The Demon Lords-Chapter 711 - 149: The Great Wind! _4

"If we choose to fight, Fourth Brother can dispatch reinforcements. If we opt to retreat, we can withdraw safely. The painful part is for the Yan people!"

"True, but things rarely go as planned, do they? By the Wang River, hundreds of thousands of troops are facing off, consuming a staggering amount of supplies daily. Comparatively, Yan State has Jin land at its back. Ying Capital City also maintains a functioning administration, so they can certainly sustain the Yan Army, no matter how great the pressure. In contrast, we've been devastated. Even if we eat that mutton, how much can we really consume? Moreover, our Chu State soldiers still don't know what the meat they're sporadically served actually is. If they were to find out, army morale would become a huge problem."

"So, you're saying we're the ones who should be anxious?"

"It's much the same for both sides. We're short on provisions, while the Yan people are short on time. If they don't manage to turn the tide of this battle while the Wang River is still frozen, it will be even more difficult for them once it thaws. Essentially, no matter how you look at it, Yan's Southern Marquis has laid out his challenge. It's like a martial cultivator setting up an arena in the streets. Now, it just depends on whether that Wild People's King accepts the gauntlet."

"Is he a fool? He's plundered his fill and made a fortune. Why would he stick his neck out here to fight our Jingnan and Zhenbei Armies to the death?"

In the last battle by the Wang River, the Yan Army suffered a disastrous defeat. That's the story spread in both the Snow Sea region and Chu State—that the Yan Army lost tens of thousands of men, their bodies littering the Wang River. But such news is merely propaganda for the common folk. However, those in the upper echelons know the truth. The Yan's Left Army, which suffered heavy losses, was actually a cumbersome military group formed by patching together local forces. Yan State's true fighting strength lies in its Zhenbei and Jingnan Armies.

And now, looking at the armor below, at the forest of banners, the elites of both these armies are gathered here. Would that Gou Moli dare to try his luck again? Why would he risk it? Isn't life good as it is?

The swordsmith pursed his lips and said, "Unless there's a reason he absolutely must fight."

...

Although the Yan Army crossed the river last night, it's impossible for such a large-scale military operation to go unnoticed. It not only alerted the Chu Army within Jade Plate City, but news also reached the wild people's encampment thirty li to the north quite early. For days, although the Wang River front has been quiet, skirmishes between the scouts and outriders of both sides have been relentless. Every day, over a hundred scouts and outriders from both sides were killed in action. Given the massive scale of the two armies, however, these losses were hardly considered significant enough to be formally reported.

So, when the Yan people crossed the river, the wild people didn't just send out scouts; they also dispatched three chiliarchs specifically to observe the Yan forces and the situation near Jade Plate City. However, lacking a formal order from the Wild People's King to engage, these chiliarchs merely drove off the Yan people's outer scouts, made a brief reconnaissance, and quickly withdrew before the corresponding Yan cavalry could pursue them.

By afternoon, the Yan Army began their assault on the city. Battering rams, siege towers, and the like were pushed towards the city walls. Soldiers of the Zhenbei and Jingnan Armies, carrying scaling ladders, commenced the attack.

Upon receiving this news, the Wild People's King fell into deep contemplation. Before him sat his trusted high commanders, such as Sang Hu. They all knew about the fall of Snow Sea Pass and Geremu's death. The atmosphere in the King's Tent was extremely grim.

...

Ran Min participated in the assault. However, he was relatively lucky; being a standard-bearer, he was assigned to a position further back. This was Ran Min's first time witnessing a city assault. Yan Army soldiers on the siege towers and in the arrow towers did their best to suppress the Chu defenders on the city walls with archery, but the Chu Army's counter-fire was extremely fierce.

Below the city walls, wave after wave of armored soldiers advanced with scaling ladders. However, the Chu Army on the walls quickly rained down spiked logs, rolling stones, and hot oil. Screams were unceasing. After the Yan Army's trebuchets began launching stones, the Chu Army within the city, their own trebuchets long prepared, swiftly retaliated. In no time, several of the Yan Army's trebuchets were smashed. The Chu people had deliberately held back from using their trebuchets to bombard the Yan Army's arrow towers; they had been waiting for this very moment.

Ran Min felt that if he were thrown into this assault, he would be like a single drop of water falling into a river, vanishing in an instant. Perhaps this was the true cruelty of the battlefield.

Finally, it was the turn for Ran Min's wave to advance. Ran Min lowered his flag, drew his saber, and surged forward with his fellow soldiers, roaring in unison. After crossing the ditch, Ran Min, along with several fellow soldiers, hoisted a scaling ladder. Shield-bearers protected them from the front, while archers behind them, even exposing themselves to the Chu archers on the walls, did their utmost to provide covering fire for their comrades ahead.

At this moment, life was the cheapest of commodities. An arrow struck Ran Min, but luckily, the arrowhead only lodged in his armor, not piercing his flesh. Ran Min paid it no mind, continuing to carry the ladder forward.

Just then, the signal for retreat—the sounding of gongs—came from the rear.

The Yan Army attackers at the city walls began an orderly withdrawal. Ran Min didn't hesitate. He dropped the ladder, hoisted an arrow-struck fellow soldier onto his shoulder, and sprinted back as if taking flight.