On the city walls, the crowd watched as Prince Dan was escorted away, silent for a long time. A shadow of bloodshed and fear loomed over Ji City, the wind howling as if bidding farewell to this soon-to-fallen kingdom.

King Xi of Yan stood on the city wall for a long time, his gaze vacant, his feet seemingly weighed down with lead. After a long while, he slowly turned around and descended the city wall without a word. The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment, and could only follow him silently back to the palace.

As soon as he stepped through the palace gates, the officials dispersed, and the atmosphere in the court became tense. The king ascended the throne, and on his desk lay unclosed memorials. No one broke the silence; only a few ministers sobbed softly, whether for Crown Prince Dan or for the impending fall of the kingdom, it was unclear.

King Xi of Yan slowly walked up to the throne, but did not sit down. He covered his forehead, seemingly trying his best to suppress his inner panic. But he could not hide it in the end, and his voice trembled as he spoke: "My ministers... with the country in peril, what should we do?"

The words had barely left his lips when the hall erupted in uproar. One man, overcome with grief and indignation, gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has suffered such cruel torture, and our army’s morale is high. Now we should unite as one and defend the city to the death, so as not to betray the Crown Prince Dan’s sacrifice!”

Some people looked fearful: "The evil man's army hasn't even arrived yet, and the Black Dragon Armored Army alone already has such a terrifying aura. If we rashly start a war, it will only hasten our demise."

Opinions were divided, and the argument raged on. King Xi of Yan appeared dazed, as if he were both grieving for his beloved son's suffering and terrified by the approaching Qin army.

Suddenly, he looked up at the outside of the hall, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes, his voice weak yet tinged with sorrow: "If...if we surrender, can the name of Yan be preserved?" This was the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

These words caused an uproar in the hall. The advocates of war vehemently denounced, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! Crown Prince Dan has already suffered such cruel torture. If we do not rise up in resistance, the Yan Kingdom will be forever shrouded in shame!"

The person in charge of surrendering had a complex expression; he dared not speak directly, but could not hide his tacit agreement.

Prince Xi of Yan listened in a daze, the image of Crown Prince Dan kneeling in a pool of blood flashing through his mind again. At that moment, his heart seemed to be filled with fear, terrified that he would also end up like that.

Surrender or fight to the death? He had no choice but to feel his limbs go cold and weak, and he was about to collapse to the ground.

"Report!" Suddenly, a guard broke the silence, rushing into the hall with a deathly pale face. "Your Majesty, defeated troops have returned. It is said that the Qin army burned Lingshou, and all the soldiers and civilians in the city perished."

"The Qin general, Efu, led the Black Dragon Armored Army to successively capture Wenfang City, Han'e, and Linle. He drove hundreds of thousands of people to gather in Rao City and beg for their gates. The Prime Minister could not bear to order the city gates to be opened, and the Qin army took advantage of the situation to attack the city. Rao City was captured, and the combined forces of Yan, Zhao, and Chu... only a small portion of them managed to escape."

"General Sima Shang of Zhao...Prime Minister Li Fu...died tragically. Only General Jingyang of Chu managed to gather less than tens of thousands of remnants of his troops and escape, saying that he was going to retreat to Pingcheng to defend it."

The hall fell into an eerie silence. Erniu's words were indeed true, though his description was not so detailed. He had thought it was already extremely tyrannical, but the truth was far more cruel.

King Xi of Yan leaned on his desk and spoke with difficulty: "Issue the order...that all cities quickly repair their defenses and stockpile grain. If the Qin army attacks—then...defend to the death."

"Defend to the death?" Some were stunned, then others' eyes reddened, and they clasped their hands in a solemn voice: "We... swear to live and die with the Yan Kingdom!"

But some looked ashen-faced and sighed softly. There was no longer any disagreement in the hall—for in the face of absolute power, everyone knew that the outcome of this war was perhaps already predetermined.

As dusk settled, the wind howled outside the palace gates, seemingly mocking the dynasty that was nearing its end.

King Xi of Yan leaned on his throne, opened his mouth, but uttered no more words. The blood-red setting sun shone through the palace gates, casting a long, weary shadow of him. No one could see that his palms were already drenched in cold sweat, as if he might collapse at any moment from fear.

......

The following afternoon.

Raocheng.

Erniu and Chuning led the Black Dragon Armored Army back, and Prince Dan's soldiers roughly took them away and threw them into a small cage, where they were left to live or die.

The Black Dragon Armored Army coldly surveyed the dying "hostage," their eyes devoid of any pity, only filled with endless cruelty and murderous intent.

Before long, Erniu's shrill screams echoed through the city. The wicked man personally took a rattan cane and, in front of the soldiers, whipped Erniu with it in the city to punish him for acting without orders.

At first, Erniu was able to endure it, but after a dozen or so vines were applied, he could no longer help but let out a shrill scream.

The wicked man seemed to be deliberately torturing him, his strength precisely controlled, only drawing bloody ridges without tearing his skin and flesh.

The sight sent chills down the soldiers' spines, and their bodies felt as if they were being bitten by ants.

"I told you not to act without orders and to disregard the safety of your soldiers. Do you think you're some kind of Yunlong from Shanxi?" The wicked man gritted his teeth, cursing as he slapped the ground.

Wang Jian couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to stop them, "Alright, stop fighting. The battle is about to start again. Do you want to beat him to death?"

Upon hearing this, the wicked man finally stopped, threw the rattan cane on the ground, and said coldly, "Go, stand at attention over there for two hours. Every time you move, you'll have to add an hour."

"After this battle, I'm going back to Zhushan to clean the latrines for a month!!"

Erniu dared not argue, and slunk away to the base of the city wall to stand at attention facing the wall. His appearance made the evil husband and the others laugh in anger.

"This kid is really one of the soldiers you trained. He's not stupid; he even knows to find a shady spot!" Wang Jian stroked his beard and laughed as he looked at the spot Erniu had chosen.

The wicked husband snorted coldly, "You brainless blockhead, if something really happens, how am I supposed to explain it to his parents? They took good care of me when I was little."

"Alright, everyone's back and the business's done, so stop being angry!" Wang Jian nudged his still-angry husband and changed the subject: "Why don't we discuss how to wage war? The destruction of Yan is imminent."

The wicked man looked around and saw that the soldiers were all looking at him with burning eyes. He immediately laughed loudly, "Since the brothers are all anxious, let's march early tomorrow morning and head straight for Jicheng. We'll take the capital of the other cities and then clean them up."

"Lucky, lucky, big lucky!"

In an instant, a deafening cheer erupted within the city, the soldiers' faces burning with fervor, as if consumed by lust. To achieve the feat of conquering two nations in a single battle—forget fame and fortune, their name would be etched in history!

Just as the rumors said, following the Grand Commandant means eating fatty meat three times a day!

Seeing the atmosphere was lively and morale was high, Chun Ning immediately recounted the events that had occurred outside Ji City in a vivid and detailed manner, thus elevating the atmosphere to a new level.

The King of Yan's weakness and humility, the death of the crown prince on the spot, and the silent defiance of all officials...

Every detail resonated with the deepest excitement in the hearts of the soldiers. With Qin's strength and power, how could they not feel proud?

"You brat, stop standing there like an idiot. You did a great job!" The wicked husband glanced at Erniu, who was secretly looking back to observe his expression, and said irritably before turning and leaving.

"Yes, sir!" Erniu immediately put on a fawning face and was about to jog to catch up, but unexpectedly, his whole body was burning, and he grimaced in pain.