Chapter Ninety-Five: Offense and Defense

When Ye Pei galloped forward, the opposing Lin general was so focused on his evenly matched duel that he did not notice the newcomer charging toward him. It was not until Ye Pei let out a shout that the general was jolted into shock. The two combatants simultaneously ceased their struggle and pulled back a step. The Lin general looked up to see a youth in fine brocade robes wielding a pitch-black spear galloping toward him, and he was struck with such terror that he nearly lost his wits. Yet, he could not retreat; he was a commanding officer, and fleeing would be a stain on his military career. But if he didn't run, he was ninety-nine percent certain he would perish at the hands of this youth.

While the Lin general was caught in this internal struggle, Ye Pei had already reached Wang Yifei’s side.

"General Wang, return to the formation. I will handle this."

Wang Yifei was clearly reluctant. "Master Ye, give this subordinate another quarter-hour, and I will surely take this man down..."

Ye Pei held his spear horizontally. "We don't have that much time. I will explain it to you when you return."

Hearing this, Wang Yifei had no choice but to rein in his frustration and lead his mount back into the ranks.

Ye Pei, not wanting to waste more words, pressed his legs against his horse's flanks and charged toward the Lin general. He had no strong desire to kill; he merely wanted to drive the general back and secure enough prestige to justify withdrawing his troops. After all, the sounds indicated that the enemy’s main force of twenty-five thousand was not far off, and his own men needed to return immediately to prepare for the siege.

"Damn it!" The Lin general was at a loss. He had assumed that someone as famous as Ye Pei—even if burdened by his reputation—would at least exchange a few words before fighting. That would have bought him time to stall until his main force arrived, at which point he would be safe.

He never expected Ye Pei to charge in directly. No one present possessed Ye Pei’s keen hearing, so they were unaware that their own army was imminent.

Ye Pei did not employ any flashy moves; he simply delivered a standard thrust. Yet, even a basic introductory move differs greatly between a master and a novice. Faced with this seemingly ordinary strike, the Lin general felt there was nowhere to hide. Even if he raised his spear to parry, he could not determine the angle.

"Damn... is this brat's spearmanship truly that terrifying?"

In a desperate panic, the general kicked his feet free of the stirrups and performed a backflip off his horse, landing on the ground and stumbling back a step to steady himself, narrowly dodging the thrust.

"Hmph..." Ye Pei smiled. His warhorse followed the general forward a few paces. Missing his mark, Ye Pei fluidly changed his stance, sweeping the spear around like a steel whip toward the general’s face.

The reach of this strike was too wide; the general had no room to dodge and was forced to raise his own cavalry spear to block the heavy blow.

"At least this isn't a thrust; he shouldn't have much force behind such a quick change of stance..."

However, Ye Pei had already channeled his internal energy into the spear during the transition. Having dodged the first attack, he was determined to end it with the second.

Regardless of the general's inner trepidation, the spear slammed into his weapon.

In that moment, a shockwave erupted from the point of impact. With a look of utter shock, the general was sent flying backward, his hands streaming with blood, and he landed on the ground unconscious.

Most of the men from the Holy Sacrifice Domain had not seen Ye Pei fight before. Seeing him defeat an enemy officer with a simple thrust and a sweep, they were filled with astonishment.

(At this point in the story, I want to address those comments often seen on high-difficulty martial arts videos: "What’s the point of all that flashiness? You’ll get taken down while posing." To those sour critics, I have no desire to be polite. Since this is my own book, I will spare you the insults. Let’s think about it logically: someone with the physical conditioning to perform such high-difficulty moves will surely have more power behind a basic straight punch than an average person, right?)

Ignoring whether the Lin general lived or died, Ye Pei turned his horse around and galloped back, shouting, "Retreat!"

Yang Tianrui and Huang Jifeng had no objections to Ye Pei’s order. Both had keen senses and had already heard the faint, thunderous rumble of the approaching army, so they quickly led their troops back into the city.

"Xiao Mo, the enemy main force is almost here. Have you sent word to Jiazhou?" Once on the city wall, Ye Pei asked Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded. "I have secretly sent men out of the city. Our meager forces in Huasu City are certainly not enough."

Ye Pei pondered, "We have prepared plenty of timber and stones over the past few days; we should be able to hold out for a while. Where is Qingrong?"

Chen Mo smiled. "Rest assured, Brother Ye, your wife is in the City Lord's mansion."

Ye Pei nodded. "Go to the outer city encampment; leave this to me."

Chen Mo chuckled. "Very well, my martial skills are indeed of little use here." After saying this, he coordinated with the other subordinate officers to arrange the defensive logistics, then left the city wall, waving his folding fan.

Lin Yuzhe’s five thousand vanguard troops outside the city had intended to pursue, but the thousand men had retreated into the city with such speed that the gates were already barred before the vanguard could even mobilize. They had no choice but to wait for the main army.

