Liu Yong, the Minister of War, stepped out of the ranks with a tense expression, his voice slightly trembling: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. According to the surviving soldiers, the enemy troops are abnormal, possessing immense strength and impervious to pain. They seem... they seem to be not Mortals at all, and are very likely Incarnations of demons."
"Nonsense!" Zhao Yuanbao, furious, laughed instead,
"I think it's because you are cowardly and incompetent that you made up such an absurd excuse!"
Just then, a middle-aged official in a purple robe in the corner of the great hall slowly spoke:
"Your Majesty, what Minister Liu said might not be groundless."
Everyone turned their heads. The speaker was Li Gangfeng, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
Zhao Yuanbao frowned slightly and asked: "Li Aiqing, why do you say so?"
Li Gangfeng stepped forward slowly, his tone steady: "Your subject observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that the demon star in the north is flourishing, which corresponds to the omen of war."
"In addition, strange phenomena have been reported continuously from various places recently, with all villagers in some villages mysteriously disappearing overnight."
Zhao Yuanbao's expression changed slightly, and he asked in a low voice: "You mean..."
"Your subject suspects that someone is secretly Cultivating evil arts to refine corpse soldiers."
Li Gangfeng's tone was solemn, "This evil method was used by the Demonic Cult a hundred years ago."
As soon as these words came out, the entire court was in an uproar.
Zhao Yuanbao pondered for a moment, then turned to look at a burly general in golden armor in the hall: "Yang Ye, immediately lead thirty thousand Imperial Guards north and make sure to annihilate this demon army."
Yang Ye, the commander of the Imperial Guards, clasped his fists and accepted the order, then added: "Your Majesty, if it is truly as Lord Li said, that evil arts are at work, I am afraid we will need the assistance of Jianghu people to deal with it."
Zhao Yuanbao nodded in agreement: "Issue My decree, ordering Xiao Tian, the Martial Forest Alliance Leader, to assist the Grand Marshal in jointly annihilating this demon army."
"I want to hear good news within three days."
...Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Yun Fei had already led his army to ten li outside Judong City. After two days of long travel, they finally reached the target area.
He looked into the distance and saw that the city wall was seven zhang high, and the city gate seemed to be cast from bronze, heavy and eerie.
The moat was twenty meters wide, and due to the terrain, only a fifty-meter-wide attack passage was left. The terrain was steep and difficult to attack.
Because of the strategic importance of this place, the number of defenders was not large, only ten thousand, much weaker than Jubei City.
After observing for a moment, Yun Fei turned to look at Liu Ming beside him: "Now you can tell me your complete plan. As the commander, I can't always be kept in the dark."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ming immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee, and respectfully lowered his head.
"My Lord, the complete plan is to let that fool Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming attract the attention of the entire Great Wu Dynasty."
"Currently, it is unknown whether he has already captured Jubei City."
"But what is certain is that most of the court's experts must have been drawn away by him at this moment."
"As long as we can take Judong City within half a day,"
"After a short rest, carrying only one day's rations, and advancing at full speed towards Chang'an, I dare say we will be able to capture Chang'an within a day."
Yun Fei pondered for a moment, nodded, and then asked: "So, this is why you chose to abandon Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming?"
Liu Ming's expression was firm, and he replied without hesitation: "It's not that I deliberately concealed it, but rather that Grand Marshal Zhang Lieming is simply not fit to be the Grand Marshal."
"Lack of strategy, lack of foresight, and lack of courage is his first sin as a commander."
"Being emotional and timid in battle is his second sin as a commander."
"More importantly, as the Grand Marshal, he harbors doubts about the source of your troops, My Lord. This is the absolutely intolerable third sin."
After hearing these three charges, Yun Fei looked down at Liu Ming, who was kneeling on the ground, then looked at Judong City in the distance, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"Since the Grand Marshal I appointed has these three sins, then I cannot be blamed for making a different decision today."
"Since things have come to this, let's attack the city first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Fei pointed to Judong City in front of him and issued the first order to the Death Soldiers beside him: "Attack!"
Six hundred thousand troops surged forward like a black torrent, charging directly towards Judong City.
Despite the narrow terrain, the Death Soldiers maintained an astonishingly neat formation.
The front ranks held up temporarily felled giant logs as shields, while the rear ranks carried scaling ladders and battering rams, following closely behind.
