Emperor Jiangtai rolls like water and Yiren

The soldiers at the back who were about to continue to break through began to retreat, but another giant crossbow was shot from Mirror Moon City. The crossbow was much stronger than before, and the shields of the Xiliu army could not stop it at all.

The giant crossbow easily shot through the cavalry and horses together, and the miserable scene made people dare not even look directly at it.

The Xiliu army who stayed behind all stared wide-eyed in horror. Seeing that all three thousand forwards were about to die in battle, everyone felt that someone had slammed their chests, and they all stood dumbfounded and at a loss.

At this moment, Xuanyuan suddenly yelled loudly: "Withdraw from the left and right sides, hurry up!"

This loud roar came out through the energy of Dantian, and immediately spread directly to the base of Jingyue City. The soldiers who were fleeing in a panic woke up when they heard the sound, and retreated to the left and right with their shields in hand.

It turns out that no matter how strong the bows and arrows are, their range cannot reach the size of the city after all. As long as they run out of the range of the city and enter the plain, they will not be hit by arrows and giant crossbows.

After a roar, Xuanyuan pulled Chixia's rein unexpectedly, and rushed to the mirror moon city alone.

"Your Highness!" The captain on standby saw Xuanyuan's movement and shouted nervously, but Xuanyuan turned a deaf ear to it and galloped forward.

After being reminded by Xuanyuan, some of the strikers finally retreated safely, but everyone was in a panic, and the shocking appearance showed how thrilling it was just now.

As a result, the first battle of the Xiliu army against Baimi ended in a complete defeat.

"There are still soldiers still alive, His Highness must save them!"

Ruoshui, who was also suspicious of Xuanyuan's actions, suddenly came back to his senses after seeing Xuanyuan rushing straight into the city and blocking the rain of arrows for a struggling soldier.

Everyone suddenly realized that under the gate of the mirror moon city in front of them, there were indeed many people who were still writhing. Although they were injured by arrows, they still died.

Most of those people were still within the attacking range of the enemy's arrow formation. Xuanyuan left Chixia outside the arrow formation. He was blocking arrows for soldiers in the rain of arrows. He pulled up a soldier with one hand and threw him into a safe place. range, and then went to pull another one.

From a long distance, Ruoshui couldn't see Xuanyuan's expression, but judging from his eager movements, Ruoshui seemed to be able to feel the fear in his heart.

At this time, Mr. Fu rushed over from behind suddenly. Ruoshui saw him and said loudly: "Mr. Fu, you lead the soldiers with high martial arts skills in the army to save people, and I will cover for you."

After saying this, he turned around and ran back to the tent, and after a while, he ran back again.

A piece of snow-white silk ribbon appeared in his hand, nearly ten feet long, with palm-sized copper balls tied on both ends, it looked like a very special weapon.

Understanding what Ruoshui meant, Mr. Fu turned around and ran to the front line, conveying orders to several soldiers with good martial arts skills, asking them to help.

As soon as the rescue team ran down the city, another rain of arrows was released from the gate of Jingyue City. I am afraid that Bai Mi's army thought that Xi Liu had some offensive tactics.

Ruoshui, who had arrived in danger, let out a clear whistle, and flung out the ribbon in his hand, like a silver dragon crossing the sea, shocking the sky.

When the rain of arrows collided with the ribbon, they were bounced away by the internal force carried on it one after another. Even those that didn't directly hit each other were shocked by the strength and fell down one after another.

Xuanyuan, who lowered his head and was pulling up a soldier, noticed the movement here, and gave Ruoshui a grateful glance, and didn't say much, only speeding up the movements of his hands.

Elder Fu and the others also took advantage of the time when the ribbon blocked the rain of arrows to pick up the wounded who were still alive and returned quickly.

With such a move, Yin Mubai soon understood what they were doing. That Baimi ghost was worthy of being a character. Seeing this, he immediately ordered the Baimi soldiers to stop attacking.

