Dark clouds pressed down on the besieged city, joining the surrounding army in trying to crush it!
The two hundred thousand strong cavalry thundered toward the city walls like the surging storm clouds in an overwhelming display of aggression.
It was at this moment that Zhou Tong truly understood why people claimed the Northern Qiang cavalry is unparalleled under the heavens. It was no exaggeration.
The tide of cavalry surged like a flood, accompanied only by the deafening roar of hoofbeats! There were no battle cries, no commands, just a chilling, omnipresent killing intent.
The ground and the city walls seemed to tremble under the terrific and terrible onslaught of hooves. Even as the commander of Liangzhou, Zhou Tong felt his heart pounding. He had no hope that the ordinary soldiers manning the walls were faring better.
Finally, a cry came from the wall. A soldier threw down his spear and ran toward the stairs, crying, "We can’t win! We can’t win!"
A blade flashed, and a supervising officer decapitated the fleeing soldier in one swift stroke. He glared coldly around and declared, "Cowards will die!"
Zhou Tong gripped his sleeve tightly, his gaze growing colder. The Northern Qiang had crushed the defenders’ morale the moment they charged. Was there really any hope of victory in this battle?
But no matter how dark his thoughts were, Zhou Tong would not abandon himself to despair. As the city’s commander, he had too much to do.
He turned to face the soldiers on the walls, took a deep breath, and shouted, "How dare the Northern Qiang barbarians insult the majesty of the Ruen Dynasty? Do they think our nation doesn't have any men?
"Soldiers! Look beneath your feet. This is Liangzhou! Who among you hasn’t received the kindness of its people?
"Now look behind you! Liangzhou is the final defense before our capital! If we lose this battle, we’re placing the capital right into the Northern Qiang’s hands. How can we face our ancestors then?!"
Zhou Tong caught his breath, closed his eyes, and took another deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes were bloodshot. He roared, "Soldiers! Will you fight?!"
The walls were silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cries!
"To the death! To the death!"
Seeing that morale had been restored, Zhou Tong let out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling slightly reassured. However, there was no time to rest. The Northern Qiang cavalry had reached the base of the walls.
"Archery units, ready yourselves!" Zhou Tong commanded.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of rustling rose from below the walls. The first volley of return fire from the Northern Qiang archers arrived. One arrow grazed Zhou Tong’s cheek, but he had no time to care. He continued shouting orders.
"Fire! Fire! Don’t let them get close to the walls!"
It was, of course, impossible to prevent the Northern Qiang from reaching the walls with a few arrows. The defenders’ arrow volleys inflicted little damage. The people of Northern Qiang were said to be born and raised on horseback, and were natural equestrians. As soon as the first volley came, they ducked under their horses’ bellies, avoiding the majority of the deadly arrows.
Using the momentum of their charge, the Northern Qiang quickly reached the base of the walls. At this range, arrows were much less effective. Thousands of fearless Arhats lead the charge.
These soldiers, unafraid of death, had grappling hooks at the ready. With a swing and a throw, the hooks latched securely onto the walls. Before long, the northern walls were densely covered by ropes and countless Northern Qiang soldiers who were climbing the wall after dismounting.
Wang Yuepi moved within the rear ranks of the army, occasionally urging his massive ursine mount to pace back and forth. Surrounding him was a personal guard of a thousand Arhat troops.
"Commander Bear, do you think those two will appear again?" asked Guarjia Aduo as he was sitting on a horse beside Wang Yuepi.
Wang Yuepi snorted a breath of hot air from his nose. "You’re asking me?"
Guarjia Aduo gave Wang Yuepi a meaningful look. "I heard that before this expedition, you were recuperating from injuries... Among those two warriors from that night, is the man with the gourd your old acquaintance?"
Wang Yuepi rubbed his bulbous nose and cast a sidelong glance at Guarjia Aduo. "You have sharp eyes, General."
Guarjia Aduo smiled faintly. "Every son of the steppe has the sharp eyes of an eagle."
"Are you suggesting... I’m like the rabbit under your talons?" Wang Yuepi grinned, his sharp teeth glinting coldly. "If I recall, the Commander sent you to assist me, not to spy on me, correct?"
Guarjia Aduo's heart pounded as he finally sensed the undisguised killing intent in Wang Yuepi's words. He quickly lowered his head and said, "Commander Bear, forgive me. I spoke out of turn."
Wang Yuepi laughed coldly and pointing at Guarjia Aduo's eyes with a finger as thick as a carrot. "Don’t try to flaunt your petty tricks here. Your eyes are something special... I wouldn’t mind helping you dig them out."
Guarjia Aduo broke into a cold sweat. He nodded repeatedly in agreement, looking as if he had just been pulled out of a water tank.
Wang Yuepi licked his teeth as he stared at the city walls and muttered, "Even if he doesn’t come out... once we break the city, I’ll catch him to settle that punch."
While they were talking, the city walls became the next major battlefield. The fighting grew fiercer and fiercer. Countless lives were lost under the gleam of blades, and corpses piled up like mountains around the walls.
Blood dyed the walls crimson. The Northern Qiang soldiers scaled the walls on several occasions and almost breached the city, only to be repelled at the critical moment by the desperate defenders.
Zhou Tong wielded a longsword himself, continuously slashing at the Northern Qiang soldiers while shouting orders.
"Keep pouring the hot oil! Set up more cauldrons! Pour the oil down! If there’s not enough timber, tear down the houses! Beat these barbarians back!"
A blood-soaked bodyguard broke through the enemy ranks and rushed to Zhou Tong’s side. Grabbing Zhou Tong’s collar, he shouted hoarsely, "My lord! It’s too dangerous here! Get down from the walls!"
"Rubbish!" Zhou Tong shoved the bodyguard away and roared angrily, "The soldiers of my great Ruen Dynasty are fighting to the death here. As the commander of this city, how could I cower and flee?"
"My lord!" the bodyguard cried in desperation. "You have the highest rank here! If anything happens to you, Liangzhou will lose its backbone!"
Zhou Tong bellowed in anger, "Get out of my sight! If you dare speak such words again and disrupt morale, I’ll execute you on the spot!"
The bodyguard gritted his teeth, but ultimately did not say another word.
The battle on the walls had reached a fever pitch. The defenders of Liangzhou no longer cared about victory or defeat. In this hellish battlefield of life and death, the only thing they remembered was to kill the invaders in front of them.
No one knew how much time had passed. Zhou Tong’s arms felt weak and sore, but he continued swinging his sword purely out of instinct. Suddenly, the clear sound of gongs rang out in the distance.
The enemies retreated like a receding tide, leaving behind only a wall littered with corpses.
Zhou Tong stared blankly at the scene below the walls.
From behind, a bodyguard jolted him out of his reverie. His bodyguard's voice was filled with unmistakable relief at surviving the assault. "My lord! The enemy has retreated!"
"They... retreated..." Zhou Tong murmured.
The bodyguard shook Zhou Tong’s shoulders vigorously and cheered. "My lord! We defended the city!"