173: Chapter 0173 The Snow Melted

"Crunch, crunch!"

The rapid sound of footsteps in the snow was accompanied by heavy breathing.

"General! We're here! Yangquan City is right ahead!!"

General Wu Jinzhe looked excited; having deep internal power, his physical strength hadn't been depleted much.

Lin Xiao led from the front, not riding a horse but running at the very head of the line.

This primitive way of leading an army made the soldiers exceptionally united and inspired.

"General Lin! It's not dark yet, we made it!!" Chen Chuan said excitedly.

"I am willing to lead the First Battalion to take the lead!!" Commander Bai Buhei stared with tiger-like eyes, kneeling on one knee in the snow.

"No! General! Let us go! We don't have many scaling ladders, so the most elite Golden Scale Guard must go!"

General Wu Jinzhe pointed to the only eight siege ladders at the back.

To ensure speed, they had brought very few siege engines and didn't dare bring anything too heavy.

"No! The Golden Scale Guard has barely managed to reach three hundred men and hasn't recovered its strength yet. Let our Second Battalion go!"

Chen Chuan requested loudly.

Seeing his subordinates volunteering one after another, Lin Xiao was moved but also couldn't help but find it slightly amusing.

It seemed that in this battle, he wouldn't be able to collect many cultivation points...

What a happy trouble to have!

"Stop shouting, everyone!"

Lin Xiao signaled for his subordinates to be quiet and said seriously, "You have rushed a long distance through the snow; you should have rested first, but time waits for no one!"

"Reinforcements could arrive at Yangquan from other provinces at any time. We must settle this quickly!"

"General Wu Jinzhe, Commander Bai Buhei, Chen Chuan... none of you need to fight for the lead!"

"Because this time, I will lead you all in the charge!!"

Hearing this, the soldiers were all shocked!

What did he mean? Lin Xiao was going to charge at the very front!?

"Great General! You are the commander-in-chief, how can you..."

General Wu Jinzhe was about to speak when Lin Xiao interrupted him.

"Don't forget, who was it that wiped out the five thousand soldiers of the White Kings Army?"

Lin Xiao's rhetorical question immediately silenced everyone!

The soldiers of the Zhenbei Army had no choice but to swallow their words of persuasion!

There was no helping it; who told General Lin to have such divine martial arts!?

"In that case, please give the order, General Lin!"

General Wu Jinzhe cupped his fists.

Give the order?

Lin Xiao thought to himself, *Does he want me to boost morale before the battle?*

*I'm familiar with this; I've seen plenty of movies!*

Lin Xiao then jumped onto a scaling ladder, drew his Black Blade, and faced the five thousand soldiers of the Zhenbei Army...

"Soldiers!! After months of bloody battles, we have repelled the arrogant iron cavalry of the Northern Barbarians! We have defeated the treacherous rebels of the White Kings Army!!"

"We took Baishui, captured Wu Mountain, broke Lincang, and stepped through Qin Water!"

"Now, you have crossed the Cang River, defied the wind and snow, and arrived at Yangquan in Cangzhou Prefecture!"

"Go to Yangquan and use the enemy's blood to wash away the ice and snow from your bodies!!"

"In this struggle of a chaotic era, many armies will perish! But the one that perishes will never be our Zhenbei Army!!"

"The Zhenbei Army can never be broken!!"

His forceful words, backed by strong internal energy, reached the ears of the five thousand soldiers!

A sense of glorious mission caused a raging fire to ignite in the soldiers' eyes!

Seeing that the emotions were sufficiently stirred, Lin Xiao swung his Black Blade forward with force, and the Heaven-Burning Blade Technique unleashed a crimson flame blade dozens of meters long!

"Brothers! Follow me and kill!!—"

With the divine power of Lin Xiao's strike, the soldiers' adrenaline completely exploded!!

"Kill!!—"

Five thousand soldiers of the Zhenbei Army rushed madly, launching a charge toward Yangquan City!

Like a black tide of metal, cold blades and spears shone brightly in the snowy field!

