Chapter 143

As the noise grew louder, Lu Xu turned around uncomfortably. Mo Rigen opened his eyes in the darkness, and a faint green light appeared in his pupils.

He grabbed Lu Xu's arm, which was resting on his chest, and pulled his arm out from under Lu Xu's neck. Then, he turned around naked, jumped off the couch, grabbed his clothes, and quickly walked out. The cold wind blew against his skin. He quickly wrapped his robe, put on his hunting boots, and carried his quiver and bow.

In the courtyard of the Luoyang Bureau of Exorcism., the sky was dark, as if it was a long night.

"Isn't it already dawn?" Mo Rigen said.

Atay also got up at the last minute. When he went outside, Wen Bin was watering the flowers with a water bottle. "That's strange. It's not raining. It shouldn't be like this."

The sky was full of thick black clouds, and the world was plunged into darkness.

"They're here," Atay said.

The two of them looked up at the same time, and the sky was filled with demonic aura.

Mo Rigen flew onto his horse and arrived at the north gate with Atay. They saw An Lushan's cavalry outside the city. The messenger rushed over, drew his bow, and shouted, "Luoyang Yin, receive the imperial edict!"

Then, an arrow flew up the city walls in an arc, past everyone's ears, and firmly nailed into a wooden pillar.

Mo Rigen flew into a rage; he took a big bow from the top of the wall, nearly a hundred 'shi' long bow, nocked an arrow and shot it. 'Shua!' the arrow flew over a hundred paces. The messenger turned around and urged his horse to gallop away, but Mo Rigen's Meteor Arrow was even faster. The arrow hit the messenger's shoulder and knocked him down from his horse.

"Mortal," Atay said.

Fortunately, Mo Rigen did not use the Seven Nailing Arrows. He turned around and said angrily, "Where's Bi Sichen?! Where did he go? "

"At the south gate!" Someone shouted.

Atay said, "I'll go take a look at the south gate."

Mo Rigen gestured for Atay to stay there while he jumped down from the tower. With a somersault in the air, he transformed into a Grey Wolf and ran along the city wall towards the South Gate.

The soldiers cried out in alarm. They saw Mo Rigen jump down, and in a flash, he disappeared.

"That general's arrows are amazing …"

"Don't think about it." Atay said. "The Exorcist Division will not help you in the war. Make haste. The oil is boiling. Prepare the water. The enemy is attacking. Go, go! Move! Move! "

Atay held a fan in his hand as he stood on the city gate tower. Last night, Mo Rigen had successfully convinced him that they had to participate in the war. There was no other choice, and this was an extremely rare experience for Atay. After all, sooner or later, he would have to return to Persia to restore his country, and the battlefield was the stage for mortals. He had to see more, learn more, and train more.

At the same time, the south gate was filled with people. They were all people who had passed by the canal. They shouted, "Let us in!"

Bi Sichen shouted from the south gate tower, "Emergency! Don't open the gate! "

There were more than a thousand people below the city. More than a hundred people had fallen into the canal and returned to see their wives and children. The remaining seven to eight hundred people were youths who lived around Luoyang. They had brought sickles and iron weapons to help Luoyang defend the city. If Luoyang fell, An Lushan cavalry would crush Luoyang. The army was full of Hu people, and the surrounding towns would be doomed.

However, when they arrived at the city gate, Bi Sichen refused to open the gate!

The crowd was about to riot. Bi Sichen roared, "Unruly people! You unruly people! Don't open the gate! Don't let spies into the city! "

The people below the city gate tower immediately started cursing.

The soldiers stepped forward and nocked their bows and arrows. Arrows had no eyes, and everyone retreated like a swarm of bees. There were only two people left on the ground, soaked and covered in ice.

A voice called out from below the city gate, "Who is on the city gate tower?"

"Li Jinglong?" Bi Sichen muttered to herself.

Bi Sichen wasn't familiar with the Exorcism Division, so she couldn't recognize Mo Rigen. However, she definitely knew Li Jinglong's name. Who didn't know this hedonistic young master Chang 'an? Bi Sichen had once served in the Shenwu Army and had long heard of the Long Wu Army's famous name, Li Jinglong. She immediately shouted, "Who is it? Marquis Yadan?! Brother Jinglong, is that you? "

"Hurry and open the city gate!" Li Jinglong angrily shouted.

