Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

"Hold the line! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

With a shout, Feng Mulan plunged into the battle like an arrow.

A scorpion centurion with an exceptionally large build, wielding a curved sword and battle axe.

Upon seeing that the newcomer was a seemingly delicate female general dressed in magnificent red armor, he grinned maliciously and pounced forward, his battle axe whistling through the air as he cleaved down, intending to kill her in one fell swoop and intimidate the defending troops.

Facing this powerful and heavy blow, Feng Mulan neither dodged nor avoided it, and with lightning speed, she drew the heavy black iron sword from her waist with her left hand.

The heavy sword had no edge, yet it carried an incomparably powerful aura, and it swung upwards to meet the battle axe with a fierce blow!

"clang--!!!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing against metal rang out, sparks flying everywhere!

The scorpion centurion felt his arms tremble violently, his tiger's mouth split open, and his heavy battle axe was slammed high into the air by an irresistible force, leaving his chest wide open!

He was horrified, finding it hard to believe that this woman possessed such divine power.

However, the horror was not over yet.

Feng Mulan's nimble, swift sword in her right hand moved like a viper's tongue, transforming into a streak of cold light almost invisible to the naked eye the instant the heavy sword parried, and thrusting out with incredible speed! Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!

"Pfft!"

The sword tip pierced through the gap between the centurion's leather and chainmail armor without any obstruction, and precisely plunged into his throat.

The centurion's eyes widened, and with two loud thuds, his massive body crashed to the ground.

Feng Mulan's movements were fluid and uninterrupted.

With a sweeping motion of his heavy sword, he sent a Scorpion warrior, shield and all, flying off the city wall as he attempted a sneak attack from the side.

With swift, sharp thrusts, like a torrential downpour of pear blossoms, several bloody holes were instantly left in the chest of another enemy.

She wielded two swords in perfect harmony, one heavy and one light, one for defense and one for offense, combining strength and flexibility. The heavy sword was powerful and heavy, making it invincible for parrying and striking, while the light sword was swift and agile, making it impossible to defend against its attacks.

On the narrow battlefield atop the city walls, her martial arts skills were on full display, and wherever she went, the Scorpion Clan warriors who had scaled the walls fell like wheat being harvested.

"Your Majesty the Imperial Concubine is mighty!"

The defenders were greatly encouraged and shouted as they re-established their defensive line, firmly blocking the enemy from climbing further.

On the other side, Gongsun Yi saw that the shield carts were being blocked from advancing and that the soldiers climbing the city walls were suffering heavy casualties. However, the defenders on the city walls were well-organized and put up a tenacious resistance. In particular, the female general was incredibly brave. He knew that a direct assault would not be a quick victory.

His face darkened, and he ordered a temporary halt to the full-scale attack, instead instructing his troops to continue harassing the enemy with crossbows.

At the same time, they ordered craftsmen to speed up the production of more and stronger siege weapons, and sent people to dig trenches and earthen mounds, attempting to gradually approach the city walls.

Helian Hui lost many of his elite troops. Seeing that Gongsun Yi had turned to a stalemate, although he was unwilling, he knew that he could not break through the city alone with his remaining troops. He could only angrily order a retreat to rest and reorganize.

The first fierce attack was successfully repelled thanks to Feng Mulan's calm command and her leading by example.

Jianghuai City stood firm as a rock, unyielding despite the crashing waves outside. Beneath the city walls lay only the corpses of the Scorpion Clan and the Youzhou Army, along with broken equipment.

Blood soaked the ground at the base of the wall, and the smell of gunpowder mixed with the stench of blood lingered in the air.

Feng Mulan sheathed her sword, slightly panting, her red armor splattered with the blood of her enemies.

She looked towards the enemy troops outside the city, who had temporarily retreated but were still a dark mass, and then gazed towards Changtingpo, where the smoke and dust seemed even more chaotic.

"His Majesty!"

She silently vowed to herself, her eyes growing even more resolute: "Mulan will definitely defend this city and wait for your return!"

She knew that the enemy's retreat was only temporary, and that a more brutal battle was yet to come.

But no matter what, as long as she has a breath left, she will never let the enemy set foot in Jianghuai City!

at the same time.

On Changting Slope, the midday sun was still blazing, but it could no longer dispel the heavy stench of blood and death that permeated the air.

The initial five hundred Chu cavalry, after nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, were reduced to ashes like candles in the wind under the relentless attacks, arrow rain, and relentless assaults of the Tang and Youzhou armies.

At this moment, only fifty-odd loyal guards, battered and bruised, still fought to the death to protect Chu Ning.

They formed a tighter circle, using their bodies and tattered shields to build the last fragile yet tenacious line of defense for the emperor in the center.

Outside the circular formation, corpses piled up like mountains, broken weapons and flags were scattered all over the ground, and blood stained the soil on the slope a dark red and sticky.

The allied forces under Chu Xuan and Li Shiming also paid an extremely heavy price to force Chu Ning into such a desperate situation.

At this moment, their remaining forces have also been greatly reduced, but they still have more than eighty men, most of whom are the elite guards of the generals on both sides.

Both in terms of physical strength and equipment, they were superior to the remnants of the Chu army who had fought so hard.

Under the command of Chu Xuan and Li Shiming, they temporarily halted their desperate charge.

Instead, it formed a tighter encirclement, slowly squeezing Chu Ning and the others' last remaining space to survive, like a millstone.

Chu Xuan stood on his horse outside the encirclement, his face no longer showing the deep calculation he had shown before, but instead a ferocious and smug look of revenge and triumph.

He gazed at Chu Ning, who was surrounded and trapped like a caged beast, his eyes gleaming with excitement and cruelty.

"Chu Ning! My good younger brother!"

Chu Xuan's voice was slightly shrill due to his excitement, and it was particularly jarring in the brief silence of the battlefield.

"Look at yourself now! Don't you look like that lone wolf we surrounded in the hunting grounds back then?"

"Struggling and roaring, yet ultimately unable to escape the hunter's arrows and ropes!"

He slightly raised his chin and continued in a condescending, almost condescending tone:

"Stop making futile resistance. How long can these fifty-odd people hold out? An incense stick's time? Or half an hour?"

"Today, this Changting Slope is destined to be your burial ground!"

Chu Xuan paused, his sinister smile widening, tinged with the cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.

"However, considering that we are ultimately connected by blood, I will give you one last chance."

"Now, put down your silver spear and kneel down to surrender."

"Perhaps I can still spare a shred of brotherly affection and let you, the former emperor, live a few more days in prison, so you can witness how your brother created the Great Chu... no, how I created my new dynasty's golden age! What do you say?"

His words were more intended to humiliate than to persuade him to surrender.

He wanted to completely crush Chu Ning's dignity in front of everyone and enjoy the thrill of trampling him underfoot.

Li Shiming, who was standing to the side, also wanted to kill Chu Ning, but a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes at Chu Xuan's deliberate humiliation.

He didn't speak, but coldly stared at the besieged Chu Ning, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as if waiting for the final judgment to arrive.

He knew that Chu Xuan only wanted to crush him mentally before physically destroying him.