Chapter 675
Chapter 675
Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip.
CRASH.
The catapults and large crossbows of Su Nan's army fired relentlessly, as if they would never tire. Within a mere two hours, the walls of Yangguo City were riddled with holes and utterly ruined. The entire city was shrouded in a thick cloud of dust, with yellow earth scattered everywhere. Such a frenzied assault was designed to deal a massive blow to the defenders' morale, and many armies would have crumbled under the sheer overwhelming force of their enemy.
The commander of the western flank of the Great Southern Army was Su Nan, with Shazhen as his vice-commander. Shazhen was the sworn brother of the King, the brother of the King's wife, and one of the chieftains of the Saman tribes. One might wonder why Shayan and Shazhen both shared the surname Sha and had such refined names. They originally had different names; their current ones were bestowed by the King, who had also granted them the royal surname of the Great Southern Kingdom.
Shazhen approached Su Nan and said.
“Privy Councilor, you are being far too cautious. The armies of Yue are weak and incompetent. The moment we charge, they will surrender. It’s been the same in every battle before, and this one will be no exception. After a bombardment like this, every defender in that city must have pissed himself in terror. I’m certain this battle will be over within the hour! Thirty minutes! If we can't claim victory in thirty minutes, it will be a disgrace to us Saman warriors. Hahahaha.”
After a string of brilliant victories, the great generals of the Saman tribes had grown arrogant, viewing the armies of Yue with utter contempt and disdain, considering them beneath their notice.
“Let’s charge, let’s charge! Privy Councilor, once we’re inside the city, we can sleep in proper beds. You’re being too cautious. If we’d done things my way, we’d have stormed the capital of Yue by now. There are countless beauties there, and we could be having the time of our lives!”
“Do you not value your life? Hasn’t His Majesty the King decreed that any man who touches an innocent woman will be beheaded?”
“His Highness is perfect in every other way, but I can’t agree with that. We conquered the city, so why can’t we take whatever we want? Why can’t we touch the women we capture?”
Su Nan glanced at them. They were underestimating the enemy so much that they were casually chatting on the battlefield, completely ignoring Shen Lang's army.
“All forces, attack the city!”
At Su Nan’s command, over twenty thousand Saman warriors let out a thunderous roar and charged forward with insane speed. They had been held back for so long that their boundless lust for battle was surging. For over a month, they hadn't fought a proper battle, and they felt unfulfilled. How could they, without any slaughter? But now, finally, they could kill their enemies to their hearts' content.
The last time, at Tiannan City, even though the twenty thousand militiamen had surrendered, the Saman warriors had shown no mercy and slaughtered them all. On the battlefield, the Saman were like starving wolves, like savage beasts that had to kill.
“Kill them, kill them all! There are only ten thousand cowards in that city, and by now they must be soiling themselves in fear. Get over the walls and slaughter every last one of them. We’ll count achievements by the number of heads taken in the next thirty minutes. Twenty thousand men fighting over ten thousand enemy heads. Any warrior who fails to take a head will be shamed! Any brother who doesn't claim an enemy’s head will have to wash the feet and privates of a brother who did. Hahaha.”
Hearing this, the Saman army charged with even greater ferocity.
‘We must take an enemy’s head!’
“Kill! Kill!”
The valiant Saman warriors surged toward Yangguo City, their pace quickening. Viewed from above, they truly resembled a pack of wild beasts stampeding madly. Su Nan and Shazhen watched from a distance, noticing that the top of the city wall was completely empty.
‘What is the meaning of this? We’ve already begun our assault, and your defenders haven’t even manned the walls? Could it be that our bombardment truly shattered their morale? So much so that they can’t even bring themselves to climb the walls? Have they completely given up on this battle?’
“Charge! Charge!”
The twenty thousand Saman warriors were incredibly fast and were about to reach a point a hundred meters from the wall. But just then.
Thwack-thwack-thwack.
Several volleys of arrows rained down from within the city walls, and a number of Saman warriors fell, spraying blood. But the accuracy was abysmal. It was as if they were just firing blindly over the wall.
The Saman army continued to close in on the wall. At that moment, the defending warriors of Yangguo City finally appeared atop the battlements, one after another, all clad in full-body armor. Like the Second Nirvana Army, they wore armor made of iron plates over the torso and chainmail on the limbs.
“They finally show their faces. The cowards have finally shown themselves. You think hiding your whole body in armor like a turtle will stop us from taking your heads? Hahaha.”
The attacking Saman warriors showed no signs of tension. They sprinted to the base of the wall and leaped powerfully, scaling it like lizards. They still didn’t even need siege ladders—a truly remarkable feat. Once they were on top of the wall, the battle would be as good as over. Just then! An explosive roar erupted from the top of the wall.
“Aaaargh! The barbarians are finally here, they’re finally here! We can finally fight! I thought I was going to go crazy. I was about to lose my mind waiting!”
