Chapter 505: Assaulting the Stronghold and the First Clash |
Woooooo...
As the horn blast ceased, the eight thousand Great Xia troops, fully equipped and ready for battle, had all marched out beyond the camp's perimeter.
With eight thousand people walking together, their steps naturally weren't perfectly synchronized.
But each of them was clad in Thousand-Forged Grade armor. The weight of their armor plus their full set of weapons meant each soldier carried at least thirty thousand jin. Forget people; even an ordinary thirty-thousand-jin object moving would create an earth-shaking commotion. Fortunately, the Ice Abyss environment was a factor; otherwise, the high slope where Zhongyang Camp was located would have been stomped and collapsed by these eight thousand fully armed Xia troops.
Clang, clang, clang...
Whether their steps were synchronized was secondary. Even just walking normally, the sound of eight thousand Xia soldiers' armor clashing together was enough to shake one's soul. Not to mention, at this moment, they all held their longbows aloft, fully drawn, advancing step by step with relentless pressure.
Zhongyang wasn't a walled city, so naturally, there was no city gate to speak of. But calling it just a village wasn't accurate either. The most fitting description would be a massive military stockade built on a slope over a hundred meters high.
The southern, western, and northern sides of the stockade were enclosed by railings made of iron poles. These railings extended all the way to the mountain walls, standing about twenty meters high. Each iron pole was studded with countless sharp spikes, clearly designed to deter charging enemies.
The entire stockade only had a single large gate on the eastern side. The gate was made of pure iron, eight meters high and five meters wide. It was densely covered with silvery Forging Patterns; a rough estimate would put the number at no less than ten thousand.
Right above the stockade gate, an armored soldier, watching the Great Xia military formation steadily approaching from the east, was probably seeing such a grand spectacle for the first time. His heart was excessively shaken. He couldn't help but swallow hard, immediately drawing the gazes of many soldiers around him.
"We are resting while they labor, simply defending the walls. What is everyone panicking about? Let's see how many lives the Xia army has to throw away here! Front ranks, raise shields! Middle and rear ranks, ready your bows! Prepare!"
Yang Qin, hovering in mid-air, frowned sharply. He first turned and glared at that soldier, then faced the others and shouted sternly.
Clang...
At his command, the two thousand soldiers of the front ranks, deployed closest to the stockade gate, raised their iron shields with a clang. The three thousand soldiers of the middle ranks and the one thousand of the rear ranks, just like the Xia army, fully drew their powerful bows and aimed at the sky.
For those below the Sun Manifestation Level, to maintain the power of their bowshots, the effective distance generally cannot exceed two hundred meters. But that's during normal wilderness hunting.
A confrontation between two armies is a completely different situation. With thousands of sharp arrows flying simultaneously, accuracy loses all meaning. The primary objective becomes successfully firing the arrows and ensuring they land within the area occupied by the enemy formation.
The Zhongyang stockade gate was only five meters wide and about three meters thick. Naturally, it couldn't accommodate all two thousand front-rank soldiers. At least eighty percent of the front ranks were positioned behind the iron pole railings flanking the gate.
As for the middle and rear ranks, they were stationed at least a hundred meters away from the gate.
"Halt!"
Just as the main army was about to enter the two-hundred-meter range of the stockade gate, Mu Longhe, also in mid-air, suddenly raised his hand to stop them. He then concentrated his qi and blood in his throat and spoke in a deep voice towards the western stockade gate direction: "Yang Qin, I acknowledge you as a nephew. Abandon the gate and surrender! Your ragtag mob of ten thousand wishes to block the vanguard of my Great Xia army? A fool's dream."
"If Xia Chuan himself came to challenge today, I, Yang, might still show him some respect. Mu Longhe, you stray dog, a treacherous villain who turned on his master and joined the enemy—do you even deserve to claim the title of uncle before me?"
Yang Qin's face was full of cold laughter. At over two hundred meters away, he wasn't afraid Mu Longhe couldn't see his expression. His eyes brimmed with mockery as he continued, "Old fox relying on a tiger's might, if you have the guts, then—"
"Loose arrows!"
"He can't hold his temper already? Hmph... Loose arrows!"
