At this, Wang Yong's face turned even paler. "As for reinforcements, I saw none of ours. Only enemy reinforcements arrived to support them."
"Our army's fighting spirit had already been crushed by that Sha Star. After failing to take the pass for so long, we were at the end of our strength. Then Qin's elite reinforcements arrived. We barely held out for a while before scattering and fleeing..."
Han Ming's face had turned ashen. He glared at Wang Yong as if he wanted to devour him.
"Outrageous lies! You neglected your duty! What crime do you think you deserve?!"
Wang Yong dared not meet his eyes. He drew his sword and laid it against his neck. "I was unworthy to face you again, General, but I had to report this urgent military situation. The South Foothill has fallen. You must make your plans at once!"
"As for that Sha Star, I haven't told a single lie. General, be extremely careful. I'll go ahead."
With that, Wang Yong turned his sword on himself and fell into a pool of blood!
The sight of that glaring blood sent Han Ming into a rage. His eyes were bloodshot as he pounded his fists against the bluestone bricks atop Fang City's walls, smashing them until his hands bled!
"How could this happen? How could this happen?!"
"What Sha Star?! What boundless strength, what invulnerability to blades and spears?! They're all excuses!"
"Two thousand men ambushed them and guarded the city, yet two hundred men took it! What a joke! What an enormous joke!"
He paced back and forth, screaming and cursing like a madman!
The defenses at the South Foothill had been his fallback plan. They were also the crucial move that could let him hold off the Qin Army for days, perhaps even half a month!
And now they had fallen just like that—under such bizarre circumstances. How could he accept it?
The deputy general beside him hurriedly urged him, "Please calm down, General! The South Foothill has fallen, and four thousand of Fang City's ten thousand defenders are gone. The North Foothill probably won't hold much longer either. We can't keep this pass. We should make plans at once!"
"Make plans? What plans?!" Han Ming had nearly lost his reason. "The South Foothill has fallen. Fang City has no natural defenses left, and the North Foothill won't hold much longer. The pass is certain to fall!"
"Hahaha! I built a lifetime's reputation, yet with ten thousand elite soldiers defending this perilous place, I suffered a crushing defeat without even taking a single Qin soldier with me—and lost the pass! How laughable!" He gave a bitter laugh, looking utterly mad. "How laughable!"
The deputy general said urgently, "General, if we withdraw now, there's still a chance of survival! With your ability, if you gather more troops, you may yet turn the tide."
Han Ming shook his head, utterly despairing. "Turn the tide? The Qin Army already has us vastly outnumbered. We had the advantage of the terrain and still fought this miserably. How could we turn the tide?"
"What face could I show if I fled?"
"What face could I show my fellow generals—or the king?"
The wind tousled his hair, dry as straw. He looked out past the city wall and saw the main force of the Qin Army charging toward the pass.
The great army loomed over them like dark clouds pressing down on a city.
Han Ming knew the Qin soldiers at the South Foothill would soon arrive. With the main Qin force attacking from the front and them from within, the pass would be impossible to defend.
He immediately rose, resolve shining in his eyes. "Move out!"
"March to the South Foothill and attack! I want to see what kind of young Sha Star can attack a city defended by two thousand men with only two hundred!"
"If such a man truly exists, then killing him will be something to show for this defeat. At least I'll have cut down a future Qin general!"
He left some soldiers behind to defend the pass to the death and delay the Qin main force.
Then he led three thousand men toward the South Foothill.
Meng Wu watched Fang City from afar. Although Han Ming tried his best to conceal his intentions, Meng Wu could see even the slightest changes at the pass.
In just a short while, Meng Wu had already figured out Han Ming's plan.
He glanced toward the South Foothill. "Looks like Han Ming has received the news. He's probably gone mad and wants to fight Meng Tian's unit to the death."
"With a temperament like that, he dares call himself a famous general?"