Shen Lang's guards let out guttural howls that sounded like the cries of wolves. Then, countless logs and boulders were hurled down violently from above, and pots of boiling oil and hot excrement were poured down in a frenzy. The Saman warriors were momentarily stunned.
‘What… what the hell? What kind of army is this? They’re screaming even more savagely than we are! And how are they so strong?’
Each of Shen Lang’s ten thousand guards lifted stone blocks weighing over a hundred pounds and hurled them down from the wall. They tossed hundred-pound logs with a single hand and even threw entire cauldrons of boiling oil. Gudu Huan yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Brothers, conserve your strength, conserve your strength! You damn fool! Don’t throw the whole cauldron, just pour the oil! I said don’t throw the cauldron! You worthless bastard! What are you doing? What do you think you’re doing? The enemy will be on the walls soon enough, you can fight them up here! Why are you trying to go down there to fight? Grab him! Grab him!”
The medicine they had given the guards was simply too potent. After holding back for days, they were finally unleashed in battle, and they went completely berserk. The moment the fighting started, some of them didn't even wait for the enemy to reach the top of the wall and tried to go down to fight them directly—their bravery was excessive.
In fact, over the past few days, Shen Lang and Gudu Huan had been unable to handle the guards’ overflowing energy and had no choice but to have them demolish houses. They tore down every house, turning them into logs, and bundled dozens of bricks together to create massive stone-like projectiles.
What followed was an astonishing scene. With a seemingly endless supply of strength, the guards hurled anything they could get their hands on over the wall. Objects weighing less than a hundred pounds couldn't even begin to vent the battlelust raging within them. They joyfully threw everything they could find, but soon, even that wasn't enough. They tried to leap down from the wall to engage the Saman warriors in a decisive battle. When cornered, the brave will prevail. It has also been said since ancient times that the weak fear the strong, and the strong fear those who have no regard for their own lives—the madmen who charge without a care.
The Saman warriors were not quite without regard for their lives, but Shen Lang's ten thousand men were madmen, utterly and completely insane. What's more, they were madmen with limitless strength and inexhaustible energy. They were tireless, madly throwing anything they could grab down from the wall. No matter how formidable the Saman warriors were, they couldn't block a hundred-pound rock and were instantly crushed upon impact. Normally, a cauldron of boiling oil required several soldiers to lift and pour. But these crazed guards each grabbed a cauldron, stood on the wall, took aim, and poured it down.
‘Aren’t you afraid of getting burned? Aren’t you scared you’ll fall off the wall standing like that?’
The pouring oil sent Saman warriors to their deaths without a fight.
‘D-dammit. There’s an army in this world crazier than us? They’re not even human. How can they have such endless strength?’
But the Saman warriors only grew stronger when faced with a powerful enemy. Despite the massive casualties, they continued to swarm up the wall. There were too many of them, and they climbed with incredible speed. A mere five-meter-high wall was never going to be enough to stop them. Soon, group after group of Saman warriors scrambled onto the top of the wall.
‘Hahahaha. The time has come for us Saman warriors to unleash our slaughter. In close combat, we are invincible. Army of Yue, just you wait. Brothers of the Saman, let’s take their heads!’
“Aargh!”
A Saman warrior charged forward with a great roar.
“Aargh!”
But a guard roared even louder, looking even more frenzied than the Saman warrior as he charged fiercely with his greatsword. The Saman warrior was taken aback by the sight.
‘Dammit, that guy looks even more excited than I am!’
In an instant, the two clashed.
Thwack.
The Saman warrior was skilled with his blade, and his combat prowess was far superior to that of the guard. But after consuming the blood of the golden dragon, the guard's strength and speed had skyrocketed, as had his fearlessness in the face of death. As their blades crossed, they both struck each other. The Saman warrior's scimitar lodged in the guard's armor. However, the Saman wore no armor, with only a few elite warriors wearing leather vests. In the end, the Saman warrior was cut in two by the guard's sword.
“Aaaah! This is exhilarating! So satisfying! More! More! Where is the enemy?”
Though a scimitar was embedded in his body, the guard paid it no mind and searched for his next target.
“Brothers, stop throwing rocks and logs! Let them come up, then kill them! Killing them with a sword is more fun!” a guard shouted.
Shen Lang, hearing this, almost cursed out loud.
‘You damn fool. A worthless soldier like you shouldn't be saying things like that. You’ll throw away our chance at victory.’
But in the end, the guards really did stop throwing rocks and logs for a moment, allowing the Saman warriors to scale the wall. Soon, both sides were engaged in close-quarters combat, pointing their blades at each other. Kill, kill. The more they killed, the more energetic they became, the more valiant, until finally, they seemed to have lost their minds completely. These madmen made no effort to defend the city; facing the enemy's blades, they neither dodged nor retreated, seemingly eager to block the swords with their own heads. Watching them, Gudu Huan spat out a curse.
‘If it weren't for the finest armor crafted by the Jin Clan, ten lives wouldn't have been enough for you lot.’