Yang Qin hadn't expected that Mu Longhe, at his age, would have such poor composure. Hearing the enemy order to loose arrows, his reaction was naturally swift, and he immediately gave the same command.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The arrow formations of both armies instantly flew out from within their ranks like horizontal raindrops, blanketing the sky as they surged towards each other.
Thud, thud, thud...
In a frontal clash between two armies, the first wave is inevitably an exchange of crossbow bolts; there's no doubt about that. But simply comparing crossbow bolts is superficial. Looking deeper, it's a comparison of the material production and forging capabilities represented by the two towns behind the armies.
Like Yang Qin, Mu Longhe had long ordered the front ranks to raise their iron shields. The dense rain of arrows couldn't even penetrate the shields, let alone cause the slightest waver in the front formation.
Thwack... Thwack... Thud...
On the other hand, at the Zhongyang Camp side, the two thousand front-rank soldiers who raised shields did block the vast majority of the bolts. Yet, after less than three volleys, their formation began to slowly retreat. A very few with insufficient strength even started to fall backward. If not for the tight formation and people behind catching them in time, several would have been knocked down in a chain reaction.
Swoosh...
From the moment the arrow rain began, Yang Qin hadn't remained hovering in mid-air. He directly landed atop the stockade gate. Staring at the rain of arrows, he suddenly noticed something. His brow twitched, and he swiftly reached out, snatched a stray arrow, and looked down to examine it. His expression changed drastically. He immediately turned his head and shouted sharply:
"Lower bows, raise shields! Focus on defense! Do not engage in an archery duel with them!"
Both sides were fielding Warmth Realm armies, so the iron-tipped arrows they used were of the Thousand-Forged Grade. The surface area of an arrow shaft is small to begin with. With thousands of silvery-white Forging Patterns densely covering it, it looked exactly the color of silver.
When the arrow formations of both armies were unleashed, Yang Qin naturally assumed the Xia army used the same Thousand-Forged iron arrows as they did.
Only after three volleys, seeing the disarray of his own front ranks and hearing the unusual sound the Xia army's arrows made piercing the air, did he react and grab an arrow to inspect.
This inspection revealed the problem.
"Not all of them, roughly half. Warmth Realm soldiers can be equipped with ten-forged silver arrows? Has Great Xia already grown this wealthy?"
Having identified the problem, Yang Qin could now assess the incoming arrow rain from the Xia army. After just a brief scan, he roughly judged the specific composition of the arrow volley, his eyes sinking slightly.
Thwack...
The reason Yang Qin ordered his side to stop shooting was that the Xia army had already deduced the positions of the defending archers inside the stockade from the direction of the incoming arrows. They slightly raised their bow angles, and the arrow rain immediately bypassed the shield-bearing front ranks, raining down on the soldiers behind the gate.
Minor casualties had already begun to appear among the soldiers behind the gate.
Since he knew they couldn't win an archery duel, there was no need to continue. No matter what, the Xia army would ultimately have to assault the gate anyway.
Just as he said before, they just needed to rest while the enemy labored!
However, Yang Qin's thinking was still a bit naive...
"All troops, accelerate advance! Scout battalions of the Yellow Armor and Chiyang Armies, prepare the bridges! Everyone else, continue loosing arrows! Do not stop until your quivers are empty!"
As Yang Qin's words fell, Mu Longhe's second command came down.
The Xia army had never stopped advancing while shooting. After over a dozen volleys, the main force was only a hundred-some meters from the stockade gate. Yang Qin's abandonment of the archery duel also made the Xia army's advance even smoother. Upon receiving Commander Mu Longhe's order, the four thousand soldiers of the Yellow Armor and Chiyang Armies at the front, who were holding shields, immediately began to charge forward.
The four thousand soldiers in the rear ranks moved slightly slower. But the vast majority of them didn't stop shooting their bows. Only the thousand or so soldiers in the very center, escorting ten iron-wheeled carts, followed the advancing troops at an extremely fast pace.
"They've even brought out the Divine Machine Crossbows. Great Xia is getting serious!"
Seeing those ten large iron-wheeled carts, Yang Qin's pupils contracted. Four years ago, during the Hongmen battle, he happened to be present. At that time, he was only at the Warmth Realm. His impression of this major weapon capable of threatening Sun Manifestation Level cultivators was naturally extremely deep.
