City Defense Battle (2)

The next day, just as dawn broke, both armies resumed their exchange of arrows. Below, laborers continued to brave the hail of arrows and stones, pushing wheelbarrows to fill the trenches. After two hours, several sections of the trenches had been filled by the Qin Army.

At this point, dozens of siege ladders were brought out from the Qin Army's formation. The ladders were about thirty feet high, with large iron hooks at the top that could latch onto the city walls. They were about ten feet wide, allowing five or six soldiers to charge abreast. The ladders were angled at forty-five degrees to the ground, making it as easy for soldiers to ascend as walking on flat ground. The bottom was equipped with four rows of wheels, allowing them to be pushed forward by manpower. The positions of the pushers were protected by baffle boards to prevent arrows.

Dozens of ladders lined up in a row, slowly approaching the city walls. The ladders were already filled with soldiers, armed with swords and shields. As soon as they got close, they could charge onto the city walls and become the first wave of brave warriors to scale them.

Being among the first to attack the city was a great honor in war. Therefore, despite the extremely high mortality rate, many soldiers were eager to participate.

If one could be the first to reach the city wall, their noble rank would be increased by at least two levels. Many people fought their entire lives without being able to advance their rank by two levels.

With both fame and fortune within reach, everyone naturally vied to be the first.

The great Qin Army followed closely behind the siege ladders, advancing steadily towards the city walls under the Chu Army's rain of arrows, flying stones, and javelins. Despite the occasional soldier falling wounded, their comrades would not spare them a second glance, their gazes fixed forward with determination.

At this moment, the primary targets on the city walls were focused on the siege ladders. Arrows, javelins, and stones were all hurled at the ladders.

On the section of the city wall defended by Wang Hong, there was only one siege ladder. Wang Hong aimed at the fierce-looking soldiers on the ladder. A short spear whistled through the air like lightning, flying towards the foremost soldier. The soldier in the front rank was clearly a seasoned veteran. Seeing the short spear's menacing approach, he didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his shield to protect himself and held his single-edged sword horizontally to guard his chest.

The short spear arrived in an instant. With a "ding," the single-edged sword snapped into two pieces. Immediately after, with a "thwack," the short spear pierced the shield and penetrated the soldier's chest cavity, extending a foot beyond his back.

The soldier never understood what kind of person could possess such immense strength, even as he died.

Seeing the soldier fall headfirst from the ladder, Wang Hong shook his head, unsatisfied that only one person had been penetrated. He added more force to his arm and threw another spear. This time, it was better. Three Qin soldiers were impaled like candied hawthorns on a stick and fell from the ladder. Following this, Wang Hong continued to string "candied hawthorns" together, while the Qin Army behind continuously replenished the soldiers on the ladders.

Wang Hong showed no mercy when killing these Qin soldiers. If he didn't kill them now, they would kill his comrades once they reached the city walls. Moreover, the Qin Army had a habit of massacring cities after capturing them. If they were defeated, the people of Huju City would either be killed or enslaved.

When the siege ladders were only thirty feet from the city walls, the soldiers pushing them had already been killed by two rounds of javelins from the Chu Army's javelin throwers. The soldiers on the ladders were like targets, being shot at, and their casualties had already exceeded half. Several ladders had even been smashed to pieces by thrown stones, and the soldiers on them were broken-boned.

At this point, the Chu Army threw clay pots filled with burning oil onto the siege ladders, causing the oil to spill everywhere. Then, they shot a large volley of fire arrows, and flames erupted on the ladders. Many soldiers caught fire, and even the most valiant among them cried out in agony as they burned.

Seeing this, the Qin Army dispatched a large number of soldiers. Some took out pre-prepared wet cotton blankets and smothered the flames, extinguishing large areas of fire.

Others helped push the siege ladders, accelerating their advance. In just a few breaths, they reached within ten feet of the wall, only to be impaled by a large wooden fork extended from the city wall, preventing them from moving any closer.

Some soldiers on the ladders hacked at the wooden fork with their swords, while others pushed off with their legs and leaped directly towards the city wall. Mid-air, they were impaled by the long spears extended from the city wall and fell down, either dead or crippled. A small number of those who slipped through the net and luckily leaped onto the city wall were surrounded and killed.

