Time goes back to the evening of this day.

At the top of Dingfang Mountain, this was the third day that Guan Xiaoxi and the Yu Dingshan brothers stood on the top of the mountain.

Commander Guan said he was waiting for the wind. What kind of wind was he waiting for?

Tonight, the two brothers finally understood what kind of wind Guan Xiaoxi was waiting for.

As night fell, the wind became stronger and the direction turned to the north. When Guan Xiaoxi felt the increase in wind force and the change in wind direction with his hands in the air, he laughed.

"War requires brains. Although our Great Xia army is invincible, if there is a better way to minimize the loss of our troops and still achieve the ultimate strategic goal, this is what a general should think about."

"Two thousand men of the First Brigade of the First Division, prepare for action. All other troops, stand ready and await my next order!"

"No, Commander, the Tianji Pavilion hasn't sent us the map of Loulan City yet!"

"No need, we won't go underground."

"...So where do we go from here?"

"From the sky!"

That night, three hundred hot air balloons were lit on Dingfang Mountain!

Three hundred hot air balloons carrying two thousand soldiers took off from Dingfang Mountain under the personal leadership of Guan Xiaoxi. Under the influence of the wind, they floated to Loulan City, two hundred miles away.

This was the scene that the eldest prince An Yue, the second prince An Zizai, and Que'er saw on the small second floor behind Fengyue Tower.

It was late at night and many people in Loulan City had already fallen asleep. However, there were still some people who could not fall asleep or could not sleep.

For example, the Minister of War Anzhong who was standing on the city wall and inspecting the area in person, and the old Prime Minister Anduo who was sitting in the palace with his hands behind his back, feeling melancholy.

An Zhong saw the faint lanterns floating in the night sky, and his eyes widened, full of confusion.

In his entire life, he had never seen anything else flying in the sky except birds!

What kind of thing would that be?

Could it be the meteor from outer space described in ancient books?

It doesn't look like it. The meteor is very fast, but at this moment, the lanterns above Loulan City are swaying.

Many soldiers on the city wall also saw the lanterns slowly descending and becoming clearer and clearer. They were also confused, but the fear in their eyes grew stronger and stronger.

It's the fear of the unknown.

After Daxia invented the hot air balloon, it was not used on a large scale. It was even forgotten by the soldiers of Daxia. However, Fu Xiaoguan was well aware of its wonderful use - air combat, which was a war situation beyond this era.

Therefore, there is still a group of people in Daxia Research Institute studying this thing, and it has even evolved to the level where it can adjust its direction and land within the range of wind direction.

And what Guan Xiaoxi brought was exactly this thing!

But this thing still needs wind, and Guan Xiaoxi can only wait for the right wind.

…

"A divine being descended from heaven?" The second prince An Zizai murmured.

An Yue didn't say anything, but his brows were tightly furrowed.

He had a bad premonition, but he couldn't tell what exactly was wrong. He just felt very scared about this unknown thing that suddenly appeared in the sky.

He decided to leave here and return to the palace. Subconsciously, he felt that something was wrong, and he felt that he would feel safer if he returned to the palace and stayed with his wife and children.

He turned and walked out.

An Zizai looked for a moment, then turned around and walked out, heading to the city wall where there were 300,000 soldiers guarding the city. He felt that place would be safer.

Que'er didn't go anywhere. She withdrew her gaze from the sky, but suddenly her heart tightened.

A figure flew up from the jungle outside the building. Before she could turn around to take the sword hanging on the wall, the figure had already come in through the window and stood in front of her.

He turned out to be Shi Yueming!

Shi Yueming looked at Que'er and smiled slightly, "Don't be afraid, cook some wine!"

“…You, you know everything?”

"Shadow is indeed okay, but only okay. Compared to the Tianji Pavilion... he's just a child. This Loulan Kingdom will become a territory of Daxia, so you can be considered a citizen of Daxia."

"Daxia will never kill its people indiscriminately. From now on, you can sit here with peace of mind, and I can drink a few glasses of wine here with peace of mind. The rest will be left to the Daxia army."

Que'er didn't move. She turned back to look at the lanterns that were becoming brighter and brighter in the night sky. She pointed with her hand and said, "The army of Daxia?"

"Um."

“…They came from the sky?”

"right."

Que'er took a deep breath and realized that both the Shadow and the Ministry of War had already been defeated.

She walked nervously to the small table and boiled a pot of wine.

Shi Yueming looked out the window. He didn't expect Guan Xiaoxi to use such a method.

"They...will eventually land. After they land, no matter how powerful they are, the Loulan army will still be able to hold them back for a while. This time is enough to capture and kill your Daxia hostages!"

"You're wrong," Shi Yueming took a sip from his wine glass. "They won't land in Loulan City to fight your army. They'll land directly in the palace and capture your emperor and all the royal family members. This is the lowest cost and the best method."

Que'er was shocked again. In such a huge city like Loulan, how did they know where the palace was?

As if he could see Que'er's confusion, Shi Yueming smiled and said, "I forgot to tell you that the spies from the Tianji Pavilion have already infiltrated your palace. I'm afraid there's a fire burning somewhere in the palace right now. That's where they're going to land."

…

A fire actually started in the square outside the main hall of the Loulan Palace.

This naturally alarmed the guards guarding the palace. They ran over and were about to put out the fire when suddenly a series of "bang bang bang..." sounds came from the sky.

That's gunfire!

Amid the gunshots, the guards running in front suddenly fell down with wailing and screaming.

They stopped and looked up at the sky blankly.

On the city wall outside the imperial palace, An Zhong, the Second Prince An Zizai, and all the soldiers defending the city all looked towards the direction of the imperial palace.

The lanterns gathered in the sky above the palace, and then... fell.

"No! Protect the Emperor!" An Zhong shouted, "Everyone, follow me into the palace! Quickly, quickly...!"

That night, the people of Loulan City were awakened from their dreams by the panic.

The chaos that night lasted for about half an hour and then calmed down.

Faintly, there seemed to be some sound coming from the direction of the palace, but it was only for a short while.

Then, the entire Loulan City fell silent.

The night is still quiet, even quieter.

Shi Yueming picked up another glass of wine, drank it all, and said lightly: "It's over!"

"…What's over?"

"The war is over, and the Kingdom of Loulan...is also over!"