Chapter 396 Marshal, please take care!

That man was none other than Zhang Sheng, one of his deputy generals.

Zhang Sheng tilted his head, stiffened his neck, and stared with eyes that seemed to be coated with poison, radiating intense hatred. He squeezed out a sneer through his teeth, "Yes! It's me. Didn't expect that, did you? The mighty Ye Dayuan has come to this."

He was arrogant and unruly, often going out drinking and carousing with his men, accepting bribes, engaging in fraud, oppressing the people, and owing money to brothels, which led to him being chased to the military camp to demand payment for his prostitution...

He was punished by Ye Chuanzong for repeatedly violating military discipline, but he was brave in killing the enemy, and the army was in dire need of talents like him.

Ye Chuanzhong only punished him according to military regulations and did not demote him.

He harbored resentment and was turned by spies from the Great Jing Dynasty to defect to Wanyan Zonglie.

He had wanted to make a move for a long time, but his fellow villager Zhang Jun was always by Ye Chuanzhong's side, so he hadn't had a chance to do so.

Zhang Sheng pulled out the armor-piercing spike, grabbed Ye Chuanzhong's neck with his arm, and pressed the spike against his neck.

"Stop! All of you stop! Or I'll kill your marshal!"

The soldiers, who were busy dealing with the enemy, were stunned for a moment when they saw this, and several soldiers were shot dead by the enemy.

Seeing this, Ye Chuanzong shouted hoarsely, "No, don't worry about me, keep killing the enemy."

Zhang Jun ran over and glared at Zhang Sheng with hatred.

"Asheng, why did you do this? The Marshal has been kind to us. If it weren't for the Marshal, we would have died long ago."

Twenty years ago, Zhangjia Village was almost completely wiped out by the enemy. Only a few families escaped. Due to war and famine, everyone else died, leaving only the two of them to depend on each other for survival.

They didn't know where they were going, but they were lucky and met Ye Chuanzhong, who was leading troops into battle.

He adopted them, taught them martial arts, and led them to the battlefield to achieve great things, which is how they got to where they are today.

Zhang Sheng said bitterly, "He adopted us and taught us kung fu so that we would make him meritorious and risk our lives for him. I have survived many near-death experiences on the battlefield, but in the end I am still a deputy general. All the credit is taken by him. Only you, you fool, follow his lead."

"That's not how it is. Without the Marshal's promotion, we wouldn't have become deputy generals at all. No matter what, you wouldn't dare to lay a hand on your benefactor."

Zhang Jun's conversation with him caught his attention.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Chuanzhong pulled out a small knife from his waist and stabbed it into the other man's abdomen, then grabbed the broken armor that the man was pressing against his neck.

They tried to stab at his neck, but before they could even touch him, he kicked them away.

Zhang Jun rushed forward and caught Ye Chuanzhong's falling body, shouting, "Marshal!"

Zhuiying leaped up behind Zhang Sheng and aimed his sword at his heart.

He quickly drew his sword to block, "Clang!"

Zhuiying landed and pushed hard with both hands, wielding his sword, until the opponent's back slammed into the city wall before stopping with a "bang!"

"You scoundrel! You've betrayed your country and are making up all sorts of excuses! You deserve to die!"

Zhang Sheng was stabbed in the abdomen and then struck, causing blood to trickle from the corner of his lips.

Zhang Sheng was ruthless and deadly, having fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His skills were no less than Zhang Sheng's, and even an injured person could withstand more than a dozen blows from him.

Before the two could determine a winner, the city gate was breached.

Seeing this, Zhuiying knew things were going badly and that he had to finish the fight quickly. He drew his sword and slashed at Zhuiying's neck again.

Zhang Sheng, I was at the edge of the city wall. I spun around a few times and hid at the crenellation, raising my sword to block.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhuiying snatched away his weapon.

Just as it was about to pierce his neck, an arrow suddenly flew towards him.

He glanced down from the city wall and saw Du Chong, one of the traitors of the Great Zhou.

Zhang Sheng picked up the knife from the ground and took the opportunity to escape.

Chasing Shadow tried to block the sword with his sword while chasing, but the man still managed to escape.

Enemy troops poured into the city gates, and a bloody battle ensued inside the city.

Shouts of battle filled the air: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

A scream, "Ah! Ah!..."

The sounds of weapons clashing, "Clang! Clang!..."

The sound of a weapon piercing flesh, "Thud! Thud!"

Zhang Jun had Ye Chuanzhong placed on his back and the two were tied together with a cloak to prevent him from falling off.

