Chapter 558: Chapter 265: Marching to the Uku Barbarians_3

With that, he ordered the drums to gather the generals, assemble the troops, and start the military operation.

In the seventh month of the fourth year of Shenwu, Lu Yuan led his army out of the camp, commanding sixty thousand soldiers from three different forces, and officially crossed the border into Da Changhe Country.

On the same day, two messengers were dispatched to Wuling Prefecture and Lingling Prefecture to deliver orders to Lan Zhaoyun and Li Liang, asking them to march simultaneously.

After a millennium, when the people of Dongyang touched the border of the southwestern Yi people, these descendants of the Three Emperors finally began their campaign to conquer the Yi people.

The historic battle had begun.

…

Stone City.

Flags were everywhere, dark clouds loomed over the city.

Countless camps stretched out from outside the city and extended into the mountain ridge.

Since the arrival of Da Changhe Country’s army, the main force had expanded to over two hundred thousand soldiers and was distributed in this somewhat narrow plain, which was suddenly crowded.

In comparison, the city, less than ten miles large, looked majestic.

However, facing the dense army, it seemed like a stone in front of a torrent, so humble and fragile.

It seemed that it might collapse at any moment under a strike.

Indeed, that was the case.

The sound of the magnificent bullhorn and the thunderous battle drums unique to the Chilih tribes, along with thousands of sword-wielding warriors, roared at the top of their lungs as they charged towards the city.

These brave Chilih warriors would destroy the last rebel-controlled city and reclaim the land that belonged to the Chilih people.

At the same time, they would execute the foreigners in the city and use their skulls to warn the world, proclaiming the inviolability and bravery of the Chilih tribe.

The defenders on the walls looked at the warriors like a tide, their faces showing fear and paleness.

For people of the same tribe and those who shared the same belief, they really didn’t have much resistance in mind.

However, seeing the other generals surrounding them with stern faces, these defenders felt a shudder in their hearts.

Although they were all foreigners.

Each of them was skilled in martial arts and possessed terrifying strength. Especially those foreign leaders, they were like Sky Gods, endowed with the supernatural powers given by the Divine Palace Great Witch Priest.

Facing such a power that no ordinary person could resist, even if their hearts were unwilling, they couldn’t muster the courage to fight back.

Considering their families being controlled inside the city, they eventually clenched their teeth, picked up the stones and bows and arrows, and launched an attack on their fellow tribesmen below the city.

But even so.

Under the powerful attacks outside the city, these counterattacks still seemed weak and fragile.

The siege had been going on for more than half a month.

However, no matter how many enemies the defenders killed or how high the corpses piled up, the people outside just didn’t seem to decrease.

Compared to the Chilih army that had swelled to over two hundred thousand, the defenders in the city, only thirty to forty thousand strong, were truly like small stones in the waves – at most causing a little splash before being submerged.

All of the Chilih tribespeople were convinced of this.

“These rebels won’t last long.”

In the main camp outside the city, on a high observation tower, Li River and the Grand Witch Priest of the Divine Palace watched the ongoing siege and eventually came to this conclusion.

After half a month of fighting, they had suffered heavy losses, with fifty to sixty thousand of their best men dead.

But the defenders in the city, even with the support of the city walls, were not much better off.

With low morale, they couldn’t provide effective resistance or defense, and after more than ten days of fighting, more than ten thousand of them had been killed as well.

Now, the city’s defending army could only count on about twenty thousand, and their morale had dropped even lower.

Especially yesterday.

During the siege, there was a disturbance among some of the defenders on the city walls, and they wanted to resist and surrender.

Although it was quickly quelled by the foreign rebels in the city and didn’t cause much trouble.

This phenomenon, however, demonstrated how unstable the morale of the defenders was and that they were not united with the foreigners in the city.

They were only forced to submit to the rebels due to the current situation.

But that didn’t matter, as long as the pressure from the outside increased, more Chilih people would realize how evil their actions were and follow the guidance of the Chilih gods, making the right choice.

“Those foreigners are very strong, especially their leaders, they are just like you and me.”

The Great Witch Priest of the Divine Palace nodded in agreement to Li River’s words, but his voice was cold: “These blasphemers of the Chilih gods, who want to usurp the Chilih people’s inheritance, are enemies revealed by the gods.

Once we break through Stone City, those tribe people who have been deceived and coerced can be spared.

As long as they can realize their mistakes and repent sincerely, their sins can be forgiven.

But not a single one of those foreigners or enemies of the gods can be spared.

Including the rebel leader Li Xiong, we must kill every one of them. I will use their blood to sacrifice to the gods, to offer our loyalty as god’s people.”

This time, the Chilih inheritance was almost stolen right under his watch. The humiliation and anger in the Great Witch Priest’s heart cannot be described.

Only with the blood of those enemies could these dishonors and grievances be washed away.

Therefore, the killing intent towards Li Xiong and the other foreigners was undoubtedly one of the strongest among those present.

Upon hearing this, Li River’s face turned grim and said, “The Great Witch Priest can rest assured. I have made arrangements and set up a heavenly net outside the city. There is no way those foreigners can escape.”

As the military commander and a royal grandmaster who almost lost his kingdom to the foreigners, Li River’s hatred for Li Xiong and the others was also not inferior to the hatred of the Great Witch Priest.

If he didn’t kill all the foreigners, how could he vent his hatred? And how could he deter those ambitious and overreaching opponents?

How could his royal family maintain its authority over the entire Chilih tribe?

Therefore, Li Xiong was a must-kill for him as well.

But just as the top leaders of Da Changhe Country were discussing how to deal with the foreigners after the city fell.

Suddenly, a large fire broke out in the distance.

They saw a mountain forest in the southwest, dozens of miles away, engulfed in flames.

The fire was fierce and immediately enveloped the entire mountaintop.

“What’s going on?”

Li River and the Great Witch Priest looked at this scene, their expressions changing instantly.

This sudden change made the two of them feel uneasy.

Unfortunately, before they could send someone to investigate, a distraught rider came running up with a terrified look on his face: “Grand General, Great Witch Priest, there are, there are enemies.

The southwestern camp has been attacked. There are so many enemy soldiers that they can’t be counted!”

As the words fell, the atmosphere in the room immediately froze.