Facts had proven that Yan Yan’s Silver Wolf Legion far surpassed the Black-Clad troops and Coastal troops in individual combat prowess.
Once they were allowed to charge onto the top of the walls, everything became unstoppable.
The first to charge onto the walls were Yan Yan and over a hundred mid and high-level warriors. They had to face the siege of several thousand enemies, plus the shooting of three Dragon Archers.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
The three Dragon Archers hiding amongst the crowd were truly terrifying. Almost every arrow claimed the life of a Silver Wolf mid or high-level warrior.
These men were all the core of the Silver Wolf Legion. Losing even one was a tremendous loss.
Yan Yan held up an enormous shield. Like a massive crushing machine, he pushed forward all the way, charging towards the three Dragon Archers.
The three Dragon Archers were alarmed. Immediately, they directed all their firepower, all aiming at Yan Yan to shoot him down.
But their arrows were still not fast enough for Yan Yan.
Yan Yan parried and blocked while crushing forward. He drew closer and closer to the three Dragon Archers.
When the distance was still over twenty metres, the three Dragon Archers hurriedly concealed themselves amongst the enemy troops, attempting to flee, because the close combat ability of Dragon Archers was extremely weak.
“Want to leave?” Yan Yan said coldly.
Then, lightning fast, he grabbed enemy soldiers and hurled them like cannonballs towards the three Dragon Archers.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…”
Yan Yan’s speed was too fast. In merely a moment’s work, he had thrown out dozens of men.
The three Dragon Archers dodged for all they were worth, but there were people all around them. They desperately released spiritual power, slowing their perception of the world, then dodging Yan Yan’s human projectile attacks.
But…
In the next instant, Yan Yan was like a great roc spreading its wings. He suddenly pounced, landing beside them.
“Urgh…”
Yan Yan suddenly grabbed one Dragon Archer’s head and squeezed fiercely.
“Thud…” This Dragon Archer of the Tu Ling clan, his head exploded like a watermelon.
The other two were scared out of their wits, desperately fleeing for their lives.
Yan Yan’s enormous shield in his hand was suddenly thrown.
“Whoosh…” The enormous shield, like a mountain, suddenly swept towards them.
The Dragon Archers desperately dodged, but they were still not fast enough. Their entire bodies were suddenly struck in the back by Yan Yan’s shield.
“Slap…” Their entire bodies instantly became a paste of flesh. They could not even cry out before dying on the spot.
The last Dragon Warrior leapt up and down rapidly, striving to conceal himself in the crowd and escape for his life.
Separated by over ten metres, Yan Yan condensed dragon power. Aiming at the last Dragon Archer’s back, he suddenly threw a punch.
“Thud…” The fist light whistled to a stop.
At the heart position on the back of Tu Lingduo’s last Dragon Archer, it suddenly caved in. He died instantly.
All three Dragon Archers were killed.
And at the same time, countless Silver Wolf Legion troops had already swarmed onto the top of the walls. They began pressing down upon the Black-Clad troops and Coastal troops, inch by inch devouring the territory atop the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
And right at this time, Yan Yan saw Sauron leading two thousand cavalry, with the force of splitting bamboo, directly smashing through the rear defences of the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
Yan Yan’s heart relaxed greatly. This bastard had finally come, and much faster than imagined.
Tu An roared loudly, “Our reinforcements have arrived. Kill through and join up with City Lord Sauron.”
Immediately, the Silver Wolf Legion’s morale soared greatly. Although they only numbered three to four thousand, they drove back the twice-as-numerous Black-Clad troops and Coastal troops in defeat after defeat.
Especially Yan Yan, leading over a hundred mid and high-level warriors, whose combat power was so astonishing that they completely crushed everything in their path.
In a short while, they had almost occupied the entire walls of the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
And Sauron’s offensive on that side was even more astonishing, because they were facing the rebel forces of high-level warrior lords like Nu Dan. It was like a red-hot dagger stabbing into lard, slaughtering and sweeping all the way through.
The Silver Wolf Legion and the city guard troops led by Sauron drew closer and closer, closer and closer.