At this moment, Mo Rigen quickly stepped onto the city gate, nocked an arrow, and shouted, "Who are you — —"

When the two people outside the city heard this, Hongjun immediately shouted, "Mo Rigen — —!"

"Take my arrow — —" Mo Rigen laughed loudly. Immediately after, the arrow left the bowstring and shot three feet in front of Li Jinglong. In the blink of an eye, a throwing knife flew over and split the arrow in half, then circled back.

Luoyang's southern city gate opened, and the citizens swarmed in. After Hongjun and Li Jinglong entered, the first thing they did was to rush toward Mo Rigen. Li Jinglong rushed forward and hugged Mo Rigen tightly. When the two separated, Hongjun pounced forward and flipped over Mo Rigen's back, riding on his shoulder.

The three people laughed loudly. Mo Rigen said, "Why are you so wet? Did you fall into the water?! "

It turned out that Li Jinglong, Hongjun, and Ashina Chong were suddenly ambushed in the canal. Drenched, they went ashore. After the snake destroyed the ship, it didn't chase after them, but instead spread its wings and flew far away. Li Jinglong rescued the merchants from the river. At that time, many people had already been washed downstream.

Ashina Chong searched for the last survivors on the banks of the canal, and let Li Jinglong and Hongjun go north to Luoyang as soon as possible.

The three of them struggled for an entire day and night. Li Jinglong took the survivors to Luoyang first. On the way, they met the militia again, and together they went to the city gate. Hongjun had the protection of the phoenix feather. Although he was completely drenched, he didn't feel cold. He walked and stopped. Just as he was worrying about the situation in the city, he suddenly saw Mo Rigen. After not seeing each other for a long time, his heart was bursting with joy.

Hongjun had only stayed in the pagoda for less than ten days, but after parting, he felt very close. Mo Rigen, on the other hand, had stayed outside the pagoda for a year and a half. Compared to Hongjun and Li Jinglong, his excitement was even greater.

"I thought you two were still in the pagoda. It's good that you're out, good that you're out." Mo Rigen said. He still carried Hongjun on his back and strode towards the city.

"You've changed a lot." Hongjun said.

After parting for so many years, Hongjun felt that Mo Rigen had become thinner and more haggard. His beard hadn't been shaved clean, and his face looked rather weathered. Mo Rigen said, "This year, I've been exposed to the wind and the sun. I still have to coax people. Life hasn't been easy."

"Are you injured?" Li Jinglong only glanced at him and said.

"I broke my hand before the New Year," Mo Rigen replied. "It's not a big deal."

The three of them blended into the crowd and headed towards Luoyang's Heavenly Street. Mo Rigen said to Hongjun, "Lu Xu has been talking about you all day. He just wants you to come back."

Bi Sichen had just gotten his subordinates to organize the militia to report for duty. He caught up from afar and wanted to talk to Li Jinglong. He said, "Brother Jinglong! Please wait! "

Li Jinglong shook hands with him and even patted his shoulder. Mo Rigen didn't expect Bi Sichen and Li Jinglong to be so familiar with each other. He immediately felt a little uncomfortable. Bi Sichen saw that Mo Rigen was a completely different person from before. He was chatting and laughing with Hongjun. He also suspected that he had recognized the wrong person.

Everyone felt awkward. After a while, Hongjun got down from Mo Rigen's back. Li Jinglong introduced her to Bi Sichen. "This is your sister-in-law."

Bi Sichen hurriedly said to Mo Rigen, "Hello, sister-in-law."

Mo Rigen was speechless.

"It's him!" Li Jinglong pulled Hongjun over. Bi Sichen hurriedly apologized and cupped his fists politely to Hongjun.

Mo Rigen's mouth twitched. He said to Li Jinglong, "I'll bring Hongjun back first. You can come to the Exorcism Division later."

Li Jinglong nodded. Mo Rigen brought Hongjun into an alley. A moment later, Hongjun rode on the Grey Wolf and jumped onto the roof. With a few leaps, he ran away.

