You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Swish swish swish...

The third and final wave of rockets, trailing deadly flames, slammed into the already devastated southern city wall area.

The exploding flames, the rising smoke, and the continuous, terrifying roar turned this place into a boiling furnace.

Large sections of the city wall crenellations collapsed, the arrow towers caught fire and burned, and the originally formidable defensive equipment was either blown to pieces or engulfed in flames.

Even more devastating was the morale of the defending troops, which was on the verge of collapse under this unprecedented, seemingly divine punishment.

The Jin soldiers who had miraculously survived huddled behind the ruins, their ears ringing and their eyes filled with fear. Many of the newly conscripted reinforcements trembled and had almost no will to fight.

Finally, the death-dealing screams and explosions stopped.

Only the crackling of burning flames, the muffled thuds of collapsing wood and stone, and the heart-wrenching screams of the wounded, mixed with the stench of burning and blood, permeated the area above and below the city walls.

In the Song army's formation, the dozens of "swarm" rocket carts that had once spewed death had been pushed back to the rear, revealing the main infantry force behind them, which was ready for battle and armed with a forest of swords and spears.

Hong Qigong stood slightly forward in the central command position, gazing at the rocket array that had suddenly fallen silent. He clicked his tongue and whispered to Huang Yaoshi, who stood beside him in a blue robe with his hands behind his back, "They've stopped already?"

"Why not blast those two wheels? It's fucking satisfying to watch!"

Huang Yaoshi gazed at the chaos on the city wall with a cool and clear look in his eyes, and said calmly, "Such weapons are complex in construction, and the production, storage, and transportation of gunpowder arrows are no easy tasks."

"It is already quite remarkable that Your Majesty was able to prepare all of this for this northern expedition."

"A three-round salvo, costing a fortune, is intended to crush the enemy's morale and disrupt their defenses; how can it be endless?"

Upon hearing this, Hong Qigong scratched his head and chuckled, "That's true, good things shouldn't be wasted all at once."

"Now, it's time for us to really get down to business, right?"

"This old beggar's hands have been itching for a while now!"

Huang Yaoshi nodded slightly and said nothing more, but turned his gaze to the central army banner.

Not only the two of them, but also more than a hundred martial arts masters from the north and south who came in response to Lu Zuo’s secret edict or through the contact of Hong Qigong and Huang Yaoshi, all held their breath, stood with their hands on their swords, and stared intently at the city wall.

Inspired by Lu Zuoyi's righteous cause and motivated by their vision of achieving merit in the Northern Expedition and recovering lost territories, they were already eager to fight.

However, His Majesty has issued a strict order that no one may act rashly without a signal.

Their target was not the ordinary Jin soldiers, but the Tantric monks who were already faintly visible on the city wall, and whose auras were quite different, especially the Living Buddha who was surrounded in the center.

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump—!!!"

Just as the echoes of the rockets had barely faded, a heavy and stirring war drum suddenly boomed from within the Song army's ranks!

The pace was completely different from when they were urging the rocket launch before; it was full of a powerful surge and a desperate charge!

"The Great Song Dynasty!"

"go ahead!"

The roars of officers and soldiers at all levels drowned out the sound of the drums.

The heavily armored infantry at the front roared in unison, their shields advancing like mountains and their spears pointing forward like a forest, accompanied by the thunderous sound of their footsteps and the clanging of their armor plates.

The entire Song army formation, like a giant steel beast awakened, began to steadily advance towards the smoke-filled and dilapidated southern city wall of Dading Prefecture!

Ladders, battering rams, and siege towers, propelled by the soldiers, creaked and groaned as they slowly moved forward.

The real siege and bloody battle has begun!

……

In contrast, on the city walls, the Jin generals who had escaped death peeked out from their hiding places, protected by their personal guards holding up tattered shields.

Seeing that the Song army's rockets had stopped and they were advancing in formation instead of continuing their terrible long-range bombardment, most people breathed a long sigh of relief, even feeling a sense of relief as if they were about to collapse.

"Stop...it's stopped!"

A man named Mouke, his face bearing burn marks, spoke in a trembling voice, filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a near-death experience: "That damned Song dog, the demonic fire is finally over!"

"It must be because those demonic fire arrows were difficult to make, and they couldn't carry many!"

Another general wiped the soot from his face, his eyes regaining their fierce edge: "If they dare approach the city walls and climb the ladders, the swords, spears, and arrows of my Great Jin warriors will not be trifled with!"

"That's right! Without that demonic fire, Song Gou is nothing more than flesh and blood!"

More generals echoed this sentiment, as if to encourage themselves and the soldiers around them.

The three rounds of rocket attacks were too terrifying, completely beyond their comprehension. Seeing the Song army begin a conventional siege, they felt as if they had returned to a "familiar" battlefield mode, even though this mode was equally brutal.

With the help of his personal guards, Wanyan Zongfu stood up. His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was disheveled, making him look like a mad tiger.