Seeing that the rain of arrows had stopped, Ruoshui put away the white silk, raised his head, and looked straight at the Baimi ghost standing in the center of the city gate.

Under the helmet, Yin Mubai looked solemn, squinting his eyes at Xuanyuan who was saving someone.

"Prince Xiliu, if you want to save people, Yin will not stop you, but it is delusional for you to attack me, Bai Mi. Yin advises you to withdraw your troops and go back, so as not to humiliate yourself."

With a full and deep voice, Yin Mubai stood facing the wind on the city gate holding the Baimi military flag, his majestic appearance boosted the morale of the Baimi army.

Xuanyuan remained silent and did not answer, but just picked up the two wounded and helped them walk back.

After rescuing people, Xuanyuan led people to remove the bodies of the dead soldiers. After that, he stood under the city and looked at Yin Mubai. His straight back was like a flagpole. He had a strong murderous look all over him, and he responded in a deep voice: "General Yin, I have never settled with you for Bai Mi's invasion of the Xiliu frontier and disrupting people's livelihood."

"Hahaha, Prince Xiliu is also a grudger, so don't blame Yin's subordinates for being ruthless."

"General Yin, just make moves, I will follow up."

Back at the camp, Mr. Fu and other military doctors were treating the wounded, and Ruoshui was also helping. Xuanyuan looked at the wounded soldiers, his clenched hands trembling constantly.

He was silent for a while, then turned and walked out of the military tent. Near noon, the rising sun was hanging in the sky. Under the sunlight, under the mirror moon city wall in the distance, the blood left by the dead Xiliu soldiers burned his eyes.

He clearly said that sacrifices should be kept to a minimum, but in the end, so many sergeants still died because of his lack of consideration in the early stage.

What the hell is he doing?If he can't bring these soldiers back to Xiliu safely, then what's the use of winning the battle?

He came here to pacify the world and create a peaceful and prosperous world for the people of Li, but if this prosperous world requires the exchange of his countless subjects' lives, what's the point?

Regret and frustration filled his mind, Xuanyuan gritted his teeth, and felt a heavy suffocation in his chest, which almost made him feel suffocated.

"Ruoshui, His Highness encountered setbacks in his first battle, you must persuade him carefully, don't take it to heart, in this march and battle, casualties are inevitable."

In the military doctor's tent, Fu Laogang and Ruoshui teamed up to rescue a seriously injured soldier. After he was relieved, he couldn't help worrying about Xuanyuan.

He and Xuanyuan have known each other for several years, and they are considered familiar with each other. He knows that Xuanyuan cares deeply about his subordinates, losing the first battle with Yin Mubai is a small matter, but losing so many talents for no reason is a big matter.

He also thought of chatting with Xuanyuan in the past, knowing that he hated war very much in his heart, but even so, in this period of raging war, he could only force himself to come into this hateful environment.

Because that is his responsibility, the responsibility he should shoulder as the prince of Xiliu.

Ruoshui pursed his lips and thought for a while, then raised a smile and said, "Old Fu, Xuanyuan can't be so fragile, right? If he can't recover like this, how can we fight the next battle?"

Now that he has decided to lead the army to the expedition, Ruoshui believes that Xuanyuan has made enough mental preparations. If he can't go through such setbacks, how will Xiliu win the world in the future?

"Hey, it's best to cheer up. That Yin Mubai is full of tricks, and I always think he has another trick." Mr. Fu helped a soldier wrap up the arm that was pierced by an arrow, and said worriedly.

Ruoshui raised his eyebrows and didn't answer, but stepped up to bandage the wounded. To be honest, Old Fu's worries were exactly his worries.

Several people were busy until the evening before properly handling all the wounded soldiers.

Walking out of the military medical tent, Ruoshui felt depressed and full of unbearable pain. He just saw the bloody wounds and the soldiers howling because of the unbearable pain, and he realized for the first time that war is really cruel.

And as long as the war doesn't end for a day, there will be no end to such a tragedy.

He also finally understood why Xuanyuan was so eager to capture Bai Mi and end the war.

