Iron cannonballs struck the city wall with a series of loud bangs. Some hit the wall, kicking up a lot of dust, while others hit the wooden planks, shattering them and causing them to fall to the ground.
Wei Shao was overjoyed and grabbed the strategist, saying, "Look at them, they're actually using wooden planks to repair the city wall. They're really overestimating themselves, haha."
The strategist raised his hand to shield his eyes: "Your Highness, there's something reflecting light off the city wall, it's so bright."
Wei Shao also noticed the glare and couldn't help but raise his hand to shield his eyes.
It looked as if a huge triangular mirror was hanging on the city wall, its surface revealed as the wooden planks fell. The rising sun shone directly on the mirror, reflecting its light into their eyes.
The mirror was so large that it seemed to make the entire Xiping Pass shine, a miraculous sight that stunned the soldiers below.
They had spent half their lives on the battlefield and had never seen such a spectacle. The general in charge of giving the order to fire the cannon froze in mid-air, the soldiers carrying the shells stood frozen in place, and the soldiers loading the gunpowder opened their mouths wide, letting the cold wind whistle into their mouths.
The ten thousand soldiers lined up in formation were transformed into clay and wood sculptures the instant the light reflected from the mirror, as if the light possessed some kind of magical power that could turn everyone who saw it into a statue.
"That's ice!" The strategist squinted, pointing to the breach in the city wall. "Your Highness, they've sealed the breach with ice!"
After Wei Shao finally adjusted his eyes to the light, he looked closely and discovered that the gap had been completely filled by the thick ice wall.
He couldn't believe it, repeatedly saying, "How could this be? How could this be..."
At first, he found the plank ridiculous, but when it cracked and revealed the ice wall behind it, he realized how prematurely he had laughed.
The strategist trembled with excitement, then suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, I understand. Those planks weren't for repairing the city walls. They were using them to block the water, then pouring the water inside..."
"Stop talking, I understand," Wei Shao said sternly, flicking his sleeve.
The weather was so cold that water would freeze instantly if poured out. The garrison at Xiping Pass worked all night to seal the entire breach with ice.
"That's absolutely brilliant!" The strategist looked at Xiping Pass with admiration. "Who came up with this idea? It's truly unprecedented!"
Wei Shao was displeased and said to the strategist, "Don't boost the enemy's morale and diminish our own. So what if it's an ice wall? I don't believe it can stop the cannonballs from the Divine Machine Cannon!"
He roared at the generals of the Shenji Artillery Battalion who were staring blankly in the distance: "Don't stand there, fire! Fire!"
The commanders of the Divine Machine Artillery Battalion quickly recovered from their shock and ordered their soldiers to fire.
The earth trembled, and another round of bombardment followed.
Several shells slammed into the ice wall with a clanging sound, sending ice shards flying everywhere.
Su Wan and Meng Ruliu hid behind the city wall, nervously watching the massive ice wall ahead. Around them, Meng Kuan led thousands of soldiers, armed and ready for battle.
All eyes were on the ice wall. Once the ice wall collapsed, these soldiers would be responsible for holding off the enemy's fierce attack.
"Sister, can the ice wall really stop the cannonballs?" Meng Ruliu asked. "If it can't, we're doomed."
Su Wan said, "Whether it can be blocked or not depends on how the shells look when they hit the ground."
The idea of using ice walls to repair the breach in the city wall came to her on a whim. There was a water source inside the city, and the weather was so hot that water would freeze instantly. As long as water was added to the breach, it would freeze immediately.
When she first proposed it, both Meng Kuan and his daughter, as well as Lin Qingfeng, found it unbelievable. However, the city walls had already been breached, and without this method, it would be impossible to defend Xiping Pass. Everyone gritted their teeth and went ahead with it, with Meng Kuan feigning surrender. They led the craftsmen inside the city to cut the barriers to prevent water from overflowing outside the city.
Thousands of people worked through the night to pour ice to create this enormous wall. The ice wall is a full six meters thick.
She didn't know if the shells could break through the ice wall of that thickness. But she knew that even an icebreaker weighing 100,000 tons could only break through three meters of ice. A fifty-pound shell, no matter how fast it traveled, probably wouldn't be able to penetrate it, right?
Round after round of bombardment continued, but the ice wall didn't even tremble until silence fell outside the city walls.
Lin Qingfeng volunteered to climb the city wall to investigate. In no time, he rushed down the steps, raised his hands, and shouted, "Madam, General Meng, Miss Meng! Only some ice blocks have been knocked off the ice wall!"
Su Wan was overjoyed. She grabbed Meng Ruliu's hand and jumped up, shouting, "We held on! We held on!"
Meng Kuan and his daughter were overjoyed and cheered along with thousands of soldiers.
The cheers echoed beyond the city walls and reached Wei Shao's ears. Enraged, he demanded of the commander of the Divine Machine Artillery Battalion, "Why haven't you fired?"
The artillery battalion commander said, "Prince Shao, we've run out of cannonballs."
"Oh no, how could that be? Why didn't you tell me beforehand!"
The strategist stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, please calm down. Have you forgotten? The artillery battalion said yesterday that they were running low on ammunition."
"I'm furious!" Wei Shao drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at the Xiping Pass city wall. "Issue my order to attack! I will not withdraw my troops until Xiping Pass is taken today!"
Seeing Wei Shao's seemingly deranged state, his generals had no choice but to lead their soldiers in a siege. Meng Kuan had already anticipated that the enemy would attack with infantry next, so he immediately led his soldiers to the top of the city wall to defend.
This time, Wei Shao was determined; he wouldn't withdraw his troops until he captured Xiping Pass. The defenders of Xiping Pass also knew this was a life-or-death battle. Both sides were giving it their all, gambling everything on a single throw.
The fighting raged back and forth from morning until noon, resulting in over five thousand casualties for Wei Shao's army, with corpses piling up like mountains beneath the city walls. The garrison at Xiping Pass consisted mostly of wounded soldiers; though they had the city gates to rely on, their strength was failing, and they too suffered over five thousand casualties.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