It was still Sauron who was faster, directly pushing through Nu Dan’s rebel troops and charging to the foot of the Heavenly Wolf Pass’s gates.
At this time, within the gate tunnel, there were still over a hundred enemies.
“Swish, swish, swish, swish…” In Yan Naier’s hands, the Dragon Gold Sword had almost no opponent that could withstand a single exchange. Wherever it passed, all were completely pulverised.
Very quickly, Sauron led his troops to occupy the gate tunnel.
The gates of the Heavenly Wolf Pass were nearly a chi thick. Behind the gates were over a dozen steel bars inserted, each four to five cun in diameter.
Such terrifying gates, wanting to smash them open with enormous logs was completely impossible. Outside the gates, there were still several thousand Silver Wolf Legion soldiers ramming the gates. Relying solely on climbing siege ladders was truly too slow.
Naier stepped forward, condensed dragon power, and slashed fiercely at these bars.
Before the astonishing Dragon Gold Sword, these bars of four to five cun diameter were like tofu, effortlessly cut through.
Sauron watched with envy. When there was still one bar left, he could not help but say, “Naier, let me cut the last one.”
Naier handed the Dragon Gold Sword to Sauron.
Sauron took it and fiercely slashed at the last steel bar.
However…
He only cut in half a cun deep, and it got stuck there. It was terribly embarrassing.
Although this Dragon Gold Sword could cut through iron like mud, it was too light. Sauron’s dragon power was not strong enough, so he still could not cut through a half-chi diameter steel pillar.
Naier took back the Dragon Gold Sword, condensed dragon power, and slashed down with one sword.
Immediately, the last bar was still like tofu, directly cut through.
“Thud…”
Then, the thick gates were suddenly burst open.
Outside, several thousand Silver Wolf Legion troops surged in.
…
The Silver Wolf Legion and the Tianshui City guard troops officially joined forces. Twelve thousand elite troops poured into the Heavenly Wolf Pass.
The Black-Clad troops, Coastal troops, and high-level lord rebel troops melted like snow under the sun, rapidly dissolving. One after another, they became ghosts beneath the blade.
Seeing their own troops continuously retreating, dying one by one.
Everything before their eyes perfectly illustrated the meaning of a rout like a landslide.
Ning Zhi’s heart was wrung with pain, yet she also seemed to have fallen into a kind of numbness.
Nu Dan stepped forward and said, “Your Highness the Princess, you must immediately order the troops to retreat and defend within the castle. Otherwise, they will be completely annihilated.”
A slight twitch ran through Ning Zhi’s beautiful brow. She ordered coldly, “Retreat and defend the castle.”
Immediately, the surviving troops of Ning Zhi’s allied forces began retreating towards the final fortress.
…
The Heavenly Wolf Castle was within the Heavenly Wolf Pass. Built right against the cliffs of the Tianshui mountain range, the thousand-metre cliff face behind it served as one of its walls.
The entire castle was constructed from massive rectangular stones, incomparably solid. And upon the castle, there were arrow slits and crenellations everywhere.
Princess Ning Zhi, Tu Lingduo, Nu Dan, Gui Qinqu and the others had been commanding the battle from within this castle.
Now, this castle became their final defence. The surviving troops desperately retreated to defend within the castle.
The armies of Sauron and Yan Yan pressed close, killing all the way.
Half an hour later, the entire Heavenly Wolf Pass completely fell into the hands of Sauron’s army.
The several thousand surviving troops of Ning Zhi’s allied forces all retreated into the massive Heavenly Wolf Castle, fighting like cornered beasts.
Behind the castle was a thousand-metre cliff, with no road to take.
Before the castle, they were completely surrounded by Sauron’s army of over ten thousand, watertight and impenetrable.
…
Before the Heavenly Wolf Castle was a massive parade ground. Every time, the garrison troops of the Heavenly Wolf Pass assembled and mustered troops here.
At this time, Sauron’s army of over ten thousand formed their battle array upon this parade ground. Several thousand archers, several hundred heavy crossbows, aimed at the castle’s only gate, and all the terrace rooftops of the castle.
The castle gates were tightly shut.
