The Demon Lords-Chapter 725 - 153 Wind Comes from the West_1

The eastern gate of Ying Capital City was wide open at this moment.

The guards of the Royal Mansion took the lead in clearing the way. Following them, young Prince Cheng, Situ Yu, standing on the chariot originally used by Situ Lei, exited the city gate.

The guards were meticulously protecting their young prince; in fact, they were also preserving what little remained of their nation's—and their own—pride.

Following the orders of Lord Jingnan, the remaining troops of Cheng State had all been incorporated into the Yan Army. This matter had not been discussed with Prince Cheng's Mansion from the very beginning.

There was no notification, no hint, no groundwork laid; their army's allegiance had simply changed.

Prince Cheng's Mansion dared not utter a sound, nor did they dare object. The original civil officials of Cheng State also chose to acquiesce.

Although the Yan Emperor had stated in the imperial edict that Situ Lei's line was to inherit the title of Prince Cheng, generation after generation, to guard the land of the Three Jin.

But everyone understood that official pronouncements were one thing; how matters were actually handled beneath the surface was quite another.

However, Lord Jingnan's coercive methods were deeply humiliating for the former officials of Cheng State.

But they could only bow their heads. After receiving Lord Jingnan's military orders, the commanders of the Cheng State army, with hardly any hesitation, directly led their troops to be integrated.

The Situ Family and the civil officials have already knelt. Why should we, the Martial Cultivators, continue to foolishly pledge loyalty?

Besides, as for loyalty... Yan State is now our suzerain. It's only right that we listen to the Yan people.

Originally, when Situ Lei, on his deathbed, launched a final, desperate eastward assault against the combined forces of the wild people and the rebel army, he had told these military leaders to fight an impressive battle, so that they might secure a position for themselves with the Yan people in the future.

They were merely carrying out the former emperor's last wishes; there was nothing wrong with that.

Should they continue to rally around Prince Cheng's Mansion? Would they all just remain in the Royal Mansion as chief guards?

Therefore, grand displays were a thing of the past.

After Situ Yu led the officials out of the city, the commoners of Ying Capital City immediately swarmed out behind them.

Previously, Yan Army messengers had already returned to report the great victory. The crisp sound of horse hooves had echoed through the streets of Ying Capital City, accompanied by cries of:

"Great victory! Great victory! Great victory! Great victory!"

Now, as Situ Yu led the officials and commoners out of the city, a newly dispatched Yan State captain, followed by dozens of cavalrymen, arrived to deliver the news to the rear.

He didn't dismount and kneel. Instead, in accordance with military tradition for armored men on horseback, he clasped his fist in salute to Prince Cheng Situ Yu, who stood upon the war chariot, and shouted,

"The Yan Army is victorious! The main force of the wild people has been routed, with countless casualties!"

Then, the captain continued to shout,

"By order of Lord Jingnan, Prince Cheng is requested to proceed to the banks of the Wang River to personally erect a stele for the skull pyramid!"

For a moment, Situ Yu was somewhat dazed.

The ministers behind him, however, all began to weep for joy. Some clenched their fists, while others shouted aloud.

Immediately after, throngs of commoners erupted in loud cheers or knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces.

This calamity of the wild people had lasted for a year.

The fighting had raged from beyond Snow Sea Pass, into the pass itself, and all the way to the Wang River.

The rebel army and the wild people had even once threatened to enter Ying Capital City.

They had also lost an emperor in the prime of his life.

The cumulative pressure of these events, like massive stones, had weighed heavily on the hearts of Ying Capital City's people.

Now, a skull pyramid was to be erected.

This meant the wild people had truly been defeated—defeated so thoroughly they were no longer a threat!

The gloom hanging over them dispersed, and people began to unleash their pent-up emotions.

"We congratulate Lord Jingnan! We congratulate Your Highness!"

The assembled ministers began to cheer, many with tears streaming down their faces.

Those who were still in Ying Capital City at this time, who hadn't been purged, were truly the die-hard loyalists.

