Chapter 87: The Killing Machine

Because of the terrain, the fall of these four Jiannu cavalry soldiers completely blocked the gap at once.

The Jiannu cavalry charging forward behind them reacted extremely quickly. As they were forced to stop, they stood up on their horseback one by one and leaped down…

These were the elite warriors of Wild Boar Skin.

The elite warriors of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

These most elite of the Jiannu, facing Yang Xin, lunged forward without the slightest hesitation.

The leader, holding a Wolf-tooth Mace high with both hands, swung it down at Yang Xin’s head almost before he even landed. Another Jiannu, the moment he landed, swung his bone club at Yang Xin’s shoulder. The other two stabbed their Long Spears straight at his chest. The four weapons, covering far, middle, and close range, sealed off any chance for him to dodge.

Four cavalry soldiers behind them raised their bows and took aim.

The distance was less than ten meters.

Yang Xin used his Green Dragon Crescent Blade to lift and hurl a corpse directly at them.

The bone club and Wolf-tooth Mace struck the blade’s shaft. The two Long Spears pierced the corpse. The two spearmen were knocked down as the corpse slid down their spear shafts. One of them happened to fall back into the archers’ line of fire. Two arrows almost simultaneously pierced his back. Instantly, the bone club and Wolf-tooth Mace were also knocked flying from their impact with the blade’s shaft. Then, the shaft continued with unstoppable force in a sweeping semicircle. Two Jiannu were smashed apart, flesh and blood spraying everywhere. Two sharp arrows whistled through the air, pierced through their bloody mist, and almost simultaneously struck Yang Xin’s chest.

At less than ten meters.

Two arrows instantly pierced two layers of forged iron armor, but the arrowheads lodged in the second layer.

Although the arrowheads had pierced Yang Xin’s skin, they could go no deeper. With a roar, Yang Xin decisively used his blade to lift and hurl another corpse, directly knocking down the two archers. At that moment, Matchlock Guns fired in volleys from the city walls on both sides. More archers behind who were raising their bows fell from their horses one after another. However, just as the Bird Gun shooters were reloading, even more Jiannu behind raised their bows. But because the frontal charge was blocked, the once unstoppable Jiannu cavalry rushing toward the gap were all forced to halt, jammed together on the narrow passageway over the Moat.

Then, two more corpses flew out one after another, quickly causing chaos ahead.

The two Frankish Cannons on the city tower fired again.

Dense Grapeshot struck the Moat, and the crowded Jiannu cavalry fell in waves. At a distance of several dozen meters, their armor could not stop the Grapeshot. These Jiannu, now unable to advance, dismounted with the fastest speed possible. They used their warhorses as cover and surged forward through the gaps between the horses, launching a dense charge toward the breach.

Cavalry on the far side of the Moat spread out and raised their bows to shoot.

But none aimed at the city walls. Almost all archers, whether across the Moat or those who had already crossed it, were aiming at Yang Xin. This terrifying enemy had become the biggest obstacle on their path forward. If they could just kill him, it would be a victory even if they could not take Shenyang immediately or soon.

Dense volleys of sharp arrows, whistling with a straight-flight sound, shot toward Yang Xin.

Yang Xin retreated without hesitation.

He wasn’t stupid.

If he kept standing there, he would eventually be turned into a pincushion. Even his double-layer iron armor could not withstand direct arrow fire from this distance.

The Bird Guns on both sides fired again, still targeting those Jiannu archers.

Clearly, the soldiers on the walls also realized that Yang Xin was not, after all, an immortal being.

Amidst the sound of their guns, Yang Xin quickly retreated inside the city.

But he stopped within the V-shaped collapse of the wall here.

The Jiannu’s explosive charge lacked enough force. It did not blast the wall into flying fragments, only creating some rubble and dust, causing the originally near-vertical wall to collapse outward on both sides, though mostly outward. This created a rather steep slope on the inside.

Yang Xin stopped on the slope and looked up with interest at the crest line above him…

This position was excellent!

A term instantly appeared in his mind.

Reverse slope.

Without hesitation, Yang Xin half-knelt on this reverse slope. He grasped his blade with both hands and extended it to his right. Just like a soldier waiting in ambush, he waited. The next moment, the figures of six Jiannu soldiers appeared almost simultaneously. Yang Xin’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade swept upward suddenly.

The latter had no time to react at all.

The sharp blade, reflecting the flames, instantly traced an arc as it swept past below their bodies. As it passed, the unsupported Jiannu fell down one after another, screaming as they rolled down the slope. Their legs, now separated from their bodies, rolled down with them. Yang Xin watched them with satisfaction as they rolled all the way behind him, holding the remaining halves of their legs while blood sprayed wildly, screaming and writhing in agony. Amidst their screams, he raised his head.

