The man who had been staring indifferently ahead suddenly cast a cold sidelong glance at him.
Just then, a chilly wind swept by. Gongsun Yin couldn’t tell whether it was the wind or that icy gaze that sent a shiver down his spine.
Quickly shifting his gaze to the distant city tower, he fanned himself twice with his feathered fan and changed the subject: "The rebels on the tower have had their morale crushed by our crossbowmen. It’s time to storm the city!"
Xie Zheng also withdrew his gaze, turning it once more toward the Kang City tower, which seemed dwarfed beneath the looming storm clouds. His thin lips parted to utter two words: "Storm it."
The messenger at his side, having received the order, ascended the temporary platform erected within the military formation and bellowed, "Storm the city—"
The sprawling army stretched across the plains outside Kang City’s gates, far beyond the reach of mere shouts. Over a hundred flag officers, stationed at the front, caught the command and immediately raised their signal flags. Spurring their horses along the narrow paths left open for movement within the formation, they galloped toward the orderly ranks arrayed behind, shouting, "Storm the city—"
In an instant, beneath the walls of Kang City, the iron-clad army surged forward like an unstoppable tide. Within the dark mass of soldiers, crimson signal flags twisted like dragons through the black waves of war. The roar of battle shook the heavens, making the heavy storm clouds above seem to sag even lower. The distant city tower appeared as nothing more than a fragile boat, easily capsized by the first wave of this oncoming black tide.
The defenders atop the tower, already demoralized by the earlier hail of arrows, now paled at the sight of the Yanzhou Army charging toward them like wolves.
Even as the Yanzhou Army entered the range of the city’s archers, not a single defender managed to loose an arrow in time.
Only one thought filled their minds: We’re finished.
This battle was already lost before it had even begun!
Sui Yuanqing, enraged, drew his sword and cut down the nearest archer, snarling, "What are you waiting for? Shoot!"
The defenders on the tower, trembling, fumbled to nock their arrows and draw their bows—but their hands shook so violently they could barely pull the strings. A few feeble shots barely made it past the walls before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
The deputy general, though seasoned in battle, still felt his soul quake at the sight of the Yanzhou Army advancing like an unstoppable flood.
The rear of the formation seemed to merge with the storm clouds pressing down from above, as if the entire city of Kang were being swallowed by darkness.
Even he, a veteran, felt his legs weaken—how could the common soldiers possibly muster any will to fight?
Pushing past the archers trembling at the battlements, he sought out Sui Yuanqing and pleaded in panic, "My lord, Kang City is lost! Let me cover your retreat—as long as there’s life, there’s hope!"
Sui Yuanqing turned his dark, sunken eyes toward the deputy, staring at him as if he were already dead. "Retreat? To where?"
The deputy’s mustache twitched, his gaze flickering as he avoided Sui Yuanqing’s eyes. Of course he knew—aside from Chongzhou, Kang City was the Sui family’s last stronghold.
His offer to cover Sui Yuanqing’s retreat was a lie; in truth, he simply didn’t want to throw his life away in a hopeless battle.
Whether Sui Yuanqing saw through him or not, he suddenly pressed the bloodied sword against the deputy’s throat.The cold sword blade, still dripping with thick blood, pressed against the deputy general's neck, instantly raising goosebumps all over his skin. Fear flashed in his eyes.
Since Sui Yuanqing had taken over Kang City, the deputy had served under him for some time and knew his unpredictable temper—when he went mad, he would kill anyone.
His reaction clearly amused Sui Yuanqing, who smiled faintly, his voice deceptively gentle yet sinister: "General Ma, if you dare spread such demoralizing words again, this heir will surely take your head."
The deputy was well aware of Sui Yuanqing's strength. Even if he couldn't hold Kang City, taking his life before the city fell would be effortless. He immediately pledged his loyalty: "This general would rather die on these city walls! I only worry for the heir's safety!"
His words sounded noble, but Sui Yuanqing had no interest in discerning their sincerity. With a mocking glance, he said, "General Ma's loyalty is commendable. Go and command the troops to defend the city."
Having narrowly escaped death, the deputy exhaled in relief and hurried away with a salute.
When Sui Yuanqing turned back to survey the battlefield below, even the faint smirk faded from his face. His hands, gripping the stone bricks of the battlement, tensed with bulging veins, and his jaw clenched tightly.
