Prince Yuan Zhao of Dawei had been nurtured since childhood as the future successor to the Dawei Emperor. Naturally, he was surrounded by highly skilled people; although his power was not equal to that of the Dawei Emperor, it was very close. In recent years, he had become capable of ruling Dawei.
However, the second prince of Dawei, Yuan Chen, was different. Over the years, he had been overshadowed by Yuan Zhao. Since his childhood, he had relied on his mother’s family and himself. His mother’s family was less influential than Yuan Zhao’s family, and so his talent was not as great as Yuan Zhao’s. Therefore, fewer talented people were available to him.
Yuan Chen, understanding the weight of the two siege cannons, naturally used all the masters he had at his disposal to protect them. But he was up against Yan Huisheng, the crown prince of Daliang. Although he had been suppressed by the Daliang Emperor over the years, Yan Huisheng was both virtuous and talented, outstanding in his abilities. His Eastern Palace secret guards were extremely ruthless, trained to kill in both open and hidden operations.
Therefore, when the two armies faced each other on the battlefield surrounding the siege cannons, Yuan Chen’s people were not their equal.
Seeing the unfavorable circumstances from atop the city walls, Yuan Chen cried out urgently, "Protect the siege cannons! Shadow guards, move out!"
A group of black-clad men who had been protecting Yuan Zhao, not yet used, obeyed the order and left the city.
Helan Ying also saw the trend turning against them. If the two siege cannons were destroyed, Dawei would lose its advantage; their crossbow arrows were not their most powerful weapon.
He too shouted, "Quick, everyone, protect the siege cannons!"
Simultaneously with the two shouts, Yun An raised his sword and, with a swift stroke, severed the rope. With a loud splash, the chain used for firing was cut off. Zhi Yan followed immediately with another stroke. With a "crack," the siege engine’s fuse was completely severed.
One of the siege cannons was destroyed, making Yuan Chen’s face dark. He drew his sword and was about to rush forward.
One of his advisors immediately grabbed him, "Your Highness, it’s dangerous, you cannot go. The Shadow Guards have already gone down. You need to stay in command at the rear."
"I’m going," Helan Ying’s face also changed. With no one to stop him, he drew his sword and charged forward with a roar.
With one of the siege cannons destroyed, the morale of the Daliang soldiers soared. Before they had time to destroy the other siege cannon, a great number of black-clad people stormed into the battlefield. These men were extremely skilled with unconventional techniques, and every one of them was fiercely aggressive.
The two sides fought even more fiercely.
Yan Huisheng gripped his sword hilt, "I’m going in!"
The senior duke turned around sharply, "Your Highness?"
Yan Huisheng said, "Old National Protector, stay in charge of backup, I’m going in!"
Xie Lin and others unanimously objected, "Your Highness, you cannot go!"
"My sword can cut through iron like mud," said Yan Huisheng in a low voice. "This is an order!"
At this time, a man stepped forward from the rear. It was Shi Yan, the leader of the Princess Residence guards. "Your Highness, while our Seventh Miss was staying at the Princess Residence, she taught us a sword formation. I have been leading people to train daily, without any negligence or slack. We have achieved some success. Allow us to go."
Yan Huisheng then remembered the three hundred guards from the Princess Residence that Duanhua had given him. He nodded, "Good, you all will go with me."
He immediately led his men and charged into the battlefield.
Xie Lin’s face whitened, and gritting his teeth, he spurred his horse to follow.
Jiang Xing, being a scholar, barely knew any martial arts. Demonstrating a keen self-awareness, he did not move. Chen Zhou was different; having been trained in martial arts at his home, he too followed.
The senior duke did not stop him.
The beating of the drums was thunderous, and the battle was intense.
After Yan Huisheng and his men entered the battlefield, Yun An and the others, seeing the prince personally entering the fray, were shocked together. Shi Yan and his men surrounded the siege engine, forming a sword array. This covered those engaged in fierce combat, whether they were Dawei’s masters or Daliang’s.
At first, this sword array did not seem very powerful. It merely reduced losses for Daliang. But gradually, as the array shrank, the Dawei masters began to feel its attack. Only when they could not avoid it did they realize the power of the sword array.
A sword array of three hundred people was like a sky-sweeping net. With the changes in swordplay, the power was enormous.
From atop the city walls, seeing the situation turn against him, the second prince Yuan Chen gritted his teeth and shouted, "Sound the retreat!"
He did not expect that, despite having two siege cannons, they only managed to intimidate the Daliang soldiers in the beginning. But as Daliang’s masters surrounded them intending to destroy the siege cannons, and as Yan Huisheng, the Crown Prince of Daliang, with his strange group of men entered the battlefield, executing the same manoeuvres as if drawing a circle, trapping the Dawei masters within and attacking, causing the Dawei masters to fall one after another, he was both shocked and furious. His eyes turned red with rage.
The sound of retreating was sounded in Dawei.
The Shadow Guard retreated, protecting the siege cannons, and the lead guard shouted, "Retreat!"
How could Yan Huisheng allow them to escape? He was determined to destroy this siege cannon today at all costs. He shouted, "Kill!"
All the masters of Daliang engaged the Dawei Shadow Guards, trying hard to keep them behind. For a moment, the fight was fierce.
Yun An no longer evaded the downward swinging greatsword, rising hand and falling sword, with a "crack," he destroyed the connecting chain. Ran Qing took a blow for Yun An, he himself receiving a strike. Yan Huisheng raised his sword, simultaneously with Yun An, once again there was a "crack," as the siege cannon was completely broken from the cannon tube. Seeing a guard fall while protecting Yan Huisheng, another guard rushed forward to block the blow and fell to the ground.
Yan Huisheng turned around, killing another person with a sword. He silently looked at the guard who had blocked the sword for him.
"Beat the drums!" The senior duke saw that the two siege cannons had been destroyed, spurred his horse into the battlefield, and shouted "Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The morale of the Daliang soldiers soared.
Yuan Chen watched with burning eyes.
Helan Ying was horrified, and shouted to his guards, "Blow up the two siege cannons, don’t worry about me."
As his order was given, the guards around him rushed towards the two siege cannons.
Yan Huisheng also shouted loudly, "Stop them!"
He intended to take these two ruined siege cannons back and have his people study them to see how Dawei had made them.
As the words fell from his lips, there were two loud "boom" sounds. The two siege cannons were blown up by Helan Ying’s men. They understood the siege cannons well and had triggered some mechanism. The cannons exploded from within, shattering into fragments.
Yan Huisheng’s face was stern as he rode towards Helan Ying.
Helan Ying’s guards immediately retreated to protect him, but it was too late. Helan Ying was quickly surrounded by Yan Huisheng and the Eastern Palace secret guards. He was hit with two swords, and by the time his guards returned, he had fallen.
"Close the city gates, close the city gates quickly!" Numerous cries echoed from the gate of Dawei City.
The city gate of Qiangli City was slowly closing.
The Shadow Guard leader withdrew with his men, glancing back at the fallen Helan Ying. His eyes narrowed, but he decisively led his men back into Qiangli City.
As the city gates closed, a few remaining Dawei soldiers were still being slaughtered by Daliang soldiers.
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