Chapter 1 What Happened? Why are the Two Northern Dynasty Armies Fighting?

"Hiss, that's the banner of the Great Que Army. That unit is the Northern Dynasty Great Que Army. Did Tuoba Guanghe strike all the way to the capital? Did Linxia fall?"

The night was deep, the horns blared, and the drums roared. The soldiers guarding the north gate watched in astonishment as the two armies outside the city fought fiercely.

One army was the Northern Dynasty army that had recently arrived at the city, besieging but not attacking, confronting the defending army.

The other army had just arrived. Soldiers with good eyesight saw the banner of the Great Que Army through the flickering firelight. Just as they were terrified, they saw the two teams fighting outside the city.

Rather than calling it a fight, it was more like a one-sided slaughter. The defending soldiers didn't understand the reason for the Northern Dynasty army's infighting, but they were happy to sit back and watch, taking the opportunity to beat the drums to sound the alarm and prepare for battle.

The flames of war raged outside the city, and things weren't much better inside. The Tianji Building had turned into a ghost building, with Yin corpses and spirit servants rushing out, killing anyone they saw in the city based on their bloodthirsty instincts.

Some broke into residential houses and massacred, while others engaged in fierce battles with the city defense army. The defeated Zhongzheng Family's Imperial City Division and some high-level city defense army officials were now in a state of confusion and entanglement because Zheng Wenhan was dead.

They knew Zheng Wenhan's rebellious intentions, and they also knew that they were involved in a crime that would wipe out their nine generations. Now that Zheng Wenhan had been executed, the emperor would definitely settle accounts with Zheng Family's followers, and none of them could escape.

But surrendering to the Northern Dynasty was also like seeking skin from a tiger. Zheng Wenhan's agreement with Tuoba Guanghe was based on the Zheng Family gaining power and controlling the Southern Dynasty.

Now that Zheng Wenhan and his brother Zheng Wenshi had been killed, the Zheng Family was finished, and the agreement would naturally be void.

If Tuoba Guanghe's Great Que Army were allowed to enter the capital, burning, looting, and even a massacre of the city would be unavoidable, and their clans were all in the capital.

Zhang Yuanqing rode the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, flying over the capital, looking down at the raging fire outside the city. The Great Que Army, like a sharp knife, inserted into the city defense army's camp, crushing both men and horses wherever they went.

This army was Yang's family's power, originally disguised as the Northern Dynasty army to attack the city, containing the Zheng Family's troops. Now it was good, they directly became sacrifices.

The already limited defensive strength of the capital was weakened, adding insult to injury.

The city defense army responsible for the outer city, like ants, surged onto the city wall, with soldiers holding torches, carrying siege equipment, and climbing up the city head along the steps.

In the inner city, Yin corpses and spirit servants smelled the human scent and massacred in the city. Blood flowed like rivers in some high-ranking houses, and several city defense troops were fighting fiercely with Yin corpses on the streets.

Fires broke out in many places in Guangping Street, Xiaguang Street, and Chengle Street, and they had not been extinguished yet.

In short, it was a complete chaos. Looking at the direction of the imperial city, it was unusually calm. The eight thousand elites of the Imperial City Division seemed to have heard nothing, collectively becoming deaf and mute.

How could they defend like this? Tuoba Guanghe could break the city in minutes!

Zhang Yuanqing sighed silently in his heart.

He originally wanted to kill the Zheng Family and the national preceptor, then take over the capital, organize forces to welcome the defending army returning from Linxia, and finally fight a decisive battle with the Northern Dynasty.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Although the national preceptor was defeated, his counterattack before death put Zhang Yuanqing's hard-won situation into desperate straits once again.

Pure golden light shone down on the capital below, dispelling the darkness intertwined with fear and blood.

Zhang Yuanqing restrained his mind, condensed the power of the sun god, and formed a miniature sun above his head.

The earth Yin objects and spirit servants wreaking havoc in the inner city all rose with black smoke, wailing and screaming as they turned into ashes. The terrified fleeing people and the fiercely fighting city defense troops raised their heads to look at the sky in confusion and astonishment, each using their hands to block the golden light, the stabbing eyeballs aching. "Dragon!"

"It's a real dragon!"

"The real dragon descends, a good omen from heaven."

The city defense troops and people who were fortunate enough to witness this scene either exclaimed or knelt down, greatly shocked. Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and said loudly, "People and soldiers of the capital, listen up, I am Zhao Shun, the current emperor. A few days ago, I received a dream from the Haotian God, who granted me the divine beast Five-Clawed Golden Dragon to show his favor."

There was an uproar below. There was still no movement from the imperial city.

Zhang Yuanqing continued to shout loudly: "Twenty-one years ago, the Northern Dynasty conquered the south, killing my people and seizing my land. The people were displaced, and nine out of ten houses were empty. Twenty-one years later, they are still burning our homes, plundering women, and killing children. This hatred is irreconcilable."

In the dark capital, a lamp lit up, and more and more people woke up.

