The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

The sound of the clapper at midnight carried far in the chilly night wind of the capital.

The area towards the north gate remains bustling.

The drums and shouts from the Northern Barbarian camp could still be clearly heard from miles away, wave after wave, putting on a show of fighting to the death, which captivated the attention of the defenders on the city walls.

On the westernmost side of the vast capital city, beneath a secluded section of city wall far from the main battlefield, the night and the shadows cast by the wall formed a natural curtain.

In this deep darkness, thousands of black shadows are gathering, moving without making a sound.

They lay prone on the ground, blending into the night, like a silent reef.

These people were the most mysterious and deadliest force under Huyan Ba, the Great Chanyu of the Northern Barbarians—the Shaman Guards.

Each guard is a martial arts expert selected from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. They are not only proficient in the fighting techniques of the grasslands, but also skilled in climbing, stealth, and assassination.

This force never participates in frontal assaults. Their mission is singular: to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy at the most unexpected time and from the most unexpected place.

This was Hu Yanba's real killing move for the capital, besides his strategy of turning internal agents against him.

The shaman's personal guard captain, who was taller than his companions, looked up and observed the movements on the city wall.

On the city wall, the torchlight was sparse, and the patrolling soldiers seemed somewhat lax.

This is normal, since the main battles are concentrated in the north and south. The west gate has been calm for a long time, apart from the initial probing attacks.

The captain of the guard confirmed the timing; he made no sound, but simply made a gesture.

The dozens of guards behind him moved in perfect unison, taking out specially made grappling hooks from leather pouches on their backs.

The grappling hook was entirely black, with sharp claws and a strong black rope attached to it. Every so often, a knot was tied along the rope for easy leverage.

The captain of the guards took the initiative, his arm muscles bulging, and with a flick of his wrist, the grappling hook flew out of his hand, drawing a silent arc in the air before wedging into the gap in the crenellations at the top of the city wall.

The entire process was accompanied by only a barely perceptible soft sound, which was then dispersed by the night wind.

Immediately afterwards, dozens more dark figures flew out and tightened their grip on the city wall.

The captain of the guard tugged on the rope to check its sturdiness. Then, he put his scimitar in his mouth and, using all four limbs, clung to the cold wall as he began to climb upwards.

His movements were light and swift; with a light touch of his toes on the cracks in the wall bricks, his body could leap several feet into the air without disturbing a single piece of stone. He was as quiet as a gecko scurrying across the wall.

Behind him, dozens of guards followed closely, forming a black stream flowing upwards.

On the city wall, a small squad of Daqian soldiers responsible for patrolling this area were gathered together, yawning.

"Damn it, those northern barbarians have been yelling all night over the north gate, but they haven't actually fought. It's giving me a headache."

"Who says otherwise? We're stuck here in the cold wind, and all the credit goes to them."

"Alright, that's enough. Cheer up, and don't give the captain any leverage."

An old soldier reprimanded him, but he couldn't help rubbing his sore eyes.

The days of defending the city had left them exhausted and their spirits numb.

None of them realized that death was silently climbing up from the darkness beneath their feet.

The first shamanic guard silently scaled the city wall.

He hung from the wall with one hand, his body so light it seemed weightless.

He spotted the nearest patrolman, who was staring blankly at the distant firelight with his back to him.

The guard leaned out from behind the wall, his dagger reflecting no light in the firelight. With a swift horizontal slash, a line of blood appeared on the patrolman's throat.

The soldier's body stiffened for a moment, and he made a "hoarse" sound in his throat, but he couldn't even let out a complete scream before collapsing limply. The guard then dragged him into the shadows of the battlements.

The entire process was clean, efficient, and extremely fast.

Then came the second, the third...

Dozens of shamanic guards scaled the city wall in a very short time.

They worked in groups of three or five, cooperating seamlessly. Utilizing blind spots and the cover of their companions' bodies, each swing of their weapons sliced ​​open the throat of a Daqian soldier or pierced his back.

The patrol squad on the city wall was unable to mount any effective resistance or issue any warning before being wiped out in this silent slaughter.

A bloody smell filled the air, but it was quickly dispersed by the night wind.

The captain of the guard walked to the edge of the city wall, and facing down, he used a special whistle to imitate the call of an owl, giving a signal of one long and two short whistles.

This is a sign that the operation is going well.

Beneath the city walls, more shadowy figures began to move.

Thousands of shamanic guards, densely packed together, began a rapid ascent along dozens of pre-fixed ropes.

Meanwhile, the first group of people to come up lowered several thicker ropes from the city wall and secured them firmly to the inside of the wall with iron stakes.

These thick ropes were prepared for the ordinary barbarian soldiers who would follow.

They didn't need the superb climbing skills of a shaman's guards; they could simply use ropes to climb the city wall as quickly as possible.

Their plan was flawless.

First, use the most elite shaman guards to silently seize the weakest section of the city wall.

Then, using this section of the city wall as a breach, they allowed a continuous influx of subsequent troops.

Finally, they would open the heavy west gate from the inside and let in the main force of cavalry that had been waiting in the distance.

At that time, the entire defense system of the capital will be completely disintegrated from within.