Liu Ming, standing in the rear, said no more.
In the face of such overwhelming military strength, any strategy seemed pale and powerless.
What they were fighting for at this moment was only time.
They had to take Judong City as quickly as possible before the court could react.
Then they would march on Chang'an.
On the city wall, the defending general Li Ping had already completed his deployment.
He looked at the enemy army surging like a tide in the distance, his palms already covered in cold sweat.
"Fire arrows!"
As he gave the order, arrows rained down, pouring over them.
But the Death Soldiers held the giant logs above their heads, stubbornly blocking this volley of arrows.
General Li Ping witnessed this scene, and his heart sank.
"Continue to wrap arrows with bandages, pour oil on them, and prepare to fire flaming arrows."
As Li Ping gave the order, flames immediately erupted all over the city wall, like stars in the night sky.
Arrows soaked in oil were ignited, trailing fiery tails as they tore through the air, like a burning meteor shower, crashing down on the approaching Death Soldier formation.
"Boom—"
Flames quickly spread through the enemy ranks. The Death Soldiers in the front, carrying wooden beams, were ignited, turning into walking firemen.
A nauseating smell of scorching filled the air.
However, what was even more terrifying was that these soldiers, engulfed in flames, did not stop their advance.
They still held up burning logs, pushing towards the city wall with expressionless faces.
Some Death Soldiers' faces were already burnt beyond recognition, yet they still mechanically marched forward.
"This... are these the demons the court spoke of?!"
Li Ping's face was pale, and his sword-wielding hand trembled slightly.
He had been in countless battles throughout his military career, yet he had never been so terrified... Meanwhile.
Yun Fei, far in the rear, estimated the time and felt that it was the best moment.
He unhesitatingly issued new orders: "Attack! Kill all enemies you see without mercy."
As the order was given, the previously silent Death Soldiers suddenly erupted in deafening roars, like evil spirits unleashed from Hell, their eyes glowing blood-red.
They quickened their pace, charging towards the city wall like a tide.
"Kill!!!"
Roars rose and fell, and at this moment, some Death Soldiers who had already spawned inside the city also received their orders.
They began an indiscriminate massacre.
These Death Soldiers were like puppets before receiving orders, not acting or thinking on their own.
But once they received instructions, they transformed into cold-blooded killing machines.
Screams immediately echoed continuously throughout the city, and violent impacts came from inside the previously closed city gate.
"General! Enemies have appeared in the city!"
A soldier rushed onto the city wall in a panic, his voice trembling, "They... they are everywhere?!"
"What?!"
Li Ping's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly turned to look inside the city.
He saw countless dark figures emerging from wells, cellars, and even under beds on the streets, wielding sharp blades and hacking at anyone they saw.
"How is this possible..."
Li Ping felt a chill all over his body, almost unable to think.
The army defending Judong City was only about ten thousand, and now the city was surrounded by enemy troops both inside and out.
He saw no hope of victory.
Meanwhile, the Death Soldier army outside the city, relying on astonishing brute force, forcefully pushed a large number of thick logs into the moat, quickly building a wide passage.
Soon, they stepped onto this temporary passage and charged directly towards the city wall.
In just a moment, these Death Soldiers had reached the foot of the city wall.
With astonishing explosive power, they actually inserted their fingers into the gaps of the city wall bricks with bare hands, swiftly climbing upwards.
Li Ping witnessed this scene from the city tower and immediately roared an order: "Pour hot excrement! Quickly pour hot excrement!"
Scalding excrement poured down, directly hitting several Death Soldiers who were climbing.
The foul-smelling liquid reacted with the flames, making a harsh "sizzle" sound.
But these Death Soldiers merely swayed for a moment and then continued to climb upwards.
"Quick, throw rolling logs, stones, arrows! Hurry!"
"Hurry!!!"
The scene before him was too terrifying, Li Ping's sanity was on the verge of collapse, and he could only frantically issue orders.
"Kill!!!"
The Death Soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the wilderness, surging towards the city wall like a tide.
As soon as the first Death Soldier to climb onto the city wall showed his head, Li Ping personally swung his sword and cut off his head.
However, the headless body still maintained its last movement, swinging its blade.
Li Ping did not hesitate, and with the momentum, he split it into two.
As a first-rate Martial Artist, he dealt with these Death Soldiers effortlessly, taking two strikes to finish one off.