194: Chapter 195 Do you still recognize me?

Compared to this, the defenders on the ramparts were faring much worse.

A young Archer just poked his head and shoulder out, trying to see where best to reinforce the arrow fire below, when the next moment, an arrow pierced right through his shoulder.

He was pinned and thrown backward, his bow slipping from his hand instantly, his face turning terrifyingly pale.

He immediately started screaming:

"Ah!"

"I'm dying!"

"Save me! Help me! I…"

His screams were sharp and frantic.

A companion nearby was just about to drag him to safety when a second arrow flew past, grazing the back of his hand, scaring the man into jerking his hand back and crouching even lower.

The young Archer, half his body dripping with blood, leaned against the city bricks, still trembling; the courage he had been forcing himself to muster had completely vanished at that moment.

Viewed from a distance, this was an orderly clash of offense and defense.

But viewed up close, every breath, every glance, and every trembling hand revealed a single fact: This city could not hold!

Before long, the Flower City army formation had pushed to the base of the city wall.

Looking down from the ramparts, the sea of black armor was terrifyingly close—so close that the defenders could even see the scratches on their armor and the charred, blackened patterns on the edges of their shields burned by fire.

The defending general panicked.

He had originally thought that by relying on the geographical advantage, preparation, and this initial wave of firepower, they would surely be able to pin the enemy below the city.

At the very least, they could wait until dawn!

Until reinforcements arrived!

But now, it was they who were actually being pinned down?!

And just at this moment, the Flower City lieutenant leading the unit suddenly raised his hand.

"Now!"

"Advance!!"

The voice was not loud.

But it struck the entire army formation like a sledgehammer.

The Heavy Cavalry at the very front accelerated simultaneously.

Their Aura was majestic, like a mountain that had been slowly pushing forward, suddenly collapsing a segment further.

Someone on the ramparts turned pale.

"Archers, Mages! Stop them!!!"

"Stop…"

Before the command could be finished, a denser barrage of Spells and arrows struck upward from below, forcefully choking the second half of the sentence back into their throats.

The Heavy Cavalry crashed into the city gate with a roar.

"Bang!!" The first strike.

The entire city gate shook.

Dust from the gate tower fell in cascades.

"Boom!!" The second strike.

The defenders holding the door bolt behind the gate changed expression, feeling the recoil crash through the door panels and straight into their bones.

"Hold it!"

"Hold the line!" someone roared from behind like a madman.

But the third strike arrived.

"Boom!!!"

The heavy city gate finally split open in the middle.

Wood chips flew.

The iron hoops snapped.

The defenders behind the gate were knocked over instantly, their ears ringing, and before they could even scramble to their feet, the black tide outside had already surged through the cracked seam of the gate.

The breath that the Flower City Heavy Cavalry had been holding the entire way finally surged into the city at this moment.

Iron armor, horse hooves, shattered door panels, and sudden screams from within the city all collided together.

The armor of the knight in the lead was covered in scorch marks and arrow holes.

From departure to breaching the gate, he had withstood arrows and Spells the entire way; when his shield broke, he switched to a blade; when the blade dulled, he used his fists, forcing his way into the city gate.

The moment he charged into the city, the breath he had been holding in his chest the entire journey finally reached his throat.

But he didn't start killing immediately. He first looked up and roared at the defenders panicking and gathering in the city:

"Those who surrender will not be killed!!"

The sound carried far in the night wind, striking the walls of the houses on both sides and echoing back sharply.

Some defenders in the city stopped in their tracks. Some hands gripping blades visibly trembled. Others cast their eyes about, already looking for a path to retreat.

But on the ramparts, the city lord who had been stubbornly refusing to retreat was a tough nut to crack.

He stood in the firelight clad in armor, his face looking terrifyingly grim, yet his mouth remained stubborn. Hearing that shout, he actually sneered.

"Surrender to your grandmother!"

The knight heard this and laughed as well. But the laughter was bone-chilling.

He raised the longsword in his hand, pointing the blade toward the fire-lit ramparts ahead, and the anger he had been suppressing while being pinned below the city finally surged up.

"Quite a backbone."

"Just as I like it!"

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, in the direction of the ninth city, a large expanse of magical light lit up at the same moment.

The hard battle there was clearly already raging on the ramparts as well.

But at this moment, in this city, everyone's gaze fell upon the longsword held high by that knight.

The next moment, he brought his sword down sharply.

"Kill!!"

When a line of gray-white just appeared on the horizon, General Zhang Tie pulled on his reins and stopped outside Liang City.

The night hadn't completely passed.

But precisely because it hadn't, that streak of gray-white was exceptionally striking. Like a blade's edge, lying straight across the horizon.

