Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 454 Song Yan, is a devil (1)

The sunlight was broken up by the dense branches, sparsely scattered on the ground, forming patches of mottled shadows.

Warm sunshine.

Today should be a good day.

sizzle sizzle...

The long, thick fuse kept making popping sounds, and the clusters of sparks were not so dazzling in the sunlight. White smoke gradually rose from where the sparks originated.

The cotton rope is flammable, and in some places, flames have already shot up half a foot high.

A line of sparks, like a fiery serpent, meandered and crawled toward the city gate.

The fuse-setting technique wasn't very good after all; it burned rather slowly. It would take several minutes for a hundred-meter fuse to burn all the way to the city gate. However, Song Yan didn't mind. He just watched quietly, and then a smile appeared on his lips.

The eldest prince, Abal, came from afar in the northern desert. The Xiongnu people suffered from the bitter cold, so they naturally wanted to bring some warmth to the eldest prince.

Song Yan was confident that the gift he was about to give would please Abal. He wasn't arrogant; after all, hospitality was a fundamental principle of etiquette for the people of the Central Plains.

Luo Tianxuan and Hua Lianyue simply stayed quietly by her side.

The corners of his lips slightly raised.

……

Plop, plop, plop.

The sound of horses' hooves was chaotic and disorderly.

Just like the news my men had brought back before, the vast town of Dehua was deserted, not a single Han Chinese in sight. Yongchang City was similar, but this city was far more utterly desolate. There were no beggars on the streets, no elderly people with mobility issues who couldn't leave their rooms—nothing at all. The indescribable silence made the city seem like a ghost town.

Even more eerily, despite the absence of anyone, Abalu felt as if he were being watched, a feeling that sent chills down his spine. He instinctively looked around. In the sunlight, he saw rows of houses huddled together, a muddy path strewn with messy footprints, and clothes and bedding carelessly dropped on the ground during his hasty escape…

The messy scene, with just these things scattered on the road, gives an idea of ​​how panicked and disoriented these Han people must have been as they fled.

This thought made Abaru feel somewhat at ease.

Those weak Han people were indeed afraid.

But the feeling of being spied on lingered in his mind. Abalu felt a dryness in his throat, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch the back of his neck. It was cool and refreshing, as if a furry worm had landed on his neck and was wriggling around.

He sniffed, as if he could still smell a peculiar odor.

It's a bit savory, and it smells a bit bad.

Beneath him, the warhorse, which had long been tamed, moved its hooves haphazardly for some reason, making a crisp sound.

It seemed somewhat uneasy.

Gudong.

Abal swallowed hard. Although he looked down on Cheng Xu, a scholar who was powerless, Cheng Xu's words inexplicably came to mind at this moment.

His pupils contracted.

Could it be that Song Yan really hid his soldiers in the county town, preparing to launch a sneak attack and then fight a street battle with me?

Ha... Foolish.

As I said before, Abal had absolute confidence in his soldiers.

Every Xiongnu was a brave and skilled warrior, far superior to the weak Han Chinese; it was like sheep versus wolves…

However, even though he trusted his warriors, there was no need to suffer unnecessary losses due to an ambush. He pursed his lips and gave a wink to a few of his personal guards. Those guards immediately rushed to a tightly closed door, kicked it open with all their might, and the door shattered instantly. The guards rushed inside and conducted a thorough search, but found nothing.

They kicked open the doors of dozens of houses, only to find them all empty.

There was no ambush.

Even in those narrow, dark alleyways, it was as quiet as a chicken's nest.

Abal's brows were furrowed, and his lips were twitching uncontrollably. He felt deeply ashamed that he had ever had the thought that Cheng Xu's words might have some merit.

damn it.

What champion?

What makes Ningguo people different?

Nothing will ever escape.

What might leave a trap?

What kind of street fighting?

Bullshit, all bullshit! That damned Song Yan and all the people of Dehua County have all run away. He's left with 62,000 troops, cautiously making his way slowly through this empty city. The thought that his cautious demeanor might seem like a ridiculous clown to others fills Abalu with a sense of being fooled and angry.

Damn it, it's all Cheng Xu's fault.

Abal cursed inwardly with resentment.

A guard glanced cautiously at Abal, whose mood was clearly not good, and asked softly, "Your Highness, what should we do now? Should we continue searching?"

Abal took a deep breath, suppressing his frustration, and turned to look back. He saw that both the infantry and cavalry were extremely tired, perhaps because they had gained nothing in Dehua County. Their eyes were dull and filled with disappointment.

This can't go on; we must find a way to boost their morale.

