Chapter 59: The Enemy Retreats, Ten Thousand Slain, a Glorious Victory!

As the refined steel armor-piercing arrow was nocked onto the bow, Zhu Zheng narrowed his eyes and locked onto a garrison officer tightly protected by a formation of shield-bearers.

Bang!

The bowstring vibrated violently.

Swish!

A streak of light instantly tore through the air.

Strict though the shield wall's protection was, before this armor-piercing arrow, it seemed as nothing.

"Advance! Anyone who dares to retreat will be beheaded on the spot!"

Behind the shields, the enemy garrison officer roared at the top of his lungs, driving his men forward.

The very next instant.

Splat!

A crisp shattering sound echoed from the shield overhead, and immediately after, an arrow pierced straight down through the officer's helmet, instantly penetrating his skull.

"Commander!"

"Commander..."

The shield-bearers guarding him stared in utter terror, completely dumbfounded.

Under the impenetrable protection of their shield formation, the enemy archers on the ramparts were still able to pick off their commander. Just how terrifying was this?

"Enemy garrison officer killed. All attributes +40, 40 taels of silver acquired, 40 days of lifespan acquired, ordinary treasure chest rewarded."

The moment the kill was secured, the system interface prompt rang in Zhu Zheng's ears.

Zhu Zheng's gaze continued to sweep across the battlefield before the city, drawing his bow and dropping his arrows to continuously mow down enemy officers.

Even when the enemy deployed their third wave of assault troops, it failed to reverse the momentum of their defeat. After all, while ordinary soldiers could be brave, they still required officers to direct combat. Yet under Zhu Zheng's arrows, as long as they stepped within four hundred paces of the city walls, death was inevitable, shield protection notwithstanding.

From high-ranking generals down to banner leaders and centurions, none could escape Zhu Zheng's arrows.

One could only imagine the devastating impact this had on the enemy's morale.

Up on the ramparts!

Accompanied by Commissioner Wei, Zhang Yu had witnessed firsthand Zhu Zheng's god-like archery. With every twang of the bowstring, an enemy officer fell.

"General."

"Now you see for yourself that this subordinate spoke the truth."

"General Zhu's archery is divine, never missing its mark."

"In this battle, General Zhu's ability to hold the city with five thousand troops for a full day without the enemy breaking through, while slaughtering countless foes, is entirely due to his divine archery disrupting the enemy's formation," Commissioner Wei said with a face full of reverence.

By this moment, Zhang Yu was completely convinced.

Watching Zhu Zheng's supernatural archery, Zhang Yu's eyes held not only astonishment but also a profound sense of fortune. "Fortunately... Fortunately, General Zhu serves the Prince of Yan. Otherwise, encountering someone like General Zhu on the battlefield, one would likely die by a stray arrow without even knowing how it happened."

"Ancient texts record that piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces is the pinnacle of archery, requiring immense strength."

"Yet General Zhu's range goes far beyond a mere hundred paces!"

"How could he possess such terrifying strength and such unerring accuracy?"

"I... am truly no match for him," Zhang Yu murmured, filled entirely with awe and admiration for Zhu Zheng.

Regaining his composure, Zhang Yu said in a deep voice, "Commissioner Wei, quickly draft a battle report detailing these achievements. I must report this to the Prince of Yan without delay."

"This subordinate obeys," Wei replied immediately.

With those instructions given, Zhang Yu cast another glance at the tightly secured fortifications atop the ramparts and the sea of corpses beneath the city walls.

The strategic situation could only be described as overwhelmingly favorable.

Even up to this point, under the enemy's ferocious assault and the onslaught of tens of thousands of troops, the stronghold remained impregnable, with casualties numbering fewer than a thousand, mostly minor injuries.

Such an outcome was utterly unprecedented.

Time passed quickly.

Li坚, the commander-in-chief of the imperial court's grand army, looked up at the sky. The sun was about to set, and night was falling.

"Just how many rebel soldiers are there in the city?"

