Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 111 First Battle at the City Wall

The war drums of the Black Mountain Army's general offensive sounded in the darkest hour before dawn. The drumbeats were no longer the intermittent and chaotic sounds of the probing attacks of the previous days, but heavy, continuous, like the muffled thunder rolling across the sky before a summer storm. One after another, wave after wave, they came from the dark, dense camp in the north, carrying a heart-palpitating sense of oppression, sweeping across the silent plains, and crashing heavily against the newly built walls of Starfire Fortress.

Almost simultaneously with the sound of the drums, countless torches suddenly lit up in the direction of the Black Mountain Army camp, forming a leaping sea of ​​light. Immediately afterward, a tremendous clamor, like a flash flood, a mixture of countless rough roars, clashing weapons, and heavy footsteps, surged towards the north wall of Starfire Fortress!

"Enemy attack! All troops in position!" The hoarse shouts of officers at all levels pierced through the deafening drumbeats atop the north wall of Xinghuo Fortress.

The defending troops, who had been waiting in ambush, surged out of their hiding places and fortifications behind the walls, quickly taking up their defensive positions. Archers rested their fingers on their crossbows, their eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching flash of fire in the darkness; infantrymen gripped their spears and shields tightly, their bodies pressed against the crenellations, holding their breath; while laborers and auxiliary soldiers stood guard beside the mountains of rolling logs and stones, ready to push them off the city wall at any moment.

Chen Xing, Chen Wei, and Murong Mingyue stood on the main enemy platform in the center of the north wall. Chen Xing raised his monocular telescope, the lens reflecting the surging tide of Black Mountain soldiers like ants bursting their banks. This time, the enemy no longer probed or held back; their vanguard consisted of densely packed infantry, almost without gaps, carrying various ladders and charging headlong under the cover of a few shield carts. Further back, all of the Black Mountain army's dozens of catapults were making final adjustments and aiming intently at the middle section of the north wall.

"Zhang Kuang has staked everything on this." Chen Wei's voice was calm, but the veins on his sword-wielding hand were slightly bulging. "The vanguard is just cannon fodder, meant to wear us down. The real killing move will probably be to use our elite troops and artillery to open a breach after our army is exhausted and our defensive equipment is depleted."

"Leave the artillery to me," Murong Mingyue suddenly said, her gaze sweeping over the surging crowd and locking onto the grotesque outlines of the catapults in the distance, illuminated by the firelight. "The Arrowhead Battalion is ready, awaiting only the Lord's command."

Chen Xing put down his binoculars and shook his head: "It's not time yet. The cavalry is our last resort; if we go out now, we'll be overwhelmed by the enemy's sheer numbers. As for the artillery... let them smash it first. Our walls aren't made of paper."

He turned to the messengers: "Order all sections: When the enemy advances to 250 paces, archers must not move their crossbows! When they advance to 200 paces, archers should fire in volleys, focusing on unarmored soldiers carrying ladders! When they advance to 150 paces, crossbows should fire in volleys, focusing on sniping officers behind their shield carts and enemy soldiers clustered together! Roll logs and stones, wait for the command of the section captains, and be sure to use them only when their ladders are in place and their ranks are at their densest! Save the kerosene and molten iron for the most stubborn points of attack!"

The order was swiftly relayed. A stifling silence hung over the city walls, broken only by heavy breathing and the faint rustling of armor, creating an eerie contrast with the frenzied clamor outside.

The vanguard of the Black Mountain Army drew ever closer, their twisted, ferocious faces, tattered clothes, and rusted weapons clearly visible in the firelight. Driven by the increasingly dense ranks of their comrades and the swords and spears of their overseers, they howled like wild beasts, charging forward recklessly. The moat, having been filled in several places during previous battles, was now practically useless.

Three hundred steps... two hundred and eighty steps... two hundred and fifty steps!

The archers on the city wall tightened their grip, their eyes like those of hawks before a hunt, but no one fired. This silent wait was more agonizing to the attackers than the flurry of arrows. Some of the Black Mountain soldiers charging ahead showed confusion and an even deeper fear on their faces.

Two hundred steps!

"Archers—fire!" The roars of the captains from all sides rang out almost simultaneously.

"Whoosh—!" The muffled thud of hundreds of bowstrings vibrating simultaneously merged into a deathly buzz. Black arrows, like a flock of crows suddenly rising, leaped over the battlements, reached their apex in the air, and then, with a mournful whistle, plunged fiercely into the surging crowd below!

"Thud thud thud thud...!" The dull thuds of arrows piercing flesh echoed one after another, instantly drowning out the enemy's screams. The cannon fodder at the forefront, completely unprotected, fell like felled wheat, their screams rising abruptly. But those behind, driven by even greater fear, continued their frenzied charge, stepping over the still-warm corpses of their comrades, even using the wounded as stepping stones.

One hundred and eighty paces! The crossbows joined the chorus. Heavier and more powerful bolts targeted the low-ranking officers who were shouting orders from behind makeshift shield carts, or areas with particularly dense crowds. The powerful bolts often pierced through the thin wooden planks of the shield carts, pinning the enemies behind them to the ground, or piercing through two or three people before exhausting themselves.