He waved his command flag. "Advance at full speed! Take the pass as quickly as possible, then pursue the enemy!"
"How goes it in the north?"
"The attack on the North Foothill has begun, but they're meeting fierce resistance. It'll probably take more than an hour to take it."
Meng Wu smiled easily. "More than an hour... The flags at the pass have already changed hands."
He shook his head slightly. Who would have thought anyone could take a wall guarded by two thousand men with only two hundred?
If not for that, Han Ming wouldn't have gone mad.
Just imagining Han Ming's reaction now made Meng Wu want to laugh.
"Report! The Han Army's commander is leading nearly three thousand men straight toward us!"
Meng Tian raised an eyebrow. "Has that fellow gone mad?"
"Father wiped out two thousand of his ambushers, and our brothers killed more than two thousand of his defenders. Now he's bringing three thousand men to attack us? Is he abandoning the pass?"
Meng Tian's eyes shifted as he immediately ordered the army to halt.
"Form a defensive formation. Our main force will take the pass soon. The enemy is already trapped in a jar. They've come to attack now because they're desperate and will fight to the death. If we break their resolve to fight with their backs to the wall, then attack them from the front and rear, we can defeat them with ease!"
Hearing this, Zhao Cheng silently praised the brilliance of the response.
The enemy had already lost. Now that they were leading their troops into battle, knowing they would die and with nowhere left to retreat, the soldiers would fight with tremendous resolve. Even if his side could defeat them, it would suffer heavy losses.
But if they formed a defensive line and held firm, the enemy would only grow more desperate and lose more of its fighting spirit. Once the main force arrived, they could wipe them out with ease.
He'd learned something new again!
Meng Wu calmly directed the troops, whose ranks held firm as they waited for the enemy, rested and ready.
Before long, a large force of Han soldiers came charging along the distant path atop the wall!
Han Ming saw the Qin Army's orderly formation from afar and nearly spat blood.
He wanted to fight them to the death, but they weren't giving him the chance!
Their formation was as tight as a tortoise shell. They had even made use of the South Foothill defenders' spears and shields, just waiting for his unit to charge in and get beaten!
Han Ming was so furious that blood rushed to his head. Knowing he had little time left, he stopped holding back and gave the order.
"Kill!"
The Han soldiers surged forward.
Meng Tian remained utterly calm. He waited until they were within range, then gave the order to fire!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows fell like rain, and a swath of Han soldiers immediately went down!
Among them, several arrows flew like thunderbolts, their force immense. One arrow could pierce the throat of the Han soldier in front, pass straight through, and continue through three or four men before finally running out of strength!
A few shots were enough to bring down a swath of them!
They were Zhao Cheng's arrows!
At this ordinary range, the power of his strong bow and his incredible strength were on full display.
When one of his arrows struck, the Han soldiers in front of him were like candied haws on a stick—one arrow skewered a whole string of them!
His draw speed was astonishing, each shot flowing into the next. By the time others had fired one arrow, he had already loosed four or five.
The Han Army suffered heavy casualties in an instant.
Zhao Cheng's bow kept booming like thunder. Before long, Han Ming's gaze locked onto him!
Seeing Zhao Cheng covered in blood and riddled with wounds, yet still drawing his heavy bow and sending arrows flying with the force of a mountain, Han Ming couldn't help but shudder.
Could Wang Yong have been telling the truth? Could there really be a heaven-born general like this?
But why was he born in Qin and not Han? Was Heaven's mandate truly with Qin?
A murderous intent rose in Han Ming's eyes as he stared fixedly at Zhao Cheng.
By then, the two armies had clashed on the path atop the wall!
Although many Han soldiers had been shot down as they charged, they were now fighting with their backs to the wall. They threw themselves into the Qin ranks, fearless of death, and surprisingly held their own!
The Qin Army was smaller, but under Meng Tian's command, it fought in perfect order. The vanguard used spears to defend and counterattack, opening a gap, while the rear troops worked together to drive into it, cutting through the enemy formation like a blade!