Launching an attack before a thunderstorm, with such overwhelming force—throughout history, only Xie Zheng would dare such a move.
Anyone who had read military strategy knew that large-scale siege battles should never be fought in heavy rain. Strong winds and downpours drastically reduced the range and lethality of arrows.
Yet Xie Zheng defied convention—and succeeded.
Arrows were limited by the storm winds, so he used crossbows with greater range and power than ordinary bows.
Dark clouds loomed over the city, and the Yanzhou Army's formation spread like a black tide. With nature's fury on their side, the sheer visual impact alone shattered the morale of Kang City's defenders.
The highest strategy in warfare had always been psychological warfare.
Before this battle, he had never imagined someone could wield psychological tactics so simply, directly, and brilliantly.
He had always resented Xie Zheng, believing him merely older, riding on his father Xie Linshan's military prestige, and benefiting from battlefield luck to earn his merits.
Had it been him, he would have done no worse than Xie Zheng.
But after several confrontations, the sense of fate and defeat within him grew stronger.
He would never become Xie Zheng in this lifetime.
He had studied military strategy to reach where he was, but Xie Zheng was the kind who could rewrite strategy itself.
Nothing was more envy-inducing—or more disheartening—than talent that surpassed even the utmost effort.
The Yanzhou Army had reached the city walls, ladders scaling the ramparts. The panicked defenders fired arrows and hurled boulders, only for them to be deflected by the steel round shields of the climbing soldiers.
At the gates, dozens of soldiers chanted in unison as they rammed a battering ram against the doors. Defenders above lifted logs and stones to drop below, but the Yanzhou Army locked their shields together, forming a massive, half-arc iron shell to protect the ramming team.
The stones and boulders thrown from the walls bounced off the shields and rolled harmlessly to the ground. The Yanzhou Army below suffered almost no casualties.Sui Yuanqing watched everything unfold with the detachment of an outsider. Stripped of all jealousy, resentment, and unwillingness, he could almost admire the perfection of this siege.
A general on horseback ought to die on the battlefield. If it were in such a grand battle, Sui Yuanqing even felt a strange sense of relief and liberation.
With a thunderous crash, the city gates were finally breached. The deputy general, his face smeared with blood, pushed past the panicked defenders scrambling along the walls and knelt before Sui Yuanqing. "Young Master, the gates are broken! Kangcheng can't hold any longer!"
The drizzle thickened slightly. Sui Yuanqing tilted his head slightly, giving the man a lazy smile before uttering just two words: "Get lost."
The deputy general didn’t understand, but Sui Yuanqing had already taken his weapon from his personal guard. Amid the chaotic defenders scattering like headless flies, he strode leisurely and unhurriedly down the city wall, moving against the tide.
Watching his retreating figure, the deputy general sighed inwardly—was this man truly mad?
Once the gates fell, the defenders inside fled in terror.
The fine drizzle gradually turned into heavier raindrops, sparsely falling from the dark clouds overhead.
Xie Zheng rode into the city with a dozen personal guards and encountered Sui Yuanqing in the barbican.
Sui Yuanqing stood alone, his horse’s hooves resting atop the corpses of a dozen Yanzhou soldiers. His spear dripped with fresh blood as he taunted Xie Zheng with a challenge: "Xie whelp, dare you come and meet your death?"
The guards beside Xie Zheng bristled with anger, urging their horses forward, but Xie Zheng halted them with a sweep of his halberd.
"Fall back," he said coolly.
The dozen guards exchanged glances before retreating several paces.
Seeing this, the bloodlust and excitement in Sui Yuanqing’s eyes flared. Gripping his spear, he dug his heels into his horse’s sides and charged at Xie Zheng with a roar.
His attack, fueled by the momentum of his steed, was nearly unstoppable.
Yet Xie Zheng remained motionless atop his horse, his Dawan black-hoofed warhorse—a veteran of countless battles—showing no fear.
Only when Sui Yuanqing’s blade was inches away did Xie Zheng raise his halberd to block.
A grating metallic screech rang out as the crescent blade of the halberd locked firmly onto Sui Yuanqing’s spearhead. The collision of immense force sent both man and horse stumbling half a step back.
Sui Yuanqing gritted his teeth, his face contorted with effort.