A dozen soldiers stood guard beside them as they descended from the city wall, and the enemy troops surged forward.

The guards led the way, falling one by one.

Zhang Jun freed one hand to block an attack from his right and kicked away the person in front of him.

An enemy soldier ambushed Ye Chuanzhong from behind, slashing at his back with a curved blade.

"Marshal, watch out!" A soldier rushed over upon seeing this.

"Pfft!"

The soldier had a long gash slashed across his body and was thrown around by the massive object.

A large gushing of blood gushed from his mouth as he said to Ye Chuanzhong, "Marshal, take care..."

“Child…” Ye Chuanzhong looked at the fallen body of the soldier, his eyes bloodshot. He estimated that the soldier was only a teenager, so young, and still able to fight on the battlefield.

He's old, seriously injured, and probably won't live much longer. It's not worth dying to take a knife for him.

His family was waiting for him to come home. He died saving him; how could he face his parents...?

The enemy soldier who had killed the soldier gripped his curved blade and swung it down at him. "Ah!"

His eyes gleamed with excitement; beheading the enemy marshal would bring him a high-ranking official position.

Go to hell, hahaha!!!

Ye Chuanzhong threw the knife in his hand and it hit him in the forehead.

He fell with his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes still open.

More and more enemy troops are surging in.

Zhu Feng arrived with his men and swiftly dispatched the enemy troops surrounding them.

He saw Marshal Ye being carried on someone's back, with blood seeping through his cloak, and guessed that he was seriously injured.

"Deputy General Zhang, you take Marshal Ye and leave first. You all go ahead."

"Okay, I'll leave this to you for now."

They finally escaped the enemy's encirclement.

Zhang Jun carried it and ran into the city.

Ye Chuanzhong said, "Put me down. I've lived most of my life and I've had enough. You guys go and kill the enemy."

"No, it's alright. Hold on a little longer, and we'll find a medic to bandage you up. Then I'll go and fight the enemy."

Ye Chuanzhong didn't care about his own life or death; all he cared about was the survival of Dingzhou. He untied the cloak that bound the two of them together and struggled to get off Zhang Jun.

He wrapped the cloak around his waist to cover the blood-soaked hole behind him.

He said to Zhang Jun, "Deputy General Zhang, listen to my order. I command you to immediately lead the troops to resist the enemy. Don't worry about me, just hold Dingzhou."

"Yes, Marshal!"

Zhang Jun instructed the soldiers, "You few take the marshal to a safe place to hide, then find the medic. If the enemy doesn't retreat, don't come out!"

The soldiers supporting Ye Chuanzhong said in unison, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Several enemy soldiers caught up with them.

Zhang Jun charged towards them with his knife and fought them.

Upon seeing his soldiers, Ye Chuanzhong exclaimed, "There is hope! The Great Zhou is saved! Dingzhou is saved!"

If he were twenty years younger, and hadn't been slow to react, and hadn't been ambushed from behind, he could have fought alongside his soldiers.

The soldiers moved Ye Chuanzhong to a dark alley and then sent two men back to find the army doctor.

Fifteen minutes later, the military doctor arrived, accompanied by Lu Tingzhi.

He delivered grain and supplies to Dingzhou, which was in imminent danger, and he could not flee like the common people.

He planned to stay and help; he didn't know martial arts, but he could bandage the soldiers' wounds.

When the military doctor saw the wound, his expression changed drastically. The wound was too deep and had hit a vital spot.

Based on their past experience, it was obvious at a glance that he wouldn't survive.

Ye Chuanzhong guessed that he didn't have long to live, and seeing the expression on the military doctor's face, he was almost certain.

The military doctor cleaned his wound and stopped the bleeding...

Ye Chuanzhong ordered the soldiers to go and fight the enemy, saying that it would be enough to have the military doctors guarding them.

"Yes!" The soldiers, their eyes reddening, answered with tears in their eyes, turning back every three steps until they left the alley.

Lu Tingzhi took out the small bottle of life-saving 'holy water' that Xiao Xuanwu had given him.

"Marshal, this is a life-saving holy water given to me by the apprentice of the divine physician. Drinking it will be good for your wounds."

He took a sip, and at least the fatigue from the journey quickly disappeared, which might allow Ye Chuanzhong to last a little longer.

Ye Chuanzhong knew he was a dying man, so he had no reason to lie to himself. Perhaps the doctor's medicine would work. He reached out, took the medicine, thanked the doctor, and drank it.