Huju City

On the first day of their arrival, Wang Hong and his group were assigned to the city walls. They had now been officially incorporated into the Huwei Army. The reinforcements from Qingyang Academy formed their own separate camp, called the Qingyang Camp, still under the command of instructor Feng Li, who had now also been promoted to Captain.

Wang Hong's squad was the Sixth Squad of the Qingyang Camp. Their squad of one hundred men was responsible for defending a small section of the city wall. Since the Qin Army attacked not only during the day but also sent raiding parties at night, preventing the defenders from resting, the defenders rotated their shifts, with each group only needing to hold the wall for four shichen before being relieved.

Wang Hong stood atop the city wall. Huju City truly lived up to its name; it was like a crouching tiger and coiled dragon. On both sides were steep mountain peaks, connected to each other, stretching for over two hundred li. It was so difficult that even monkeys would struggle to cross. Huju City occupied the only passage within these two hundred li.

Because of the steep mountains on both sides, defending Huju City only required holding the front.

Therefore, despite having a significant advantage in troop numbers, the Qin Army had been unable to take the city for a long time.

The city was situated at a commanding height. Below the city walls was a slope over a li long. For the Qin Army to reach the city walls, they first had to climb this slope.

The Chu Army had placed numerous traps on this slope, and at the base of the city wall at the top of the slope, they had also prepared a large number of rolling logs and stones.

Especially the rolling logs, which were covered in iron spikes. Wang Hong felt a chill just looking at them.

The Qin Army would have to pay a heavy price just to climb this slope. As a result, in the more than a month since the Qin Army began their assault, there were very few instances where they managed to reach the city walls.

Ever since Wang Hong ascended the city wall, he had seen the Qin Army continuously sending small units for harassment attacks.

Whenever rolling logs and stones were released, they would flee. Those who couldn't escape in time and were crushed would return to destroy the rolling logs and stones, cutting the ropes.

The rolling logs and stones here were all tied with ropes. After being released, they could be pulled back with winches for reuse. Otherwise, if they were thrown like this every day, they wouldn't have enough even if they dismantled all the houses in the city.

The purpose of this harassment strategy by the Qin Army was mainly to deplete the defenders' rolling logs and stones, and also to scout the traps.

As evening approached, teams of laborers carried food to various positions, distributing meals to the soldiers.

Wang Hong received a bowl of meat congee and two large meat buns.

He had just taken a bite when he heard a bugle call from the Qin Army's positions on the hillside, followed by the sound of drums. A dark mass of Qin soldiers advanced towards Huju City in time with the drums.

The Qin Army had strict discipline and a well-ordered appearance. Their movement was not fast, and they would stop every ten paces to adjust their formation. However, with each synchronized step, the ground would tremble. Every two steps, they would shout in unison, "Kill!" Their voices were like thunder, making one's ears ring.

Many new recruits, participating in their first battle today, were intimidated by their imposing presence, their faces turning pale, their hands and feet trembling. Their initial high spirits before the battle had long since vanished.

Seeing this formation, Wang Hong quickly stuffed the rest of the buns into his mouth, tightened his grip on his spear, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

At this moment, from the rolling log and stone positions below the city wall, a soldier shouted, "Release!" and waved a small flag downwards. Countless rolling logs and stones roared down the slope.

Just then, the Qin Army's front ranks brought out objects resembling caltrops, but much thicker.

This was the first time Wang Hong had seen the Qin Army use such things. They were likely newly made. Each object was formed by joining three large wooden stakes at one end, creating a simple cone shape. The three stakes at the bottom formed a stable triangular base.

They placed these objects in front of their formation. The menacing rolling logs, upon hitting the wooden stakes, could not advance another step and were completely blocked. Only a few of the falling stones managed to slip through the gaps and into the formation, but the casualties they caused were limited. Several more rounds of rolling logs and stones were released, but none achieved significant results.

At this point, a messenger delivered an order for them to sortie and engage the enemy. Wang Hong had studied military strategy and tactics extensively over the years. He naturally understood that defending a city didn't just mean passively holding the walls; it also required the ability to fight outside the city. Otherwise, prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat.

Wang Hong and his comrades quickly rushed outside the city to form ranks. Wang Hong saw that the soldiers who were supposed to be on rotation were already gathered outside the city.

Every hundred men formed a small square formation, led by a Centurion. The outer rank consisted of spearmen and shield bearers, while the second, third, and fourth ranks were spearmen. Wang Hong was in the second rank.

Dozens of such small formations formed a large square formation. A passage one zhang wide was left between every two small formations, facilitating the deployment and redeployment of troops.

