The next morning, at the horse market of Wangyuan City.
Li Qing and Qi Kang, under the watchful eyes of the horse traders, each led a horse out.
"Set off, to the imperial capital!" Li Qing was the first to mount his horse, leisurely heading towards the western city gate.
Qi Kang, on the other hand, wore a nervous expression; this was his first time riding a horse. His hands gripped the reins tightly, not daring to loosen his hold.
Fortunately, the horses sold at the market were generally gentle, being draft horses rather than wild steeds, making it not too difficult to ride.
Just as the two were about to exit the city gate along the main street, a series of loud explosions suddenly erupted from behind the eastern city gate, as if it had been bombarded by cannon fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground trembled slightly with each explosion.
Soon, the sound of urgent bell tolls echoed from the city gate, signaling an attack.
"The Liang people are coming! The Liang people are coming!"
"It's the crossbow, the three-bow crossbow! The people of Liang have brought several three-bow crossbows!"
"Hold the city gate! Everyone, hold the city gate!"
The main street of Wangyuan City led directly to the eastern and western city gates. At the sound of the bells, the merchants and common folk quickly cleared the street, leaving it completely empty.
However, in the next moment, armored figures rushed out from both sides of the street, heading straight for the eastern city gate.
The Wuli Army, a well-trained force composed of martial practitioners, showed no signs of fear in the face of the formidable siege weaponry.
Among the crowd, several thousand-man commanders of the Wuli Army quickly ascended the city walls. Agile and swift, they climbed up the towering walls with a combination of strength and skill.
Li Qing's gaze was fixed on one of the figures that had reached the top of the wall; it was a woman, poised and valiant, with her long hair tied up, clad in light armor, and a slender sword hanging at her waist.
This person was Qian Hong, the only woman in the Wuli Army whom Li Qing had seen before.
As if sensing something, Qian Hong instinctively glanced back after reaching the wall.
From a distance, she caught sight of Li Qing, but due to the distance and the significant changes in his appearance and demeanor, she no longer recognized the once honest, dark-skinned blacksmith apprentice he had been.
For a moment, Qian Hong felt a sense of familiarity but could not place it.
Before she could continue her thoughts, the wall was struck again by the powerful crossbows.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even such a solid and heavy wall trembled violently under the bombardment.
The expressions of the thousand-man commanders on the wall grew serious as they looked at the tens of thousands of Liang troops nearly a kilometer away, their hearts tightening slightly.
"Even from this distance, it has such power; those craftsmen from Liang are indeed impressive."
"Even we, as inner strength practitioners, would likely perish on the spot if hit by one of those crossbows."
"Hmph, while this crossbow might be useful for besieging a city, to shoot us down is nothing but a delusion."
"Indeed, although the weapons of the Liang people are not bad, as long as they dare to approach the city, we can charge in and disrupt their morale!" Qian Hong did not speak, her brow slightly furrowed as she gazed at the several crossbows in front of the army, lost in thought.
With the continuous bombardment of the crossbows, the city gate seemed on the verge of collapse several times, but ultimately, the martial practitioners behind the gate held firm with sheer strength.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Li Qing anymore.
The moment he noticed Qian Hong looking back at him, his heart tightened, and he quickly turned away, urging his horse towards the western city gate.
Though he had spent a long time in the Eternal Night World and his appearance had changed significantly, only four months had passed here, and he was unsure if Qian Hong would still recognize him.
Regardless, he did not want to linger in Wangyuan City any longer, so he waved the whip and hurried towards the city gate.
Fortunately, the western city gate had not yet closed, allowing those leaving the city to pass without any identity checks, making it quite lenient.
Thus, Li Qing and Qi Kang successfully exited the city, carrying a substantial amount of supplies, and headed towards the imperial capital.
However, in the following days, the situation in Wangyuan City took a sharp turn. The once confident citizens became increasingly anxious.
This was because, over the past few days, the number of three-bow crossbows in the Liang army had steadily increased from three to eight!
With the continuous bombardment, even the sturdy city gate of Wangyuan City had been breached several times. Despite numerous martial practitioners desperately holding the gate, they could not withstand such terrifying destructive power.
Yet, the martial practitioners of the Wuli Army were not to be underestimated. Whenever the Liang army attempted to breach the gate, the Wuli Army would charge out to meet them.
Under the leadership of several thousand-man commanders who were inner strength practitioners, and with the support of other martial practitioners, they managed to repel the Liang army, causing significant casualties on their side.
In the end, the situation stabilized.
The Liang army could breach the city, but they could not enter, and the Wuli Army, being wise, did not pursue deeply. After driving the Liang troops away, they immediately returned to the city.
After several skirmishes, the Liang army suffered heavier losses.
Thus, both sides fell into a stalemate.
All of this news reached Li Qing through hearsay. Upon hearing that the city gate of Wangyuan had been breached, he felt fortunate to have left the city early, avoiding the turmoil.
After nearly ten more days, Li Qing and Qi Kang finally arrived at the heart of the Maple Kingdom, nearing the imperial capital, Shengtian City!
The scenery here was exceptionally beautiful, far surpassing the desert landscapes. Even as winter approached, the climate remained quite pleasant, with the air being humid.
The two had traveled a long way from Wangyuan City and were already weary from the journey.
At this moment, Shengtian was right ahead, and they could see the towering city walls from a distance, causing Li Qing's heart to swell with excitement.
"We've arrived, let's prepare to enter the city," Li Qing murmured softly, gazing at the solid walls that rivaled those of Wangyuan City.
Having been in this world for several years, this was his first time approaching the imperial capital.
Not only him, but Qi Kang's face also showed uncontainable excitement. The past few days had been exhausting, sitting on horseback and bouncing around, it had been quite uncomfortable.
Now, seeing the renowned Shengtian City before them, how could he not be thrilled?
(End of Chapter)