Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 262 The Siege Begins

Begin the siege

After rushing back to the hidden chamber in the backyard of Fuyuan Restaurant, Mo Yuming and the others carefully carried the two critically injured Falcon Guards into the room originally used to treat Master Da. Various medical supplies were already prepared there to save the two Falcon Guards' lives in time. The other uninjured Falcon Guards remained hidden, quietly awaiting further instructions and deployments.

Meanwhile, Sun Min's report of victory also arrived: the surprise attack in Xin County was a resounding success! This raid dealt a heavy blow to Wu Yi's 50,000-strong army, rendering nearly half of its forces incapable of fighting. The earth-shattering explosion not only shocked everyone on the battlefield, but even the soldiers of the Xianghuang Kingdom across the river were thrown into a state of panic.

Even more encouraging is that the Shadow Guards responsible for this mission still have fifty incredibly powerful anti-magic bullets remaining, and they still maintain a formidable fighting capacity. With the cooperation of the Falcon Guards, it is entirely possible to inflict another heavy blow on this enemy force.

After hearing this good news, Mo Yuming calmly considered for a moment, and then decisively issued the order:

"All personnel must immediately lie in wait and not make any rash moves. We must wait for the best opportunity before launching a new offensive."

That very night, in the stillness of the night, Mo Yuming quietly summoned Jiang Yuheng and several other core members to exchange crucial intelligence. After in-depth discussion and analysis, they unanimously concluded that the cunning enemy leader, Dong Wei, was likely to employ a two-pronged strategy, launching a fierce attack simultaneously on the two vital passes of Wangxiang Town and Linxiang Town.

However, the current problem is that the number of troops defending Wangxiang Town is relatively small, and if it encounters a large-scale attack by the enemy, it may be difficult to resist.

Therefore, Mo Yuming made a decisive decision: if the situation became critical, he would immediately transfer some of the garrison troops from the nearby arsenal to reinforce it. Fortunately, the arsenal was only a few dozen miles away from the Wangxiang Town pass, allowing for rapid troop deployment and ensuring that there would be no dangerous situation of insufficient troops during the defense of Wangxiang Town.

Jiang Yuheng received intelligence that today, the Xianghuang Kingdom's army had broken through several lines of defense along the Xijing border and was advancing directly towards Zhongdu. However, the situation on the Tokyo front was not ideal, as several attacks had been repelled by the defending soldiers, and they were now resting and preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, the southern Yinzi Kingdom's campaign against Yinfu did not go smoothly. Although they successfully invaded Yinfu, both sides suffered heavy casualties and losses. As for Taibai's attack on Chidi, Yaohei's attack on Jiangling, and Dailu's attack on Lidu, they had only just begun to gather forces for small-scale wars and had not yet engaged in any formal large-scale battles.

The melee began, and the consumption of weapons was enormous, especially arrows.

After contacting Jia Shan, Mo Yuming learned that the prices of weapons at the treasure shop had doubled, especially consumables like arrows, which had more than doubled in price. Weapons recently acquired from neighboring countries had been transported to the capital of the Long Kingdom and were now being sold in limited quantities. In just one day, he had already made a fortune.

Meanwhile, the Ji family had already sold a portion of their smelted iron weapons at high prices in their weapon shops in Chidi and Zhongdu. Mo Yuming, Jiang Yuheng, and others discussed handing over all the smelted iron weapons confiscated from the Wuheng warehouse to the Ji family's shops for sale, including the smelted iron weapons upgraded from their own soldiers' weapons. They would only keep the Xuan Tie weapons, and only the Demon-Slaying Arrows. They would even sell the magic crystal cannons used by Shangyuan City and Zhongyuan City, using the profits to buy food, ore, and magic crystals.

The soldiers of Great Xia are equipped with high-grade Xuan Iron magical artifacts and a sufficient number of Demon-Slaying Arrows. Now, they also have Demon-Slaying Bullets, which are far more effective than Magic Crystal Cannons. Therefore, the expensive Magic Crystal Cannons are now useless in Great Xia. If they are sold at a high price, a large sum of money can be made. Of course, these items are all sold through merchant guilds, so no one will know that they are items discarded by the Great Xia Empire.

After everything was planned, Mo Yuming and Ji Xianlin discussed how to rescue Wu Yan. As long as Wu Yan lived, Dong Wei could not truly control Jingzhou City. According to intelligence gathered by the Falcon Guard, Wu Yan was being held in the Red Sleeve Courtyard of the Drunken Jinglou, the innermost part of the Drunken Jinglou, where Wu Yan used to frequent.

Now it has become his place of imprisonment. It turns out that Zuijinglou was built by Wu Yi and Wu Qing in partnership. Many of the people in the restaurant are Wu Yi's people, including the manager. However, when things were peaceful, everyone got along well. They were partners, doing business together, each serving their own master, and there was no trouble between them.