However, the Qin Army continued to leap towards the city wall in an endless stream, and the number of those who slipped through the net also increased. As long as one or two soldiers could gain a slight foothold, they could open a gap in the Chu Army's defenses, and an endless stream of Qin soldiers would then surge onto the battlements.

At this moment, one section had taken advantage of a defensive gap to allow a small squad of soldiers to jump up and help a siege ladder lean against the city wall. The Qin Army, like a disturbed hornet's nest, brandished their swords and spears, shouting and madly surging towards the battlements.

Wang Hong's Sixth Battalion found defending even one siege ladder to be no easy task. They needed some men to brace the ladder and prevent it from getting closer, others to fight the Qin warriors leaping onto the wall, and still others to take the opportunity to shoot down the cart drivers transporting earth and stones to the base of the wall. Meanwhile, the rain of arrows from the Qin Army below continued to suppress the defenders.

Wang Hong carried a boulder weighing five to six hundred pounds, raised it above his head, and smashed it down onto the siege ladder. With a bang, blood splattered on the ladder, and screams erupted.

After smashing several more boulders, Wang Hong frowned. The effect was not very good. His goal was to smash the ladder to pieces. These few stones only broke a few crossbeams and had little impact on the entire ladder.

Wang Hong then smashed a large stone from the side. With a crack, a supporting pillar on the side broke.

"This is it!"

Wang Hong smashed over a dozen more large stones.

"Rumble!"

The siege ladder finally disintegrated. The Qin soldiers on it fell with it in terror.

"Mighty!"

"Mighty!"

As the siege ladder fell, it drew cheers from the city wall.

Single-handedly smashing a siege ladder with brute force was a very rare sight on the battlefield. After all, not just anyone could lift and smash a boulder weighing several hundred pounds.

With the fall of the siege ladder, the defenses of the Sixth Battalion became much easier. Sometimes, they could even provide support to their flanking allies.

The battle continued until nightfall before the Qin Army retreated. During this time, the Qin Army had charged onto the city walls several times, but they were met with desperate resistance from the Chu Army. Mobile troops were deployed, and it took a considerable price to eliminate them.

The area below the city wall had already been piled up by the Qin Army with corpses and earth and stones, forming a mound over ten feet high. If it were piled up another twenty feet, they could directly charge onto the city wall from the mound.

The casualties on the Chu Army's side were also significant. Wang Hong's battalion had several more wounded soldiers, with only a little over sixty men still capable of fighting.

The Sixth Battalion was considered quite good. Some of the new recruit battalions were left with only thirty or forty men.

At this time, the Chu soldiers, who had been hungry all day, leaned against the battlements, eating meat and gnawing on white steamed buns. Each person received a large bowl of braised pork, and there were plenty of steamed buns and rice. Each person also received a small bowl of wine. Although alcohol was prohibited in the army, it was only for those who got drunk and caused trouble or neglected their duties. During wartime, a portion of wine was supplied to relieve fatigue and boost morale.

Wang Hong took out a silver bottle from his chest, poured himself a bowl of wine, and then poured a bowl for Li Xiaoya and Lu Jingou, who were beside him.

"Drink some of this. It's very effective for relieving fatigue. Tomorrow's battle should be even more intense," Wang Hong said, then turned to Li Xiaoya and asked, "How is Zhang Tiemao's injury recovering?"

"He can already walk. It's estimated he'll recover in about ten more days." A blush spread across Li Xiaoya's face, it was unclear if it was due to the wine or something else.

Li Xiaoya and Lu Jingou lifted their wine bowls and took a sip. Instantly, they felt a warm current flow down their throats and quickly spread throughout their bodies. They felt warm all over, as if every pore had opened up, bringing a sense of exhilaration. The fatigue from fighting all day dissipated by more than half, and their bodies were filled with renewed strength.

Their eyes immediately lit up with surprise and delight. They had never heard of such a miraculous item in the world that could eliminate fatigue and restore stamina so quickly.

Just as they were about to speak, Wang Hong waved his hand to stop them. Exposing such a thing would not benefit Wang Hong and might even bring disaster. He then casually handed them each a piece of dried meat.

After they finished eating, not only was the fatigue accumulated from the past two days of fighting completely gone, but their own cultivation had also improved. They gave Wang Hong a grateful smile and bowed.

Wang Hong smiled and waved his hand. These things were nothing to him. The cost was not high, and he had plenty more in his Mysterious Space.