Turing Tuo’s tenacity, or rather his stubbornness, far exceeded Soren’s expectations.
Even after being slapped in the face by Soren, he still showed no intention of retreating and continued marching towards Sky Wolf Pass.
The air raid the previous night had not caused particularly heavy casualties for Turing Tuo, but it had at least served as a major warning.
A warning that Soren possessed gunpowder capable of changing the course of war. Although Turing Tuo had an army of two hundred thousand, if a real war broke out, it was impossible to say who would emerge victorious.
Yet Turing Tuo still showed no intention whatsoever of withdrawing his troops.
Faced with his stubbornness, Soren and the others had no choice but to hold another council.
The topic under discussion was whether they should fight at all, and whether they could fight.
After numerous simulations and calculations, the conclusion remained the same. In a full scale war, their chances of victory were only around forty to fifty percent.
Moreover, even if they won, the losses would be enormous, which would be highly unfavourable for the subsequent annexation of the Southeastern Province.
The main reason was the insufficient supply of gunpowder. Sky Wolf Pass was indeed too narrow, leaving no room for weapons such as super giant catapults to operate effectively.
The only truly effective tactic was the use of burning oil.
With an astronomical quantity of oil, the fifty thousand defenders should be able to hold Sky Wolf Pass. However, if Turing Tuo shifted his attack north to Thunderwind Fortress, or launched a pincer attack from two sides, the situation would become extremely difficult, and the chances of victory would drop sharply.
Suddenly, Yan Nai’er said, “Husband, should we make use of Turing Chen somehow?”
Her words were very subtle, but Soren immediately understood what she meant.
After Turing Chen had been captured, Soren had tampered with him. Like Zhi Li, Turing Chen was now incapable in that regard.
The difference was that Turing Chen could recover. As long as Soren reopened certain meridians in his body and supplemented the treatment with medicine, he could quickly regain his manhood.
Nai’er’s suggestion was to make a deal, restore Turing Chen’s masculinity in exchange for Turing Tuo’s withdrawal.
Soren closed his eyes, then shook his head.
“No. That piece on the board cannot be used yet.”
Then he slammed the table and declared, “Fight! Since Turing Tuo is this stubborn, then we’ll fight!”
Yan Yan said, “But if we really go to war, the situation will be unfavourable for us. In particular, Turing Tuo can attack either Sky Wolf Pass or the Thunderwind Fortress defensive line. If he becomes determined to cross the river, our fortifications on the eastern bank of the Tianshui River may not be able to stop him.”
Soren replied, “Our repeated attempts to make Turing Tuo retreat have only revealed our psychological bottom line. They’ve begun to look down on us and think we’re weak and easy to bully. Even one or two air raids haven’t changed that perception. Since that’s the case, we’ll simply fight a major battle and cripple Turing Tuo. Then he’ll retreat on his own.”
Inflict enough pain on Turing Tuo, then force him to retreat. This was Soren’s new strategy.
Once Soren made his decision, everyone present immediately unified their resolve and changed their strategy, focusing entirely on severely damaging Turing Tuo.
…
The griffin bombing raid had caused considerable casualties, but it only drove Turing Tuo’s two hundred thousand troops into an even more frenzied march. A journey of over two hundred li was completed in just two days.
Then the two hundred thousand troops established camp five miles from Sky Wolf Pass.
Just like Zhi Wei before him, Turing Tuo completely dispersed his thirty thousand cavalry, preventing another incident of panicked horses causing chaos.
After setting up camp, the first thing his army did was dig trenches.
In only two days, the surrounding area for dozens of miles was riddled with trenches, and the vast majority of soldiers sheltered within them.
As a result, Soren’s air raid tactics were largely rendered ineffective.
Bombing from several hundred metres in the air involved enormous margins of error. Dropping explosives directly into trenches was more difficult than winning a lottery.
Thus, Soren stopped dropping explosive charges and switched to dropping barrels of burning oil instead. Although this caused some casualties, it was insignificant compared to an army of two hundred thousand.
From the sky, Soren looked down upon Turing Tuo’s camp. Deep trenches crisscrossed everywhere, while middle and senior officers had moved into underground shelters.
The entire camp resembled a hedgehog covered in sharp spines, leaving no opening to exploit and no opportunity for a surprise attack.
Compared to Zhi Wei, Turing Tuo was indeed far more capable.
At the very least, his camp’s defences were airtight, leaving almost no opportunity for infiltration.
…
After resting for two days, Turing Tuo decisively advanced towards Sky Wolf Pass and prepared to launch an assault.
The thunderous war drums sounded once more.
Sky Wolf Pass was completely different from the Thunderwind Fortress line. It was far narrower, with walls only a little over a mile long. Their height exceeded ten metres, and their thickness was more than sufficient.
