Chapter 1304: Outside and Inside the City

He Lingchuan picked up the two small earthen balls from the ground. Only then did he mount his horse and change direction, saying, "Tie him up and take him back; someone will decide his fate."

The two stone golem puppets were actually quite good. It was just that City Defender Liu hadn't used them properly.

The pair of meteor hammers he had just used were among the spoils of war he found in the landfill of Jueyu's cave dwelling. He didn't know whose weapons they originally were. All their various special functions had failed, but the single throwing function remained. Their penetrating power was very strong, making them excellent tools for demolition.

Wan Qifeng stepped forward and personally hogtied City Defender Liu, tossing him onto a horse's back.

Just then, horse hoofbeats approached again. Dong Rui arrived, leading several riders.

"What, it's over already?" He had rushed as fast as he could but had missed the main action?

"You can still make it to the next one," He Lingchuan said as he rode past him, with the Yangshan cavalry following closely. "Let's go, to Stone Helm."

Yang Meng led his troops rushing down the mountain. In the night sky ahead, several blood-red fireworks exploded. This was the most inauspicious sign:

Stone Helm was about to fall!

No one cared about the rugged mountain path; they spurred their horses faster. The night was dark and windy, and several horses broke their legs on the spot.

Turning past the mountain hollow, they immediately saw chaos below the city.

The city gates were already open. Sure enough, an invading army was forcing its way through.

Yang Meng inwardly cursed.

He had chased City Defender Liu too far, allowing a third party to exploit the weakness and enter!

Earlier, Yang Meng had led the garrison soldiers to attack Liu's army camp. They had won in one fell swoop, causing City Defender Liu to flee, and his subordinates either surrendered or dispersed.

Yang Meng then took his main force to pursue City Defender Liu, leaving only over a hundred people to clear the battlefield and clean up the mess.

This was standard procedure, as his total force was only about five hundred.

Furthermore, supplies were scarce within Stone Helm. Everyone was eager to move the enemy's military supplies back into the city. What City Defender Liu had plundered from the people of Stone Helm, they were now taking back; nothing wrong with that.

During the recent attack, everyone had even deliberately avoided the grain carts, refraining from setting them on fire or shooting arrows at them.

However, the transport in the dark was inevitably a bit chaotic. Even civilians in the city, upon hearing they had won, rushed over to help move things, fearing that if they were too late, others would pick through everything. The scene was not very orderly.

At that time, dozens of people, dressed in garrison uniforms and civilian clothes, mingled with the moving teams and secretly infiltrated the city.

Everyone was busy moving goods with great enthusiasm when unexpectedly, a force suddenly emerged from the northeast and charged directly towards Stone Helm's city gate!

The city gate guards were very responsible. They immediately detected the anomaly and quickly called for soldiers and civilians on the road to enter the city. Before the unidentified army could arrive, they promptly closed the city gates.

But the dozens of spies lurking inside the city suddenly attacked, raising their crossbows and injuring the guards, and quickly opening the East Gate!

With an attack from both inside and outside, Stone Helm was about to fall!

The city's defenders fought desperately against the enemy, but alas, the enemy outnumbered them, and they were wiped out in just a few moments.

But they had at least delayed the enemy for a short while.

Upon Yang Meng's return, what he saw through the gate archway was the initial blaze they had set.

"Zhao Guangzhi!" His eyes turned red. "Back to the city, quick, back to the city!"

They had fought against Zhao's army before and immediately recognized the enemy's uniforms.

It was indeed Zhao Guangzhi!

Fortunately, their return was timely. Zhao Guangzhi's men had just killed the city guards and hadn't had time to move the bodies from below the gate or close the city gates when Yang Meng's army already arrived!

Zhao Guangzhi, who had just entered the city, was feeling smug and was about to let his men loose to plunder when he saw something change behind him and had no choice but to order his troops to block the city gate.