Among them, many had families hailing from east of the Wang River. They had heard how terribly their hometowns had been ravaged by the wild people. Now, they could finally pay respects to the spirits of their departed kin.

Situ Yu was still somewhat bewildered.

The wild people... defeated. Finally defeated.

Thrust into a critical role after his father's death, first succeeding as the Emperor of Cheng State, then enfeoffed as Prince Cheng by the Yan Emperor, Situ Yu, still just a child, had been living in a daze. All along, he had felt like a rope was around his neck, choking him.

Now, the rope had been loosened.

He could breathe deeply, so much so that his brain, momentarily "over-oxygenated," began to feel dizzy.

At this moment, the young prince cried. He truly cried, sobbing loudly. Even though he knew it was highly inappropriate to cry at such a time, he couldn't hold back.

The Yan State captain who delivered the message said nothing upon seeing this. After all, the young prince would likely be frightened into tears again when he had to move human heads and erect the stele later.

Soothed by several ministers beside him, Situ Yu finally regained his composure. With red-rimmed eyes, he asked the Yan Army captain,

"May I ask where His Lordship, Lord Jingnan, is?"

...

"Oh boy, Lord Jingnan, where on earth are you?"

On the city wall of Snow Sea Pass, General Zheng sighed while lying on the ground playing chess with A Ming.

The situation at Snow Sea Pass wasn't critical, just a bit... boring.

Yes, boring.

After losing Geremu, the army of tens of thousands of wild people began all sorts of baffling maneuvers. In Liang Cheng's words, if he continued to play against such an opponent for too long, he felt he too would become a terrible chess player.

Initially, after using the Jin State defectors, formerly under Geremu, to besiege the city for several days, this heavily depleted army, one night, before the forces at Snow Sea Pass could even launch a surprise attack, simply saw their camp erupt in chaos.

That night, the wild people's camp was ablaze. The Jin State defectors had finally exploded, demonstrating that even as traitors, they possessed a dignity befitting traitors.

Naturally, the defenders of Snow Sea Pass couldn't pass up such a prime opportunity. After confirming it wasn't a drama self-staged by the wild people, the city gate of Snow Sea Pass was immediately opened. Liang Cheng personally led two thousand Shengle cavalry to support their fellow Jin State traitors, fiercely fanning the flames.

Then, their job was to kill, not to clean up. After stirring sufficient chaos, they promptly withdrew.

The exact losses of the wild people's army that night couldn't be tallied, but for the next three consecutive days, the wild people failed to launch any significant assaults on the city.

Then, on the fourth day, the wild people attacked the city again, this time with their own forces at the fore.

The wild people, accustomed to riding horses and herding livestock, were now, for the first time, carrying ladders to assault city walls, a sight most had rarely encountered in their lives. The outcome was, naturally, quite tragic.

Despite four consecutive days of assault, the wild people failed to even secure a single corner of the city wall.

Generally speaking, in such a siege, it's crucial for the vanguard to secure a foothold on the city wall. This allows their fellow soldiers to follow up and achieve a breakthrough. Yet, the wild people attacked relentlessly for days and still failed to achieve even this.

Subsequently, some supposed genius in the wild people's army conceived the idea of piling earth at the base of the Snow Sea Pass wall. Their reasoning was that this way, they wouldn't need ladders and could just charge straight up. Problem solved, right?

Actually, this method wasn't without merit; for cities with shorter walls, it might have indeed produced some effect. However, Snow Sea Pass had been built by the ancestors of the Jin people as a formidable fortress. After two days of perilously piling earth under constant fire from the Yan Army on the walls, the wild people finally realized their folly and abandoned this idea.

Next, they thought of digging tunnels.

But it was the dead of winter, and the area was adjacent to the snow plains, making it incredibly cold. As Xue Three put it, the ground was frozen as hard as a rock.

Moreover, the wild people couldn't find any more slaves; those nearby had long been plundered. So, the wild warriors had to do the digging themselves. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

They were indeed patient and persevering, knowing full well what failing to breach Snow Sea Pass would mean for them.

