The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Knowing that Yuwen Rong was a legendary warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men, Qin An's gaze was fixed intently on him.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Rong was in high spirits on the city wall, swinging his gilded halberd in a wide arc, like a spinning golden wheel.

More than ten Baekje soldiers formed a sword formation and surrounded him, but he broke through their formation with a single swing of his halberd. With a few breaths, he struck, swept, chopped, and smashed them down.

"Quick! Stop him!" A Baekje general on the city wall, his eyes bloodshot with rage, personally drew his sword and charged down.

Yuwen Rong glanced at him, a cold smile playing on his lips. He didn't dodge or evade, but charged straight at the general. The general's broadsword slashed down towards his head, but Yuwen Rong parried with his left arm. His golden chainmail clattered as it blocked the blade, and his right hand thrust forward with his gilded halberd, striking the general squarely in the heart.

"Pfft—"

The dagger pierced through his back, drawing out a spray of blood.

The Bai Ji general stared wide-eyed, unable to believe he had been defeated until his death.

"The master is dead!"

The Baekje soldiers cried out in alarm, their morale plummeting instantly. Yuwen Rong, wiping the blood from his halberd, roared, "Yuwen Rong of Daxing is here! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The roaring sound stunned many Baekje soldiers, leaving them frozen in place.

"Follow me!" Yuwen Rong turned to his guards and said.

The guards immediately stepped forward, using their shields to protect both sides and cover the soldiers following up as they ascended the city walls.

Seeing this, the soldiers of Daehyeong were greatly encouraged and rushed up the siege ladders and siege engines, engaging in a tug-of-war with the Baekje soldiers on the city wall.

However, the Baekje defenders did not completely collapse.

An old general with white hair roared, "If the city falls, our homes will perish! Fight them to the death!"

Countless Baiji soldiers seemed to wake from a dream and charged forward like madmen.

They abandoned their fighting and instead turned to attack the siege equipment.

Some people carried oil-soaked firewood to light the siege ladders and battering rams, while others pushed huge stones to smash the battering rams.

Even more extreme, some people grabbed oil cans and jumped off the city wall, perishing together with the adjacent vehicle.

"Boom! Boom!"

Several loud explosions followed, destroying three vehicles and sending flames soaring into the sky, burning the surrounding soldiers to ashes.

More than ten siege ladders were also knocked down, and the Daxing soldiers who were climbing them screamed as they fell and landed in the pile of corpses below the city, where they were never heard from again.

Yuwen Shu's face turned ashen as he watched from the front lines.

He knew that these siege weapons were the foundation of the army; without them, Yuwen Rong and his men on the city walls would be like rootless duckweed.

No matter how good Yuwen Rong is at fighting, he will eventually be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

If other people had died in battle, that would be one thing, but generals are bound to die on the battlefield.

But this is the unparalleled war god of his Yuwen family. He has reached such a level at such a young age. How could he possibly bear to part with him?

"Sound the retreat!" Although they could still continue fighting, Yuwen Shu gritted his teeth and gave the order.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound of retreating troops pierced through the clamor, and the Daxing soldiers on the city wall, upon hearing it, began to fight and retreat.

Yuwen Rong was fighting his way deep into the city when he heard this and roared angrily. He glanced at the city gate tower that was so close at hand with resentment, and finally swung his halberd, leading his personal guards to cut a bloody path.

When he retreated to the city walls, his golden chainmail was mostly stained red with blood, and his face was splattered with blood, which only added to his fierce appearance.

Looking back at the city wall, the gilded halberd was propped up on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with resentment.

Qin An watched his retreating figure, his heart churning with turbulent emotions. In that battle just now, Yuwen Rong had killed at least two hundred enemies; such combat prowess was simply unbelievable.

He even had the illusion that if the siege equipment hadn't been destroyed, Yuwen Rong alone could have taken the city wall.

"The difference..." Qin An gripped his iron spear tightly, a tidal wave of emotions surging within him: "It's too great."

……

After returning to camp, Qin An did not sleep all night.

The image of Yuwen Rong fighting on the city wall was etched into his mind like a brand.

The effortless strength, the nimble movements, and the fearless spirit both shocked and inspired him.

"If I were to fight him, how long could I last?"

The thought kept recurring, but the answer made his heart sink.

He tried to imitate the moves of the gilded halberd with an iron spear, but his arm went numb after only the third swing, let alone wielding it with the impenetrable power of Yuwen Rong.

Even if one's strength is close to that of a hundred men, one would probably not last a single round against such an opponent.

Realizing this, Qin An was still somewhat taken aback.

Since stepping onto the battlefield, his strength has soared.

He has never encountered an enemy who is his equal.

This inevitably gave him a sense of confidence.

But now, that sliver of confidence was instantly shattered by Yuwen Rong's powerful performance.

Fortunately, it was just a setback, not enough to completely break him.

"The bigger the gap, the more we need to catch up. With this system, sooner or later I will be able to reach that level as well."

Qin An suddenly stood up, grabbed his spear, and left the tent.

Under the moonlight, he practiced his marksmanship over and over again, sometimes imitating Yuwen Rong's sweeping and powerful movements, and sometimes incorporating his own agile and swift techniques.

Sweat soaked through his armor, his wounds were torn open and scabbed over, but he was oblivious to it all, his eyes fixed only on the shadow of the gun and that golden figure.

The next two weeks became a blood-soaked inferno for Pingxiang City.

Yuwen Shu seemed to have made up his mind, and he sent different teams to attack the city every day.

Twenty thousand, fifteen thousand, ten thousand... the number of troops varied, but the supply never stopped.

The fighting on the city walls lasted from dawn to dusk, and sometimes even into the night. Torches illuminated the city walls as if it were daytime, reflecting the corpses scattered on the ground, making it look like a living hell.

Although Qin An's team didn't get a turn to fight, he stood in front of the battle lines every day to watch the battle.

He watched as the Daxing soldiers stepped over the corpses of their comrades to rush upwards, watched them be turned into burning figures by boiling oil, and watched the despair in their eyes as they fell from the city walls.

He also saw the madness and numbness in the eyes of the Baekje soldiers, and watched them use stones, teeth, and their bodies to resist.

Watching the defenders on the city wall change from strong soldiers to old, weak, women and children.

Two weeks later, the statistics came in.

Daxing suffered over 20,000 casualties, and the Pingxiang City garrison suffered over 5,000 dead and wounded. The city's defensive equipment was exhausted, and even the doors, tables, and chairs inside the city were dismantled and used as rolling logs.

"We will surely break through the city in three more days!" Yuwen Shu declared emphatically at the military council.

However, the soldiers of Daxing showed little excitement; instead, they were visibly exhausted.

"Why insist on sticking to this even when there are better options?" After returning from Zhang Xu's place once again, Qin An looked at Luo Kai and finally couldn't help but ask.

Even with his current military expertise, he could clearly see that a direct assault was not the only option to capture Pingxiang City.

Unfortunately, the authorities chose this most difficult path.

This is simply sending these low-ranking soldiers to their deaths.

Upon hearing Qin An's words, Luo Kai paused for a moment before slowly speaking, "That's politics, isn't it? The emperor is watching from behind!"

Qin An fell silent instantly.

Luo Kai patted his shoulder, his tone heavy: "Don't think too much about it. Tomorrow it'll be our turn. Let's survive first!"

Qin An nodded silently.

This was exactly the news they had just received from Zhang Xu!

Their team will inevitably have to play!