General Zhang Tie looked up and saw that the walls of Liang City were towering, with rows of fire pits behind the battlements, and dense shadows of armor pressing down from above; the faint light from spear tips, bow tips, and the ends of Spells layered one upon another.

This city was awake.

And it was wide awake.

General Zhang Tie's heart sank.

The night before last, the lieutenant's order had just been issued to him.

That token had been slapped into his palm by Lei Lie himself.

"The last route is yours."

"Fight beautifully, and don't embarrass me."

At the time, he only felt his chest burning, wishing he could draw his blade right then and there and fight a fierce battle.

But when it truly came to this moment, standing outside the final city, looking up at the high walls, the firelight, and the full alert of the city, he truly felt how heavy that lieutenant's token was.

The military order was written very clearly.

Must capture the final city before dawn.

Now, dawn was about to break.

There wasn't much time left for him!

Behind him, 16,000 Professionals stood quietly in the night.

Sixty percent of them had reached Black Iron Rank.

This was Flower City's sharpest blade.

The sinking feeling in General Zhang Tie's chest lasted only half a breath before he forcefully suppressed it.

So what if the walls are high?

So what if the defenses are strict?

The city is right here.

The dawn is right here.

Just launch a full-scale assault.

He raised his hand.

"Ready the troops!"

"Prepare to attack the city!"

The order had just been passed down when someone on the ramparts suddenly shouted and demanded:

"Who comes?!"

"Why do you attack our Liang City?!"

This voice crashed down with the wind, instantly igniting the fire that General Zhang Tie had already been suppressing.

Why attack your Liang City?! You bastards already declared war on Flower City, and now you have the nerve to ask such a question?!

General Zhang Tie sneered, snatched a torch from a soldier nearby, and walked forward several steps.

The torch flared up, illuminating half his face in a deep red.

He tilted his head back, his voice instantly filling the entire night beneath the city.

"Liang City took the initiative to declare war on our Flower City, and you still have the face to ask?!"

"Listen clearly!"

"Flower City lieutenant, General Zhang Tie!"

"Today, I lead an army of 20,000, ordered to conquer Liang City!"

"Those who know the times, open the gates and surrender immediately!"

The words struck the ramparts. General Zhang Tie knew in his own heart that he hadn't brought 20,000, but 16,000.

But with the night covering them, how could they count so clearly on the city wall?! If this line could crush even a fraction of the enemy's courage, it was worth it.

On the ramparts, an Archer commander heard the word "torch," froze for a moment, then curled his lips and cursed under his breath:

"Idiot."

Taking the initiative to light a torch at night and revealing one's position to the ramparts—isn't that just being a living target?!

He raised his hand, about to order a concentrated volley. But just as his hand was halfway up, a hand reached out from the side and firmly pressed it down.

The owner of that hand didn't look at him. He simply stepped forward and reached out to take another torch from the side.

The torch light rose. It also illuminated his face.

He looked down, watching the figure holding the torch below the city, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice actually trembling.

"Brother Zhang…"

"Do you still recognize me?"

Below the city, General Zhang Tie was holding the torch and looking up. As soon as that face was illuminated, he froze completely.

The torchlight flickered in the night wind. The face on the ramparts flickered in and out of the light. But General Zhang Tie still recognized him.

Luo Ming.

That Black Iron Rank Professional who had followed Old Dao back then!

During that time, Old Dao and his group had just arrived, so they were assigned to different households for meals. Luo Ming happened to be assigned to his home.

General Zhang Tie remembered it very clearly. That night, Luo Ming was squatting on his doorstep, holding a large bowl of spiritual rice porridge, hissing because it was so hot, yet constantly praising it.

"Brother Zhang, the pickles here in Flower City are too delicious."

"And this meat, you really aren't stingy with it!"

"When I make it big in the future, I'll definitely treat you to an even better meal."

Back then, he was truly smiling happily. General Zhang Tie had smiled along with him.

Two grown men squatting on the doorstep, shoveling rice while bragging, saying that whoever made it big first would pull the other brother up.

But now.

Luo Ming was wearing Liang City armor, standing on the Liang City wall, with the torch illuminating his face. And he, General Zhang Tie, was standing below the city, preparing to attack it.

"Luo Ming?"

General Zhang Tie's throat tightened. On the ramparts, Luo Ming heard these two words, and a hint of joy actually appeared on his face.

"Brother Zhang!"

"You still recognize me!"

General Zhang Tie's lips twitched instinctively. But just as that curve was about to appear, he forcefully suppressed it.

The next moment, his expression turned cold, and his voice went cold as well.

"I wondered who it was."

"So it's you, you ungrateful dog!"

The expression on Luo Ming's face froze instantly.

General Zhang Tie stared at him, the fire in his chest burning hotter and hotter.

