Nobody wanted a fugitive life. The original reason why they had chosen to follow Zhang Chong had been that Zhang Chong had promised them good career prospects, but now the bubble had burst, and they had ended up being reduced to rebels before they could achieve anything. As a result, many people wavered in their allegiance.
Seeing this, Ling Zhang immediately winked at Tao Feng, who hurriedly yelled, “As long as you put down your weapons, all your past misdeeds will be forgiven. I’ll petition His Majesty, who will grant you permission to be demobilized and return home!”
‘Demobilize us and let us go home? Really?’ many soldiers wondered.
“I swear with my post that I will let each and every one of you go back home safe and sound!” added Tao Feng.
‘We’ll be allowed to go home?’ A soldier who had wavered released his grip on his weapon, which dropped to the ground with a clang. Soon a second one followed suit, and then the third, the fourth… Almost one third of the Prefecture Guards dropped their weapons.
“You are courting death. Kill them!” Zhang Chong thundered.
Some soldiers dithered, having no intention to aim their weapons at their companions, but some others, without misgivings, drew their weapons at their army comrades who had dropped weapons to the ground…
“Zhang Chong! All of them are soldiers who used to fight for you. You cold-blooded son of a bitch! Do you really have to kill them?!” Tao Feng yelled anxiously.
Ling Zhang clenched his fists, overwhelming fury surging inside him. ‘Zhang Chong is worse than a beast!’
The face of Yuwen Tong, who was hiding in the dark, also fell cold. There was sheer iciness in his eyes which were staring at Zhang Chong.
Dai Cheng’s army was still nowhere to be seen, and the traps outside the city didn’t kill anybody. However, at least a sixth of the soldiers died at the hands of their companions, which was a horrifyingly gory sight.
Even the four deputy commanders were scared, watching the bodies of slaughtered soldiers, fright in the depths of their eyes.
Others who had wavered didn’t dare to think about surrender again. Some hurriedly picked up their weapons and dared not drop them again.
“Throw those bodies onto the nails,” instructed Zhang Chong.
What?!
“Zhang Chong! The deceased deserve respect. You would stoop so low as to torture their bodies?!” reprimanded Ling Zhang, fists clenched.
“You fucking animal!” Tao Feng jumped with rage and cursed aloud.
The atrocious acts of brutality were carried out under Zhang Chong’s command. After those traps were filled with bodies, the Prefecture Guards charged towards the city gate again.
This time, nobody on the gate tower felt any fear. Rage bubbled just below the surface of everybody’s mind, and they felt an almost overwhelming urge to kill Zhang Chong immediately!
“Everybody hold your ground. Defend the city gate, whatever the cost. Reinforcements are coming soon. We must stop Zhang Chong from entering the city. Otherwise all residents will be slaughtered!” Tao Feng yelled.
“Yes!” All people answered in unison.
Archers stayed on the gate tower, while others went down to the gate.
Zhang Chong’s army reached the city gate and launched an attack.
The fierce attack put all defending troops under pressure. Archers on the gate tower only managed to fire one volley of arrows before being forced to draw back and take shelter by more concentrated salvo of the enemies.
The city gate was being impacted again and again. In order to hold the gate, all defending soldiers were pushing it sparing no strength.
Yuwen Tong hiding on the rooftop squinted his eyes, put on a black mask, leaped off the rooftop, walked through the crowd of defending troops and pressed his palm against the city gate. With a loud bang, the city gate abruptly closed tightly and the impacts of the enemy’s battering ram couldn’t even budge it.
“I got this. Go up to the gate tower, all of you,” said Yuwen Tong.
Except for Ling Zhang, nobody knew the identity of this masked man who had suddenly shown up. All defending soldiers were shocked to see that he was powerful enough to defend the city gate against so many enemies all by himself.
Ling Zhang caught his breath, twisted his head around and instructed the soldiers, “Go up to the gate tower!”
The soldiers collected themselves. “Ar–Are you sure about this?”
“Rest assured, I got this. Just go up to the gate tower. Hang on for a while longer and reinforcements will arrive,” replied Yuwen Tong.
Seeing that he was really capable of single-handed holding the city gate still, the soldiers hurried to the gate tower after merely a fleeting dither.