Ning Zhi and the other four, plus several thousand remnant troops, were all inside the castle, conducting their final defence.
Yan Yan stepped forward, looking at this massive castle. “Can we smash open this turtle shell?”
Sauron shook his head. “The walls of this castle, even at their thinnest, are nearly two chi thick. Currently, there is no weapon capable of smashing it open.”
Unless they used cannons from the modern world to bombard it, and even then, they would need large-calibre shells.
One Heavenly Wolf Pass, one Savage Wilderness Gorge, both passes had such massive castles. The Sauron clan had mobilised tens of thousands of labourers, spending over a dozen years to build these two fortresses.
After the two fortresses were completed, the days when barbarian tribes could easily penetrate deep into Tianshui City to pillage were gone forever.
For a full two hundred years, neither of these two fortresses had fallen.
Speaking of which, this was the first time in a hundred years that the Heavenly Wolf Pass fortress had fallen. Of course, it had fallen into the hands of Sauron’s own army.
Sauron said, “Moreover, whether it is the Heavenly Wolf Pass or the Savage Wilderness Gorge, both are fortresses that my Sauron clan expended countless efforts to build. I do not wish to destroy them with my own hands.”
Yan Yan said, “How much food is inside the castle?”
Sauron said, “A lot. Enough for several thousand people to eat for several months. Moreover, there are several deep wells underground. Water is also not lacking.”
Yan Yan said, “Your ancestors really thought things through thoroughly. But this way, with Ning Zhi’s allied forces hiding inside this turtle shell castle, it truly leaves us at a complete loss.”
Tu An said from the side, “Can we kill our way in?”
Yan Yan said, “There is no room to manoeuvre inside the castle. Once we kill our way in, we would instead fall into the enemy’s heavy encirclement.”
Thus, it truly was a fight of cornered beasts.
Ning Zhi’s several thousand troops hid inside the castle and would not come out. Outside, Sauron could not break in either. They could only maintain the siege, waiting for the food inside to run out?
The smile at the corner of Sauron’s mouth suddenly became somewhat wicked. Then he said, “Bring the things up.”
Immediately, Sauron’s clan warriors carefully carried up several chests.
These items, he had spent a heavy sum to purchase from sorcerers. Now they had finally come in useful.
…
In the meeting room of the Heavenly Wolf Castle, Ning Zhi, Tu Lingduo, Nu Dan, and Gui Qinqu were pale of face, silent and still.
Defeat had come too quickly.
Just one hour ago, they had been infinitely close to victory. They had almost defeated the last wave of Yan Yan’s army’s attack.
As soon as Yan Yan retreated, all elite troops would immediately rush out and annihilate the Yan Yan army to the last man.
But they had never imagined that Yan Yan would lead over a hundred mid and high-level warrior officers to personally lead the charge. Irresistible, he directly charged onto the top of the walls.
Then, the battle situation instantly reversed.
“If Sauron had not returned in time, would we have lost?” Ning Zhi asked.
Tu Lingduo thought for a while, then nodded. “We would have lost. Only it would have dragged on longer. We would not have lost so quickly.”
Gui Qinqu said, “After our soldiers repelled the last attack of Yan Yan’s army, they were already exhausted, their will slackened. And after Yan Yan led the Silver Wolf Legion’s officers to personally charge onto the walls, the morale of our troops had already crumbled. When truly engaging in close combat, the combat power of the Silver Wolf Legion still far surpassed ours.”
Whether the Black-Clad troops or the Coastal troops, they were sufficiently elite. But after all, they had not truly been on the battlefield. Unlike the mercenaries under the Silver Wolf Legion, who almost every day fought and crawled on the edge of a blade.
“What do we do next?” Tu Lingduo asked.
Ning Zhi turned towards Tu Lingduo and said, “The expert I brought has already begun climbing the cliff behind the castle. When he climbs to the top, he will lower several ropes. Then all of us will grab the ropes and climb the cliff to escape.”
Nu Dan immediately knelt on both knees and said, “Many thanks to the Princess for the grace of saving my life.”