Now that things have turned sour, Wu Yi's faction, under Dong Wei's instructions, has taken control of the entire restaurant. Wu Qing's forces have either been forced to leave or have pledged allegiance to Wu Yi. The entire restaurant is now under Dong Wei's control. The Red Sleeve Courtyard, where Wu Yan is being held, is naturally also being guarded by Dong Wei's men.

Mo Yuming had been to Hongxiu Courtyard once before, specifically to see Wu Yan. He was going to visit Hongxiu Courtyard again this time, also for Wu Yan, but the story would be a little different this time.

Dong Wei had already left Jingzhou City, and only ten guards remained in the restaurant to watch over Wu Yan. Now was the best time to rescue Wu Yan. Mo Yuming decided to go with Ji Xianlin to rescue Wu Yan before dawn.

The two slipped through a secret passage and entered the restaurant, arriving at the Red Sleeve Courtyard. A quick scan with their divine sense confirmed that Wu Yan and his advisors were indeed imprisoned there. Twelve guards stood in the courtyard outside; these twelve guards were also winged puppets. However, without any Heavenly Rank warriors to restrain them, Ji Xianlin and Mo Yuming could easily subdue these twelve puppets together. Mo Yuming signaled the Falcon Guards behind him to prepare, so that once the two of them engaged the puppets, they could rescue the people as quickly as possible.

Ji Xianlin and Mo Yuming jumped into the courtyard together, immediately attacking the twelve puppets from two sides. Mo Yuming reached out and slashed at the head of one of the puppets with his sword. The puppet immediately spread its iron wings to meet the sword blank. Mo Yuming naturally did not fight it head-on. When the iron wings spread, the sword blank had already turned and stabbed towards its chest. The puppet quickly retracted its iron wings and prepared to swing its broadsword to fight back. However, Mo Yuming had already summoned the Soul Sword and stabbed it in the side.

'Boom! '

The puppet was killed by Mo Yuming in just two moves. But the fight against the second puppet was much more troublesome, because three puppets had already spread their iron wings and started flying, launching an attack on Mo Yuming in the air, while the two on the ground also attacked him together.

Five puppets surrounded Mo Yuming. Mo Yuming immediately felt a surge of pressure. On the other hand, Ji Xianlin faced a much easier situation when surrounded by six puppets. He unleashed a sword strike, conjuring countless points of sword light that blocked all the puppets' attacks. As the sword light dissipated and converged into a single point, a hole the size of a mung bean appeared in the chest of one of the puppets, the hole piercing through its chest and back.

'boom'

The puppet immediately collapsed and remained motionless.

Over there, Mo Yuming narrowly dodged a puppet's wind blade and plunged his Soul Sword into the waist of a second puppet. Meanwhile, Ji Xianlin had already easily felled four puppets. After felling two puppets, Mo Yuming felt the pressure lessen. He turned and blocked a puppet's large sword, then swiftly slid behind it, plunging his Soul Sword into the puppet's body as it withdrew its sword.

Meanwhile, Ji Xianlin had finished dealing with the six puppets and stood aside watching him fight them.

The hostages had been rescued, and dawn was breaking after Mo Yuming slew the last puppet. Mo Yuming's puppets were all pierced through the chest with a single sword strike, then exploded, their fragments scattered on the ground. In contrast, the six puppets Ji Xianlin killed only had a small hole in their chests, barely recognizable as when they were alive. This was true skill; Ji Xianlin's control over swordsmanship and power had reached its peak.

As Mo Yuming left, he casually put several well-preserved puppets into his storage bag, planning to dissect them when he had time to see how they were made.

When Dong Wei sent his men to Zuijinglou, the place was already deserted, leaving only a pile of broken pieces. Looking at the puppet fragments scattered on the ground, Dong Wei's heart bled. These twenty-four 'Black Owl Puppets' were the most prized possessions left by their Dong family ancestor. Each puppet possessed the strength of a peak Earth-rank expert, and several could be deployed to assist in battle as needed. A formation of three puppets could match the strength of an early-stage Heaven-rank expert, a formation of six could defeat a first-stage Heaven-rank expert, a formation of twelve could contend with a third-stage Heaven-rank expert, and if all twenty-four were arranged into a grand formation, they could even defeat a fourth-stage Heaven-rank expert.

The Dong family's success was entirely due to these twenty-four puppets. Now, more than half of them have been lost overnight. How could Dong Wei not be heartbroken? Each puppet was priceless! Even the most advanced master craftsmen couldn't forge such puppets anymore. The Dong family will never be able to create another high-level puppet like these again.

Dong Wei was furious, wishing he could immediately capture these people and tear them to pieces. With Wu Yan rescued, there was no time to waste. He immediately ordered 10,000 infantrymen to enter the city, take complete control of Jingzhou, and then place all the original garrison soldiers under house arrest, declaring martial law throughout the city. He ordered the arrest of all suspects. However, without the cooperation of the local Jingzhou garrison, these outside soldiers couldn't even catch a single person.

