Chapter 255: Dark Clouds Overwhelm the City, the City on the Brink of Collapse (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe)

Under the pot-bellied man's terrified gaze, Xiao Xie flicked his sleeve and struck out with a single palm, blasting the man flying backward. After hurtling through the air for more than a dozen meters, the man crashed heavily onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. With a blow like that, the pot-bellied man would not be able to get out of bed for at least half a year.

Normally, Xiao Xie should have killed him with a single strike, but he knew these men were soldiers of the Chu State and subordinates of Shaoyu’s father. For Shaoyu’s sake, killing them would be somewhat improper. After all, he had already stepped in to snatch up Shilan, who originally would have crossed paths with Shaoyu; killing Shaoyu's men right after would be difficult to justify. Of course, the main reason was that Shilan had not been injured; otherwise, Xiao Xie would never have shown such mercy!

The surrounding soldiers, having watched Xiao Xie reduce their pot-bellied leader to a half-dead state with a single palm, did not dare to make a sound. After all, the pot-bellied man was the strongest among them, and the sight of Xiao Xie soaring through the air on a flying sword had delivered such a massive psychological shock that they had yet to fully recover their wits.

"Thud, thud, thud..." At that moment, a heavy booming sound echoed from afar. Then, the towering mechanical Wushuang Ghost came walking step by step, with Tianming sitting upon its left shoulder and Shaoyu upon its right. Anything that dared to block its path was simply blasted away by the automaton.

"Big Brother Xiao, you're here too!" Tianming called out cheerfully upon seeing Xiao Xie. Earlier, he had been riding atop Wushuang Ghost just to test whether the automaton was fully repaired by his hands. By chance, he had encountered Shaoyu fighting a group of men and immediately ordered Wushuang Ghost to intervene. After helping Shaoyu clean them up, he brought Shaoyu along with him. Shaoyu had originally mentioned going to check on what Shilan was doing, never expecting to run into Xiao Xie here.

"Big Brother Xiao, what a coincidence!" Shaoyu scratched his head, feeling a bit sheepish. He had only tagged along out of curiosity, hoping not to be misunderstood by Xiao Xie as having malicious intentions like a few days prior.

Seeing Tianming and Shaoyu arrive together, Xiao Xie was momentarily startled before understanding the situation. In the original animation, Shaoyu was so anxious because he had feelings for Shilan, rescuing her at the very brink of disaster. But now, his feelings for Shilan were merely fueled by curiosity, so naturally, he hadn't rushed over with the same frantic urgency. In other words, if Xiao Xie had not rushed over using his flying sword, Shilan would truly have met a tragic end.

"Hmm." Xiao Xie nodded toward Tianming and Shaoyu, then asked Tianming, "Tianming, did you study mechanism arts just to save Wushuang Ghost?"

"Big Brother Xiao, don't worry, Big Bear is a good guy now; he won't do bad things anymore," Tianming replied hastily, assuming Xiao Xie was worried the automaton would wreak havoc again.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to him. I simply wanted to say that you truly have a gift for mechanism arts," Xiao Xie said with a smile.

"Heh heh heh... Old Man Ban and the others said the same thing. I also think I'm quite talented. Who am I? I'm Tianming! Hahaha..." Hearing Xiao Xie's praise, Tianming scratched his head with embarrassed delight, growing more and more smug as he spoke.

"Heh..." Catching this sight, Shilan could not help but cover her mouth with a soft chuckle.

Ignoring the foolishly grinning Tianming, Xiao Xie turned and walked toward Little Black. The guards standing beside the beast consciously stepped aside to clear a path as he approached.

Reaching Little Black, Xiao Xie formed a purple blade of qi in his palm and sliced through all the nets entangling the beast. The moment it broke free from the restraints, Little Black scampered eagerly to Xiao Xie's side, rubbing its massive head affectionately against his chest.

Seeing this, Shilan also stepped forward to stroke Little Black's head, saying softly, "Little Black, you must be careful next time and avoid falling into other people's traps."

"Awoo..." A military assembly horn echoed through the air, subduing the lingering panic among the crowd.

Both Xiao Xie and Shilan had their attention drawn by the trumpet call.

"Listen! The horn has sounded!" A soldier pointed toward a certain spot on the hillside and shouted to the others. Immediately afterward, the surrounding troops nodded, moving with the precision of a well-drilled unit as they instantly interpreted the signal and lined up in orderly ranks.

