Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

In this battle, Liu Xiu was appointed as the vanguard general, leading a cavalry force of 5,000 men to probe the enemy's defenses.

He and Zong Tiao and other former Kunyang subordinates returned to the majestic walls of Chang'an after several months.

Returning to the familiar place, even with an army of 300,000 behind them, the thought of past defeats brought no joy to their faces.

Apart from the guards on the city walls, the vast city of Chang'an seemed completely at peace.

Wang Mang was seen standing on the city wall without even wearing armor, dressed only in a black official robe.

At this moment, the sky above Chang'an was peaceful, with no sign of the strange celestial phenomena of that time, nor of the figure of that Heavenly Immortal Venerable.

"General, why hasn't the Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable shown himself yet?"

"In my opinion, what kind of bullshit immortal is this? Wang Mang forged the Mandate of Heaven back then, and he's just playing tricks now!"

There was much discussion in the army, and even though their vanguard had reached the city walls, the defending troops on the walls did not make any move.

Liu Xiu and others did not believe in the will of Heaven, but this unusual behavior made him wary.

He immediately split off a small team of 100 men, set up ladders, and launched the first attack on the city.

As the war drums sounded, Han soldiers, carrying massive siege ladders and under the cover of shield bearers, charged toward the city walls with shouts.

They placed ladders on the city wall, and then, like ants, they climbed up the ladders one after another.

The defenders on the city wall immediately sprang into action, desperately hurling stones downwards. The millstone-sized stones crashed onto the ladders, overturning men and ladders alike, creating a cacophony of screams, the sound of bones breaking, and the thud of people falling to the ground.

When someone falls, someone else immediately follows. In military campaigns, people build human walls with their own flesh and blood.

At the same time, in the direction of the city gate, another group of Han soldiers drove a huge battering ram, with a thick and sturdy wooden stake tied to it. They pulled the stake back and forth, causing it to ram against the ground repeatedly.

The towering gates of Chang'an, dozens of feet high, trembled slightly from the impact. The guards behind the gates fought desperately, relying on the pre-arranged defensive lines to hold them off.

A few quarters of an hour later, the scene was filled with heavy casualties, and the city gate was about to be breached.

Standing at the forefront of the vanguard, Liu Xiu looked at the newly formed army that was only concerned with passive defense, and he suddenly felt uneasy.

He saw Wang Mang standing high on the city wall, his aged face calm and composed, as if he had foreseen this outcome and had made arrangements for a backup plan.

What exactly is it...?

Liu Xiu shook his head to clear his mind; the worst thing a military commander can do is hesitate when giving orders, so he immediately ordered a full-scale attack on the city, and the gates of Chang'an were breached in an instant.

Surprisingly, there were not many guards behind the city gates, contrary to everyone's expectations that a new army was lying in wait to launch a surprise attack when they entered the city.

No, there's nothing at all.

When Wang Mang saw that the city gates had been breached, he simply led the remaining garrison into the city and did not stop Liu Xiu and his men.

"Chase!"

Liu Xiu made a decisive assessment of the situation. He had an army of 300,000 behind him, so he should take advantage of the situation.

Thus, this vanguard force of about five thousand men swaggered into Chang'an through the city gates, pursuing Wang Mang as he fled toward the palace.

Liu Xiu would occasionally order a halt to observe the situation inside the city in order to prevent any ambushes.

But instead of seeing the ambush, the people in the city continued their lives as usual, acting as if nothing had happened when the war broke out. Some people were curious, but they only glanced at the Han army a few times...

Although there was a military order before the battle that civilians must not be killed after the city of Chang'an was breached.

But how could the people in the city know the Han army's orders in advance?

All of this was too unusual, and no one understood it, so they could only bury their heads in chasing after Wang Mang.

Upon arriving at the palace, Liu Xiu dispatched scouts from the vanguard to relay the battle reports from the front lines to the main army in detail.

Liu Xuan and the others were also puzzled, unable to understand what those people in the Qing Dynasty were plotting.

"Your Majesty, it must be Wang Mang who, knowing he is no match for our army, has given up the idea of ​​resistance."

"Your Majesty can order the vanguard general to storm into Weiyang Palace, cut off Wang Mang's head, and then..."

Liu Xuan complied, and a decree was quickly delivered to Liu Xiu, who was standing in front of the Weiyang Palace.