Among them, Zhao Cheng charged at the very front. Like a猛 tiger plunging into a flock of sheep, he cut his way into the Han ranks, his sword flashing like the wind, unstoppable. Wherever he passed, Han heads flew one after another!
This battle was far more satisfying than the previous one—and much easier. The two sides had roughly equal numbers, so Zhao Cheng didn't have to shoulder too much pressure alone. He moved through the ranks with effortless ease.
He even had time to keep an eye on how many years the system was stealing.
[You killed an enemy and stole nine years of his life!]
[You killed an enemy and stole thirty years of his life!]
[You killed an enemy and stole eleven years of his life!]
"Is he a demon?!"
"Why won't he die?!"
"How did he get here?!"
Facing the surging tide of soldiers, Zhao Cheng charged deep into the enemy ranks. Wherever he went, Han soldiers fell in swaths, like stalks of rice being cut down.
At first, the Han soldiers had been fearless of death. But when they saw Zhao Cheng, a demon-like Yama, trampling over countless corpses as he fought his way to the center of their formation—and nearly to their very faces—their morale wavered, and some began to retreat.
The farther away Han Ming was, the more his heart pounded with fear. He was utterly shaken. Wang Yong really hadn't lied. There truly was a Sha Star like this in the Qin Army!
The murderous intent in his eyes grew even stronger. Watching Zhao Cheng cut through the enemy ranks, he ordered his soldiers to shoot him down!
The elite archers beside him immediately drew their bows, trying to kill Zhao Cheng!
But their aim was truly terrible.
They were at the rear, and at this distance, amid the chaos of battle, they had no way to aim accurately at Zhao Cheng. Instead, they hit several of their own men.
Even when an arrow or two occasionally landed in front of Zhao Cheng, they had already lost most of their force. Zhao Cheng simply slapped them away, and they posed no threat at all.
Han Ming roared, "Useless! You're all useless! Bring me my bow!"
He took up his powerful bow, intending to shoot Zhao Cheng. But he realized that he was at the rear and that the chaos of battle made it difficult to get a clear shot. So he started forward, only for the deputy general to grab him.
"General, you mustn't!"
"You're the commanding general. How can you put yourself in danger?"
Han Ming flung him away. "If I don't kill this man, I'll die with no peace!"
"Move aside. I'll do it myself!"
Using the battle formation for cover, and with his personal guards and deputy general in front of him, he tried to move up and take a surprise shot at Zhao Cheng!
The battlefield was chaotic, and Han Ming was very confident in his archery. If he could get close enough, he was certain he could kill Zhao Cheng!
Closer. Closer still.
A little closer, and his chance would be nine in ten!
Han Ming fixed his eyes on Zhao Cheng. Protected by his guards and deputy general, he crept forward through the ranks.
The veins in the deputy general's forehead throbbed. He could see just how fearsome that Sha Star was. This distance was far too dangerous!
But Han Ming didn't care. He had already nocked an arrow and drawn his bow, fixing his sights on the Young Asura charging through the enemy ranks!
His eyes were bloodshot. He held his breath and stared at Zhao Cheng, drawing his powerful bow to a full moon. Under the force of his intense murderous intent, his arm was astonishingly steady, as if some hidden potential had erupted within him.
Suddenly, the blood-covered young man raised his head and grinned at Han Ming.
That grin was like a crouching tiger baring its fangs. A surging murderous intent hit him head-on!
Han Ming's heart leaped, and cold sweat instantly broke out across his back. His hand trembled, and the arrow shot away like lightning!
But Zhao Cheng shot forward at the same time!
The instant Han Ming's arrow left the bowstring, the Young Asura burst forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. With boundless strength, he charged like a tiger descending the mountain, knocking several men aside in succession.
He smashed through the enemy line, cutting open the formation, and charged straight at Han Ming!
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