amaotonovel Chapter 1243 Entering Beijing
Chapter 1243 Entering Beijing
Suddenly, a sharp-eyed soldier pointed to the dense forest to the side and ahead: "Captain! Over there... there seems to be smoke!"
The team reined in their horses and squinted their eyes, only to see wisps of green smoke rising from the depths of the forest. It didn't look like hunters' cooking smoke, but more like... something burning.
"Let's go and take a look!" The captain frowned and urged his horse forward. The soldiers followed closely behind.
After pushing aside the layers of dead branches, they were stunned by the scene before them.
In a small clearing in the woods, the embers of a bonfire were still lingering, scattered with gnawed bones and broken water bags. More importantly, several torn pieces of clothing, stained with dark red, lay on the ground. The style was definitely not common in Daqian, but rather resembled... the uniforms of the Shenmu Army to the north!
"This is..." The captain's face changed slightly. He dismounted and picked up a uniform. He ran his fingers over the stain, which had turned black and sticky. It was blood!
He suddenly raised his head and looked around, only to see messy footprints on the ground. It was obvious that a large team had stopped here to rest and left in a hurry not long ago.
"They're not bandits! They're deserters! Deserters from Shenmu!" The captain's voice was tinged with panic. "How dare they penetrate deep into the capital! Quick! Report immediately..."
His words stopped abruptly.
An icy crossbow arrow shot silently from the dense forest behind him and accurately pierced his throat!
puff!puff!puff!
More crossbow arrows shot in from all directions like poisonous bees! The patrol soldiers didn't even have time to draw their weapons before they were shot and fell off their horses with short, shrill screams!
The killing began in silence and ended in silence.
Dozens of men in black clothes with stern faces quietly emerged from the woods. They quickly dealt with the corpses, dragged them into deep pits and buried them, cleaned up the traces of the battle, and drove away the horses.
Hua Yunhong slowly emerged from behind an ancient pine tree, watching his men handle the scene with an expressionless face. He walked over to the embers of the bonfire and kicked the discarded sacred wood uniform—a deliberate flaw he had left there, a test to gauge the vigilance of the Gyeonggi Defense Force.
The result satisfied him.
"Your Majesty," Han Qian approached quickly and whispered, "We've cleaned up all the traces. But this place is too close to the capital, and even though the noise just now was small, it might have attracted attention."
Hua Yunhong raised his eyes and looked towards the south. His sight seemed to penetrate the dense forest and see the outline of the towering city.
"It's okay." His voice was hoarse, but it carried an extremely suppressed excitement and coldness. "It will take time for them to react."
"Order the entire army to rest for an hour. Eat well and check the weapons."
"Tonight at midnight..."
He paused, a terrifying gleam in his eyes.
"Dispatch the troops...Yuquan Mountain Imperial Manor!"
He did not directly state the ultimate goal, but all the elite soldiers understood it.
Yuquan Mountain Royal Manor is a strategic location in western Beijing, just a few dozen miles from the capital. It is also one of the key thoroughfares leading to the capital. If we capture it, the capital will be like a giant beast with its throat strangled!
The poisonous blade is close to the throat.
The prosperity and tranquility of the capital are about to be completely broken.
A surprise attack that shocked the world has entered the final countdown.
At the same time, the support troops behind the Shenmu Kingdom finally received the news and began to act.
Yuquan Mountain Imperial Manor is more of a small fortress built on a strategically located terrain than a manor. It controls the western route to the capital, serving as a summer retreat and hunting ground for the imperial family, and also storing military equipment and rations. The garrison numbered approximately 800 men, mostly rotational personnel from the Beijing garrison. While not as fierce as the frontier troops, they were well-equipped. After a long period of peace, some slackness was inevitable.
At midnight, the moon was dark and the wind was strong, and the autumn cold was biting.
The guards on the imperial farm's watchtower wrapped themselves tightly in cotton-padded clothes, exhaled white air, and tried to open their eyes wide to look at the dark mountain roads and woodlands below. Everything seemed no different from countless nights in the past.
However, death has arrived.
Hua Yunhong stood silently in the dense forest on a high slope outside the imperial manor, like a ghost in the dark night. His cold gaze swept over the layout of the manor—the lights, the sentry posts, the rotation schedule. Behind him, four hundred death warriors, after a long march and extreme oppression, their eyes only filled with bloodthirsty murder. Like dormant wolves, they awaited the leader's command.
"Han Qian."
"The general is here!"
"Take your men and sneak in through the western drainage tunnel. That's the marking on the blueprint left by Carrigon, so it shouldn't be blocked. Once inside, head straight for the granary and stables, setting them on fire and causing chaos."
"Here!"
"The rest of you, follow me..."
Hua Yunhong slowly drew his sword, the blade gleaming a cold blue in the dim sunlight. "Strike hard at the main gate!"
There were no drums, no horns, only a short whistle like the cry of an owl at night!
Killing broke out instantly!
On the west side of the imperial manor, at a hidden drainage vent half-hidden by withered vines and rubble, Han Qian and dozens of elite soldiers slipped in silently like loaches. The passage was damp and stinking, but they paid no mind and swiftly advanced.
Almost at the same time!
In front of the main gate of the imperial manor, darkness surged forth like a tide, countless shadows emerging! They pounced upon the wall at astonishing speed! Specially crafted grappling hooks were precisely flung onto the battlements! Figures climbed up like monkeys!
"Enemy attack--!!!" The guard on the watchtower finally discovered something unusual. As soon as the shrill alarm bell sounded, he was shot through the throat by a crossbow arrow that broke through the air and fell off the tower!
"Kill!!" Hua Yunhong led the charge, the first to leap onto the wall! His sword, like a venomous snake, instantly slashed the throats of the two stunned defenders! The assassins behind him roared wildly and swarmed over, hacking at anyone they saw, like a Shura rushing out of hell!
Chaos! Extreme chaos exploded inside the imperial manor!
From the west granary and stables, blazing flames shot up into the sky! Fueled by the wind, the fire spread rapidly! Frightened war horses neighed as they rushed out of the stables, trampling madly!
"There's a fire! The granary is flooded!"
"The horse is startled! Stop it!"
The defenders' attention was instantly distracted and the command system was paralyzed!
Hua Yunhong led the main force of the death squad, like a sharp chisel, fiercely cutting through the hastily organized defense line and rushing straight to the core of the imperial village.
Command post and armory!
The battle was brutal but short.
Have these Beijing garrison troops ever seen such fearless and ruthless desperadoes?
But in a hurry.
Often, before they could even see the enemy clearly, their throats were slit by icy blades or shot down by poisoned crossbows. Resistance quickly collapsed, turning into a one-sided massacre and rout.
In less than an hour, the Yuquan Mountain Royal Manor had completely changed hands.
The eight hundred defenders, save for a few who fled, were mostly annihilated. The flames and smoke rising into the sky were incredibly eye-catching in the silent night sky, like a flaming black battle flag being fiercely planted beneath the eyes of the sleeping capital!
Hua Yunhong stood in front of the command post, the body of the garrison commander at his feet. He breathed in the air, a mixture of blood and burnt stench, his face devoid of any joy, only a cold composure.