The water of Horn Lake finished draining in just one day. The water level did not fall any further; the trickling streams converging from all around and the outflow through the breach maintained a balance between inflow and outflow.
Three days. After holding out for only three days, the men trapped in Horn Lake could no longer endure it.
An army of a million did not lack drinking water, and their provisions were sufficient, but it was inconvenient to eat cooked food.
Chewing raw rice and drinking lake water, with nowhere to move about, packed shoulder to shoulder on the Wooden Rafts under wind and sun, unable to rest properly—the eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and defecating of so many people was truly unbearable to behold. The health of quite a few soldiers gradually began to deteriorate.
The Zhao Kingdom forces on shore either surrendered under the siege of overwhelming troops or were wiped out. The entire Horn Lake had fallen completely under Allied control.
On the Wooden Rafts, looking at the soldiers crammed together, slumped and sprawled in disarray, the three major sects of the Zhao Kingdom knew it was over. All morale was gone. Even if they got the men ashore, they would have no way to fight again. A little intimidation from the enemy would probably make them surrender in droves.
And looking again at the flying mounts darting back and forth through the skies ahead, conducting uninterrupted reconnaissance for the Yan army, the enemy simply would not give them any chance to break out.
The cultivation sects of every size in the Zhao Kingdom that had originally obeyed the three major sects had fled. Nearly all of them had run.
The tide had turned beyond recovery. The major sects knew there was no future in following them