After taking control of Jingzhou by force, he immediately ordered 30,000 light cavalry to be dispatched in conjunction with 3,000 crossbowmen as the vanguard to advance on Linxiang Town and take the lead. Then, 50,000 infantrymen as the main force directly attacked the city from the front, while 30,000 heavy cavalrymen were divided into two groups to flank the city from the left and right wings.

The remaining 20,000 light cavalry and 30,000 heavy cavalry attacked Wangxiang Town, followed by 30,000 infantry and 2,000 artillerymen.

While Dong Wei was deploying his troops, ten thousand infantrymen were quietly advancing towards the sinkhole through the underground passages of the Black Dragon Fortress. They would emerge from the sinkhole and reach Jingzhou territory in just one hour. From there, they would face Jingzhou City across the mountains, less than thirty li in a straight line.

From Jingzhou city, it's only about fifty li to the border. With the speed of a cultivator of profound arts from the Tianxuan Continent, it would only take a little over an hour to get there.

As 30,000 light cavalry and 3,000 crossbowmen marched into the battlefield, a row of two hundred catapults had already been erected on the city walls of Linxiang Pass. These catapults were no longer the simple wooden ones of the past, but were modified according to the properties of materials from the Tianxuan Continent. Key parts were made of black iron and lubricated with solidified grease, while the launching parts were made of light yet extremely tough green cherry wood. The bases were also modified and reinforced, and wheels were added for rapid movement.

The trebuchet was one-third smaller than the original, but its launching speed and distance increased by more than 20%. Don't underestimate this 20% increase; it represents a significant improvement in practical application. For example, the original maximum launching distance was around 150 zhang (approximately 650 meters), while the increased distance easily reaches 180 zhang (approximately 900 meters), a 30-zhang increase. This 30-zhang distance already reaches and exceeds the firing range of crossbows and powerful bows, while most ranged weapons have a range below 200 zhang, generally around 150 zhang. The trebuchet's ability to launch such a distance is truly remarkable.

Long-range attack weapons capable of exceeding two hundred zhang do exist, but they are rare and extremely expensive to use, making them unaffordable for most people. These are high-level magic crystal cannons, which have a maximum firing range of three hundred zhang, far exceeding that of mid-level magic crystal cannons.

However, each advanced magic crystal cannon turret costs as much as 100,000 gold coins, more than ten times the price of a mid-level magic crystal cannon turret. The shells are also exorbitantly expensive; each shell requires at least five level-five magic crystals, and each level-five magic crystal costs three to five thousand gold coins. The price of five magic crystals alone is over 15,000 gold coins, not to mention the production costs. Therefore, each firing of an advanced magic crystal cannon consumes as much as 20,000 gold coins.

However, Mo Yuming has already surpassed this long-range weapon, and it's inexpensive and easy to use—this is the Demon-Slaying Bullet. A single soldier can carry this weapon, and by changing the configuration of the propellant, it can easily reach a distance of over two hundred zhang (approximately 600 meters). While its power and range aren't as monstrous as a high-level magic crystal cannon, its power is at least as high as a low-level one. Moreover, its cost is only one-tenth that of a low-level magic crystal cannon.

The Crimson Shadow Guards, now defending the city, are using Demon-Slaying Bullets capable of firing at a range of over two hundred zhang (approximately 600 meters). Each of the one hundred and twenty Crimson Shadow Guards carries two Demon-Slaying Bullets. They have long been lying in ambush at the highest point of the city wall at the pass.

Dong Wei's army had already reached the city walls, less than two miles away. A mere hundred paces further and they would be within range of the Demon-Slaying Bullets. At this moment, the rapidly advancing light cavalry suddenly halted, as if realizing their advance would not be successful; the 30,000 light cavalry hesitated.

The most common siege strategy involves light cavalry, utilizing their speed and agility, quickly charging to the vicinity of the city defenses. They suppress the defenses' firepower with arrows, while heavy crossbows, powerful bows, or magic crystal cannons enter the fray to attack the walls and gates, either breaching the gates or creating gaps in the walls. Then, heavily armored cavalry charges into the city to clear a path, followed closely by infantry who engage in fierce combat. Victory is ultimately achieved. Of course, siege tactics are not static; specific methods can be employed depending on the circumstances to achieve the best siege results.

The light cavalry waited for a full quarter of an hour at a distance of three hundred zhang before launching their charge. The defenders on the city wall each held a demon-slaying arrow and waited, while the soldiers operating the catapults were poised to fire. On the city wall, the strategist Niu Tianze and the commander-in-chief Qi Feng were calculating the speed and distance of the light cavalry.

As the light cavalry charged past the two-hundred-zhang mark, Qi Feng forcefully waved his command flag. The trebuchet soldiers immediately loaded and launched their projectiles; one hundred phosphorus wax projectiles flew in long arcs, soaring over the wall and crashing to the ground a hundred and eighty zhang away. Instantly, thick smoke and phosphorescent flames raged across the land. The rapidly charging light cavalry had run right into this area, as if they themselves were charging towards the phosphorus wax projectiles. The leading cavalrymen were thrown into chaos, their horses and men falling in disarray.