"Release!"
Bang...
In little more than ten breaths, the frontmost Xia troops charged to the edge of the wide trench in front of the stockade gate. From both flanks of the formation, five small squads of about twenty men each simultaneously rushed out. Each squad jointly carried a massive iron plate, three meters wide and twenty meters long.
The person at the very front of each squad, upon reaching the edge, gave a loud shout. The twenty-plus men pushed with all their might, sending the long iron plate flying through the air towards the ground in front of the stockade gate.
"Ignite the fire! Yang Ping, with me!"
Seeing the Xia army building bridges, Yang Qin finally couldn't stand still any longer. He fiercely drew the long saber from his waist. After giving the order, he called out to his cousin Yang Ping. The two Sun Manifestation Level cultivators ignored the massive wave of arrows before them and charged directly towards the landing point of the floating bridge. Their intent was obvious.
Whoosh... Swoosh...
Unfortunately, before he and Yang Ping could even land in front of the stockade gate, they were each forced back by a long staff and a large blade.
Saying they were merely forced back might not be entirely accurate.
Bang!
Mu Longhe's strength was clearly far superior to Yang Qin's. The moment his long staff descended in a chop, before Yang Qin could retreat, he followed up with a sweeping strike that directly hit Yang Qin's shoulder.
"At least eighteen jun! How can he be this strong?!"
Yang Qin was knocked back over ten meters, almost crashing into the stockade gate. Clutching his wounded shoulder, he stared at Mu Longhe ahead, his pupils filled with horror.
Two years ago, during the Chuishan schism, Mu Longhe had publicly made a move. At that time, his third uncle, Yang Jian, was present and remembered clearly that he only had the strength of twelve jun. Improving by over six jun in two years was clearly not the progression speed of someone from the nine towns.
Why had his father, Yang Zun, entrusted Zhongyang to him to defend?
Because he himself possessed the strength of nine jun. Combined with his cultivation technique's enhancement, he could exert strength exceeding twelve jun at most.
But now, it seemed they had miscalculated somewhat.
"Yang Ping, retreat!"
After one exchange and realizing they couldn't stop the Xia army from building the bridges, Yang Qin didn't recklessly charge forward again. Instead, he quickly called Yang Ping back, and the two retreated together to the stockade gate.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
Coincidentally, at this moment, his earlier order to "ignite the fire" took effect.
The so-called "ignite the fire" referred to the wide trench in front of the stockade gate—precisely the area directly beneath the iron bridge the Xia army was now constructing.
When the trench was first dug, Yang Qin had people lay down large amounts of flammable dry grass and coal stones in advance. Now, with the order given, the people arranged atop the gate immediately shot down fire arrows, instantly igniting the entire trench.
Boom...
A fierce blaze suddenly erupted, instantly illuminating the entire area around the stockade gate.
"Damn those Xia army dogs, they built an iron bridge..."
Seeing the Xia troops behind the trench completely unimpeded, still madly surging across the iron bridge towards the stockade gate, Yang Qin's expression instantly turned extremely grim.
The trench in front of Zhongyang Camp's entrance was only ten meters wide. Normally, one could just chop down a few big trees to make a bridge. If they had built a wooden bridge, then this fire he prepared in advance would have been effective.
Who could have imagined the Xia army would prepare iron plates in advance!
With his obstruction gone, the five squads from the scout battalions of the Yellow Armor and Chiyang Armies had long since laid down all five iron plates.
More and more Xia soldiers were also charging across the iron plates.
"Charge!"
"A little fire is just right, saves us from not being able to see clearly, haha!"
"Can't stay on it too long, brothers. Stay too long and we'll become grilled meat on an iron plate."
"Charge in! Kill!"
……………………
The fire in the trench was truly fierce.
One could even clearly see the five iron plates heating up and glowing red. Yet this didn't dampen the Xia army's enthusiasm for the charge. The Warmth Realm was precisely the stage where the skin membrane was perfected. Unless the fire engulfed their bodies, mere high temperatures, aside from causing them some pain, couldn't inflict any real harm.
On the contrary, this gradually intensifying pain actually stimulated their ferocity. Realizing they couldn't stand on the iron bridge for long, they charged even more fiercely and savagely.
