This was because since morning, a foul stench could be smelled in every part of the city. It caused everyone to feel like vomiting. The commoners in Wu City were all silently cursing in their hearts.
Only a small number of people knew that this stench was from the experts who came from Mount Wu.
However, no one dared to say anything.
After all, those experts were well-known people in Tianjing Basin. The North Alliance, the Southern Metropolis, the Green Bell Flower, Lingshan Sect, the Golden Ring Residence… These people encompassed all the power of Tianjing Basin.
Therefore, those who knew what was going on kept mum, while the commoners didn't know what had happened.
This lasted all the way up until the afternoon, when everyone in Wu City felt that the ground was shaking.
Standing on top of the city wall, one could see a large cavalry force making their way along the dirt road into the city.
When vibrations from the ground were detected, many experts were seen suddenly appearing all over the city. Some were passing through the crowd while others were sprinting on rooftops to reach the top of the city wall.
Retch!
Retch!
When this group of people was gathered together, that originally faint stench immediately became extremely heavy.
"The rest of you stay here. I'm already catching up with age, so I will go back and take a rest first."
"We'll take our leave."
Many people began to leave.
Those who left were mostly experts who lived in seclusion, leaving behind people from the major factions.
There were also the city guards, who almost fainted at the top of the city wall.
They held their breath and only took a lungful of "fresh air" from time to time. At the same time, they were also surveying the area with a sulky face.
After exactly half an hour, the tide finally subsided several kilometers away of Wu City. Everyone could almost see the faces of the cavalry clearly.
They were all topless, revealing their well-built upper bodies. Even though the aboriginal soldiers were tall and ferocious, they weren't able to conceal how exhausted they were. There were also many new wounds on their bodies.
They had rushed from Gu City to Wu City in nine and a half days. During this period of time, they broke through five groups that tried to block them.
Several flags embroidered with the large words "Southern Protectorate" and "Xi" fluttered among the troops.
Just when the troops came to a halt, the cavalry spread out on both sides. A commander who was riding on a saber-toothed tiger went to the front of the formation and looked up at the crowd on top of the city wall.
Just by sitting on the saber-toothed tiger's back, this commander gave off a murderous aura that reeked of blood. Everyone felt as if they were on the battlefield, surrounded by a sea of blood, and facing this man who was like a death god.
"Xi Wanya!" All of a sudden, everyone recognized who this person was.
Even though many people had yet to meet him before, this powerful aura of his made it easy for them to identify him.
In Ren Baqian's eyes, Xi Wanya had a squarish face and was a pretty boy among the aboriginals.
However, in the eyes of the people in Tianjing Basin, Xi Wanya was actually a "butcher."
"Where is Her Majesty?" Xi Wanya's voice was like a roaring thunder, encompassing the distance of hundreds of kilometers (TLC. It said they were only several km away earlier.) and covering the entire northern part of Wu City.
"Qi Zixiao is already dead. Dayao will soon be defeated. Why don't all of you hurry back to prepare for your funerals?" Qingyun Sword responded in a bright voice.
At present, since Qi Zixiao had already disappeared, he planned to first bring down the enemy's morale and then to lure them into attacking the city. At the same time, he would exterminate Xi Wanya and his cavalry right outside Wu City. With one less crazy tiger from the Protectorate of the South and one less army of cavalry, it would be much easier to defeat the Protectorate of the South and rush out of Tianjing Basin.
Afterward, when they left Tianjing Basin, half of the army of Dayao's Protectorate of the South would be in disorder. By then, with the Yun Nation and the Chen Nation's assistance, they would certainly be able to put those barbarians under severe pressure.
Just as he finished speaking, Xi Wanya's murderous intent exploded like a volcanic eruption. Murderous intent emanated from his body. With him as its core, it condensed to a point where it was practically tangible. The cavalry behind him hurriedly retreated as the mounts at the front tried to stabilize themselves.
Even the people at the top of the city wall were secretly scared.
"Rest for 30 minutes. Break through the city and massacre every single living thing!" Xi Wanya's voice, which was as loud as thunder, resonated through the entire world.
