Chapter 65 - 63: The Fall of Luojing
Chen Ye’s figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow. Despite moving second, he arrived first, instantly catching up to the shadowy figure attempting to cut down the banner.
The man felt a vicious gust of wind at the back of his neck and was horrified. Without a second thought, he spun around and threw out a palm strike. The attack was fierce, carrying a wave of chilling energy.
Chen Ye neither dodged nor evaded, simply throwing a punch of his own.
There were no flashy techniques, only the purest form of power.
The instant fist met palm, the Assassin felt as if he’d been struck head-on by a battering ram. He was sent flying backward, coughing up a great mouthful of blood in mid-air.
BANG!
He staggered as he landed, his eyes filled with utter terror.
At the same time, Chen Ye closed the distance. As the light from the campfires illuminated the man’s face, Chen Ye couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.
It was someone he recognized.
Though they had only met once during the fall of Cyan Bamboo Mountain, Chen Ye still recognized him. This was the man who had been with that young swordsman, Mu Jianqing.
But Chen Ye was no longer the common bandit he had once been. Especially after sending the man flying with a single punch, a new confidence swelled within him.
Xiao Che, of course, didn’t recognize Chen Ye. Back then, Chen Ye had been hiding behind a rock; Xiao Che had never even seen him.
Right now, Xiao Che’s mind was reeling with terror and disbelief.
He simply couldn’t understand how this officer guarding the banner had discovered him.
Xiao Che hailed from a renowned school and, despite his youth, was already a famous figure in the Martial World. When it came to Qinggong and the art of Stealth, he was considered among the top-tier masters.
And yet, he’d been thwarted here today.
The crucial point was his opponent’s terrifying strength. A single move, without even using a weapon, had been enough to make him cough up blood!
’Is this really the kind of power a Martial Artist from the army can possess?’
He couldn’t make sense of it, nor did he have time to dwell on it.
Chen Ye was already upon him.
"You..."
Xiao Che had just spat out a single word when a massive fist filled his vision, rapidly growing larger.
Terrified out of his wits, he leaped desperately, barely dodging the punch.
Even so, as the biting wind from the fist grazed his shoulder, Xiao Che’s scalp went numb. A chill shot up from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull.
He had no doubt that if that punch had landed, he would have been turned into a pile of meat paste on the spot.
He didn’t dare fight any longer. He turned and fled.
But Chen Ye was just getting warmed up. He hadn’t had a truly proper fight since his promotion to Army-breaking Captain. Now that he’d finally run into a master from the Martial World, he couldn’t possibly let him get away so easily.
So Chen Ye stomped his foot again, launching himself forward. He relied on sheer power to catch up to Xiao Che, then raised his fist for another strike.
The punch shrieked through the air. Xiao Che cursed his luck inwardly, doing everything he could to dodge.
His much-vaunted Body Technique seemed laughable and pathetic in the face of Chen Ye’s absolute power.
Finally, Chen Ye’s fist slammed into Xiao Che’s shoulder blade. It was only because he had desperately dodged away from a fatal blow; otherwise, he would have been killed for sure.
CRACK!
A sickening crack of bone echoed. Xiao Che spat out another mouthful of blood, but a flicker of joy flashed in his eyes. He used the force of the blow to propel himself forward with all his might.
Within a few bounds, he vanished into the vast darkness of the night.
Chen Ye stopped and didn’t give chase.
The general’s banner was his priority. As for that man, with such a grievous injury, he’d be crippled for life, if not dead.
More importantly, this fight gave Chen Ye a much clearer understanding of his own strength.
’At full strength, unless I’m up against a top-tier master from the Martial World, almost no one is my match.’
Just then, patrolling Soldiers, drawn by the commotion, rushed over. They all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Chen Ye.
"Captain, are you alright?"
"I’m fine," Chen Ye said, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He then gave an order.
"Clean up this area."
"Yes, sir!"
