sjar Chapter 477 The Eldest Princess ascends the city wall; is she facing the same predicament as her?
Chapter 477 The Eldest Princess ascends the city wall; is she facing the same predicament as her?
Upon seeing this, Vice General Wang on the city wall was greatly encouraged and roared, "Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived! Follow me and drive back the Yan dogs!"
Caught between internal and external attacks, the Northern Yan army was thrown into disarray, its offensive was temporarily halted, and after leaving behind a trail of corpses, it sounded the retreat.
The barbican was given a temporary respite, and cheers of relief erupted from the city walls.
But Chu Ruohan's expression remained solemn as she looked at the equally heavy casualties of her own soldiers and the shocking damage to the city walls.
After a brief rest, the Northern Yan army launched an even more intense general offensive at dawn the following day.
Countless massive siege engines, battering rams, and ladders were pushed to the front lines, and the dark mass of enemy troops surged toward the barbican from all directions like swarms of ants.
The war drums thundered, and the battle cries shook the heavens.
Chu Ruohan stood atop the city wall, the cold wind ruffling her hair. Gazing at the enemy troops below, her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.
Having lived two lives, she never imagined that one day she would personally go to the battlefield and shoulder the heavy responsibility of the survival of a city.
She suddenly thought of Princess Anyang.
When that princess, who was once renowned and celebrated throughout the land, was forced to ascend the city wall to command the battle and resist foreign aggression, did she also face a similar predicament as she is now?
Even in such a predicament, Princess Anyang never backed down.
Chu Ruohan slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping over the nine shadow guards behind her.
She bowed deeply to the nine men: "Gentlemen, more than twenty years ago, you all defended this city here and became famous throughout the world for your outstanding military achievements."
"Now, Junze is far away in the capital suppressing the rebellion. The Northern Yan, with its wolfish ambitions, wants to take advantage of the emptiness of Pingzhou, seize our city, and slaughter our people."
"The safety of the barbican will once again depend on you all!"
The nine shadow guards knelt on one knee in unison, saying, "Madam, rest assured, we will certainly not disgrace the name of the Princess!"
The war drums sound!
Shadow One took a rolled-up flag from behind him and suddenly unfurled it!
It was a pure black flag with no words on it, except for a phoenix embroidered in gold thread, its wings outstretched as if about to take flight.
Phoenix Flag! The flag of Princess Anyang's shadow guards!
Among the Northern Yan army, some elderly veterans' pupils suddenly contracted the moment they saw the black phoenix flag.
"It's...it's the Phoenix Flag! It's the Shadow Guards of Anyang! They...they've appeared again!"
Twenty years ago, the Phoenix Shadow Guard, a force as powerful as a ghost and capable of defeating overwhelming odds, left the Northern Yan army with a painful memory.
That deep-seated fear, even after twenty years, still terrifies some veterans, causing a barely perceptible disruption to their formation.
"What's the panic! A bunch of useless fools!" A Northern Yan general shouted angrily, slashing down several soldiers who tried to retreat, and forcefully stabilizing the situation. "Things are different now! Charge! After we break through the city, leave no one alive!"
Chu Ruohan watched as the nine shadow guards under the Phoenix Banner leaped down from the city tower, which was dozens of feet high, like arrows released from a bow!
They moved with agility, landing silently, and then, like nine black lightning bolts, they plunged into the densely packed Northern Yan army formation below!
This was the first time Chu Ruohan had witnessed the true strength of the Shadow Guards.
That wasn't just ordinary martial arts prowess; it was a skill honed purely for the purpose of killing!
The nine of them worked together seamlessly, their weapons gleaming coldly, and screams echoed wherever they went.
Like a butcher's knife, it ripped open bloody and mangled wounds!
The Northern Yan army's siege formation was thrown into chaos by these mere nine men!
Song Ruyan stood beside Chu Ruohan, but frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Young Madam, something's not right."
Chu Ruohan's heart tightened: "What's wrong?"
