Afternoon of February 6th.

The rain had lessened, a drizzle light as snow drifted from the sky, but the wind blew fiercely.

Outside Luonan City, the Chen Army stretched for miles, clad in battle armor, draped in raincoats, wearing bamboo hats, with horizontal sabers at their waists, holding long spears, standing neatly beyond the city.

The military flags and company banners fluttered loudly in the fierce wind.

The entire army was filled with a strong aura of killing intent, under this screen of rain, oppressing the world to an extremely stifling extent, making people involuntarily hold their breath.

Under the dim sky, the Chen Army stretching for miles seemed like a giant ancient beast, glaring covetously at Luonan City, eyes filled with an unmatched fervent excitement.

"Such fearsome military might..."

At the rear of the Chen Army, Nalan Yiren, clothed in a black robe, appeared bulky seated on a chestnut horse, with sinister eyes showing traces of surprise, whispering inwardly, suddenly tensing up a bit.

Victors and losers, whether a hero or a villain, depended on this battle.

Luonan deserves to be the capital of past dynasties; this ancient city has a history of a thousand years, its towering city walls soaring into the clouds, like majestic guardians, carved with the marks of time.

The city walls, over ten meters high, appear brown overall, like an endlessly stretching iron ridge lying ahead, with a gigantic city gate, like a heavenly threshold, blocking the center.

At the center of the wall, under the rain, the two red characters faintly seen — Luonan.

Though Luonan's walls were high, they couldn't stop the uneasy hearts of the defending soldiers atop the walls. The loss of Jushan Pass had long made the city dwellers panic with an undercurrent flowing.

King Chong himself felt uncontrollable fear, yet now he was the backbone for tens of thousands of defenders within Luonan City. When he saw Lu Sheng last night, the latter appointed him as the commander of the defenders, instructing him to at least withstand three waves of attacks from the Chen Army before retreating.

From these words, King Chong sensed two meanings.

One was to delay time.

The other was that Lu Sheng seemed to have an intention of luring the enemy into a trap.

But these two meanings didn't feel right to King Chong because from the side it seemed Lu Sheng also had no confidence in defending Luonan.

King Chong had to rely entirely on Lu Sheng now.

But the person to rely on lacks confidence, so how could he mention it?

Yet, at this moment he had to maintain a resolve for victory, revealing not a tinge of fear, or else he would fall into a place of no return.

He took a deep breath, gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist, stepping up the stairs towards the high platform of the city tower, quickening his pace with each step as if becoming more determined.

Although he ascended the high platform of the city tower, he dared not expose himself to the sight of the Chen Army.

Chen Mo's archery now was rumored to be divine.

Even exaggerated descriptions like "show your head and get shot" had surfaced.

Hmm, although King Chong felt it was exaggerated, he didn't dare to disbelieve it.

...

Before the great formation of the Chen Army, Chen Mo held a captured Thousand-Mile Mirror, observing the city tower, able to see the dullness and fear in the eyes of the defending soldiers.

But that was not what he most wanted to see.

Because among these people, the majority had red numbers like "28, 31" on their foreheads, indicating they were merely entry grade martial artists, the lowest-ranking officers among the enemy troops.

King Chong and Lu Sheng still hadn't shown themselves.

"Clip-clop..."

At this moment, a fast horse galloped over, it was Sun Meng.

Barely catching his breath, he cupped his hands before Chen Mo and said: "Marquis, General Yue, General Wu, and General Jiang are all ready. General Yue is asking when to start the siege?"

"No hurry." Chen Mo put down the Thousand-Mile Mirror, saying: "The defending soldiers show little fighting spirit. Let General Yue and the others block the south, east, and west gates and shout into the city. We are here to eliminate the traitorous rebels causing chaos in the court, to clear the court for His Majesty, and to restore the Great Song dynasty. It has nothing to do with you as long as you lay down your arms and surrender, we will spare you."

Although a siege could be initiated now.

The enemy troops still had some fighting spirit left.

But surrounding the city for a few days could defeat their remaining will to fight, and shouting at them offers the defenders a way out. In this way, they wouldn't hold out to the death, making later sieges easier, greatly reducing casualties.

"Understood."

...

In the following five days.

Chen Army surrounded but didn't attack, and every two hours, they shouted into the city with improvised loudspeakers.

The defending soldiers' resistance was already weak, and after days of shouting, they became wavering one by one.

If not for the supervision team, they might have forsaken their duties one by one by now.

King Chong closed his eyes; the thing he feared most had happened.

What he feared most was Chen Mo surrounding but not attacking.

Now most of the world had fallen into Chen Mo's hands, with abundant resources, they could afford to wait.

In contrast, their morale was low, and if the siege dragged on, even he might not hold on.

King Chong, anxious, once again sought out Lu Sheng.

"Chancellor Lu, what exactly do you intend to do? On February 6th, you told me I would understand the next day, but now it's already February 12th, do you intend to keep it from me?"

"Now the Chen Army surrounds but doesn't attack, if this continues, without the Chen Army making a move, our people will open the gates themselves and let the Chen Army in." King Chong was indeed anxious, his voice carrying a hint of crying, evidently very angry at Lu Sheng for keeping things from him at such a time.