The captain of the guard watched as more and more of his comrades climbed onto the city wall, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

He could already picture the fall of the capital and the desperate cries of the people within its walls.

He thought to himself, tonight, the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty will surely fall.

Just when he thought his plan was flawless and victory was within his grasp.

On the inner side of the city wall, behind the steps leading down to the city, a light suddenly shone.

It wasn't just one torch, nor was it a dozen or so.

Instead, hundreds of torches were lit at the same time!

The blazing firelight instantly dispelled the darkness beneath the city walls, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

Under the firelight, resolute yet indifferent faces were revealed.

Clad in silver armor and wielding sharp blades, they were already arrayed in battle formation, silently waiting there.

Standing at the very front of the army was a general dressed in white and silver armor.

In his hand, he held a long, silver-white spear, its tip gleaming with a chilling light in the firelight.

It was Chen Baipao, the commander of the Great Snow Dragon Riders.

Behind him stood three thousand Snow Dragon Riders, already fully equipped and ready to go.

Instead of defending the North Gate, where the fighting was fiercest, or the South Gate, they chose to wait at the most remote and least noticed West Gate!

The smile on the shaman's bodyguard captain's face vanished abruptly.

His pupils contracted in shock.

We've fallen for their trap!

This is a trap!

The other side had anticipated their actions and deployed an elite force here capable of crushing them all!

He couldn't understand how the other party knew about the plan.

This plan was known only to the Great Chanyu and a few core generals.

But now, there's no time for him to think about these things.

He immediately put his fingers in his mouth, preparing to let out the sharpest whistle and order his men to retreat.

However, it was too late.

Chen Baipao will not give them that chance.

He raised his spear, its tip pointing at the panicked shaman guards on the city wall.

His lips parted slightly, and he uttered a single word in a tone devoid of any emotion.

"kill!"

The order has been issued.

The three thousand Snow Dragon Riders moved.

They did not ride horses; warhorses were of no use on these city walls.

At this moment, they are fully armed infantry.

They marched in perfect unison and launched their charge.

The heavy iron boots pounded on the bluestone slabs, the sound of which converged into a tooth-grinding torrent of steel.

The shaman guards on the city wall, although highly skilled in martial arts and adept at dodging and weaving, were also highly skilled in combat.

But in the face of such a powerful and invincible army charging in large numbers, their prized skills appeared utterly inadequate.

A shaman guard attempted to use his agility to get around to the side of the Great Snow Dragon Knights.

But what greeted him was another soldier beside him, who unhesitatingly delivered a powerful shield strike.

The thick shield, carrying immense force, slammed into his chest.

He heard the sound of his sternum breaking and was sent flying backward.

Before he even landed, a gleaming Northern Liang sword easily cleaved through his thin leather armor from top to bottom, splitting him in two.

Another guard tried to use his scimitar to block the thrusting spear.

But the Great Snow Dragon Rider's spear was powerful and heavy. With just a slight tremor of the spear tip, it deflected his scimitar and then plunged straight in, piercing his chest.

This was a complete and utter defeat in terms of equipment and battle formation.

The shaman's scimitar, when it struck the snow dragon rider's silver armor, could only leave a shallow white mark and send sparks flying.

With each swing and thrust of the Northern Liang swords and spears wielded by the Great Snow Dragon Riders, they could easily take away a life.

The city walls had been transformed into a bloody slaughterhouse.

Those barbarian soldiers who had just climbed halfway up the ropes looked up and saw the massacre taking place on the city wall, and they were all terrified.

Their proud shamanic guards were like lambs to the slaughter before the mysterious silver-armored army of the Great Qian Dynasty, utterly powerless to fight back.

Fear gripped their hearts.

They wanted to retreat, but those below were still desperately climbing up. Those above wanted to go down, and those below wanted to go up. On the narrow rope, they were all crammed together, unable to move forward or backward.

On the city wall, the Snow Dragon Knights, having defeated the enemy, walked to the wall's edge.

They looked at the barbarian soldiers hanging on the ropes, struggling like grasshoppers, their faces expressionless.

They raised their Northern Liang swords and swung them fiercely at the taut ropes.

"Snap!"

The sturdy rope was easily cut by the sharp blade.

Accompanied by a series of piercing screams, hundreds of barbarian soldiers plummeted straight down from a height of over ten meters.

The hard ground gave them their final embrace.

The sound of bones shattering, intertwined with the dying screams, composed a symphony of death.

This meticulously planned night raid quickly turned into a one-sided encirclement and massacre.

Of the thousands of shamanic guards and their reinforcements, only a handful of a few dozen managed to escape by leaping off the city wall, thanks to their superior martial arts skills, after suffering heavy losses.

Hu Yanba's hidden killing move was easily neutralized by Su Zhe.

The stench of blood on the city wall was so strong it was nauseating.

Chen Baipao stood amidst the pile of corpses, his white robe still spotless.

He dealt with Simon's night raid, but there was no sign of relaxation on his face.

He turned around, looked towards the brightly lit south of the city, and gave an order to his adjutant:

"His Highness has ordered that once the matter in the west is settled, we must immediately rush to the aid of the south gate."

His voice was exceptionally clear in the night breeze.

"It seems the real show tonight is just beginning."