Zhang Yuanqing's impassioned speech continued: "Right Prime Minister Zheng Wenhan colluded with the Northern Dynasty to bring the Great Que Army to the city, and he has already been executed. I, as the monarch, should personally guard the country to repay the country. Zheng Family's followers have been completely eradicated, and all that remains in the court are loyal and good generals. Quickly join me in guarding the country and suppressing foreign enemies."

The torches of the Imperial City Division blazed brightly, and the army quickly assembled.

The city defense troops in the inner city rushed towards the outer city. The whole city came alive at this moment. The people came to the streets, bathed in the pure sunlight, and kowtowed to the emperor standing on the dragon's back, worshiping the miracle.

Zhang Yuanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief, and drove the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon to fly to the north gate. Next, his task was to resist the Great Que Army and delay time. The order in the city, the mobilization of troops, the supply of equipment... These were left to the court officials, including Yang Zheng.

It was not what he needed to worry about. A four-hundred-man commander of the Great Que Army rode his horse to Tuoba Guanghe and cupped his hands, saying, "Commander, three thousand Southern Dynasty soldiers have been annihilated."

Tuoba Guanghe's true form was a 1.7-meter-tall burly man with a broad waist and round waist, wearing black fish scale armor, with dirty braids under his helmet, and typical northern features: single eyelids, narrow eyes, big face, and rough, dark skin.

He gave an "Mm" sound, but did not order an attack on the city. Instead, he looked at the golden light in the distance and smacked his lips. "The world says that the Southern Dynasty monarch is a hedonistic second-generation ancestor, and can be ranked among the top three fatuous emperors in history. Only today do I know that he is actually a genius who is biding his time."

As he spoke, the golden light swept over quickly and stopped above the city gate.

The young emperor stood proudly at the head of the dragon, his eyes sharply sweeping over the Great Que Army, and finally landed on Tuoba Guanghe. He said in a deep voice: "Tuoba Guanghe, I heard that you had a three-sword agreement with Yang Ce in Linxia City. Today, I will also bet with you. If you can kill me with three punches, I will offer the Southern Dynasty with both hands. If you can't kill me, how about you withdraw your troops?"

Seeing the monarch who was riding the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon arrive, the defending soldiers felt greatly relieved, and the fear of the legendary Great Que Army disappeared.

Tuoba Guanghe sneered. The warhorse under his crotch neighed and knelt down, appearing on the city head.

Bang!

Dozens of defending soldiers and civilians around him exploded on the spot, their flesh and bones splattering, staining the city wall red.

The defending soldiers "哗啦" retreated like a tide. There was no one within thirty meters of Tuoba Guanghe.

The defending soldiers' hands holding knives trembled slightly, and the hands pulling the bow trembled slightly. No one dared to attack, and no one dared to step forward.

Tuoba Guanghe raised his head and laughed sarcastically, looking at Zhang Yuanqing in the center of the sky and said, "Why are you standing so high? Are you afraid of me hitting you?"

"What are you betting with me with just a grandmaster? What are you betting with me?"

Too fast, I can't see clearly at all. I feel like I can kill him in seconds with one punch. Zhang Yuanqing quickly calmed his emotions and curled his lips. "I'll bet with your four hundred Great Que Army's lives!"

Woo...

The Yin wind rose sharply, and the dark and rich Yin Qi surged from the wilderness. Wherever it passed, those Southern Dynasty soldiers who had just died tragically under the hooves of the Great Que Army opened their eyes.

They slowly crawled up, or bounced up straight, their necks creaking, extremely stiff.

Their eyes were empty and dead, their mouths grew fangs, their skin was pale, and their nails turned black. These corpses were corroded by Yin Qi and turned into corpses.

Behind these Yin corpses, a beautiful woman wearing a white t-shirt and light-colored jeans stood expressionlessly, with a tide of Yin Qi and whistling Yin wind in the background.

Tuoba Guanghe narrowed his eyes, and Zhang Yuanqing calmly added, "Or, you enter the city to kill people, and I will slaughter your Great Que Army outside the city."

The purpose of his proposal of a bet was not to delay time. To delay time, it would actually be more cost-effective to let the soldiers defending the city die. He didn't care about the defending soldiers anyway.

After all, he was in a copy, not the real world. The real reason Zhang Yuanqing proposed the bet was the main quest, to protect the Southern Dynasty from extinction.

There were only two ways to do this: one was to really defeat and kill Tuoba Guanghe, and the other was to defend the capital.

It was almost impossible to defeat Tuoba Guanghe, let alone kill him, so he took the next best thing and protected the capital first.

If the capital fell or was massacred, the Southern Dynasty would be destroyed. Tuoba Guanghe pondered for a few seconds and sneered, "Killing you first is the same."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately drove the Golden Dragon to increase altitude. "I'll accompany you to the end!"

He expected that Tuoba Guanghe would agree. From Tuoba Guanghe's perspective, killing the grandmaster-level emperor would surely collapse the belief in the hearts of the Southern Dynasty soldiers and people, and the capital would fall without a fight.