Chapter 86

As Wang Kuang led the Crown Prince's Six Commanders into the battlefield, the situation in the passageway suddenly turned. Countless soldiers of the Crown Prince's Six Commanders, clad in goose feather armor, surrounded and isolated the Black Armor Guards. The sounds of battle once again echoed through the sky.

"Kill!" At this moment, Yuchi Gong was drenched in blood, both from enemies and himself. Without armor, he was the most disadvantaged, and after running for nearly two thousand miles without rest for a day and a night, he was completely exhausted. He did not know how many enemies he had crushed with his twin whips, nor how many wounds he had sustained. His hands made the steel whips whistle, forming an impenetrable barrier. Standing at the foot of the stairs leading to the city wall, with the stairs to the city tower behind him and the tide of Crown Prince's Six Commanders soldiers in front, his tall and robust figure was like a dam holding back the flood. With him guarding, no soldier could step over the line, truly embodying the saying "One man at the pass, ten thousand cannot get through."

Inside the city gate, the Crown Prince's Six Commanders had seized control and closed the gate. Outside, the Black Armor Guards were lifting siege hammers to strike the gate, making a loud "boom, boom" sound. However, after the gate was closed, it was not easy to break through with brute force. Despite the Black Armor Guards' best efforts, they could only make the gate tremble, and it would take more effort to break it open.

"Stop worrying about the others, all of you come down to the city wall and guard the stairs leading up. Protecting the King of Qin is our top priority now!" Duan Zhixuan shouted, seeing that the situation was hopeless. At this moment, the Black Armor Guards in the passageway were all surrounded and isolated, each facing several times their number of enemies. They fell from their horses with looks of unwillingness and anger, their last hope of life fading as they departed.

Those eyes filled with longing, those armor stained with blood, all froze in this moment, leaving only the gradually cooling, unconscious bodies. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, and other civil officials also drew their swords and rushed down from the city tower, guarding the stairs. Li Er was up there, along with Changsun and the three eldest sons of the King of Qin. If these soldiers broke through, the highest echelons of the Qin王府 would be captured, and this struggle for succession would be a complete failure. So even if they died, they could not take a single step back.

Cheng Yaojin, covered in blood, stabbed the enemies in front of him one by one, advancing towards Yuchi Gong. Not only him, but also Qin Qiong, Qu Tongsu, Duan Zhixuan, and Liu Hongji, these brave generals of the Heavenly Strategy Mansion, were like sharp blades cutting through the ranks of the Crown Prince's Six Commanders, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in their wake. The ordinary soldiers were no match for these few.

Xue Wanren closely followed behind Cheng Yaojin, making him the slowest of the group. Besides clearing the way, Cheng Yaojin had to constantly be on guard against Xue Wanren's Green Dragon Halberd, a weapon with great force that could easily end his life with a single strike.

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Cheng Yaojin. Qin Qiong, riding a yellow horse and wielding a bronze mace, struck a soldier who tried to sneak attack Cheng Yaojin, shattering his helmet and sending a mix of thick blood and white brain matter spilling out. "I'll clear the way, you watch out for Xue Wanren," Qin Qiong said.

Without another word, Qin Qiong inserted his maces into the saddle and switched to a horse spear, sending a series of cold flashes that picked off the soldiers in front of them like straw dolls. The riderless horses, now without their masters, scattered in all directions, causing even more chaos.

The two of them, now fully engaged, added a new move to Cheng Yaojin's repertoire. He used the horse spear to sweep across, knocking enemies off their horses, and the countless hooves would finish them off. Xue Wanren, following behind, was in a difficult position. Seeing his soldiers being killed, he could do nothing to stop it. Any attack he made would be intercepted by Cheng Yaojin, while Qin Qiong focused on the ordinary soldiers. Their speed was much faster than before.

Finally, the two of them met up with the others at the base of the city wall. The brave generals of the Heavenly Strategy Mansion and the civil officials who were skilled in martial arts all gathered here, facing the incoming enemies. The rest of the Black Armor Guards were already lying on the cold stone slabs, some even trampled into pulp by the galloping horses, their bodies unrecognizable.

