flstandardbreds Chapter 986 The Great Peril in Qiongzhou!
Chapter 986 The Great Peril in Qiongzhou!
Upon hearing Wang Sanchun's order, the Qing army soldiers behind him immediately swarmed forward.
A small squad, shields in hand, provided cover for a demolition soldier carrying a satchel charge, as they charged toward the tightly closed city gate.
How high could the city walls of Qiongzhou Prefecture be? Just high enough to enclose the houses, since the usual enemies were just bandits from the mountains.
With one charge from the Qing army, capturing the city gate was a sure thing.
On the city wall, the head of the Wang family watched the Qing army's movements below, his face turning even paler. A fear deeper than death instantly overwhelmed him.
Looking around, the soldiers had long since scattered, and even the prefect of the Cui family had vanished without a trace.
He then realized that all his companions had died, and he was the only one left behind.
If everyone is just trying to survive, he might just go with the flow.
After all, it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death; not everyone has the courage to end their own life.
But the thought of being captured alive by the only one, and then being escorted north, meant facing that madman Li Che alone.
What awaited him? Torture? Or humiliation?
Or perhaps, both...
He dared not think any further.
"what--"
Finally, the head of the Wang family let out a desperate roar that sounded inhuman, gathering all the courage he had accumulated in his life, closing his eyes and leaping forward.
whoosh-
"You son of a bitch!" Wang Sanchun's eyes widened in fury. "Don't jump!"
The bad news is that Wang Sanchun cried out too late; the head of the Wang family had already fallen.
The good news is that the head of the Wang family jumped too late.
Previously, there was still plenty of open space below the city, and the six family heads fell in their respective places without disturbing each other.
But when the Wang family patriarch made his final leap, the area below was already a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; there was no empty space left for him.
He landed precisely where he had jumped down, crashing heavily onto the corpse of the Zheng family patriarch who had been the first to jump.
"Click——"
With a sickeningly sharp sound, the Zheng family head's crippled leg was sent flying.
Even in death, they would be dismembered; the Zheng family head in the afterlife would probably curse the Wang family head to death.
As for the Wang family patriarch himself, thanks to this cushion, although he was dizzy and seeing stars after the fall, he did not suffer fatal injuries.
He just lay on the ground groaning in pain, unable to move for the time being.
A sharp pain shot through his body, and when he saw the 'fragments of the Zheng family head' beneath him, he screamed in terror.
For a moment, he was in pain and scared, and in his emotional state, he defecated and urinated everywhere, making him look extremely disheveled.
Wang Sanchun was first stunned by the sight, then overjoyed.
He immediately jumped off his horse, his burly body pressing heavily on the head of the Wang family, pinning him down.
Then, his large hands, like iron clamps, twisted his arms behind his back, while he laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Good bastard! You finally left me a survivor... Ugh, stinks, did you fucking poop in your pants?"
Wang Sanchun roughly pulled him up from the ground, not caring whether the man had pulled up his pants or not, spat on his contorted face, and grinned maliciously:
"You old fool, if you had just jumped off earlier, you would have ended it all. Why did you have to dawdle and be the last one?"
"To tell you the truth, His Majesty has decreed that all of you culprits shall be executed by slow slicing and your entire clan exterminated!"
"Qin Huizhi is probably already enjoying himself in the capital right now!"
Upon hearing this, the head of the Wang family trembled violently.
Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts), what a cruel heart!
The head of the Wang family did not think that the ugly general was threatening him. After all, given Li Che's ruthless nature, he was fully capable of doing such a thing.
As if he were already feeling the extreme pain of being stabbed by a blade, the head of the Wang family completely broke down and screamed:
Kill me! Kill me now!
"Please! Give me a quick death, and I'll give you all the wealth of the Wang family!"
Wang Sanchun kicked him in the thigh, eliciting a scream of pain, and sneered, "Behave yourself! Want to die now? Too late!"
"Don't worry, you're tough as nails, you'll live a long life!"
"The executioners in the capital have a family tradition of skill, they're incredibly meticulous. If they don't torture you for seven days and seven nights, even His Majesty will punish them!"
These words completely shattered the mind of the Wang family patriarch.
But his eyes were unfocused, drool was dripping from his mouth, and he was sometimes crying out in agony and sometimes muttering to himself. He had already fallen into madness.
Ignoring him, Wang Sanchun turned and walked into the center of the formation, directing the Qing army soldiers to blast open the city gate.
Just then, the head of the Wang family seemed to remember something and suddenly burst into a strange, maniacal laugh.
Wang Sanchun thought he had gone mad and was about to give him a good beating.
But then they saw the head of the Wang family staring intently at Wang Sanchun, laughing and shouting, "Hahahaha! Go into the city! You barbarians from the Fengtian Army think you've won?"
"Go ahead and dream your dreams! Hahaha... Go into the city and see for yourself! I want to see what you'll do, and how you'll handle it!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Wang Sanchun was completely bewildered by his sudden ravings, but a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
What does that mean? What's in the city?
He immediately ignored the mad old man and ordered the siege to be sped up.
Soon, with a loud bang, the city gate was smashed open.
Wang Sanchun led his personal guards at the forefront, preparing to lead the army into the city to wipe out the remaining enemy forces.
However, the moment the city gates opened, an indescribable, pungent stench assaulted the senses.
Even a fierce warrior like Wang Sanchun, who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, instinctively took a step back and covered his mouth and nose tightly.
He suppressed his urge to vomit and looked out into the city.
Just one glance sent chills down his spine, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave!
The streets and under the eaves were filled with people lying on the verge of death.
Their faces were ashen, their eyes sunken, their bodies covered in blisters, and they emitted intermittent groans.
Even more chilling is that many thoroughly rotten corpses are carelessly discarded in the streets and alleys, left to be devoured by flies, maggots, and rats.
Where in the entire city of Qiongzhou was there even the slightest trace of human life?!
Hearing the Wang family head's venomous laughter from behind, Wang Sanchun's pupils contracted sharply, and he instantly understood everything.
It's a plague! And an extremely ferocious, out-of-control plague!
The heads of those powerful families already knew that the reason they did not resist was because they understood that the prefecture city, shrouded in plague, had no need for any defense whatsoever.
"Stop entering the city!!!" Wang Sanchun roared, warning his soldiers behind him, "Everyone cover your mouths and noses! Retreat immediately!"
"Retreat immediately! Retreat one hundred paces! No... retreat two hundred paces! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
He turned around and roared at the messenger, who was equally stunned by the scene before him, "Quickly! Go and report to Commander Yang! A major epidemic has broken out in Qiongzhou Prefecture!"
"Tell him to prepare early. The extent of the plague is still unknown; perhaps the entire Qiongzhou region has already fallen!"