Earth-shaking war drums thundered, deafening to the ears.
The walls of the Heavenly Wolf Pass were merely a few hundred metres long. On both sides were staggering sheer cliffs and precipices.
The strong men of Yan Yan’s army wore armour weighing over a hundred jin, carrying siege ladders nearly twenty metres high, pressing forward with all their might.
“Release, release, release…”
Upon the walls, several thousand Black-Clad archers, at one command after another, rained arrows down like a downpour.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Countless arrows struck the strong men’s bodies, sparking points of fire.
Each of these strong men was nearly two metres tall, three to four hundred jin in weight, each possessed of boundless strength. They wore armour weighing over a hundred jin upon their bodies. Ordinary bows and arrows simply could not injure them.
Braving the arrow rain filling the sky, several hundred strong men continuously drew near the walls.
Behind them, several thousand elite swordsmen hid behind enormous wooden shield walls, advancing step by step.
Despite this, under this dense arrow rain, cries of misery still rose continuously. People fell one after another.
“Archers, suppress.” At Yan Yan’s single command.
Immediately, several hundred large crossbows, several thousand archers fired in explosive bursts towards the walls.
Shooting from below upwards was inherently very passive. Thus, they only sought to suppress the enemy’s archers, not expecting to inflict great casualties.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud…”
The war drums thundered deafeningly. The Heavenly Wolf Pass blazed with firelight.
A full quarter of an hour later, several hundred strong men finally carried the first batch of siege ladders to the base of the walls. Then with a furious roar, they raised the siege ladders against the nearly twenty-metre-high walls.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud…” Dozens upon hundreds of siege ladders slapped against the walls, propped up.
Then, four strong men pressed the siege ladders against the walls with all their might.
“Topple them, topple the siege ladders…” officers upon the walls roared loudly.
But the siege ladders crafted by Yan Yan’s army were deadly. Their height was roughly level with the walls, not protruding above at all. There was no way to topple them.
“Charge up…”
Nearly two thousand elite troops climbed the siege ladders.
The first to climb the siege ladders were all elite warriors. They held enormous shields in their hands to block arrows, stones, and rolling logs for their brothers below on the ladders. Thus they were called shield warriors.
These shield warriors must not die. Once they died, there would be no one to block the arrow rain and rolling stones for the soldiers behind them.
“Drop stones, drop rolling logs…”
At a single command, upon the walls it was as if a rain of stones fell. Stones weighing over a hundred jin smashed down ferociously.
Rolling logs weighing several hundred jin rolled down madly.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud…”
The shield warriors of the Silver Wolf Legion, braving the astonishing rain of stones and rolling logs, climbed upwards step by step.
From a distance, dozens of siege ladders were like great serpents. Upon them, densely packed with people, they climbed upwards like ants.
“Thud, thud, thud…”
One enormous boulder after another smashed into the refined steel great shields. But these shield warriors merely swayed for a moment. Their enormous shields still protected the soldiers behind them.
Ning Zhi and Nu Dan were greatly alarmed. Could the first wave of attack let them charge onto the walls?
“Is the boiling oil ready?” Nu Dan roared loudly.
“Almost, almost…”
Ning Zhi said, “No need to wait until it boils. Pour it down now, then set it alight.”
“Yes!”
Then, pot after pot of oil was carried up onto the walls.
Yan Yan glanced towards Fen Mo at his side. The two nocked arrows to their bows.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Yan Yan possessed astonishing cultivation. He aimed and shot to kill purely with spiritual power.
Fen Mo possessed innate divine archery talent. He hardly needed to aim. Wherever he pointed, his arrow struck.
Immediately, those soldiers lifting the oil pots, before they could pour them down, were struck one after another. Enormous oil pots overturned, splashing everywhere.
“Argh…”
This oil, heated to half a boil, was also astonishingly hot. Instantly, it cooked people alive.
Yan Yan shot a fire arrow.
“Boom…”
Immediately, the oil spilled upon the ground was ignited, giving rise to roaring flames.
Tu Lingduo, witnessing this scene before her eyes, was greatly alarmed in her heart. The battle situation was so astonishing from the very start.
Looking at this momentum, it seemed as if Yan Yan’s army would charge onto the walls in their very first wave of attack.
“Divine archers, suppress.” Tu Lingduo gave the order.
This time, she had only brought a hundred men to Tianshui City. The elite officers had already been deployed down into Nu Dan’s ten thousand rebel troops, commanding every hundred-man squad in battle.
Apart from this, she had also brought three archers. All were Dragon Archers, treasures of the Tu Ling clan.
