Tiger Guards

Chapter 667 A Difficult Journey Between Life and Death
In Jicheng, the morale of Han Shu and Wang Qi's troops, who were participating in the siege, soared as the white tiger, golden eagle, and stag banners symbolizing Zhao Ji himself arrived outside the northern city.

In contrast, the morale of the defending troops plummeted, while the morale of the three battalions led by Sima Hengfang, a separate commander within the city, soared.

Just as Zhao Rong and Xin Pi were considering whether to voluntarily open the city gates and await punishment, Heng Fang led more than two thousand officers and soldiers to abandon their camps and launch a fierce attack on the north city.

The army collapsed like a house of cards. The powerful clansmen who rebelled in the city were unable to command their own officials and soldiers, and were even coerced by their own disorganized fellow villagers and relatives.

They act as if they're doing it for your own good, pulling you back... The little courage you manage to muster will naturally dissipate under the repeated persuasion of your relatives.

"Hold on! Only by defeating the enemy can we survive!"

In the northern part of the city, Zhao Rong, leaning on his halberd, shouted repeatedly, waving his left arm as he stood on high ground: "Don't be afraid, the enemy only has one drumbeat left!"

At this moment, a sniper squad set up crossbows in a courtyard about twenty paces inside the city wall. The heavy crossbows were mounted on the wall and aimed directly at Zhao Rong and the flag bearers and supervising soldiers of "General Zhao, the Bandit Suppressor" beside him.

There were also more than twenty crossbowmen in the courtyard. They were half-crouched on the ground, with their crossbows resting on the tops of the upright shields, also aiming at the area around Zhao Rong's 'General Who Pacifies Bandits' battle flag.

Seeing that the crossbowmen in the courtyard had formed their ranks and roughly aimed, the officer of the crossbow team immediately shouted angrily, "Fire!"

Having not eaten fresh vegetables or pickles for some time, the crossbowman officer's gums bled and he had mouth ulcers when he opened his mouth to drink.

At his command, the crossbowmen and horn crossbowmen in the courtyard simultaneously fired, and a dense volley of crossbow bolts flew toward the 'General Who Pacifies Bandits' battle flag.

The battle flag trembled violently to the naked eye, and the burly flag bearer was also hit by a shot.

Immediately, other flag bearers stepped forward decisively, as if it were an instinctive reaction, to help support the flagpole and become the new flag bearers.

Zhao Rong was a large man. His right arm, which was supporting his halberd, was hit by a very powerful crossbow bolt. The bolt easily pierced through the arm armor, arm muscles and bones, and continued to advance after penetrating the arm. The iron-headed crossbow bolt then penetrated more than halfway under Zhao Rong's armpit.

For a moment, Zhao Rong felt no pain, and couldn't even determine the location of his injury.

Only a deep sense of powerlessness erupted from the depths of his body and mind. His body swayed slightly from the crossbow bolt, and when he instinctively turned his head to look to the right, he felt his strength rapidly draining away.

His steps were unsteady and he could hardly stand. The encouraging words that were stuck in his throat quickly faded away.

He soon couldn't stop coughing, coughing up mouthfuls of bright red blood and phlegm.

Coughing, Zhao Rong lost his balance and collapsed to the ground. When he tried to support himself with his arms, he discovered that his right arm had been nailed to his chest cavity under his armpit. At that moment, as if released from a restraint, a massive wave of pain surged through him, causing Zhao Rong's vision to go black and his body to fall uncontrollably.

At this moment, another crossbow sniper team launched a volley. Zhao Rong's personal guards were crowded on the horse-riding slope, and he was only surrounded by the flag guards. At this moment, the order of the flag guards was chaotic due to the unknown number of Zhao Rong's casualties, which made this round of crossbow volleys achieve ideal killing blows.

On the second floor of the north gate tower, arrows were frequently piercing through the front and rear windows of the tower, while many more were embedded in the mud-covered walls of the tower, as both the Jin army inside the city and the Jin army archers attacking the city outside were firing wildly.

On the second floor, Xin Pi slumped to the ground, leaning against an old pillar. He was exhausted, holding a short knife in his hand and gesturing repeatedly, unable to make up his mind.

"My lord!"

