Battle Royale of the Sinners

10 AM.

The scout rushed to the north wall. He knelt down and presented a report to Han Fu.

"Reporting! The messenger from Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun Army has approached us! They are saying that they will arrive here in 40 days, but their cavalries will be here in 7 days!"

Hearing that he also had a reinforcement, Han Fu laughed.

"HAHAHA! Those stupid rebels have no chance against us! Well, they won't get their turn anyway because we'll probably kill all of them before they even have arrived!"

"You're corrected, my lord. They won't have a chance." Xin Ping agreed.

"Well, since the Imperial Force are coming. How about we prepare a banquet to welcome them."

"A brilliant idea, my lord!"

"Hahaha!"

Both of them had not realized this, the soldiers on the wall snuck glances at them with mocking eyes.

…

Ju Shou also received the same news. Instead of worrying, he gazed toward the direction of Tong Army in astonishment.

'What a timing. One of the generals should also come here with the Imperial cavalries. With an extra general and troops from the Capital City, Zhang He will not succeed.'

'If Zhang Tong's forces were slower than this for a few more days, we won't have a chance to rebel even if we want to.'

'Well, I have to act too, or else, I'll be killed along with those morons.'

Ju Shou walked toward the reserve soldiers. He called the commanding officers for an important meeting.

'Time for a little bribe and a little coaxing.'

…

Zhang He stood on the wall, watching the dust from the distance. From the textbooks he studied, it was a sign of an army approaching.

He walked toward Han Fu and Xin Ping. Glancing around, he found out that all civil officers who supported Han Fu were there as well. It seemed they believed that Tong's defeat was certain.

"Oh, Junyi! You're not with your troops?" Han Fu asked.

"I probably won't need to. I'll be watching the show here with my lord."

"Hahaha! Good! Let's enjoy the show then."

"By the way, my lord, do you want to know what this show is called?"

"Oh! Do you want to name this event? Hmm … I think it should be called 'Zhang Tong's Grave'!" Xin Ping, who was listening to the side, chimed in.

Han Fu laughed. "I think it should be called 'Han Fu's Brilliant Military Might'!"

Zhang He did not speak further. He smiled and pretended to watch the incoming troops, but his attention was on the officers besides Han Fu.

'That guy was on our side. That too. Well, 9 of 10 guards were with us.'

'I have to wait for Ju Shou first. I hope he can finish his task over there quickly.'

'Two or three hours should be enough to conquer the reserve troops.'

…

1 PM

Tong Army of 25,000 men formed up ranks, watching the gigantic grey stone walls and red gate in front of them from a distance. The "Han" surname flags of Han Fu fluttered by the wind, and his soldiers on the wall were staring at Tong's soldiers.

"The soldiers are not in the condition to fight. Are we really doing this?"

"Just do it."

"We haven't even crafted ladders and catapults…"

"Just do it."

"…"

"Just freaking do it!"

Jia Xu was bossing Tong as if he was his mother.

Tong had unloaded armors and weapons for the soldiers this morning. They dressed up properly and formed a battle formation, ready to move to the city.

However, they were not in the right shape. The marathon in the past few days took a toll on their mentality and their physical strength.

Jia Xu did not care about the army condition. He wanted them to approach the wall without a siege weapon.

Such action would be considered a suicide by all. They could not attack the garrisoning soldiers with only spears and swords, even repeating crossbows would still be disadvantageous against archers on the walls.

Yet…

"Fine. SOUND THE WAR DRUM!"

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Though exhausted, the soldiers took out their crossbows and move forward.

…

On top of the wall.

Hearing the war drums from Tong's troops, Zhang He turned his head and smiled at Han Fu and Xin Ping. The time had run out, he had to act before Tong's troops could reach the walls.

"Remember my last question? My Lord, Sir Xin Ping?"

"Yes?"

"Hmm?"

"About the name of the show."

"What's wrong with it? Isn't it obvious that Zhang Tong will die here? The name is irrelevant anyway. If there is one, it will be our lord's military might!" Xin Ping complained in a sour mood.

Zhang He laughed. His eyes turned cold, and his killing intent exploded out. He unsheathed his sword on his waist and stabbed it through the gab of Xin Ping's armor. The blade pierced through his lung.

"You're wrong. It is called [The Immortal King's Stepping Stones]!"

"B-Bastard …."

Zhang He twisted his sword, opening his wound and destroying his blood vessels and his lung further. The body of Xin Ping spasmed from the sudden pain. Blood seeped into his lung, after which he coughed out the blood. Zhang He pulled out his sword, allowing Xin Ping's body to drop on the floor.

Collapsed from the pain and flooded lung, Xin Ping stopped breathing while his eyes were wide open in shock.

Not wasting time, Zhang He stabbed it through the chubby neck of Han Fu whose brain could not process the information fast enough to react.

"… *COUGH* … W-W-Why?" Han Fu uttered his last word.

"Simple, I was never your subordinate from the very beginning."

Instead of pulling back his sword, Zhang He exerted more force and pushed in sideway, half-severing the neck of Han Fu. The chubby lord's body dropped like a marionette without a string.

