Chapter 386 Water and Fire City
One month ago.
Within the territory of the State of Zhao.
Xiao Shi and Bai Qi have already conquered two major states of Zhao.
However, in the eyes of Xiao Shi and Bai Qi, this progress was far too slow.
Moreover, the further the battle progressed, the more astonishing the resilience of the Zhao army became, and there was even a faint tendency for them to push back.
This made Xiao Shi and Bai Qi feel the urgency of time.
Although Xiahou Nan had done his best to hold back the Qi state, his 500,000-strong army was ultimately limited in its ability to defeat the strongest Qi state.
Moreover, not all cities in the Chu region were easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The longer it dragged on, the more difficult it became for Xiahou Nan.
However, their own advantages were simply not enough.
Therefore, after discussing it, Xiao Shi and Bai Qi decided to launch a large-scale attack from Han Gu Dao. Bai Qi would lead the army to defend Shui Huo Cheng, while Xiao Shi would personally lead the army to attack the city.
As long as Bai Qi can defend Shuihuo City and protect Xiao Shi's army's rear, then Xiao Shi can put enough pressure on Zhao!
Bai Qi accepted the order and, with great confidence, made a pledge, promising to defend the City of Water and Fire.
After learning of Xiao Shi's intentions, the State of Zhao appointed Li Mu as the commander-in-chief and led his army to attack Baiqi.
Although Li Mu was young, he was also a skilled military commander. When he faced Bai Qi, they were evenly matched and he never lost the battle. In fact, the ferocity of his sieges was something Bai Qi had never seen before.
Baiqi hasn't had a good night's sleep lately.
He often paced back and forth late at night, pondering strategies.
In Bai Qi's view, he not only had to defend the city gate, but also had to switch from defense to offense!
On that very day, a guest advisor under Bai Qi offered a plan.
This guest elder, who was the sect leader of the White Demon Sect, was betrayed by his disciples and fled the sect with serious injuries. He then sought refuge with Bai Qi, who protected him and helped him reclaim the White Demon Sect.
The sect leader proposed an extremely terrifying method.
It was so terrifying that even Baiqi hesitated.
The Water and Fire City where Baiqi is currently stationed is no ordinary city.
Legend has it that in ancient times, the City of Water and Fire was the earthly entrance to the underworld.
However, after the ancient war of the gods ended, the god of the underworld who ruled the underworld died, the laws of the underworld became chaotic, and the ghost fire from the underworld would overflow from the underworld.
Every so often, when the Ghostly Fire condenses to a certain degree, it will burn and crack the ground of the city, causing it to rise from the ground.
But generally, every thing has a cause and an effect, and the laws of heaven and earth operate in this balance.
Therefore, according to legend, there is a Mysterious Soul Lake beneath this city.
As the Ghostly Flame condenses to a certain degree, the water in the Mysterious Soul Lake will continuously evaporate, and it will be affected by the laws of the Water and Fire City, condensing in the air and remaining there.
When the Ghostly Fire is about to rage, the Mysterious Soul Water will turn into rain and fall, both to extinguish the fire and to nourish the land.
Therefore, Water and Fire City has no four seasons, only "summer" formed when the Ghost Fire is about to emerge from the ground, and "winter" after the Xuanpo Rain falls.
Thus, an extremely delicate balance is maintained between the two.
Although the Ghostly Flame is currently gathering in Water-Fire City and the temperature inside the city is gradually rising, it will still be at least three months before the Mysterious Soul Rain falls.
The leader of the White Demon Sect claimed that his sect possessed an ancient formation that could trigger the Ghostly Flame ahead of time!
At the same time, this formation will temporarily affect the laws of Water and Fire City, causing the Xuanpo Rain to fall only seven days after the Ghost Fire raged.
However, this formation requires a blood sacrifice of all 700,000 people in the city of Water and Fire!
This made Bai Qi very hesitant.
After all, these 700,000 ordinary people are all innocent.
But in the end...
For the sake of Qin's hegemony.
In order not to betray the trust of the Frost King and His Majesty, Baiqi still decided to do so!
Hundreds of thousands of Qin soldiers were deployed together to set up this magic formation.
The Qin army was unaware of the purpose of this formation; they only knew how to execute military orders.
After the magic array was set up, Bai Qi led his army out of the city to meet the enemy. Then, the leader of the White Demon Sect led his disciples to perform a blood sacrifice on all the people in the city.
The cries of agony within the city were blocked by the magic array.
Seven hundred thousand people turned into blood that flowed through the town, then coalesced into a massive magic array before disappearing.
On the battlefield, Bai Qi knew what was happening in the Water and Fire City behind him, but he remained unmoved.
All of this was for the Qin state's hegemony!
After the magic array was completed, Bai Qi's 500,000-strong army returned to the city, only to find that everyone had vanished, and the entire city had become an empty city.
The soldiers had no idea what had happened in the city.
In the time that followed, Bai Qi continued to defend the city, and even led a large army to charge against Li Mu.
However, Baiqi always pretended to be defeated and returned to the city.
Gradually, it seemed that Water and Fire City could no longer hold on.
One morning, the scouts received news that there was no one on the walls of Water and Fire City!
Li Mu quickly led his troops to the walls of Shuihuo City.
Apart from the tightly closed city gates, the city walls were deserted, making it seem as if Baiqi had abandoned the city and fled.
"General, shall we enter the city?" the deputy general asked Li Mu.
Li Mu frowned, hesitating: "This matter is too strange; there might be a trap in the city!"
"General, you are probably overthinking it." Chen Shengze smiled. "The defensive formation of Shuihuo City is already weak. After our attacks over the past few days, the formation is almost broken. Not to mention that Baiqi's army is exhausted. Even if he doesn't leave, I am confident that I can break the city within five days. Rather than that, he might as well take the opportunity to retreat and shrink his defenses."
“Yes, General, we should recapture Water and Fire City as soon as possible and press our advantage. Xiao Shi is putting too much pressure on Han Gu Dao right now,” another lieutenant said.
After pondering for a long time, Li Mu decided: "The entire army shall be on alert and advance into the city in a long snake formation. If things go wrong, retreat immediately."
"Yes, General!"
All the generals responded in unison.
Li Mu led his army to break through the city gates and enter the Water and Fire City.
Looking at this desolate scene, Li Mu frowned.
What about the people of this Water and Fire City?
Why is there no one here?
Could it be that they were all moved away by the white ibex?
The problem is, what did Baiqi take these people away for? They didn't even spare the elderly and children, which is completely illogical.
"General, what's going on with this city? Where are the people?" asked the lieutenant named Wen Qian, puzzled.
"I don't know what happened, but one thing is certain: Baiqi has indeed left."
Li Mu shook his head.
"The Water and Fire City is not in too much trouble. Order the entire army to rest for a day, and we will advance tomorrow!"
"Yes, General!"
The messenger relayed the order, and soon Li Mu's entire army entered the City of Water and Fire.
Just as the Zhao army was about to set up camp...
Suddenly, the city gate slammed shut with a loud bang, and a blood-red array covered the entire Water and Fire City.
In the next instant, the temperature in the City of Water and Fire rose rapidly!
(End of this chapter)
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