Isolated town in northern border region

The artillery fire at the west gate ceased for a brief moment, and the Trapped Camp took the opportunity to rush out!

Luo Daniu charged ahead, holding an iron shield he had picked up from a fallen soldier in his left hand and a knife in his right, as he charged up the slope made of rubble from the city wall.

Behind him followed a dozen elite soldiers from the Trapped Camp. Some used grappling hooks to swing onto the city wall, while others stepped on their companions' shoulders to climb over the crenellations.

The Chen soldiers on the city wall had not yet recovered from the roar of the cannons. Some covered their ears and squatted at the base of the wall, holding their swords but not knowing which way to slash. Others just stood there blankly.

The moment Luo Daniu climbed onto the city wall, he bumped into a Chen soldier who had just gotten up from the ground.

The man raised his knife and slashed at him, but before the blade could land, Luo Daniu knocked him away with his shield, sending him flying backward and knocking over two of his comrades behind him.

Luo Daniu didn't stop. He took a step forward, cleaved the third one in half with a single blow, then dodged a spear thrusting at him from the side and slashed the spear shaft in half with a backhand.

Blood splattered as the blade flashed, some screamed, some fell, and some turned to run, only to be felled by the soldiers of the Trapped Camp who surged up from behind.

"Form ranks! Push forward!"

Luo Daniu's voice was exceptionally clear during the lulls in the gunfire.

The soldiers of the Trapped Camp quickly closed in on the city wall, their shields touching, and spears thrusting out from the gaps between the shields, like a moving iron wall, rolling along the city wall to both sides.

Chen Jun was trapped on the city wall with no way out. Some jumped off the wall, some knelt down and begged for mercy, and some were still resisting. But their swords only left a few white marks on the armor of the Trapped Camp, while the Trapped Camp's long swords felled one person with each swing.

Luo Daniu took the lead, using his shield to knock two people aside. He then stabbed a third man in the chest with his sword, and when he pulled it out, blood flowed down his hand.

He wiped the blood splattered on his face and roared through gritted teeth.

"City gates! Open the city gates for me!"

The number of Chen's troops on the city wall dwindled with each battle, while the Trapped Camp advanced faster and faster.

When Luo Daniu led his men to the winch at the west gate, several Chen soldiers were trying to cut the ropes to prevent the gate from opening. Luo Daniu chopped them all down from behind with a single stroke.

He dropped his knife, grabbed the winch with both hands, gritted his teeth, and began to turn it. The winch made a piercing creaking sound, and the city gate drawbridge slowly descended, crashing onto the opposite bank of the moat with a loud bang.

Dust rose and fell, revealing the main road leading into the city from outside.

Xiao Xiong had already mounted his horse at the foot of the mountain.

The moment he saw the suspension bridge fall, he pointed his scimitar forward.

"Grey Wolf Riders! Break through the city!"

Five thousand wolf riders leaped out of the woods at the foot of the mountain, their hooves pounding across the drawbridge, surging into the city gate like a black tide.

The warhorse did not slow down on the narrow street, the saber held horizontally at its side, the blade slicing past the bodies of the Chen soldiers on both sides as neatly as a sickle cutting wheat.

Some were cleaved to the ground, armor and body clashed together; some tried to turn and escape but were caught and finished off; some dropped their weapons and knelt on the street, only to be trampled by horses' hooves.

The entire street, from the city gate to the city center, was as clean as if it had been combed, leaving behind a trail of fallen figures and blood-soaked cracks in the stone slabs.

The enemy troops on the city wall advanced eastward and southward, and wherever they went, Chen's soldiers were either killed or forced to leave the city wall.

When Luo Daniu led his men to the East Gate, the deputy general Chen Jun, who was guarding the gate, was still trying to organize a resistance. Luo Daniu smashed the knife in his hand with his shield and then stabbed him through the shoulder, pinning him to the city gate.

Upon seeing this, the other soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt down.

Luo Daniu kicked open the bolt on the city gate, and the gate opened to both sides. The setting sun shone in, illuminating the Chen soldiers kneeling on the ground inside, as well as Luo Daniu's face, which was covered with blood and tobacco ash.

He was panting heavily when he turned around and yelled.

"The east gate is open! Send the signal to the Prince!"

The south gate was opened soon after.

A detachment of the Trapped Camp advanced southward along the city wall, encountering almost no decent resistance along the way. The remaining Chen troops had either collapsed or cowered in corners, too afraid to raise their heads.

When the south gate was pushed open, Xiao Lie's main force was closing in from the northeast. The reflection of the armor under the setting sun formed a flowing sea of ​​light, and the sounds of horses' hooves and footsteps mingled together, like the thunderous sound of war drums striking every Chen soldier.

Xiao Lie reined in his horse, glanced at the now-open south gate, and pointed his Taiping sword forward.

"The entire army enters the city!"

Infantry poured in from the east and south gates, while cavalry charged straight in from the west gate. When the three lines converged in the city center, Chen's army had already scattered into small groups of soldiers fleeing for their lives.

