposed of later.

Their movements were mechanical and silent, broken only by the occasional cough and hushed conversation.

At this moment, the Chen family's army finally broke through the blockade and entered the county town. They had previously been entangled on the outskirts of the city by a thousand-man force sent by the Wang family, and were only now able to enter.

Chen Cheng dismounted and stood with Lin Ye on a high spot, looking around.

"Fortunately, the county town wasn't completely destroyed," Lin Ye said in a low voice.

Indeed, the overall layout of Xiang County remains intact; most houses only have damaged doors and windows and cracked walls, but have not collapsed.

The most severely damaged parts were the central axis running through the county town and the surrounding buildings.

That was a main road, wide and flat, perfect for a mountain-splitting bull to charge.

The Wang family's visit had a clear objective: to seize Linjiawu, annihilate the Lin family members, and destroy their stronghold. They had no intention of occupying the area permanently.

Therefore, after breaking through the city gate, the mountain-splitting bull crushed its way forward along the central axis.

Their massive bodies crushed the archway at the street corner, smashed down teahouses and shops along the road, and turned both sides of the central axis into a sea of ​​blood.

Today, corpses litter both sides of the central axis, broken spears and shields are scattered among them, and bloodstains stretch from the city gate all the way to the direction of Linjiawu.

Lin Qiang and Lin Yi, covered in blood, strode up to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye looked at the two people covered in blood. "I just saw from the flying soldiers that Linjiawu is as peaceful as ever. Are the clansmen who stayed behind alright?"

Lin Yi replied in a deep voice, "Before the battle began, the old lady had already led most of her clansmen to evacuate from Yandang Lake. She was worried that martial artists might launch a surprise attack on the town, so she had everyone stay afloat on the lake and not go ashore."

He paused for a moment and continued, "A portion of our clansmen also participated in the battle. They were all elderly and very stubborn; no matter how I tried to persuade them, I couldn't stop them."

Lin Ye sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, with Qinghe County as a fallback option, the Li family was able to decisively lead most of their clansmen to evacuate first.

Otherwise, faced with the desperate situation of their nest being wiped out, the Li clan would most likely have led their people to fight to the death, and the casualties would have been far greater than they are now.

Today, although the sacrifice of some elderly members of the clan is heartbreaking, it is still somewhat acceptable.

However, this battle dealt a heavy blow to the Lin family.

The newly formed army was almost decimated, with a large number of warriors killed in action. The achievements of Xiang County over the past year were almost wiped out overnight.

Lin Yi and Lin Qiang exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and turned to continue cleaning up the battlefield, tallying casualties, and organizing rescue efforts.

However, the Lin family soldiers suffered too many casualties, and the remaining personnel were barely enough to guard the Wang family's prisoners, making the cleanup of the battlefield extremely slow.

Fortunately, as the fighting subsided, the people who had been hiding in their homes and dared not show their faces gradually emerged from their hiding places.

The Wang family, after all, was not the Northern Xiongnu army or bandits, and would not wantonly massacre the city. In addition, the war was progressing very quickly and time was of the essence, so the Lin family did not have time to organize the city's residents to escape.

The villagers took the initiative to help the Lin family clean up the mess, carry away the bodies, some bandaged the wounded to stop the bleeding, and others carried buckets of water to extinguish the flames that had not yet been extinguished.

The stench of blood still lingers in the streets and alleys.

In the main hall of Linjiawu, the candlelight flickered, illuminating tired and solemn faces.

Having just washed away the bloodstains, Lin Yi's lips trembled slightly as he reported the casualties of the battle to Lin Ye.

His voice was deep, yet each word was clear, and every number struck the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer.

"Of the four thousand troops defending Xiang County, nearly two thousand were killed or wounded..." Lin Yi paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, "...almost half were lost."

Lin Ye remained silent.

"The thousand men that Lin Qiang brought from Qinghe County joined the battle relatively late. They mainly clashed with the rear guard of the Wang family. Their casualties were not too great, but there were still more than three hundred casualties."

When the topic turned to martial artists, Lin Yi's tone became increasingly somber: "The Lin family army originally had more than forty third-rate martial artists, but less than twenty survived."

"The four second-rate disciples of the Sword Sect," he looked up at Lin Ye, "although none of them died, each of them was injured."

Of the eight Azure Vanguard Riders they had contracted, six were lost.

In urban warfare, the narrow streets rendered the Qingfeng cavalry's speed advantage completely ineffective, turning them into easy targets.

"Two of the ten inner disciples have also died."

When Lin Yi mentioned his clansmen, a trace of pain flashed in his eyes: "Twelve of our clansmen sacrificed their lives, most of them were elderly. They gave their last ounce of strength for the clan."

Regarding the casualties of Wang Jiajun, Lin Yi continued, "Because some people left the battlefield, it is difficult to make an accurate count."

However, judging from the corpses found on the battlefield alone, the number of casualties was no less than 1,500.

Of their dozen or so second-rate martial artists, only two escaped.

More than forty third-rate martial artists also died.

He gave a wry smile and added, "Most of the casualties among these martial artists were actually caused after the sword sect elders joined later."

In the previous battles, we had relatively fewer warriors, and the Wang family's warriors had been constantly on the defensive.

"Through street fighting, we did slow them down and also used the terrain to kill many ordinary soldiers."

But against martial artists, especially those of third rank or higher, our soldiers simply cannot form ranks in the alleyways, and the damage they inflict on them is minimal.

Lin Yi's voice carried a hint of self-reproach, "Before the battle, I didn't think of this. I was only thinking about delaying them while they waited for rescue."

Lin Ye sat there, her fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the teacup.

He seemed to see the soldiers' despair as they faced the breaching of the city by the Mountain-Splitting Rhinoceros, he saw the soldiers futilely raising their shields in the narrow streets, and he saw the soldiers being constantly killed by the many warriors of the Wang family.