Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 697: Chapter 536: Fight or Surrender?

Huaheng Cangyue’s expression was as dark as ink, and as the helmsman of the Huaheng Clan, a fierce aura immediately spread from her, ”Gu Changsheng, I respected you as a descendant of the Phoenix Clan, yet you dare to make a fool of me! Are you intent on taking up arms against me?”

”Haha...” Gu Changsheng, upon hearing this, let out a hearty laugh, pointed at Huaheng Cangyue with an extended hand, and said in a deep voice, ”Huaheng Cangyue, I gave you a chance. The Xiangka Clan has been scheming for the throne for over twenty years, and your Huaheng Clan has resisted them in the name of the Phoenix Clan for just as long. How convenient has the Phoenix Clan’s name been for you?”

”You!” Huaheng Cangyue was taken aback by his words, unsure how to respond for a moment.

”Me? Huaheng Cangyue, I, Gu Changsheng, have always been someone who responds to softness rather than force. I truly gave you a chance...” Gu Changsheng shook his head as he looked at Huaheng Cangyue, ”Huaheng Cangyue, I am not one to obsess over power and influence. Even when I learned that my mother was from the Phoenix Clan, my choice was still to live quietly in the Central Plains. I never thought of restoring the state nor reviving the glory of the Phoenix Clan. All I wish for is to live in peace, free from worldly strife!”

At this point in his speech, Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but infuse his tone with a trace of hatred, his gaze becoming fierce as he continued, ”It was the Xiangka Clan that forced me; they kidnapped my son, forced me to lead the troops away from Liuzhou City! Forced me to set foot in the Southern Borderlands! Forced me to blood-wash Dayao Village!”

At this, the aura of slaughter suddenly spread around Gu Changsheng. His boundless Inner Strength raged around him like an ocean. Even Huaheng Cangyue, who had experienced the full spectrum of life, felt tightness in her chest and didn’t know what to say.

”I bear no grudge for the past, yet the Xiangka Clan used my son to coerce me. Therefore, the Xiangka Clan, must perish! I swear to level the Southern Border!” Dressed in red, Gu Changsheng spoke with resolution.

In that moment, everyone felt a voice ringing in their hearts: this woman was not making empty threats, she truly could do it! She truly could level the Southern Border!

”Huaheng Cangyue, you were once a loyal servant of the Phoenix Clan, well-versed in the art of power. You try to scheme against me. I could let that go. I will give you one final chance, the last chance to save your Huaheng Clan. Abandon those unrealistic ambitions, yield Red Sun Valley, and surrender your army of two hundred thousand. I, Gu Changsheng, guarantee that no harm will come to your people,” Gu Changsheng said with a fiery gaze and boundless vigor. ”Otherwise, the fate that befell Dayao Village will befall Red Sun City! Twenty years have passed, the lord is no longer lord, the vassal no longer a vassal. Blinded by greed, Huaheng Cangyue, this is the final opportunity I give to the Huaheng Clan. Success or failure hangs by a thread, it’s all in your thoughts, so weigh your decision!”

Having finished speaking, Gu Changsheng withdrew the oppressive aura surrounding her and collapsed back onto the soft couch.

When she marched her troops to the Southern Border, she had contemplated confronting the Huaheng Clan.

The ingrained disloyalty of the Huaheng Clan had been fermenting for over twenty years, transforming them beyond recognition. Today, Gu Changsheng had finally seen it for herself.

On the way here, Gu Changsheng had said to the evildoer that if Huaheng still held the same undying loyalty to the Phoenix Clan as in the past, then she, Gu Changsheng, after annihilating the Xiangka Clan, would wholeheartedly offer up the entire Southern Border as a gesture honoring their master-servant bond!

But alas, human greed knows no bounds, and she had always seen others too favorably!

”Prince Changsheng, are you so certain that you can take down my Red Sun City?” Huaheng Cangyue asked, her face as dark as ink, while her followers prepared for battle.

”Without the Diamonds, I wouldn’t take on this delicate task. Huaheng Cangyue, I, Gu Changsheng, despise being schemed against above all else. So, whether you seize this last opportunity is up to you!” Gu Changsheng received the Glazed Cup handed to her by Zhou Mu and spoke resolutely.

Atop the city wall, Huaheng Cangyue, still not giving up, continued, ”Prince Changsheng, please reconsider. Although I have my own cunning thoughts, I hold no ill will towards Prince Changsheng. As a descendant of the Phoenix Clan, you will one day rule the Southern Borderlands and are destined to wed a man from the Southern Border Miao Ethnic Group. You and Prince Mu can never be together!”

”Hehe... rule the Southern Borderlands? Wed a man from the Southern Border Miao Ethnic Group?” Gu Changsheng laughed upon hearing this, glanced at the man lying next to her in the carriage, and said with wild and stubborn candor, ”Huaheng Cangyue, what’s sweet to you is poison to me. How do you know I have any desire to rule the Southern Borderlands? Who ends up with the Southern Border Imperial Power has nothing to do with me. My only aim is to pacify the Southern Borderlands, annihilate the Xiangka Clan, rescue my son. The land of the Southern Borderlands has nothing to do with Gu Changsheng! The customs of the Southern Borderlands are like a fart in my eyes! Who Gu Changsheng chooses to marry is my own business. My life is for me to command, not subject to fate or others’ meddling!”

