Upon the city tower, Liu Canglan stood with hands behind his back, accompanied by four commanders, Lin Feng, and Liu Fei.
Liu Canglan had been standing here for hours without moving an inch, and the others remained silent, understanding the pain in his heart at this moment.
The blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the lives of so many, the sons of countless families—all gone in the blink of an eye. This is the reality of war.
Cruel, merciless—no one knew what would happen. Even the renowned General Liu Canglan, undefeated on the battlefield for over a decade, had suffered defeat.
"Sigh..."
Liu Canglan exhaled heavily before slowly turning around. At this moment, everyone in the Broken Blade City was migrating, preparing to leave the city.
Under the threat of the princess's life, the defense of the Broken Blade's End, had become untenable.
With the loss of Broken Blade's End, the city itself became vulnerable. With half a million cavalry, the city could easily be overrun.
But martial cultivators were no ordinary people. Those in the Spiritual Martial Realm could leap onto the city walls, and a barrage of arrows could rain down from miles away.
"Broken Blade City, though not vast, is home to nearly half a million people. Yet now, they must all leave their homes because of the general's incompetence, burdening the civilians," Liu Canglan sighed.
"If it's war, victory cannot come without defeat. This is not solely the general's fault," Lin Feng shook his head.
"Lin Feng, why did you order the civilians to gather wood and stack it together? What is your intention?" Liu Canglan asked with confusion.
Lin Feng turned his gaze towards Liu Canglan, his eyes carrying a hint of solemnity. "I need fire."
"Fire!" Liu Canglan's eyes flickered as he stared at Lin Feng, momentarily taken aback. But Lin Feng continued, "Uncle Liu, this time, I hope you can cooperate with me."
After a moment of silence, Liu Canglan nodded heavily. "Agreed."
"Commanders, I hope you will also cooperate," Lin Feng said, shifting his gaze to the four commanders, each of whom nodded slightly, unsure of what Lin Feng intended to do.
Meanwhile, within the city, the sound of galloping hooves filled the air as many prepared to leave.
These crowds consisted mostly of students from the Snow Moon Academy and the Tianyi Academy. Realizing that achieving military merit was no longer possible and sensing the danger, they chose to return to the imperial city early. The affairs here were no longer their concern.
Not only these so-called young talents, but even Duan Tianlang led his troops out of the city, abandoning Broken Blade City.
"Liu Canglan!"
A booming voice echoed, belonging to Duan Tianlang.
"Liu Canglan, you incited internal turmoil, resulting in the capture of the princess and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in a foreign land. When I return to the imperial city, I will report the truth to His Majesty and determine your crimes."
The angry shouts seemed to lay all blame on Liu Canglan, absolving Duan Tianlang of any wrongdoing.
Lin Feng's heart turned cold. Despite the princess being captured in his camp, Duan Tianlang had absolved himself of any responsibility, intending to return to the imperial city. The fate of the princess now rested solely on Liu Canglan's shoulders.
It was clear to Lin Feng that Duan Tianlang's journey to the imperial city was to shift all blame onto Liu Canglan.
Ignoring Duan Tianlang, Liu Canglan knew such a petty person wasn't worth his attention.
Now, Liu Canglan's greatest regret was allowing Duan Tianlang into Broken Blade City and hoping to fight alongside him against the Moyue Legion.
With a victorious smile, Duan Tianlang led his troops away from Broken Blade City. Meanwhile, Liu Canglan would continue to face off against the Moyue Legion, resulting in even more casualties. When the time came, with a decree from the Emperor, Duan Tianlang would descend with his army and easily capture Liu Canglan, the main culprit.
...
Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.
The thunderous sound of hooves thundered relentlessly as the iron-clad Moyue cavalry arrived unexpectedly at the Broken Blade's End, stretching as far as the eye could see.
At this moment atop the Broken Blade's End, not a single figure could be seen.
Mo Jie rode forward, gazing at the silent mountains ahead, his eyes reflecting a pensive demeanor.
Could it be that Snow Moon had truly withdrawn from the Broken Blade's End, easily ceding this natural barrier to Moyue?
Mo Jie's eyes flickered with doubt. He had heard rumors of Snow Moon withdrawing from the Broken Blade's End, but he remained skeptical. This natural barrier was rumored to house tens of thousands of soldiers, yet remained undetected.
"Bring the princess forward."
Mo Jie's voice was calm as he spoke. Duan Xinye sat atop her steed, armored but unbound, just as Mo Jie had said—she made no attempt to escape.
"A team of the Black Guards will advance to scout the Broken Blade's End," Mo Jie ordered again. Soon, a team of Black Guards rode ahead, charging directly towards the Broken Blade's End before dismounting and scaling the mountain.
At Mo Jie's command, they immediately executed their orders, even though it might cost them their lives. These dozens of Black Guards were agile, swiftly climbing the mountain without encountering any resistance, spreading out across the Broken Blade's End to investigate any potential ambushes.
An hour later, the entire team of Black Guards returned unscathed.