One side wanted to enter, the other prevented entry; the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

Zhao Guangzhi's army numbered over two thousand five hundred men and was primarily cavalry. Yang Meng only had three hundred men behind him, who were mostly on foot. If the battle had been fought on open terrain, this battle would have been practically unwinnable.

Fortunately, the battle was happening in the narrow city gate archway, where both sides had to dismount and engage in close-quarters combat.

But even so, the situation for Yang Meng's side was not optimistic.

He cut down two enemy soldiers, regardless of the blood splattering his face, and roared again at Zhao Guangzhi, who was at the rear of his army: "Zhao the bandit, why don't you dare to fight me one-on-one!"

The last time he challenged him to a duel, Zhao the bandit hadn't dared to accept.

Zhao Guangzhi was completely unmoved. He flipped his palm forward, making a dismissive gesture.

He had the advantage in numbers. Even if he traded lives one-for-one with Yang Meng, he was sure to win in the long run.

With a guaranteed victory, why should he personally enter the fray? What was wrong with comfortably watching his opponent fight like a trapped beast?

Soon, shouts of alarm and screams came from the streets and alleys behind him, along with women's cries for help.

Zhao Guangzhi glanced back. It turned out that several groups of his men couldn't hold back and had rushed into the inner city to loot.

They were incredibly skilled at looting cities, thoroughly understanding the principle of "first come, first served" and "he who hesitates, loses." If they didn't prioritize speed, everything would be plundered by their comrades ahead of them.

Zhao's troops blocking the city gate, hearing the commotion behind them, were all itching with impatience.

"Damn it, we're fighting for our lives here, while those sly devils behind us have already gone into the city to get loot and snatch women?"

The fighting at the city gate inevitably loosened a bit.

Especially Yang Meng's garrison soldiers, upon hearing of the chaos inside the city, were filled with anxiety and fought even more desperately.

Zhao Guangzhi frowned. If this continued, it would demoralize his army. He mustn't suffer an unexpected defeat.

He ordered his attendants, "Call everyone out. Those who don't listen, cut them down immediately."

His subordinates went to carry out the order.

A few moments later, the shouts and screams from the streets and alleys not only didn't stop but grew louder and more intense.

This time, Zhao Guangzhi was truly enraged. He drew a pair of axes and said,

"Everyone follow me!"

"So, they won't listen, huh? If a tiger doesn't show its power, these blind youngsters will take him for a sick cat, right?"

Immediately, dozens of his personal guards followed him to help him teach a lesson to his undisciplined subordinates.

As for Yang Meng in front, Zhao Guangzhi didn't pay him any mind at all.

"This fellow is quite a fighter and had caused me a lot of trouble before. But now that he's blocked outside, he can't stir up any trouble."

After advancing over ten zhang, they entered the streets and alleys, where everything was in chaos. The common people, seeing them like sheep encountering hungry tigers, screamed and scattered in all directions.

Zhao Guangzhi was long accustomed to such scenes. He spurred his horse and charged towards the loudest commotion.

Unexpectedly, three or four Zhao soldiers sprang out from the street corner, their faces filled with panic. They looked as if they had seen their savior, crying, "General, help! There's an enemy behind..."

Before he could finish speaking, an arc of light flashed from behind, and the man's head was severed from his neck.

His head fell off, but his body continued to run forward two steps due to inertia before finally collapsing.

"The enemy has infiltrated?" Zhao Guangzhi muttered. "That Yang fellow isn't stupid after all."

Zhao Guangzhi's expression turned cold. He reined in his horse tightly.

The surrounding air suddenly seemed to solidify. In the deep alley, only the sound of hooves stepping on gravel could be heard.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, neither hurried nor slow.

Over ten riders turned out from the street corner. All of them wore masks and black armor. The spearheads of several still dripped with blood.

The one at the very front had dark flames rising from his armor. The black smoke emitted condensed without dispersing, forming a phantom-like shadow that lingered around him.

At a glance, he didn't look like a living person at all.