Young White Horse: The Poison Sword Master of the Wen Family, Shocking the Apocalypse

The soldier operating the ballista pulled the trigger sharply.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The crossbow strings rang out with a thunderous crash!

Dozens of lit jars were launched by the huge ballista, streaking across the night sky and falling like meteors to the northern army formation below the city!

The first volley wasn't very accurate; less than half of the jars hit the target. After all, ballistae fire bolts, and it's difficult to control the direction of round jars.

But enough.

"boom--!!!"

The first jar hit a ladder.

The moment the jar shattered, the mixture of gunpowder, saltpeter, and tung oil inside was ignited by the fuse, causing a deafening explosion!

It wasn't the muffled thud of ordinary gunpowder, but a deafening explosion with a piercing shriek!

The flames were an eerie bright yellow, carrying viscous, burning liquid that splashed everywhere!

It was gunpowder mixed with tung oil and white sugar—the white sugar burned intensely at high temperatures, producing a temperature far exceeding that of ordinary flames; the tung oil made the flames sticky, like a persistent, intractable disease that was difficult to extinguish.

"what--!"

The Northern Army soldiers who were splashed by the flames screamed and rolled on the ground, but the flames ignited as soon as they touched them. Rolling on the ground not only failed to extinguish the flames, but also ignited the dry grass, and the fire spread!

Even more terrifying was that those jars also contained shards of iron and stones. During the explosion, these fragments rained down in all directions, easily piercing leather armor and embedding themselves in flesh!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

One explosion after another erupted within the siege formation.

A battering ram was hit squarely on top by a jar, and flames instantly engulfed the entire vehicle. The soldiers pushing the ram were turned into human torches and fled in all directions, howling in agony.

The catapult positions fared even worse—six of the twelve catapults were affected by the blast wave.

Gunpowder ignited the stockpile of spare stone projectiles, and a chain reaction of explosions turned the entire position into an inferno, killing or wounding the soldiers on duty.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" Chen Wenyuan roared hoarsely.

But who was Sheng Yanwei? He was a valiant general who had fought countless battles alongside the God of Slaughter, Baili Luochen! Naturally, he wouldn't give the Northern Li Army a chance, and the second volley followed immediately.

This time, the sergeant who was controlling the bow had more experience, and his aim was more accurate.

Jars rained down, specifically targeting the undamaged siege engines and dense infantry formations.

"Boom——!"

A ladder was blown in half, and the soldiers climbing it fell like dumplings.

"boom!"

A jar crashed into the shield formation, the explosion overturning seven or eight shields, exposing the archers behind it, who were then covered by a hail of arrows from the city walls.

The flames are spreading!

The flames of tung oil mixed with white sugar are extremely difficult to extinguish; even if you jump into the moat, the flames still sticking to your body will continue to burn in the water!

Many Northern Army soldiers despairingly discovered that they had become moving torches, and their wailing would not cease until they were burned to a crisp.

"General! More than half of our siege equipment is destroyed!" The lieutenant, his face covered in soot, rushed to Chen Wenyuan. "Our brothers have suffered heavy casualties... this battle... cannot be fought!"

Chen Wenyuan gritted his teeth and stared at the city wall.

Sheng Yanwei remained standing there, expressionless, as if he were simply watching a fireworks display.

"Withdraw." Chen Wenyuan squeezed out the word through gritted teeth. "Retreat three miles and reorganize your formation."

The Northern Army began to retreat.

It was called a retreat, but in reality it was a rout!

The Northern Li troops abandoned their armor and weapons, leaving behind the wounded and even disregarding the banner bearing the character "Xiao," wanting only to get as far away from those terrifying fire jars as possible.

On the city wall, Sheng Yanwei lowered the command flag and said calmly to his deputy general, "All troops, listen to my order! Clear the battlefield within one hour and replenish arrows and oil jars! The Northern Li army will not give up, and the next wave of attacks will likely be even more ruthless."

"General, what a brilliant plan!" the lieutenant exclaimed in admiration. "The mine commander has returned to the city, and most of the Northern Li army that launched the night raid on the mine has been wiped out. Those jars we prepared really came in handy!"

"Don't let temporary victories go to your head..." Sheng Yanwei shook his head, "The King of Langya has not yet shown himself; the real battle is yet to come!"

He looked towards the south of the city, where it remained silent.

But silence often foreshadows a greater storm.

It was past midnight in the south of Juzhou City.

Xiao Ruofeng stood at the front of the army formation, looking at the towering flames and faint explosions coming from the direction of the north gate in the distance.

"Your Highness, General Chen Wenyuan's situation... seems to be hindered," Xiao Ping, the commander of the personal guards, said in a low voice.

"As expected!" Xiao Ruofeng said calmly. "If Sheng Yanwei were so easy to deal with, he wouldn't be worthy of being Baili Luochen's right-hand man."

He paused, then turned his gaze to the south gate.

The south gate of Juzhou City has a lower city wall than the north gate, and the guard flags are also much sparser.

Most importantly, the number of crossbows on the city wall was only four or five, far less dense than at the north gate.

