Chapter 58: She vows to be a Valkyrie born for slaughter...
After the initial chaotic battles failed, the Northern Di army clearly adjusted its deployment and began a general offensive.
The enormous catapults roared with a chilling sound, hurling millstone-sized stones and flaming oil canisters at the city walls. Each impact sent the ancient walls trembling violently, sending rubble flying.
A dense rain of arrows, like dark clouds, poured down on the city walls. Soldiers were constantly struck by arrows and fell, their blood instantly staining the crenellations red. But immediately, others would take their place.
Bai Ziyuan had retreated from outside the city and ascended the west city tower, which was under the greatest pressure, to personally oversee the battle. He had just been wounded in the left arm by an arrow, and blood was dripping continuously from his armor, but he seemed oblivious, hoarsely issuing orders: "Archers, fire! Suppress the enemy's follow-up echelons!"
The defenders fought back desperately, and volleys of arrows felled the Northern Di soldiers who tried to scale the walls like leaves. Logs and stones tumbled down the siege ladders with a deafening roar, accompanied by a series of shrill screams.
Suddenly, with a deafening roar, an exceptionally sturdy siege ladder slammed onto the city wall, its iron grappling hooks gripping the crenellations. Dozens of the most elite Northern Di soldiers, wielding curved swords in their mouths, scrambled upwards like monkeys, poised to leap onto the city wall!
"Follow me! Hold the breach!" Bai Ziyuan roared, his eyes bloodshot, as he drew his sword and personally led his troops in the charge. The longsword in his hand transformed into deadly flashes of light, each swing sending up a spray of blood.
His silver armor was already completely stained red with the blood of the enemy, making it impossible to distinguish its original color. Seeing their commander so fearless, the soldiers' morale, which had been wavering, was reignited. They roared and charged at the enemy troops scaling the city walls, slashing with swords, stabbing with spears, even biting with their teeth and ramming with their bodies. Finally, they suppressed this fierce offensive and annihilated all the enemy troops who had climbed the city walls.
But more Northern Di soldiers rushed through the city gates like locusts, setting Luoyang ablaze with flames.
The once bustling streets are now blocked by ruins, burning roof beams, and layers upon layers of corpses.
The air was thick with the stench of blood, burnt flesh, and a sense of despair. The howls of the Northern Di soldiers, the groans of the wounded, and the clanging of weapons echoed and amplified repeatedly in the narrow space, making one's eardrums ache.
The street fighting in Luoyang was like a physical manifestation of hell on earth.
Bai Lian stood beneath a gate half-hidden by rubble. Her once gleaming silver armor was now mottled, the solidified dark red intertwined with fresh, vibrant red, outlining a tragic totem. The longsword "Snow Phoenix" in her hand hung to the ground, a drop of viscous blood sliding down its blade and landing silently in the dust.
Bai Lian's calm gaze swept quickly across the street before her. This was one of the key routes leading to the city center and the last evacuation zone for the people; it absolutely could not be lost.
"Team A is holding the high wall on the left, with crossbow bolts covering the street intersection ahead!"
"Group B, hold off the enemy's advance at the ruined building on the right!"
"Group C, follow my orders and fill the gap!"
Her commands were clear, concise, and without the slightest hesitation, reaching the ears of every Tiger Warrior even amidst the chaos of the battlefield. These battle-hardened elites silently carried out the orders, like precise killing machines, swiftly seizing advantageous positions.
Soon, a dark mass of Northern Di soldiers surged into the streets like a tidal wave. Taking advantage of their numbers, they advanced savagely, their ferocious faces gleaming with the light of their blades.
"put!"
With Bai Lian's command, the Tiger Legion crossbowmen, who occupied the high ground, pulled the triggers, and specially made armor-piercing crossbow bolts rained down with a piercing shriek! The Northern Di soldiers at the forefront fell like wheat being cut down, their screams echoing one after another.
However, there were simply too many Northern Di people. The newcomers trampled over the corpses of their comrades and charged forward madly, instantly approaching the first roadblock set up by the Tiger Warriors.
"kill!"
Bai Lianqing shouted, and her figure leaped out like a silver lightning bolt. She didn't wait for the enemy to completely break through the roadblock, but instead took the initiative to rush into the enemy group against the current!
At this moment, she was no longer a general, but transformed into a Valkyrie born for slaughter!
She wielded a longsword with a life of its own, the tip trembling and flashing with cold light, precisely slicing through the vulnerable points of enemy soldiers' wrists, faces, and throats, instantly killing or wounding many. Her movements were as agile as a ghost, weaving through the flashing blades. Enemy scimitars often grazed her armor by the thinnest of margin, and she always managed to launch the most precise and deadly counterattack in those split second. Her tattered silver armor, far from being a burden, seemed to be an extension of her body, reflecting a chilling light with every movement.
A valiant Northern Barbarian captain seized an opening and slashed fiercely at the joint of Bai Lian's left shoulder armor! The blade embedded itself deeply, and blood gushed out instantly, staining the silver armor red.
The captain's face had just revealed a sinister smile when he met Bai Lian's indifferent gaze. There was no pain, no panic in her eyes, only a cold, detached indifference, as if she were looking down on an ant.
Bai Lian didn't even bother with the knife on her shoulder. With her right hand holding the sword, she slashed directly across the captain's throat. The captain didn't even have time to utter a sound before he fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, the horrific wound on Bai Lian's shoulder was shrinking at a visible speed, and the bleeding gradually stopped, as if an invisible force was forcibly healing it! Although it could not be restored to its original state instantly, this illogical sight was enough to destroy the fighting spirit of ordinary soldiers and make them feel desperate.