In the sky, the setting sun had completely sunk into the horizon, and the battlefield under Mirror Moon City could no longer be seen clearly. Ruoshui saw that most of the people in the camp had gathered in the open space on the west side, so he also walked over.

There were more than a dozen large frames that were simply built, and the soldiers who died in battle were placed on the frames. Xuanyuan, Lin Qi and others stood aside with torches in their hands, as if they were planning to cremate those corpses.

Seeing this scene, Ruoshui stood quietly on the side, his eyes fell directly on Xuanyuan's ice sculpture-like side face.

That handsome face was full of deep depression at the moment, he knew it was the sadness for the dead, the disgust for the battlefield, and the self-blame for himself.

Ruoshui felt a little pain in his heart, for the corpses displayed on the shelf at this moment, and for Xuanyuan at this moment.

The shelf was ignited after a while, and the blazing fire almost illuminated the entire sky, and the "cracking" wood made many soldiers around silently shed tears.

Ruoshui looked at Xuanyuan who was stained with a layer of bloody red light because he was too close to the fire, and saw those red lights kept jumping in his eyes, the light hovered like Xuanyuan's tears that could not be shed.

He didn't know how long the pain in Xuanyuan's heart would linger, but he finally understood why Mr. Fu was worried about Xuanyuan, and no amount of mental preparation could alleviate the pain when this moment really came.

Ruoshui retreated silently, far away, and waited until the light of the fire gradually disappeared under the night before he entered the camp again.

There are no guards in front of Xuanyuan's tent, but there are lights burning inside, and through the tent, Xuanyuan's shadow can be seen sitting quietly.

Ruoshui opened the tent door and walked in. Xuanyuan was sitting in front of the small case, and raised his head when he heard his voice.

That face looked a little pale, and the deep eyebrows and eyes were full of complicated emotions. Ruoshui originally wanted to play a joke with him to adjust the atmosphere, but seeing him like this, he couldn't say any of the jokes he had planned before. .

"You're here." In the end, Xuanyuan spoke first, his voice a little dry, breaking his usual indifference.

Ruoshui nodded and sat down opposite him, and saw a shield on his small case, with two bows and arrows stuck on it, the arrows had already shot through the shield, revealing a cold light.

He decided to swallow all the words of persuasion to Xuanyuan, and use another way to make Xuanyuan stop thinking about the past.

"Is this picked up from the battlefield?"

Xuanyuan looked down at the shield, and said in a deep voice: "That's right, the arrows used by Bai Mijun this time are very sharp, our shield can only withstand them."

Ruoshui raised his eyebrows, picked up the shield and took a closer look, "No wonder the giant can shoot through both men and horses."

It was only later that he realized that the giant scorpion used by Bai Mi might be able to adjust the power of the crossbow when it was shot, and their first wave of feint attack had actually been seen through by Yin Mubai.

Therefore, Yin Mubai asked his men to reduce the power of crossbow arrows when they shot them, which made Xiluan's army relax their vigilance because they thought they could resist with shields.

When the official attack started, the powerful crossbow arrows easily pierced Xi Liu's shield.

Xiliu has a vast land and rich resources, and its mineral resources should rank first among the ten countries, so their weapons are more advanced than other countries.

The shields used by the soldiers in this expedition were made of the best iron stone in Xiliu. However, this shield, which was supposed to be impregnable, was pierced by Bai Mi's arrow.

"It stands to reason that Bai Mi's arrow shouldn't be so sharp, what do you think?"

"If my predictions are correct, they should have dug out new veins."

"It's very likely that the mineral used in this arrow, at least I can't tell what it is."

"Therefore, if Baimi is captured, the ore lode will belong to our country."

Xuanyuan said these words in a deep voice, stretched out his hand and pulled out the bow and arrow and snapped it off, his slightly squinted deep eyes showed thin anger.

Today's battle made him understand that Yin Mubai is indeed difficult to deal with, and that Mirror Moon City is indeed worthy of the title of Ghost City.