Song Ruyan stared at the figures of the Shadow Guards below the city: "The Shadow Guards originally numbered ten. When they joined forces to kill the enemy, they even had their own formation. Now that one of them is missing, the formation has a flaw, and its power... has also been reduced."
Chu Ruohan looked down at the city and saw that, as expected, although the Shadow Guards were incredibly brave, they occasionally struggled under the heavy encirclement of the enemy due to small gaps in their formation.
"Can you fix it?" Chu Ruohan asked.
She knew that although Song Ruyan's martial arts skills were not as good as the Shadow Guards', they were still far beyond those of ordinary masters.
Song Ruyan shook her head, a hint of helplessness on her face: "Their formations are extremely profound, personally taught by the Eldest Princess, and outsiders simply cannot understand them."
"If I were to join in rashly, I'm afraid I would only disrupt their rhythm and hold them back."
Below the city, after the initial panic, the Northern Yan army, relying on its superior numbers, began to reorganize and attempt to encircle and annihilate the nine fiends.
Although the Shadow Guards remained valiant, their numbers were too few, and they gradually found themselves in a difficult battle.
Seeing this, Chu Ruohan immediately ordered: "Sound the retreat! Order the Shadow Guards to withdraw!"
These are the elite troops left behind by Princess Anyang, Gu Junze's right-hand men, and they must not be allowed to suffer any mishaps here!
A sharp gong sounded, and the shadow guards retreated to the foot of the city wall, using ropes thrown down by the defenders to quickly return to the city tower.
After a fierce battle, all nine of them had some blood on them, but fortunately, none of them were seriously injured.
Although this battle failed to completely defeat the Northern Yan army, it greatly dampened their arrogance.
It also rekindled their fear of the Shadow Guards in their hearts.
Chu Ruohan ordered: "Close the city gates! The entire army must hold their ground! Await reinforcements from the capital!"
She knew that what followed would be an even more brutal war of attrition.
But as long as we hold on, there is hope.
Capital
Gu Junze held a long spear, and a drop of blood slid down the blade and disappeared into a crevice in the rock.
Not far from his feet, Zhao Chengyu's head lay with his eyes wide open, his face frozen in the madness and resentment of his dying moments.
Zhao Yunci walked to Gu Junze's side and glanced at the headless corpse with a complicated expression.
"It's all finally over."
The Zhou king's ghost army had been completely captured, but the entire capital was littered with corpses and blood. The Eastern Jin Dynasty paid a heavy price because of the Zhou king's wolfish ambitions.
Zhao Yunci breathed a sigh of relief, but the heaviness between his brows did not dissipate: "After this battle, our strength has been greatly damaged. What have the people done to deserve this?"
He looked at the corpses lying scattered inside and outside the palace, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Above the imperial power, behind this victory lay countless bones.
A rapid sound of hooves approached from afar, and the messenger almost fell off his horse.
He dismounted, staggered a few steps, and shouted hoarsely, "Report! Urgent military news! Urgent report from Pingzhou!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Junze's heart sank. He strode forward and took the military report from the messenger.
The messenger, panting heavily, reported, "General... the Northern Yan... the Northern Yan army, taking advantage of our main force in Pingzhou rushing to reinforce the capital, suddenly launched an attack, fiercely assaulting the three towns of Yumen, Jinchang, and Wuwei... the barbican is in imminent danger!"
Gu Junze's hand trembled slightly as he opened the letter; the contents were exactly the same as what the messenger had said.
Chu Ruohan! His Han'er is still in Pingzhou!
Without pausing for a moment, without even having time to change out of his blood-stained armor, he led his battle-hardened army, which had just fought its way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
They rode swiftly towards the barbican, with the devastated capital city behind them and the borderlands engulfed in flames of war ahead.
Zhao Yunci watched Gu Junze's army depart, her young face displaying a composure beyond her years.
"Issue my decree," he said, turning to the eunuch beside him, "to appease the people in the city, treat the wounded, inventory the treasury, and reorganize the imperial guards. The Eastern Jin Dynasty will not fall!"
The wind blows through the imperial city, carrying the scent of blood.
As Gu Junze walked away, he had only one thought in his mind: Han'er, wait for me!