Chapter 1083 Be careful, Your Highness!
Three hours later, the sun began to set.
Just as Shang Ruyi had predicted, the other side launched another large-scale attack on them.
As tens of thousands of soldiers charged toward them, their heavy footsteps seemed to shake the heavens and earth. Shang Ruyi, standing above the valley, had a grim face. Bathed in the fiery sunset, her eyes seemed to blaze with fire. She gritted her teeth and said in a deep voice, "Pass down the order: defend to the death!"
In fact, before she could give the order, Jiang Kesheng and Gao Feng had already led their troops to their respective positions.
The enemy army swept across the entire grassland like a raging flood. Before long, they had reached the entrance of Huyang Valley, which was the only outlet for this flood. Seeing them surging in, the soldiers guarding the valley entrance laid out densely packed palisades made of sharpened wood, stretching for dozens of feet. They hid behind the palisades, drawing their bows. When the enemy army pushed down the first row of palisades, amidst the sounds of breaking trees and the soldiers' roars, a piercing, sharp whistle suddenly rang out.
Looking up, I saw a dense swarm of arrows raining down from the sky.
Just then, someone shouted, "Shield Formation!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the soldiers who were attacking in front suddenly took two steps back in unison. Immediately afterward, a group of people behind them suddenly stepped forward, raised their huge shields, and some even stepped on the backs of the soldiers who had retreated and were squatting on the ground, stacking the shields high to form a huge shield!
The arrows flew like meteors, all striking the shield with a clang and falling to the ground.
Because the roads in Huyang Valley were narrow, the arrows, though able to shoot far, could not shoot wide, so they all hit the shield, and the first volley of arrows was completely ineffective!
Upon seeing this, Shang Ruyi's brows immediately furrowed.
But those below didn't help them avoid the first volley of arrows. They cheered for the second volley. The battlefield was ever-changing. As the tall, thick shields pushed forward, knocking down row after row of wooden palisades, the soldiers hiding behind the palisades began to retreat slowly. But their retreat wasn't chaotic. Under Gao Feng's command, half of them retreated while the other half kept their bows drawn and fired another volley of arrows into the sky.
In an instant, countless dense, cold lights filled the sky above Hu Yang Valley. Illuminated by the fiery sunset, they fell high like a rain of fire. This time, the stacked shields finally failed to withstand all the arrows. A scream was heard, and the soldiers attacking behind the shields fell to the ground one after another.
Gao Feng immediately ordered, "First team, retreat! Second team, advance!"
The archers who had fired the volley of arrows immediately retreated. As soon as they retreated, the archers who had already retreated a distance were ordered to step forward again, their powerful bows drawn to their full extent, arrows fully charged, and they released them into the air once more.
A sharp cry pierced the air, making Shang Ruyi, who was standing on the valley floor, feel a sharp pain in her eardrums.
Immediately following, screams erupted from below.
However, this tactic was not enough to make the soldiers who had already entered the valley retreat. On the contrary, people kept falling to the ground after being hit by arrows, and their bodies piled up in the valley. In no time, a road of flesh and blood was built up and placed directly on the wooden fence. When the soldiers behind saw that the road ahead was clear, they rushed forward without regard for anything else. In just a moment, they had squeezed into the Huyang Valley and overturned all the wooden fences.
At this moment, Gao Feng dared not linger any longer and immediately said, "Retreat quickly!"
His soldiers dared not delay and hurriedly ran towards the other side of the valley. But the enemy would not let them escape. They rushed after them, like wolves that had smelled blood, determined to catch their prey fleeing in panic.
Upon seeing this, Lüxiao couldn't help but gasp.
She then realized that what Shang Ruyi had told her before was all correct; there was an art to evacuation, and a panicked evacuation under such circumstances was almost tantamount to suicide.
But now it's like this—
She turned to look at Shang Ruyi with a puzzled expression, about to ask something, but before she could speak, she saw Shang Ruyi raise her hand and wave it lightly: "Do it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the valley immediately stood up from behind the rocks. Among them was a group of archers who had already drawn their bows and released arrows at the enemy troops rushing below.
Another series of whooshing sounds followed, and a dense rain of cold light poured down from above. The soldiers below the valley were caught off guard, as if they had been crushed down by an invisible hand. A group of soldiers were directly pressed to the ground and could not get up. Seeing this, the other soldiers hurriedly shouted, "Shields!"
Immediately afterward, the soldiers in the shield formation who had been at the forefront hurriedly retreated, raising their shields high above their heads.
The troops in the valley formed a centipede clad in armor, blocking the arrows overhead and the falling rocks.
Seeing this, even Green Silk, who had always felt she was uninvolved, was covered in sweat. She turned to look at Shang Ruyi, whose face was solemn, and whose eyes, though reflecting the swordplay and carnage below, were unusually calm and lost in thought, said urgently, "Didn't you leave some rolling logs? Why don't you put them down quickly?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Wo Xue hesitated for a moment and said, "We don't have many logs left. If we release them now, and they want to come up the mountain path later, then we won't have anything to stop them."
Upon hearing this, Green Silk didn't say anything more, but simply raised her hand and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
Every movement she made appeared graceful and elegant, but this particular movement revealed a rare hint of unease and distress amidst her trembling. Meanwhile, Shang Ruyi beside her slowly furrowed her brows, her eyes darkening further.
Having fought this far, she knew that they were running out of ammunition and supplies. Not only were the archers' arrows almost gone, but the surrounding trees had also been cut down. Wo Xue was right; if the logs were lowered now, she would be in danger if the enemy below tried to climb up the mountain along the valleys on both sides.
But now, her worries extend beyond just this reason.
Her gaze was fixed intently on the ground below: "Something's not right..."
Hearing her murmured words, Lüxiao immediately looked at her again: "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I didn't see that female general who led the troops today."
Upon hearing this, Lüxiao realized that the enemy had mobilized almost all of their troops today, and had clearly made comprehensive plans before the battle, so every step they took was very steady. However, she did not see the female general who had been so imposing among the thousands of troops earlier.
Green Silk said, "She... ran away?"
Shang Ruyi immediately shook her head.
Just as she was about to say something, suddenly, Wo Xue beside her seemed to sense something and flashed behind her, saying, "Your Highness, be careful!"
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