Luo Haitian harbored similar intentions, yet as he stared at Lingyan City, he showed no sign of initiating an assault. He too was waiting, waiting for the other two armies to commence their attack… From this, one could discern that the three armies of the Shu Yun Kingdom were far from united… As for Luo Ruofeng, tasked with the assault on the East Gate, after a moment of waiting, he grasped the intentions of his two elder brothers.

A wry smile touched the corner of his mouth as he turned to Ye Jingyu and said, “Brother Ye, I must impose upon you…” “Young Master, rest assured, this city will fall today…” Ye Jingyu, clad in black armor, wore a confident smile upon his handsome face. After bowing respectfully to Luo Ruofeng, he turned and sprinted toward the vanguard… The two great generals, Lian Yi and Li Hang, also stepped forward; they were to coordinate with Ye Jingyu in the siege… Nangong Shang, dressed in white armor, remained standing before Luo Ruofeng, awaiting orders at any moment… Arriving at the front lines, Ye Jingyu glanced toward the South Gate, noting the continued stillness there.

A cold sneer touched his lips: “A group of fools. Do you truly believe they are the same troops from a few days ago?

Having ingested the Seven-Day Powder concocted by Xiangyi, their stamina is utterly depleted. They possess no fighting strength today; just watch how we breach this wall…” With that, Ye Jingyu leaped onto Ni Bo’s back, waved a hand, and Li Hang and Lian Yi, already prepared, simultaneously issued the command… In an instant, twenty thousand infantrymen, flanked by Ye Jingyu, pushed the siege engines toward Lingyan City’s towering walls—walls more than ten zhang high—and the roar of battle echoed across the entire field… Hearing the clamor from the east, Luo Muyan and Luo Haitian both allowed themselves faint, cold smiles, simultaneously thinking: The third brother arrived latest and suffered the fewest losses; today, we’ll ensure he bears a few more… On the east city wall, the defending soldiers took up their posts upon seeing the enemy advance, but they all felt a profound softness throughout their bodies, unable to muster strength… The siege crossbows, which usually required only two men to draw, now demanded a dozen just to move them.

By the time they managed to position a crossbow, the enemy was already at the base of the ramparts… Seeing the enemy gathered below the battlements, the archers, directed by their officers, loosed a volley of mounted archery. However, the arrows, which usually flew for hundreds of bu, felt today like mere toys, traveling less than ten meters… Such feeble arrows could not hope to pierce the sturdy shields of the Shu Yun army; they barely scratched the surface of the soldiers’ armor, only occasionally managing to graze the skin of an enemy soldier with a lucky shot… This spectacle instantly struck the commanding general of the defense with terror.

Though he had noticed his soldiers seemed fatigued that morning, he had dismissed it as simple exhaustion from continuous campaigning. He had never imagined they would be this utterly weakened, unable to display even a fraction of their former vigor, let alone their usual strength… The general, Yuan Xiao, roared incessantly, desperately trying to rally the troops’ morale, but the majority were too exhausted to stand steady, let alone defend the city with any real efficacy… Only a small handful of soldiers who had reached the Warrior realm, along with the officers, could rely on their inner Zhenqi to ward off the enemy’s onslaught… Yuan Xiao stared at the scene in utter bewilderment; he truly could not comprehend why his troops had become so pliable… Yet, he remained ignorant of the fact that seven days prior, Ye Jingyu had ordered Ying Xiaoxiao to introduce Gongsun Xiangyi’s developed Seven-Day Powder into Lingyan City’s water source.

It was not a poison, but rather a stimulant; for seven days after consumption, the body remained in a state of extreme excitement, followed by a complete collapse of strength for at least three days required for full recovery… This Seven-Day Powder was colorless, odorless, non-poisonous, and left no lingering side effects—impossible to detect. Since it was introduced into the water supply, not only the soldiers but the common citizens of Lingyan City would feel a debilitating weakness in their limbs today, overcome by an urge to sleep… However, compared to the soldiers who fought desperately in previous days, their spirits were perhaps slightly better; after all, while they were excited during those seven days, they had not engaged in overly strenuous physical labor… At this moment, under the cover of their own archers, the Shu Yun army positioned their scaling ladders, climbing upward with excited expressions.

The defenders tried to lift stones to hurl down upon the climbers, but the boulders, weighing tens of kilograms, felt like hundreds today; it required several men just to lift one. By the time they managed to haul a stone to the edge of the parapet, the enemy had already scrambled up, raising their swords to hack at the defending soldiers… Lian Yi, wielding the Cold Nightmare Blade, charged onto the battlements without regard for his own safety, leading the main force.

Seeing three or four enemy soldiers lunging at him, he didn't hesitate; the Cold Nightmare Blade flickered, and with a sharp sweep, those soldiers were cut down before they could even react… This turn of events baffled Lian Yi. Were the soldiers of the Tianyuan Empire truly this weak?

They were crumbling too easily. But then he recalled the slow progress the Elder Young Master and Third Young Master had made over five days of siege without significant breakthroughs.

Could all of this be due to General Ye? The thought immediately deepened Lian Yi’s admiration for Ye Jingyu, and his own movements became ever faster… On the other side, Yuan Xiao watched as an increasing number of enemy soldiers scaled the walls with seemingly no effort.

His face had turned ashen. If this continued, the East Gate would surely fall soon… While ordering his personal guards to seek reinforcements, he drew his own sword, preparing to lead his elite personal guard into the fray.

These were seasoned warriors, some even Masters, possessing robust Zhenyuan energy, meaning the effects of the Seven-Day Powder were minimal, and they remained relatively alert. But precisely then, a massive, ground-shaking rumble resonated from the plain, like bursts of heavenly thunder exploding across the world… Yuan Xiao looked up and saw a torrent of black flowing across the horizon—cavalry.

A force of at least eight thousand horsemen. Was the enemy planning to use cavalry against the city walls?

Or did they presume the East Gate had already been breached? In a flash, Yuan Xiao sensed something gravely wrong.

Leading this cavalry were hundreds of enormous, towering beasts, creatures far larger than any siege engine, yet moving with incredible speed. Especially the foremost beast, so massive that it was nearly the size of the city gate itself.

Such colossal bulk moving at such velocity—once it charged, how could the gate possibly withstand the impact? In that instant, Yuan Xiao’s already pale face drained to an even ghastlier white…