Chapter 1076: Like a Breaking Bamboo

At the time when dawn was about to break but not yet, Chen Wuji personally led the central forces to reach the outskirts of Magic Capital Mountain.

At the previous campsite, Magic Capital Mountain appeared as a rather tall mountain, its summit perpetually blanketed in ice and snow, the scenery magnificently splendid.

But only upon truly facing it did one realize how grand this mountain was.

The oppressive feeling of nature's creator's supernatural craftsmanship rushed over.

Chen Wuji's mount had not yet halted its advance when a scout came galloping from ahead, horse hooves kicking up snow; the rider's face was frozen red, yet his expression brimmed with joy.

Seeing that youthful face, Chen Wuji knew the battle was secured!

"Reporting, my lord, our forces have smoothly seized the twenty-seven passes of Deer Cry Creek and have entered the heart of Magic Capital Mountain!" The scout, before Chen Wuji, displayed superb horsemanship; before his horse could steady, he leapt up, body rigid, rushed to Chen Wuji and clasped fists in salute.

"You've worked hard! Go rest well and await your reward!"

Chen Wuji dismounted, walked up to the scout, and firmly patted his clasped hands.

Since the Deer Cry Creek route has been opened, the other two routes surely won't become major trouble.

The Uyghurs took the natural peril of Magic Capital Mountain as their defensive line, focusing on resisting the Zhongyuan Dynasty; the northern and southern routes were never the focus, only the eastern Deer Cry Creek route was the true defensive focus.

Generations of Uyghur kings repeatedly fortified this easy-to-defend, hard-to-attack natural peril, with as many as twenty-seven passes.

In theory, this ought to be a natural peril so formidable that even a bird would struggle to fly over.

But the fact is otherwise.

Since the establishment of this defensive line of Magic Capital Mountain, they have truly held it only twice, barely satisfying the original intent of the Uyghur king in building this line.

But the numerous times they failed to hold it, the battles fought here can be described as varied and manifold.

Chen Wuji perused the histories; in ancient times, commanders attacking Deer Cry Creek's perilous pass most often used the tactic of cursing at the enemy before the gate.

No one knows what they cursed back then, but the effect was quite good.

In those many campaigns, this tactic's success rate reached sixty percent; the rest included crazy eagle‑taming tactics, counter‑espionage, pre‑battle persuasion to surrender, and so on.

"Since the Deer Cry Creek route is already open, let's not rest; let's go in and see just what the Eastern First Defensive Line, built by the Uyghurs gathering the strength of generations of Uyghur kings, really is." Chen Wuji laughed and shouted loudly to his left and right.

In two months, he not only took Yǐnmǎchuān but also seized Magic Capital Mountain.

This feat can again be bragged about in the histories.

If nothing unexpected happens, he seems to have set the newest record for the Zhongyuan Dynasty's attacks on Magic Capital Mountain, the fastest use of troops to date.

Chen Li rode forward, shouting loudly, "Vanguard Battalion, clear the way!"

The Command Flag and bugle sounded simultaneously.

Originally deployed on Chen Wuji's right flank, the Vanguard Battalion surged forth like a mighty black wave from the right, horse hooves thundering like a rolling mountain flood, charging straight ahead.

"Kang Su Battalion, next!"

The Command Flag was waved again.

On Chen Wuji's left flank, another black torrent surged forth.

"Kui Su Battalion, Shixu Camp, bring up the rear!"

This time there was no rushing flood, but the two units at the rear of the formation slowed their march, shifting from a fan formation to a front‑and‑back long snake formation.

In protecting Chen Wuji, Chen Li never spared any effort.

In open terrain, if Chen Wuji had no special demands, the central army's vanguard, Kang Su, Shixu, Kui Su battalions would forever occupy the four cardinal directions, like the Four Symbols guarding the central earth, tightly shielding Chen Wuji and the Jīnwèi yíng; the full‑strength ten‑thousand‑strong Yi Su Battalion was responsible for patrolling the surroundings.

The protection was so thorough it could be called flawless.

However, Chen Wuji generally didn't like looking at the backs of his own soldiers' heads; he always preferred, like Liu Bang, to run to the front and lie on a shield to watch the two armies clash.

That spot usually offered the best view.

The central forces entered Deer Cry Creek in succession.

What met the eye was not natural scenery, but layer upon layer of passes.

The Uyghur People, in order to resist the Zhongyuan Dynasty, could be said to have truly put in bitter effort here.

When these things were presented to Chen Wuji in written form, aside from knowing their exact locations, he could only marvel at the Uyghur People's insanity; he could hardly imagine what these passes actually looked like, nor their scale.

Now seeing them with his own eyes, aside from shock, he could only again marvel at the Uyghur People's insanity.

One pass having been shaped thus by them shows how afraid they were of the Zhongyuan Dynasty breaking in.

"Damn it, it's strange—obviously terrified to death, yet they keep thinking about attacking Zhongyuan."

Who knows what's wrong with them!

They hope to invade others' lands, yet they don't want anyone invading theirs, right?

After passing who‑knows‑how‑many passes in succession, Chen Wuji finally reached the Uyghurs' eastern army camp on Magic Capital Mountain.

This is a scaled‑up standing camp, standing on the north bank of a river, occupying vast grounds, with a horse field and a drill field. All buildings were made of mountain timber, looking aged; in many camp buildings one can see traces of new timber repairs.

Cao Mu had brought a small force and was waiting there.

Seeing Chen Wuji's central forces arrive, this Great General, with a somewhat pale complexion, big and sturdy, his face usually bearing a smile, hitched up his loose belt and strode over.

"Reporting, my lord, Deputy General has not failed his command! From Deer Cry Creek to the heart of Magic Capital Mountain, all enemy forces have been cleared; the Deputy General has sent men to reinforce the northern and southern lines, and simultaneously dispatched troops to sweep the mountain of enemy forces."

Chen Wuji dismounted his warhorse, "General Cao, you've worked hard; you really gave me a huge surprise—I wasn't late, I dispatched troops at midnight, still intending to lend you a hand, never expecting your speed to be this fast!"

Cao Mu let out a ha, "Deputy General, this, ha, is all thanks to the central forces' Xùhòu yíng."

"Deputy General dare not speak recklessly; they are truly formidable. After the Deputy General led his troops to Deer Cry Creek, following orders he lit a Shocking Heaven Thunder as the attack signal; at that time he was still wondering where the reinforcements would strike, for the surroundings were sheer cliffs with no foothold—who could have guessed they were actually right on the cliff face."

"The Deputy General here had just set off a firecracker; upon looking up he saw countless Iron Lumps dragging tiny tails, like meteors, wildly flying into those passes—not just one pass, but several passes blown up at once."

"Seeing our forces arrive before the pass, the enemy's morale was already weak; the Shocking Heaven Thunder blast shattered it completely—some were loosing arrows, some fleeing, the scene was chaotic, and the Deputy General seized the moment to burst the gate open."