Several soldiers hurriedly rushed forward to carry away the bruised and battered pot-bellied man who had been blocking the path, then swung open the wooden barricades, as if preparing to welcome the arrival of someone of great importance.

"It looks like someone else is coming out." Even Tianming realized something unusual was afoot given this grand formation, and he pointed toward the end of the road while speaking to Wushuang Ghost.

A moment later, amidst the sound of pounding hooves, a man clad in crimson dragon-scale armor, wearing a masked helmet, riding a sturdy black steed, and wielding a silver spear slowly emerged into everyone's view. The crowd stared unanimously at the newcomer, instantly feeling an overwhelming wave of powerful momentum rolling toward them.

The long spear in the newcomer's hand pointed directly at Shaoyu, issuing a challenge to a duel. Naturally, Shaoyu accepted the challenge without a moment's hesitation.

"Shilan, let's leave first!" Xiao Xie said to Shilan beside him upon witnessing this scene. Knowing that this man was Long Qie, one of Shaoyu's trusted subordinates, Xiao Xie had zero concern for Shaoyu's safety. Furthermore, a private conversation was about to take place between the two acquaintances, so there was no reason to linger.

"Are you sure it's alright to leave them here?" Shilan asked with a hint of worry, as she had no way of knowing these men served Shaoyu's father.

Xiao Xie patted Shilan's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry! That fellow is one of Shaoyu's men. He's just testing Shaoyu's martial arts."

"Is that so?" Though slightly curious about how Xiao Xie came to know this, Shilan trusted that he would never deceive her.

With a swift motion, Xiao Xie swept his arm around Shilan's slender waist, leaped gracefully onto Little Black's back, and instructed the beast to carry them away. As for Tianming, he could stay right where he was; after all, there was no danger here. Besides, Xiao Xie and Shilan were trying to enjoy some private time together—dragging along a human lightbulb like Tianming would only be asking for awkwardness!

...

"Reporting... The Qin army has reached a point twenty li outside Qingyun City!" A scout rushed up to Murong Feng and reported respectfully.

"Is that so?" Murong Feng stood atop the city wall, holding a wooden telescope and gazing into the distance. Far off, a massive black military formation was surging toward Qingyun City, and the battle flags fluttering above the ranks bore the distinctive insignia of the Qin army. Murong Feng let out a cold sneer. "The Qin's Black Armored Cavalry? Consider yourselves unlucky!"

"Pass down my command: when I give the order, fire the Divine Might Cannons! After we win this battle, every single man will be rewarded with ten taels of gold!" Murong Feng instructed the scout.

"Understood!" The scout acknowledged the order immediately and dashed off to relay the commands.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers gasped in pleasant surprise, instantly energized as if injected with chicken blood. Their morale skyrocketed. Their normal annual pay was merely one tael of gold; surviving this single battle would earn them ten taels—the equivalent of ten years' salary!

Seeing the soaring morale of her men, Murong Feng smiled faintly. In truth, Ascending Heaven Tower had only mobilized one thousand soldiers to deal with this Qin army. Among them, four hundred and twenty soldiers were specifically assigned to operate the cannons—two men per cannon, one for aiming and one for firing. Two hundred Divine Might Cannons required four hundred men, while the colossal Grand Divine Might Cannon demanded twenty operators. The remaining five hundred odd soldiers were merely there to clean up the battlefield and mop up the remnants afterward.

To Ascending Heaven Tower, ten thousand taels of gold was roughly the price of a single half-man-tall glazed mirror. Being able to elevate the soldiers' morale to such heights made the expense entirely worthwhile in Murong Feng's eyes.

"Lads! Word has it that Ascending Heaven Tower is overflowing with treasures, including countless riches worth tens of thousands of taels of gold. Give it everything you've got later! Once we flatten Ascending Heaven Tower and plunder their treasures, I'll treat you all to wine and women in the pleasure quarters, Hahaha..." Wang Qiang, the commanding general of the Qin army, laughed heartily.

"Roar, roar, roar..." Upon hearing Wang Qiang's words, the surrounding soldiers felt their blood boil with intense motivation. Having served in the military for three years where even a sow could start looking like a legendary beauty, the mere mention of visiting the pleasure quarters drove these high-spirited troops into a frenzy of excitement.

Wang Qiang was merely a second-tier general of the Qin State, certainly incomparable to top-tier commanders like Meng Tian, but he held the highest rank among the forces stationed near Qingyun City. Consequently, the mission to level Ascending Heaven Tower had fallen entirely upon his shoulders.