Lin Xiao performed the Jinghong technique, like an arrow leaving a bowstring, instantly reaching the very front of the army!

Hundreds and thousands of soldiers in the front row were beyond excited to see this!

In an army charge, what could be more blood-pumping than the back of the commander-in-chief!?

"Keep up with General Lin!!"

"Kill alongside General Lin!!—"

Meanwhile, on the gate tower of Yangquan City.

Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan and a group of officers rubbed their eyes hard, unable to believe what they were seeing!

"Lord Inspector General! They're attacking!"

Several lieutenants cried out loudly, their expressions changing from calm to panicked!

"Do you need to tell me!?"

Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan pretended to be calm, but his voice cracked: "Archers! Prepare to fire!"

"Don't be afraid! They are just at the end of their rope! As long as the city gates don't break, they can't get in!!"

The city's defending soldiers thought about it and agreed. Their scaling ladders hadn't even arrived yet; what the hell was the use for the people to come first?

Did they really want to rely on manpower to break the city gates? Did they think their arrows and fire oil were just for show?

"Ignite the fire oil outside the city gates! Don't let them get close!!"

Under the command of the garrison general, dozens of oil-soaked logs were thrown down.

After the fire arrows ignited them, the area outside the city gate became a sea of fire.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao had already rushed to within a hundred meters!

"Fire!—"

A rain of arrows fell like a swarm of locusts, greeting Lin Xiao!

Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan's heart leaped into his throat as he stared fixedly at that figure charging fearlessly, his whole body trembling!

Is this guy a lunatic!? How can a commander-in-chief dare to charge at the very front?

Could it be that, just like the rumors say, he really has an immortal body!?

The Yangquan defenders were anxious for Lin Xiao to be shot dead, watching with great anticipation!

On the other side, the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army were tense as they saw the dense rain of arrows covering Lin Xiao!

If they hadn't been unable to keep up, they would have even wanted to use their bodies to shield Lin Xiao!

"Indestructible Diamond Body!"

A second before the rain of arrows hit him, Lin Xiao entered a state of super armor!

In fact, even if he didn't use a skill, these arrows would be scattered by his astral qi!

However, he wanted to ensure that nothing went wrong!

After blocking all the arrows, Lin Xiao swung his blade down fiercely, splitting the flaming logs in front of him!

After clearing a path, Lin Xiao faced the Iron Birch Wood city gate and struck with the "Great Mercy Hand"!

The palm print, with ten-tenths of his power, was like a mountain flying through the air!

"Boom!!—"

A huge hole was blasted open, debris flew, and dust rolled!!

The hundred or so soldiers blocking the city gate inside were directly shaken by the aftershock until they bled from their seven orifices!

[Kills +89, Cultivation +89, Bloodlust +89...]

Lin Xiao took advantage of the momentum, turning into a black flash, rushing in and taking out the remaining survivors with two quick slashes!

The huge commotion from the city gate left Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan in a daze!

"What's going on!?"

"Lord! The city gate has been breached!!"

A lieutenant who looked down to see the situation turned as pale as ash!

"It's Lin Xiao! He smashed the city gate by himself!"

Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan felt the world spinning, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted!

The other soldiers defending the city were all dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning!

The defense of the city had only just begun, and you're telling me the city gate is broken!?

What the hell is there left to defend!?

Meanwhile, the Zhenbei Army let out bursts of beast-like cheers!

"The city gate is broken!! Charge in!!"

"Brothers! Follow General Lin and charge in!!—"

The defending generals heard that overwhelming war cry and were so scared their legs trembled, looking as if their parents had died!

In Yangquan, they had never really fought a war. The situation changed so quickly that they lost their heads instantly!

"Lord Inspector General!"

"Lord Jiang! Please give the order quickly!"

A group of officers didn't dare to fight and didn't dare to run, so they could only look at Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan expectantly.

But Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan's eyes were vacant, his face was twitching, his lips were trembling, and he couldn't say a word.

Everyone suddenly saw that Inspector General Jiang Shengyuan's legs were shaking, and the pool of snow beneath his feet had already melted and was somewhat waxen yellow...