Before he could wrench his weapon free, the shaft of the halberd struck him hard across the abdomen.
In an instant, Sui Yuanqing felt as though his organs had been shattered. He was flung from his horse, blood spraying from his mouth.
When he hit the ground, his vision blurred and doubled, darkness creeping at the edges. Only the cold sting of raindrops on his face remained clear.
The "Sui" banner on the city walls was toppled as Yanzhou soldiers swarmed the battlements, its pole hacked apart. The wind carried the fallen standard beneath Xie Zheng’s horse.
Without hesitation, the horse trampled over it. The halberd’s dark gold dragon-engraved blade pressed against Sui Yuanqing’s throat.
Xie Zheng held the halberd one-handed, looking down from his saddle with the indifference of one regarding an insect. "Young Master Sui, were all these years of martial training spent on your tongue?"
Sui Yuanqing ignored the mockery. His mouth filled with blood, he stared up at the blurred, mountainous figure before him and laughed in exhilaration. "Kill me. Make it quick."Xie Zheng gave him a cold look but withdrew his halberd, ordering the personal guards behind him, "Tie him up and take him back."
The guards moved forward to drag Sui Yuanqing away. He rasped, "Xie Zheng! If I must die, I’d rather it be by your blade! Those executioners aren’t worthy of severing this head of mine!"
The rain grew heavier, soaking the city bricks on the ground with bean-sized droplets.
Xie Zheng had already ridden his horse forward a few steps but turned back at these words, his voice icy. "There’s someone you might want to see, Sui Yuanqing. After that, you might not be so eager to die."
Sui Yuanqing was swiftly bound and taken away by the guards.
Gongsun Yin arrived late, shielding himself from the increasingly heavy rain with a feathered fan. He clicked his tongue. "So, as soon as this storm hit, Kangcheng fell just like that?"
Xie Zheng ignored him, urging his horse further into the city while instructing his subordinate generals, "Once the army enters the city, no harm is to come to the civilians."
The generals clasped their fists in acknowledgment.
...
The thunderclouds gathered over Kangcheng eventually unleashed a torrential downpour that lasted a full day and night without pause.
Inside the room, bright candles burned high. Xie Zheng sat bare-chested, his well-defined muscles stark under the dim candlelight. A long, diagonal wound stretched across his back—partially scabbed at the ends but split open in the middle, the dark scabs mingling with raw, crimson flesh in a gruesome sight.
He didn’t even bother applying medicine, simply wrapping clean white cloth tightly around the injury. Though fine beads of sweat dotted his temples from the pain, his expression remained unflinching.
Discarded clothes lay haphazardly on a low table nearby, among which a crudely carved wooden figurine with haughtily upturned eyes stood out conspicuously.
The door was abruptly pushed open as Gongsun Yin barged in excitedly to report, "I took that Zhao fellow to see Sui Yuanqing. You wouldn’t believe—" His words cut off abruptly as he caught sight of Xie Zheng’s mangled back, his brow furrowing. "When did you get such a severe injury?"
Xie Zheng’s expression was frigid as he finished tying the bandage and donned his outer robe. "When capturing Zhao Xun."
Gongsun Yin looked astonished. "The Zhao Family could afford guards that formidable?"
Xie Zheng swiftly changed the subject. "What about Sui Yuanqing?"
Gongsun Yin’s earlier excitement had vanished. "He no longer wants to die—just to fight his way back to Chongzhou, behead his fake elder brother, and save his mother." Then, his attention returned to Xie Zheng’s wound. Glancing at the low table and finding no medicine bottles, his frown deepened. "Your back is split open like that, and you’re not treating it?" Suspicion crept into his voice. "I’ve felt something was off since your return. Did you have another quarrel with Miss Fan?"
Xie Zheng’s voice turned icy as he issued a dismissal. "If there’s nothing else, leave."
Gongsun Yin paused, realizing he’d guessed correctly. It was rare to see Xie Zheng’s expression so grim, and he surmised the conflict must have been serious. Any urge to tease vanished.
Years of friendship had taught him this man’s temperament. Now wasn’t the time to pry. As he retreated, his gaze flicked to the figurine on the table.
Xie Zheng’s room would never house such an ugly trinket—it must have been brought back from Chongzhou.
Only after walking far from the room did Gongsun Yin summon a guard and mutter, "Go to Chongzhou..."
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