Chapter 146: The Moon Hidden by Clouds (2)
The dying Xiangyang Fortress once again brimmed with vitality.
The soldiers, having finally filled their bellies, moved differently.
Archers lined the walls with the supplied arrows.
The trigger crossbow units, which had been disbanded two days ago, were also deployed on the walls once more.
And there was one more thing.
The new weapons developed in Hanzhong. These were the Whirlwind Catapults disassembled from the Yonggang Water Fort’s warships. These small catapults could also be used on top of the walls.
“Fire!!!”
The fifty catapults let out a thunderous roar.
The projectiles fired in an arc ruthlessly smashed the warships anchored in the moat.
Boom! Boom!
These were the warships serving as a bridge to cross the moat. They intended to destroy most of them before dawn.
The power of the projectiles fired from the walls was stronger than imagined. A single hit would pierce the ship’s bottom, causing it to sink.
The Hui commanders watched this in dismay. The fruits of their labor were turning to dust in an instant.
Indeed, even after dawn, no further attacks were launched.
Five days passed without any movement from either side.
It was a situation where the side that attacked first would suffer losses.
As the standoff continued, there was movement in the Hui camp. A commander clad in red armor approached the fortress gate.
Standing tall at the midpoint between the two sides, he let out a thunderous shout.
“I am Yalyul Geuk of the Hui Dynasty! Who has the courage to face my sword?!”
The soldiers on the walls murmured.
Commanders began to gather in the watchtower.
Behind Han Shizhong, seven vice-commanders approached and stood. One of them sneered, saying, “He must be a madman. Ignore him, General.”
But Han Shizhong’s reaction was different.
For a Flower Realm commander to walk over on his own feet—the corner of his mouth curved up in amusement.
“To dare challenge me to a duel. He must be eager to die.”
One of the vice-commanders stopped him.
“It is suspicious. There might be some trick, so there is no need to respond.”
After some thought, Han Shizhong shouted toward the outside of the fortress, “How dare a fellow like you act so rashly! Bring Wanyan Hui! Then I will personally face him!”
Yalyul Geuk laughed loudly and replied, “Hahaha! Are you afraid? It seems Xiangyang is indeed a den of cowards!”
Han Shizhong gripped his spear tightly. Seeing this, the vice-commanders expressed their concern.
“General, please bear with it.”
“There is no need to be swayed by such a fellow.”
Han Shizhong shook his head.
He wanted to take this opportunity to reduce the number of enemy commanders and balance the scales. This had been the main reason they were pushed back every time a chaotic battle broke out.
“This is a golden opportunity to shatter the morale of the shaken enemy. If not now, we have no way to turn the tide of the war.”
Just then, his adjutant Yeom Chung stepped forward, clutching a hook-bill spear.
“There is no need to use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken. Your opponent is someone else, General, so I will handle this fellow.”
Han Shizhong stared at him and laughed silently. He recalled the sight of Yeom Chung crying last night with a rice ball in hand.
Still, he was indeed the finest and bravest commander under his command.
“You seem confident.”
“I can defeat a fellow like that with one hand.”
“Show him the might of our army.”
“Yes, General!”
After a moment, the fortress gate opened, and Yeom Chung stepped out. Seeing this, the soldiers on the walls erupted in cheers.
“Waaaaah!!!”
“Go get him, Adjutant!”
“Be sure to defeat that effeminate-looking fellow!”
He was a veteran commander who was usually kind to the soldiers. Thus, he was highly popular.
He raised his left hand over his shoulder as an answer.
Yeom Chung and Yalyul Geuk faced each other, pointing their weapons.
It was a rare sight to see Flower Realm masters dueling. Both camps watched in sweat-inducing silence.
Yalyul Geuk’s weapons were dual swords. Gripping a sword in each hand, he assumed a stance and shouted, “Come!”
Yeom Chung lowered his hook-bill spear with a contemptuous look.
“Cut the crap. You come first.”
“I will make you regret those words.”
And with that, the fight began.