"Give the order!" Xiao Ruofeng slowly spoke, "The cavalry battalion will follow me to attack the south gate. The infantry battalion will provide support on both flanks, and will follow immediately once the city gate is breached."

"Your Highness intends to personally lead the charge?" Xiao Ping was startled.

“Sheng Yanwei’s attention is on the north gate; the south gate is poorly defended, which presents an opportunity.” Xiao Ruofeng tightened the reins. “Besides…”

He looked towards the south gate, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Those deadly ballistae must be destroyed, otherwise who knows how many more Dali soldiers will die in vain beneath the walls of Juzhou!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ruofeng spurred his horse, and the warhorse galloped off towards the south gate!

Seeing their commander leading the charge, the two thousand elite cavalry behind them also followed suit, their hooves thundering as they charged straight toward the south gate.

The number of soldiers guarding the city walls was indeed small. When they saw the Northern Li army attacking from below, they quickly sounded the horn, and the archers began to shoot at the approaching enemy.

Xiao Ruofeng neither dodged nor evaded. The Haoque Sword rang out of its sheath with a clang. Without him even swinging it, the sword energy on the blade spontaneously formed an invisible barrier in front of him, causing the arrows to bounce off when they hit it.

Thirty feet from the city wall, Xiao Ruofeng suddenly leaped off his horse!

Dressed in white like a crane, she flies across the wind!

He lightly touched the saddle with his toes, and his body rose again, as if riding the wind. In a few leaps, he swept across the moat and rushed straight to the city wall!

"Keep an eye on that young general, fire arrows! Fire arrows!" the garrison captain roared hoarsely. He was just a low-ranking officer and naturally had no chance to see the King of Langya in person. He thought he was just an ordinary young general.

The rain of arrows was even denser than before, but it was still futile in front of Xiao Ruofeng.

The Haoque Sword shone brightly, its blade gleaming like a pool of autumn water, its cool luster flowing under the firelight. Xiao Ruofeng flicked his wrist, and the tip of the sword drew a perfect arc.

Nation-Splitting Sword Technique, Wind-Breaking!

There was no earth-shattering display, only a faint, almost invisible sword aura, like a gentle breeze brushing across the city wall.

Then--

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The arms of all five ballistae were broken off at the base!

The snapped crossbow string lashed through the air with a piercing whistle. The soldier operating the ballista stood frozen in place, not understanding what had happened.

Xiao Ruofeng had already landed on the battlements!

He glanced at the guards on the city wall and said calmly, "Those who surrender will not be killed."

But he was met with roars and blades!

The Breaking Wind Army has no cowards.

Even when facing the renowned Prince of Langya, a master of the Free and Unfettered Realm, these soldiers still brandished their spears and swords and charged forward!

Xiao Ruofeng sighed softly.

The Haoque Sword moves once more.

This time, the sword light fell like moonlight.

Every sword strike was seemingly casual, yet each strike struck a vital point. The tip of the sword grazed the throat, sliced ​​across the wrist, and pierced the heart—there were no superfluous movements, no flashy moves, only the most precise and efficient killing.

Ten breaths.

More than fifty defenders on the city wall fell to the ground.

Xiao Ruofeng sheathed his sword and looked towards the city.

Inside the barbican, more of the Breaking Wind Army were gathering, and logs and stones had been pushed onto the city walls, while boiling oil bubbled and churned in iron pots.

"Your Highness! The siege ladders have been erected!" A shout came from below the city.

Xiao Ruofeng nodded, then leaped off the city wall and landed inside the barbican.

The real bloodbath has only just begun.

As dawn broke, the east began to lighten with a pale, fish-belly white.

At the south gate of Juzhou City, the great banner of Beili was finally planted on the city tower.

Xiao Ruofeng stood under the banner, his white robes and golden armor stained with blood, the last drop of blood dripping from the tip of the Haoque sword.

A night of fierce fighting!

The outer city wall fell, the inner city wall fell, and the defending troops fought and retreated, eventually retreating into the city's alleyways to engage in street fighting.

The Broken Wind Army was indeed fierce and brave; even when faced with the invincible King Langya himself, not a single soldier surrendered.

Sheng Yanwei transferred three-quarters of the 10,000 garrison troops to the north gate to defend against the enemy, and the Pofeng Army soldiers at the south gate were ultimately outnumbered.

Soon, the south gate fell.

Xiao Ruofeng looked into the city—the streets were littered with corpses, and the smoke and flames had not yet died down.

The Northern Army was clearing out the remaining enemy forces house by house, with screams and the clash of weapons heard sporadically.

"Your Highness, the garrison within the city has been largely wiped out," a slightly younger commander of the Northern Li army reported. "Our casualties...over two thousand!"

The massacre lasted one night, resulting in over two thousand casualties.

Xiao Ruofeng remained silent. Even with his all-out effort, the casualty ratio between the Northern Li Army and the Pofeng Army was almost the same!

For the Northern Expeditionary Army, this was a Pyrrhic victory.

……