"My army of fifty thousand has attacked for an entire day, yet we haven't even managed to breach the gates." Li坚 asked with evident dissatisfaction.

"General."

"It is not that our army is incompetent."

"Rather, the rebel defense on the ramparts is too rigorous, and our assault has stalled."

"Today, it will likely be impossible to take the city."

"I beg the General to order a withdrawal for now," his deputy general immediately requested of Li坚.

Looking at the current battlefield situation—a scene of utter rout where the offensive had completely lost momentum and even the beating of war drums could no longer boost morale—the original plan to breach the city in a single day had become an empty promise.

Reluctant though he was, Li坚 knew that if he could not reorganize his military formation now, it would merely result in a wasteful drain of troops and generals.

"Fall back!"

After a moment of deliberation, Li坚 gave the order to retreat.

Immediately, the sound of gongs echoed across the front of the city.

Hearing this, the soldiers beneath the walls felt as though they had heard the music of salvation. Without a second thought, they turned and fled, prioritizing their own survival.

"Dammit!"

Xu Kai, serving as the vanguard general for this campaign, wore a look of intense frustration. He glared fixedly at the ramparts, feeling utterly helpless.

He had no choice but to fall back.

"Brothers!"

"Open fire with all artillery!"

"Archers, loose at will, kill as many of the enemy as you can!"

Seeing the enemy retreating, Zhu Zheng immediately shouted orders.

Strike a drowning dog.

Kill as many as possible.

Every enemy killed now was one fewer threat to deal with.

As Zhu Zheng's voice faded, the soldiers on the ramparts raised their bows and arrows, taking aim at the retreating enemy forces below and releasing volley after volley.

Zhu Zheng himself switched back to standard arrows.

He shot arrow after arrow, never missing his mark.

"Enemy soldier killed. 5 points of internal breath acquired..."

"Enemy soldier killed. 5 points of agility acquired..."

"Enemy squad leader killed. 10 points of internal breath acquired..."

"Enemy banner leader killed. All attributes +10 acquired..."

Arrows rose and fell.

Every shot found its target.

Zhu Zheng's brand of divine archery was entirely worthy of being called the sniper rifle of this era; nearly everyone he shot was pierced straight through the throat.

The carnage was absolute.

As the enemy withdrew, nearly ten thousand corpses were left strewn before the city, while countless wounded soldiers struggled in vain to escape.

An army of one hundred thousand had arrived at the gates.

Fifty thousand vanguard troops had attacked.

Yet they left behind nearly ten thousand casualties.

At the enemy's rear camp!

As Xu Kai led his surviving troops back, Li坚 asked with a grim and ugly expression, "General Xu, why did it come to this?"

"With casualties this heavy, we couldn't even break through the city gates."

"How exactly do you command troops?"

These sharp, questioning words made Li坚's rage abundantly clear.

"General."

"This subordinate is incompetent."

"However, this battle was not entirely my fault."

"Among the rebels, there is a master archer who specifically targeted and killed our officers, depriving our army of command and leading to this devastating defeat," Xu Kai said, lowering his head in humiliated anger.

"What kind of master archer could inflict such massive losses on our army through archery alone?" Li坚 asked, clearly skeptical upon hearing this.

"General Li."

"We have already made a rough tally."

"In today's battle, the three Centurions' Camps attacked in rotation."

"Two Assistant Regional Commanders were killed in action, along with three garrison commanders, eight company commanders, and countless captains. As for vice-captains and platoon leaders beneath them, over two or three hundred lost their lives."

"All of them were killed by a single arrow piercing the throat."

"Clearly... clearly, it was all the work of a single individual among the rebels."

"It was precisely because of this that our army suffered such severe casualties," Commissioner Wei reported with trembling anxiety.

Hearing these casualty figures, Li坚's expression finally shifted dramatically.

If it were merely ordinary soldiers, Li坚 might not have cared so much, but every single one of the dead was a pillar and officer of his military force...