"Reporting to His Highness, there's no one on the Broken Blade's End, nor are there any soldiers from Snow Moon on the city walls," one of them reported, prompting Mo Jie's gaze to sharpen. Not only was there no one on the Broken Blade's End, but there were also no Snow Moon soldiers on the city walls?
"Vanguard, proceed."
Mo Jie's voice was indifferent. Perhaps, Broken Blade's End was now an empty city. If he and Liu Canglan exchanged roles, without the natural barrier of the Broken Blade's End, Mo Jie would abandon the city as well. To fight to the death would be suicidal.
A mighty army of several thousand soldiers advanced, passing through the Broken Blade's End, disappearing from view before Mo Jie led his army forward, proceeding cautiously.
Facing Liu Canglan, even as a defeated general, one must not act rashly.
War between two armies was no child's play—any misstep could result in countless casualties.
Just as Mo Jie suspected, Broken Blade City was now an empty shell, devoid of any signs of life, like a dead city.
Standing atop the city tower, Mo Jie's expression was unreadable. For many years, the Moyue army had never set foot in the Broken Blade's End. Today, they had achieved it, crossing the natural barrier and stepping onto this ancient, symbolically victorious city. However, this victory...
"Spread my order, garrison the Broken Blade City."
Mo Jie murmured softly. Immediately, the command spread down the ranks, garrison the Broken Blade City.
With Broken Blade's End fallen and Broken Blade City captured, the vast plains lay ahead, ripe for conquest.
As midnight approached, Broken Blade City fell into silence. Except for the night watchmen, everyone else had entered the realm of dreams.
Outside the city walls of Broken Blade's End, numerous figures quietly emerged in various locations, their eyes gleaming with sharpness.
Simultaneously, in all directions around Broken Blade City, countless iron-clad cavalry silently advanced, halting several miles away from the city without approaching any closer.
At this moment, Lin Feng was also beneath Broken Blade City, his gray eyes shimmering with a cold light, everything within the city clear in his mind.
With a shiver, Lin Feng's figure leaped into the city, swiftly and silently eliminating several individuals, preventing them from making any sound as he slit their throats and covered their mouths.
Removing the corpses' armor, Lin Feng donned it himself, then tossed the bodies outside the city walls to be caught by Snow Moon soldiers stationed below, without making a sound.
Everything around him was vividly reflected in Lin Feng's mind. With each step, he silently dispatched several more bodies over the city walls, where they were caught and disposed of without a trace.
Similar scenes were unfolding elsewhere in Broken Blade City, as many skilled infiltrators silently entered, committing stealthy killings and disposing of bodies while wearing their armor.
These individuals were all elite warriors selected from the Red Blood Iron Cavalry, each at least a centurion-level commander with strength surpassing the third level of the Spiritual Martial Realm.
Not only here, but similar scenes were playing out in various parts outside Broken Blade City. Many of the strongest individuals stealthily entered the city, assassinating and disposing of bodies while wearing their armor.
Leveraging the cover of night, everything happened quietly, without a single sign of life.
At this moment, a group of soldiers clad in black armor walked through Broken Blade City, each wielding a long spear, exuding an imposing air.
Among these soldiers, one had a youthful and handsome face exposed. He was none other than Lin Feng.
This group of soldiers was not from Moyue but Snow Moon.
As they had just garrisoned Broken Blade City, the Moyue soldiers were not particularly vigilant. Lin Feng and his companions could easily stroll through every corner of Broken Blade City.
After a while, Lin Feng and his group arrived at a house and walked straight in.
"Halt."
A voice called out, and two soldiers blocked Lin Feng's path. "This place is already occupied."
"I'm aware," Lin Feng continued forward, causing the two soldiers to narrow their eyes. Suddenly, dazzling lights flashed, and each soldier found a jade-green dagger lodged in his throat, gently placed on the ground.
Without hesitation, Lin Feng proceeded into the house. As soon as he opened the door, the eerie glow of his dagger illuminated the room, and a commander who had just opened the door was instantly assassinated, his mouth covered before he could make a sound.
"Leave one person here," Lin Feng said calmly, then left with his team. Inside the room, there were plenty of firewood piled up—part of their prearranged plan. These Snow Moon soldiers entering the city were all very familiar with this, knowing exactly where to find it.
Similar scenes were occurring repeatedly throughout Broken Blade City. Eventually, after an unknown amount of time, shouts shattered the silence of the night, and Moyue soldiers began to act.
Hearing these shouts, Lin Feng knew they had been exposed. His eyes flickered, and he dashed into a house, lighting the prepared firewood. Moments later, flames erupted into the sky.
Seeing this beacon, sudden fires lit up all corners of Broken Blade City, reflecting the flame's glow.
Lin Feng watched the flickering flames across Broken Blade City, his eyes subtly pondering. In ancient times, there was the story of Zhuge Liang burning Xinye, and today, in this world, Lin Feng enacted the strategy of burning the city.
Of course, this small fire was not enough. The fire needed to be brighter.