——
"Bend down, grip your shield tightly! Follow me!"
"Never lift your head!"
Boom boom boom!
Amidst the deafening roar of the bombardment, Brother Zhang struggled to push aside the fallen wooden curtain and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Dust filled the air on the pontoon road, obscuring the sky. In the hazy mist, countless corpses lay on the ground. The raised battlements were dilapidated and no longer resembled what they once were. The ground was covered with corpses, cannonballs, and broken bricks.
Meanwhile, endless shells continued to rain down on them, the dense whistling sound like the groans of demons, almost screeching against one's ears.
"good!!"
"Brother Zhang, be careful!!!"
Xiao Hu was sweating profusely. He had already slung the bow and arrows behind his back. At this moment, he was holding the large iron shield up with both hands, facing the eastern night sky at a 45-degree angle.
By then, the sun had already set, and only a faint glimmer of light remained on the horizon.
It's five quarters past the hour of You (5:45 PM).
The artillery bombardment from outside the city had been going on for an hour and a half. Instead of gradually decreasing over time, the shells were coming in increasingly fiercely.
The defenders on the sheep and horse wall finally realized something was wrong. With such a continuous attack, even if the wall could still hold, they would definitely be hit by stray bullets on the horse path. And that was exactly what happened. In an hour and a half of intense fire, they had already suffered considerable casualties.
Although there are still troops inside Yangma City that can be replenished, the watchtowers have been completely destroyed and the battlements are in dire need of repair. Therefore, only the wooden canopies can be relied upon. Although a large number of wooden canopies have been prepared before the battle and can be replenished, they are not as good as the battlements, so they will also be accompanied by a large number of casualties.
Under these circumstances, the higher command issued the order to abandon the defense of Yangmaqiang.
At this moment, like most of the garrison, Brother Zhang was leading Xiao Hu towards the stairwell. They needed to get down the sheep and horse wall immediately and then rush to the corner tower outside the barbican to join the Shenji Battalion musketeers there to deal with the upcoming attack.
But on this rampart where shells are flying everywhere, even if you rush to the stairwell, it's a path fraught with danger.
A loud "bang" was heard.
A lead bullet, grazing the battlements, landed on the wall, scattering several small pieces of brick and stone on the ground. Xiao Hu, who was walking slowly, narrowed his eyes and hurriedly stopped, standing on the ground helplessly.
"Don't stop!"
"Keep going!!"
Zhang, who was walking in front of him, shouted loudly, and Xiao Hu then came to his senses, lowered his head, and followed Zhang step by step to continue walking forward.
But the next moment, Brother Zhang roared again:
"Don't stretch your arms out so straight! Don't you have arms anymore?!"
Xiao Hu was at a loss, holding his square shield high to protect himself from cannonballs fired from outside the city.
"I told you to bend your arm!! Don't hold the shield that far from your body; if a cannonball hits the shield, the impact will break your outstretched arm!!!"
Brother Zhang turned his head and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Yes!" Xiao Hu shouted, hurriedly bending his arm, but in that instant...
With a loud "bang!"
His eyes widened in horror as he watched Zhang Ge fall to the right and then crash into the wall with a loud thud.
It was a cannonball that hit Brother Zhang's shield directly. And this cannonball didn't just glide past the battlements; it flew right between the two battlements.
Its power was unleashed without reservation!
"Brother Zhang!!" Xiao Hu cried out in anguish.
"Keep going..." Amidst the deafening gunfire, Zhang Ge's body was covered by a shield. He leaned against the city wall, making a soft sound.
Xiao Hu couldn't hear anything; he had already rushed to Brother Zhang's side.
Brother Zhang's face was hidden under the shield. He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, then picked up the shield again: "Keep going!! Cough cough cough."
Amidst the roar, Brother Zhang coughed violently. The next moment, an uncontrollable urge to vomit swept over him, but Brother Zhang forced down the liquid that was rising from his throat. He then wiped the corner of his mouth and the smear of blood on the back of his hand on the dusty wall.
"Brother Zhang, are you alright?!" Xiao Hu asked anxiously.
"It's alright, let's go, kid!"
Brother Zhang took a deep breath and pushed Xiao Hu forward.
Seeing that Brother Zhang seemed to be alright, Xiao Hu breathed a sigh of relief and headed back towards the stairwell.
Shells kept flying past him along the way, but none of them hit the shield directly. As the corridor drew closer, Xiao Hu's eyes lit up.
"Brother Zhang! We're almost there!" he shouted.
But there was no response.
Xiao Hu paused, a sudden chill running down his spine, and he quickly turned his head away.
Fortunately, Brother Zhang was not far behind us.
"Get out of here, you idiot! What are you standing there for?! Do I need you to yell at me?!" Brother Zhang yelled at Xiao Hu, his face full of anger.
The angry curse made Xiao Hu exhale a heavy breath, and for a moment he even felt a little pleasure.
But the shells were still flying, and seeing that he was not far from the stairwell, he immediately ran forward and, when he was only three or five steps away, he jumped and fell into the stairwell with his shield.
As he got up from the ground, Xiao Hu was breathing heavily, and the feeling of surviving the ordeal made him tremble uncontrollably.
"Brother Zhang! Come in quickly..."
Without thinking, he turned his head and shouted towards the horse path, but before he could finish speaking, he saw Brother Zhang leaning against the city wall without moving.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com