Chapter 2006: The Underlying Tone of War

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Tu Shanfang whispered. "The main force of the Black Armored Army has arrived not far from the city!" His body was stained with blood, though he seemed oblivious to it. He simply grabbed Fan Shuang's arm and pointed towards the west gate, "The enemy is coming! Don't delay, retreat quickly!"

Only then did Fan Shuang notice that Tu Shanfang had a deep wound on his leg, causing him to limp slightly.

No more citizens were coming from behind, but the sound of galloping hooves and clashing weapons grew louder. Fan Shuang, supporting his elderly mother, ran west with his father.

The west gate was jammed, with everyone scrambling to escape. Two large carts collided, blocking the road. Before the drivers could even argue, they were pulled aside, and the carts were moved.

Fan Shuang looked back twice, each time seeing a bloody massacre unfolding behind them. He thought he caught glimpses of Tu Shanfang and others. They were busy wielding their swords against the enemy, fighting to buy more time for non-combatants to evacuate.

Everyone ran frantically, feeling as if time had never been so agonizing, with every second a torment.

Fan Shuang finally witnessed the brutality of war firsthand: how a single night could destroy a small city's peace and ruin the livelihoods of thousands.

The sky suddenly darkened as several giant eagles swooped down, snatching people and harassing the civilians fleeing the city.

They enjoyed carrying their prey high into the sky before dropping them to their deaths. One eagle grabbed a half-grown child. Fan Shuang picked up a brick from the ground and threw it, but missed. The bird-demon, about to cackle mockingly in mid-air, was pierced through the heart by an arrow from a rushing Black Armored Army soldier and plummeted to the ground.

The archer was a comrade of Tu Shanfang, who had previously helped Tu Shanfang rescue the Fan family. Fan Shuang remembered his surname was Xu; Tu Shanfang always called him Old Xu.

The child's mother rushed over to retrieve her child. Fan Shuang waved to Old Xu, who nodded back, then pointed towards the west gate, urging everyone, "Hurry, hurry!"

Just as Old Xu was about to turn, the earthen wall to his left-rear suddenly collapsed. A large horse burst out like lightning, knocking Old Xu flying.

Everyone screamed.

Using the momentum, the mounted knight swung his blade.

Old Xu couldn't dodge in time and could only raise his hand to protect his head.

Blood flashed as his entire arm was severed!

Fan Shuang was shocked: "Old Xu!"

Fan's father grabbed his shoulder, yelling, "Don't look, run!"

They had reached the west gate; if they could just escape, they could retreat to the mine.

Fan Shuang looked back again and saw a bandit soldier stab Old Xu in the chest. Old Xu, with an unknown burst of strength, actually grabbed the enemy's arm and dragged him forcibly from his horse.

"Damn it!" Fan Shuang violently broke free from his father's grasp and charged back. On the way, he scooped up a loose brick. While the two were entangled, he aimed at the bandit soldier's back of the head and struck five times.

Each blow was delivered with all his might.

After the third blow, the opponent stopped moving.

Fearing it wasn't enough, Fan Shuang struck two more times, seeing the enemy's head covered in blood and unconscious.

At this moment, several more city guard soldiers arrived. Saying "Get out of the way," they casually chopped off the bandit soldier's head. When they checked Old Xu's neck, their expressions darkened, and they shook their heads.

The last breath Old Xu had held onto had already dispersed by the time Fan Shuang had struck down the enemy.

Fan Shuang looked at Old Xu's blood-soaked face, choked up, and was speechless for a moment. He then heard the city guards say, "Quick, return to the East Wing! They're blowing whistles for reinforcements there!"

"The fire oil on the city walls is running low..."

These men had already turned to leave, but when Fan Shuang heard that, he suddenly called out, "Wait! I know where there's fire oil! Old Zhang's General Store on Batiao Street, the fourth one from east to west!"

Fire oil was fuel refined from dark oil, and also an important military supply.

The soldiers looked back at him: "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Fan Shuang said quickly. "There are eighteen jars, ten catties each! They were just delivered this morning from Cihua City and were supposed to be inventoried tomorrow! Old Zhang's General Store has been deserted for a while; it's also where we stockpile supplies..."

Seeing that they were still a bit confused, he steeled himself and declared, "I'll take you there!"

Since Miancheng took in refugees from the surrounding areas, countless shops had opened up in the streets and alleys, including Batiao Street. On Batiao Street alone, there were six shops named Old Zhang's General Store, two of which had small, dim signs that were easy to miss.

If Fan Shuang didn't lead the way, these men might not be able to find it.

Madam Wang was alarmed: "Shuang'er, it's dangerous in the city..."

"Father, take Mother and go first. Don't look back!" Fan Shuang leaped onto a large horse and said gravely, "Your son will be safe; just wait for good news from the Black Armored Army!"

With that, he took a deep look at his parents, turned the horse around, and galloped away.

The soldiers followed closely behind him.

Fan's father's eyes were also red, but he quickly stopped Madam Wang, firmly gripping her and leading her towards the west gate: "Listen to our son, let's go. He knows what he's doing!"

Tu Shanfang had just returned to the main city gate when he heard a buzzing sound from above.

He looked up and saw a large swarm of black bees rushing towards him, each bee larger than a green date.

If he were stung dozens of times, wouldn't he swell up enormously? Even Tu Shanfang, a ruthless killer, was startled and quickly dodged.

But the swarm pursued him relentlessly, seemingly recognizing him as their leader's enemy.

As he ran, he grabbed the wine skin from his waist, took a large gulp, then snatched a torch and aimed it at the swarm with a "poof."

He breathed fire.

The flame was a strange green.

The swarm, not fearing ordinary fire, didn't bother to dodge. Unexpectedly, when the green fire engulfed them, a large portion of the swarm was incinerated, and bees fell like rain from mid-air.

A few years ago, Tu Shanfang had met a wise sage who told him he was destined for a great tribulation: if he survived, his future would be bright; if not, his life would end. This wine skin was given to him by that person, specifically to counter insect-related curses and see if it could help him overcome this ordeal.

Having suffered heavy losses, the swarm dared not attack him again. They landed and coalesced into a large demon, human-sized, with limbs like scythes. It lashed out at him twice with a swishing sound.

If not for a large portion of it being incinerated, this monster should have been over eight feet tall.

Three nearby guards rushed forward, but the monster's scythe-like limbs swept down, chopping them into pieces with a few loud cracks.

So fast! Tu Shanfang was awe-struck; the monster's movements even left afterimages.

The insect demon then charged directly at him. Tu Shanfang blocked a few attacks and realized he was no match. Not only was it incredibly strong, but its scythe-like limbs also generated shockwaves. Every time their weapons clashed, his arms tingled and burned from the impact.

Tu Shanfang only glanced outside the city, and a piece of flesh was instantly sliced from his shoulder, making him wince in pain.

Below, a dense mass of bandit soldiers charged into the city, but a large contingent of troops remained in the distance.

Guo Baiyu should be there.

What was he waiting for?

Just then, loud horn calls sounded from both the west and the south.

From behind the hills and within the dense forest, a dark, imposing army charged out!

The Black Armored Army! Tu Shanfang was overjoyed. He mustered his strength and roared, his voice like thunder: "The Black Armored Army has arrived! Hold the barbican!"

Cheers immediately erupted throughout the city.

A hundred days! They had held out for a full hundred days, and finally, the reinforcements had arrived!