The Royal Palace of Kucha.

"What? The Xiongnu have arrayed themselves and are preparing to attack the city?"

Upon hearing the report from the garrison commander, the King of Kucha, who was playing with his queen, was startled and his face turned extremely pale.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Xiezhiyu, clad in armor, has arrived at the front lines to personally oversee the battle...!"

The voice of the officer guarding the city trembled slightly.

"That Xie Zhiyu actually broke his promise; he's a despicable scoundrel!!"

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, the King of Kucha roared in anger, while a look of fear also appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty..."

Just then, the two prime ministers of the Kingdom of Kucha, along with a group of noble officials, rushed over in a panic.

The Left Prime Minister strode forward, panting heavily, and said, "Your Majesty... Xie Zhi harbors wolfish ambitions. Please issue an order immediately to gather all soldiers and able-bodied men in the city to defend it!"

"Yes... defend the city!"

Coming to his senses, the King of Kucha turned to the general guarding the city and said in a deep voice, "Pass on my order: the Xiongnu are treacherous and cruel. Once the city is breached, everyone will die, and your wives and daughters will suffer a terrible fate."

"Let all soldiers and able-bodied men take up arms and defend the city, their homes, and their wives and daughters!!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The garrison commander gave a firm reply and then quickly left.

After the city's garrison commander left, the Right Chancellor approached and whispered, "Your Majesty, our elite troops have all been tricked out of the city. Only the old and weak remain inside, and the able-bodied men have never been on the battlefield. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to withstand the Xiongnu's attack."

Furthermore, given the Xiongnu's formidable siege engines, our army can only hold out for three days at most. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should make preparations as soon as possible!

"Prepare……?"

The King of Kucha was slightly taken aback, and couldn't help but recall the previous discussion about seeking refuge with the Kushan Empire. He knew that the Right Chancellor was reminding him to prepare for his westward escape.

After all, once the city falls, Xie Zhi will certainly not leave these potential threats behind.

The Left Chancellor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe the Right Chancellor is right. We cannot delay any longer!"

"Alright then, everyone hurry home and pack your things. We'll leave from the west side of the city early tomorrow morning..."

Finally, the King of Kucha looked at his ministers with a solemn expression: "This matter must be kept secret and absolutely cannot be leaked, lest the morale of the army waver!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The group of nobles and officials all agreed and then quickly dispersed.

The King of Kucha immediately returned to the inner palace and summoned his trusted guards to his side.

"Immediately take some reliable men, along with sacks of grain and wagons, to the royal treasury. Move all the treasures out of there, and be sure to disguise them properly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The guard agreed and then quickly left.

Those nobles and officials who returned home also gathered their trusted subordinates and began packing their belongings and valuables.

Just as the King of Kucha and his noble officials were busy preparing to flee, Xie Zhiyu also rode up to the siege force.

Looking up at the timid defenders on the city wall and the marks left by the catapults, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but smile slightly.

Xie Zhiyu slowly drew his long sword from his waist and shouted, "By my order, each catapult must fire at least three hundred stone projectiles today, so that the people of Kucha can taste what divine punishment is like!!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!!"

The messenger responded loudly and immediately rode away!

Soon, all thirty catapults in front of the battle line were ready, and Xie Zhiyu also dispatched ten thousand soldiers to transport the stone projectiles.

"emission!!"

As the first batch of stone projectiles were in place, Xie Zhiyu roared and swung his long sword heavily.

"Boom boom boom!!"

At Xie Zhiyu's command, thirty catapults exploded simultaneously.

Thirty stone projectiles whistled towards the walls of Kucha.

"Run!!"

Having witnessed the power of the stone projectiles before, the Kucha garrison immediately turned and ran down the city walls, with no one daring to remain on the walls.

"Boom!!"

Just as the Kucha defenders were fleeing for their lives, stone projectiles came hurtling down.

After the previous test launch, the accuracy of the catapult's launch was greatly improved this time, and most of the stones were successfully launched onto the city wall.

Many of the defending soldiers who were unable to escape were crushed in the chest and died on the spot.

A few stones flew over the city wall and landed inside the city.

The stones struck the street, then bounced high into the air and rolled forward, crushing buildings along the way like dry leaves. Many civilians who couldn't escape were either buried by the collapsed buildings or suffered head injuries from the stones.

In an instant, chaos erupted both inside and outside the city walls.

"Load!!"

After the first round of slinging ended, the forty soldiers next to the catapult quickly stepped forward, grabbed the long rope together, and pulled down the launching spoon. The four soldiers who were already prepared behind them also carried the stone projectiles forward steadily and put them into the launching spoon.

"emission!!"

Thirty catapults had just been loaded when Xie Zhiyu roared again.

"Boom boom boom!!"

Thirty stone projectiles, each weighing over a hundred pounds, once again hurtled towards the walls of Kucha.

Since many of the Kucha defenders had already fled down from the city walls, the attack did not cause many casualties. However, it did leave the city walls in a mess, with the passageways on the walls riddled with craters and cracks appearing in the ground.

By the time the second round of firing ended, the city walls were deserted, and all the defending soldiers were huddled at the base of the walls, trembling with fear.

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