Ling Zhang intended to go with them but Yuwen Tong grabbed his arm with the other hand. “You stay here.”
After a brief trance of surprise, he came to understand that Yuwen Tong was doing this out of his concern for him, so he said, “No, I want to help.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Yuwen Tong stared at him.
“I know, but go I must,” Ling Zhang replied, then removed Yuwen Tong’s hand, turned around and ran away.
Yuwen Tong knitted his eyebrows, whistled and with that someone immediately hurried over. “Marshal!”
“Go and protect him. Don’t let any harm come to him.”
“Yes, Marshal!”
When Ling Zhang climbed up the gate tower, a soldier of the Prefecture Guards had also reached the edge through a ladder. He immediately hurled over, conveniently wielded a long staff and hit the soldier off. The fist technique that he had been practicing these days had an extra advantage — though a staff technique was different from a fist technique, they shared the way of employing strength. Added to this his physique that was far stronger than before and he easily hit four enemies off the the gate tower in a row.
He joined forces with a defending soldier and pushed the ladder down to the ground. Then he spared a moment glancing in the direction of Qi County, eyebrows knitted tightly together. Without reinforcements, they wouldn’t be able to hold the gate tower much longer. Though they had Yuwen Tong, he was but one man, who was single-handedly performing the task of defending the city gate…
Right at this moment, a signal flare was sent up into the sky from somewhere not far away, the light of which brightened the night sky. Meanwhile, waves of loud yelling were emanating from that very spot!
Ling Zhang rejoiced. “Reinforcements. Reinforcements arrived! Hold your ground!”
Everybody saw the signal flare. Spirits of exhausted, wounded defending soldiers rose up. Finally, they managed to hold back the enemy until the arrival of reinforcements!
With a sepulchral expression on his face, Zhang Chong watched the approaching enemy’s reinforcements and yelled, “Wang He, I want you and your men to keep attacking the city. All others turn around and hold back enemies from the rear!”
However, with his troops being forced to multitask, it became even more difficult for Zhang Chong to take the city.
The troops number of the newly arrived reinforcements was no smaller than that of the Prefecture Guards!
The battle lasted until daybreak. Countless soldiers of the Prefecture Guards were killed or wounded, and a lot more surrendered. Not seeing any hope of taking the city, Zhang Chong fled to the east, followed by his two surviving deputy commanders, Wang He and Dou Li, as well as some personal guards.
The road leading to the east was bad, and Zhang Chong would have to cut his way through an area covered with thorny bush if he was to get to the main road. He had chosen to flee in that direction because he had run out of choice.
“Don’t let them escape!” Dai Cheng and his men pursued Zhang Chong.
Ling Zhang had been fighting all night, and his hands were trembling hard uncontrollably. If it weren’t for his strong will power, he would have collapsed some time ago.
The Prefecture Guards had been defeated and Zhang Chong was on the run. In no state to pursue the enemies, Ling Zhang leaned against the city wall and slowly slid down to the ground, his lips and tongue feeling dry, too exhausted to utter a single word.
Since it was inconvenient for Yuwen Tong to be seen at the city gate, he had left after Dai Cheng’s troops entered the city, leaving a bodyguard tending Ling Zhang.
“Childe Ling, let me see you back home to get some rest.”
Ling Zhang shook his head, struggled to his feet and looked in the direction that Zhang Chong had fled. “I’m staying here waiting for news to come.”
Zhang Chong must die. Otherwise he would never find peace of mind.
“Rest assured, Childe Ling. Apart from Dai Cheng, the Marshal also took some men to pursue Zhang Chong. I assure you Zhang Chong will die by the Marshal’s saber.”
Ling Zhang was taken aback. “What if Dai Cheng finds out? It will give the emperor an excuse to punish him!”
“Marshal won’t let that happen,” said the bodyguard.
But Ling Zhang had already stood up. “I’m going to find him.”
“Childe Ling?”
“It’ll spare me from worry if I go there and be by his side. Ca–Can you help me get there?”
The bodyguard thought for a while and then nodded. “Okay, but if you by any chance don’t feel well on our way there, you must tell me.”
Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head. The bodyguard carried him on his shoulders, took a flying leap towards the outside of the city wall, tapped his feet on it to take another leap, and so on, heading away from the city gate.