Yalyul Geuk’s feet seemed to kick off the ground. In an instant, his dual swords were slashing at Yeom Chung’s neck.
But Yeom Chung was no pushover. His body slid to the left, striking at Yalyul Geuk’s flank.
Crash!
Having exchanged their first blow, they took a step back.
Like magnets, they clashed again, unleashing a flurry of attacks on each other.
The duel quickly surpassed fifty exchanges.
The soldiers of both camps cheered for their respective commanders at the top of their lungs.
The reinforcements stationed on the mountain were also watching the fight. Since they were on high ground, they had a clear view.
Vice-commander Nam Cheon muttered in admiration, “Both are incredible. They are evenly matched.”
Sama Cheol, the commander of the Yongmu Army, shook his head and said, “From what I see, our commander is slightly superior.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yeom Chung began to gain the upper hand. Yalyul Geuk’s footwork and hand movements began to falter.
After a moment, a streak of blood spurted from Yalyul Geuk’s flank, wetting the ground. The blade of the hook-bill spear had grazed him.
At that moment, the watching generals cheered simultaneously—except for So-mu.
“Yeah!”
“That’s it!”
“Incredible!”
Just then, Il-gwang looked at So-mu with a puzzled expression.
“Captain, why the face? Don’t tell me you wanted our side to lose?”
“Of course not. It just looks unnatural.”
“What does?”
“He seems to be intentionally drawing him toward their main camp.”
Indeed, something was strange.
Yalyul Geuk’s retreat with every clash looked somewhat suspicious.
Yeom Chung was pressing on relentlessly to deliver the finishing blow.
Il-gwang glared at Yalyul Geuk.
“So you’re saying that fellow let himself get hit on purpose just now?”
“There is a high probability of that.”
The moment So-mu finished speaking, drums began to beat wildly on the fortress walls.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Why are they suddenly beating the drums?”
“General Han Shizhong must have had the same thought as me. That is the signal to recall a commander.”
Since he could end Yalyul Geuk’s life with just a bit more pressure, Yeom Chung seemed reluctant to retreat.
He hesitated for a moment.
Just then, So-mu saw Yalyul Geuk pull something from his waist.
At that moment, an astonishing thing occurred.
Pshhh! Pshhh!
“Smoke bombs…?”
This was a method used by assassins and the Demonic Cult.
A thick fog rapidly spread around Yalyul Geuk and Yeom Chung, extending all the way to the Hui main camp.
The allied commanders were thrown into confusion.
“What is he doing?!”
“What on earth is that?!”
It was impossible to see what was happening inside the white fog. Only the sound of clashing weapons could be heard a few times.
After a moment, even those sounds faded, and absolute silence fell.
Everyone waited for the result in silence.
Seven and a half minutes later…
The thick fog slowly began to dissipate.
And the scene that was revealed made everyone’s eyes widen in shock.
Yeom Chung, the brave commander who had spent his life fighting for his country and had achieved numerous feats alongside Han Shizhong, lay cold and lifeless on the ground. His body was completely mutilated.
Countless stab and slash wounds covered his corpse. It was a gruesome sight, too horrific to look at.
Beside the corpse, Yalyul Geuk stood with a mocking smile, clutching his dual swords.
Everyone who watched was struck with shock.
“How could a dying fellow pull off such a stunt…?”
“That dirty coward! What did he do?!”
So-mu silently observed the Hui main camp. Eventually, he spotted something.
Five commanders clad in silver armor. Each of them emitted the aura of a Flower Realm master.
And there were traces of blood on their weapons.
He could tell what had happened at once. They had slipped into the fog and collectively murdered Yeom Chung before slipping back out.
Just then, Yalyul Geuk raised his dual swords and looked at the walls.
“Hahaha! Did you really think a fellow like this could match me?! Now, who else will face my sword?!”
Yalyul Geuk stepped on Yeom Chung’s face.
Grind!
At that moment…
A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the walls, echoing across the battlefield.
