Chapter 346: Siege

Gu Family's troops stayed outside the city for a whole day.

Only at dusk did they withdraw.

During that time, they split into two groups, taking turns shouting insults.

While one group hurled abuse, the other settled in place, feasting on grilled meat and wine; their humble existence surprisingly turned out quite pleasant.

They didn't even send someone over to discuss anything; they just kept cursing, cursing Chen Wuji, cursing Qin Feng the county magistrate, and also reviling the Chen clan as base and forgetful of country, deeply wicked, occasionally trying to bewitch the defenders on the wall to abandon darkness for light, turn against Chen Wuji, and together uphold justice and preserve the state, and so on.

Hearing this, Chen Wuji flew into a rage, nearly grabbing his knife and charging out to fight this bunch of bastards, but in the end reason steadfastly gained the upper hand.

He was merely brewing lines in his mind.

If the Gu family comes again tomorrow, we don't have to fight, but we must curse them back.

To just stand there taking insults without talking back is not his style.

At dusk, Chen Wuji also held a grand banquet for his troops on the city wall.

The soldiers had watched the Gu family's troops all day, seeing them eat meat and drink wine, and surely they too wanted a taste. Chen Wuji, considerate of their thoughts, arranged whatever he could right away.

He used ingredients from the Li family.

It couldn't be called mountain delicacies and seafood, but it wasn't far off.

It was far better than what the Gu family's troops had eaten outside the city during the day.

The Li family, who run a catering business, had stockpiled many tasty items; not only were the goods good, the quantity was ample, more than enough for Chen Wuji to squander lavishly for eight or nine days.

As the soldiers were happily eating and drinking, a long dragon of torches suddenly appeared outside the city.

That fire dragon swiftly approached, then without hesitation rammed straight into the city gate.

Boom!

With a dull thud, the city gate was shaken violently.

At the same time, a pile of firewood and torches were thrown directly beneath the gate.

The firewood was doused with fire oil and ignited at a spark.

Even as the torch‑bearing dragon, shields aloft, had not yet retreated, blazing flames had already ignited.

Chen Wuji, who was on the wall keeping company with the soldiers as they ate and drank, seeing this, shoved a succulent drumstick into his mouth and bit into it, then shouted loudly: "Archers, release your arrows! Everyone else, throw whatever you have at them—kill these bastards. Don't pour the golden broth; don't make it stinky, wasting such a fine spread—we'll still want to eat later."

The soldiers leapt up, killing intent surging, grabbed their weapons, and called out to attack down below.

Having their pleasant meal interrupted, the soldiers' resentment rose to the level of a century‑old vengeful spirit.

In an instant, rolling logs and stones, and scalding boiling water were hurled helter‑skelter toward the gate.

Inside the gate, Xu Zengyi was directing the soldiers to pour water, while also filling the interior with stones and dumping earth.

The enemy's fire had not yet burned the gate to a crisp, but thick smoke came pouring in, filling the doorway with choking fumes as if they'd entered heaven, making countless soldiers cough wildly.

The torch dragon that had come in a forced march merely retreated a few dozen steps, then charged the gate again with reckless bravery; they had no thought of scaling the wall, their whole focus being to contend with the gate.

Chen Wuji had already begun firing bow after bow in succession.

At such close range, his bow and arrow were like the soul‑hooking rope of Black and White Impermanence. Even in this dark night with poor visibility, he could merely stare at the torches, guess blindly, and still almost precisely take the enemies' lives.

"Wuji, these folks look desperate to seize the gate," Chen Li said from the side.

Chen Wuji shook his head. "I think we should just probe."

Although the enemy's rush came swiftly this time, their numbers were still not large.

Judging by the scale of the torch column, it amounted to at most five or six hundred men.

With a force of that size, even if they were all wiped out, they could never hope to take the gate.

This gate isn't made of paper.

Behind it, Chen Wuji's elite Chen Clan Troops stood guard, with Xu Zengyi personally holding the fort.

With the commander in charge and forces roughly equal, if they were to let them take the gate so easily, Chen Wuji might as well abandon any further ambitions and simply go home to hunt.

However, this sudden battle also made Chen Wuji realize how troublesome the Gu family could be.

Indeed, among their ranks there truly were men skilled in battlefield formations.

This surprise assault came on extremely swiftly.

Their troops came running, each shouldering massive logs.

Chen Wuji has also read many military manuals, and besides, from his past life's various exposures, the cases of rushing supply depots and rushing the grand tent are countless, plus there are many very classic examples.

Yet using terrain for cover, suddenly charging out to rush the gate was still something he'd never seen before.

It was indeed sudden, but to say it was tense?

Chen Wuji really couldn't muster any tension.

It was only because he couldn't fathom what the enemy was really up to that he became a bit more wary.

Charging the gate looks foolish no matter how you look at it; Chen Wuji worried they might have other tricks up their sleeves.

Boom!

Boom!

……

The heavy gate was struck repeatedly, causing the whole city wall to tremble slightly.

But the enemy's numbers were rapidly dwindling.

The rolling logs and stones and boiling water continually hurled from the wall weren't just for show; they were meant to smash people, and were dumped concentrated onto one spot.

As they piled up, the enemy's pace would be affected.

"They're really hard‑headed—just a handful left and they still want to storm the gate; this is a suicide squad." Chen Wuji muttered doubtfully, and suddenly he had a bad premonition.

The other side must have some backup plan.

But what could they possibly do?

Chen Wuji lowered his bow, his gaze sweeping out toward the dark, distant earth.

Outside Yunan City, the mountains undulate; though not high, they still block most of the view.

Suddenly, a point of light flared up beside West Mountain, then rapidly spread into a vast blaze, rushing swiftly toward Yunan City.

"Someone, beat the drum!"

"Listen up, troops: wipe your mouths, grip your weapons; after this battle I'll treat you to two days of good wine and meat—plenty!"

Chen Wuji bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Yes!"

The troops acknowledged in a low voice.

The heavy shouts rang out, and even the mountains in the dead of night echoed.

In the distance, a long dragon of torches swiftly approached, nearing the city walls; immediately, ladders were erected all around the walls, seeming to appear from every direction.

Seeing this, Chen Wuji suddenly recalled Li Yunlong's assault on Ping'an City—no diversion, all-out attack. He never expected to experience this tactic himself in his lifetime.

"Qian Fugui, east; Wu Bu Yong, west—block them off, don't let these ghosts get onto the walls!" Chen Wuji roared, issuing the order in a low voice.

"Yes!"

Strangely, although the enemy's attack covers a wide area, their numbers are still not large.

Judging by the number of torches, it amounts to at most about a thousand men.

A thousand troops split into three assaults on the walls, each side receiving no more than three or five hundred.