Chapter 19: Probe (Part 2)

  The Qin army's dare-to-die corps was like a pack of hungry wolves smelling blood, climbing up the cloud ladder with shrill cries. The Korean army, which had not experienced war, was apparently somewhat flustered, and under the scolding of lower-ranking officers, they hastily pushed down giant stones and logs without emotion, also killing a group of Qin soldiers.

  To be honest, if it were a field battle, the Qin army would be enough to defeat the Korean army five times its own size head-on. This is the difference between a seasoned army and an army that has been idle for a long time.

  However, the high city walls leveled out the difference between the two. Many brave Qin soldiers were killed by insignificant arrows and stones, their bravery had not yet been displayed before they were submerged in the crowd.

  This is the cruelty of war and also the ruthlessness of war.

  Even the strongest warrior can be killed by a coward's crossbow bolt, and even the noblest general can die from a single boulder.

  War has no logic. You can only muster up the courage and pray that if you die, it's in a grand battle, not silently on the road to the charge.

  "Fire the arrow! Get up and fire the arrow!"

  On the city wall, a Korean general was kicking and scolding his subordinate who had shrunk into the corner of the battlement.

  Perhaps it was the constant death of comrades around them that stimulated the Korean soldiers, several obviously inexperienced Korean soldiers trembled with fear, no longer daring to stand up and shoot arrows, afraid that they would be shot into a hedgehog as soon as they stood up. They were like ostriches, sticking their buttocks out and hiding in their own fabricated world.

  This is also the battlefield test that every new recruit must go through. When facing blood for the first time, there are two possible reactions for each rookie who has just gone to war: one is to be frightened and fearful, and the other is to be stimulated by the sacrifice of comrades-in-arms and become frenzied and lose rationality.

  Those who are fearful will often die of fear, those who lose their wits will perish in madness. For on the battlefield, only calmness can keep you alive. You may be fearful, for no one does not cherish his own life, but seasoned veterans know how to overcome fear and turn it into motivation.

  "Get up for your old man!" Jun Hou was furious.

  "If you don't get up now, I'll have you all charged with desertion! Do you want to be beheaded by the law enforcement team or fight to the death with the Qin army?"

  Seeing several new recruits were clearly frightened, the military marquis did not hesitate any longer. He directly lifted up a soldier who looked like he was only 18 or 19 years old with one hand and placed his knife on the soldier's neck. With a ferocious expression, he said: "I'll count to three, shoot your arrow for me! My army doesn't need cowards! Within three counts, if you dare not shoot an arrow, I'll throw you down!"

  Under the intimidation of Jun Hou, young Han Jun nervously picked up his bow and arrow. Due to excessive tension, the arrow in his hand was adjusted several times before it was barely placed on the bowstring. Finally, under Jun Hou's last warning, Han Jun's little soldier shot out the arrow in his hand!

  Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, but when Han's arrow flew, not one Qin soldier's arrow hit him. And this arrow happened to fly straight and true, hitting a Qin soldier right on target.

  Watching Qin Jun slowly fall down, Jun Hou patted the young soldier's shoulder with satisfaction and shouted: "Not bad! Give old man a good fight against Qin Jun!"

  Ignoring the reaction of young Korean soldiers, he continued to organize other Korean troops for a counterattack.

  This is just one fragment of the battlefield.

  Unlike the Korean army, which needed superior supervision and even dispatched law enforcement teams to strictly prevent the defending troops from retreating, the Qin army's attack was well-organized and everyone was eager to try. Seeing comrades falling down one by one beside them, the Qin army didn't care at all.

  They concentrated on shooting the arrows in their hands, and climbed up with concentration. All they wanted was to break through the Wild King's City as soon as possible, only by breaking the city could they avenge their fallen comrades. They knew that crying like a woman at this time would not work, crying was the patent of losers! After breaking through the Wild King's City, they would get the rewards belonging to the winners, three days of looting, great merits, more land, and less corvée.

  The brutal war had lasted for nearly an hour, with countless soldiers from both the Qin and Han armies falling every minute. The most tragic were the archers of the two armies, who engaged in a ruthless shootout.

  Both sides relied on their advantages, one relying on the terrain and the other on phalanx formation, fighting to the death with bloodshed. Gradually, the Korean archers on the city wall had been replaced by a new batch, while the original ones had become corpses underfoot. The Qin army also paid a heavy price, with several phalanxes being completely annihilated, and some were reduced to small arrays of dozens of people.

  Neither side retreated, for retreating meant giving up a huge advantage. Both sides gritted their teeth and fought with casualties. If the Korean army lost, it would mean that the defenders on the city wall would completely lose their cover and face the Qin army's daredevil squad and archers' pincer attack. If the Qin army lost, the Korean army's archers could recklessly attack the Qin army's daredevil squad who were climbing up the cloud ladder.