He roared hoarsely, "Did you all hear that?"

"Song Gou has run out of magic!"

"Now it's our turn!"

"Archers!"

"Those who aren't dead, get up and get on the arrow slings!"

"Rolling logs and stones, molten gold and oil, prepare!"

"Let those Song dogs taste the might of my Great Jin City Wall!"

"Those who cower in battle and refuse to advance will be executed!"

"Anyone who deserts in the face of battle shall be executed!"

Under his roars and the kicks and shoves of the officers, the remaining Jin soldiers barely managed to reorganize themselves and, braving the still-burning flames and choking smoke, rushed toward the battlements that had not yet completely collapsed.

The archer drew his bow and nocked an arrow, though his arm was still trembling slightly.

The strongman lifted the broken log and put the scalding hot pot of broth back on the fire.

Despite the pain in his arm, Kiyoshi Kagaya directed his soldiers to fill the gap created by the rockets, using sandbags, door panels, and anything else they could find to plug it up.

He felt no "fortunateness" like his colleagues; instead, he was burdened with heavy worries.

The rockets have stopped, but the city walls have been severely damaged, the defenders have suffered heavy casualties, and their morale is low.

The Song army chose this moment to launch a strong attack precisely because they had seized the opportunity when their side was at its weakest.

This head-on clash is likely to be more difficult than imagined.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the distance not far away.

Sangye Gyatso Rinpoche still stood in the same spot, the faint golden halo had faded, and his robes were spotless, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding charred and chaotic scene.

The Living Buddha did not pay attention to the steadily advancing Song army, but instead focused his gaze on the tallest dragon banner in the Song army formation, as if searching for something.

Behind him, more than ten masters and hundreds of Tantric monks stood still as pines, seemingly oblivious to the approaching sound of war drums. Only the occasional glint of light in their eyes showed that they were not clay or wooden sculptures.

"Release the arrows!"

With the Jin officers' stern shouts, a sparse volley of arrows, far less dense than usual, shot out from the broken city walls and landed in the steadily advancing Song army ranks, most of which were blocked by the heavy shields.

Even when they do hit, the excellent armor blocks the attack, making it difficult to inflict fatal damage.

"Hold your ground! Raise your shields!"

"Archers, fire upwards! Suppress the city walls!"

The Song army responded with even more unified commands and a denser, more precise barrage of arrows.

The Jin archers, having lost the cover of their intact crenellations, were immediately shot down in droves.

"Ladder! Move forward!"

"Bus, move it in! Quickly!"

Hundreds of heavy siege ladders were carried by Song soldiers, who braved arrows and rushed forward, slamming them against the crumbling city walls. Even taller siege towers, creaking and groaning, slowly approached like mobile fortresses.

"Smash! Smash it down!"

"Pour the molten gold!"

The Jin soldiers roared and pushed down logs and rocks, then poured the scalding hot, foul-smelling molten gold over their heads.

"what!"

Screams rang out as some Song soldiers were hit and fell from the siege ladder. But many more fierce Song soldiers, with steel knives in their mouths and shields raised above their heads, struggled to climb the ladder like agile monkeys!

The shields were dented from the impact, and the armor sizzled from the molten gold, but nothing could stop their desperate charge.

"Charge!"

"The first to reach the summit will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and promoted three ranks!"

Encouraging roars echoed through the siege ranks. Swords clashed fiercely at the edge of the city walls, and every moment someone screamed as they fell, their blood instantly staining the ground at the base of the walls.

From the very beginning, the battle entered a bloody and brutal stalemate. Relying on the advantage created by rockets and high morale, the Song army launched continuous attacks.

The Jin army, relying on the advantage of its high vantage point from the remaining city walls and the ferocity of a cornered beast, fought desperately.

Beneath the central banner, Lu Zuo sat quietly in the imperial carriage, his gaze piercing through the chaotic battlefield and landing on the crimson figure in the direction of the city tower.

He could feel that the other person's gaze was also piercing through the smoke of battle, locking onto him.

Huang Yaoshi, Hong Qigong, and the hundred or so Central Plains masters remained motionless, their auras heavy and calm.

Only when the Song army's attacking forces encountered strong resistance, or when a Tantric monk appeared on the city wall to launch a sneak attack, would a cold glint flash in his eyes, but he would immediately suppress it.

They are waiting, waiting for His Majesty's order, waiting for the moment of final reckoning.

Behind the Living Buddha Sangye Gyatso, a master whispered an inquiry about whether to intervene and stop the elite Song soldiers who were about to scale the city walls.

The Living Buddha shook his head slightly, slowly turning the bone beads in his hand, his voice calm and even: "No rush."

"Let the ordinary soldiers and generals wear down their morale first."

"The Song Emperor and his powerful subordinates have not yet made a move. If we act first, we will be at a disadvantage."

"Let's see."