Thinking this, Abal shook his head vigorously: "No, Dehua County is already a ghost town. There's no need to waste time there." As he spoke, Abal suddenly raised his voice, which boomed like a bell, echoing in everyone's ears: "Everyone, listen up..."

“Those despicable Han people have fled at the first sign of trouble. They took away the grain, silver, and women that rightfully belonged to us…” The voice had turned into an angry roar: “Chase after them, kill them all, and seize the treasure that rightfully belongs to us.”

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

Abaru's roar clearly had some effect.

Morale seemed to have been rekindled, but the shouts of battle were noticeably weaker than before.

Just then, Abal's gaze inadvertently fell upon some strange things in the alley, and a hint of suspicion flashed across his brow.

At first glance, it looks like a pile of junk randomly placed on the roadside.

They can be square or stacked into pillars.

Some were covered with tarpaulins, some with roof tiles, and some were surrounded by adobe bricks...

They had already planned to leave Dehua, but for some reason, that thing inexplicably caught Abalu's eye, making him a little uneasy: "You guys, go and see what's inside."

He casually gave an order, and dozens of guards scattered and each went to check a place. Before long, the guards regrouped in front of Abal.

"Your Highness, there is dry firewood under the tarpaulin... It should be the firewood that the people of Ningguo use for cooking on a daily basis."

"My area is covered with thatch..."

“I also have firewood, but it’s all quite thick and hasn’t been split.”

“I have some dried pine needles and leaves over there…”

“These are reeds over there, but they seem to have been soaked in oil; they smell terrible.” Abalu’s brows furrowed even more. Could they really just be cooking materials? Shouldn’t these things be casually tossed in the woodshed? And why were they soaked in oil? Oil is an extremely luxurious thing, even in the Central Plains, right? When did the people of the Central Plains become so extravagant that they could soak firewood in oil to start a fire and cook? Abalu felt a headache coming on. He wasn’t the particularly clever type and wasn’t good at thinking. He couldn’t help but miss Cheng Xu. If Cheng Xu were here, he would probably immediately understand what these things were for.

However, Abal quickly shook his head vigorously. A cold and ferocious smile appeared on his lips. Was he, the dignified eldest prince of the Xiongnu, incapable of fighting without a Han Chinese strategist?

This time, it was these Han Chinese who were lucky.

Dehua leads directly to Pingyang City, and Abalu couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. When the Xiongnu army besieged Pingyang, where could these Han Chinese from the Central Plains run to? Song Yan was currently the most renowned general in the entire Ning Kingdom. Once Pingyang was besieged, he had to capture Song Yan alive before his father could, only then could he prove that Song Yan was superior to his father.

The thought of the emperor's throne sent a burning sensation through Abal's chest. His body trembled violently, and he could no longer control himself. With a whoosh, he drew his curved sword from his waist, the sharp blade pointing straight into the sky. Sunlight shone on the blade, making it gleam. A howl, like that of a mad beast, erupted from Abal's throat:

"all……"

"Army attack!"

"Flatten Pingyang and capture Song Yan alive!"

Rumble, rumble!

Just as Abalu's roar was uttered, a thunderous roar suddenly resounded.

Even the ground beneath their feet was trembling slightly.

The deafening roar made everyone's faces change. As if driven by instinct, they subconsciously raised their heads to look at the sky, only to see a clear blue sky with a bright red sun hanging overhead, showing no sign of rain.
Just as Abalu was filled with doubt, he suddenly saw a thick plume of black smoke rising from another city gate a few hundred paces away at the end of the long street. The smoke enveloped the entire city gate, resembling dark clouds falling from the sky.

A burst of crimson flames suddenly erupted at the city gate, shooting up several dozen feet high. The crimson glow even made Abalu's eyes sting.

It tumbled and wriggled in mid-air, vaguely forming a shape like a giant mushroom.

The next second, the mushroom rapidly expanded and exploded. In that instant, Abal even felt that the space in front of him was distorted in an indescribable way, and the whole world seemed to be divided into two layers.

It seems like a long time has passed, but in reality, it was only the time it takes to breathe before everything was completed.

Immediately afterwards...

Rumble, rumble!

The deafening roar exploded in my ears once again.

Abal's body trembled violently, and his warhorse let out a terrified, almost desperate whinny. Then, right before Abal, the rift that seemed poised to split the world in two began to spread wildly in all directions at incredible speed, carrying flames, hurricanes, and everything in its path...

The city gate shattered in an instant.

The compacted soil scattered and flew everywhere, filling the sky with a hazy, indistinct blue.

Near the city gate, rows of mud-brick or wooden houses were instantly torn to pieces, as if they were made of paper.

The tremors beneath my feet became increasingly clear.