If they can't think of a way to break the arrow array, they can't break through that city.

"You're right, but no matter how difficult it is to attack Mirror Moon City, it is still guarded by humans. As long as we deal with it properly, we will definitely be able to capture the city."

The words of encouragement calmed Xuanyuan's anxiety a lot, and he nodded slightly.

"As for the arrow rain tactics used by the opponent today, can you think of a way to break it?" Seeing that he calmed down, Ruoshui smiled reassuringly, moved the shield to the ground, and asked again.

The situation in front of them could not allow them to hesitate for too long. If it was delayed for a day, the morale of the army would be more scattered. Therefore, no matter whether there is a countermeasure or no countermeasure, they must continue to act.

Because if Xuanyuan didn't move, the soldiers would think that Xuanyuan couldn't beat Yin Mubai, and then worried that if they rushed to the city gate, they would die.

"The gap on the wall of Mirror Moon City should be caused by removing the original bricks and stones, but the city wall is built of bricks and stones. Removing those bricks will inevitably cause the stability of the city wall to deteriorate."

Xuanyuan pondered for a moment, and said the conclusion of his previous thinking.

"Indeed, what you said is correct, it's just that the city wall is unstable, and we may not be able to deal with it for a while."

Originally, the easiest way to deal with this unstable city wall was to hit it hard with wooden stakes, but the wooden stakes needed soldiers to carry them, and now, obviously, it was impossible for the soldiers to carry the wooden stakes alive to reach the mirror moon city.

Knowing what Ruoshui meant, Xuanyuan nodded slightly and didn't answer. This was exactly what he was thinking about. If he couldn't take advantage of the weakness on the opponent's wall, he couldn't attack further.

Now that the army has arrived here, it is impossible for him to have too much time for him to slowly think up countermeasures before experimenting. Originally, this expedition is for a quick battle, and he must not let the little Mirror Moon City stop him from going west. The way of Liu Dajun!

"By the way, if you can't use people to attack, can you use objects?" After the two pondered for a while, Ruoshui suddenly had an idea and asked with a smile.

Xuanyuan raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face, "I remember playing with something called a slingshot when I was young."

Ruoshui clapped his hands, and his smiling phoenix eyes curled up beautifully, "Xuanyuan, if you describe us as having a heart-to-heart connection, it shouldn't be too much, right?"

"That's what you thought of too?"

"Exactly."

Xuanyuan raised the corners of his mouth slightly when he heard the words, his dark eyes lit up little by little, and a faint smile gradually appeared on the corners of his mouth.

A slight change in expression could not escape Ruo Shui's keen eyes, the eyes of the two met in the air, and the smiles in each other's eyes were transmitted to the bottom of each other's heart.

Such a tacit understanding seems to have been cultivated for thousands of years.

At this moment, the heavy emotions in Xuanyuan Fangjue's heart were slightly relieved, and the depression and grief that had been pressing on his heart were also let go.

Ruoshui also seemed to have sensed his emotions, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and blinked at him.

Realizing that this guy was deliberately trying to divert his thinking direction, Xuanyuan suddenly felt a little helpless, and just about to say something, Lin Qi opened the tent door and walked in.

"Your Highness, the army has settled down. Tomorrow..." Lin Qi wanted to ask about tomorrow's battle plan, but he didn't know whether Xuanyuan had made a decision, so he hesitated for a while.

Xuanyuan knew what he was going to ask, nodded and told the discussion with Ruoshui just now.

Lin Qi found it interesting when he heard the slingshot, but after thinking about it, he didn't know how to implement the slingshot's plan.

Ruoshui smiled and answered on his behalf: "Attacking with objects doesn't have to aim at the city wall. If you can bounce the stones onto Jingyue City, you can destroy their battle of giants and bows and arrows."

"Your Highness and Mr. Jun mean to make a giant slingshot and send the stones to the mirror moon city?"

"Yes, since people can't go up, let Shishi go up to meet them for us."

"This method is very good, but where can I find such a strong rubber band?"