"Brother Jinglong." Bi Sichen might not be able to fight, but he was barely qualified to observe. Li Jinglong and that youth had come to Luoyang at such a critical time. Other than providing support, what other reason could there be?

Li Jinglong came from a family of generals. In the Long Wu Army, before there were rumors of him messing with his colleagues' butts, the soldiers he led would receive awards every year. During the autumn hunt at Mount Li, he was favored by the Crown Prince. In addition, his cousin, Feng Changqing, had made outstanding military contributions.

"There's currently …"

"I don't care. Sichen, you have to lead your own troops."

"Did His Majesty ask you to …"

"No."

"Then the rebels …"

"I don't know."

"Is Lord Feng Changqing already on his way …"

"I'm not sure."

Li Jinglong decisively rejected Bi Sichen. He stood and looked at him. Bi Sichen said anxiously, "This is not fair! How can Luoyang be defended? Yang Guozhong sending me out is clearly sending me to my death! "

Li Jinglong said angrily, "The country is in danger! Bi Sichen! What are you saying?! "

Bi Sichen said, "Brother Jinglong, can you be the commander-in-chief and I'll be the deputy general?"

"No." Li Jinglong replied, "I'm not here to help you fight. Are you misunderstanding something?"

Bi Sichen: "…"

After a long silence, Bi Sichen could only nod and say, "Okay."

Bi Sichen gave up. Li Jinglong said, "But during this period, I'll be staying at the Luoyang Bureau of Exorcism.. If you have any problems, you can come and discuss them with me at any time."

Bi Sichen finally asked, "Can Luoyang be defended?"

There was no need to ask this question. If Luoyang couldn't be defended, why would Li Jinglong come to him? He just wanted to hear Li Jinglong personally say that Feng Changqing and his reinforcements would definitely arrive and that Luoyang would be fine.

Li Jinglong: "We can't defend it."

Bi Sichen: "…"

Bi Sichen never expected to hear such an answer.

Li Jinglong asked seriously, "If we can't defend it, are you still going to defend it?"

Bi Sichen couldn't help but tremble. In the end, he nodded helplessly. Li Jinglong said, "The Exorcism Division will accompany you."

"Then you guys …"

"It's a secret mission," Li Jinglong replied. "Everyone has their own difficulties. Let's understand each other." With that said, there was another commotion on Heavenly Street. A messenger rushed over and shouted, "They're attacking the city! The rebel army is attacking the city! "

"Go." Li Jinglong said to Bi Sichen, "It's time to get to work. I'll go back and do mine."

With that, Li Jinglong squeezed out of the crowd and went to the Exorcism Division.

Atay stood on top of the city wall. An Lushan's rebel army conquered the entire Hebei province as if they were unstoppable. All the major cities along the way surrendered as soon as they fought. Almost all of them were terrified of this rebel army. The rebel army stopped in front of Luoyang and began to officially attack the city.

The rebel army had a total of 100,000 people. Behind the formation, there was a demonic fog and dark clouds. The infantry were all Tang soldiers. The cavalry in the middle was made up of Shiwei, Khitan, and other Hu tribes. The rear was made up of craftsmen and laborers. This was the first time Atay had seen such a large-scale siege. He couldn't help but be shocked.

Persia, Ramadan, Tocharia, and other places were fighting. 20,000 Immortal Army soldiers fought with 12,000 cavalry. Corpses were piled up all over the mountains and plains. During the peak of the Tang Dynasty, 100,000 people were killed at once. That scene was truly magnificent.

"Hurry up and prepare to defend the city!" Atay said. "Where's your commander?"

"We'll listen to you!" The captain of the city guards immediately said. "Hurry up and give the order!"

Atay: "…"

Atay was confused. What did he mean? He wanted him to be the commander?!

The captains all looked at Atay. Atay said, "Then … go and bring the boiling oil over? Don't shoot arrows! Wait for them to come closer! "

The war drums were already beating outside. The Tang army in the Central Plains had not experienced war for a long time. Ever since the Tang Dynasty was established, the entire Luoyang had not fought a war for more than a hundred years. How many people knew how to attack and defend a city?