Some were trapped in the street fighting, some tried to escape by climbing over walls but were shot down by arrows, and some who hid in houses were dragged out.

The elite troops from the northern frontier were like a knife that kept advancing, turning over every corner of the city.

Xiao Lie led hundreds of cavalrymen through the main street, their hooves trampling over the still-dry bloodstains, heading straight for the government office.

Torches illuminated the square in front of the government office, where more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages were parked, their cargo piled higher than a person: cloth, ironware, silver ingots, grain sacks, and several dismantled machine parts.

Those are factory equipment that the State of Chu had just set up in Jingzhou!

Yuan Jia was standing next to one of the carriages, wearing armor and holding a sword, directing his men to transport the goods out.

When his gaze fell on Xiao Lie, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, but his expression remained calm, showing no sign of panic.

Xiao Lie reined in his horse, pointing his Taiping sword at Yuan Jia.

"Yuan Jia, are you leaving?!"

Yuan Jia did not answer; instead, he turned and shouted at the guards behind him.

"Take the machine with you! Break through from three directions!"

Then he stood with his sword drawn, followed by dozens of guards who lined up behind him, blocking the road to the government office gate.

Xiao Lie spurred his horse, and the spear was already in his hand.

Hundreds of cavalrymen followed him and charged forward, their hooves crushing the cracks in the stone slabs of the square, crashing into Yuan Jia's personal guard in the torchlight.

Xiao Lie's first spear pierced the breastplate of a guard, drawing a line of blood as it was pulled out.

The second shot swept across, knocking both men off their horses.

His horse didn't stop, nor did he, like the bow of a ship cutting through the waves, with the cavalry behind him tearing through the defensive line.

Yuan Jia remained seated on his warhorse, motionless. He saw Xiao Lie charging towards him, and instead of retreating, he spurred his horse and raised his phoenix-tail longsword to meet him. The blade drew an arc in the air and slashed towards Xiao Lie's shoulder.

Xiao Lie dodged to the side, and with a twist of his spear shaft, thrust it toward Yuan Jia's horse's foreleg!

The warhorse reared up in pain, and Yuan Jia swayed, but his sword did not stop. Taking advantage of the momentum of his fall, he slashed horizontally at Xiao Lie's side.

Xiao Lie parried with his spear, and the clash of sword and spear produced a piercing metallic clang. The two horses passed each other and then turned around at the same time.

"Old man, you're still got some energy!"

Xiao Lie's voice was not loud.

Yuan Jia did not answer; he was already panting.

The third round started quickly. Yuan Jia's sword strikes were noticeably slower, and he could only barely parry after Xiao Lie's spear thrusts out repeatedly.

Xiao Lie spotted that opening!

As Yuan Jia sheathed his sword, his ribs were exposed for a brief moment, and Xiao Lie's spear tip had already reached his shoulder, passing through the gap in the armor plates and pinning him to the ground.

The gun barrel was driven three feet into the ground. Yuan Jia still held the knife in one hand, while the other hand covered the wound on his shoulder, blood gushing out from between his fingers.

He didn't scream; he just lay on his back on the ground, panting, his voice broken and intermittent.

"The King of Chu... the King of the Northern Frontier... is indeed... formidable!"

"Give me... a quick death..."

Xiao Lie didn't look at him; he turned around and gave orders to those behind him.

"The entire army shall pursue them, leaving no survivors among Chen's troops."

"Not a single item belonging to the Great Chu is allowed to be taken out of the city."

"Avenge the people of Jingzhou! Kill them all without mercy!"

Then he drew his spear and didn't look at Yuan Jia on the ground again.

The sound of hooves and shouts of battle came from behind. The pursuing cavalry were intercepting the Chen soldiers who were trying to break through. The torchlight flickered in the night.

By the time dawn broke the next day, Chen Jun was no longer standing in the city.

The streets, the city walls, the government square, and the wells were littered with fallen bodies.

Xiao Lie rode slowly along the main street on horseback, without reining in his horse or stopping.

Someone behind them reported that 30,000 people had been confirmed killed, and several small groups had fled to the southern border under cover of night.

Xiao Lie did not turn around.

"Chase!"

"Leave no one alive!"

Three days later, Xiao Lie led his men to the banks of the Tiger Roaring River.

The river water gleamed with a dark light in the morning light, and the remnants of the Chen Kingdom's army were regrouping on the opposite bank, with flags and tents faintly visible.

Xiao Lie dismounted and walked to the riverbank, gesturing for the men behind him to bring Yuan Jia up.

Yuan Jia's shoulder injury had been simply bandaged, but he was completely listless and was pushed to kneel on the shore.

Xiao Lie stood in front of him, then glanced at the person next to him.

"Chop it up!"

As the knife fell, Yuan Jia's body collapsed onto the riverbank, his blood seeping into the river along the stones, turning the water near the shore a dark red.

Xiao Lie didn't give it a second glance and had Yuan Jia's head hung on a wooden pole by the river.

"Build a mound of Jing!"