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

At the level of high-level martial artists, a delicate balance has been temporarily achieved between the two sides.

Lin Ye, relying on his unparalleled lightness skill and swordsmanship, fought to a standstill with the shaman leader who possessed powerful internal energy.

Liu Yun, Lin Qiang, and others also held their opponents firmly, preventing the situation from turning one-sided.

But the overall situation on the battlefield is tilting in a suffocating direction.

In the duels between ordinary soldiers, the Northern Xiongnu army was gradually eroding the defenders' positions.

Although the total number of soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat on both sides was roughly the same, the individual quality and fighting spirit of the Northern Xiongnu soldiers were far superior to those of the Northern Han defenders due to their years of fighting against monsters.

Even more fatal was the proportion of third-rate warriors in the Northern Xiongnu army; almost every centurion in every hundred-man squad was a third-rate warrior.

Each third-rate martial artist can take on ten or even twenty opponents; they serve as the spearhead of the team, constantly advancing.

This means that the Northern Hungary has consistently maintained a high level of combat power output on the front lines.

In contrast, Lin's army found itself in an awkward and difficult situation.

Although the Lin family rose rapidly and managed their two territories successfully within three years, with a sufficient supply of spiritual plants, martial arts cultivation ultimately requires accumulation.

Currently, only about half of the captains in the Lin family army have reached the level of third-rate martial artists, while the remaining core members are still second-rate martial artists and ordinary soldiers.

This gap was starkly exposed during the stalemate.

When high-level martial artists like Lin Ye are free to lead their squads in infiltration and assault, they can quickly hunt down the enemy's third-rate centurions and disrupt the enemy's rhythm.

However, once the battle lines are stretched out and the soldiers on both sides are locked in a stalemate, the weakness of the Lin family army in lacking grassroots martial artists to suppress them becomes apparent.

Despite having the advantage of occupying the city walls, the Lin family army was still gradually forced back by the ferocious attacks of the Northern Xiongnu.

At this moment, three sections of the city wall have completely fallen into the hands of the Northern Xiongnu.

Despite several fierce counterattacks launched by the Northern Han defenders in an attempt to regain control, they all failed due to the enemy's tight echelon cover and the frenzied resistance of third-rate warriors, with corpses piling up on the crenellations of the city walls.

Even more terrifying, as these sections of the city wall fell, more and more Northern Xiongnu soldiers found a breakthrough and surged onto the city walls like a black tide through the gaps.

Looking around, the number of black flags of the Northern Xiongnu army on the city walls was increasing, while the defensive line of the defenders was being compressed into a narrower and narrower shape.

Jingbian County is on the verge of collapse.

Fortunately, the battle at the high-level martial artist level has finally reached a crucial turning point.

Although Lin Ye was still being chased all over the field by that first-class shaman warrior with powerful internal energy, his unpredictable movements were quietly accumulating killing intent with each extreme dodge.

The second-rate shaman who was entangled with him, after narrowly avoiding the longsword's thrusts several times, finally experienced a slight sluggishness in his movements due to excessive consumption of internal energy.

"Pfft—"

That's the opening!

Lin Ye seized the opportunity, and his longsword, like a poisonous dragon emerging from its cave, precisely pierced the opponent's throat.

Lin Ye achieved initial success at the martial arts level, removing a thorn in their side.

Without pausing after succeeding, Lin Ye moved like a ghost and entered Liu Yun's battle group, leading the second-rate shaman into an encirclement.

"Liu Yun, hold on!" Lin Ye shouted, once again using his superb lightness skill to fight two powerful enemies alone, one a first-class shaman and the other a second-class martial artist.

Seeing this, the shaman leader became anxious. He also realized Lin Ye's tactical intention and tried to get rid of Lin Ye and turn to deal with Liu Yun or other second-rate martial artists who were already showing signs of fatigue.

However, Lin Ye was like a piece of chewing gum that he couldn't shake off, relying on his unparalleled lightness skill to stick to him and refuse to let go.

Although the shaman leader's internal strength far surpassed Lin Ye's, the gap was not yet large enough to allow him to ignore Lin Ye's attacks.

Every time Lin Ye engaged in close combat, he was forced to turn around and defend, making it impossible for him to escape.

On the other hand, Liu Yun felt a great sense of relief after Lin Ye diverted her from the pressure.

Facing a second-rate shaman who was left alone, Liu Yun was finally able to fully unleash his exquisite Qingyuan sword technique.

The sword light flowed like water, continuous and unbroken. In just a few dozen exchanges, the shaman was already full of openings and struggling to defend himself.

The balance of the martial arts battlefield is rapidly collapsing as Lin Ye exerts his power, and the situation on the battlefield is beginning to tilt in Lin Ye's favor.