  Facing their own losses, the commanders of both sides waved their hands and the archers waiting in the rear quickly filled the gap.

  Just as the Korean army's attention was focused on the city wall, the Qin army moved. More than a hundred Qin soldiers pushed the battering ram slowly but resolutely towards the gate of Ye Wang City. The huge wooden beam wrapped in iron leaves looked even more terrifying.

  "Watch out for the car!"

  "Kerosene! Quick! Pour me some kerosene quickly!"

  The Korean army on the city wall was greatly shocked, and several voices almost rang out at the same time.

  Suddenly, several large buckets of hot oil poured down from the top of the city wall. Without the general's orders, experienced soldiers fired fire arrows.

  The expected big fire did not break out, and a Korean army lieutenant looked down at the Qin army's battering ram in confusion. It turned out that almost all of the battering ram was wrapped in a layer of iron skin, and the few places without iron skin were covered with cowhide soaked in water. Moreover, the Qin army's battering ram was simple, and there were few places where oil could be stored, no wonder the fire couldn't start.

  "Hurry up and throw big rocks at me."

  The Korean army, who had received the order, hastily lifted the lever, and the goddess of luck seemed to be standing on the side of the Korean army. The lever, which usually only hit three out of ten times, today hit three out of two. The Qin army's battering ram, after withstanding four or five huge stones hitting it in succession, finally unwillingly crashed to the ground.

  Seeing one plan fail, the Qin army devised another.

  Under the command of the great camp in the Qin army, 10,000 archers and crossbowmen shot out fire arrows that had been lit in their hands, like a storm of stones and arrows against the Han army.

  "Beware of rockets!"

  Several sounds suddenly rose from the city wall, just as the Korean army on the city wall thought the rockets were fired at them and wanted to dodge, they saw the rockets flying over the city wall and shooting straight into the city.

  Flames suddenly erupted all over the Ye Wang City. The houses in Ye Wang City were mostly made of wood, and coupled with the dry weather, the Qin army had also applied oil and sulfur to the arrowheads, causing the fire to spread instantly throughout Ye Wang City!

  "Put out the fire! Hurry up and put out the fire!"

  Bao You hastily ordered the defending troops in the city to put out the fire. No matter how much they had anticipated, they had not expected the Qin army to dare to approach and launch rockets at the cost of heavy casualties.

  Although the high-level Korean military had previously speculated that the Qin army might launch rockets and deliberately demolished houses near the city wall, no one expected the Qin army to be so ruthless. In order to trigger a fire and create chaos, they risked causing massive casualties.

  However, the Qin army clearly won the gamble. The Qin army advanced unexpectedly by sixty paces, and the city of Rang was successfully set on fire. More importantly, the Han army apparently did not expect the Qin army to be so bold. After 10,000 Qin archers shot out fire arrows and quickly retreated, due to the Han army's unpreparedness, the losses caused to the Qin army were only a few hundred people.

  The South Korean army on the city wall suddenly became a bit chaotic. The people inside the city were their own families, and every South Korean soldier was worried about their own relatives without realizing it.

  The Qin army took advantage of the opportunity, with a full 10,000 Qin soldiers charging to the city wall while the Han army was in disarray. The more skilled ones started climbing up using the crossbow arrows shot out earlier, while those who were less skilled also climbed quickly up the cloud ladders.

  For a moment, the wind howled and the cranes cried out on the city walls of Ye Wang Cheng. It seemed as if Ye Wang City was about to be breached at any moment.

  "Law enforcement team! Retreat and you will be spared!"

  "Brothers, guard your posts well. The big fire in the city will be put out by His Highness the Crown Prince himself! If you can't even defend the city walls, that's when you'll harm your own families!"

  "The crown prince has an order: for every enemy killed, a reward of 100 coins will be given."

  Continuous orders, under the military school lieutenant Enwei's enforcement, the panicked Korean army gradually stabilized. They began to fight hard, intending to drive the Qin army that had climbed up the city wall down.

  The commander of the Qin army, Hu Yang, calmly watched the chaotic battle on the head of Ye Wang City. He believed that under his own wave after wave of continuous attacks, the Han army would eventually collapse. At that time, it was the time when Ye Wang City was broken.

  Now is just the beginning of breaking the city.

  I'm extremely sorry, I went out on a business trip today and encountered a traffic accident. After arriving, I had meetings and entertained clients over dinner, so I'm only updating now. Today, I saw that the recommendation tickets have increased to over 100, thank you everyone for your support! There are still two chapters left, which will be sent later. You can choose to read them tomorrow morning. This week's recommended tickets will add 2 more chapters after reaching 200! Thank you!