This delay gave Huasu City time to prepare. Pots of burning oil were hoisted onto the walls, and logs and stones were stacked neatly. The soldiers had drawn their blades and notched their arrows.

Standing directly above the city gate, Ye Pei had donned a suit of armor—a rare sight. Even he could not guarantee he wouldn't be struck by a stray arrow during a siege, and iron armor could at least reduce the severity of a wound or potentially deflect a long-range shot.

His scarlet cape fluttered in the wind. Ye Pei reached up to pull it behind his back, watching the enemy army as they consolidated their formation. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them with a smile. "Even after so many battles, I still feel a bit nervous."

The enemy force was thirty thousand strong—a full-scale army. Even though Ye Pei had participated in massive battles of over a hundred thousand troops at Luoshui City during his first time on the battlefield, he could not remain entirely calm when facing thirty thousand soldiers. The suffocating pressure of those three solid, orderly black blocks of troops was beyond words.

"Woo—" Suddenly, a horn sounded from the opposite side. At least twenty thousand men surged from the ranks, equipped with scaling ladders, siege towers, and all manner of equipment. The soldiers, eyes bloodshot and blades drawn, charged straight toward Huasu City.

Under the influence of the bloody atmosphere of the battlefield, even a coward could become a roaring warrior; even without hatred, both sides would raise their blades to strike.

Seeing this, Ye Pei raised his hand, letting his cape fly in the wind once more, and shouted, "Pass the order! Prepare for battle!"

Before Lin Yuzhe’s main force arrived, a dozen half-man-sized stone projectiles whistled toward Huasu City. Ye Pei watched them, his gaze sharpening. He drew his spear, leapt into the air, and channeled his internal energy into his arms. With a ferocious swing, he struck one of the stones. A loud "clang" echoed as he deflected it back into the enemy ranks, crushing dozens of their infantry.

He then used the recoil and his light-foot skills to land gracefully back on the wall, standing tall with his spear.

Although the other stones struck the wall, Ye Pei’s strike had neutralized the one that would have caused the most damage. The rest resulted in no casualties, and the damage to the wall was manageable.

A cheer erupted from the soldiers on the wall.

The enemy’s catapults could only manage this one volley; if they continued, they risked hitting their own men. To attack further, they would need to adjust the distance between the catapults and the wall, so they began to have squads of soldiers push the machines forward. Meanwhile, Ye Pei ordered his archers to prepare.

When the enemy army reached a distance of two to three hundred meters, Ye Pei, who had kept his hand raised in the air, suddenly swung it down. "Fire!"

Upon the command, the archers pulled their bows to full draw. A dark cloud seemed to rise from the city wall, descending like a torrential rain upon the charging ranks.

"Raise shields!" The enemy responded quickly; every other soldier raised a round shield, doing their best to block the rain of arrows.

"Maintain fire! Prepare the heavy crossbows!" On the wall, Ye Pei issued orders methodically. In a siege, heavy crossbows and catapults are natural enemies; a heavy crossbow hit by a stone projectile is smashed to pieces, but a catapult struck by a heavy bolt is usually shattered as well.

As the enemy catapults were about to enter the range of his heavy crossbows, Ye Pei would not let this opportunity pass.

Watching the dozen heavy crossbows on the wall stand ready, Ye Pei looked at the catapults, then at the enemy troops now almost at the base of the wall, and shouted, "Fire the heavy bolts! Archers, fall back! Everyone else, prepare for melee!"

The soldiers executed his orders with precision. Ye Pei sighed, "This city is truly small, and it doesn't even have a moat; otherwise, we could have used it to trip them up."

"Report—Ye... Ye..." At that moment, a soldier rushed over, cupping his hands in a salute, but he hesitated, not knowing whether to address Ye Pei as General or something else. Since they were from the Holy Sacrifice Domain, Ye Pei was not their commander, and calling him 'Young Hero' on the battlefield seemed inappropriate...

Beside him, Huang Jifeng snapped, "He is in command now! Just call him Commander Ye!"

The soldier knelt on one knee and said urgently, "Commander Ye! Besides the ten thousand enemy troops at the western front, their rear guard has split off to encircle us from the north and south. We estimate five thousand on each side!"

Hearing the title "Commander Ye," Ye Pei could not help but recall the legendary reputation his father once held on the battlefield.

"Hmph... we only have twenty-five hundred men here. Pass the order: divide the remaining two thousand troops into two groups to defend the north and south sides!"

Ye Pei then cupped his hands to Huang Jifeng and Yang Tianrui. "I must trouble you two to guard those sides."

Huang Jifeng and Yang Tianrui returned the salute. "Understood!"

After issuing the orders, Ye Pei watched the scaling ladders being hooked onto the wall. He used his spear to flick one away; with his immense strength, the ladder went flying backward, crashing into the path of the charging army.

He casually knocked a boulder off the wall and sneered, "Come then... I can only win; I cannot afford to lose... after all..."

His gaze cut through the smoke and fire, locking onto the most luxurious building in the city.

"She is here, too."