"Kill!" shouted all of the soldiers behind him as they emitted an aura of death. Then, they got off their mounts to make the most out of their rest time.
"Where is Her Majesty?" Xi Wanya's loud voice rang once again.
"Why would we leave behind the body of a highly-skilled expert like Qi Zixiao? Her body no longer exists!" Qingyun Sword said.
"Hmph! Can this bunch of disreputable people and garbage actually kill Her Majesty? Still, since you dared to say that you have killed Her Majesty, none of you shall survive. The entire city shall pay the price for what you have just said." Xi Wanya's tone was full of contempt.
How could a person like Her Majesty be killed by them? He completely didn't believe Qingyun Sword's words.
That these people dared to say such things was the greatest insult to Her Majesty.
Insulting Her Majesty in their speech—they shall die!
I'll exterminate the entire city as a warning to others. Kill them first before slowly searching for Her Majesty's whereabouts.
Furthermore, Ren Baqian's letter mentioned that all the experts from Tianjing Basin had gathered over here. After killing them, there wouldn't be any rebels here anymore.
So long as I kill every expert over here, there will not be anyone else who could harm Her Majesty.
As a commander, Xi Wanya wasn't the type that was supremely clever in his schemes. Even though he was the Protector General of the South, he wasn't one who could see through people's minds. However, he had his own set of methods to control his enemies.
Naturally, by killing all those who could pose a threat and those who had the ability to rebel, there wouldn't be any errors or negligence anymore.
Xi Wanya's words conveyed how everyone in the city was feeling.
All of Tianjing Basin's experts were gathered in the city. There were 10 Spirit Wheel experts, 500 Earth Wheel experts, and over 1,000 Man Wheel experts from different sects.
Whether it was defending their city or confronting Xi Wanya who came from afar, their current strength was sufficient to drain the blood of their enemy right at the city wall.
Both parties had absolute confidence in their own strength. They had the mentality to kill each other.
After 30 minutes, without waiting for Xi Wanya to give an order, the cavalry behind him hurriedly stood up and tightened their grips around their weapons. The whole battlefield was quiet except for the noises made from the collision of weapons.
"Kill everyone!" Xi Wanya gestured with his hand.
"Kill!" Numerous soldiers roared like tigers, grabbed their weapons, and dashed in the direction of the city wall.
In addition to the weapon in their hands, each person also carried a bone spear. This was something that Ren Baqian had not seen in the previous battles in the north.
"Throw!"
Buzz! More than 2,000 people flung their bone spears at the same time, producing an immense buzz.
Under the sunlight, the bone spears reflected a pale radiance, making it look as if a piece of a cloud was covering the city wall.
Boom! A giant umbrella unfolded in front of the bone spears. All of a sudden, hundreds of bone spears collided with the umbrella and fragmented into countless broken bone shards.
As Qingyun Sword pointed his finger, the longsword on his back floated in midair, sprinkling countless sword rays on the shafts of the bone spears.
Dozens of figures soared into the sky as countless sword gleams and rays intercepted the bone spears from the front.
"Continue to resist!" Xi Wanya snorted as he took out a long saber from the back of the saber-toothed tiger. Immediately, he disappeared into thin air.
After a few moves, Xi Wanya rose and jumped up all of a sudden. With an overbearing aura, the sword gleam from his longsword seemed as if it was going to split Heaven and Earth. Immediately, one of the figures that had just greeted the bone spears exploded into flesh and blood across the entire sky.
At the same time, there were two people whose vigor was skyrocketing. They jumped up from the backs of their mounts and headed straight for the city wall.
Three Cardinal Heaven experts from the Protectorate of the South also struck simultaneously.
…
Mount Wu.
With a fluctuation in the air, three people who were wearing odd masks appeared out of nowhere at the place where the empress and her followers had disappeared. It was as if they had popped out of thin air.
Despite wearing gas masks and changing their clothes, the people who remained on Mount Wu immediately found them and recognized the identities of these people. They were Qi Zixiao, that bast*rd who could set off a gust of smelly wind when he walked, and that young lady who had bitten one of their Spirit Wheel experts to death.