Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Just as Ge Zhuang and the city's generals were drinking and chatting happily, the Falcon Squad, led by Su Yangyan, had already launched their operation like ghosts.

With their meticulously forged identification documents and intimate knowledge of the city's terrain, they moved stealthily through the mansion's secret passages and little-known side entrances.

These highly trained falconers, like ghosts in the night, quietly ascertained the entire defenses of the city lord's mansion and carried out the corresponding deployments in an orderly manner.

With everything prepared, they awaited the attack from their own forces outside the city. They would then act swiftly and decisively, working in concert with external forces to deliver a fatal blow to Luoxia City's food reserves.

Time passed amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts. After several rounds of drinks, the generals and their guests, who were well-fed and drunk, rose to take their leave and dispersed.

Ge Zhuang, on the other hand, deliberately pretended to be completely drunk and staggered back to his residence to rest. However, as soon as he stepped inside, his drunken state vanished instantly, replaced by a calm and alert expression.

With a flash, he darted out of the house like an arrow, then carefully avoided being seen by others, quietly searching for Su Yangyan and meeting up with him to begin their next action plan.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a deafening cannon blast ripped through the night sky, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, shattering the tranquility of the night. A watchtower to the right of the city lord's mansion was blown to pieces by this earth-shattering explosion, turning into countless wood chips and bricks that flew everywhere.

The powerful magic crystal cannon deployed inside the tower was also not spared; it disintegrated instantly under the violent impact of the explosion, turning into a pile of useless scrap metal.

"Enemy attack!"

"Prepare for battle! Magic Crystal Cannons and Demon-Slaying Arrows, get ready to engage!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The magic crystal cannons in the three remaining bunkers that weren't destroyed emitted a bright light almost simultaneously, each firing a shell. All three shells shot out in the same direction at the same time!

"Who's firing the magic crystal cannon! Where are you all firing from?!"

A general who had just gotten out of bed saw his magic crystal cannon firing into the depths of the mansion and immediately howled.

The area inside the manor that was bombarded by the cannonballs was the warehouse where the grain and fodder were stored. Three powerful magic crystal cannons were enough to turn most of the grain and fodder into ashes.

"The enemy has taken control of the magic crystal turret! Quickly, surround and attack the fortress!"

The general, who rushed out of the room, immediately understood the reason and angrily ordered his soldiers to attack the watchtowers. However, each of the three watchtowers was already guarded by the Falcon Team, who were armed with magic-piercing arrows, and the soldiers who had been stationed in the watchtowers were now dead and lying around them.

"Ge Zhuang! You traitor!"

The General of the Cavalry cursed angrily to the sky! He had been wondering how the enemy had sneaked in so quickly without his many defenders noticing.

When he saw the corpses of soldiers around the watchtower and the enemy soldiers' attire inside, he finally realized that the remnants of the army that Ge Zhuang had brought back were actually enemy soldiers in disguise.

If it weren't for Ge Zhuang's special status, he wouldn't have carelessly allowed those unidentified remnants of the army to infiltrate the castle.

"A wise man submits to circumstances, General. I have no choice but to submit when I'm under someone's roof. Take a close look at their resources; I haven't lied to you at all!"

Ge Zhuang stood in mid-air, surrounded by the other four guest ministers of the Marquis, but he remained calm and composed, showing no sign of going all out to fight.

Logically speaking, it is quite dangerous for a person to be surrounded and attacked by four people of similar strength, and they should fight with all their might.

However, at this moment, the four experts who were besieging Ge Zhuang appeared to be very nervous, as if facing a formidable enemy.

How could this be? The General of the Cavalry stared at the scene before him, his heart filled with shock and confusion.

He subconsciously glanced around, and in an instant, a chill ran from his feet to his head, making him feel cold all over, and cold sweat poured out like a fountain.

I felt a buzzing sound in my head, and my mind went completely blank. I stood there like a wooden or clay sculpture, completely stunned.

Just as Ge Zhuang had said before, at this moment, twelve white-bearded old men stood densely packed on top of the castle.

