Reality was that they were faced with fifty thousand men. When the first shock dissipated, these Hu Ren soldiers regrouped. More than half of their number entered the city walls. They hid under the shelter of the houses.

The latter half was already aware of the trap and stayed outside to camp instead of going for the obvious trap.

"This is where it gets tricky." Su Chen's usual crazed eyes were replaced with a thoughtful look.

His thousand-man troop was already sustaining damages from the Hu Ren soldiers below. The bastards used the houses to sneak arrows.

"Damn it! Hide! What are you sticking out your heads for?!" He angrily commanded.

He scratched his chin and looked at the distance outside the walls. Sweat trickled down the side of his face. It was only early morning but his whole body was already suffused with heat.

Fifty thousand and they had one thousand on this side. Relying on the momentum of the ambush earlier, he estimated they managed to reduce the number by a thousand or two.

Far from satisfactory... But it didn't matter.

"Ready your fires!" When he shouted, their Danwan soldiers from the back lit the huge clay pots every ten meters on top of the walls.

The sweltering heat increased.

All arrows passed through the fire before shooting. But this time, Danwan seemed to have lost their aim and no Hu Ren soldier was hit.

The barbarians laughed. What kind of shooting prowess was this?

Did the people of the mainland finally lose their wits?

But the Danwan soldiers gritted their teeth and continued shooting every chance they could get. Amidst the laughter and sneers, the first explosion happened. It was the place closest to the east wall.

The whole house easily caught fire like it was made of cotton and then suddenly exploded. The men closest to the house weren't spared. They didn't even know what happened. They just suddenly lost their hearing. Some lost limbs, some caught fire, some transformed into grotesque human porcupines because of the shrapnel.

This wasn't the only explosion. Soon, the whole outer districts were filled with similar sounds.

"Flee from the city!" Who knew who shouted first but the higher ups of the soldiers all had the same idea, However, how could it be so easy?

"Want to run? Did you ask for permission?" Su Chen sneered.

The Danwan soldiers made sure to cover the exits of the outer districts with fire. It seemed they had long given up this part of Suliang and planned to entrap the Hu Ren people here. The other half of their numbers couldn't enter either as the gates exploded one by one.

This was indeed a suicide mission.

Su Chen and his men weren't entirely unaffected. Soon, smoke wrapped around the whole district. And the smoke rose to where they were along with the scorching heat.

"Retreat!" He immediately gave the order and saved those who were about to fall from the collapsing walls.

It was good that the inner and outer Suliang was divided by a river and martial law was imposed. Even if the situation here was like this with all the noise that could be faintly heard on the other side and the thick rising smoke was visible, the people weren't allowed to cross the river.

General Su was reassured. Fifteen thousand Danwan soldiers were left there to protect Suliang.

But he felt a bitter feeling. Here, they were defending the motherland to death and the empire still sent soldiers to arrest the commander.

What kind of ungratefulness was this? Even some beasts knew how to take care of animals of the same species, but the ones in Tanglin were worse than beasts.

Su Chen struggled and didn't leave the top of the walls acting like a herding dog and making sure that the injured soldiers would safely descend towards the river where the medics were waiting.

It was really too bad that Madam Lian hadn't returned yet. Having a godly doctor among them lifted the morale of the men to fight more.

But it didn't matter, her disciples were still here. They might not be as good as her but they were still better than the doctors of the capital.

What worried him the most...

General Su anxiously turned back to look at the walls wishing he could grow eyes outside of his body and fly over the South Gates. But not once did he forget his mission.

"Formation! Those who can stand, take your arrows and fire at anyone who dares to pass here."

Even as he shouted, explosions still sounded from inside the walls. He knew that it would soon stop. When that happened, the other Hu Ren troops waiting near the South Gates would try to enter. He had no control to what would happen next.

The sun was already high up in the sky at this time and he looked up, looking like a praying man. I really hope we can survive this.

His thousand man troops all had tense faces as they formed their lines and were ready to aim at any time.

Who knew how long it took before the first appearance of a bloody figure trying desperately to escape the city on fire.

The captain nearest the figure raised his flag so no other ten man team would shoot and waste arrows. They had practiced this countless times since the appearance of the cold iron arrows. Even if they produced what was seemingly an unlimited amount, they dared not be wasteful.

Other survivors were also shot to death like this.

Meanwhile, from the borders...

The remaining Hu Ren Kings were uneasy. The situation was out of everyone's expectations. Who would have thought that the shrewd King Wan Li would sacrifice the outer districts just to build their graves?

Three Kings huddled in a tent, discussing how to advance. Looking at them, the title King wasn't really appropriate. At most, they were the chieftains of their tribes.

Their level of culture and wealth couldn't compare to the Great Long Dynasty. The reason they were eyeing the big nation was because of the fertile lands after all.

Even the chill of winter didn't stop them this time. The bottom-rung soldiers didn't know where the provisions for fifty thousand men were sourced from but this gave tremendous courage to occupy the outer districts of Suliang.

But now, the plan went chaotic. One King didn't want to give in and suggested walking past the outer districts and trying to invade the inner. They were already here. What would they bring home? Ashes?

The other King was slightly convinced but didn't dare to be firm. They still didn't know what had become of the three Kings inside. Whether they were alive or dead were unknown.

Advancing to the inner districts was another huge risk and who knew what other tricks that King Wan Li still had up her sleeve?

The name Wan Li had long become a nightmare in the barbaric lands. Time and again, their generals fell on the hands of this demon.

Just as they were still deliberating, a commotion in the camp arose.

"Kings! We're under attack!" The frantic voice of the page arrived in the tent.

The three men immediately dropped what they were doing and assumed command. However, the cooperation between the armies was really too pitiful.

A majestic jujube red war horse led the Danwan troops coming from the forest on each side of the outer districts of Suliang. The heavy armor seemed to absorb the light from the sun and the red tassel on top of the helmet violently swayed like how blood splashed when the sword danced.

"Taize! Surrender now and ben dian will spare your soldiers. The life blood of your tribe!" Long Xu Le shouted using her internal energy.

The one she called was the strongest Hu Ren King. It wasn't the first time that they met on the battlefield and the other would always go back home as the loser.

It was also probably his initiative to gather different tribes under one banner. But Wan Li Wang was clear on their situation. They barely have any tacit understanding and this level of military command was an insult to Her Highness who was deemed to be a war genius.

Hu Ren's strength now relied on their numbers. Otherwise, they would really be crushed by Danwan's few thousand soldiers.

Taize heard King Wan Li's arrogance. He was the one who was suggesting to break through to the inner districts earlier.

"Blasted woman, such arrogance will lure you to death!"

It was good that Long Xu Le's face was obscured by the helmet. She couldn't see anything and only relied on her martial arts and other senses, straining her body to the fullest to make up for the loss of vision. The heavy armor concealed her true condition even to her soldiers.

She clutched the reins, her knuckles turning white under the handguards. Sacrificing a third of Suliang's territory just for this war was enough to hurt her lungs and spleen.

If she didn't kill all of the invaders here today, she shouldn't be called King. But what could she do when the other side had more soldiers than her? Of course, she did what she did best.

Trickery.

From the explosives inside the walls to what she would do next. All was fair in love and war.

She would bite these people to death if she had to.

---
Melo has something to say: More and more, we're getting close.