As for what had happened outside these days, Lu Sheng was well aware. He had said so thinking that the Chen Army would siege on February 7th; then King Chong would naturally understand.

But the Chen Army hadn't.

Although there was a slight deviation from his expectations, it didn't affect the entire plan; instead, the current situation's trend was more favorable to the plan's execution.

So Lu Sheng's current mindset was.

I know you're in a rush, Prince, but hear me out first.

"Rest assured, Prince, everything is within my expectations. Wait until the Chen Army breaches the city, then you will understand. Let them encircle the city; I'll see when they manage to get in. By then, Prince, you just..."

...

February Fifteenth.

Overcast, the ground remains damp.

South Gate. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Inside the tunnel.

Eight armored warriors from the Imperial City Department, as usual, were chatting idly in the tunnel, waiting for the next shift to relieve them.

Although anxious about the Chen Army's siege, living must go on.

When it was time for the shift change, eight comrades clad in similar armor approached.

Just as both sides were handing over the post, these eight comrades suddenly drew short blades and stabbed into their abdomens.

At this spot of the armor, there was no iron plating cover, and the sharp blades plunged directly into flesh.

The short blades retracted instantly, blood spurted out like crimson arrows, splattering onto the faces of the attackers.

"Quick, open the city gate!" one of the attackers shouted.

Outside the South Gate, the Chen Army.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but they suddenly saw the South Gate crack open, then it widened further, and an armored soldier appeared in their view holding a white flag.

The Chen Army soldiers were stunned. A white flag represented surrender a thousand years ago.

Before the Chen Army soldiers could react, the armored soldier holding the white flag was suddenly struck down from behind, falling into a pool of blood.

With his collapse, the Chen Army soldiers witnessed the enemy troops inside the tunnel infighting, slicing their own.

Even on the city walls, chaos ensued.

At this moment, they finally understood what was happening and hurriedly reported the news to Yue Ruyan.

Though such a scenario was likely after so many days of siege, Yue Ruyan did not act rashly and ordered the army to stand down, rapidly sending the news to Chen Mo.

When Chen Mo received the news, similar situations had occurred at Wu Yanqing's and Jiang Li's sides, as at the South Gate.

Liu Ji said, "Duke An, this is a great opportunity. Our siege has effectively worked; it is the perfect time to storm the city."

Diwu Fusheng, who sensed something amiss, nonetheless agreed it was indeed a good opportunity, and he bowed, "Duke An, this is unquestionably a prime chance for a siege, but once the city breaks, caution is required to prevent enemy ambushes inside."

Chen Mo nodded and turned to Sun Meng, commanding, "Issue my order to storm the city!"

"Understood."

...

Dong dong dong—

War drums thundered!

First, the drums sounded at the North Gate where Chen Mo was, then the East, West, and South Gates followed suit with loud drumbeats.

As the pounding war drums rolled.

Apart from three fire cannons at the North Gate, other city gates saw four red coat cannons covered in black cloth being pushed forward by pack horses, leaving deep ruts in the damp earth.

"Fire the cannons..."

With the command given, the black cloth was simultaneously lifted, calibration, loading, and ignition were completed in one go.

"Boom boom boom..."

Towering explosions erupted across Luonan.

Python-like flames, spanning a few meters, burst forth strikingly against the overcast sky.

Many local defenders atop the city walls were left with ringing ears due to shuddering, startled and hugging their heads to dodge.

After several rounds of artillery fire, the Chen Army advanced towards the city walls under its cover.

Usually, commanding generals stand on nest chariots or temporarily erected towers, the elevation necessary for observing the battlefield and timely formation adjustments and deployments.

However, Chen Mo, wary of enemy divine shooters akin to their own, advised Yue Ruyan and others not to stand conspicuously to avoid being targeted.

Nalan Yiren, witnessing this grand scene for the first time, showed a look of astonishment, instinctively urging her horse forward to get a clearer view of the "siege feast."

Nevertheless, just as she mentioned, she remained purely an observer, neither aiding nor interfering with Chen Mo's judgment.

Then, a personal soldier rode up urgently, appearing stressed as if to report something critical, dismounting hurriedly before his horse fully stopped and stumbled, quickly rising while stating, "Report, Duke An. General Wu indicates Lu Sheng has been spotted at the East Gate, requesting your presence."

"Report, Duke An, King Chong was spotted at the West Gate."

Right after this report, another soldier approached, his voice carrying from afar.

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and directed, "Sun Meng, Liu Ji, Diwu Fusheng."

"Here, my lord," the three echoed together.

"Sun Meng, you command here, Liu Ji, Diwu Fusheng assist General Sun, I'm heading to the East Gate," instructed Chen Mo, promptly riding toward the East Gate.

Xia Zhining and Nalan Yiren hurriedly followed.

...

East Gate.

Lu Sheng commanded the Imperial Guard in city defense, personally eliminating Chen Army soldiers climbing the walls via cloud ladders. The flower bullets would erupt before landing on the parapets, countered by Lu Sheng's intervention.

For the moment, the East Gate was as secure as a fortress, impassable for the Chen Army.