However, the walls were entirely solid, containing no bunkers or firing ports.
At most, only three to four thousand troops could stand atop the walls. There was little room for giant catapults or large numbers of giant crossbows. Compared to Thunderwind Fortress, there was far less room to manoeuvre.
Therefore, Soren immediately decided not to deploy the super giant catapults and instead positioned only several dozen medium catapults.
The entire wall would be defended by soldiers.
The only tactic that could still be effective was burning oil. To inflict maximum damage on Turing Tuo, Soren devised a ruthless plan.
Several days earlier, before Turing Tuo’s army arrived, Soren ordered several thousand soldiers to pour burning oil across the ground before Sky Wolf Pass.
Across a stretch more than one hundred metres long and nearly a thousand metres wide, millions of jin of oil were poured, forming an extremely thick layer.
After the oil solidified, it was covered with vegetation, making the area appear normal. Any scout attempting to investigate was killed, while the stench of hundreds or even thousands of rotting corpses concealed the pungent smell of the oil.
Once the battle began and Turing Tuo’s army crowded beneath the walls, a single spark would transform more than a hundred thousand square metres into a blazing inferno, burning his troops alive and causing catastrophic casualties.
It was a strategy of trading astronomical quantities of supplies for minimal casualties and maximum victory.
Using Earth’s terminology, it was like using a thousand bullets to kill a single enemy.
Burying the enemy beneath money, bullets, and artillery shells.
At present, only Soren’s Furious Wave Kingdom could afford to wage war in such a manner.
…
“Advance the giant crossbow batteries!”
“Advance the giant catapults!”
At the order, dozens of giant catapults and more than a thousand giant crossbows moved forward with Turing Tuo’s army.
They halted three hundred metres from Sky Wolf Pass.
Sky Wolf Pass was shaped like a funnel, narrow inside and wide outside.
Thus the wall itself measured only five to six hundred metres, but the outer battlefield stretched for several miles, allowing sufficient space for catapult and giant crossbow positions.
“Catapults, fire!”
“Giant crossbows, fire!”
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
Hundred jin stone projectiles smashed viciously towards Sky Wolf Pass.
Hundreds of giant arrows shot through the air.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
The stone projectiles slammed into the walls with tremendous force, causing deafening impacts that seemed to shake the entire fortress.
Occasionally a projectile struck directly among the defenders, instantly reducing bodies to blood and flesh.
Most of the giant arrows missed their targets, but those that struck often pierced two or three men at once, creating horrifying casualties.
Sky Wolf Pass was simply too cramped. The solid walls provided nowhere to place catapults or giant crossbows.
The only way to destroy Turing Tuo’s artillery positions was through the griffins.
With a piercing cry, more than a dozen griffins rose into the sky.
Carrying explosive charges weighing several hundred jin, they flew over the enemy artillery positions and dropped their payloads.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions erupted.
Although the accuracy was terrible, the attacks still inflicted significant damage upon Turing Tuo’s catapults and giant crossbows.
Thus, Turing Tuo’s long range attacks continued wave after wave.
Meanwhile, after three rounds of griffin air strikes, Soren suddenly stopped.
This was because Turing Tuo’s Dragon Archers had climbed the mountain peaks on both sides of the battlefield and were shooting down at the griffins from above.
The battlefield was only about a thousand metres wide. Once dozens of Dragon Warriors occupied the peaks, their shooting range covered virtually the entire airspace above the battlefield.
As a result, Soren’s griffins could only remain inside Sky Wolf Pass and no longer dared to take to the skies.
From that point onward, Sky Wolf Pass could do nothing except endure the bombardment.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Turing Tuo’s catapults and giant crossbows continued pounding the fortress relentlessly.
The explosions thundered continuously, shaking the stronghold.
The situation quickly became ugly. Sky Wolf Pass was being battered without any means of retaliation.
For two full hours, Turing Tuo’s long range weapons bombarded the fortress, reducing the battlements to smoke and ruin while suppressing several thousand defenders so thoroughly that they could barely raise their heads.
Seeing his side holding a complete advantage, Turing Chen sneered.
“Father, Soren is nothing special. I truly don’t understand how Zhi Wei managed to get his entire army wiped out.”
Turing Tuo narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
After more than two hours of bombardment, he finally raised his command flag.
“Attack the city!”
The war drums grew even more intense.
Several tens of thousands of troops surged towards Sky Wolf Pass.
Countless siege towers, ladders, shield wagons, and several enormous battering rams advanced forward.
At Turing Tuo’s command, more than forty thousand troops flooded towards the fortress like a massive tide.
It was not because Duke Turing Tuo was being conservative. Sky Wolf Pass simply could not accommodate more soldiers.
When Yan Yan had attacked previously, he had only committed slightly more than ten thousand men.
