Another incident

At this time, Gao Yuan had been delayed by rounding up the routed soldiers, but he had already rendezvoused with his transport team carrying the spoils of war. The force of several thousand men was majestic and imposing.

Those captured laborers and soldiers, having received the promise that they would eventually be allowed to return to their Menge homeland, worked exceptionally hard.

This meant Gao Yuan's soldiers finally lived the good life where someone else carried their weapons, hauled their armor, and shouldered their rations.

Sitting on his horse, swaying back and forth, Gao Yuan couldn't have been happier.

Now that he had troops and high morale, the three thousand enemy soldiers under the walls of Dehong were nothing to worry about.

Just as he was feeling smug, a system notification arrived without warning.

"B-rank Temporary Event: The End of an Overlord triggered: As a Host aspiring to become the King Wen of Zhou of the new era, how can you leave the roots of ambition intact when facing the ambitious Xian Zhen? Event Requirements: Goal One: Completely annihilate the forces of the Xian and Lin families; Goal Two: Occupy the entire territory of Menge; Event Rewards: Completing Goal One rewards one B-rank lottery card; completing Goal Two doubles the rewards of Goal One."

"Damn, is this old geezer Xian Zhen really worth so little? Only two B-rank cards?"

"Host, Xian Zhen can't even afford a meal right now. How much combat power could he possibly have left?"

"That actually makes sense."

Gao Yuan was about to agree with the system when he immediately realized something was wrong.

"System, this guy wasn't such a weakling when he first arrived. It was my intelligence and unparalleled bravery that beat him into this state."

The system's voice actually carried a hint of grievance.

"But at that time, Host, you hadn't triggered any events!"

"You pit-digging Ma Fu system, you're just being stingy."

Gao Yuan grumbled as he closed the system interface, but he quickly opened the system panel again.

"I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise."

After two major victories, Gao Yuan's attributes had actually increased. His Command had skyrocketed from F to D, and his Swordsmanship had broken through a major bottleneck, rising from D+ to C-.

"Host, as the saying goes, knowledge gained from books is shallow; training can never compare to actual combat."

Suddenly, Gao Yuan felt that the system wasn't so bad after all; it actually looked quite pleasing to the eye.

Now he was just waiting to finish off Xian Zhen and get those two B-rank lottery cards.

On the other side, by the time Xian Bifa arrived under the walls of Dehong, the preparations for the siege were not yet complete, and there were not enough scaling ladders.

For this reason, this heir to the Menge Local Chieftain flew into a rage.

"As the vanguard, you should have been building roads and bridges for the main army. Now, nearly ten days have passed, and you haven't even finished making the scaling ladders."

Someone immediately stepped forward to defend themselves.

"Young General, it's really because the defenders are too cunning; they've cut down all the trees in the vicinity."

Another person also began to defend themselves.

"That's right, Young General. The local people have all entered the city. We haven't captured a single laborer, and with only one thousand men, we really don't have enough manpower!"

Xian Bifa glared with wide eyes and waved his hand.

"I don't want to hear these excuses. One day! You must build enough scaling ladders within one day, or else you will bring me your heads."

It truly is a case of the mouth above running the legs below ragged. To complete Xian Bifa's mission, more than a thousand Menge soldiers began to busy themselves.

Watching the bustling activity outside the city, Mu Sheng knew that once these people were exhausted from their work, it would be the best time to strike.

Unfortunately, due to Gao Yuan's orders, he did not have enough troops under his command.

The next day, having finally gathered enough scaling ladders, Xian Bifa led his troops out of the camp early in the morning.

"You take your unit to attack the West Gate. You take your unit to attack the East Gate. I will personally lead the men to attack the South Gate."

Xian Bifa had also studied some military strategy and knew the principle of surrounding on three sides while leaving one open.

Unfortunately, he hadn't learned enough; he didn't know the military adage: "If you have ten times the strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, fight them."

