Chapter 2: The Fall of the City

Jinchuan City, the provincial capital of Jinchuan Circuit, stands alongside the surging Haihe River. It was once the place where the Tianyu Dynasty rose to power.

More than six hundred years ago, the heavens and earth shifted; the ancestors of the Jade People crossed the Ethereal Lands, arrived in this world, and took root here. The newcomers adopted the name "Jinchuan"—meaning "river of shimmering gold"—coined by the preceding Celestial Fox Dynasty. Even when they later fell into a bitter war with the Fox Clan, they continued to use the name.

Yet today, the river water has long since turned into a river of blood!

"Take cover! Take cover!"

On the warship, Dai Longmei raised his jade-colored round shield, blocking the arrows that flew in like a swarm of locusts. His housecarls and warriors raised their own shields, braving the terrifying rain of arrows. Some even had bone-tipped arrows embedded in their shoulder pauldrons.

"Tch, just bone arrowheads. It seems Bobai, that old thief, couldn't find any decent help from his destitute brothers in the north."

As his jade sword left its scabbard, Dai Longmei swung it with great force. The arrows fell in succession; the inferior bone shafts left only dents on the sturdy bronze shields, unable to pierce a single one.

"Check for casualties!"

"Reporting, the first platoon has no casualties!"

"Reporting, the second platoon has three injured!"

"Longzhu! Raise the flag and signal the others!"

Longzhu immediately raised the battle flag to communicate with the housecarls on the other ships.

"All holding firm, everyone is holding firm," Longzhu reported to Dai Longmei shortly after. "Everything is normal, Fifth Master. Just a few wounded, no one has kicked the bucket."

Hearing this, a broad smile bloomed on Dai Longmei’s blood-stained face.

"Fifth Master, put on your bronze shield; watch out for the wolf-pups' arrows."

"To hell with that. I never wear a mask when I’m fighting." Dai Longmei stood up, straightened his sturdy frame, and shouted at the city walls, "You thousand-cut wolf-kin! You swore allegiance to our imperial court only to rise in rebellion! You are devoid of loyalty and righteousness!"

"Bobai, you old thief! Your doomsday is here!"

As the warships bumped against the docks with a dull thud, the city walls unleashed another hail of arrows.

"Men of Liaodong, follow me into the fray!"

The housecarls leaped from the ships. With officers leading the way, they formed tight formations, clustering their shields as they rushed toward the breach carved out by the flood. The water had receded enough that the ships could no longer pass, forcing the men to proceed on foot—a move that gave the wolf-kin rebels on the walls a chance.

Wolf-headed warriors clad in leather armor raised their horn bows. They bared their fangs in excitement, the pupils in their monstrous eyes trembling with glee, as if they had discovered long-awaited prey. From the northern wilderness, they let out savage roars and drew their bows.

These creatures, possessing human bodies but the heads of wolves, were all bred in the northern ice plains and grasslands, cultivated by a mysterious pool of blood. Their race had no gender, only soldiers. They knew no benevolence or morality, only conquest and plunder. Long before the Fox Dynasty had fallen, the Wolf Clan had been blood-bathing the fertile southern lands for over a century.

They were "vicious wolves" in every sense of the word.

However, some among the Wolf Clan had chosen to submit to the Jade People. Bobai, a general of Jinchuan Circuit, was one of them. But after years of loyalty to the Tianyu Dynasty, the rewards promised to the Jinchuan general were inexplicably seized, and the military pay provided by the minor court vanished into thin air. Prince Jin, Luo Yuluo, who controlled the route through which the rewards and pay had to pass, maintained an "it has nothing to do with me" attitude.

The resentment of the fierce warriors grew deeper. Bobai had originally intended to enter the eastern capital to live out his days as a retired official, but the foolish scholar-officials of the Tianyu court held him in utter contempt. Not only did they collude with Prince Jin to continue withholding rations and pay, but they also rejected his request to enter the capital.

Thus, the hundred-thousand-strong wolf-kin auxiliary army of Jinchuan Circuit rose in rebellion. The ensuing chaos, which had spread to this day, now manifested as the endless rain of arrows aimed at Dai Longmei and his men.

"Hold your shields and keep advancing!"

