Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 420 Screaming Chicken

After Yuan Jian came up to the city wall, Li Xian only needed to hug him and cry. The officers guarding the city would have many more things to worry about.

They kept a close eye on Yuan Jian's soldiers. These were all routs and defeated troops, having fled for over a month without supplies; their condition must be extremely poor. If they were all strong, healthy, and full of energy, then there was definitely something wrong with them.

If we take advantage of the fact that not many people are coming up, we can quickly try to salvage the situation and there's still a chance to fix it.

As a result, they were all pale and weak, emaciated, and many of them were injured. They were panting heavily as they climbed up, and were definitely genuine defeated soldiers.

With these goods, they can't cause any trouble at all.

Only then were the officers completely relieved and began making arrangements for the resettlement of the friendly troops.

In the other room, the father-in-law and son-in-law had just finished crying when a guard walked up to Yuan Jian and reported in a deep voice, "Your Highness, all our men have come up."

Yuan Jian then said calmly, "Then what are we waiting for?"

"Alright!" the guard said, giving a whistle.

Upon hearing that sharp whistle, the previously listless and defeated soldiers suddenly became energetic and fierce, drawing their swords and attacking people!
The soldiers guarding the city wall were completely stunned. Many of them fell to the ground with screams before they could even react.

Li Xian was also bewildered and asked anxiously, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

"Father, are you blind? We're seizing the city!" Li Changjun, being young, reacted quickly. He shouted, "Brother-in-law, are you crazy?"

"Look carefully who your brother-in-law is!" 'Yuan Jian' laughed loudly, revealing his true identity as Ren Yuan, who had returned from the capital after being promoted!

Now he has all nine orifices open, his Yang spirit has reached its peak, and he has mastered a supreme divine power—Illusory Universe!
It's no longer just a mental attack on a single person like the reflection in the River of Oblivion; it can create an illusionary world that bewitches everyone who enters!
Therefore, the emaciated and defeated soldiers that Li Changjun and the Wei army officers saw were actually an illusion created by Ren Yuan. Li Xian, the only one capable of seeing through the illusion, was too busy embracing Ren Yuan and crying bitterly to pay any attention to the condition of the soldiers.

Even if he paid attention, it wouldn't have mattered. A good-for-nothing commander like him, who rose to power through connections, wouldn't even realize the difference between real defeated soldiers and those pretending to be defeated.

~~
"You dare to lie to me?!" Li Xian was furious. His spirit suddenly left his body, and he slashed at Ren Yuan with his sword as fast as lightning!
Although he can't lead troops into battle, his cultivation level is no joke.

"Well done!" Ren Yuan laughed. He had just cultivated his Yang Spirit and was eager to test his abilities.

But then a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, and Ayao had already gotten ahead of him.

Li Xian's Yang Shen was fast, but A Yao was even faster. As the saying goes, in martial arts, speed is the only way to break through defenses. As long as you are fast enough, you have no weaknesses, and as long as you are fast enough, your opponent will be full of weaknesses.

In the blink of an eye, A Yao unleashed a thousand sword strikes, each a solid and powerful attack that struck Li Xian's spirit with overwhelming force. Every single sword strike was real; none were mere illusions.

Li Xian was immediately thrown into a panic and had to concentrate on dealing with the situation, so he couldn't care less about Ren Yuan.

Seeing that he couldn't get involved, Ren Yuan turned to Li Changjun and said with a smile, "How about we have a game?"

"You liar, I'm not playing with you!" Li Changjun turned and ran, but Ren Yuan grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up like a chick in front of Li Xian.

"If you don't surrender, your lineage will truly end without anyone to carry on." Ren Yuan said, exerting a slight force, and Li Changjun let out a bloodcurdling scream: "Father! Help! Father!"

"Don't you dare harm my son..." Li Xian was indeed thrown into a panic, and A Yao knocked the sword out of his hand. In fact, if Ren Yuan hadn't ordered him to be spared, A Yao would have knocked his head off.

"Immediately order a halt to resistance!" Ren Yuan squeezed the 'screaming chicken' in his hand again.

"Ah..." Li Changjun screamed in agony again, his voice cut off. "Stop! Everyone stop!" Fearing for his only son's safety, Li Xian had no choice but to give the order immediately.

"..." But as expected, no one listened to him.

"How can you be a commander-in-chief?" Ren Yuan had expected this, but he still made a few sarcastic remarks.

“…” Li Xian was speechless.

~~
But we can't entirely blame Li Xian.

The defending soldiers were completely stunned by the attack, suffering heavy casualties in a short time, their screams echoing through the sky. Even the uninjured soldiers screamed and fled in terror, completely forgetting their place. Why would they listen to the orders of Li Xian, this fool who had let the wolf into their house?
However, Shouyang City was not comparable to the small Shuangchengzhai. Its four walls were four li wide, and there were troops on each wall ready for battle.

Upon seeing the surprise attack on the south gate, the other garrison commanders quickly mobilized their troops to provide support.

The White Robe Army's follow-up troops, in order to avoid being discovered by the enemy, remained far out of the sight of the city's defenders.

Although they could use sleight of hand to conceal their movements, the dust raised by the large cavalry force and the soaring aura of bloodlust could not be hidden.

So they could only try to stay as far away as possible...

When the fighting began on the walls of Shouyang, Ren Yuan crushed the talisman for summoning the gods, and Ma Fonian hurriedly led his men to break through the illusion and rush towards the south gate of Shouyang at full speed.

Even at the fastest speed, it still takes the time it takes to eat a meal to get there.

Therefore, Ren Yuan's two thousand brothers not only had to open the city gates to clear the way for the cavalry, but also had to grit their teeth and persevere through this period.

After driving all the enemies off the south city wall, Ren Yuan immediately ordered his troops to form a battle formation to meet the enemy.

"Brothers, hold on! The main force will catch up in the time it takes to eat a meal!" he shouted to encourage his soldiers. "The unparalleled achievement of recapturing Shouyang will be ours!"

"Yes, sir!" Upon hearing this, the soldiers were filled with fervor and immediately formed ranks on both sides of the city wall to meet the enemy.

At this moment, the white-robed soldier in charge of opening the city gate poked his head out of the arrow slit in the gate tower and shouted, "Commander, the city gate is stuck, we can't lift it with the winch!"

"I'll go down and take a look." Ren Yuan said as he descended the city wall, carrying the pitiful Chang Jun in his hand.

"Can you put my son down?" Li Xian saw that his son's tongue was sticking out and, fearing that he might be accidentally crushed to death, quickly jumped down.

A large number of Wei soldiers had gathered at the city gate, some of whom had been driven down from the city walls by the Liang army, and others who had come to reinforce the city after hearing the news.

Just as they were noisily regrouping, they saw the guy impersonating the Prince of Anle holding the young marshal by the neck, while the general pleaded for mercy with a worried look on his face.

A deathly silence fell over the city walls; the soldiers were unsure whether to weep or rejoice.

"If you want your son to live, help me hold off your army." Ren Yuan glanced at Li Xian, then grabbed Li Changjun and turned to walk into the dark city gate.

"Sigh..." Li Xian sighed in frustration and shouted at the approaching Wei soldiers, "Don't come any closer, or I'll lose my temper!"

This can be described as making the most of waste resources.

(End of this chapter)