Lin Qi continued to ask, if he was not mistaken, he could find many larger stones on the mountain, but it was difficult to find rubber bands that could withstand large stones.

After all, no matter how good a giant slingshot is made, its attack range should not be comparable to that of a giant crossbow. What's more, big rocks have a certain weight, and ordinary rubber bands may not be able to eject them at all.

When Ruoshui heard this question, he turned his head to look at Xuanyuan and asked with a smile, "Xuanyuan, since you also thought of a slingshot, you should know where to find a suitable rubber band, right?"

"Well, there is someone who can provide it."

"However, no matter how tight the rubber band is, it will not be able to reach the attack range of the giant crossbow. Once the slingshot enters the attack range of the giant crossbow, it may be destroyed before the stone is ejected." Lin Qi was puzzled again, and continued to ask.

Xuanyuan shook his head slightly, "We still need to use human power to help the stones fly up to Mirror Moon City with internal force."

Speaking of this point, Lin Qi finally suddenly realized.

Martial arts practitioners all have the ability to control internal force, just like in the past when water was used to shoot crossbow arrows with a cup, the internal force was poured into the cup and then thrown, the same principle is used for throwing stones now.

For those with deep inner strength, if they can pour their inner strength into the stone, and then use the power of the slingshot, the distance that the stone can reach will be far greater than that of a crossbow that has not been injected with inner strength.

"It's much simpler that way. If I add a slingshot to my internal strength, it will surely surpass the power of a giant crossbow. As long as the arrow array on Mirror Moon City is destroyed, it will be easy to attack the city."

Ruoshui said confidently, reached out and tapped the shield on the ground, and the solid iron and stone shield cracked into several pieces. Such a deep internal force immediately made Lin Qi stare straight.

A gleam flashed in Xuanyuan's eyes, and he looked at Ruoshui's beautiful profile sideways with sparkling eyes, and he was indeed right in keeping him.

"Lin Qi, send an order to let everyone go to the mountains to find suitable trees and stones to make five giant wheeled slingshots. As for the rubber bands, I will find them myself."

"Yes!"

After Lin Qi left, Ruoshui looked at Xuanyuan with blinked eyes, and asked with a smile, "Why five frames?"

"You, me, and Mr. Fu can each handle one frame alone. Lin Qi's internal strength is not weak. If he can master the tricks, I believe he can handle one side alone. As for the other frame, I will keep it as a backup for now."

"Are there any generals in the army with deep internal strength?"

"Hardly." After thinking for a long time, Xuanyuan shook his head, with a trace of regret floating on his face.

After all, the military camp is not a martial arts forest. Most of the sergeants have only received basic training, and their martial arts are not considered high-strength.

Furthermore, this expedition happened suddenly, otherwise, he should go to the Jianghu martial arts forest to borrow some manpower. In Xiliu, there are actually quite a lot of martial arts masters.

Ruoshui nodded clearly, and understood what Xuanyuan was thinking.

Now it is impossible to find someone temporarily, but even if there are only four slingshots, he believes that he can beat the arrow array on Mirror Moon City to pieces.

Xuanyuan said again at this time: "Ruoshui, there is a place for making rubber bands in Jianzhu City, you can go back with me."

"Well, good." Without hesitation, Ruoshui answered freely, with a smile on his face, as if he was very interested in the person who made the rubber band.

But then he thought that Xuanyuan was still injured and was not suitable for a long journey, so he said again: "Wait a minute, I can take care of such trivial matters as getting a rubber band, and you can supervise the manufacture of the slingshot by staying here. With the footsteps of Liuyun, one day should be enough to go back and forth to Jianzhu, and the rest depends on how fast the rubber band is made."

"But……"

Xuanyuan frowned and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Ruoshui with a smile: "Don't worry, taking your injury will hinder me, I won't do this kind of loss-making business."

That's what he said, but Ruoshui actually thought that Xuanyuan, as the commander in chief, could not leave the camp casually. After all, he is the heart of the army, so he should stay in peace.