Zhao Pan, dressed in official robes with a two-piece armor over them, had an arrow wound in his left shoulder. He staggered up the wooden steps with difficulty, and seeing Xin Pi's defeated face, Zhao Pan knelt down helplessly: "The enemy's offensive is fierce, our army has scattered and fled in all directions, and the number of soldiers guarding the north gate is decreasing with each battle, making it difficult to hold on. I hope that Your Excellency will make plans as soon as possible... to avoid being humiliated by the enemy."

After saying that, Zhao Pan leaned to the side and lay prone on the ground. He stretched out his left arm, trying to climb up.

However, he was extremely exhausted and was now panting heavily.

Xin Pi stepped forward and helped Zhao Pan up, his expression solemn: "Death is easy, living is hard."

“My lord…” Zhao Pan opened his mouth, his feelings complicated and his expression somewhat disappointed.

He was a descendant of a collateral branch of Zhao Chongguo, while Xin Pi was a descendant of Xin Wuxian. The two families had been friends for hundreds of years.

Xin Pi helped Zhao Pan retreat to a deeper area. During this process, a stray arrow entered through the window and embedded itself in Xin Pi's left arm.

Xin Pi trembled, turned his head and coldly looked at the arrow stuck in his left arm, and still helped Zhao Pan walk into the deep corner.

He knew all too well the madness of the chaotic army when the city fell; not only would the attacking soldiers burn, kill, and loot indiscriminately, but even the routed soldiers would seize the opportunity to burn and kill.

His identity is more important; he is certainly more valuable alive than a head.

Therefore, when the city falls, the attacking soldiers will most likely not kill him, and therefore will not kill Zhao Pan who is next to him.

As for the others... they can only leave it to fate.

After helping Zhao Pan to a stable position, Xin Pi noticed the stab wounds on Zhao Pan's abdomen and his eyes narrowed as he looked up at Zhao Pan.

The two men met eyes, and Zhao Pan said as calmly as possible, "The routed soldiers caused chaos and attempted to attack and rob the governor to present to the rebel army, but they have already been killed and scattered by my servants."

"They hate me."

Xin Pi raised his right hand to adjust his gold-trimmed black gauze hat, and after confirming that his face and appearance were dignified, he sat down close to Zhao Pan: "I remembered Lord Zhang. He did not deceive the people of Tianshui. Zhao Ji did indeed conceal his whereabouts and followed the army to Tianshui. It's a pity it's too late. If we had known earlier, with all the armies of Guandong advancing at the same time, Zhao Ji would have been caught in a dilemma, unable to defend himself."

The only response to Xin Pi was Zhao Pan's heavy breathing, punctuated by pain. Xin Pi continued, "I must live to see Zhao Ji. The matter of Liangzhou needs an explanation. If I live, many others can live. If Zhao Ji kills me or boils me alive, so be it; but if I preserve innocent and righteous men, I can atone for some of my sins."

Sinpi said this as if it would make his heart feel a little better.

Before he could ask, Zhao Pan lowered his head and stopped breathing heavily.

Xin Pi stared blankly at Zhao Pan, then slowly reached out to touch Zhao Pan's neck and checked his breath.

Seeing no reaction, Xinpi took a deep breath and exhaled a long, stale air: "You're quite decisive."

As he spoke, he pulled out his short dagger again, but with an arrow in his left arm, he tried to stab his carotid artery with his right hand, but his rebellious right hand stopped him several times, and the short blade could not pierce his flesh.

As he hesitated and struggled, he heard cheers resounding outside the city gate, with shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" rising and falling like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

Xinpi made an even stronger decision, but the rebellious emotions in his right hand continued to rise, to the point that he could not control his right hand. His right hand, holding the short dagger, was frozen there, as if it had lost control and sensation, just like his injured left arm.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the wooden steps. Xin Pi looked in the direction of the sound and saw several Jin soldiers coming towards him covered in blood. Their eyes were bright and piercing, as if they could breathe fire, and the joyful smiles on their faces were extremely ferocious.

At that very moment, his rebellious right hand gave up the fight.

The short dagger he held easily pierced the carotid artery, and blood gushed out immediately.

Xin Pi also leaned over Zhao Pan's knees, looking at Zhao Pan's face, the two of them facing each other.

Zhao Pan seemed to be smiling, and Xin Pi closed his eyes because of the darkness.

(End of this chapter)