At this moment, the heavens seemed to favor the defending troops, as fine rain quietly fell, enveloping the entire Jingbian city in a hazy mist.

Although the autumn rain was light, it precisely weakened the Northern Xiongnu army's offensive.

The muddy ground beneath the city walls quickly became soft and muddy, turning the once formidable Northern Xiongnu cavalry into infantry, trudging through the mud at a significantly reduced speed.

The walls made of bluestone were soaked by rainwater and became slippery. The ladders that were erected were even more slippery and difficult to climb, and the Northern Xiongnu soldiers had to expend twice the effort for each step.

Even more fatally, the archers who were originally suppressing the city walls were now firing arrows with much less force because their bowstrings were damp and loose. Many of their arrows even fell straight into the air, drastically reducing their threat to the defenders on the city walls.

"While they haven't firmly established themselves, let's push back!"

Seizing this rare respite, the Northern Han soldiers on the city wall were greatly encouraged and launched a fierce counterattack with shouts.

Spears flew like a forest, stones rained down, and they managed to recapture the two lost sections of the city wall.

Trapped on the city walls, the Northern Xiongnu soldiers lost their support and faced a surging tide of defenders. Even with their individual combat prowess, they could hardly maneuver on the narrow walls.

Those third-rate warrior centurions who were originally swaggering around were now being held back by third-rate captains in the Northern Han army.

Due to the cramped space, the centurions, despite their internal strength, had nowhere to dodge and could only withstand the dense barrage of spear thrusts.

Each parry consumed precious internal energy, and in a short time, several centurions had been killed by stray spears due to exhaustion.

The Northern Xiongnu junior commander, watching all this from afar, frowned deeply.

Although he was anxious, he still stubbornly believed that the ferocity of his soldiers was enough to crush these difficulties. So he kept waving his hand, sending batches of reserve troops under the meat grinder-like city walls, and even sent a second-rate centurion to climb the city walls.

However, as soon as the centurion showed his face, he was surrounded by several third-rate captains from the Northern Han who had already freed their hands.

On the muddy and slippery city walls, his individual bravery ultimately failed to turn the tide.

Rainwater mixed with blood meandered along the city walls, forming dark red streams that spread through the cracks in the bluestone.

It was late autumn, and the north was bitterly cold, with temperatures already lower than in the Central Plains.

Although the Northern Xiongnu people have lived in the harsh and cold border regions for many years, they have a greater tolerance for low temperatures.

But even after the armor of both sides' soldiers was completely soaked by the icy rain, the biting cold still penetrated their clothing, causing both sides to shiver involuntarily and chatter.

For the Northern Xiongnu army besieging the city, this damp and cold weather was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

With stiff limbs, climbing became even more difficult, and the hand holding the knife was even less able to exert strength, causing a sharp decline in combat effectiveness.

The rain did not lessen; instead, it intensified.

The pace of the battle on the city wall slowed down noticeably. Both Lin Ye and the shaman leader had almost exhausted their inner strength, and every move they made seemed sluggish and heavy.

Even in what was once a high-level martial arts battle, third-rate captains and elite soldiers began to cautiously join the fray, attempting to assist their own side.

"Pfft!"

With a dull thud as a blade pierced flesh, the battle was decided once again.

The second-rate shaman who had been fighting Liu Yun for a long time had his right arm pierced by Liu Yun's sword, and his scimitar fell to the ground with a thud.

Having lost his weapon, he could only dodge awkwardly. With the help of a third-rate martial artist, Liu Yun seized an opening, pierced his chest with his longsword, and knocked him off the city wall.

"Young Captain, we can't wait any longer! If we keep fighting, all the men on the city walls will perish here!" The tribal chief standing next to the young man shouted anxiously, his forehead covered in sweat.

As the Northern Xiongnu army on the city wall was gradually divided and surrounded, the young Northern Xiongnu captain's eyes widened in fury, his nails dug deep into his palms, and finally he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"Sound the retreat! Withdraw!"

"Clang—clang—clang—"

The shrill sound of gongs rang out from behind, like a death knell.

The Northern Xiongnu army below the city retreated like a tide, as if granted a pardon.

The shaman warriors who were engaged in battle with Lin Ye and the others knew that the situation was hopeless. They made a feint and retreated rapidly, leaping off the city wall and disappearing into the rain.

The ordinary Northern Xiongnu soldiers trapped on the city walls, lacking the unparalleled lightness skills of martial artists and caught in a pincer attack, were unable to escape.

Amidst the angry roars of the defenders, they became fish on a chopping board, completely overwhelmed by wave after wave of Northern Han soldiers.

This fierce battle of attack and defense was temporarily brought to a halt by the unexpected autumn rain.

But what will happen to Lin Ye and the others once this autumn rain ends? After all, they still have a huge disadvantage.