"She...she's a monster! An unkillable monster!" a Northern Di soldier cried out in terror, his steps involuntarily retreating.
"Tiger Warriors, advance three steps!" Bai Lian's voice remained cold and clear, as if she herself hadn't just been injured. She pointed her silver sword forward, seizing the enemy's momentary panic, and gave the order for a counterattack.
The surviving Tiger Warriors, as if injected with a stimulant, unleashed astonishing fighting power. Under the command of their god-like general, they managed to force the invading enemy troops back a considerable distance.
The battle entered its most brutal tug-of-war phase. Bai Lian always charged to the front lines; wherever she appeared, the enemy troops melted away as quickly as ice thrown into scalding steel.
Sweat and blood soaked her hair, sticking to her forehead and cheeks, but her breathing remained steady and her eyes remained sharp. Her swordsmanship was like a phoenix spreading its wings, with fierce energy bursting out from her in all directions!
Each of her attacks seemed to drain the last breath from the alley, and the remaining Northern Di soldiers were utterly terrified, letting out screams as they retreated in a disheveled rout.
Bai Lian didn't pursue; she leaned against the wall, slightly panting. The bloodstains on her silver armor were thicker and more abundant. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the smoke, casting a dark golden halo over her.
Behind her were the Tiger Warriors, panting, covered in wounds but with fanatical eyes, and the streets that had been temporarily saved.
"General Bai, all the residents of the city have been evacuated," a soldier reported.
"What about my father and grandfather?" Bai Lian asked, panting.
"Both Lord Bai and Lord Changsun have successfully left the city, please rest assured, General."
"That's good." Bai Lian sighed. "Tiger Warriors, listen to my command, follow me to the city walls of Phoenix Dance to assemble. We still have a fierce battle to fight!"
-
Phoenix Dance City, Imperial Ancestral Temple.
This sacred site where the royal family worshipped their ancestors was now shrouded in an atmosphere even heavier and more oppressive than that of a battlefield. Countless eternal lamps flickered in the deep hall, casting the ancestral tablets on and off, as if countless eyes were silently watching the dynasty at its most critical moment.
Jia Fengtian strode in, his footsteps echoing clearly in the empty, silent hall. In his hands he held a sandalwood box, its surface carved with a pattern of nine dragons playing with a pearl, ancient and majestic.
He stopped in front of Galorin, who was following closely behind, and solemnly and carefully opened the wooden box. Inside the box, on a bright yellow brocade, lay a jade seal.
The seal knob is carved with five intertwined dragons, and the inscription "Received the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Reign Be Long and Prosperous" is written in seal script. It is the Imperial Seal of the State, which has been passed down for hundreds of years and symbolizes the legitimacy of imperial power.
Jia Fengtian stretched out his hands and presented the jade seal, his movements slow and solemn, as if he were holding the weight of the entire world.
“This jade seal,” Jia Fengtian’s voice broke the silence of the ancestral temple with an unprecedented, bone-deep weariness, “has been passed down for generations and seems to be infinitely honorable, but it is nourished by the blood of our Jia clan.”
His gaze fell upon the jade seal, as if he could see through its warm luster the endless power struggles, battles, and betrayals behind it.
“Now,” Jia Fengtian handed the jade seal to Jia Luolin, his gaze complex and unreadable, containing scrutiny, expectation, and perhaps even a hint of barely perceptible pity, “it’s your turn.”
Galo Lin looked up in shock at his father. This was the first time he had ever heard his eternally majestic and unfathomable father speak in such a weary tone.
He stretched out his hands, and even he, usually so composed, couldn't help but tremble as he accepted the heavy jade seal. The icy touch instantly spread from his fingertips throughout his body, freezing his heart as well.
Jia Fengtian stopped looking at him and slowly walked towards the rows of ancestral tablets. He reached out and gently stroked the cold wooden tablets with his fingers, as if touching fragments of history, sealed away and intertwined with blood and fire.
“Once you obtain the throne and sit on this dragon chair, you are destined to become a lonely ruler.” Jia Fengtian’s voice was ethereal, like a dream. “I heard the Grand Tutor say this when I was young, but I never took it seriously. It wasn’t until… the year your mother died, that I truly understood its meaning.”
He stopped and looked out at the sky, which was reddened by the firelight. His gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, and he saw the woman who had once smiled so sweetly and was as bright as the warm spring sun.
“Father…” Galo Lin couldn’t help but want to step forward.
Suddenly, Jia Fengtian turned around abruptly, his gaze fixed on Jia Luolin, his voice abruptly becoming extremely stern, filled with an unquestionable imperial majesty:
Kneel down!
Galo Lin was shocked. Almost instinctively, she knelt down on the cold gold brick floor with a "thud," still holding the Imperial Seal of the State high in her hands.
Jia Fengtian pointed to the solemn ancestral tablets, his voice booming like a bell, echoing throughout the ancestral temple: "Now, before the ancestors of the Jia clan, before heaven and earth, swear! Tell me, tell our ancestors, that you will spare no effort to protect the people of Feng Kingdom, sweep away the demonic influence, and cleanse the world!"
Galo Lin took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions within her, raised the jade seal high above her head, tilted her head back, and with all her might, uttered each word with resounding force:
"Ancestors above! Your descendant Jialuolin hereby swears! In this life, I will exert all my strength to wipe out the enemy and restore our land! Throughout my life, I will always keep the well-being of the people in mind, and dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath! If I break this oath, may Heaven despise me, Earth forsake me, and may gods and men kill me!"
His voice carried a resolute determination, echoing for a long time in the solemn and majestic hall.
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