In the same palace, at almost the same time, Liu Xiu and the others couldn't help but look up at the sky.

In early spring, the air in Chang'an still carried the chill of winter, but the sunlight piercing through the clouds shone on the ancient city, bringing a touch of warmth to the land.

Liu Xiu gazed at the horizon, the blankness in his eyes fading, replaced by a chilling killing intent. He raised his arm and shouted:

"The man in black robes before the palace is Wang Mang, the usurper of the Han dynasty. Cutting off Wang Mang's head will bring unparalleled merit!"

In an instant, the vanguard army was in turmoil. Everyone forgot about the strange defeat last autumn; they all raised their weapons, each wanting to cut off Wang Mang's head, be promoted, and have their own family genealogy.

Before the Weiyang Palace, the New Army stationed there quickly crumbled again, and everything seemed to have returned to last autumn.

Liu Xiu watched the two armies fight from the middle of the battlefield, facing Wang Mang at the palace gate, several dozen meters away.

He saw confidence on Wang Mang's face, an expression of absolute certainty of victory, which greatly puzzled Liu Xiu.

After looking around, Liu Xiu finally caught a glimpse of a corner of bricks and tiles protruding from behind the Weiyang Palace.

"What is that?"

Zong Tiao, holding a captured soldier, came to Liu Xiu's side and pointed to the corner of the building the soldier had seen, saying:

"General, behind Weiyang Palace should be the temple of the Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable."

The temple of the Heavenly Immortal Venerable? Liu Xiu's expression faltered slightly, then he looked at the new army captured by Zong Tiao, and shouted excitedly at them:

"You fools! My city is protected by celestial beings, yet you dare to invade!"

After saying this, he broke free of his restraints, immediately knelt on the ground, and prayed for the protection of some immortal deity...

Liu Xiu looked down at the fanatical new soldier, drew his sword, and beheaded him, rendering him speechless.

"That old scoundrel Wang Mang, he's just playing tricks!"

Someone in the army started it, and the Han soldiers shouted in Wang Mang's direction, making the attack even more intense.

A Han general blocked the spears blocking his path with his sword, then strode up to Wang Mang. He then used his sword to deflect the weapons of several other guards.

A blood-stained broadsword, its blade aimed straight at Wang Mang's face!

Just then, for some reason, the broadsword stopped half an inch away from Wang Mang's nose. The general looked pained, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move the broadsword in mid-air.

Wang Mang remained calm. At this moment, behind the Weiyang Palace, in the direction of that temple, a beam of azure light shot into the sky without warning!

The dazzling holy light burst forth instantly, engulfing the entire temple, its radiance piercing the clouds and traversing the heavens...

In an instant, as the blue beam of light appeared, dark clouds suddenly gathered over the once clear sky above Chang'an City, and thunder rumbled in the rain clouds, and the strange phenomenon of last autumn reappeared.

All the Han soldiers present involuntarily stopped what they were doing and stared at the direction in which the blue beam of light had appeared.

"Look, someone's there!"

From the pillar of light hundreds of feet above the ground, a golden mist began to emanate. As the mist gradually dissipated, a blurry figure appeared within it!

Compared to the bewildered Han army, the entire population of Chang'an knelt and worshipped in the direction of Weiyang Palace at this moment.

They had forgotten the rule against kneeling and worshipping at temples dedicated to deities, and were instead piously calling out:

"The Immortal Venerable has descended! The Immortal Venerable has descended!"

Amidst the thunderous roar of shouts, the figure in mid-air became increasingly clear, with dazzling golden light intertwined with azure radiance, gradually condensing towards the figure.

At the same time, several bolts of lightning struck down, repelling the Han army in front of the Weiyang Palace and killing the soldier who had just shouted "playing tricks."

Now, the Han army lost their fighting spirit and could only watch helplessly once again witness the invincible power of Heaven.

After the city's residents erupted in wild cheers, a moment of silence seemed to fall over the world. The beam of light suddenly contracted, disappearing completely into the figure.

A tall, upright young man, dressed in dark gold armor, stood in mid-air, floating about.

He slowly began to speak:

"Today I will descend from my spirit. Those who wish to enter the new era, may they live in peace; those who do not wish to, may they die."

With just over ten words, the voice was clear and bright, as if it existed in every corner of the world, spreading throughout the entire city of Chang'an.