With the two main targets dead, Zhang He shouted.

"Open the gate and raise the white flags! We're surrendering! Quickly, or they will start shooting arrows!"

The garrison troops on the wall were waiting for this, they raised their pre-prepared white flags. A dozen soldiers behind the walls rushed to the gate and took away the gigantic iron bars, unlocking and opening the gate.

Meanwhile, the onlooking officials were in panicked. The change of event was too sudden, they failed to comprehend the entire situation.

"Murder!"

"I-It's a rebellion!"

Zhang He sneered. He gave another command to the troops.

"Kill these people! Take no prisoner!"

…

On the other side, Ju Shou had also finished his preparation in time. Several commanders who refused to cooperate laid down in the pool of their own blood. The robe of Ju Shou was drenched with blood from the dead commanders.

Ju Shou and rebelling soldiers had killed them all!

"You are dead if Zhang Tong doesn't give us what you said." One of the soldiers threatened Ju Shou.

"My spy reports has never been wrong. The average soldier monthly salary in Julu is 10 gold for a 1000-man-commander and 100 coins for an ordinary footman. You'll live a better life than when you're serving Han Fu." Ju Shou chuckled.

The average monthly wage of the commander in this city was merely 500 coins and 50 coins for an ordinary soldier, which were lower than Julu's standard.

Ju Shou spread this information to Han Fu's troops a few hours ago to entice them into joining Tong as well, with a condition that if Ju Shou was wrong, he would be killed.

"For now, let's disarm ourselves and surrender."

The soldiers reluctantly tossed away their weapons and flags, waiting for Tong to arrive and decide their fates.

…

Tong Army, which was approaching the walls, saw the white flags. They lowered their crossbows and cheered as they did not have to risk their lives fighting in a war.

Tong also gazed at the soldiers on the wall in astonishment.

'They surrender this easily? Maybe … Zhang He did all the work?'

'But there are many officials and commanders under Han Fu.'

'How in the blue world … wait, what about Ju Shou!?'

'Zhang He succeeded in convincing Ju Shou? Is that possible?'

The iron red doors slowly opened. The moment the doors fully opened, two men rode forward to meet Tong and his army.

One of them dressed in a bloody civil officer robe. He had sharp eyes and a stern expression, similar to Sima Fang. Another one was donned in full armor which was painted with dripping blood. It was not hard to tell that they had been through a slaughtering.

Tong recognized one of the two right away. It was Zhang He.

As for the other one, Tong had to check his radar map to get his name. As Tong had guessed, it was Ju Shou.

Goosebumps appeared all over Tong's skin, Zhang He exceeded his expectation. Tong estimated a chaotic siege combat, but Zhang He managed to win the battle for him without a fight.

Furthermore, he dragged Ju Shou along in this coup, making the stratagem more efficient.

Zhang He and Ju Shou stopped and got down from their horses. Tong also rode up to them.

Looking at Tong and reminiscing of that day, Zhang He knelt down and cupped his fist. Ju Shou followed suit as well.

"My Lord, I've completed your order. I, Zhang Junyi, welcome you to Ye City!"

Tears brimmed within Tong's eyes and the sour smell hit his nose. Tong recalled that day when he parted with Zhang He.

[When the time is right, I'll pay you a visit myself at Ye. At that time, I want you to open the city gate and welcome me yourself with your subordinates.]

He actually completed his assignments word by word, in a flawless execution to boot.

Tong got down from his horse, walked to Zhang He and hugged him.

"Thank you!" Tong muttered. "You've exceeded my expectation! Thank you!"

Zhang He was surprised by the sudden hug, but he did not mind it. A humble lord who cares about his subordinates was better than a haughty lord. The hugged general laughed it off.

The person that was observing them on the side, Ju Shou, had a new evaluation on Tong. Being with Xin Ping and Han Fu for a long time dulled his mind. Seeing a humble lord interacting with his subordinate cleansed his corroding spirit. A seed of a new hope grew in his heart.

"My name is Ju Shou, a lowly minister of this city. We wish to surrender to you. I hope you can pardon the soldiers."

Snapped back to his sense, Tong stopped hugging Zhang He and helped Ju Shou up.

"Of course. I promise I won't treat them badly. As the matter of fact, I'll welcome them into my ranks and they will get the same treatment as my own soldiers. So rest assured."

"Thank you, my lord. By the way, we have a present for you."

Ju Shou returned to his horse and fetched two wooden boxes with him. He opened the boxes, revealing the head of Han Fu and Xin Ping inside.

"These are the head of the previous governor and his secretary of this city. These are our gifts to prove our allegiance to you."

Tong gave Ju Shou a wry smile and waved his hand to dismiss it. "It's fine. I knew you are sincere. For now, please guide my men inside and let them rest. They had a rough time marching here."

While Tong and the two were chatting, Jia Xu rode his horse to them to remind Tong, Ju Shou, and Zhang He.

"My lord, please do not replace the [Han] flags of Han Fu just yet. As for the death of Han Fu, please tell everyone to keep it a secret."

"Huh? Why?"

Jia Xu gave Tong a cunning smile. "The third phase will involve a play."