All Heavens: Starting with Yang Kang playing Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King

Chapter 53: The man conquered the city and killed its lord.

In October, in Liaodong, at Xianping, the capital of the Eastern Xia dynasty.

It has been two years since Pu Xianwannu declared himself king.

Outside the city, the frozen soil was as hard as rock, and pieces of ice were constantly being washed down the river by the water. The snow along the roadside had gradually covered the vegetation.

This marks the beginning of another difficult winter in Liaodong, but this difficulty only applies to the ordinary residents of the city.

For his rulers, it was simply another season to rest in the warmth of their beds, embracing young girls.

At the gate of Xianping City, a group of soldiers leaned against the gate with lifeless eyes, guarding the almost deserted streets.

A soldier yawned boredly, wondering what he should eat after returning to camp tonight.

Suddenly, a figure of light in the distance caught his attention. Within the light was a cavalry force that seemed otherworldly.

It was a cavalry unit that seemed to have emerged from hell. The proud steeds were clad in heavy armor, and the knights on them were all burly and strong. Although they were far away and their faces were not clear, each of them seemed to be stronger than the horses themselves.

They were clad in specially made iron armor, even their gloves were covered with refined iron, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Ten heavily armored cavalrymen swaggered out of the city of Xianping in Dongxia.

The guards on the city gate looked at each other in bewilderment, but before they could send someone forward to inquire, the group of men, led by the knight in charge, suddenly accelerated and rushed toward the city gate of Xianping.

The guards immediately shouted to close the city gates and sent someone to report to the general in charge.

Although this squad did not bring enough servants, the mere ten suits of armor were enough to arouse everyone's covetousness and fear.

Ten heavily armored cavalrymen would be a force to be reckoned with in any era.

Even when the Jianzhou Jurchens later rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, they only had thirteen suits of armor.

"Who goes there, daring to invade the capital of my Eastern Xia Kingdom!"

On the city gate, the officer on duty shouted loudly.

No one would underestimate a fully armed cavalry unit of ten, but no one would think that a cavalry squad of ten would dare to attack Xianping City, which had a population of tens of thousands in the capital of Dongxia.

To the guards' bewilderment, the squad not only did not stop, but instead accelerated in the face of their arrows, until they approached the city gate of Xianping.

"Where did this bunch of lunatics come from!"

On the city wall, the guards looked at each other in bewilderment.

The lead knight had already rushed to the gate.

Yang Kang suddenly leaped off the back of the Golden Crow, and crimson true energy instantly enveloped his entire body, forming a scarlet aura.

His fist unleashed a massive shockwave that slammed into the city gate of Xianping.

In an instant, a deafening roar resounded, and all the soldiers in Xianping City felt the earth shake and their ears ring. The sound waves traveled far and wide like a thunderclap, waking up Pu Xianwannu in the city.

Yang Kang's fist slammed into the center of the city gate panel. The iron sheet instantly caved in like a piece of paper, the wood grain cracked outwards from the point of impact, and the iron nails on the door panel flew out one by one, embedding themselves in the city walls on both sides like bullets.

Before the soldiers behind the city gate could react, they were thrown out by the force of the door panel and crashed into the stone wall next to the gate, their brains splattering.

Several others were lucky; the iron nails were ejected and embedded in their foreheads, giving them a sudden burst of inspiration.

With the second punch, the right half of the city gate snapped off, falling into the city along with the broken bolt and rubble, crashing into the gate passageway, raising dust and debris that churned the entire gate opening.

The guards on the city wall were shaken and overturned, and people fell off the city wall like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Yang Kang kicked another city gate, which was instantly sent flying. Like a giant shield, it surged through the gate opening, crashing through the barricades and roadblocks along the way.

The city gates were not opened, but torn open.

"What's that sound!"

The paper window of Pu Xianwannu's bedroom was suddenly flung open.

He didn't even care about the girl's exposed fair skin beside him, and went straight for the curved sword hanging by the room, roaring towards the door.

Another series of violent tremors followed, and after the third tremor, a plume of dust drifted from the direction of the distant city gate.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Yang Kang, clad in armor, his body resembling that of an ancient giant, slowly emerged from the dust.

Golden Crow, clad in heavy armor, slowly walked to his side.

Yang Kang shook his head slightly and flicked his hand. With the Nine Yang Divine Skill perfected, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill at its tenth level, and the sixth level of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, his strength had reached an inhuman level of 20,000 jin.

"I never imagined that it would take two punches to break open the gate of Xianping City with a force of 20,000 jin."