At this time, at a corner of the thousand-metre cliff face behind the castle, over a dozen dark figures were continuously climbing upwards. Upon their backs were thick ropes. They were opening an escape route for the important figures inside the castle.
…
“Is Naier going alone enough?” Sauron asked.
“With the high ground, what is not enough?” Yan Yan said.
Ye Jingyu opened the chests. Inside, there were over a dozen long wooden boxes separately. Opening the wooden boxes, inside lay an arrow.
The arrowhead was a crystal vial, containing a blood-red liquid.
“What is this?” Yan Yan said.
Sauron said, “A kind of poison. Nineteen gold coins per arrow.”
Yan Yan nocked an arrow to his bow, aiming at one of the castle’s slits.
“Whoosh…” Effortlessly, he directly shot this poison vial arrow through the tiny slit into the castle.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Next, Sauron continuously shot, firing all over a dozen chests, totalling over a hundred arrows into the castle.
“Poison?” Tu An said. “This bit of poison, for the several thousand people inside, is a drop in the bucket.”
Sauron smiled and said, “Let us wait and see.”
…
Although the Heavenly Wolf Castle was large, after several thousand people entered, it was still incomparably crowded. The vast majority of people only had space to sit.
When Sauron’s poison vial arrows shot in, everyone was alarmed for a moment.
But they discovered that these arrows were not particularly remarkable. After the crystal vials at the arrowheads shattered, the bright red liquid inside gave off a column of thick smoke, and it was even quite fragrant.
“Hold your breath, do not smell it, do not smell it…”
But it was already too late.
After smelling this strange fragrance, everyone only felt their minds swaying, their blood vessels swelling throughout their bodies, filled with boundless frenzy and fury.
Those who inhaled the most of this virulent poison only felt their eyes growing redder and redder, the beastly nature in their bodies growing stronger and stronger, until finally they lost all reason.
“Argh…” He suddenly stood up, drew his great sword, and chopped madly.
Then, the second, the third, the fourth.
Immediately, within the crowded room, they killed each other in chaos.
…
“Your Highness the Princess, the soldiers below have rioted. Leave quickly, leave quickly…” Li Zhu rushed in swiftly.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
At the same time, three poison vial arrows shot through the meeting room windows. The crystal vials shattered, wafting out a column of peach-coloured smoke.
Tu Lingduo immediately smelled an exotic fragrance and immediately held her breath. “This, this is an aphrodisiac.”
Sauron had shot nearly two hundred arrows into the castle in total. Half were rage potions that made people fly into a violent frenzy. Half were aphrodisiac potions that made people unleash their beastly nature.
Originally, the killing power of these arrows was not particularly great. But within the confined, crowded space of the castle, the killing power was completely multiplied tenfold.
Ning Zhi thought, if several thousand soldiers became violently frenzied, the consequences were completely unimaginable.
One must know, within the entire castle there were only her and Tu Lingduo, plus maidservants, less than ten women in total.
“Go, escape from the cliff.” Ning Zhi said.
Then, all the high-level personnel in the meeting room opened the rear door of the meeting room and came to the terrace near the cliff.
They could only hope that the people previously sent to climb the cliff and clear the way could reach the top a bit faster, then lower the ropes down.
“Whoosh…”
Indeed, a large rope was thrown down from atop the thousand-metre cliff.
“Miss Tu Ling, you carry the Princess and go first.” Li Zhu said. Although he was a eunuch, he was after all a man. Ning Zhi was unwilling to be touched by a man.
Tu Lingduo nodded. She immediately picked up Ning Zhi, whose martial arts were not high enough, grabbed the rope, and rapidly climbed up the cliff.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Although carrying a person, Tu Lingduo’s speed was still very fast. In merely a few minutes, she had climbed the thousand-metre cliff and arrived at the top of the cliff.
Finally, they had escaped with their lives!
However, just at this time, they saw an incomparably beautiful face.
Yan Naier, holding the Dragon Gold Sword, smiled and said, “Princess Ning Zhi, Miss Tu Lingduo, long time no see!”
Ning Zhi and Tu Lingduo, instantly, felt ice-cold throughout their bodies.