Chapter 4: The Fall of Xingyue City (1)
The people in Xingyue Square were imrsed in sorrow, unaware that the true tragedy had only just begun.
From the crowd, a dozen soldiers from the “Fury Armor Army” stepped forward. They kept their heads lowered, covering their faces with their hands as if they were weeping. Moving unnoticed, they ascended the city wall via the rampart. Given the prevailing grief, few paid them any attention.
As they neared the top, two sentry soldiers called out, “Brothers, what exactly happened? Why is the square filled with crying voices?”
The approaching soldiers continued their ascent, responding between sobs, “It’s too tragic… You should go down and see for yourselves… sob… sob…”
The sentries did not suspect anything. One of them turned to his companion, “Let’s go! We should take a look too.”
Before leaving, they instructed the newly arrived Fury Armor soldiers, “We’ll leave the watch to you. We’ll check below and return shortly.”
“…sob… sob… Go ahead, go ahead… It’s too horrible… sob…”
The mont the two sentries departed, the Fury Armor soldier at the front signaled to the others before pointing in both directions. The soldiers imdiately split into two groups, advancing along the city wall in opposite directions.
The leader of the group walked to the battlents, waved toward the outside of the city, and then placed a green flag into a flag slot on the parapet. Without hesitation, he proceeded toward the defensive ballistae stationed along the wall.
At that mont, another group of Fury Armor soldiers ascended the wall. One of them tapped his sword hilt as a signal, to which the others responded in kind. It was then apparent that their armor, unlike that of the Xingyue soldiers, had a faint green tint on the waist and flanks. Though subtle against the black tal, the distinction remained visible.
The newly arrived soldiers spread out along the wall, discreetly drawing their weapons and attacking the unsuspecting guards. Quickly, they seized control of the defensive equipnt, turning the weapons inward to aim at the city.
anwhile, a group of towering soldiers entered the city through the gate. Their bodies were robust and covered in thick hair, with so even bearing horns on their heads. A citizen who noticed them scread in alarm, “Beastn!”
These beastn wore leather armor without helts. They wielded massive tower shields in one hand and war hamrs or battle axes in the other.
A retired veteran among the crowd recognized them imdiately and shouted, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Wolf Nation’s Black Ox Soldiers are at the gate!”
Upon entering the city, the Black Ox Soldiers ford ranks and raised their shields, pressing toward the crowd in the square. Desperate citizens cried out to the city walls for help, only to be t with a relentless volley of arrows and bolts from above.
Arrows rained down on the square, striking many—so were severely wounded, others killed. The wailing intensified as panic took hold. People ran, shoved, stumbled, and fell in chaotic attempts to escape, hide, or resist.
The City Lord’s wife attempted to organize a counterattack, but the Guard Captain stopped her. “Madam, you should lead the citizens in retreat. Go to the administrative hall and coordinate the defense from there. I will hold them off here. If things beco untenable, I will fall back. You have my word.”
At his command, a few guards escorted the City Lord’s wife to safety.
Once she was secure, the Guard Captain issued orders. “Linde, Wang Mang—you two head to the East District. Evacuate the elderly and weak. Arm those who can fight and set up defenses in the Left Street District. If weapons are insufficient, retrieve them from the eastern barracks.
Tian Wu, Dong Lei—you two go to the West District. Sa task. The talwork shop in the western quarter should have usable weapons.”
“Yes!” The four soldiers imdiately sprinted toward their assigned areas.
Drawing his straight blade, the Guard Captain turned to his remaining guards and roused them, “Brothers! It’s been too long since our last real fight, and I know you’re itching for one! Today, we get to unleash hell! No more sparring with comrades—today, we fight to the death! Rally anyone with the courage to fight. We don’t stop until we’re dead!”
“To the death! To the death!!”
Though few in number, the remaining guards roared their battle cries, their voices echoing across the square. Nearby citizens, both n and won, felt their blood boil and began gathering toward them.
“Kill!” “Kill!!” “Kill!!!”
The cries of battle grew louder as more people surged forward. So charged toward the ramparts, others directly at the beastn formations.
Despite the fallen and the fleeing, nearly a thousand citizens remained in the square. Grabbing whatever weapons they could find, they charged forward with rage and vengeance.
“They murdered our families! Avenge them!”
Hundreds of beastn had poured into the city, forming a fifty-man-wide phalanx fifty ters from the gate. More continued entering, expanding the formation.
The ard Black Ox Soldiers stood firm, wielding their shields and weapons to block the human assault while securing control of the gate. However, the Guard Captain quickly realized their strategy: they were keeping the gate open for reinforcents. If it remained unsealed, more enemies would flood in.
“Follow !” the Guard Captain ordered. He and a handful of elite retired soldiers dashed toward the city gate.
The Black Ox Soldiers barely regarded the unard civilians as a threat. Most only wielded sticks and stones, with a few carrying shovels or hoes. Against the battle-hardened, fully ard warriors of the Wolf Nation, such weapons were nearly useless.
However, as the Guard Captain and his group charged toward the heart of their formation, the enemy grew wary. They raised their shields and left narrow gaps between them for counterattacks.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The beastn pounded their shields against the ground and struck them with their weapons, creating a rhythmic, intimidating noise to unnerve their foes.
But the Guard Captain and his n were veterans of war. They had faced battle formations before and were unfazed.
His straight blade, though resembling a sword, had a single sharp edge and a flat spine. It bore three deep blood grooves near the tip, forming a triangular shape, making it highly effective for piercing and slashing. This cruel design ensured that any wound inflicted would continue bleeding profusely.
Lacking heavy weapons and ranged support, the city guards relied on precise strikes. They aid for the gaps between the shields, targeting exposed areas with well-coordinated feints and thrusts.
As the battle intensified, the Guard Captain and his warriors carved a small opening in the enemy’s defenses. More citizens seized the mont, grabbing weapons from fallen foes and pressing forward.
The fight for the gate was brutal. Both sides suffered heavy losses. In just ten minutes, over two hundred beastn had fallen, while nearly a hundred Xingyue citizens lay dead. Yet, their sacrifice pushed the frontline twenty ters closer to the gate.
As more unard civilians realized they could claim weapons, they funneled toward the middle of the fight, shifting the battle dynamics. The beastn, overwheld, were forced to regroup, compressing their formation toward the gate.
With their numbers growing, the city’s defenders gained montum.
Just as the Guard Captain felt the mounting pressure, a voice called out from the east. “Captain! We’re here to support you! We brought reinforcents and weapons!”
It was Linde and Wang Mang. They had rallied over a thousand fighters—many retired soldiers, so won. The citizens had donned ancestral armor and ard themselves with recovered weapons. Additionally, the archers had ford a ranged unit, and the eastern barracks’ arsenal had been distributed.
Hearing this, the Guard Captain clenched his weapon. “We can still fight! We keep pushing!” With renewed determination, he charged toward the gate once more.
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