Chapter 31: Night Raid on Peng City · Fierce Battle

  Rustling... rumbling...

  Whoosh...

  A flash of lightning, a thunderclap shaking the sky, the torrential rain of midsummer is always accompanied by terrifying thunderstorms. Those bluish-white flashes of lightning crisscrossing the night sky made all the soldiers and civilians in Peng City tremble with fear. The power of nature is not something that human strength can shake; at this moment, humanity is how small!

  Whoosh...

  Knock knock knock...

  Heavy rain continues, and only in the midst of a scorching summer can one experience such refreshing rain. In just an instant, it dispels all the sweltering heat that has accumulated over time. The sweet rain is so delightful, and the drought has been alleviated, the people of Peng City should be feeling exhilarated. However, amidst the sound of the rain, there is also the ominous sound of war drums, reminding everyone in Peng City that outside the city walls, a large army is lurking!

  "Hurry! Charge forward! Cloud Ladder Squad, quickly follow up! Charge!" Under the west city gate, Xiahou Dun raised his right hand and shouted loudly. At this time, Xiahou Dun's body did not wear any metal armor, only a simple leather armor to protect himself, and he didn't even hold a weapon in his hand.

  Like him, a general who has read books, should know that iron attracts lightning. In fact, in this era, the Chinese already knew how to attract and avoid lightning, and such methods were often used in building construction. Xiahou Dun being aware of this matter, would naturally not be foolish enough to hold up his weapons and wear armor to attract lightning. Even if Xiahou Dun didn't know, Cao Cao and Guo Jia would have secretly reminded him before the expedition.

  The general, thinking of his own safety, did not take metal, but the soldiers were different. The 20,000 Cao troops led by Xiahou Dun, everyone had a shining weapon in their hands and followed the cloud ladder team to charge forward.

  The sky was dark and the rain was pouring down, and relying solely on flags and drumbeats was basically impossible to command the army like an arm. As a result, Cao's army now is simply rushing towards the city wall in a state of frenzy. Under the stirring sound of war drums, all Cao soldiers have only one thought in their minds: "Charge! Charge! Charge!"

  Cao Jun's attack was chaotic, but the defending Xuzhou army wasn't much better off. The problems Cao's army faced were also theirs. Unclear flags and chaotic drumbeats made it impossible for the Xuzhou army on the city wall to command, they only knew they had to resist Cao's army which was launching a fierce attack from below the city wall.

  Bows and arrows had lost their effectiveness in the heavy rain and dark sky, and the army of Xuzhou was terrified by the overwhelming Cao troops rushing towards them. When Cao Pi arrived, he saw the chaotic scene and couldn't help but curse: "Damn that Cao Aman, choosing this time to launch an attack, what a madman!"

  However, Cao Jiao's curses had no effect, and the Cao army was already setting up five cloud ladders under Pengcheng in the heavy rain and thunderstorm. Under the city, those Cao soldiers wearing white clothes inside and leather armor outside, braved the storm, holding weapons in their hands "dang dang dang" along the cloud ladder straight to the top of the city.

  "General Cao's army has arrived! Kill!"

  It is not clear which soldier on the city wall shouted, but after all the Xu Zhou army heard it, they rushed to the edge of the city wall in a frenzy. However, Cao's army only set up five cloud ladders, and most of the Xu Zhou army could not find the enemy.

  At this time, another person on the city wall shouted loudly: "The Cao army is here, kill!"

  In the wind and rain, the voice had become somewhat distorted, but most of the Xuzhou soldiers still listened intently, searching for the source of the sound to kill. For a time, the top of the city wall was in complete chaos, with soldiers blindly running back and forth following the sound. However, this was only the beginning of the chaos, as more and more Cao army soldiers climbed up from the five cloud ladders, the shouting grew louder, and the voices in the wind and rain were no longer clear. The Xuzhou army on top of the city wall became like headless flies, not knowing which direction to go.

  The western city wall of Pengcheng was in a state of chaos, and the Cao army below would not let go of such a rare opportunity. Seeing that the five cloud ladders were blocked by the Xuzhou army and could not expand their gains, Xiahou Dun's mouth slightly curled up, his right hand beckoned, and he shouted: "All remaining cloud ladder troops, charge at the city wall, now!"

  Tap tap tap......

  In the heavy rain, a few faint sounds that were not easy to detect rang out on the city wall, but Cao's new cloud ladder had already been set up. Although Cao's soldiers were in disarray, there were only a few points of attack, and as soon as they saw the cloud ladder was set up, the Cao army below immediately swarmed up.

  Xiahou Dun first used five cloud ladders to create a great commotion on the city wall, and then again used the four-sided blooming flower method to let the remaining cloud ladder troops attack at various points on the city wall. This tactic was simple, but under the dark sky with heavy rain, it was exceptionally effective. For a time, Cao's army below the city gained a great advantage.

  Near the southwest corner of the city wall, a large number of Xuzhou soldiers rushed to the middle section of the city wall where the first five cloud ladders were located, leaving a large gap with only a dozen or so Xuzhou soldiers guarding it. In the chaos, a Cao army cloud ladder was somehow erected here, and in an instant, a large number of Cao troops killed their way up from here.

  The first man held a war knife, majestic and powerful, and was the first to rush up the cloud ladder to the city wall. The Xu state soldiers on the city wall saw him coming with great momentum, let out a loud shout, raised their long spears and thrust straight at him!

  However, this person was unyielding and fearless. Seeing the long spear thrusting towards him, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and with lightning speed, he chopped down heavily on the spear shaft with his battle knife!

  The next moment, the Xuzhou soldier who held the spear only felt a surge of power coming from the long spear. Before he could react, the long spear in his hand shook violently, and with a light "crack", the spear was cut off at the point where the war knife had struck, and the soldier's body, along with his head, was directly sliced off and sent flying.

  That Xu Zhou soldier was still in shock and fear, but the leader of the Cao army, a burly man, let out two cold laughs. With one step, he soared into the air like a large bird, and under the panicked gaze of the Xu Zhou soldier, his battle knife flashed with a dazzling silver light as it sliced towards the soldier's neck!

  Hehe...

  A red glow flashed, and a burst of blood suddenly appeared. A large splatter of fresh blood spurted out from where the war knife had struck, sprinkling onto the silver-glinting blade. The round head was directly cleaved off by the war knife and flew into mid-air, before smashing down onto the green bricks of the city wall with a "crack", splitting in two. Crimson blood, white brain matter, and fragmented bones stained with blood flowed onto the city wall, mingling with the rainwater.

  This scene caused those Xuzhou soldiers who had not been on the battlefield for a long time to hastily retreat, looking at that Cao army general who was standing steadily on the city wall with shocked eyes.

  That big Han man didn't even glance at the corpse on the ground, instead he beckoned downwards with one hand and shouted loudly: "You little rabbit bastards, stop dawdling, hurry up and bring it to me!"

  The Cao army soldiers under the city heard, "Ah ah ah" responded several times, and then "Deng deng deng" stepped on the cloud ladder to rush up. Seeing the retreating Xuzhou army, they did not hurry to attack, but instead stood firm after a few people joined hands to form a good formation on the city wall, staring at the Xuzhou army in front of them with piercing eyes.