Song Wan Leads a Large Army to Attack

Ye Fan finally realized that Ren Tianye had never intended to fight him one-on-one.

Stepping back was merely to prevent the arrows from hitting his own men.

He was planning a gang attack.

Instantly furious, Ye Fan shouted, "Ren Tianye, you are shameless!"

The response he received was a storm of incoming arrows.

The arrow rain was fierce, aiming straight for his face.

Ye Fan was also a tough man. He immediately brandished his gilded copper maces, blocking left and right. However, at such a close distance, the strength and density of the arrows were simply impossible for a human to withstand.

The armor he had seized was not from the soldiers of Yunji City, but provided by wealthy families like the Wangs, so its quality was naturally inferior.

As a result, after just one volley of arrows, he already suffered several wounds.

The critical issue was that it wasn't just one volley.

A second volley arrived in an instant.

Followed by a third, and a fourth!

After a full four volleys, the strength in Ye Fan's mace-wielding arms grew weaker and weaker. Coughing up blood and covered in wounds, he could no longer defend himself.

His body had long been turned into a pincushion.

"Ren... Ren Tianye, you... you are shameless!"

Unwillingly shouting his final words, this fierce man who had endured four full volleys of arrows finally collapsed to the ground, completely dead.

Ren Tianye breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He knew that these people with the aura of a protagonist were hard to kill. Stabbing them in the left heart wouldn't kill them, stabbing them in the right heart wouldn't kill them; you had to chop off their heads.

Therefore, a full-scale, all-encompassing strike was necessary!

Let's see if you die after being shot full of holes like a sieve!

Only then did he order the archers to stop. Drawing the short sword from his waist, he leaped off his horse and, accompanied by a few personal guards, cautiously approached.

He was afraid Ye Fan might be faking his death, waiting for him to get close for a sudden ambush to drag him down to hell together.

Thus, he was extremely cautious.

He didn't even inspect the corpse himself first, but had a guard do it.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

Ye Fan was as dead as could be.

At this point, Ren Tianye rushed forward and, with a swift and decisive strike, chopped off Ye Fan's head.

He let out a huge breath of relief in his heart.

With Ye Fan dead, the biggest crisis was resolved.

He could finally relax a bit.

Of course, the necessary precautions still had to be taken.

"Men, build a massive fire for this general and burn this Ye Fan to ashes!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers obeyed.

Soon, a roaring fire was lit, and Ye Fan's corpse was placed on top of it.

At this time, Zhang Shi also hurried over with his men. Seeing this scene, he was startled.

Just how much did the Great General hate this Ye Fan!

He was even burning the corpse after the man was dead!

"Zhang Shi, you're here just in time..." Ren Tianye's voice rang out. "Go into Sifang City immediately and find some high monks, Taoist priests, and the like."

"Basically, anyone who can perform salvation rites, bring them all to me."

"I want the best."

"Yes, yes, Great General!"

Zhang Shi was even more bewildered. They were even holding salvation rites for him?

He replied, "Your subordinate will go at once."

"However, Great General, now that Sifang City has been pacified, it is time for you to take charge of the overall situation."

"Why don't you return to Sifang City with me?"

"Your subordinate can handle the matter of Ye Fan's salvation rites."

Ren Tianye shook his head. "I will watch over this personally. The matters of Sifang City can wait."

"Go now."

"Understood." Zhang Shi grew increasingly confused, but he didn't say anything this time. He quickly entered Sifang City and found the former deputy general Zhang Liang, asking him to help find people capable of performing the rites.

Zhang Liang had lived in Sifang City since childhood, so doing this was naturally a breeze. He quickly found two monks and two Taoist priests and personally delivered them to Great General Ren Tianye.

Originally, having done this, Zhang Liang hoped to show his face and earn some favor in front of the Great General. However, Ren Tianye's gaze never left Ye Fan's corpse.

Even when it was burned to ashes, his eyes refused to look away.

He had the monks and priests set up their altars and perform the rites, sending Ye Fan into the six realms of reincarnation so that he could never be reborn again.

By the time this was meticulously finished, the sky was already bright.

A strong wind blew, scattering the ashes into the air until they completely disappeared.

Ren Tianye finally felt at ease.

He led his men into Sifang City.

Sifang City was secured. The core members of the Ye and Li families were either killed or captured, and the rest had loyally surrendered. It could be said that Sifang City was now firmly under his control.

The task at hand now was epidemic prevention and control.

It wasn't too difficult.

After all, this plague wasn't instantly fatal upon contact. With medicine, there was a chance of recovery.

After delegating the task, he began to tally his troops.

Counting those subdued along the way, those sent by wealthy families like the Wangs, nearby bandits who had surrendered, and the original garrison of Sifang City, the number had reached forty thousand!

Forty thousand men!

When he left Yunji City, he had three thousand elites and an eight-hundred-man battalion.

Totaling less than four thousand men.

In just a few days, his troop numbers had multiplied tenfold!

"With these troops, the crisis in Yunji City can be resolved."

"But what should be done with this newly conquered Sifang City?"

Ye Fan's top general, Song Wan, was likely on his way and would arrive any day now. Ren Tianye didn't know how many men Song Wan had, but to be heavily relied upon by Ye Fan, he was surely extraordinary.

If he left and Song Wan attacked the city, it would be troublesome.

"I'll leave five thousand men behind for now."

"Mostly selecting from the original Sifang City garrison."

"Given the natural defenses of Sifang City, they should be able to hold out for a while."

After making rough calculations, Ren Tianye summoned the generals to the city lord's manor for a military council.

Before all the generals had even arrived, a messenger soldier rushed in in a panic: "Report, Great General, an army has approached from the south, no more than fifteen miles from Sifang City."

Ren Tianye's heart skipped a beat. "Who is coming?"

"Could you see clearly?"

"Great General, that army is flying the banner of 'Song'."

Song Wan!

Ren Tianye was certain, but he hadn't expected Song Wan to arrive so quickly. This was a massive problem.

"How many troops are there?"

"Reporting to the Great General, there are roughly fifty to sixty thousand men. They are all fully armored and well-equipped. Their military formation is imposing, and they look extremely formidable."

As these words fell, the generals were initially shocked.

Fifty to sixty thousand men!

Fully armored and well-equipped!

That was a powerful army!

The arrival of such a strong force posed a massive crisis for them.

Especially since...

Yunji City was currently in grave danger and required immediate rescue. They couldn't afford to stay long in Sifang City, making the situation even more critical.

If the generals could think of this, Ren Tianye had naturally thought of it long ago. Frowning, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Gentlemen, I intend to leave one person behind to command five thousand elite troops to defend Sifang City."

"Is there anyone among you willing to stay?"

The crowd instantly fell silent.

Defending Sifang City this time was entirely different from attacking it last time.

The last time had been too easy. The city was full of inside contacts, and it could be taken casually, so everyone had been eager to attack.

But now, with Song Wan bringing fifty to sixty thousand men, the difficulty was immense. Staying behind would very likely mean a death sentence.

For a moment, no one made a sound.

Just as Ren Tianye was about to call on someone, Deputy General Wang Ming took a large step forward: "Great General, this subordinate is willing to stay behind."

...