A second batch of sacrifices appeared.

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade, reflecting the flames, once again became a shining arc.

Then four Jiannu and their eight severed legs also rolled down the slope.

Yang Xin didn’t need to do anything else.

He only needed to wait. The charging Jiannu would keep stepping onto this deadly crest line. All his nearly three-meter-long Green Dragon Crescent Blade had to do was sweep over and over. The sharp edge and its enormous weight would cut through row after row of legs as if slicing through melons and vegetables. The Jiannu’s Padded Cloth Armor could not stop it. Their weapons could not stop it either. With its terrifying weight swung by his equally terrifying strength, it was simply a killing machine.

And Yang Xin was in no danger.

The Jiannu archers couldn’t even see him. No more arrows fell around him.

He just crouched treacherously on the reverse slope, watching the Jiannu continuously rush to the crest line above his head, then swung the Green Dragon Crescent Blade again and again. The dismounted charging Jiannu couldn’t react in time. Pressed forward by the crowd behind, they could only keep advancing, stepping onto the fatal highest point, then screaming and rolling down along with their instantly severed legs.

But those behind kept pushing forward.

The Jiannu in the rear couldn’t see what was happening ahead. Their densely packed comrades completely blocked their view. Because of the Ming Army’s gunfire from both sides, they had to rush through this breach as quickly as possible. This was the most critical moment to break Shenyang. They had to push forward desperately no matter what, no matter what was happening inside, they could not stop moving forward. Their commanders behind them also would not allow them to stop. From the perspective of those farther back, their soldiers, who kept being swallowed by the darkness inside the wall, had actually succeeded in breaking in. So they continued to roar, waving their swords to urge their soldiers, to keep pushing forward, to charge bravely through this breach, into the city to quickly destroy it…

The Jiannu at the very front screamed in terror and despair.

They understood what was happening ahead. They clearly knew that the demonic man was hiding in the darkness, waiting for them with his terrifying weapon. They knew that once they stepped onto that highest point, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade would sweep at knee height, silently cutting off their legs like a sickle cutting wheat.

But they could not stop.

Their frantic shouts could not be heard over the gunfire and battle cries.

So, pressed by their comrades, they could only scream and curse in despair, even pointlessly resisting the flood-like push of their comrades behind them…

And still, they would step onto that highest point.

Watching helplessly as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade swept past, watching their own legs get cut off, or possibly even bisected at the waist…

The Ming Army soldiers on both sides of the wall were dumbfounded.

They watched Yang Xin as if in a dream. They watched the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, reflecting the firelight, turning into flashing arcs that swept over again and again. They watched the surging Jiannu fall continuously as if stepping off a cliff. They watched the legless Jiannu and severed legs pile up at Yang Xin’s feet at a visible rate. They piled up so much that he had to shift his position repeatedly to avoid being buried by the Jiannu bodies. The latter couldn’t be called corpses just yet, but they weren’t exactly alive either. After all, with both legs severed and rapid blood loss, they were basically beyond saving.

However, these Ming Army soldiers soon snapped out of their daze.

Because some desperate Jiannu below were already attempting to climb up the steep slope to reach the walls. At least there was a slim chance of survival there. The Ming Army spear soldiers immediately stepped forward, thrusting their Long Spears downward gleefully. The defenseless Jiannu, like starving wolves in a pit, fell screaming under their concentrated stabs.

Fortunately, it all ended quickly.

Because the Jiannu commanders in the rear finally noticed something was wrong.

They stared in shock as the direction of their soldiers’ charge seemed to be getting higher, as if the ground was rising. They didn’t realize it was because there were so many Jiannu with severed legs that they could no longer roll down completely. Instead, they were rapidly piling up on the wall rubble, eventually forming a horrifying mountain of bodies. Due to the increased height, the blindly charging Jiannu even had to climb upward over their comrades’ corpses…

They finally stopped.

Then, all of them stood there, stunned with terror.

Immediately after, those at the very front started to retreat. The wall of corpses was revealed in front of everyone. Layer upon layer of Jiannu who weren’t dead yet reached out their hands amidst desperate screams.

Then, a figure holding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade slowly rose behind the wall of corpses…

“You neither fight nor retreat. What is the meaning of this?”

Yang Xin shouted.

The next moment, like a landslide, all the Jiannu turned around. They fled backward in a frantic, panicked rush, trampling and jostling each other without a care.