And Commander Mu Longhe, positioned at the very front of the army, moved when the leading soldiers were still over ten meters from the stockade gate!
He soared into the air, raised his long staff high, and brought it straight down in a chop aimed at the stockade gate.
Clang...
The stockade gate absolutely could not be breached by the Xia army this quickly.
At the critical moment, Yang Qin appeared. Even knowing he couldn't defeat Mu Longhe, he still stood before the gate, blocking that staff strike. Then, glancing down at the arrow quivers on the Xia soldiers below, he shouted loudly:
"The Xia army's arrows are spent! All troops, loose arrows! Loose arrows! Loose arrows!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
All the defenders atop and behind the stockade gate, upon receiving the order, uniformly raised their powerful bows and began fiercely shooting at the Xia soldiers swiftly approaching below.
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
"You really think only shields can block you? An Iron-backed Bow with a mere one zong of draw force dares dream of harming us? Dream on!"
Xia Houcen, Commander-in-Chief of the Chiyang Army and General of the Allied Army's Sixth Battalion, leaped to a position directly below the stockade gate. He knocked aside dozens of iron-tipped arrows before him with a downward sweep of his blade. His eyebrows raised slightly as he looked at the stockade gate, only eight meters high before him. With a cold snort, he tossed aside the shield in his hand, used the flanking iron pole railings as footholds, pushed off twice, and directly vaulted up.
Thwack...
Being the first to scale the wall, the pressure Xia Houcen faced was unimaginable. Almost instantly, he was surrounded by dozens of defenders, including six middle-aged men dressed as officers, who immediately charged at him with swords and sabers.
Whoosh...
However, faced with such a situation, Xia Houcen not only showed no fear, a ferocious grin even appeared on his face. He suddenly twisted his body, sweeping his nine-ring silver-ringed large blade in a horizontal arc, unleashing a horizontal Saber Gleam.
Before the Saber Gleam fully manifested, three vertical crimson cloud patterns suddenly appeared between his eyebrows. The Saber Gleam instantly widened by two or three meters, sweeping away all six charging officers before him.
Not only that, nearly half of the dozens of defenders who had surrounded him were also swept aside. Many were even cleaved in two, armor and all.
"Sacred Mark plus martial technique, my strength is almost approaching a hundred zong! With no Sun Manifestation Level present, who can stop me?!"
Xia Houcen hadn't fought so freely and vigorously in a long time. He hadn't been with Great Xia for very long, so his craving for military merits wasn't that intense yet. Right now, he only wanted Contribution Points. He was only a little short of having enough Contribution Points to exchange for a Sun Ascension Pill.
After this battle, it should be enough...
"Brothers of the Chiyang Army! Scale the walls! This general will clear a path for you!"
Xia Houcen roared angrily, continuing to fight where he stood, intending to secure an area in advance for the brothers coming up behind him.
"Everyone, do not retreat! If the Xia army cannot breach the gate, they cannot fight their way in! Hold! Hold for me!"
Yang Qin and Yang Ping had been defending the airspace above the stockade gate against Mu Qinghe and Mu Longhe, father and son. The two were clearly inferior in strength to their opponents. But they had no intention of engaging in a prolonged fight. Whenever the Mu father and son tried to use brute force to break the gate, they would immediately go up to harass them. In this way, they actually managed to barely hold the gate.
Unfortunately, as soldiers from the Chiyang and Yellow Armor Armies surged onto the top of the stockade gate like a tide, the significance of holding this gate seemed to be diminishing rapidly.
Bang...
"If we can't hold it, letting them in isn't necessarily a bad thing..."
Yang Qin blocked Mu Longhe's long staff once again. He retreated several meters. Seeing that several hundred Xia soldiers had already secured a position atop the gate, he first let out a cold laugh, then turned his head to look towards the interior of the stockade, as if about to say something.
But before his words could leave his mouth, his line of sight caught something first. His pupils contracted sharply, and his body jolted violently.
Smoke. It was smoke...
The central area of the stockade was emitting smoke.
And the scale of the smoke seemed considerable.
That wasn't...
"The warehouse is on fire! The warehouse is ablaze!"
Several cries of alarm suddenly came from the rear of the army. Yang Qin's face instantly turned deathly pale, his expression reaching an extreme level of ugliness.