The soldiers of Dawei suffered heavy casualties and still couldn’t manage to climb the City Wall. And the City Gate suddenly seemed much sturdier. The battering rams hit it repeatedly, only causing a slight tremor.
The Crown Prince of Dawei, Yuan Zhao, observed the battlefield from the back, his face grim. He watched Luo Yan leading her men forward, also struggling with the hidden weapons fired from the City Wall.
Nangong Zheng trotted back to the rear and asked Yuan Zhao for instructions, "Your Highness, please call off the attack for today! We must come up with another way to neutralize the hidden weapons on the wall of Heiya Pass. Otherwise, our soldiers will suffer even heavier losses."
Yuan Zhao nodded, "Sound the retreat."
At his command, Dawei withdrew its troops. Their siege had persisted for over an hour, yet Nanchu hadn’t taken the slightest damage. Instead, Dawei had lost quite a few soldiers.
After pulling back, Yuan Zhao convened all the Dawei generals in the central Military Tent to discuss the next strategy.
Luo Yan stormed into the central Military Tent and questioned Yuan Zhao, "Why did Your Highness order a retreat? Given another half an hour, I would have led my soldiers up to the wall of Heiya Pass."
"What comes after climbing the wall of Heiya Pass?" Yuan Zhao looked at her. "Don’t forget the thousand or so martial arts masters atop the wall. I already told you that they’re very skilled. They belong to the Cui family of Qinghe and the Evil Ghost Sect."
Luo Yan replied, "Kill them."
"Have you counted how many soldiers you have at your disposal? Are you capable of killing them? Not to mention, they excel not just at poisoning and healing, but also at Mechanism Technique." Yuan Zhao didn’t expect to find himself in such a passive situation today after missing yesterday’s opportunity. Heiya Pass suddenly seemed impregnable.
"What do we do then? Are you saying the Crown Prince is not going to continue the attack?" Luo Yan said.
"Calm down first. I personally led the troops into Nanchu, naturally, we can’t return without accomplishing anything." Yuan Zhao looked at her, "I will discuss the next strategy with the generals. If you have better tactics, you can also propose them."
After all, Luo Yan was not a thoughtless person. She calmed down and asked, "Can the battering rams destroyed by Nanchu be repaired?"
Yuan Zhao shook his head, "Not in the short term. They have to be transported back to Dawei for reforging."
Luo Yan asked again: "Does Your Highness only have six battering rams?"
Yuan Zhao nodded, "We only managed to make six. I brought them to Nanchu to test their effectiveness, but unexpectedly lost all of them."
Building battering rams was an extremely difficult feat. Over these years, they had only managed to craft six, and two of them had been completely destroyed. The other four couldn’t be repaired in a short amount of time.
Deflated, Luo Yan sank into her chair. After sitting quietly for a moment, she listened to the generals’ discussions. Despite their ongoing arguments, they couldn’t figure out a viable strategy. She suddenly turned to Yuan Zhao and asked, "The Crown Prince should be surrounded by many masters, why did you bring so few people? Where are the officers of His Highness?"
Yuan Zhao replied, "I left them in the court to maintain stability. My second brother isn’t easy to deal with."
Luo Yan fell silent, she stood up irritably. Her injury hadn’t healed yet so she didn’t stay to participate in the discussion. Instead, she left to rest. She needed to save her strength and recover from her wounds as soon as possible to avenge Hongying.
After she left, Yuan Zhao looked at Nangong Zheng, "Do you have any good ideas?"
Nangong Zheng replied, "Your Highness, what we need most at the moment are masters. Our first option is to dispatch masters to aid us. The second option is to form a human wall, no matter how much it may cost in soldiers’ lives, and launch a hard attack. Miss Luo was not wrong just now. If her men from the Poison Doctor Sect hold shields, stepping on ladders to block, once all arrow mechanisms inside Heiya Pass are used, there is a chance to scale the wall. However, the losses would be heavy."
"In your estimation, how many Dawei soldiers would we lose if we forcefully seize the city wall?" Yuan Zhao asked.
"I’m afraid it would be twenty to thirty thousand," Nangong Zheng replied.
"If the loss of twenty to thirty thousand soldiers will allow me to seize Heiya Pass, it will be worth it," Yuan Zhao responded.
Helan Jue suggested, "Yesterday’s battle resulted in Su Rong and her compatriots being severely injured. As long as we deal with these latest arrivals, we can seize Heiya Pass. Your Highness, you should send a message back to Dawei to have them dispatch reinforcements."
"It will take at least ten days for me to receive reinforcements from Dawei," Yuan Zhao looked towards Nangong Zheng, "Did your Nangong family withdraw everyone from Nanchu? Is anyone left there?"
Nangong Zheng saluted, "There are still some people in Nanchu, Your Highness. I will send a Hawk Messenger today, and there should be at least five hundred people arriving. However, it will still take a few days."
Yuan Zhao nodded, making up his mind, "Tomorrow we will launch a strong attack. If we can seize Heiya Pass, that would be best. If not, we will wait for your people and my people to arrive together and then launch an attack on the city. I don’t believe that within these ten days, reinforcements from Daliang will be able to arrive."
Nangong Zheng nodded in agreement.
Thus, that day, two letters were dispatched from Dawei’s camp, one sent to Dawei and the other discreetly sent to a Nangong family enclave in Nanchu.
Dawei pulling back made the soldiers on the wall of Heiya Pass very happy. For the first time in days, the soldiers’ gloom lifted a little, and they finally cracked smiles.
Zhang Yun also smiled, "Dawei has retreated. Brothers of the Evil Ghost Sect, you have worked hard. Go and take a rest!"
"We are not tired." One of them said, "The city gate and wall can still be further reinforced. Yesterday’s hurried work resulted in a rough job."
Zhang Yun wiped off his smile, "Today, Dawei has retreated. They might re-strategize and attack aggressively tomorrow. So, I suggest that you, who have already worked for a night, should rest while you can. If you are not tired by night, you can continue the improvements. There will be a fierce battle tomorrow, and we will have to rely on you a lot to defend the city. You have to recover your strength."
Upon hearing him, the soldiers felt his rationale and nodded in agreement, "Sounds reasonable."
Zhang Yun turned to Cui Xingzhi, "Brother Cui, go and rest! I can handle the aftermath of today’s battle."
Cui Xingzhi did not refuse. He had not slept the previous night. Now that Dawei had retreated and they had held off the attack, he could breathe a sigh of relief. Fatigue swept over him. He said, "Thank you, Brother Zhang Yun. I will come to replace you in the afternoon."
"No need, you rest today. These tasks are simple, after I quickly finish them, I will also go rest." Zhang Yun waved his hand.
Cui Xingzhi nodded, made a salute, and left the City Wall.
After Su Rong and Zhou Gu returned to their residence, they didn’t rest immediately. Instead, they checked on Ye Guixue, Xie Yuan, and the others.
Ye Guixue, Fen Ling, and Yin Yue were still unconscious. Xie Yuan, however, had awakened. Seeing the two being assisted by others as they walked in, he weakly asked, "Did Dawei attack the city again?"
Su Rong quickly reassured him by giving him a brief update on the situation at the city gate, "Uncle Xie, don’t worry. With the people from the Evil Ghost Sect guarding the city wall, we will surely hold it."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yuan was relieved, "That’s good."
He glanced at Su Rong and Zhou Gu, "I’m fine here. Seeing how pale both your faces are, you should go rest."
Su Rong, indeed, depleted all her energy and nodded. With Zhou Gu, she went to rest.
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