Xue Three even showed great "respect" for the wild people's efforts, specially bringing water vats from the city to place beneath the inner city wall and assigning personnel to monitor for any sounds of digging.

In truth, they could have let the wild people keep digging. By the time they truly broke through, spring would likely have arrived, and it would have been too late anyway.

But even so, while the wild people were digging a tunnel, poor excavation caused it to collapse, burying many of their own.

Subsequently, it was just a relentless cycle of sieges.

They seemed to have abandoned all other strategies, focusing solely on attacking, attacking as if their lives depended on it!

However, while their ambition was great, reality was harsh.

It was clear that the wild people's generals understood the bigger picture and knew what they had to do. But their soldiers faltered. The torment of a siege was more than ordinary men could bear. Furthermore, a severe food crisis had also emerged in the wild people's main camp.

Gradually, the daily sieges became a mere formality. The wild people would attack, the Shengle Army would defend. When the time came, the wild people would withdraw, and the Shengle Army would break for dinner.

Liang Cheng was clearly dissatisfied with this passive approach to battle.

Under his arrangement, one day, as the wild people were attacking, expecting another fruitless endeavor, the city gates were suddenly battered open by them!

Heavens! The wild people carrying the battering ram were themselves stunned.

They hadn't even been exerting their full effort, wary as they were of the hot oil and stones from above, yet the city gate had been breached! This was real, no joke!

A wild Ten Thousand Households Chief named A Ge, who was in charge of that day's siege, was moved to tears at the sight. Believing it to be a blessing from the stars, he unhesitatingly led his two thousand-plus most elite and loyal tribal warriors, along with the other besieging wild people, to storm through the gate.

Actually, this area was merely the upper part of a barbican-like "protrusion."

Then, when the wild people surged in with great momentum, they suddenly found another iron gate and another city wall before them. Moreover, Shengle archers, long prepared on the four surrounding walls, began to rain down arrows upon them with brutal efficiency.

In this battle, the wild Ten Thousand Households Chief, A Ge, was killed.

Nearly two thousand wild people corpses were counted within this enclosure alone. And after the wild people retreated, the Shengle Army could leisurely descend to retrieve their arrows.

After this battle, the wild people were thoroughly demoralized.

They were truly helpless and in deep anguish.

And General Zheng, within Snow Sea Pass, was also so bored he felt like he was growing mold.

Thanks to the wild people's numerous inept maneuvers and Liang Cheng's excessively cautious approach, there were days General Zheng didn't even need to go up to the city wall. When idle, he would vent his energy by practicing his saber techniques.

Well, don't underestimate it. He had been put through the wringer by Xue Three's medicinal baths back in Shengle, and with this recent period of consolidation, General Zheng felt he was touching the threshold of peak Seventh Rank Martial Cultivator.

One could only blame the wild people outside for being so utterly ineffective, forcing General Zheng to resort to training to pass the time.

Finally—anyway, Zheng Fan had lost count of how many days he had been defending Snow Sea Pass—one day, alerted by an urgent message from a fast-approaching Xue Three, Zheng Fan hastily ascended the city wall.

Xue Three had reported that a wild people army was approaching from the west.

After Zheng Fan reached the wall and observed, he couldn't help but smile.

Yes, a troop of wild people was approaching.

But judging by their dejected appearance, discarded helmets and armor, and disorganized ranks, they didn't look at all like reinforcements specifically dispatched from the front lines to aid the siege.

Rather, they looked like...

A defeated army.

General Zheng raised his hand, wanting to slap the crenellations to vent his excitement, but after a moment's hesitation, he slapped Fanli on the back instead.

"Excellent! The wild people at the front have been defeated! Lord Jingnan's pursuing forces must be close behind.

Ha ha ha!

I am really looking forward to seeing the expression on Tian Wujing's face when he leads his troops in pursuit, only to find that I've already taken control of Snow Sea Pass. He he he."

——————

Thank you to the generous patron, De's Demise, for becoming the 92nd Alliance Lord of Moling City!