Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

From Ansan, the east gate of Pingyang City is the nearest.

She was certain that before the east gate of Pingyang City opened, Yun Poxing would definitely not let his Huoyun Army show up within the sight and defenses of the Zhou army.

After all... if the Huoyun Army were discovered before entering Pingyang City, Zhou could immediately send someone to Pingdu City to call back reinforcements. At that time, if they had not yet entered Pingyang City and Zhou's reinforcements returned, the Huoyun Army of Xiliang would be truly passive.

Therefore, Bai Qingyan would let their elite soldiers of the Huoyun Army enter the city and would also let them open the city gate...

·

Amidst the blizzard and darkness, the swaying lanterns on the city tower of Pingyang reflected a warm hue onto the gate tower, as if it were the warmest place on this cold, snowy night.

The Huoyun Army led by Yun Poxing was like a giant beast lurking in the night, hiding its form in the shadows but staring intently at the Pingyang City gate tower as if eyeing prey.

Soon, the elite troop of the Huoyun Army had all arrived below the city wall, with their backs pressed tightly against the base of the wall. Over thirty Huoyun soldiers, carrying packs on their backs, were the first to use tools to agilely climb the city wall like geckos in the dark, with a steady pace that was almost synchronized.

Just as they climbed to the top of the city wall, ready to leap over, a patrol of Zhou soldiers walked past in measured steps, holding torches aloft. The Huoyun soldiers clung tightly to the wall, their frostbitten hands gripping climbing tools tightly, biting their lips and holding their breath, fearing that even a wisp of white breath would betray them to the enemy.

Their numbers were too small to engage in a confrontation with Zhou's patrol, or the over a hundred Huoyun soldiers waiting below wouldn't make it up, not to mention, the city gates couldn't be opened!

Before they came, their commander, General Yun, had instructed them that the key to success or failure of this battle lay with them!

But... the over thirty elite Huoyun soldiers did not know that just on the other side of the wall, inside the walls, Huying Camp's elite soldiers lay in ambush, crouching and kneeling inside the walls. The patrol holding the torches was the signal for Huying Camp's soldiers. Each of them held gleaming knives, their muscles taut, holding their breath so that their white breath would not be revealed, just waiting for those impostors to leap over the wall from outside.

When the flickering torches of the patrol went far, the over thirty elite Huoyun troops jumped over neatly from the outside, but before they could react, they were gagged and swiftly had their throats slit by the Huying Camp troops lying in ambush inside the wall. It seemed that Huying Camp's soldiers had performed this maneuver countless times, able to do it precisely even with eyes closed, ending the act without leaving any room for the opponents to react, and quickly dragging the over thirty corpses into the city gate tower.

The over thirty elite Huoyun soldiers died in the wind and snow without a sound.

Those Huoyun soldiers still crouching below the city tower looked up towards the top, but could only see the falling snow and hear the silent gusts of wind.

On the tower.

Huying Camp's elite soldiers indeed found soft ladders among the packs of those over thirty people, objects that Huying Camp's elites always brought when scaling walls.

"Damn! You really did a good job imitating! Our equipment is quite complete!" said an elite from Huying Camp in a low voice, taking out a grappling hook and weighing it in his hand, "Damn, they look better than what we're using!"

"You! You... you! You three squads!" the Huying Camp squad leader ordered, "Just... lie down in this pile of blood and pretend to be dead!"

"Might as well put the clothes on those Huoyun soldiers' corpses, so we don't have to pretend to be corpses, it's too ominous!"

"Where's the time? Stop the nonsense! Hurry up!"

After finishing, the squad leader ordered the soldiers to throw down the soft ladders from the packs of those Huoyun soldiers they had taken earlier.

Seeing the soft ladders thrown down, the Huoyun soldiers, without much hesitation, started climbing up the ladders one after the other carefully.

The Huoyun soldier who climbed up first on the soft ladder glanced at the Zhou soldiers lying in a pool of blood, but didn't see their first-come elite soldiers of the Huoyun Army.

Thinking they might have gone to deal with patrol soldiers, the young leader in a low voice instructed the lieutenant responsible for capturing Bai Qingyan, "No matter what, you must capture the Emperor of Zhou alive at all costs!"

"Yes!" replied the young lieutenant, leading the soldiers crouching and moving to the other side of the city wall, hooking onto the wall with a grappling hook and sliding down the rope, avoiding the stairways on the wall that were guarded.

The soldiers tasked with opening the city gate followed closely behind, also sliding down the ropes, hiding into the darkness, quietly waiting for the dozens of soldiers who went to capture Bai Qingyan to go further before opening the city gate.

As the Huoyun soldiers were holding their breath and waiting, their leading general suddenly felt a tightness in his scalp, turning his head... only to see a cold gleam whistling through the darkness, and before he could make a sound, an arrow suddenly pierced his throat, the shaft passing through and embedding into the ground, the bloodied fletching quivering non-stop.

He widened his eyes, almost unable to process it before he was already collapsing...

"General?!" a Huoyun soldier turned back with a low cry.

The Xiliang general, fear still apparent in his dimming pupils, saw the rainfall of arrows denser than snow reflected in his eyes. He had no time to warn his comrades before his vision was drowned by the inexorable arrows.

Agonized screams echoed briefly in the dark alley closest to the city wall, quickly disappearing in the cold winter wind, leaving only the chilling scent of blood.

Bai Qingyan, dressed in silver armor, stood atop the city wall, watching those Huoyun soldiers turned into porcupines as if looking at ants, cold intent flashing in her eyes.

Huoyun Army, comparable to Huying Camp?

Heh...

Xiliang people overestimated themselves.

Shen Liangyu stayed beside Bai Qingyan without moving, now that Bai Qingyan was pregnant and different from usual, Shen Liangyu couldn't help worrying, but seeing Bai Qingyan take off the iron sandbag and still not miss a shot, Shen Liangyu felt relieved.

"Have the soldiers prepare! Open the city gate! Not a single one who comes in is to let out!" Bai Qingyan ordered.

From afar, Yun Poxing, hiding with the army in the darkness, saw the swaying lantern under the city gate, the two heavy and worn doors opening slowly...

Yun Lingzhi's blood rushed to his head, drawing his sword to order the soldiers to charge, but Yun Poxing held down his hand.

"A Ye?" Yun Lingzhi looked at his father, puzzled, "The city gate is open!"

"Wait a moment, our people... entered Pingyang City so swiftly, it was almost effortless." Yun Poxing shook his head, "I have a bad feeling. This is the city where their Emperor Bai Qingyan resides, the defenses are so weak, it all feels a bit eerie to me."