The echoes of thunder still reverberated in my ears, and the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated.
Xi Sheng had already charged like a mad tiger to the gate of the Privy Council's residence, which had been blown to pieces.
He suddenly lowered his shoulder and rammed into the object with his heavily armored arm!
"Bang--!"
The already crumbling door let out a groan of despair, and the sound of the bolt breaking was clearly audible!
The door was forced open a crack!
"kill--!"
Xi Sheng roared, using his long-handled sword to wedge the door and forcefully pry it open!
The surviving warriors of the Mo Dao Battalion rushed forward, using their shoulders, sword hilts, and all their strength to push open the gate that symbolized the power center of Youzhou in the Northern Barbarians.
Behind the door stood the guards of the Northern Di royal court, ready for battle. They were clad in fine iron armor, holding long spears and shields, their eyes filled with determination and a hint of fear.
This is their last stronghold; they have nowhere left to retreat!
No nonsense, just the bloodiest clashes!
The long-handled sword crashed into the array of spears and shields!
Xi Sheng was the first to charge into the enemy ranks. With a powerful vertical slash of his Mo Dao, he cleaved a thick shield and the soldier behind it in two.
Blood and splinters of wood splattered everywhere!
But more spears thrust out from the gaps in the shield, forcing him to parry with his own sword.
Wu Shangzhi and Guo Luo led their heavily armored infantry closely behind, pushing forward like an iron wall, and engaging the Northern Di guards in a brutal battle with long spears and battle axes.
Every inch of land fought for is accompanied by the loss of life.
The fighting inside the Privy Council's residence was even more brutal than the street battles.
Han Yanshou's guards were truly elite troops he brought from the King of Loufan. They were skilled in combat, coordinated perfectly, and were determined to die for their cause.
They used the pavilions, terraces, artificial hills, and corridors within the mansion to launch layer-by-layer ambushes, inflicting heavy casualties on the Hedong army.
Murong Chunhua's light cavalry could not function effectively in such a confined environment and had to dismount and fight on foot, joining the melee.
Liu Yi's Shenji Battalion had also run out of crossbow bolts, and the crossbowmen drew their waist knives, becoming ordinary infantrymen.
The battle lasted from the dead of night until the darkest hour before dawn.
The front courtyard and central courtyard of the Privy Councilor's residence were littered with fallen corpses, and blood flowed in streams.
The soldiers on both sides were bloodthirsty, mechanically wielding their weapons, roaring, and hacking and slashing.
Under the protection of Li Si and other personal guards, Zhao Muyun also entered the Privy Council's residence.
He stepped through the sticky pool of blood, looking at the scene before him that resembled a battlefield of carnage, his face grave.
Victory is in sight, but the cost is too high.
After a series of fierce battles, less than two hundred men from the Mo Dao Battalion were still standing.
The heavy cavalry dismounted and fought on foot, suffering considerable losses as well.
"Where is Han Yanshou?" Zhao Muyun asked in a deep voice.
"Reporting to the Grand Commander, according to the prisoners, Han Yanshou should be in the inner quarters!" a captain covered in blood reported.
"Concentrate all available fighting forces and attack the inner quarters! Death or life!" Zhao Muyun ordered.
The battle must end as soon as possible, otherwise the situation may change once the remaining Northern Di troops in other areas of the city react, or... if Arahan comes to their aid.
The final attack has begun.
The elite troops from Hedong present, like weary but still sharp arrows, shot towards the deepest part of the Privy Council's residence.
Han Yanshou personally donned armor, held a sword, and stood on the steps of the back courtyard.
He was left with fewer than a hundred of his most loyal guards and retainers.
His face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with resentment and despair.
He never dreamed that he, with his fortified city and mighty army, would be breached in this way by a lone force of less than ten thousand men!
"Zhao Muyun...you're so ruthless! So calculating!"
Han Yanshou let out a mournful roar as he watched the Hedong army approach step by step.
His response was Xi Sheng's roar, like that of a wounded beast, and the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) stained with countless drops of blood!
The final battle was a foregone conclusion.
Under the overwhelming force and momentum, the stubborn Northern Di guards were swiftly annihilated.
Han Yanshou was stabbed in the thigh by Wu Shangzhi's spear in the chaos of battle. After falling to the ground, he was hacked to death by the swarming soldiers from Hedong!
The stepfather of the King of Loufan, a member of a prominent local family in Yanyun Road and a once-illustrious Grand Councilor of the Southern Court, ultimately ended his life in an extremely frustrating and tragic manner.
When Han Yanshou's head was held high, the remaining Northern Di guards finally lost their last will to resist and surrendered one after another.
At that moment, the eastern sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
The dawn's light pierced through the smoke of battle above Youzhou City, illuminating this land that had just undergone a tremendous upheaval.
Before the Privy Councilor, Zhao Muyun sheathed his sword, gazed at the slowly rising sun that symbolized victory and light, and exhaled a long breath.
A bloody battle all night!
Youzhou City, the heart of Yanyun that had been ceded by Emperor Yin Zhao of Dayin and ruled by the Northern Barbarians for half a year, has returned to the hands of the Dayin people!
The crimson banner with dark clouds slowly rose to the tall flagpole in front of the Privy Council's residence in the morning light, fluttering in the wind!
The blood-red dawn finally brought light.
As dawn broke through the clouds, golden light bathed the city of Youzhou.
The shouts of battle and the clash of weapons that had lasted all night gradually subsided.
Instead, the victors erupted in uncontrollable cheers.
Zhao Muyun stood on the large blue stone steps in front of the Privy Councilor's residence, with bloodstains and debris still not cleaned up under her feet.
His armor was covered in sword and blade marks and splattered blood, and his face showed undisguised exhaustion.
But those eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, like burning stars.
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