After Tu Lingduo gave the order, the three Dragon Archers began to draw their bows and shoot.
When Dragon Archers released their arrows, it was naturally no ordinary feat.
Immediately, Yan Yan and Fen Mo were thoroughly suppressed, almost unable to show themselves, unable to shoot.
At this time, one could see the difference between divine archery talent and elite archers.
Yan Yan’s arrows were more accurate and more powerful, but he relied completely upon spirit and strength. Now that the enemy’s three Dragon Archers had begun suppressing them, Yan Yan could almost not counterattack.
Because Yan Yan needed spiritual power to aim when shooting. He needed time. He needed to expose himself.
But Fen Mo was different. Without exposing himself, he could still shoot relying purely upon feeling. A casual shot, and he almost always hit his mark.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Moreover, he shot in rapid succession, five arrows in a row. Almost every time, he struck soldiers carrying the oil pots.
Tu Lingduo, seeing this, said sternly, “Why are you not suppressing the enemy’s archer?”
“Miss, the other side is one with divine archery talent.” one Dragon Archer said. “He shoots entirely by feeling. He completely does not need to aim, nor does he need much spiritual power. We find it very difficult to suppress him.”
Tu Lingduo said, “What is his archery level?”
“Judging by the speed and power of his arrows, he should be a mid-level archer.” the Dragon Archer said.
Tu Lingduo was shocked and furious. “Two Dragon Archers, and you still cannot suppress a mid-level warrior archer?”
The truth was simply this. Divine archery talent was heaven-defying.
But Fen Mo alone, a single divine archer, was not enough.
Still, many oil pots were splashed down, splashing upon shields, upon siege ladders.
Then a single fire arrow came down, and instantly they blazed with fire.
Enormous shields burned. Siege ladders burned.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
In the great flames, the shield warriors holding up the shields finally could not endure. They swayed slightly.
“Thud, thud, thud…”
Terrifying boulders smashed down ferociously. This shield warrior, holding his shield high, finally could not endure. He toppled directly and fell from the ladder over ten metres high.
Then…
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Countless arrows rained down. Boulders and rolling logs smashed down. Scalding oil was poured down.
“Argh…” screams of misery were unceasing.
In merely a moment’s work, all the soldiers upon this siege ladder died miserable deaths.
Either burned to death, or smashed to death, or fallen to death.
All the soldiers upon every siege ladder relied almost entirely upon the protection of that foremost shield warrior. Once this person fell, basically everyone upon that siege ladder would die.
Like dominoes, after the first shield warrior fell, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth…
Yan Yan watched with his own eyes as shield warrior after shield warrior fell, siege ladder after siege ladder was destroyed, dozens, hundreds of men dying.
But he did not even bat an eyelid.
This was siege warfare, completely relying upon human lives to pile up. There was almost no finesse. Whoever was stronger, whoever feared death less, that was who would win.
“Second wave, charge up!”
At his single command, the second wave of several hundred strong men, again braving the arrow rain filling the sky, carried enormous siege ladders and charged up.
The earth-shaking war drums still thundered deafeningly.
…
The entire Heavenly Wolf Pass had completely become a meat grinder.
From midnight they fought until dawn, then the sun rose, then it was noon again.
A full several hours had already passed.
Across the entire battlefield, who knew how many arrow rains had been shot. Upon the ground outside the Heavenly Wolf Pass, every inch of land was studded with arrows.
Yan Yan had already lost count of how many times he had ordered the ladders raised to attack the city. Wave after wave of strong men charged up. Wave after wave of siege ladders were propped up.
Shield warrior after shield warrior could not endure and fell. Then all the people upon the entire siege ladder died.
The corpses below the walls grew more and more numerous.
Several hundred, over a thousand, two thousand, three thousand…
In the end, corpses covered the ground everywhere.
Yan Yan’s army had still not managed to charge up these twenty-odd metres of walls.
Seeing that this last wave of siege troops was also about to fail, Yan Yan’s face was iron-cold. “Next wave, charge up.”
Tu An said in a trembling voice, “My lord, there is no next wave. Almost all the shield warriors have died in battle. There are hardly any strong men left either.”
A tremor ran through Yan Yan’s eye. “What are the casualties?”
“Five thousand.” Tu An said. “We are the most elite troops, but casualties exceeding thirty percent means collapse is imminent. We are field mercenaries. We are not skilled at siege warfare.”
Yan Yan said, “There is no such thing as skilled or not skilled. Siege warfare is piling up human lives.”