A wave of heat washed over them, and Abal could even smell something burning within it. Almost all the warhorses were restless, as if sensing some danger, their neighing growing louder and louder. This scene sent a shiver down Abal's spine. Looking at the collapsed city walls and gates amidst the billowing smoke and dust, and the houses shattered into pieces, his hands went numb.
This...what kind of power is this?
Not only Abalu, but all the Xiongnu soldiers behind him stared wide-eyed, their bodies trembling involuntarily. Even though almost everyone's hands had been stained with blood over the past month, their chests seemed to be filled with fear at this moment.

Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo…

Just then, another sound of something cutting through the air startled everyone who was still in shock.

I subconsciously looked up and saw fire arrows streaking across the sky like meteors in the distance.

At this moment, the fear in Abal's chest reached an unprecedented limit... His body trembled violently, his face was deathly pale, and his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. Suddenly, as if struck by a flash of inspiration, a thought arose in Abal's mind:

"not good."

"Song Yan is planning to burn us alive. Let's get out of here!"

"withdraw."

He roared and howled, his voice changed tone.

Abal's face contorted almost instantly... At this moment, he finally understood why there was no one in Dehua County, and he finally understood why the town was filled with grease-soaked logs, branches, reeds, and thatch...

Song Yan said he planned to burn Dehua down.

They also burned all the Xiongnu soldiers in Dehua County to death.

A madman... Only Song Yan, this madman and Jingguan maniac, could do something so insane in the entire Ning Kingdom.

A strong sense of fear made Abal's whole body go numb. At this moment, he was filled with regret. If he had known that Song Yan was so crazy, he should have listened to Cheng Xu's advice, set up camp outside the city first, and recuperate properly. After eating and sleeping well, he could have sent a team into the city to check carefully. In that way, even if there were any traps or ambushes, he would only lose some soldiers and would not have been completely wiped out.

But no matter how much Abaru regretted it, it was too late.

The moment his roar fell, the fire arrows rained down. Tung oil, lard, and flaming oil soaked the firewood, causing it to ignite and swell in the wind.

The rockets fell from all directions, forming a huge circle in a short time. The entire Dehua County was engulfed in flames from the outside in. Fire snakes ran wildly along the streets and alleys, turning the city into scorched earth.

The fire spread at an alarming rate; in just a short time, perhaps less than a quarter of an hour, the entire county town was ablaze.

Black smoke obscured the moon, and crimson flames swallowed the clouds.

The city gate tower's roof ornaments shattered with a deafening roar, and the vermilion-lacquered pillars collapsed and fractured.

Where the flames surged, the roof tiles exploded and splattered like a shower of stars.

"Run, run fast..."

Abal was still howling.

But in the current situation, with blazing fire everywhere, where can they possibly run to?
The temperature around them was rising higher and higher, and Abal felt as if his hair was about to be burned.

The warhorses, already terrified by the flames, scattered and fled, completely out of the control of the Xiongnu cavalry.

The thatched roofs and bamboo huts crackled and popped as flames engulfed the beams and rafters, crashing down on the fleeing soldiers... With a thud, men and horses alike slammed heavily to the ground, spitting out thick blood; they were clearly dead.

Occasionally, a strong wind would blow by, and flames would rush towards you with a whoosh, instantly turning your hair and beard into torches.

Most of these Xiongnu people were wearing cotton-padded clothes, which they had naturally obtained through Ma Zhifeng's resale business. In the bitter cold, these clothes had helped them survive the winter, but now, with the clothes ablaze, all that remained was despair.

The cotton wadding burst into flames.

It adhered tightly to the skin, and the skin was immediately burned.

Numerous blisters began to appear on my face, chest, and back, resembling ripe, translucent grapes.

The flames had engulfed their entire bodies. They frantically waved their arms, trying to tear off their cotton-padded clothes, but could only rip off pieces of half-cooked flesh.

When the aged wine in the tavern was ignited, the jar exploded, and blue flames shot up three zhang (approximately 10 meters), scorching through the leather armor of the soldiers. Amidst their screams, white bones were revealed to be tinged with red.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah……

The mournful cries of warhorses mingled with desperate and painful screams, growing ever more piercing. The twisted limbs in the flames constantly assaulted the nostrils with the aroma of flesh and the stench of burning, making the entire Dehua County feel like a living hell.

The wind blows.

call.

The flames instantly turned into a raging inferno, igniting even more areas.

With fewer and fewer places left to escape the scorching flames, Abal trembled uncontrollably, his throat emitting a near-desperate wail. His eyes widened as he watched countless figures writhing desperately in the raging flames, listening to their agonizing screams, and only a chilling despair remained in his heart.

That Song Yan... is a devil!

(End of this chapter)