Yang Kang thought to himself that his demonstration of his power was not as satisfying as he had imagined.

But to others, this is already a scene from mythology.

Nie Feng, Bu Jingyun, and Shi Tianze, each accompanied by two Imperial Guards of the Dragon Cavalry, surged into Xianping City like dark golden dragons.

The garrison in Xianping City, who had not had time to react, were as laughable and powerless as children when faced with the heavily armored Imperial Cavalry, each with the strength of a thousand pounds.

Before they could even react, they were easily crushed into mud.

On the long street, the already sparse residents dared not hesitate at all, but quietly hid back in their rooms, watching through the cracks in their doors as the nine Dragon Cavalry Guards descended to earth like heavenly soldiers.

Yang Kang mounted his horse and rode forward slowly and steadily.

Before him, the Dragon Knights were like a storm of steel, mercilessly crushing all obstacles in their path.

They arrived at the palace of Puxianwannu.

Puxian Wannu's palace was actually just the official residence of a Jurchen noble family.

Although the Jurchens started their rebellion in Liaodong, during Wanyan Aguda's time, this area was still a remote and impoverished place, and no luxurious palaces had been built there.

After settling in the Central Plains, no one thought of returning here to renovate the palace.

The palace gates didn't even require Yang Kang's intervention; with the combined efforts of Nie Feng, Bu Jingyun, and Shi Tianze, they were overturned.

"Who goes there, daring to invade my Great Xia?!"

Pu Xianwannu, clad in armor and wielding a curved sword, summoned his personal guards, who protected him.

He couldn't understand where such a terrifying army came from in the world, nor could he figure out what he had done to offend such people, who would so barbarically and unreasonably break through the city gates to kill him.

Without Yang Kang's permission, none of the Imperial Guards uttered a reply; they simply charged relentlessly toward Pu Xian Wan Nu.

At this moment, each of the three possessed the strength of a thousand catties. With the resources poured into them by the World Society, their martial arts skills were no less than those of the later Golden Wheel Monk.

With the three Imperial Guards of the Dragon Cavalry behind them forming a battle formation, they were truly like dragons entering the sea, invincible in their path.

With only nine men against three thousand, they surprisingly gained the upper hand for a time.

But the gap in human capabilities is ultimately something that their level of understanding cannot overcome.

The situation gradually reached a stalemate. Just as Pu Xianwannu was preparing to order the encirclement and killing of the nine people with a cold face, the earth suddenly surged.

In the distance, Yang Kang, riding atop the Golden Crow, finally began to accelerate, and a tyrannical dragon, like an ancient and savage creature, leaped across the land in a frenzy.

An angry dragon's roar accompanied his body as he swung his heavy sword upwards, occasionally unleashing bursts of crimson energy.

The crimson dragon stirred up a cloud of dust, and Xianping City trembled when it arrived, and was killed in an instant before the nine people.

When Shi Tianze, Nie Feng, and Bu Jingyun saw Yang Kang arrive, they were instantly drawn in by the aura emanating from him.

With the support of the military situation, the aura of the nine people seemed to instantly connect with Yang Kang, and the ten people transformed into an invisible giant blade, strangling towards Pu Xian Wan Nu.

The formation of Pu Xianwannu's three thousand guards collapsed instantly.

Pu Xianwannu stared in shock and fear at the scene before him. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately turned around, mounted his horse, and fled into the distance.

He hadn't gone far when an arrow shot from the divine crossbows carried by nine members of the Dragon Cavalry broke his horse's leg. The horse, in pain, threw him off and he fell awkwardly to the corner of the palace wall.

Yang Kang rode up to Pu Xianwannu and gave Shi Tianze a look.

Shi Tianze immediately dismounted, grabbed Pu Xianwannu by the hair, and dragged him like a rag towards the main hall behind him.

A gasp and a wail followed, but no one dared to take a step forward in front of this terrifying group.

"His Majesty!"

Wugusunmo, the bravest general under Puxianwannu, finally arrived. He shouted loudly and then led a group of soldiers into the main hall.

Yang Kang carried the heavy sword in one hand to the throne in the main hall, turned around and slowly sat down.

Shi Tianze casually tossed Pu Xianwannu onto the main hall, and nine Imperial Guards of the Dragon Cavalry stood scattered on either side of Yang Kang.

Wugusunmo swallowed hard and walked into the hall in shock.

"Wanyan Kang..."

Pu Xianwannu coughed up a mouthful of blood in a disheveled state, looked at Yang Kang on the throne with difficulty, and called out his former name.