Tu An said, “But, we do not have as many men as the enemy. Right now, the enemy casualties within the Heavenly Wolf Pass are negligible.”
Yan Yan fell into silence.
Tu An said, “Retreat. In a few more hours, Sauron’s army will arrive. We can launch our attack then.”
Yan Yan closed his eyes. “No. If we retreat now, all previous sacrifices will have been in vain. All our work will be undone. What we are competing in now is bloodlust, is will.”
Tu An said, “But, we have no men left. Look at our brothers. Too many have died. There is no morale left.”
Yan Yan looked towards the surrounding soldiers. Indeed, fear had already begun to show on every person’s face.
These several hours of battle had been a complete meat grinder. No matter how many warriors and soldiers were sent up, they all died.
Not a single person had managed to smoothly ascend the walls!
The remaining ten thousand strong army had indeed already reached the brink of collapse.
For any army, casualties exceeding thirty percent had very fatal consequences. The slightest trigger would cause a great rout.
…
Meanwhile, within the Heavenly Wolf Pass, the previous day’s dejection was completely swept away. They appeared especially invigorated.
Because wave after wave of enemy offensives had been repelled.
The Coastal troops and Black-Clad troops were indeed elite. Who knew how many times they had beaten back Yan Yan’s army’s attacks.
Now, the momentum of Yan Yan’s army was exhausted. They could almost not organise a new offensive.
This battle had indeed been heart-stopping. Yan Yan’s first wave of attack had been so astonishing, nearly charging onto the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
It had caused Ning Zhi’s heart to leap in fright, making her think the Heavenly Wolf Pass was about to fall.
She had never imagined that Yan Yan’s first wave of attack was also the only time they came close to the top of the walls. In subsequent attacks, they barely climbed fifteen metres before being completely annihilated.
“What are our casualties?” Ning Zhi asked.
“Less than a thousand.” Nu Dan said.
“What are the casualties of Yan Yan’s army?” Ning Zhi asked.
“Over five thousand.” Nu Dan said. “Casualties exceeding thirty percent means this battle cannot continue. The enemy is about to retreat.”
Ning Zhi sneered coldly. “It seems mercenaries are indeed not skilled at siege warfare. Once Yan Yan retreats, immediately deploy all elite troops in pursuit. At that time, Yan Yan will certainly suffer a rout like a landslide.”
Nu Dan said excitedly, “Once Yan Yan’s main army is annihilated, then Sauron’s mere few thousand men will not accomplish anything significant. Defeat and destruction are already a foregone conclusion.”
The faces of the four-person group showed excited smiles. Victory was before their eyes.
…
“Commander, retreat.” Tu An said. “I shall cover the rear.”
Yan Yan shook his head. “No. Once we retreat, all previous work will certainly be undone. Moreover, once this momentum is lost, the enemy will take the opportunity to pursue. We will suffer a rout like a landslide.”
Tu An said, “But, we cannot organise a new offensive. All the shield warriors are dead. The enemy only needs to push slightly, and our army will collapse.”
A violent twitch ran through Yan Yan’s eye again.
The mercenaries he led indeed did not have much experience in siege warfare. True siege warfare was far more brutal and terrifying than imagined.
No wonder they said siege warfare required at least two or three times the military strength to conduct. Because this completely relied upon piling up corpses.
And Yan Yan’s military strength was only fifteen thousand, even less than the Heavenly Wolf Pass’s nineteen thousand.
They had already suffered five thousand casualties. Clearly this flesh and blood consumption had only reached halfway. To take the Heavenly Wolf Pass, they would need at least another twenty thousand men, at least another several thousand deaths.
But he no longer had any assault warriors in hand.
“Success or death!” Yan Yan said decisively. “Retreating now means certain defeat.”
Tu An said, “But, we have no assault warriors, no shield warriors.”
Yan Yan grabbed an enormous shield at his side and roared, “All centurions, all chiliarchs, all mid-level warriors, high-level warriors, step forward!”
Immediately, nearly a hundred men walked out from the army formation. These were all the officers of the Silver Wolf Legion, all the mid and high-level warriors.
“All strong men, carry all remaining siege ladders.” Yan Yan continued to give orders.
Immediately, the remaining strong men, carrying dozens of siege ladders, stepped forward.
This was already the last of Yan Yan’s army’s siege strength.
Yan Yan roared loudly, “This is our last strength. I and all officers of the Silver Wolf Legion will lead the charge! Today, success or death! Charge up, take the Heavenly Wolf Pass!”
Seeing the commander and all mid and high-level officers personally leading the charge, the originally low morale was instantly roused.
The blood of all soldiers boiled once more.