With only his three thousand men, wanting to attack a city defended by fifteen hundred soldiers was simply a pipe dream.

The trenches temporarily dug outside the city became the first nightmare for the Menge army.

When they started filling the trenches while shouting battle cries, the archers in the city appeared.

The bows and arrows that Gao Yuan had obtained from Mao Biao played a significant role.

Just from filling the trenches alone, Xian Bifa lost over three hundred men, with casualties exceeding ten percent.

After eating their last rations at noon, the soldiers launched another attack in the afternoon under the urging of their officers.

Arrows rained down again, and people kept screaming as they were hit and fell.

After finally rushing to the base of the city wall, before the scaling ladders could even be set up, stones poured down from the city walls.

A stone weighing several to over ten catties, aided by the soldiers' arm strength and gravity, smashed onto the heads of the besieging soldiers, instantly leaving them bleeding and unconscious.

Some soldiers had just climbed halfway up the scaling ladders when thick logs appeared on the city walls.

The heavy logs not only injured the soldiers on the scaling ladders but also crushed some of the less sturdy ladders directly.

For a time, wails echoed continuously under the walls of Dehong, a sound that even the common people inside the city could hear.

At dusk, Xian Bifa ordered a retreat, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

Zhao Xiyao, accompanied by Mu Qing, had disguised herself and come to the city walls, where she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Many corpses had been struck by logs and stones, rendered completely unrecognizable, with unidentifiable red and yellow fluids everywhere.

Standing on the city wall, one could even see quite a few internal organs, making this princess, who had witnessed battles before, unable to stop herself from vomiting.

"Uncle Mu... Uncle Fu, how will those wounded soldiers be handled?"

Xian Bifa had not taken away the wounded soldiers under the city walls, so Mu Sheng and the others had to handle them.

The two exchanged a glance, and then Gao Fu spoke up.

"We will try our best to save those who can be saved; for the rest, we can only give them a quick end."

"Can... can't we try?"

Gao Fu gritted his teeth and said.

"Your Highness, some injuries, even if healed, will leave a person crippled. It is better to die quickly."

Zhao Xiyao left in a daze. Watching her retreating figure, Gao Fu sighed.

"Having left the battlefield for many years, I had almost forgotten the scent of war. I wonder how the Third General is doing."

Mu Sheng also shook his head.

"I don't know. However, seeing that there are only three thousand people attacking the city, and they are so anxious, and Xian Zhen hasn't come, presumably County Duke Gao is doing well over there."

"That's true. It's getting late. Let's get some rest early; the enemy will attack again tomorrow."

Unexpectedly, the next day, the Menge army did not attack the city at all. The reason was simple: they had run out of food.

They hadn't eaten dinner last night, and they hadn't eaten this morning either.

Who would want to fight on an empty stomach, and who would have the strength to fight!

Xian Bifa could only stay put to reduce consumption while waiting for Xian Zhen's troops and provisions.

Who would have thought that in the afternoon, instead of reinforcements and provisions, they received shocking news: the food was gone! The reinforcements were gone too!

These two thousand men were the last of the assets of the Menge Local Chieftain's mansion and the Menge Pacification Commissioners Office.

Now, the father and son of the Xian family no longer had to consider how to break into Dehong.

Instead, they had to consider how to preserve as much of their strength as possible and lead their men to escape back to Menge.

There were still some money and grain there, along with a few hundred troops. As long as they could escape back, defending the city would be no problem.

But was there still a chance?

Dehong was located on one of the few flat lands in the area, and there were only three roads near the city that could accommodate a large army.

One road led east to Puer. That area was occupied by other Local Chieftains, and the relationship with the Xian family was tense.

Once they reached someone else's territory, they would basically be at their mercy. It would be good enough if the father and son could keep their lives in the end.

Troops? Those would all be spoils of war for others.

One road led north to Dali, the territory of Western Kang. Going there was basically a dead end.

The road south led back to Menge. Although he hadn't scouted it, he could think with his toes that Gao Yuan was there.