"Are the siege engines ready?"
Xue Ye questioned the men under his command.
"Yes. We've already replaced the iron parts, especially on the bows and crossbows. We swapped out the wooden arrows and combined them with Fire Oil to increase their lethality."
Even without Tang San, the empire had no shortage of talented people. The weapon replacements had been completed long before the campaign began.
With his mind at ease, Xue Ye immediately issued his order.
"Listen for my command. Aim at the city walls and fire the flaming arrows. Before I give the order to attack, no soldier is permitted to approach the city by even half a step.
"Guest Elder Dugu, I'll leave drawing out the enemy commander to you."
"As the imperial order commands."
Atop the city walls, Quan Li was also making the final arrangements with Yun Qiong.
"In this decisive battle, I won't be able to exert my strength. From here on, I'll hand full command over to you.
"This time, the Heaven Dou Empire has gone all in, concentrating all its forces here in an attempt to break us in one blow.
"In other words, as long as we can defeat the army here, we will have effectively destroyed the main force of the Heaven Dou Empire in one stroke."
Yun Qiong understood. "Don't worry. This decisive battle is also part of our plan.
"This won't be our end. On the contrary, it will be the beginning."
The soldiers stood ready in strict formation, while every factory inside the city operated at full speed. The communication passages linking the two sides carried supplies to the city walls without obstruction.
A killing chill and deep silence spread across the battlefield.
The situation was on the verge of erupting.
The first to truly trigger this battle