“Kill…”
Yan Yan led over a hundred mid and high-level warriors, several hundred strong men, several thousand elite infantry in a final charge.
…
Within the Heavenly Wolf Pass, there was sudden alarm. They had never imagined Yan Yan would be so resolute.
“Block them, block them…”
“Shoot arrows, shoot arrows…”
“Drop stones, drop rolling logs…”
“Pour oil down, pour oil down…”
The final war drums sounded once more.
Yan Yan and the hundred-odd mid and high-level warriors, holding great shields, protecting the soldiers below, climbed the siege ladders, braving boulders, arrow rain, boiling oil, pressing upwards with all their might.
This was the final offensive strength.
Yan Yan let out a sudden explosive roar. Upon the siege ladder, his entire person flew up the rungs with the ease of walking on flat ground.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
A few minutes later, he directly charged onto the Heavenly Wolf Pass, drawing his great sword.
For the first time, Yan Yan’s army had charged onto the top of the walls for the first time, even if that person was himself.
“Swish…” He slashed fiercely with his sword.
Immediately, over a dozen Black-Clad troops before him were all cut in half at the waist.
Because of Yan Yan’s breakthrough, a gap appeared in the defences upon the walls. The Silver Wolf Legion behind him surged up like a tidal wave.
“Block them, block them, kill Yan Yan!”
Immediately, countless experts within Ning Zhi’s allied forces surged towards Yan Yan with all their might.
The three Dragon Archers shot arrows madly.
Yan Yan was completely fighting ten against one, a hundred against one!
The great sword and giant shield in his hands had completely become his weapons. His entire person seemed to have transformed into a war machine. Wherever he passed, bodies were completely pulverised. And the dragon power within his body was also being consumed madly.
The second to ascend the walls was Tu An.
Then, the third, the fourth, the fifth…
More and more mid and high-level warriors charged onto the walls. And the Silver Wolf Legion behind them, more and more surged onto the top of the walls.
Several hundred, over a thousand, two thousand, three thousand Silver Wolf Legion troops swarmed onto the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
Who knew how many had died. The Silver Wolf Legion had finally charged onto the walls and engaged the enemy in close combat.
“Block them, block them… push them back down…”
In the castle not far away, Ning Zhi, witnessing all this, was terrified in her heart.
“Press forward, everyone press forward.”
Immediately, over ten thousand allied troops swarmed up.
The two armies fought madly upon several hundred metres of walls.
And at the same time, suddenly a column of dust shot up to the sky behind the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
A short while later, Sauron, leading two thousand cavalry, entered their field of vision.
Ning Zhi’s face changed colour in alarm. “Was Sauron not supposed to arrive in the evening? How has he come so quickly?”
…
Why had Sauron come so quickly? Naturally, he had abandoned three thousand infantry and directly led two thousand cavalry, completely sparing no horse strength, galloping with all their might. Thus he had arrived at the Heavenly Wolf Pass half a day early.
Raising his head to look into the distance, he saw the Heavenly Wolf Pass already embroiled in battle, killing intent surging to the heavens.
Sauron drew his great sword and roared hoarsely, “We have not come late. Our comrades are fighting with blood. Charge up, reap your gold coins.”
Immediately, Yan Naier leapt lightly, also mounting the lion-tiger beast, sitting before Sauron.
“Kill!”
Sauron took the lead on his beast. The two thousand cavalry behind him wielded great swords, sweeping towards the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
At this time, defending the rear of the Heavenly Wolf Pass were the rebel lord troops of Nu Dan and the others, a full four to five thousand men.
But…
Despite there being horse repellers, despite there being fences, the lion-tiger beast suddenly leapt. Yan Naier’s great sword slashed down madly.
Immediately, a row of wooden walls directly collapsed.
Then, the lion-tiger beast carrying Sauron and Yan Naier directly transformed into a killing machine, directly ploughing through.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Countless sprays of blood flew everywhere. Countless heads flew wildly.
Through this gap, two thousand cavalry surged in.
The four thousand rebel lord troop formation before them only blocked for five minutes. Only suffering less than two hundred casualties, they completely collapsed, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, turning to flee.
Second-line troops were simply second-line troops.
Sauron led two thousand cavalry like a sharp sword, fiercely stabbing towards the rear of the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
Princess Ning Zhi upon the castle, witnessing this scene, felt a violent stabbing pain in her heart.
She had once been only a step away from victory. But now, it was completely finished.
The doom of the Heavenly Wolf Pass army had officially arrived!
The doom of Ning Zhi’s allied forces had come!