The thunderous roars continued, one after another, shaking the city wall of Lan'an City.
Then came a towering inferno.
"No!" Liang Xuanting shrieked, his eyes splitting with rage.
Jun Mo stood on the city wall, looking towards Shuiyong City.
"Tens of thousands of Shuiyong City's common folk, may the blood of tens of thousands of Nanjiang soldiers appease your aggrieved souls. May you finally rest in peace!"
Lan Canghai was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. "These Fireballs are truly formidable! With them, what country would Tianqi fear?"
Wei Xiyong, Marquis Wuyang, and the others also wore excited expressions. This battle was finally coming to an end!
Liang Xuanting turned his head and bellowed at Liang Wei, "It's all your fault! For keeping the army in place! Now look what happened!"
Liang Wei's face was ashen, his lips trembling, but he had nothing to say.
Indeed, his judgment had been mistaken!
Liang Xuanting spurred his horse and galloped towards Shuiyong City.
Jun Mo took up his longbow, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. In the blink of an eye, the arrow on the bowstring, swift as a star and quick as lightning, tore through the fierce wind and shot from the string.
Outside the city walls, Liang Xuanting rode alone. Though his horse still galloped wildly forward, Liang Xuanting was pierced by an arrow and tumbled from his mount.
"Little Ting!"
"Young Master!"
Liang Wei pulled Liang Xuanting onto his own horse, while Wang Sui brought up the rear. The three, with two horses, galloped towards Shuiyong City.
Ji Huaiyan led a troop of men and roared, "Pursue!"
"Little Ting, hold on! We'll head back to Nanjiang right away!"
"Fifth Imperial Uncle, I..."
"Don't speak! Fifth Imperial Uncle will take you back to the capital to find the best doctor! Hup!"
Upon reaching Shuiyong City, they saw nothing but scorched earth and scattered remains.
"Fifth Prince!"
A soldier, disheveled, came hurrying over.
Liang Wei asked, "How many are left?"
"Fewer than twenty thousand. Some were scared witless by that thing and have already deserted!"
Liang Wei gnashed his teeth. "Immediately retreat to Nanjiang!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Report! Tianqi's army is pursuing us!" A soldier, holding his helmet, rushed up.
Wang Sui looked at Liang Wei and said, "You two go first. This old man will cover your retreat!"
Liang Wei glanced at Liang Xuanting, who had already fallen unconscious in front of him, and nodded.
"General, take care!"
With that, he turned his horse and galloped away.
Half the soldiers quickly followed. Wang Sui, with the remaining thousand or so men, engaged the pursuing Ji Huaiyan and Wei Yuanling in battle.
"Old General, they've all abandoned you! Why are you fighting so desperately?"
"Just surrender!"
Wei Yuanling spoke as he fought.
Wang Sui retorted coldly, "For this old man, there is no surrender, only death in battle!"
Wei Yuanling tutted twice. "What an old stubborn goat!"
Lan Yan finished off the last Nanjiang soldier and shouted loudly, "Wei Yuanling, can you even do it?"
Wei Yuanling dropped his smile and retorted, "How can I not?!"
He then quickened his movements.
Wang Sui, being advanced in age and fighting two opponents, quickly became overwhelmed and was unhorsed.
Just as he was about to rise, the tip of a red-tasseled spear pressed against his neck.
With Wang Sui captured and Liang Xuanting severely wounded, the remaining tens of thousands of Nanjiang's defeated troops fled back to Nanjiang.
Tianqi's military camp was filled with joyous cheers.
Inside the City Lord's residence study.
Wei Xiyong said with a beaming face, "I've already sent the victory report back to the capital. This battle we fought was truly splendid!"
Marquis Wuyang nodded. "Indeed. I thought this would take at least a year and a half to conclude. I never expected to win in less than two months!"
"This is all thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Jing's tactics and the Fireballs brought by Princess Changning. What are those Fireballs made of? They're simply terrifying!" Lan Canghai also had a joyful expression.
Su Li smiled. "These Fireballs were brought by me, but they weren't made by me. The formula was provided by Lord Yu's daughter, and the Fireballs were developed by Second Young Master Ji and Daoist Wuxi according to the formula."
Marquis Wuyang's eyes widened. "My second son is that remarkable? Lord Yu's daughter? Is that the young lady who caused the Yu's Brand disfigurement case before?"