Dai Longmei felt no fear. As he directed the housecarls toward the breach, he shouted, "Front line, cover with shields! Rear line, return fire with horn bows!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Longmei pulled out his own horn bow. The bow, which required eighty pounds of force to draw, was like a toy in his hands. He scanned the city walls and immediately spotted a wolf-kin officer roaring orders at his men. The man was clad in dragon-patterned rhinoceros armor, and his bronze helmet was brazenly embossed with the forbidden python design.

"Daring to decorate an iron helmet with a python design—that rebel has quite the nerve."

No sooner said than done, the bowstring was pulled to its limit. Despite the arrows whistling past his ears, Dai Longmei saw only his prey. He held his breath, his hawk-like eyes locked onto the dying target.

*Twang!*

The bowstring sang. The bronze arrowhead dove toward its mark like an eagle. The wolf-kin officer, who had been cursing his soldiers, only realized what was happening when the bronze arrow slammed into his face. The arrow struck like a hammer, shattering his skull and tearing his hideous wolf-head apart. Brain matter splattered onto the python design on the bronze helmet before sliding to the ground.

Seeing their commander fall, fear spread among the nearby wolf-kin warriors, and the defenders instantly descended into panic.

Watching the rebels on the walls fall into chaos without their commander, Longzhu, who was also drawing his bow, couldn't help but exclaim, "One hundred and fifty paces, Fifth Master! The limit is only two hundred—holy cow, you actually sniped an officer!"

"Heh, I reckon that beast was at least a guerrilla general, given he was commanding there."

Dai Longmei quickly pulled another arrow from his quiver, drew his bow to the full, and fired again. A wolf-kin major who had tried to drag away the guerrilla's body was shot through the throat and collapsed to the ground.

"Brothers, aim for the officers! Send them a grand gift! A hundred taels of silver for every major killed, a thousand for every guerrilla general!"

The earth-shaking war cries erupted suddenly. Amidst the torrential downpour of close-range archery, the superior combat quality of the housecarls gradually gave them the upper hand. Accompanied by the singing of bowstrings, the rebel archers on the walls were suppressed. Several more officers were sent to the afterlife by arrows. This precise and terrifying barrage drove the wolf-kin soldiers into further disarray. Already frightened half to death by the flood, the leaderless soldiers scattered like birds and beasts.

"Charge! Full force, charge! Chase these animals down!"

Over a thousand housecarls surged toward the breach upon the order. In the previous exchange of fire, they had suffered only a few dozen minor injuries!

"Tell General Bobai that the south gate can no longer be held! The Jade soldiers are everywhere in the city! Go, quickly..."

A wolf-kin officer was in the middle of giving orders to a messenger when a bronze arrow pierced his forehead. The messenger beside him was also struck, staring in terror at the jade-clad iron men surging toward him as he breathed his last.

"Fifth Master, these wolf-kin aren't much of a fight," Longzhu said, drawing his bow and shooting a roaring wolf-warrior point-blank in the face.

"Entering the city is only the beginning." Dai Longmei wore a proud expression. "I promised my brother that I would be the first to take Bobai's head."

"Then we better hurry, Fifth Master. We can't let those Long Army bastards steal the prize."

Just then, a messenger carrying a command flag waded through the ankle-deep water and arrived where Dai Longmei and his men were mopping up the south gate.

"Hey, Little Lan, did Brother Bo take the east gate?" Dai Longmei recognized the messenger and asked loudly.

"Fifth Master, Brother Bo has already led his men through the east gate! He’s currently leading the second and third housecarl battalions toward that old thief Bobai's lair!" the sixteen or seventeen-year-old messenger shouted back.

"Heh, that Second Brother, he didn't even wait for me." Dai Longmei muttered, then patted Longzhu on the shoulder. "Zhuzi, take two hundred men and follow me."

"The water in the city hasn't receded yet, Fifth Master. If we go on foot, we won't catch up to Brother Bo's offensive!" Longzhu questioned.

"Look," Dai Longmei said, while skewering a wounded, begging wolf-soldier with his sword. He pointed in another direction. In the ruined stables, a few warhorses remained.

"Oh, it seems old Bobai left us a little gift." Dai Longmei shook the black blood from his jade sword and smiled mischievously at Longzhu. "Get it now? Heh~"

"Mount up! To the Bobai estate!"