The Black Mountain Army's charge stalled, and the ground was covered with a new layer of corpses and groaning, wounded. But their numbers were simply too great; for every batch that died, more were immediately brought in to fill the gaps. And, after paying the price of several hundred men, the vanguard finally reached the base of the city walls!

"Get a ladder! Get a ladder quickly!"

"Push it up! Push it up!"

Amidst the chaotic screams, dozens of ladders of varying lengths were haphazardly piled onto the city wall. Most of these ladders were crude and unusable, many even lacking iron-clad tops, but their sheer number made them seem like countless tentacles attempting to climb a giant.

"Smash the rocks!" The officer's order was cold and ruthless.

The laborers and auxiliary soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, worked in groups of two or three, shouting rough chants as they forcefully pushed the heavy stones down the ramparts. Stones weighing tens or even hundreds of kilograms tumbled and fell with terrifying force, crashing into the crowded people below, instantly breaking bones, splattering brains, and clearing a small area. Meanwhile, the defenders pushed pre-prepared "Yaksha-shaped hammers" studded with sharp wooden spikes down the ramparts, crushing the enemy soldiers hanging on the ladders like skewers of candied hawthorns.

However, the Black Mountain army acted like madmen, completely disregarding casualties. As soon as someone was knocked down, another immediately stepped in, desperately trying to stabilize the swaying ladders, even using their hands and bodies to brace the base. More ladders were erected from different directions. Some fierce Black Mountain soldiers, with blades in their mouths and shields against their shields, began to climb with all their might!

The defenders on the wall faced increased pressure. Archers had to lower their firing angles and shoot the climbers at close range; infantrymen used spears to thrust downwards through the gaps in the crenellations and slashed at the fingers gripping the edges with swords. Every now and then, fierce Black Mountain soldiers would brave the rain of arrows and spear thrusts, roaring as they scaled the wall, only to be immediately surrounded and attacked by the defenders. Amidst the flashing blades and flying flesh, they were quickly killed, their bodies kicked off the wall by the defenders. But their final counterattacks often managed to take down one or two defenders.

The battle entered its most brutal and bloody phase of close combat. Every battlement became the focal point of life-or-death struggle. Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, the screams of the dying, the dull thuds of heavy objects falling to the ground... all sorts of sounds mingled together, playing a symphony of death.

Just then, the dozens of catapults that had been poised for a long time in the rear of the Black Mountain Army finally roared!

"Boom! Boom! Boom...!" The dull thuds from the winch echoed in succession. Dozens of stone projectiles of varying sizes were hurled high into the air, tracing terrifying parabolic arcs as they hurtled down towards the middle section of the north wall of Starfire Fortress like a meteor shower!

"Take cover—!" the officer on the wall shouted sharply.

However, many defenders were still engaged in fierce fighting with the enemy who were scaling the city walls, or busy operating defensive equipment, and were unable to take cover in the bunkers or under the protective shelters in time.

"Boom! Crack! Thud—!"

The terrifying sound of boulders crashing against the city walls was deafening. Some struck the thick walls, leaving deep dents, causing the walls to tremble violently and sending shards of stone flying like raindrops; others hit the top of the wall directly, instantly obliterating a section of the crenellations along with several soldiers behind them, turning them into a pool of blurred flesh and broken bricks; still others flew over the walls, landing inside the fortress, collapsing buildings, and causing screams and chaos.

A single artillery barrage inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders of the north wall, causing brief periods of chaos and gaps in their defenses. Seeing this, the Black Mountain troops, now energized, surged forward with even greater frenzy!

On the main platform, Chen Xing's face was ashen as he watched the fierce battle below and the smoke and blood rising from the city walls. Murong Mingyue's knuckles turned white from gripping her sword so tightly, and she hesitated several times before speaking. Chen Wei, on the other hand, stared intently at several sections of the wall that were under heavy fire from the artillery and were in danger, waiting for Chen Xing's order to lead his personal guards to fill the gaps.

"Tell all sections to hold firm!" Chen Xing's voice pierced through the commotion, unusually calm. "The artillery is loading slowly; this is an opening! Archers, suppress the enemy scaling the walls with all your might! Laborers, immediately repair the damaged crenellations! Drag the dead down, send the wounded to the hospital, and fill any gaps immediately!"

His gaze fell upon the catapults outside the city, which were constantly spitting out stones, then he looked at Murong Mingyue beside him, who was barely suppressing her fighting spirit. Finally, he shook his head: "Mingyue, wait a little longer. The arrogant artillery is a price we must pay. Your cavalry, save your blades for the most crucial moment."

Murong Mingyue took a deep breath, nodded emphatically, and her gaze was as cold as ice, fixed on the ranged assassins who were constantly causing casualties to the city walls.

The first wave of the general offensive, after the Starfire Fortress defenders paid a considerable price, receded like waves crashing against rocks; though it created a huge splash, it eventually subsided. Thousands more Black Mountain soldiers' corpses and even more wounded lay at the foot of the walls. Starfire Fortress's logs and boulders were depleted, its arrows were dwindling, and the defenders suffered hundreds of casualties.

However, Zhang Kuang clearly had no intention of giving up. The drumbeats of the Black Mountain army's rear changed again, and new reinforcements began to advance, replacing the exhausted and wounded vanguard. The catapults, under the busy work of the craftsmen, began a new round of loading.