Chapter 682: Trap (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Ta-da-da…”

A flurry of footsteps came from the front and back. Some came from outside the city, some from the alley at the back, and some came from the city wall and the city tower.

In the blink of an eye, General Hong was already surrounded by dozens of tall and mighty Commandant of the Capital guards. On the high city wall, a row of Commandant of the Capital guards pulled up their longbows at him.

The cold arrows were all aimed at General Hong and the others below. Their aura was oppressive, and their killing intent was revealed.

This was a trap!

This thought clearly appeared in General Hong’s heart.

He only felt a ball of cold air shoot up from the bottom of his feet. His entire body was cold, as if he had fallen into an icehouse. The tall black horse under him let out an uneasy neigh, and its long ponytail swung continuously.

The dozens of soldiers he brought held the long saber in their hands tightly and prepared for battle.

The air at the city gate suddenly became tense, ready to explode at any moment.

Originally, the ordinary citizens in front and behind the city gate were scared away in panic. Even the shops and restaurants near the city gate closed their doors, afraid that they would be implicated.

The sun was clearly bright and warm at noon, but a thin layer of cold sweat seeped out of General Hong’s forehead.

General Hong gritted his teeth fiercely and immediately gave the order, “Break out!”

His expression was as dark as water. He had already guessed that the other people who went to the east, south, and north gates to pass the Empress Dowager’s decree would probably encounter the same predicament.

The situation wasn’t good!

General Hong’s heart was filled with dark clouds. He decisively pulled out his saber, and a bloodthirsty fierce light flashed in his eyes. He thought to himself, “Today, one of us has to die…”

“Bang!”

Suddenly, a thunderous gunshot resounded through the city gate, deafening.

In the next moment, a bloody hole the size of a dragon’s eye appeared in the center of General Hong’s forehead.

“General!” The soldiers behind him cried out involuntarily. They watched helplessly as General Hong fell off his horse. His heavy body fell to the ground, causing the dust on the ground to tremble.

Blinding blood gurgled out of the blood hole in the center of his forehead, quickly forming a dark red blood stain on the ground.

On General Hong’s corpse, his wide eyes were turbid and dim, and he died with grievances.

In just the blink of an eye, General Hong was dead. Even if they didn’t test his pulse, everyone clearly realized this.

On the city wall, Gu Yuan held a flintlock, and white smoke rose from the black muzzle.

When the wind blew, a faint smell of gunpowder filled the air, even more pungent than the smell of blood.

Gu Yuan looked down at General Hong’s corpse below and said coldly to the soldiers brought by General Hong, word for word,

“Kang Wang has rebelled. All of you, surrender immediately. Those who disobey will be killed without mercy.”

His long and narrow phoenix eyes were dignified without being angry, and a sword-like sharpness lingered between his eyebrows.

The surrounding Commandant of the Capital soldiers, including Fan Beiran, shouted in unison, “Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!”

Behind the city gate, General Hong’s corpse lay on the ground with widened eyes, making this sentence very intimidating.

Killing intent was biting cold.

However, the team of soldiers brought by General Hong didn’t surrender. One of them raised his saber and shouted, “Hurry up and break out of the siege.” He squeezed the horse’s abdomen and swung his saber fiercely at the Commandant of the Capital closest to him. The saber light flickered…

The others also brandished their sabers at each other, revealing determination without any hesitation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A silver rain of arrows quickly fell from the city wall like a meteor. Some arrows ruthlessly pierced through people’s flesh, some arrows were swung away by a saber, and some arrows missed…

Shouts, screams, and the sound of weapons colliding sounded.

“End the battle quickly.” Gu Yuan only threw down these four words succinctly and handed the battlefield at the city gate to Fan Beiran.

He took out a clairvoyant and looked in the direction of the east, south, and north city gates. He turned a deaf ear to the various sounds around him and was calm.

The smell of blood in the air was getting stronger and stronger, making one want to vomit.

A moment later, the sound of weapons colliding behind stopped. A series of rapid footsteps came.

“All Yuan, catch!”

As Fan Beiran shouted, he casually threw a candle-sized signal flare to Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan raised his hand to catch the signal flare without looking. There was still some blood on the signal flare.

But Gu Yuan didn’t care at all. He immediately ignited the signal flare.

“Xiu!”