As the Soldiers were cleaning up the bloodstains, they discovered two deep pits in the ground. The pits were shaped like footprints, obviously stamped into the earth by a person, and they were inwardly aghast.
The incident was quickly reported to Bai Yuge.
She sent word, rewarding Chen Ye with a hundred taels of silver coins, and that was the end of it.
Chen Ye was completely unconcerned. This wasn’t what he was after anyway.
’She told me to guard the grand banner, so I’ll guard it. Everything else, right or wrong, is beyond my control, and frankly, I can’t be bothered to care.’
As the assassination forces within the Great Liang Capital City were bloodily purged time and again, the will to resist in Luojing City finally began to waver.
Bai Yuge seized the opportunity, ordering her men to fire letters of surrender into the city. At the same time, she worked to secretly turn the city’s generals, promising them high positions and great wealth.
Beset by troubles from within and without, with its water supply cut and plague beginning to spread, the once-impregnable city finally began to crumble from the inside.
Ten days later, the gates of Luojing City swung wide open, and its commanding general led his troops in surrender.
The Great Yong Army successfully stormed the Great Liang Capital City. What followed was even more brutal street-to-street fighting.
But the momentum was lost; any further resistance was futile.
The vermilion gates of the Great Liang Imperial Palace crashed open under the force of a battering ram, and the blood-crazed Great Yong Soldiers poured in like a tide.
The remaining palace guards scattered at the first contact. Faced with the wolf-like Great Yong Soldiers, they couldn’t even muster a semblance of resistance.
Chen Ye walked beside the grand banner, his boots treading on blood-stained jade steps as he entered the palace that symbolized the supreme power of the Great Liang Country.
The air was thick with the stench of something burning and the coppery smell of blood.
Finally, they came to a halt before Jinluan Hall.
The magnificent, golden-tiled hall was now engulfed in a raging inferno.
"Grand General, the Emperor of Liang slaughtered eighteen of his Consorts and then set himself on fire inside the hall! There are no signs of life!"
An officer, drenched in blood, reported.
Bai Yuge stood outside the hall, her face impassive as she watched the flames reach for the sky.
Soon, a group of finely dressed Great Liang officials were shoved forward by the Soldiers.
They dropped to their knees without a shred of dignity, crying out, "Spare us, General!"
Bai Yuge’s gaze swept over the faces of the weeping officials, her eyes so cold it was as if she were looking at inanimate objects.
She couldn’t have cared less whether these people lived or died. She had only one concern.
"Where are the members of the Xiang Family?" she asked. Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it silenced the entire plaza.
An old minister at the head of the group quickly kowtowed. "To answer the Grand General, the Xiang Family... the Xiang Family has already been wiped out."
Bai Yuge’s brow furrowed slightly.
The old minister didn’t dare hide anything and, trembling, recounted the entire story.
It turned out that ever since news of Xiang Wu’s death in battle and the annihilation of the main army had reached Luojing, the Emperor of Great Liang had descended into a near-maniacal fury.
Adding to this, treacherous sycophants had presented slanderous accusations, claiming the Xiang Family had colluded with the enemy, secretly conspired with Great Yong, and caused the disastrous defeat.
The unhinged Emperor actually believed such absurd claims.
In his rage, he ordered the entire Xiang Family thrown into the Celestial Prison for harsh interrogation.
Some of the younger members of the Xiang Family caught wind of the situation and escaped, but the rest—the old, the weak, the women, and children—were all captured and ultimately died a horrible death in the Celestial Prison.
After hearing this, the Great Yong generals exchanged bewildered glances.
None of them could have imagined that the Great Liang Country would cripple itself in such a way.
Bai Yuge was silent for a moment before a cold smirk played on her lips.
"A well-deserved death."
No one knew if she was referring to the Xiang Family or the Emperor of Great Liang, and no one dared to ask.
Then, Bai Yuge ignored the kneeling, surrendered officials and turned to give her next command.
"Relay my orders! Lock down the entire city and wipe out all pockets of resistance. Anyone who continues to fight back is to be killed on sight!"