South of Ansu City, at the temporary encampment of the Parthian army.

After two days of searching, the 200,000-strong army finally managed to gather enough supplies and a large amount of wealth to last five days.

After feeding his army, Sakki then led his troops to continue their journey to the next city.

What the Parthian army left behind was a desolate wasteland stretching for dozens of miles, and the corpses of tens of thousands of innocent civilians...

At the same time, the 10,000 able-bodied men led by Ansu City Lord Kemolai caught up with the 30,000 women and children who had evacuated earlier, and together they arrived at Kenan City, a hundred miles south of Ansu City.

Three days earlier, the lord of Kenan City had received a report from the messenger from Xixiang City.

Although he didn't quite believe that the Parthian army led by Sakhqi would do such a thing, Lord Kenan did not take it lightly. He still summoned all the able-bodied men in the city for training and arranged for people to start making bows and arrows and defensive equipment.

Today, on the northern city wall of Kenan, ten thousand able-bodied men patrol back and forth every day, constantly observing the movements in the north.

At noon that day, just as the soldiers guarding the city walls were preparing for their meal, a long procession appeared at the end of the official road in the north of the city.

The able-bodied men on the city wall immediately picked up their weapons with tense expressions, aimed them at the distant troops, and shouted loudly.

Lord Kenan, who was in the city arranging for craftsmen to make bows and arrows, immediately climbed to the top of the city wall upon hearing the news.

After seeing the team's attire, Lord Kenan breathed a sigh of relief, but his face was also full of doubt.

"What's going on? Why do those people look like a group of refugees?"

At this time, there was no major disaster in the surrounding area, and the sudden appearance of such a group of refugees made Lord Kenan feel that something was wrong.

Not long after, the people arrived at a place not far outside the city.

Kemolai, along with a few others, arrived at the foot of the city.

"I am Kemolai, the lord of Ansu City. Who is in charge of the city?"

"Um?"

Upon hearing the shout, Lord Kenan on the city wall immediately focused his gaze.

"It really is Lord Kemolai!"

Upon seeing Kemolai's appearance clearly, Lord Kenan was taken aback.

Immediately, Lord Kenan called out, "Lord Kemolai, what has happened? Why have you brought the people here suddenly?"

Kemolai immediately raised his voice: "This is a long story. Could you please let me into the city first?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Kenan immediately ordered his subordinates, "Lower a few baskets down!"

Seeing the basket lowered from the city wall, Kemolai didn't say much. It was a good thing that the other side was being careful.

Soon, Kemolai climbed up the city wall in the basket.

"Lord Kemolai, what exactly happened? What has occurred in your Ansu City?"

As soon as Kemolai stood still, Lord Kenan stepped forward with a puzzled look and asked.

"Alas, that Saqqqi, in order to advance his army, relied on the people for food. First, he let his troops plunder in Xixiang City, and then he came to my Ansu City. I refused to let them into the city, so they raised an army to attack..."

Kemolai sighed and then recounted in detail what had happened in Ansu City.

"What? I never imagined that Right Chancellor Sakhon would actually do such a thing?"

Upon hearing Kemolai's account, Lord Kenan's expression changed, his face filled with disbelief.

"Hmph~, this Sakoqi was born into a top noble family from a young age, and now he holds the high position of Right Chancellor. In his eyes, ordinary people are nothing but slaves. How could he possibly care about the life or death of slaves?"

Kemolai snorted coldly, his words filled with hatred for Sakqi.

"Phew~, Lord Kemolai is right. For those high and mighty figures, they only know what the will of the people is when the people collectively rebel!"

Hearing Lord Kenan's words, Kemolai corrected him, "Wrong. Even if the people rebel, they will only think that the people are reckless and ungrateful. They will never think about why the people are rebelling!"

Lord Kenan paused slightly, then gave Kemolai a deep look. "Perhaps you are right!"

“Right or wrong is no longer important.” Kemolai shook his head with a wry smile and asked in a deep voice, “The Sakqi army will arrive in a few days. What do you plan to do?”

Lord Kenan was slightly taken aback, then said, "The only way is to defend the city to the death and protect the safety of the people inside!"

Kemolai shook his head: "Do you think that with only your able-bodied men and these low city walls, you can stop Sakqi's 200,000-strong army?"

"This..." Lord Kenan's expression hardened. "I wonder if Lord Kemolai has any good ideas?"

Kemolai's expression hardened: "Take all the civilians and evacuate from this place. Then burn anything you can't take with you, set traps to stop the enemy from pursuing you, and then go and seek refuge with the Han army and General Daruk!"

Lord Kenan hesitated and asked, "But can the Han army and General Daruk stop Sakqi's army?"

"Whether Daruk can hold them off is unknown, but the Han army is definitely capable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to bring all the coastal cities and ports into their territory!"

In Kemolai's eyes, that distant Eastern empire was not foolish and would not seize another's territory without being certain of success.

"That's true!"

Lord Kenan nodded in agreement, then said with concern, "I'm afraid the Han army won't take us in. After all, so many people have left their homes, and they won't be able to offer us any benefits if we go there!"

Seeing Lord Kenan's hesitant and uncertain expression, Kemolai frowned and said with some displeasure:

“I can’t guarantee whether the Han army will take us in, but I’m sure that if you hesitate any longer, no one will survive when Sakqi’s army arrives.”

If you're willing to gamble the lives of the entire city on Sakhon's sudden change of heart, then I'm afraid I cannot oblige!

After saying that, Kemolai turned and left.

"Hey, Lord Kemolai, wait a minute!"

Upon seeing this, Lord Kenan hurriedly chased after him and said sincerely, "What you say makes sense. I am willing to lead all the people of the city to evacuate. I hope you can help me so that we can look after each other on the way!"

"That's natural!"

Seeing that the other party had finally made up his mind, Kemolai smiled.

Subsequently, under Kemolai's arrangement, the women and children from Ansu City also entered Kenan City and began to help the city's residents pack their belongings.

Kemolai divided the 20,000 able-bodied men of the two cities into two teams. One team was responsible for setting traps and ignition devices in various houses in the city.

The other team went to the official road outside the city to dig trenches and set traps.

While things were busy in Kenan City, a messenger from Xixiang City also arrived in Linhai City.

"Those who act immorally will be punished by Heaven; the Parthian army is courting its own destruction!"

Upon hearing the messenger's report about Xixiang City, Chu Qian couldn't help but sneer, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.

He had originally planned to seize control of the southern waters of Parthia by relying on the city's fortifications, but after hearing about Sakhqi's actions, a bold idea also arose in his mind.