Chapter 850
Chapter 850
A moment later, the thick smoke dispersed, and Count Austin's grand army officially captured Chunhua Pass. But the five hundred defenders on the walls had vanished without a trace. Under the cover of the dense smoke, they had retreated in unison back to Mulan City. From the moment Count Austin had rolled out his trebuchets to lay down suppressing fire on the walls, Zhang Chunhua and her officers knew the pass could not be held. No matter how great the losses, the count had executed the most correct tactic.
Count Austin Russo stood on the walls of Chunhua Pass, looking at his army through the eyes of the enemy. It was truly unimaginable. A mere three-thousand-meter wall had cost him nearly twelve thousand casualties. Of his fifty-thousand-strong army, only thirty-eight thousand remained. He had to admit that this battle had taught him an incredibly bitter lesson. But he was by no means discouraged. At the very least, he now understood the strength of his enemy. As they say, know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.
“The army will advance. We march to the Easterner Shen Lang’s Empress City.”
At his command, the thirty-eight thousand soldiers marched through the pass, advancing majestically toward Mulan City.
* * *
Several hours later, Count Austin's thirty-eight thousand troops arrived at the foot of Mulan City’s walls. Another hour passed, and Count Duke's fifty-thousand-strong army arrived, joining forces with Count Austin. An army of nearly ninety thousand completely surrounded Mulan City. Count Duke didn't ask what had happened to Count Austin, why he was so late, or how he had suffered such astonishing casualties. He simply walked up and embraced him.
Count Austin said.
“Lord Duke, the enemy is far stronger than we anticipated. They possess strange and powerful secret weapons, but that seems to be the extent of it.”
Count Duke stood on high ground, looking down at Mulan City.
“What a shabby city. Built in a perfect square, with not a shred of creative space. How dull this world would be if every city looked like that.”
Count Duke shared his impression. As the sun set in the west, Mulan City certainly did look exceedingly crude and fragile. All the houses within were small, square, two-story buildings, identical as if they had been copied and pasted. Moreover, the city was overly spacious. Though the walls stretched for a full seven thousand five hundred meters, the houses inside couldn't fill the empty space.
“It is terribly ugly and shabby, but it is a design that is too easy to replicate, too easy to spread. We must be careful, or such cities will become rampant in our Western Continent.”
To Count Austin's words, Count Duke replied.
“Are you speaking of the Yellow Peril? I cannot imagine such a city spreading across our lands. What a catastrophe that would be. Perhaps it would mean the death of art itself. Therefore, we must completely erase this city. Everyone inside must be turned to ash and thrown into the sea. I only hope the ocean will carry their remains back to the Eastern world. The East has a saying: ‘Fallen leaves return to their roots.’”
“Then let us help them return to their roots. When the sun rises tomorrow, we will officially attack the city and wipe this shabby place from the face of the earth.”
“Excellent. Count Austin, in your estimation, if our ninety thousand men attack their two thousand, how many casualties will we suffer?”
“Ten thousand. Perhaps even more. But even if more die, it will be worth it. Because we will have stopped them from spreading across the world.”
* * *
Inside Mulan City.
Zhang Chunhua, Lan Feng, Black Pearl, and Meng Luonan were in a meeting.
“Though our explosives are very powerful, we underestimated the enemy. It's possible we may not win this battle.”
As Zhang Chunhua spoke, Black Pearl interjected.
“We still have six cannons. And while our explosives are running low, we still have a fair amount left.”
Zhang Chunhua replied.
“Our walls are too long. It’s too difficult for two thousand people to defend seven thousand five hundred meters of wall. The enemy has too many soldiers, and they are too brave.”
As Zhang Chunhua said, they were brave. Count Austin had initially paid this battle little mind, thinking it was like swatting a fly. But now, his mindset had changed, and he was approaching the fight with grim determination. Even if it cost him ten or twenty thousand men, Count Austin would kill every last person in Mulan City and raze it to the ground.
“We have too few cannons, and not much explosive powder left. The grenades are very powerful, but they are too sensitive and unstable. They need to be modified.”
Zhang Chunhua had a right to speak on this battle, for she was the only one who had engaged Count Austin. Lan Feng, the leader of the Eastern Warriors, spoke.
“It is a blessing His Majesty is not here. Even if we all die, it will not matter much.”
Black Pearl slammed her fist down on the table.
“It’s only death. What is there to fear?”
Lan Feng said.
“Indeed. It is only death. This is our Empress City. Even if we fight to the last man, we will not retreat a single step!”
Then, Lan Feng looked at Zhang Chunhua and said.
“Lady Zhang, you are the one His Majesty trusts most. Tomorrow, you will not join the battle. Remain in the City Lord’s manor. If the city falls, you are to detonate the manor, destroying all the secret documents and weapons within. Do not let them fall into enemy hands under any circumstances.”
Zhang Chunhua shrugged and said.
