The deafening sound terrified the Loulan defenders, while the Song Army was both surprised and invigorated.

With such a divine artifact to assist, how could this battle not be won?

"The city gate has been breached, brothers, follow me to kill!" Gao Zheng shouted loudly, and simultaneously, the horn of charge was sounded.

"Brothers, kill them!"

"Charge!"

"Kill these bastards!"

...

The war drums thundered as the Song Army surged towards the city gate like a pack of rabid wolves.

The Loulan army, already terrified out of their wits, froze for a moment, with no one giving orders since Ling Zhi and other leaders were buried. After a while, they finally began to shoot arrows.

But the swiftly advancing Song soldiers had already breached Anchang City.

"Weiqiu, it’s your turn." Chen Mo said to Li Weiqiu and others.

"Brothers, follow me up the city walls!" Li Weiqiu took the lead, shouted sharply, and flew towards the city wall.

"Cavalry, follow me." Bai Yongtao led the limited cavalry in the army towards the city gate.

At this moment, the city gate was completely opened, and the Song Army entered the city as if it were an unguarded place.

And at that moment, a figure burst from the collapsed ruins, his hair disheveled, robe in tatters, holding an unknown state general in one hand, glancing at Chen Mo from afar.

Just that single glance was enough to send cold sweat all over him.

Chen Mo had already drawn his bow fully, and the moment Ling Zhi looked at him, he released the string, sending the bone arrow shooting straight towards his head.

The speed was so fast that within a breath, it was already upon him.

Instinctively, Ling Zhi used the general in his left hand as a shield.

"Pfft..." The bone arrow pierced through the armor, shot into that general’s body, and also brought down Ling Zhi.

By the time Chen Mo went to check, Ling Zhi’s figure was already gone, leaving only the shot dead general on the spot.

"Quite resilient, isn’t he?" Chen Mo muttered, looking at the pool of blood left on the ground.

With the breach of the city and the escape of the main general, the already dispirited Loulan army was no match for the Song Army.

The Dragon Oath Guard, seeing their side in defeat, knew Anchang City couldn’t be defended. Additionally, the city wasn’t suitable for cavalry combat.

After hesitating for a while, nearly twenty thousand Dragon Oath Guards abandoned the city and fled.

The rear city gate was unguarded by the Song Army, and by the time Bai Yongtao closed it with the cavalry, the Dragon Oath Guard had already fled.

Any Loulan forces that failed to escape in time were gradually annihilated by the Song Army.

The stench, smoke, and wails; no one stopped, it was a fight to the death, where any hesitation could cost life.

How could the Song Army not be aware of the brutal nature of the Desolate Kingdom barbarians?

But the outcome was already decided.

Chen Mo hadn’t received any news about Dai Xishan and knew there must be hidden troops at the West Suburban Mountain Pass, immediately ordering Bai Yongtao to lead the cavalry to reinforce.

Time passed unknown.

The resistance in the city finally waned, and the hiding Loulan soldiers were nearly all eliminated.

But to prevent any oversight, Gao Zheng led the Fire Qilin Army to search every house.

Many houses in the city were burning fiercely, columns of smoke rising into the sky.

That was the Loulan soldiers who had lost hope of living, setting fire to their houses and dying by immolation.

The Song Army began to clean the battlefield, digging huge pits outside the city to haul the dead bodies out one by one.

One pit for the Song Army, one for the Desolate Kingdom.

The soldiers of the Desolate Kingdom, leaving only a piece of cloth for modesty, were otherwise all stripped bare.

These battle armors were strategic resources.

Besides the two pits, there were special personnel counting the numbers.

Soon, night fell.

With people to clean the battlefield, there were also those setting up camps.

So they wouldn’t be left without a place to stay when darkness fell.

"Ah..."

Chen Mo, located in the commander’s tent, could still occasionally hear the wails from afar. Those were the Desolate Kingdom barbarians who were found by the Song Army and whose wails ceased as their heads were severed.

Gao Zheng, covered in blood and dirt, lifted the tent’s fabric and walked in, the howling cold wind audible outside.

"Are you okay?" Chen Mo poured Gao Zheng a cup of hot tea, looked at his wounds, and asked.

"Minor injuries." Gao Zheng jumped a couple of times, took in a couple of cold breaths, then sat by the stove with a silly grin and said, "Mainly exhausted and tired to the extreme."

"Then take a good rest for a couple of days. Leave the searching to the others below, don’t get ambushed by the Desolate Kingdom barbarians."

Gao Zheng’s cultivation wasn’t high; if he encountered someone like the Old Six, it could indeed threaten his life.

Gao Zheng awkwardly scratched his head but knew the lord was concerned about him. Nodding, he said, "The casualty numbers are out. Our army lost over seven thousand men, while the enemy’s losses were nearly ten times ours.

A half of these came from General Dai’s area. The hidden troops at the Western Suburbs used our people as vanguards to pin down General Dai, causing such significant casualties."

After speaking, he also flattered Chen Mo: "Thanks to your leadership, we were able to annihilate so many enemy troops at once."

"Why so much nonsense..." Chen Mo joked with a scolding tone, then immediately asked, "How’s the cannon?"

"According to your orders, I’ve placed the cannon and fire bottle bombs among other weapons at..." Gao Zheng slowly said, "And stationed heavy guards. Without your command, no one is allowed to approach that area."

Chen Mo nodded.

After Gao Zheng left, Chu Ang came in to report on the repair work of the city gate.

Since Anchang City was to be used as their stronghold, the city gate would certainly need to be repaired.

...

On the other side.

An isolated serene valley.

Following the swift stream down the valley, it was unclear how far, a small mountain village appeared.

When hunters returning from the mountains were about to clean up by the river, one hunter suddenly saw a figure lying by the riverbank.

"Look quickly, is that a person?"

Upon hearing this, the hunters all looked over.

"It’s a person, it’s a person, seems to be unconscious."

"Quickly go check."

"Let’s go."

The hunters gathered around, finding indeed it was a person, and upon turning the person over, they were surprised to discover it was a woman.

"There’s still breath." An elderly hunter squatted down, felt the woman’s breath, and found she was still alive.

"Quickly, take her back. In such cold weather, she’ll freeze to death here." the elderly hunter said.

But a hunter quickly stopped him: "Village chief, we can’t. Look at her, she’s still wearing armor, seriously injured, clearly a military person, and not of low rank. If those pursuing her come, Taohua Village will be exposed."

"We can’t just let her die, especially since I’m a doctor. Judging by her attire, she’s a Song person, we definitely can’t let her die." The elderly hunter decided.