Chapter 151 To catch the thief, first catch the king!
The tall and swift horse charged straight from the other end of the long street like a flash of lightning, passing by them in the blink of an eye. Shang Ruyi felt a gust of wind ruffle her hair, and through the messy strands, her gaze met the eyes of the person on horseback in a panic.
Those eyes, cold and reserved, seemed to hold countless unspoken words in a fleeting glance.
It's Yuwen Ye!
He's finally here!
At this moment, Shang Ruyi felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Her heart, which had been dead and unmoved just moments before, was now beating like a drum. Just one glance had completely thrown her emotions into disarray.
But it was only a fleeting glance.
She seemed to see a hint of disbelief and astonishment in his eyes as well. The next moment, Yuwen Ye looked up and stared ahead. His eyes immediately filled with murderous intent, which seemed to coalesce into a form and finally condensed on the longsword he was wielding. With the force of a thousand thunderbolts, he charged towards the Turkic soldiers in front of him.
A piercing scream rang out from the crowd.
This time, Shang Ruyi saw it even more clearly than before. The long sword transformed into a vicious dragon, roaring as it rushed into the ranks of the Turkic soldiers charging towards them. With a few soft whooshing sounds, the dragon, wrapped in splattered flesh and blood, roared out from their bodies. Then, the enemy soldiers turned into blood and flesh in the cold light, scattering all over the ground.
This strike was earth-shattering!
Just as everyone was shocked by the scene before them and had not even had time to react, another group of people suddenly rushed up from behind Yuwen Ye. As they advanced, Shang Ruyi felt a gust of wind, each more ferocious than the last, sweep past her. The people brandished their swords and charged through the ranks, and in an instant, countless Turkic soldiers fell to their blades!
A cheer erupted from the crowd. Although people were shocked by the bloody scene, they were even more overjoyed at the arrival of the divine soldiers—there was hope! Everyone was saved!
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but shout, "Yuwen Ye!"
Whether it was her imagination or not, the force on her wrist seemed to increase during that joyful shout.
But he didn't stop.
After slaughtering a column of Turkic soldiers, Yuwen Ye spurred his horse and galloped away, his iron hooves trampling directly through the chaotic crowd at the city gate. Screams and cheers rang out at the same time. His figure was as imposing as a mountain, and behind his resolute back was a trail of blood-stained carnage.
Ahead of him lay an even more brutal battlefield of bloodshed.
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's smile froze on her face—
What is Yuwen Ye up to?
The reason this batch of reinforcements came was to relieve the siege of Yanmen and protect the emperor. As long as they repel the Turkic soldiers who were advancing into the city and drive them out of Yanmen County, that would be fine. Why did he abandon the fierce battle at the city gate and rush out of the city instead?
Outside the city, a massive Turkic army of 100,000 men surged forth like an overwhelming tide!
The number of people he brought—Shang Ruyi, in her haste, roughly estimated that there were at most a thousand.
Although his fatal blow just now shocked everyone, it was only a street battle in the city. If he went out of the city and faced nearly 100,000 Turkic soldiers outside the city, his small force would not be enough to resist!
Shang Ruyi shouted anxiously, "Yuwen Ye!"
However, the deafening roar inside and outside the city quickly swallowed her faint cries. Shang Ruyi watched helplessly as Yuwen Ye galloped away on horseback. Although some Turkic soldiers charged towards them, the force that had just blocked the city gate had already scattered the enemy's ranks and pushed back the battle line considerably. The scattered enemies were no match for Yuwen Ye.
He wielded his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) like a shield of light, knocking down arrows aimed at him. As he drew closer to the Turkic army, the Turkic archers in the distance no longer dared to draw their bows and fire arrows, and Yuwen Ye moved as if he were in an empty field.
People are like tigers, horses are like dragons!
Along the way, countless Turkic soldiers fell under his sword, while the troop following closely behind him charged even faster, soon reaching his level.
Just then, Yuwen Ye's speed actually slowed down.
Is he going to back out?
Just as Shang Ruyi stared wide-eyed ahead in astonishment, suddenly, the group of men changed formation. They transformed into a V-shape, instantly surpassing Yuwen Ye, like an arrow shot deep into the enemy ranks. The soldiers swung their swords like rainbows, and screams filled the air. They actually managed to force a crack open in the Turkic formation.
Yuwen Ye charged forward under the cover of this group of men.
At this moment, not only the warriors of the Daye Dynasty, not only the Turkic soldiers who were somewhat dazed by the charge, but even Shang Ruyi and others in the city were stunned!
What they are doing is—
Shang Ruyi held her breath, staring wide-eyed at the unbelievable scene. She looked in the direction Yuwen Ye was pointing his sword, then looked ahead. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared among tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers.
Shang Ruyi was startled and suddenly understood.
Yuwen Ye's target was the leader of the Turkic army, the Turkic Khan who had intimidated Yanmen County with his whistling arrows and severely injured him—Ashina Shali!
This time, he brought only a small force. Judging from the current situation, they should have all gone out to attack, and there were only about a thousand men. Although such a force might cause some shock to the enemy army when it suddenly appeared, the enemy's army of 100,000 men could easily wipe out this thousand-man army once they regrouped.