If the enemy dared to enter the passage, they would be attacked from both sides by the flanking formations, leaving them no chance to retreat.

In addition, several cavalry units were positioned behind the main formation, and the commanding general stood in the center of the main formation, with a raised platform for observation and command.

While Wang Hong and his comrades were forming ranks, several archer units had already moved to their front. Once the Qin Army entered their range, they would unleash volleys of arrows.

The Chu Army, with their advantageous position on higher ground, held a significant advantage in archery duels. The Chu Army's arrow rain fell into the Qin Army's formation. Although the Qin Army quickly raised their shields, the shields couldn't protect everyone, and countless men were hit by arrows.

The Qin Army's archers, firing back, couldn't even reach the Chu soldiers' toes, causing the Chu soldiers to burst into laughter.

The Qin Army's orderly formation did not waste arrows. They continued to advance under the Chu Army's arrow fire. Despite some casualties during their advance, their determination to move forward did not waver, and their battle cries still shook the heavens.

However, their intimidating effect on the Chu Army was now greatly diminished. As the Qin Army advanced, the Chu archers fired their arrows while alternately retreating, always staying outside the Qin Army's effective range.

Thus, before the two sides even engaged in close combat, the Qin Army had already suffered several hundred casualties. While not a large number for a force of over ten thousand, it was a significant blow to their morale.

On the Chu Army's side, apart from one archer spraining his ankle while retreating, they suffered zero casualties.

The Chu Army archers retreated all the way into the main formation and continued to fire with an upward trajectory. At this point, the Qin Army's arrow rain finally began to fall towards the Chu Army's main formation.

Just then, Wang Hong heard their own battle drums sounding "dong," "dong," "dong." The rhythm ignited everyone's blood, making them forget their fear and their mortality. Following the rhythm of the drums, they advanced into the arrow rain.

Men on both sides were hit by arrows and fell from time to time, but this did not affect the pace of their advance. An arrow also struck Wang Hong, but with his cultivation at the seventh level of Henglian Liuhe Gong, it was barely enough to tickle him.

Two torrents, one green and one black, finally collided, splashing blood. The sounds of clashing metal, of blades and spears piercing flesh, and of screams were all drowned out by the shouts of battle and the booming drums.

Under the influence of this momentum, everyone's eyes turned red, their spirits were high, and they only thought of killing the enemies in front of them, disregarding their own lives.

Wang Hong's spear pierced the heart of a Qin spearmen opposite him. The spear drew a spray of blood, but the spearmen, as if unaware, continued to thrust his spear towards Wang Hong. Unfortunately, his spear could only penetrate halfway before falling limply. He could only fall to the ground with unwillingness.

As this soldier fell, another soldier quickly moved from the rear to fill his position. He was also killed by a spear thrust, meeting an untimely end.

When the fifth soldier stepped up to fill the gap, he saw that the previous four had all been killed in a single move. He dodged and weaved, unwilling to rush to his death.

Wang Hong ignored him and took the opportunity to stab several nearby Qin soldiers with consecutive thrusts. In the face of an expert like Wang Hong, who was at the Xiantian Stage, these common soldiers were no match for him. Wang Hong felt like he was bullying children.

However, Wang Hong showed no mercy. The more enemies he killed, the less pressure his comrades would face, and the higher their survival rate would be.

The enemy formation quickly replenished several soldiers in front of Wang Hong. These replenished soldiers were quickly killed by Wang Hong's spears.

After the fourth replenished soldier was killed by Wang Hong, their Centurion saw an opportunity and ordered the formation to change from a square to a wedge formation.

Wang Hong took the lead as the vanguard, with the Centurion protecting his flanks. The overall formation resembled an inverted "V" shape. Wang Hong charged into the enemy formation with his spear, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, unstoppable.

The others protected the flanks, like a hot knife cutting through butter.

As they charged into the enemy formation, about to break through, a burly man with a face full of scars blocked their path. He wielded a large, cleaving axe and wore half-plate armor, with a breastplate on his chest.

Seeing Wang Hong charging, he immediately unleashed a "Mountain Splitting Chop" directly overhead. Wang Hong blocked with his spear, and the impact made his palm tingle slightly. Wang Hong inwardly sighed, "What strength!"

Generally, Houtian Martial Artists possessed six to nine hundred jin of strength, while Xiantian Martial Artists could break through one thousand jin. However, some individuals with natural divine strength or who practiced special cultivation techniques could exceed one thousand jin of strength even in the Houtian Stage.

Wang Hong's Henglian Liuhe Gong was primarily for defense and not known for its strength. His current strength was only slightly over one thousand jin.