"Protect the King of Qin! Fight to the death!" Qin Qiong, the most senior general, shouted hoarsely.

"Fight to the death..."

"Fight to the death..."

Though only a dozen or so people, their morale at this moment was no less than the three hundred Crown Prince's Six Commanders. Except for the few civil officials who had just come down from the city tower, the rest were drenched in blood, droplets of blood dripping from their armor and clothes onto the blue stone slabs, forming a series of eerie blood flowers. Their eyes were as steady as mountains, their bodies as straight as pines, exuding a spirit of readiness to die, facing the countless enemies rolling in like the unyielding rocks by the river, standing firm against the tide for thousands of years.

Chang He's hands were trembling. This might be the last moment. This was the time for him to show his skills. Thinking that he would decide the outcome of this critical battle, his heart was filled with excitement: "Ha... I, old Chang, can actually influence the outcome of this battle that will determine the fate of the empire, and will surely be recorded in history! Second Prince, thank you for giving me this opportunity! I will not let you down!" His voice was unexpectedly loud, even Li Jiancheng, protected by countless soldiers below the city, could hear it.

Chang He's voice drew the attention of Li Er on the city tower and Li Jiancheng below the city wall.

Chang He took out a flint, lit it, and set the objects in front of him on fire. Thick smoke began to rise. Li Er, who was some distance away, could not see exactly what they were, but they seemed to be some dry grass and other things.

Amidst the smoke, Chang He drew his saber and cut the rope. A bright flash of the blade severed the rope, and the burning objects were thrown into the air.

Li Kuan, standing beside Li Er, saw this and his heart, which had been on edge, finally settled. Because of his actions, history had changed, and Li Xiuning, who was supposed to have died, was alive and participating in this coup. The historical record stated that Xue Wancheng would lead troops to counterattack the Prince's residence ten days later, but this had already happened. History was gradually deviating. If Chang He had also changed, and not truly joined Li Er, he would have had to go over and subdue him himself. Now that Chang He had followed his instructions and thrown the objects, everything was over.

Li Kuan had prepared these things to try to resolve the Xuanwu Gate Incident without bloodshed. However, at the last moment, he abandoned this plan. If Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were left alive, they might cause trouble at a critical moment in the future, which would not be good for the entire Tang Dynasty. So it was better for them to die in this coup as recorded in history.

Initially, he had not decided to use them, but seeing the brutal battle below, he felt a wave of nausea. Despite having taken a few lives, he still could not bear the sight of blood. After suppressing that feeling for a long time, he finally signaled Chang He to use the objects, to end the brutal fighting.

However, the battle, which had been going smoothly, suddenly turned. The Black Armor Guards, who had been at an advantage, were now at a disadvantage. From the city tower, only a few scattered spots of resistance remained, the rest having been killed. So it was a relief that Chang He still decided to support Li Er and use the objects they had prepared.

The burning objects were bundles of grass, tied together and doused with a little oil at one end to prevent them from scattering or going out in the air. They fell towards the city wall, the smoke thick and rolling. The rope Chang He cut was the tether of a catapult, which he had adjusted to throw the objects not far but very close, right into the passageway.

The Crown Prince's Six Commanders dodged, causing some chaos, but it quickly subsided. It was just some dry grass, what could it do? The nearby soldiers quickly extinguished the fire, leaving only a few embers and smoldering grass piles.

However, the thick smoke, under the cover of the morning mist, spread and slowly filled the entire passageway.

At first, it was the horses. Horses that had been wandering the battlefield, their masters dead, suddenly began to fall to the ground, one after another, in the blood and at the base of the wall. On the city tower, Chang He had fallen to the ground after swinging his saber.

As the horses fell, the soldiers jumped off, but then inhaled the smoke, and their bodies gradually became unresponsive, and they too fell.

Panic began to spread. This invisible thing was the most terrifying, especially in this ignorant age, where tales of gods and ghosts filled their minds, and terrifying stories were recalled.

Li Jiancheng also began to feel weak in his limbs, and his horse fell to the ground. "It's the grass, put out the smoke, there's something wrong!" As the Crown Prince, he was still capable and quickly identified the problem, but it was too late. After saying this, he also fell weakly to the corner.

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