With grapes and luminescent cup in hand, Gu Changsheng looked indifferently at Huaheng Cangyue, who stood stunned on the city wall. As the cup in his hand slightly swayed, he spoke calmly, ”Huaheng Cangyue, think of your clan, think of your two hundred thousand troops. If you open the City Gate and submit sincerely, remembering the ties that once bound you to my Phoenix Clan, I can spare you. Otherwise, when the city falls, your Huaheng Clan, along with your soldiers, will vanish from the history of the Southern Borderlands! Red Sun Valley, I, Gu Changsheng, am determined to possess!”

”You! You!” Huaheng Cangyue, upon hearing this, a flash of humiliation crossed her face as she opened her mouth to speak.

”Enough talk! Dark Night Army, heed my command, if the City Gate doesn’t open within the quarter of an hour, storm the city with me. Spare none inside besides the civilians who offer no resistance,” Gu Changsheng raised a hand to interrupt Huaheng Cangyue’s unfinished words and spoke sternly to those around her.

”As you command!”

”As you command!”

”...”

In an instant, arrows were notched and the sounds of mechanisms filled the air as the Eight Hundred Dark Night Army stood ready.

The Jin, Yu, Liang, and Yuan sisters had already put aside their Pipas, replaced by Light Crossbows ready for siege, their lovely faces stern with resolve!

Suddenly, the atmosphere was charged and ready to explode!

”Haha, are we finally about to fight? This is too good, my Long Whip has been thirsting for action!” Borjigin Nian, standing nearby, rubbed his hands together eagerly, ready for action.

”With your level of Kung Fu, you probably couldn’t even beat an ordinary member of the Dark Night’s Female Army; better to stay put!” Yue Xilou glanced at him disdainfully and said.

”Yue Xilou, are you showing concern for me?” As soon as Borjigin Nian heard this, her face bloomed into a smile, and she eagerly leaned a little closer to Yue Xilou, speaking in a deep voice.

”You’re overthinking it!” Evading Borjigin Nian, Yue Xilou frowned and spoke in a stern voice.

”Oh, come on, don’t be shy. I know you care about me. Rest assured, I won’t die! After all, I’m the Northern Mongolian’s number one female warrior!” Without Yue Jianjia around, Borjigin Nian was in a good mood, shamelessly entertaining herself.

Yue Xilou glanced at her with a furrowed brow and turned her head away.

Gu Changsheng, enjoying the spectacle, glanced at them with a hint of a smile on his face.

They say enemies are bound to meet, and Borjigin Nian and Yue Xilou were indeed archenemies.

”Gu Changsheng, do you think the Huaheng Clan will willingly hand over Red Sun Valley?” Seated on the shaft of the carriage, Borjigin Nian turned back to look at Gu Changsheng.

”If it were you, would you be willing to hand over a family business that took generations to build?” Gu Changsheng looked up, speaking as calmly as a cloud.

”Of course not!” Borjigin Nian replied without hesitation.

Gu Changsheng looked up at the carriage roof inlaid with luminous pearls, speaking in a tone tinged with melancholy, ”Right, enjoying all the glory and wealth, sitting atop mountains of gold and silver, how could they possibly hand it over to me willingly?”

”So, they won’t open the City Gates?” Borjigin Nian looked up at the city tower, which was already left with only the guards.

Since negotiations failed, Huaheng Cangyue had already led the people of the Huaheng Clan down from the city tower. With experts like Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu around, they wouldn’t stay in such a dangerous place.

”Thus, this battle is inevitable!” Gu Changsheng sighed and nodded, ”Without seeing the Yellow River, one’s heart won’t die; without seeing the coffin, one won’t shed tears. Without betting big, how could the Huaheng Clan be willing? But once the bet is placed, I won’t leave them any room for regret!”

Having said that, Gu Changsheng closed her eyes.

The Huaheng Clan, holding Red Sun Valley, could be said to control half of the Southern Borderlands’ territory. That’s not a small matter!

Since she, Gu Changsheng, had set foot in the Southern Borderlands, she would not rest until she achieved her goal!

If the Huaheng refused to surrender, then she was willing to make the Southern Borderlands a land without soldiers for thousands of miles!

Two hundred thousand! Huaheng’s two hundred thousand-strong army! Apart from the fifty thousand troops stationed in Red Sun City, there were another hundred and fifty thousand facing the Xiangka Clan at the rear.

Friend or foe! She, Gu Changsheng, would not show mercy!

”There’s only the time of an incense stick left now,” looking at the tightly closed City Gates, Gu Changsheng sighed again, ”It seems that the Huaheng Clan is determined to fight a decisive battle with my Dark Night Army!”

Atop the city tower of Red Sun City, the guards were gradually increasing, with their iron armor glistening and spears and bows at the ready, clearly prepared to defend against invaders.

Seeing this, Gu Changsheng knew that the battle was unavoidable!

Killing and warfare always brought bloodshed; rivers of blood and fields of bones. As a military doctor, although Gu Changsheng was accustomed to the brutality and bloodiness of battlefields, to witnessing life and death, deep down, she still couldn’t help but resist it.

If she wasn’t forced into a corner, Gu Changsheng would never willingly engage in battle!

Red Sun Valley was too important for the Southern Borderlands, being on the essential path to the Great Swamp Mountain, and for the Huaheng Clan’s military power—it was necessary! Whatever the case, to pacify the Southern Borderlands, Red Sun Valley was a must-have for her, Gu Changsheng!

In front of the carriage, the incense burner was timing the passing moments, with a thin wisp of smoke curling upwards. Time was slipping away little by little.

A quarter-hour, not too long, not too short!

In just a moment, Red Sun City had completed preparations for defense and attack, and within the incense burner, there remained only a short one inch of fragrant incense...