"You ate Flower City's food, took Flower City's things, and if you had just left, that would have been fine."

"But now, you turn around and declare war on Flower City, becoming an enemy of ours!"

"You, Old Dao, all of you!"

"You're all bastards!"

Luo Ming opened his mouth. The expression on his face changed over and over, looking extremely ugly.

"Brother Zhang, you've misunderstood!"

"Things are not as you think…"

"What have I misunderstood?" General Zhang Tie cut him off directly. "Could it be that this declaration of war wasn't Liang City declaring war on Flower City, but rather Flower City declaring war on you?!"

Luo Ming was silenced. The night wind on the ramparts blew past, choking the second half of his sentence back into his throat.

General Zhang Tie no longer had the patience to listen. He threw the torch onto the ground. Sparks exploded.

"Enough of your crap!"

"Let's see what you've got in battle!"

"Attack the city!!"

With a roar. The army formation below the city moved with a boom.

General Zhang Tie grabbed his shield, raised his blade, and charged. He charged faster than anyone.

The rain of arrows from the front had just fallen and struck his large shield first.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Arrowheads bit into the shield surface, sparks flying everywhere.

A Flower City soldier carrying a ladder had just charged halfway when he was struck in the shoulder by an arrow, his body jerking violently to one side.

A companion nearby grabbed the ladder and carried it forward without stopping.

On the other side, a fireball fell from the ramparts, hitting a knight in the front row right in the chest.

"Boom!" The knight stumbled back half a step, his armor charred black, spitting out a mouthful of bloody breath, yet the next moment he was still gritting his teeth and pushing forward.

"Charge!!"

General Zhang Tie didn't look back at all. There was only one word left in his heart. Fast! Faster!

That line of daylight was already chasing from behind. The high walls of Liang City pressed before his eyes. Flower City's ladders were raised one by one.

General Zhang Tie rushed to the base of the city wall, shoved his shield aside, grabbed the ladder rail, and was the first to scramble up.

Arrows grazed past his ears. Spells exploded beneath his feet. The wooden ladder shook violently from the impacts.

Someone below immediately held it steady, roaring: "General, go!!"

General Zhang Tie didn't make a sound. He gripped the ladder rails with both hands, stepping on the wooden rungs, charging upward like a mad tiger.

On the ramparts, the Liang City deputy general's face had turned pale. He stared at the figure who had been the first to scramble up, his voice tight.

"General!"

"Flower City is too fierce!"

"We can't stop them!"

Luo Ming stood behind the battlements, his expression extremely wooden.

From the moment General Zhang Tie raised the torch below the city and announced "Flower City," he actually knew in his heart that they probably wouldn't be able to hold the city this night.

He had stayed at the Flower City outpost. He had eaten Flower City's food and seen Flower City's people. He knew better than anyone else in Liang City what the words "Flower City" meant.

But knowing was one thing. Wearing the Liang City armor, standing here, he was the Liang City defending general. He could know they wouldn't hold, but he couldn't just not defend.

"Rolling logs."

"Crushing stones."

"Wait until they reach the wall to drop them."

He issued the orders one by one. His voice was flat. As flat as a stagnant pool of water.

The deputy general listening felt a chill in his heart. This didn't seem like defending a city. It seemed more like finishing tasks that needed to be done, one by one.

Soon, closer footsteps were heard from below the city. People were climbing up. One ladder. Two ladders. Three ladders. More and more.

A Liang City defender leaned out, raised his blade to slash down, and had just knocked over a Flower City soldier climbing the ladder when a hand suddenly grabbed the ramparts on the other side.

Immediately after, a black shadow flipped over. The person hadn't even steadied himself upon landing before he thrust his blade into the abdomen of a nearby defender. Blood splattered instantly.

"The enemy is about to climb the wall!!" the deputy general finally couldn't help but shout.

Luo Ming heard the roar but didn't even lift an eyelid.

"Prepare for close-quarters combat."

He raised his spear and walked forward two steps. Just as he reached the parapet, a figure flipped onto the ramparts with a "bang." Landed. Raised the blade. Turned around. It was General Zhang Tie.

As soon as General Zhang Tie got onto the ramparts, his gaze, like a nail, was fixed firmly on Luo Ming's face.

The fire that had been suppressed from below the city finally exploded at this moment.

He didn't say a word, raising his blade to kill. The blade edge carried the wind, slashing straight at Luo Ming's face!

Luo Ming parried with his spear. "Clang!" Sparks flew everywhere.

The two touched and immediately separated. Luo Ming was knocked back half a step by the force, his hand numb.

But he looked up, watching General Zhang Tie opposite him, and a small smile actually appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Zhang."

"Good skill."