“I can certainly do that! But before then, I must tell you all one thing. Your Majesty is a man who has created many incredible miracles and has won wars far more perilous than this one. You must not be so despairing. You must have hope.”
General Lan Feng, leader of the Eastern Warriors, smiled.
“Of course. We will find hope in despair. We will prepare for death, yet wait for a miracle!”
* * *
The next day, the morning sun rose. All two thousand defenders of Mulan City ascended the walls, each soldier responsible for guarding 3.5 meters of the rampart. Beyond the walls, the enemy’s ninety-thousand-strong army stretched out like a black, endless sea. Before this mighty force, Mulan City looked decidedly weak, its walls too thin.
“Count Duke?”
At Count Austin’s call, Duke replied.
“I will follow your lead in all things.”
This time, Count Austin offered no grand speeches to his soldiers. He simply drew his greatsword with a flourish and roared.
“The army will attack the city! Tear down the Easterners' Empress City! Kill every last person inside, leave no one alive!”
The great battle for Mulan City had officially begun.
* * *
At that very moment, the ground to the north of the Bijo Peninsula began to tremble as if from an earthquake. First, countless animals looked north in alarm. Birds took to the sky in unison, and small creatures fled for their lives. A short while later, a single black dot appeared on the northern horizon, then two, then three… until they numbered in the hundreds, then thousands.
Shen Lang had returned.
He led eight thousand Amazon warriors, riding tall, powerful warhorses at a frantic gallop. Though they were only eight thousand, they were the strongest warriors in the Western world, the Amazonesses who were closest in bloodline to the ancient, unconquered peoples. Eight thousand of the strongest female knights swept south like a tidal wave, consuming everything in their path.
* * *
Mulan City.
The mere six cannons were not used in the battle. There was a fear that the secret of their design would leak and others would create imitations. The leaders of Mulan City were deeply pessimistic about the outcome of this battle and had prepared to live and die with the city. If it fell, Zhang Chunhua was to detonate the remaining explosives, destroying all important supplies and secret documents.
Though the cannons were not deployed, twenty large trebuchets had been prepared. They were too large to be placed on Mulan City’s walls and had to be positioned behind them. In any case, their projectiles would travel in an arc, easily clearing the walls in front.
Each large trebuchet required at least a dozen men to operate, but the two thousand warriors under Shen Lang were too precious. So, slaves were mobilized to operate the machines, with one soldier assigned to supervise each trebuchet. These slaves would not fight for their master, but operating a trebuchet was like any other ordinary job to them. Moreover, they would follow orders with robotic precision, without the slightest negligence.
“Fire! Fire!”
At the command, the thirty-odd trebuchets of Count Duke and Count Austin began to unleash their might. Bundles of gunpowder weighing dozens of pounds flew madly toward Mulan City.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Thick black powder smoke once again shrouded the walls of Mulan City. This was truly an indiscriminate bombardment. The entire ground shook violently, and the dense smoke blotted out the sun. The defenders on Mulan City's walls all crouched behind the battlements, waiting for the enemy's barrage to end. In truth, Mulan City's large trebuchets had greater destructive power and a longer range, but they had not yet been fired. This was because such arcing shots had very low accuracy, and preparing to fire them while the enemy was launching a large-scale assault could result in immense casualties.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The amount of black powder brought from the Fire God Sect this time was astonishing. They had brought over several dozen tons, enough to make two or three thousand powder bundles. This indiscriminate bombardment seemed as if it would never end, and it effectively suppressed the firepower of Shen Lang's army. The enemy trebuchets were highly inaccurate; nearly half of the projectiles that were hurled at the walls bounced off and fell to the ground. Thirty percent flew directly into the city, but it was a rare event for a powder bundle to land on the wall and explode. However, the effect of this bombardment was far greater than it had been at Chunhua Pass. Though a gunpowder charge of several dozen pounds couldn't breach a wall over a meter thick, when thrown into the city, it could demolish a house or blast a large crater in the ground.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The enemy’s flaming arrow carts once again created an astonishing spectacle. This time, however, they were no longer fired into the air but were aimed in a long trajectory into Mulan City, causing casualties. Thousands of flaming arrows shot down over a dozen slaves. Now that the battle had begun, most of the slaves were cowering inside their houses, waiting for the fighting to end. If the enemy outside won, it would, at most, mean a change of masters for them, which was no great matter. Thus, it was absolutely impossible for them to fight for Mulan City.
Of course, the slaves thought life in Empress City was quite good—at least better than with other slave owners. The daily workload was heavy, but it wasn't lethal. They could eat their fill, and the food was decent. They slept on wide beds and even had clothes to change into. Most importantly, they were not beaten. It even seemed their master had pardoned their slave status. But they were working slaves; there was no way they would fight for their master.
Several flaming arrows, as if they had eyes, shot straight through a window. Slaves were packed tightly inside, and over a dozen were instantly struck and killed. Yet, the slaves around them merely flinched before squatting back down, not moving a muscle. They didn't flee or go to help the slaves dying from their arrow wounds. They were numb to everything.