Therefore, what they need to do is not to confront the enemy head-on, but to use strategy.
In military strategy, there is a plan that is the most dangerous, yet also the most effective at solving the immediate problem—
To catch the thief, first catch the king!
Yuwen Ye's target was not the Turkic soldiers who had stormed into the city, nor the 100,000-strong army outside the city; his target was the leader of that 100,000-strong army!
Now it seems that his plan has worked.
His sudden attack and overwhelming force indeed threw the enemy into disarray for a moment. Furthermore, he used the cover of the enemy formation to directly penetrate deep into the enemy ranks. In this way, a small team managed to disrupt the entire enemy army!
Even now, he is only a few hundred steps away from that glint of cold light in the crowd, from Ashina Shali!
In that instant, Shang Ruyi's blood boiled.
She wished she could grow wings and fly to his side to witness this moment. But even from such a distance, she still saw that after Yuwen Ye had once again cut down a Turkic soldier who had charged into their formation and tried to fight him, he stretched out his long arm and threw the long sword in his hand, which was already stained black and red with blood, out of his hand.
A dragon's roar was heard—
The longsword instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting straight out from between the two soldiers clearing the way, severing the heads of the two Turkic soldiers charging towards them. The two men and their horses fell to the ground, and the attack also tripped up and knocked down a whole group of Turkic soldiers rushing towards them.
Suddenly, his vision went blank.
The tall and imposing figure in front of them became even more prominent.
But at this moment, Shang Ruyi felt a sense of panic. He had no weapon, so what should he do next?
Just then, she suddenly saw Yuwen Ye reach back and grab a longbow from his horse. Only then did she realize that a massive longbow, almost as long and wide as a person, was slung across his horse's back.
Divine Arm Bow!
It was the Divine Arm Bow that Wang Shaoji had lost to him before!
Shang Ruyi was overjoyed, but before she could even smile, at the end of her gaze, amidst tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers, the tall figure also made a move.
In his hand, a cold glint was also aimed at Yuwen Ye!
It's a whistling arrow!
When those two words appeared in her mind, Shang Ruyi felt as if she could not breathe. She had never witnessed the true power of the Divine Arm Bow, but she knew about the power of the whistling arrow since childhood. Moreover, she had suffered greatly from being shot by the arrow this time. Even now, seeing that cold light, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder again.
What if Yuwen Ye is injured in this war? What if he—
She dared not think any further and desperately rushed towards the city gates, shouting, "Yuwen Ye, be careful!"
But just then, a heavy force on her wrist pulled her back forcefully. Shang Ruyi stumbled and fell on someone. She looked up in panic and saw Chu Yang staring at her with a stern face: "Stay here for me!"
"Can--"
"But what? You can't do anything!"
It was hard to tell whether his expression was anger or joy, or perhaps a hint of ferocity amidst a mix of emotions. His words, at that moment, were like a bucket of cold water poured over Shang Ruyi's head, instantly bringing her to her senses.
That's right, there was nothing she could do; she was powerless to change anything about the war.
She gritted her teeth and could only turn back to look at the city gate again.
Amidst the vast army, Yuwen Ye and Ashina Shali both held their breath and stared intently, longbows in hand, drawn to their full length, arrows nocked, their immense power aimed at the people in front of them.
In an instant, everything around seemed to freeze.
The only clear thing for them in this chaotic world was the direction the flashing cold light pointed to—they were each other!
At this moment, no matter how much fighting and struggle occurred around them, it could no longer affect them. Yuwen Ye's eyes were like those of a hawk, and he even saw his own reflection in the amber eyes of the person in the distance who was drawing a bow and arrow.
The moment is crucial!
At that very moment, a sharp cry came from afar!
It's Mingdi! Mingdi has already made its move!
Yuwen Ye remained calm. The Divine Arm Bow, which contained all his power, emitted a deep, muffled sound in his hand, like a dragon's roar. His fingers were firm as iron, ready to strike.
Just before he was about to release the arrow, he suddenly caught his breath.
Immediately, the arrow at his fingertips, like lightning gathering all the chaotic power of the dark clouds, shot out from the divine crossbow with a muffled roar!
In an instant, heaven and earth were shaken, and the sun and moon lost their light!
At this moment, everyone's eyes were drawn to the two figures that flew from opposite sides of the battlefield almost simultaneously and then converged at a single point.
Only Shang Ruyi, her eyes almost bloodshot and red at this moment, stared intently at Yuwen Ye—
Just now, Yuwen Ye's body swayed slightly!
Although it was only the slightest, so slight that it seemed like just a fleeting illusion, she clearly saw that the moment Yuwen Ye released the arrow, he seemed to uncontrollably tilt to the side.
In archery, even the slightest change, such as a shift in wind direction, can affect the arrow's trajectory and ultimately influence the outcome of a battle or even a war.
Shang Ruyi's heart seemed to stop beating at that moment.
Her gaze anxiously swept over the most breathtaking scene on the battlefield—
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