Danma once considered himself a commander comparable to Wei Jingzhuo.
During the day, Wei Jingzhuo used the Divine Cannon to bombard and divide the clone army's formation, allowing the three-nation allied forces to enter the battle in sequence until victory was achieved. The whole process was as smooth as flowing water and was completed in one go, making him feel that he could do it easily as well.
That evening, when Wei Jingzhuo decided to infiltrate the Cancer Hospital with Su Wan to sabotage the cloning facility, he confidently assured Wei Jingzhuo on the spot.
"As long as the Allied Forces follow orders, I will be able to stop the clone army's attack."
Wei Jingzhuo handed him the command seal, appointing him as acting commander-in-chief of the entire army, and encouraged him, saying, "Your Highness, the key to victory or defeat lies in your hands."
Chu Mingyao was very worried and pulled Su Wan aside, saying, "His Highness has never commanded a three-nation allied army before. Do you think he is capable of doing it?"
Su Wan said, "As long as we can hold out until we succeed, that's fine."
The implication is that they don't expect Danma to withstand the clone army's attack; they just need to hold out until they destroy the cloning facilities.
Chu Mingyao relayed Su Wan's words to Danma, who was still somewhat unconvinced and determined to prove that her strategies were no less than those of Wei Jingzhuo and Chu Yi.
It wasn't until the clone army began its siege that Danma gradually realized how vast the gap was between herself and Wei Jingzhuo.
He and Chu Mingyao were stationed in the watchtower atop the city gate, where the shouts of battle from the city walls never ceased. Generals from the Jin, Southern Chu, and Western Rong armies came and went like a revolving lantern, constantly reporting the battle situation to him and asking for his instructions.
At first, he was in good hands, but as the battle intensified, he felt overwhelmed and confused. Later, when the defenses in all areas were in dire need of attention, he was completely at his wits' end.
"Your Highness Danma, a portion of the clone army has scaled the city walls on the east side. General Qi of Jin is in charge of defending there, and they have suffered heavy casualties. We request reinforcements."
Danma called over a Western Rong commander and said, "Quickly take five thousand men to assist General Qi, repel the clone army, and then garrison the area."
He was also knowledgeable in military affairs, and he specifically left two detachments of Western Rong troops, totaling 10,000 men, as emergency supplies, so that he could send troops to support any place that could not hold out.
Not long after the commander left, another general from Southern Chu rushed in and said, "Commander, the west city wall is badly damaged. The clone army has broken in through the breach at the base of the wall."
Danma then called over a commander of ten thousand men: "Take five thousand men to help the Southern Chu army plug the gap."
Before the commander of ten thousand could even leave, another Jin army general rushed in, his face covered in blood, and said, "Reporting to the commander, the city gate has been breached! General Zhang is leading eight thousand shield-bearers, using the rubble as cover, to exchange fire with the enemy. What should we do?"
When Danma saw that there was no longer a commander of ten thousand standing by her side, she panicked and said to the Jin army general, "Everyone has defensive guns, so why can't we defeat the enemy?"
The Jin general reported truthfully: "The soldiers have never used this kind of gun before; they were all hastily taken into battle."
The soldiers were using defensive rifles for the first time and couldn't even aim properly. The clone army on the other side were all sharpshooters, hitting their targets with unerring accuracy; the clone army had the upper hand in the entire engagement.
Chu Mingyao, who had been sitting next to Danma, immediately stood up when she saw the critical situation and said, "Your Highness, the city gate has been breached. If we don't stop it quickly, the enemy will rush into the city and we'll be finished."
Danma agreed wholeheartedly, picked up his helmet and said, "It's alright, I'll personally take back the city gate and push the ballista up."
He left the watchtower, Chu Mingyao following. He saw a throng of people on the city wall, green lights flashing wildly, like countless green streaks of light shooting across the wall, turning it a ghastly green. Screams filled the air; many allied soldiers had been hit by defensive guns and lay on the ground struggling.
Below the city walls was a sea of clone troopers in white armor, surging towards the base of the walls like a tide.
Danma was shocked by what he saw and was about to walk down the city wall when Chu Mingyao stopped him and said, "Your Highness, look at the other side quickly."
Following Chu Mingyao's directions, Danma saw that under the distant night sky, the giant crab had somehow arrived and stopped about two miles from the capital.
“Your Highness,” Chu Mingyao grabbed Danma’s arm nervously, “that monster is coming, it will destroy this city.”
She had witnessed the Cancer crab raze half of the Jin army camp to the ground and knew all too well how terrifying it was. Although she didn't know why the Cancer crab was staying at a distance and not coming over, just looking at its enormous body filled her with fear.
“Your Highness, we absolutely cannot stop this monster,” she said anxiously. “What should we do?”
Danma said, "What else can we do? We need to find a way to hold off the clone army first, and then we can only wait for Su Wan and the others."
After comforting Chu Mingyao, Danma ordered the Xirong army to bring up crossbow carts to reinforce the city gate.
The clone army had already broken through the city gate and was pouring in. The Western Rong general ordered two hundred heavy crossbow carts to be deployed, and several rows of armor-piercing spikes were fired, instantly killing a large number of clone soldiers. The surrounding soldiers took the opportunity to move stones and pile them up in the city gate to block the passage.
Seeing that the city gate had been held, Danma wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and smiled at Chu Mingyao, saying, "Thank goodness we held it."
Just as I was feeling relieved, a general from the Southern Chu army ran up and said, "Commander, the clone army has begun its retreat."
Danma was overjoyed and said to Chu Mingyao, "We have successfully repelled the enemy."
Chu Mingyao said, "No way, the city is under attack everywhere, why would the clone army retreat?"
She followed Danma to the top of the city wall and saw that the clone army was indeed retreating, like the receding tide, leaving behind corpses everywhere. The allied soldiers on the city wall were raising their weapons and cheering for victory.
“Your Highness, I understand,” Chu Mingyao said to Danma. “My sister once said that the clone army strictly adheres to their schedule, so perhaps it’s time for them to go to sleep.”
“But it’s not bedtime yet,” Danma said, gleefully glancing at the moon’s position. “But it doesn’t matter, the enemy has retreated, haha.”
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