“Aaaaargh!!!”
It was Han Shizhong, his face completely distorted.
The aura he unleashed created a fierce wind that swept over three hundred zhang.
Yalyul Geuk flinched at the sight.
In the next instant, Han Shizhong leaped from the wall.
“Take your foot off him!!!”
A terrifying killing intent dominated the battlefield, cold enough for So-mu to feel it even from his distant position.
The incarnation of wrath. There was no other way to describe him now.
His adjutant of over twenty years had been brutally murdered before his eyes. How could he remain calm?
Facing Han Shizhong, Yalyul Geuk felt an instinctive terror. Retreating, he quickly pulled out a handful of beads from his waist.
Pshhh! Pshhh!
The fog rose around him again, but Han Shizhong charged in without hesitation.
Inside the blinding white fog, flashes of light like lightning in storm clouds began to spark.
Clang! Clang!
Everyone swallowed hard, unable to utter a word.
Not long after the clash began, a scream echoed.
“Aaargh!”
An arm flew out of the thick fog into the air. It was unclear whose it was.
Immediately after, something else flew high into the sky. Shockingly, it was Yalyul Geuk’s head.
Yet, something was strange. Even though Yalyul Geuk was dead, the sounds of clashing weapons continued.
“Didn’t that effeminate fellow just die?”
“Then who is the General fighting now?”
At one point, a massive explosion erupted from within the fog.
Boom!!!
At that moment…
Five figures were thrown out of the fog simultaneously.
The five commanders stumbled to steady themselves. They were all clad in silver armor engraved with dragon patterns. These were the Five Dragon Generals, Wanyan Hui’s closest aides.
The soldiers on the walls were furious upon seeing this.
“Did five of them attack him during a duel?!”
“Those dirty cowards…”
“To think five of them murdered the Adjutant…”
Waves of anger rippled through the ranks.
As the Five Dragon Generals charged back into the fog, the vice-commanders on the walls lost their minds.
“Those bastards! How dare they!”
“Save the General!”
Han Shizhong was known as the strongest general in the history of the Song Dynasty. If he fell, Xiangyang Fortress was finished anyway.
The vice-commanders began to leap from the walls using ropes tied to the flagpoles.
But their movement had also been anticipated by the Hui army.
Six commanders quickly charged out from the Hui main camp to block them.
“This is not your place. If you do not wish to hasten your deaths, do not interfere.”
Six against six. It was a clash between forces of comparable strength.
The vice-commanders under Han Shizhong were anxious.
After a moment, they saw someone moving behind the enemy commanders.
A man with wild black hair flowing to his waist and a red cape over his armor. It was Grand General Wanyan Hui of the Hui Dynasty.
Radiating a suffocating pressure, he stepped into the white fog. This was the first time since the siege began that he had made a move.
Now, no matter how powerful Han Shizhong was, he could not withstand such a force.
“It is over…”
“Those absolute bastards…”
Just as the vice-commanders’ eyes filled with despair, someone pointed toward a spot behind the enemy commanders.
“Look over there!”
It was a mountain rising near the Hui main camp. A group of commanders was rushing down from it, hacking through the obstructing soldiers.
“It’s the reinforcements!”
“Our commanders have arrived!”
But their joy was short-lived.
They were soon blocked by a wall. About a dozen commanders stood in their way, and gold-armored soldiers swarmed over them like a pack of dogs. It was Wanyan Hui’s personal guard.
“Damn it!”
Just then, a massive explosion shook the ground.
Boom!!!
A dozen soldiers were thrown into the air simultaneously. At that moment, a streak of light broke through the gap between the Hui commanders.
An movement that seemed to transcend human limits. It was like a lion carving through a flock of sheep.
Though soldiers charged from all sides, it was futile. Anyone who stood in his way fell like reeds. It was a terrifying aura that did not fall short of Han Shizhong’s.
Clutching a single sword, the man headed straight for the fog that had become the vortex of the battle.
“W-Who is that?”
“Did our country have such a general?”