Now, forty thousand troops already filled the battlefield like swarming ants.
“Charge! Charge! Charge!”
Seeing this, Yan Yan prepared to order the medium catapults to launch explosive charges.
Suddenly, Soren stopped him.
Since he intended to maximise the effectiveness of the burning oil strategy, he decided not to use the catapults or explosives at all.
Millions of jin of oil had already been poured across the battlefield, creating a thick layer over one hundred thousand square metres.
This was a lethal death trap.
In that case, he would simply annihilate all forty thousand enemy troops at once and burn them alive.
Thus an astonishing scene unfolded.
Turing Tuo’s forty thousand soldiers charged wildly forward.
Yet they encountered no resistance whatsoever.
Even after entering bow range, the defenders of Sky Wolf Pass fired neither arrows nor catapult shots.
After entering the deadly zone covered in oil, many soldiers felt surprised.
Why did the ground feel so sticky?
But once an army began charging, it could no longer stop.
Without obstruction, the entire force reached the base of the walls.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The battering rams began striking the gates.
Dozens upon dozens of siege ladders were raised against the walls, while countless soldiers swarmed upward like ants.
Turing Tuo found the situation extremely strange.
Why had they reached the walls so easily?
Why had there been no resistance at all?
It was deeply unsettling.
However, he had already anticipated the possibility of Soren using fire attacks.
His elite troops wore fire resistant cloaks, while half the soldiers carried bags of soil. If fire broke out, they would immediately smother it with earth.
…
Meanwhile, atop the walls, Yan Yan and the others were becoming increasingly anxious.
Earlier, Soren had forbidden the use of arrows and explosive catapult shots, allowing Turing Tuo’s forty thousand troops to reach the walls with almost no losses.
Now countless enemy soldiers were climbing upward like ants.
If hundreds or thousands gained the battlements, the situation would become disastrous.
At the same time, Turing Tuo’s giant crossbows continued bombarding the walls and suppressing the defenders.
Yan Yan urgently said, “My lord, it’s time to ignite it. The enemy is almost on the walls.”
Soren looked down at the densely packed soldiers below.
“Wait a little longer.”
He wanted all forty thousand enemy troops to enter the deadly zone. Millions of jin of oil lay hidden beneath those hundreds of thousands of square metres.
Seeing the battle progressing so smoothly, Turing Tuo felt increasingly uneasy.
“This is strange. Why is it like this? What is that smell in the air?”
It was the smell of oil.
However, it had been completely concealed by another odour, the stench of rotting corpses.
Thousands of bodies from Zhi Wei’s defeated army had been left on the battlefield. Their decay produced a horrific smell strong enough to conceal anything else.
To Turing Tuo, this was merely another one of Soren’s attempts at intimidation.
A boring and meaningless trick.
“Charge! Charge! Charge!”
“Flatten Tianshui City! Destroy the House of Suo!”
The ease of the assault drove the attackers into a frenzy as they rushed towards the walls.
At last, all forty thousand troops had entered Soren’s death trap.
Watching the dense masses of soldiers packed beneath the walls, each desperate to be first, Soren sneered.
“Throw the fish oil barrels!”
Immediately, hundreds of warriors braved the rain of arrows and hurled hundreds of fish oil barrels from the walls.
The barrels shattered upon impact, spraying oil everywhere.
To ensure the solidified burning oil ignited properly, Soren had also prepared tens of thousands of jin of fish oil as an accelerant.
“Ignite it!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hundreds of flaming arrows shot downward.
“Oh no!”
At that moment, Turing Tuo remembered the great naval battle.
Soren had lured hundreds of warships and hundreds of thousands of allied troops into Devil Bay before burning them all to ashes.
Although he had never witnessed it personally, he knew the story well and had never forgotten it.
The moment he saw the flaming arrows and recalled the earlier strange events, his heart trembled.
He finally understood.
But it was already too late.
The flaming arrows ignited the dry vegetation, then the fish oil, and finally the vast layer of burning oil beneath.
Millions of jin of oil erupted into flames.
In an instant, more than a hundred thousand square metres became a living hell.
Soren’s oil trap had once been used at sea.
Now he used it again on land.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Turing Tuo’s soldiers desperately tried to smother the flames with soil.
But fire surrounded them on every side.
There was no way to extinguish it.
More than forty thousand soldiers were trapped within that inferno.
Even those wearing fire resistant cloaks could not withstand the overwhelming flames and the suffocating poisonous fumes.
Countless screams echoed through the battlefield.
Soldiers struggled, writhed, and howled in agony within the fire.
Many fled while engulfed in flames, only to collapse dead less than a hundred metres away.
Soren’s ruthless scheme had succeeded once again.
Turing Tuo’s army of more than forty thousand men was completely buried within the sea of fire.