After finishing speaking, without waiting for Xuanyuan's consent, he grabbed the pen and paper on the table and stuffed them into Xuanyuan's hands, urging: "Draw me a map quickly, I am not familiar with the place in Jianzhu City, you have to draw it carefully, otherwise I will If you don't find the right place, it's all your fault."

Xuanyuan was stunned for a while, looked at him helplessly, saw the playful smile on his fair face, and immediately felt that he really had nothing to do with him.

Then he carefully drew the map, handed it to him, thought for a while and said, "I will send a letter to Zhifu Cheng and ask him to guide you."

"Well, it's okay, having him with him can save a lot of time. I'm off now. I hope the slingshot has taken shape when I return."

Blinking at Xuanyuan slyly, Ruoshui stood up, stretched his body happily, and when he turned to leave, the sitting Xuanyuan grasped his wrist.

Through the silk brocade, Xuanyuan's body temperature came directly, Ruoshui's heart trembled, slightly widened his eyes and turned his head to meet Xuanyuan's gloomy gaze, suddenly felt that the surrounding air became much thinner.

"What's wrong?"

He reluctantly twitched the corners of his mouth, it was not the first time he had direct contact with Xuanyuan, he had already touched his body when he was healing, but this time, Ruoshui felt completely different.

Xuanyuan's grip on his hand was so firm, something seemed to be brewing in his eyes, as if he didn't want to let go of this grip, it made people's hearts beat.

"Ruoshui, be careful yourself." After staring at each other for a long time, Xuanyuan whispered these words. In fact, there were many things he wanted to say to him, but at this moment, it seemed inappropriate.

Xuanyuan is a person who cares about the overall situation, and personal emotions are ultimately not as important as Jiangshan Sheji.

Ruoshui nodded, but a touch of disappointment flashed through her heart.

He gently broke away from Xuanyuan's hand, the fingertips of the two brushed lightly, and something like electric current rushed towards each other at that moment.

Ruoshui quickly withdrew his hand in surprise, turned around and left the tent without saying anything more.

Xuanyuan's slender fingers were still in the air, and it was only after a long time that he silently retracted them, a slight regret appeared on his stern face.

"My lord, look at what that is!" Unexpectedly, as soon as Ruoshui came out of the tent, he heard Lin Qi's anxious voice.

There was still surprise in his voice, Xuanyuan also heard it in the tent, and immediately opened the tent door and walked out.

Ruoshui was looking up in the direction Lin Qi pointed, and saw more than a dozen things that looked like Kongming lanterns floating out from the direction of Mirror Moon City.

The north wind was blowing tonight, and the place where the army was stationed was just to the north of Mirror Moon City, so the Kongming lanterns floated extremely fast, and within a short while, they all floated above the barracks.

But before everyone understood Yin Mubai's intentions, the candles in the Kongming lanterns were all extinguished, lost their thermal power, and all the lights were smashed down.

At first, the soldiers who noticed were just avoiding being hit by the lamp, but soon they discovered that the lamp was not just a lamp!

I saw countless poisonous snakes and scorpions rushing out from the wreckage of the lamp, biting anyone they saw!

The unsuspecting soldiers were bitten by the poison, and immediately screamed in pain. For a while, screams rang out from all over the camp, like hell.

Xuanyuan and the others widened their eyes in shock, it was thanks to him, Yin Mubai, who could figure out such a vicious scheme.

"Be careful!" Xuanyuan saw a Kongming lantern smashed not far from them, and pulled Ruoshui and Lin Qi back two steps.

"Xuanyuan, these must be the poisons that Yin Mubai sent his men to collect earlier, we must think of countermeasures, otherwise Yin Mubai will cost us our troops without a single soldier!"

"Damn it! Yin Mubai! I will never spare him!" Xuanyuan growled, lowered his head and grabbed a handful of gravel on the ground, and shot it out with his internal strength. The stone hit the poisonous snake and scorpion and killed him instantly.

Ruoshui is also eager to follow suit, but this move is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket, and it will not save many people at all.