Chapter 174: Reinforcements Arrive

Five thousand Northern Yuan soldiers, under Tuo Tuo Bu Hua's command, charged at the surviving Han Army troops below the city gate, and in the fighting split into two routes.

One route consisted of elite Northern Yuan soldiers who, howling, charged straight at Zhou Yingyuan and the other Han Army troops, aiming to reinforce the Northern Yuan vanguard below the gate.

The other route set up ladders and charged straight into the city from the wall.

At this moment Zhou Yingyuan, spear in hand, thrust left and right through the Northern Yuan ranks, having already killed dozens of Northern Yuan soldiers.

The Han Army troops under his command, following his lead, fought with bloodshot eyes, refusing to retreat, exchanging lives with the Northern Yuan in fierce combat.

In a moment,

Near the south gate another thousand corpses of Northern Yuan and Han Army soldiers lay piled; of the original three thousand Han Army troops, over a thousand had been lost, and the rest were all wounded.

Lao Li, the Han Army veteran in his thirties with an arrowhead embedded in his back, now took another slash to his left shoulder, a thrust to his left ribs, and his leg was hacked to a bloody mess, a large chunk of flesh cut away, leaving him unable to stand.

Lao Li was drenched in blood, having fought his way out of the gate passage during this time.

Lao Li had already killed another five or six Northern Yuan soldiers, and being able to hold on to now, his body was nearly at its limit.

Lao Li leaned against the stone wall beside the gate, bracing himself with one foot to keep from falling, thrusting his spear outward thrust after thrust.

A Northern Yuan soldier rushed at him, and he speared him to the ground.

Another rushed at him.

Yet another.

By the time the third Northern Yuan soldier, fierce-eyed, charged at him, Lao Li had truly run out of strength.

Seeing this, the Northern Yuan soldier swung his blade straight at Lao Li's neck.

Not far off, the Han Army commandant, also being heavily pressed by five or six Northern Yuan soldiers, witnessed this, his eyes nearly bursting, and he shouted:

"Lao Li, hold on—I'm coming to save you!"

After saying that, the commandant ignored the spears and sabers thrust at him by the Northern Yuan and desperately broke out of their encirclement.

He took a spear thrust to his back as he ran toward Lao Li leaning against the stone wall of the gate.

Seeing the commandant take a spear thrust and still come to his aid, Lao Li's eyes filled with tears as he roared:

"I've already killed nearly ten today—that's enough!"

"Don't worry about me—kill a few more of those damned Northern Yuan barbarians, help General Zhou, and hold Yu Lin Cheng!"

After saying that, Lao Li gritted his teeth, flung aside his spear, twisted his body to dodge the incoming blade of the Northern Yuan soldier.

He then opened his arms and seized the Northern Yuan soldier in a tight embrace.

The Northern Yuan soldier struggled desperately, driving his knife into Lao Li's body.

One stab, two stabs, three stabs…

Lao Li did not loosen his grip; instead, he held the Northern Yuan soldier and toppled sideways.

The direction they fell was toward a half‑length wooden spear shaft stuck obliquely in the ground.

The spear shaft pierced both bodies together, and even at the moment of death Lao Li never released his grip on the Northern Yuan soldier's hands.

The commandant's eyes instantly reddened, and his voice, like a lone wolf's howl, he shouted:

"Lao Li!"

Few knew that Lao Li was the veteran who had once recruited him into the army, and who had even saved his life on the battlefield before.

"Today I, Commandant You Shiyong of the Da Han Empire, die here."

Gazing at the ever‑growing Northern Yuan forces closing in, the commandant threw his head back and let out a mighty roar.

Immediately, spear in hand, he charged like a madman into the thickest of the Northern Yuan troops, slaughtering wildly.

Soon, You Shiyong was covered in wounds, his left arm unable to lift.

A slash had split his face, flesh flapping, making him look like a ferocious ghost.

Yet his spear kept moving, each thrust taking a Northern Yuan soldier's life.

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea,

Outside the gate corpses were piled high—Han Army and Northern Yuan alike, layer upon layer, blood flowing like a river.

The living trampled over the corpses to keep fighting, while the dead became cover for their comrades.

The Han Army had dwindled to about a thousand, each fighting a desperate, reckless style, evidently resolved to die.

At this moment Zhou Yingyuan stood at the very front of the Han Army, his body bearing more than ten wounds from Northern Yuan soldiers, soaked in blood, like a demon risen from hell.

His eyes bloodshot, he kept charging forward, hoping to cut down the enemy commander, but layers of Northern Yuan troops blocked his path.

Knowing in his heart that neither he nor Yu Lin Cheng could escape today, he burst out in a grief‑filled shout:

"I and my brothers, today we go to this death together!"

The remaining Han Army soldiers, faces grim with resolve, also shouted in unison:

"Die together, die together!"

Just as the Han Army soldiers fell into desperation while the Northern Yuan had victory in hand,

Outside the south gate, the right flank of the Northern Yuan great army suddenly sounded a horn that echoed through heaven and earth.

The sound was sharp and clear, carrying for miles, followed by a thunderous rumble of hooves.

The ground trembled slightly.

This tremor was not from a few thousand men charging, but from tens of thousands of hooves striking the ground in unison.

Deep, powerful, each beat striking the chest.

Tuo Tuo Bu Hua and Ba Ya'er snapped their heads to the right, Tuo Tuo Bu Hua's face showing astonishment as he said:

"How could horn and hoof sounds come from the right flank of the great army? Could it be that the Han Army's reinforcements have arrived? How did they get here so quickly?"

"They're still far off—order the right wing to turn about and form up to meet the enemy."

Tuo Tuo Bu Hua, no stranger to battlefield experience as a Northern Yuan great general, reacted instantly, forcibly suppressing his shock and unease, and quickly issued the order.

Tuo Tuo Bu Hua's loud shout allowed the Northern Yuan troops, shaken by the horn, to barely recover from their disarray.

Under the command of their respective thousand-household commanders, they turned their horses, formed ranks, and looked toward the direction from which the bugle sound came.

At this time, Zhou Yingyuan, Yu Shiyong, and other Han Army soldiers also heard the Han Army bugle and the thunder of horse hooves coming from the right flank of the Northern Yuan Army's formation.

Originally, the remaining thousand Elm Forest garrison soldiers had already resolved to fight to the death against the Northern Yuan troops.

They never expected that, in this desperate situation, Han Army reinforcements would actually arrive.

Truly, heaven leaves no one without a way out.

But where did these reinforcements come from?

How did they get here so fast!

The Han Army soldiers were all shaken, and a vigorous vitality to survive in desperate circumstances surged once again in their hearts.

No matter which route the reinforcements came from, hearing that bugle call undoubtedly meant they were Han Army.

They were not without hope; perhaps they could be saved today!

Yu Shiyong's face lit up, he burst into loud laughter, and shouted:

"Brothers, the Han Army's bugle sounds from the right flank of the Northern Yuan Army; it must be our reinforcements arriving."

"We have found life in desperation; we should not give up. This city was not defended in vain, brothers, you did not die in vain. Haha..."

Zhou Yingyuan also shouted:

"Brothers, pull yourselves together; the opportunity has come, it's time to settle accounts with these sons of bitches!"