Their positioning was ingenious, forming an impenetrable encirclement that trapped the General of the Cavalry, the four guest advisors, and some important figures in the army.

What's even more terrifying is that the aura emanating from these twelve old men is incredibly powerful. Each of them seems to possess strength far surpassing Ge Zhuang's, and some of them are even stronger than the already deceased Old Man Hu.

Just how terrifying is this strength? It's at least at the fourth level of the Heavenly Rank! Thinking of this, the General of the Cavalry couldn't help but shudder.

It should be noted that he had served as an official by the side of the Marquis for more than 30 years, and he was extremely familiar with the guest ministers under the Marquis's command.

When it comes to those with profound skills, Old Man Hu is undoubtedly the foremost, followed by that mysterious, androgynous figure who accompanies the Marquis every day. However, the skills of these suddenly appearing white-bearded old men far surpass those of Old Man Hu and the others, which is truly unbelievable.

The pressure these individuals displayed was even more solid than theirs, meaning they were at least at or above the peak of the fourth or third level of the Heavenly Rank!

No wonder Ge Zhuang remained unperturbed even when surrounded by four people; it turns out that the four of them were nothing in front of others.

Meanwhile, squads of men in black suddenly appeared in the fortress on the city wall, quickly seized the high ground, and fired wildly at the garrison inside the city with powerful bows from the fortress.

The magic crystal cannons fired indiscriminately into the camp, blasting entire sections of tents and the soldiers resting inside into pieces. The screams and cries were drowned out by the deafening roar of the cannons.

With such a drastic change occurring, the soldiers in the city were in complete chaos, while the generals who led the army could only stand there dumbfounded, not daring to utter a word, let alone organize or command the battle.

Because they all clearly felt that they were being restrained by an invisible pressure, and that if they moved, they would be instantly crushed to pieces.

"Run! There's a breach in the right side of the city wall!"

Suddenly, someone shouted from the shadows amidst the chaos of the soldiers.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers, who had been putting up a chaotic resistance, immediately lost their morale and hurriedly followed the crowd in front of them to run away!

An hour later, the battle ended. Mo Yuming had once again won a great victory, capturing Luoxia Castle with only thirteen soldiers killed or wounded, killing more than two thousand of the Marquis's soldiers, capturing nearly three thousand, and the other several thousand fled in defeat.

All generals and retainers were taken into custody. One magic crystal cannon was destroyed, three more were captured, along with thousands of magic-piercing arrows, powerful bows and crossbows, and tens of thousands of ordinary arrows.

Other military supplies were also in large quantities. Nearly 100,000 gold coins, intended for purchasing grain and fodder, were also seized from a warehouse.

Later, it was learned from the captured general that the reason why such a large amount of grain was able to be raised in such a short time was mainly because the city lord of Shangyuan City sold all his belongings and property, raising a total of 200,000 gold coins, and sent his confidants to buy grain at high prices.

With Jian'an City changing hands, Luoxia City rebelling, and military supplies stolen, the lord of Shangyuan City has been driven to the brink of despair.

If the Marquis's army were to be defeated this time, he would face certain death. Therefore, he had no choice but to take a desperate gamble and send out all 50,000 of his garrison troops to aid the Marquis.

Thirty thousand elite troops followed the Marquis's army straight to Jian'an City, while twenty thousand troops cooperated with the Marquis's logistics troops to collect food and fodder.

Shangyuan City is now like an abandoned ghost town, with fewer than two thousand soldiers stationed there. Upon learning this, Mo Yuming immediately held an emergency meeting with the old men and Su Yangyan, among others.

They made a decisive change, altering their original plan to lead troops in a counterattack against the Marquis, and decided to immediately lead their forces to capture Shangyuan City. This strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" was intended to shake the morale of the Marquis's army, putting him in a difficult position where he was caught between two opposing forces.

The city of Shangyuan was currently undefended, presenting a golden opportunity for attack. Mo Yuming and his men were well aware that a successful capture of Shangyuan would deal a fatal blow to the Marquis. Not only would it cut off the Marquis's reinforcements, but it would also give them a strategic advantage.