Su Li smiled. "Second Young Master Ji is indeed a great talent! As for the disfigurement case, it was because Miss Yu was deceived; it truly wasn't her fault."
Marquis Wuyang nodded with a smile. "I always thought my second son was a quiet stick in the mud. I didn't expect him to be of some use after all."
Wei Xiyong said, "Old brother, you're being too modest. Any of your three sons are stronger than my boy."
"Oh, no, no, Yuanling is excellent too. Once he gets a wife, he'll settle down." Marquis Wuyang finished speaking and gave Wei Xiyong a meaningful look, then looked at Lan Canghai.
Wei Xiyong looked at Lan Canghai and said, "General Lan, has your second daughter been betrothed?"
"I'm quite troubled about that. This girl has followed me, roughing it out on the border since she was little, growing up like a boy. If I just find anyone, I feel I'd be wronging her. But those noble young masters in the capital, I'm afraid they won't like a girl from my kind of family. I was planning to find her someone in the army later." Lan Canghai frowned.
Jun Mo smiled. "General Lan, Duke Weiguo asked you that, and you still don't understand?"
Lan Canghai was stunned, glanced at Wei Xiyong, and then his eyes suddenly lit up.
Wei Xiyong smiled. "I'm just afraid Miss Lan won't fancy my boy."
Lan Canghai waved his hand. "Ai, how could that be! I'm only afraid Young General Wei will dislike my girl for being rough."
Su Li had listened for a long time and finally understood.
She had arrived late and had little contact with Lan Yan, but she had seen how those two interacted.
Lan Yan usually maintained a cold expression, while her cousin always wore a cheerful, ingratiating smile.
These two were quite well-matched.
Everyone joked for a while, then returned to the topic of the war.
"Nanjiang has retreated. Are we just going to return to the capital like this?" Marquis Wuyang asked.
Jun Mo said coldly, "Does Tianqi allow them to fight us whenever they please? They massacred an entire city of our people. Though they paid with their lives, it's not enough!"
Wei Xiyong nodded. "Right! Just returning like this would be letting them off too easily!"
Lan Canghai said, "Then what else can we do? We can't also massacre a Nanjiang city, can we? I couldn't bring myself to do that."
Jun Mo was about to speak when Jun Ce entered from outside the door.
"Of course not. We are human, not beasts."
Everyone saluted. "Third Prince."
Jun Ce smiled. "That Wang Sui is truly stubborn. It seems impossible to get the defense map of Nanjiang's Jiukong City out of him."
Jun Mo gave a gentle laugh, then slowly said, "Since we can't get it, then we won't ask. Let's release him."
Wei Xiyong was startled. "After finally capturing him, release him?"
Su Li and Jun Mo exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.
"Uncle, Wang Sui can hold such a high position in Nanjiang. It means he's no ordinary person. Even if we use every torture on him, we might not get anything. If we release him at an opportune moment, given Liang Shao's suspicious nature, what do you think will happen?" Su Li's eyes curved slightly, her red lips parting.
Looking at Jun Mo and Su Li, both displaying the same calm and collected demeanor, two phrases appeared in Wei Xiyong's mind: 'equally matched' and 'a match made in heaven.'
Marquis Wuyang slapped his thigh. "Brilliant! If I were Liang Shao, I'd even suspect if he had defected to the enemy!"
Jun Mo curved his lips. "Three days from now, we'll release him."
Wang Sui, after all, was a general. They needed to create the illusion that he had suffered greatly before feigning surrender.
Wei Xiyong nodded. "Good, then it's settled."
"However, if Wang Sui returns, will we have to directly assault Jiukong City?" Marquis Wuyang asked.
Jun Ce smiled faintly. "No need. We still have someone who knows Nanjiang's defenses!"
Wei Xiyong was surprised and asked, "Who is it?"
Jun Ce didn't speak, merely looking at Su Li.
Su Li looked at Jun Ce in surprise. So he had figured it out too!
Wei Xiyong asked doubtfully, "Li'er?"
Su Li sighed. "Leave it to me."
For her to seek his revenge wouldn't be considered taking advantage.
Marquis Wuyang exclaimed again, "If Wang Sui returns and we then capture Jiukong City without any effort, Wang Sui's situation will be difficult, hahahaha..."
Looking at the smiling faces of the others, Su Li pondered how to approach Little Nian so he wouldn't resist.
Because she had noticed that whenever she asked about his past, Little Nian would fall silent and remain gloomy for the entire day.
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