The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan-Chapter 628 - 626 Your Majesty, it seems to be the Empress (second update)

Chapter 628: 626 Your Majesty, it seems to be the Empress (second update)

Wen Yao fixed his gaze, recognizing the silhouette of one person, his chest heaving violently, he excitedly said, "Your Majesty, it seems to be the Empress."

The Empress had actually returned. freewebnσvel.cøm

So the Emperor knew that the Empress was coming back, hence he was waiting here, right?

A rare smile appeared on Murong Ce’s face, and the tension in his back finally eased, he commanded, "Order the opening of the city gates, welcome the return of the Empress."

Wen Yao, seeing his own master so happy, became happy himself and spoke to the palace servants behind him with his sharp voice, "Why are you not relaying the command?"

The gates of Xin Zhou City burst open.

Now it was good, with the Empress back, the Emperor had finally got what he’d longed for.

The approaching party drew nearer, and Murong Ce was about to descend the stairs for a personal welcome when he heard a soldier say, "Your Majesty, what is that over there?"

Murong Ce turned to look into the distance, only to see clouds of yellow dust rolling towards them, the black mass was all Khitan Iron Cavalry, moving at an inconceivable speed.

And at the same time, from all directions, dense masses of Khitan soldiers surged like a tide, some almost breaking into the city through its sides.

"Let the whole city be on alert," Murong Ce said calmly.

Immediately, burly soldiers shouted as they descended the city tower to spread the message.

"The Khitans are attacking, let the whole city be on alert!"

As the message spread, the whole city was in uproar.

The city’s residents, already anxious and fearful, were now even more panicked and alarmed.

The soldiers of Houliang had just suffered a defeat, their morale abysmally low, not yet recovered from the shock and grief, and yet the Khitan army had launched another attack.

The soldiers didn’t wish to fight anymore, fighting was tantamount to death.

What of it if the Emperor led the charge?

Hengzhou City sat in a strategic location, and was heavily guarded, yet it was breached in just a few days.

With the Khitan’s strong cavalry and reinforced weaponry, how could they prevail?

Thinking of the day Hengzhou City fell was like a nightmare haunting the escaping soldiers, one they could not shake off.

Those siege devices were truly formidable, like magic, they effortlessly built bridges over the moat.

The trebuchets were transported across the bridge over the moat, demonstrating their formidable power.

The massive rolling stones partly smashed into the city walls, causing the wall to crack and crumble; the battlements were shattered into pieces, and the soldiers on the city tower fell down the walls like dumplings.

Other rolling stones wrapped in flammable materials carried flames through the city walls and landed heavily inside Hengzhou City, encircling the city in smoke and fire in an instant, swallowed by a sea of flames.

Moreover, traitors emerged within the city, collaborating with attackers from outside, and the city gates were thrown wide open.

Once the breach was made, the situation was irretrievable.

First came the simultaneous volley of arrows from the Khitan archers.

Houliang soldiers had at most seen tri-shot repeating crossbows, but those in the hands of the Khitan soldiers were even more imposing, capable of firing five arrows at once.

With their long range and forceful shots, before they even got close to the enemy, a vast number of Houliang soldiers had already fallen.

After the archers came the turn of Khitan Iron Cavalry.

Unobstructed, the tall and powerful Khitan soldiers rode their horses, swinging blades to the left and right, like a sword thrusting deep into the heart of Hengzhou, leaving behind a trail of corpses and continuous wails of agony.

After two rounds of fierce battle, the Khitan soldiers were basically unscathed, while most of the Houliang soldiers were severely injured, with only a few left still able to muster strength to continue the fight.

The Houliang soldiers hadn’t even caught a breath before another wave of burly Khitan soldiers, armed with long spears or scimitars, flooded into the city like the tide, killing anyone they saw, slashing wherever they turned.

Houliang’s proclaimed army of half a million elite soldiers crumbled in an instant.

Hengzhou City was filled with lamentations, and the streets ran red with blood.

The Emperor led the remnants of his troops in a hasty retreat.

Every time the soldiers thought of that moment in Hengzhou, they shuddered, feeling as if they were talking about the tiger that changed their colors.

Although the soldiers of Xin Zhou had fortified their defenses according to Murong Ce’s orders, they were frightened by the Khitan and couldn’t conceal their panic.

The smile that had just appeared on Murong Ce’s face had long since vanished. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he watched the small troop of cavalry on the official road.

Wen Yao clasped his hands tightly together, so nervous it felt like his heart would leap out of his throat.

He spoke to comfort the increasingly stern and indifferent figure before him, "Your Majesty, those Khitan soldiers are quite far away, the Queen will surely make it back to the city."

But what he got in return was Murong Ce’s cold snort, "She never intended to come to Xin Zhou in the first place."

The same also cut off his reason to touch the Ruiwang Residence’s party:

Li Xianyun hadn’t refused his request, she had not only agreed but had also arrived, Yelu Yan was the one who had broken faith and attacked, which seemed to have nothing to do with Li Xianyun.

But was it really unrelated?

The two of them must have planned this together.

Soon, a general climbed hastily up to the city wall and knelt on the ground with a panicked expression, "Your Majesty, the Khitan soldiers will enter the city soon, if we don’t close the city gates now, it will be too late."

Wen Yao indeed saw that the Khitan soldiers attacking from the side were only a hundred meters away from the city gate.

Li Xianyun’s party, however, was a bit further away.

Before Murong Ce could respond, another general climbed up to the wall and knelt beside the first one, "I implore Your Majesty to make a decision sooner. If we don’t close the city gates now, it will be too late."

Murong Ce looked at the small troop of cavalry with cold eyes, clenched his teeth, and ultimately said coldly, "Close the city gates."

As soon as the words were spoken, the orders were quickly passed down.

The moment the city gates closed, Li Xianyun turned her horse around and galloped westward.

Jiang Ying, seeing the situation, had no choice but to wheel his horse around and follow.

If she returned to Murong Ce’s side alone, having failed in her task, Murong Ce would not let her off, and the only thing that awaited her was a dead end.

The moment the city gates closed, the Khitan army swarmed to the city’s base.

Murong Ce glanced toward the direction in which Li Xianyun had left, leading his troops to face the enemy.

In recent years, Murong Yi had been absurd and decadent, indulging in luxuries. Houliang was like a tree gnawed by termites, and it was already at the end of its strength.

Comparing it to the sharp and formidable Khitan army was really out of the question.

Moreover, since Xin Zhou was just a small fortress, without natural defenses, and with the Houliang troops repeatedly defeated, the city fell in just half a day.

Murong Ce, in anticipation of the city’s fall, was escorted by elite soldiers and fled to a nearby city.

After taking Xin Zhou, Yelu Yan rode a tall steed into the city, his figure expansive, radiating an imposing aura.

The city bore the marks of fire, and the wide streets were in disarray.

Many Khitan soldiers were busy gathering bodies, scattered in all directions, and burned them together.

Teams of prisoners were escorted by the Khitan troops to the city’s prisons.

There, they would face harsh torture until they coughed up useful information.

Yelu Yan had long ordered the three armies to restrain themselves while camped in the city; beyond necessary supplies, looting civilian property was forbidden, as well as dishonoring civilians or violating women.

The Flame Army always maintained strict discipline. The officers it had trained were posted in different units, serving to spread and amplify Yelu Yan’s military strategies.

Having settled the city, Yelu Yan then led his troops out of the city gates and galloped westward.

On the road, they encountered Li Xianyun’s returning party.