Chapter 124: The Isolated City

Beneath the city walls, screams erupted one after another, flesh and blood splattered everywhere. Within mere minutes, corpses littered the ground, mingling with the blood-soaked mud.

The attacking Qiang soldiers were caught completely unprepared. Stone blocks suddenly rained down upon them from above, leaving no time to scatter or dodge.

Except for a few Qiang troops who were still too far away to reach the city walls, the rest suffered heavy casualties from the defenders’ surprise assault.

Seizing the chaos among the Qiang soldiers below, Qi Jun immediately waved his hand and ordered the county archers to unleash a rain of arrows, driving back the reinforcements.

Watching the remaining Qiang troops retreat hastily into the thick fog, the county soldiers and villagers atop the walls erupted into victorious cheers.

Yet Qi Jun felt no relief as he gazed upon the piled corpses and the agonized, twitching Qiang soldiers still alive.

He knew that this small group of Qiang soldiers were merely cannon fodder, tasked with probing and exhausting the defenders' firepower. Had they been wiped out entirely by the previous volley of arrows, the Qiang forces would have already scaled the walls and opened the gates for their main army’s entry.

On the hillside behind the Qiang formation, Bodo and his deputy, holding tea bowls, remained oblivious to the recent calamity.

A Qiang soldier came running toward them in panic. Seeing this, Bodo chuckled lightly, set down his tea, and rose.

“It seems our warriors have already entered the city,” Bodo said proudly, stroking his graying beard. He glanced at his deputy and added, “Ha ha ha, let’s go. We can have tea at the county office of Anqiang!”

“I heard the county magistrate of Anqiang is a greedy man. Surely, there must be plenty of gold and silver treasures in the office,” the deputy followed behind Bodo, bowing slightly with a smile in agreement.

“I’m not interested in such things. I wonder if they’ve captured that Liang man...” Bodo waved his hand, squinting as he was about to say more, but the Qiang soldier rushing up to him interrupted eagerly.

“General, bad news! Our hundred-man vanguard force has been almost entirely wiped out!” The soldier panted, kneeling on the ground, trembling, unable to meet Bodo’s gaze, anxiously awaiting his orders.

“What did you say?!” Bodo doubted his own hearing and asked in shock.

The deputy behind him widened his eyes in disbelief, then stepped forward with a swift motion, pressing a curved saber to the soldier’s neck and demanding, “Explain clearly—what exactly happened?!”

“G-General, please calm your anger...” The soldier swallowed hard, trembling as he spoke, “The Liang men lay in ambush atop the walls. When our troops approached, they suddenly attacked with stones and arrows... We were caught unprepared...”

“Useless fools!” The deputy kicked the soldier to the ground in anger, then turned to Bodo and said, “General, allow me to lead the warriors to storm this city and slay those detestable Liang men!”

“How dare these Liang men resist! While the fog still lingers, have the shield bearers advance ahead to protect the spearmen. Quickly scale the walls! When the breach is made, sound the horn as a signal—I will then lead the main force into the city.” The failure of the assault had unexpectedly sharpened Bodo’s resolve. He pondered further: “The Liang forces are severely outnumbered. They must either concentrate their defense in one place or disperse their troops. I will dispatch two hundred-man squads to attack simultaneously from east and west. A three-pronged siege will surely capture this city. Remember, capture the Liang commander alive!”

“Yes! I obey your order!” The deputy saluted Bodo and disappeared into the mist ahead.

After repelling the Qiang attack, all the county soldiers and villagers exhaled deeply, their bodies drained of strength as they slumped against the city walls.

After two days of relentless fighting, their physical and mental reserves were nearly exhausted. The slightest relaxation of their taut nerves brought waves of fatigue that overwhelmed them completely.

“Biaozi, count the casualties. We must all remain vigilant. The enemy will soon launch a full assault!” Qi Jun squatted in a corner of the wall with his eyes closed, chewing on a piece of hard bread.

Watching Liu Biao’s figure vanish into the fog, Qi Jun swallowed the bread, stood up, and walked in another direction.

After a dozen steps, he saw a bloodied county soldier weakly half-reclining on the ground, while another soldier knelt beside him, feeding him water.

“My lord...” The soldier offering water looked up and instinctively tried to rise and salute Qi Jun.

Qi Jun quickly reached out and pressed his hand on the soldier’s shoulder to stop him, his expression filled with concern as he asked, “How is his injury?”

“My lord, he is my younger brother... an arrow pierced his lung. I fear he won’t survive...” The soldier choked back tears, his voice trembling.

Qi Jun was momentarily stunned, then silently patted the wounded soldier’s shoulder, stood upright, and solemnly saluted them both.

“My lord...” The soldier was stunned before tears streamed down his face as he dropped to one knee, clasping his fists in a bow. His brother weakly raised his head, clenching a fist over his chest in response.

Qi Jun did not continue on. The groans rising from the fog ahead spoke volumes about the defenders’ grim situation.

“Will reinforcements... come?” Qi Jun gazed heavily toward Minzhou Commandery. Only there could hope still remain.

“Jun-ge! Where are you?” Deng Fang’s voice called from somewhere behind, breaking Qi Jun’s troubled thoughts.

Qi Jun responded, and soon Deng Fang and Feng Qinian hurried through the mist to meet him.

“I heard the invading Qiang troops have been repelled. I feel relieved with you here!” Feng Qinian smiled, patting Qi Jun on the shoulder.

“Jun-ge, are you hurt? What about Xu Sheng and the others?” Deng Fang looked at the scattered signal arrows on the ground in alarm. From this, he could imagine the terror of the countless arrows that had rained down.

“Relieved? Ha... Lord Feng, are you prepared to die?” Qi Jun looked coldly toward the city’s outskirts, his brow furrowed.

He knew there was nothing to do but kill as many Qiang soldiers as possible, hoping to hold out for half a day longer until reinforcements could arrive. Otherwise, the people of Anqiang City might not live to see tonight’s moon.

“Qi County Lieutenant, what do you mean by that?” Feng Qinian was stunned. It was the first time he had heard Qi Jun speak with such resolute tone, and a wave of complex emotions—shock, suspicion, and shame—washed over his face.

Deng Fang’s expression shifted sharply. He wanted to speak but ultimately fell silent and turned away.

He knew Qi Jun’s words were true. With such scant manpower, trying to defeat the massive Qiang army and hold the city was nothing short of fantasy.

“Qi County Lieutenant, one should not speak such words on the battlefield. Though you are an officer, you must not utter words that embolden the enemy,” Zhao Gui said reasonably from behind Feng Qinian, craning his neck to speak.

Qi Jun snorted coldly and ignored him. He knew Zhao Gui was not blind to the situation; he merely chose this way to show his loyalty to Feng Qinian.

Qi Jun focused on the sounds within the mist. His battle instincts sensed the approaching danger lurking within.

However, Feng Qinian took Qi Jun’s behavior as deliberate disregard toward him as the newly appointed county magistrate, which greatly displeased him.

Coupled with the subtle disparagement and sowing of discord by Zhao Gui and Xiao Ming, Feng Qinian began to harbor some resentment toward Qi Jun.

Just as he was about to reprimand him, Qi Jun’s expression darkened even further.

“The enemy is coming again! Everyone, take your positions! Watch for arrows!” Qi Jun shouted, then pulled Feng Qinian down behind the battlements.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a fierce volley of arrows rained down upon them.