Yang Kang casually lifted his cheek, took off his helmet, and revealed his handsome face.

"Young Prince..."

Wugusunmo and the soldiers beside him were all horrified. They dropped their weapons and knelt down in front of Yang Kang.

"It seems you still remember who I am."

Yang Kang walked up to Pu Xianwannu, lifted his chin with his heavy sword, and said indifferently.

"Young Prince! We have no past grievances or present enemies, so why have you invaded our country and slaughtered our people!"

Pu Xianwannu said, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and fear.

"I've only been away from Shandong for six months, and you've already raised the price of the military horses you were going to sell to me twice."

"I thought you had forgotten about me, so I came to see you specifically."

Yang Kang smiled contemptuously and turned back to his throne.

Pu Xianwannu finally realized just how terrifying Yang Kang had become.

His Eastern Xia Xianping City, with a population of 100,000 and 3,000 elite guards, was captured by Yang Kang's army of only ten men.

No, not ten people, it's just Yang Kang alone!

"Young Prince! I was just confused for a moment!"

"It's all the Mongols' fault for pressuring us too much! All the revenue from Liaodong couldn't satisfy their appetites, so they had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

"Your Highness, I, Wan Nu, will never dare to do it again! Please forgive me this time!"

Pu Xianwannu immediately abandoned all his pride and courage, knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for his life.

Even the bravest general would not abandon all pride and kneel down to beg for mercy when faced with a monster like Yang Kang.

"Isn't the human heart always insatiable?"

"I believe that the next master of Liaodong will know his or her identity."

"And your appetite will be smaller than yours, wouldn't you say, Wugusunmo?"

As Yang Kang spoke, he suddenly turned to Wugusunmo, who was kneeling on the ground to the side.

Upon hearing this, Wugusunmo was startled, then overjoyed, and quickly looked up and smiled obsequiously:

"Wugu Sunmo is willing to serve the young prince to the death, even at the cost of his life!"

Yang Kang nodded slightly, then ignored Pu Xianwannu's pleas.

He instantly grabbed Pu Xianwannu by the neck, applying slight pressure with his hand.

With a dull cracking sound, Puxian Wannu's head was ripped off his neck and thrown at Wugusunmo's feet.

Wugusunmo swallowed hard, but dared not make the slightest move.

"Shandong will cover the tributes from the Mongols in the future."

As Yang Kang spoke, he patted Wugusunmo on the shoulder and pushed him all the way to the throne.

"Your Highness, I understand. From this day forward, Liaodong belongs to the World Society."

Wugusunmo nodded hurriedly and said in a fawning tone.

"Need not."

Yang Kang said with a smile.

"From now on, you will be the ruler of Liaodong and the king of Dongxia."

"Keep everything as usual, and don't let anyone know. Heaven returns to heaven, and earth returns to earth."

Wugusunmo hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly.

"You can handle the rest yourself."

Yang Kang spoke casually, put on his helmet, and walked out of the main hall.

Shi Tianze, Nie Feng, and Bu Jingyun each coldly glanced at Wu Gusunmo and the soldiers in the hall, as if issuing a silent warning, before following him out.

In Xianping City, no one knew anyone except Yang Kang.

All they knew was that each of those people had different ferocious beasts tattooed on their breastplates.

Those who wield swords are dragons, those who wield knives are tigers, and those who wield spears are wolves.

The others are all different—giant bears, ferocious snakes, eagles, black panthers, tigers, and a host of fierce beasts, each with its own name.

After dealing with Pu Xianwannu, a fickle and indecisive opportunist, Yang Kang led nine men away from Xianping City and headed back towards the harbor.

"Master, since you possess such earth-shattering power, why not raise an army and establish your own independent regime?"

"Genghis Khan and the Jin Dynasty are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of you now."

Shi Tianze said excitedly. "He had long known that Yang Kang's martial arts were unparalleled, but he hadn't expected him to be so invincible that he could break through a city single-handedly."

"One person's invincibility cannot bring peace to the world."

"Besides, it's just conquering Xianping City, not cities like Bianjing, Yanjing, or Lin'an."

"The Mongols are not a rabble like Puxian Wannu."

Yang Kang laughed heartily.

"As for Genghis Khan, such a figure deserves a perfect ending."

"Furthermore, I don't like things that require a lot of effort to obtain."

He paused, then looked into the distance.

"The chance to achieve the greatest victory with the least cost is not far off."

Yang Kang rode forward, and the nine Imperial Guards vanished into the sky.