Chapter 204: Hope

"The North Territory people are attacking the city!"

Lights flared in the North Territory, accompanied by the low rumble of firearms.

Yuan Li listened intently, the smile in his eyes growing deeper.

At this moment, the eastern sky began to turn a fish-belly white.

After half a night of fierce fighting, dawn was about to break.

"Soldiers, did you hear that? That is the horn of the North Territory army attacking; we are about to be victorious. As long as we shatter Yanguan, from now on, whatever Great Song Dynasty, whatever Eight Great Influential Clans—they are nothing but bullshit. We, the Yuan Family, are the true masters above others." Yuan Li's shouting was filled with abnormal excitement.

Upon hearing this, the Yuan Family generals all felt a surge of spirit.

Half the night had passed, and the Nanmen of Yanguan remained as solid as a golden fortress.

Over twenty thousand of their soldiers had fallen beneath the city walls.

In an assault, the side defending the city naturally occupies the geographical advantage; to win, one must have at least three times the troop strength.

Fighting until now, their morale could not help but be somewhat low.

But now, Yuan Li's words immediately made them regain their confidence.

"Continue the assault!" Seeing the generals becoming excited, Yuan Li seized the moment to shout loudly.

Under his command, another wave of Yuan Family soldiers charged toward the city walls.

The fish-belly white at the horizon was gradually replaced by golden light, and the earth became completely bright.

At Nanmen, the Yanguan soldiers had taken turns eating, and just as they climbed onto the city walls, they heard the battle cries of the Yuan Family soldiers.

"Quick, quick, quick, return to your positions." Jiang Han's face had been grazed by a piece of rubble, leaving a bloody streak.

The sword in his hand was covered in fresh blood; during the last charge, Yuan Family soldiers had already climbed onto the city wall, but after a fierce battle, they were driven back down.

Now, these Yuan Family soldiers were like they had been injected with chicken blood, charging up again.

"Rolling logs."

"Fire Oil."

"Rubble."

"Fire the firearms over there."

"..."

The shouts of the generals rang out once more, and Jiang Han walked back and forth on the city wall, directing the defense.

After half a night of fierce fighting, they had suffered over five thousand casualties, and now the city wall was covered in blood and filth.

However, the Yuan Family was not having an easy time either; the corpses of their soldiers were piled up beneath the city wall, forming a slope like sandbags.

The city wall of Nan Cheng was not very high to begin with, and these piles of corpses made it easier for the Yuan Family soldiers to climb the wall.

And Yuan Li also had the intention of using the corpses as a substitute for Scaling Ladders.

Every time they charged, soldiers would pile the corpses together.

The battle at Nan Cheng gradually reached a white-hot intensity, and the battle at North Gate also became increasingly bloody.

Relying on the advantage of their bows and arrows, the North Territory people launched wave after wave of arrow rain toward the city wall.

Under the continuous harassment of firearms and Stone Bullets, a large number of Yanguan soldiers were killed or wounded.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"..."

On the city wall, Mo Yu's voice was hoarse as he continuously directed the firearms and Archers to shoot at the North Territory soldiers beneath the wall.

At the North Gate, he had concentrated eighty percent of the firearms, Archers, and defensive resources like rolling logs and Fire Oil, all to cope with the North Territory's siege.

"General, the Servant Soldiers are coming up again." A general pointed at the North Territory soldiers slowly moving forward.

Mo Yu nodded solemnly.

Every Yanguan general could distinguish the difference between North Territory soldiers and Servant Soldiers.

They also all understood the North Territory people's way of fighting.

So, fighting until now, the North Territory people were losing Servant Soldiers, while they were losing real, solid soldiers.

Precisely because of this, watching one corpse of a Yanguan soldier after another being carried down, he felt exceptionally pained.

"Kill!"

Watching the Servant Soldiers surging over like a tide, Mo Yu drew his sword and pointed it toward the base of the wall.

In an instant, arrow rain, Stone Bullets, rubble, and rolling logs fell once again.

Outside the city.

Kutu stood at the very back of the Servant Soldier formation, looking anxiously toward the top of the city.

The tenacity of the Yanguan soldiers exceeded his imagination.

Now he seemed to understand why the attacks on Yanguan over these ten years had all failed.

The city wall, over ten meters high, made their siege extremely difficult.

After half a night of fierce fighting, half of the Servant Soldiers had fallen beneath the city wall.

And most importantly, he could see no hope of victory at all.

Tamu and Charha were equally restless.

This was their comeback battle; if they did not fight it well, they would never have another chance to stand on the battlefield.

"What should we do?" The two looked at Kutu.

Clearly, relying on these mere thirty thousand people, it was impossible to touch the top of the Yanguan City wall.

Just at this moment, they suddenly heard a burst of heavy footsteps.

The three of them turned their heads, only to see the soldiers of the Black Iron Royal Tent slowly stepping forward, taking their positions behind the Servant Soldiers.

Enke rode his horse forward.

Although he hoped to take the Yanguan City wall with just these Servant Soldiers, it was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Now, he had to commit the soldiers of the Black Iron Royal Tent.

"The reputation of the Black Iron Royal Tent rests on this battle; even if only one man remains in the Royal Tent, he must climb the city wall for me," Enke shouted, his gaze sweeping over Kutu and the other two.

Kutu looked toward Enke, a flash of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes.

He dismounted, picked up his Curved Blade, and walked to the very front of the Servant Soldiers.

Tamu and Charha followed behind Kutu, likewise raising their Curved Blades.

Enke watched his father the whole way; at this moment, he was suddenly relieved—his father was no coward.

"Kill! Take Yanguan, take Yanzhou, take the head of Yan Wang!" Kutu yelled.

Pointing his Curved Blade diagonally at the top of the Yanguan city wall, he and the three of them led the charge toward the Yanguan city wall.

With Kutu in the lead, the morale of the Black Iron Royal Tent soldiers was instantly boosted.

They shouted and followed Kutu as he charged over.

Mo Yu had been keeping a close watch on the movements of the Northern Di army.

When he recognized that the person leading the charge was Kutu, his expression turned ugly.

He knew that from this point on, they would face an exceptionally brutal slaughter.

The battle continued.

From morning until noon, and from noon it extended into the night.

The Northern Di were beaten back time and again, only to charge over again and again.

The Servant Soldiers were wiped out, and the soldiers of the Black Iron Royal Tent filled the gaps to launch another attack.

The corpses beneath the wall piled higher and higher; using the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, the Northern Di climbed onto the city wall at dusk.

"Dasong dogs, die!" Charha propped a Scaling Ladder against the mountain of corpses and jumped onto the city wall.

He raised his Curved Blade and hacked a Yanguan soldier to the ground.

Tamu and Kutu also climbed up, leading the soldiers in an attempt to secure an area for the Northern Di soldiers so that more could climb onto the wall.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Before they could even stand their ground, a dense rain of arrows flew toward them.

Tamu was instantly struck by several arrows and fell to the ground.

"Tamu!" Charha's eyes were bloodshot.

With a loud cry, he raised his Curved Blade and charged toward the Dasong soldiers.

But several Long Spears pierced through his body.

This group of Northern Di climbing the wall immediately caught Mo Yu's attention, and he naturally mobilized troops to block this breach.

The Yanguan soldiers still held an absolute advantage on the city wall; after a bout of slaughter, the Northern Di soldiers were killed and forced to retreat repeatedly.

Tamu was dead, and Charha was also dead.

Kutu, while fighting the Yanguan soldiers, looked toward the approaching Mo Yu.

With a bitter laugh, he said, "What a pity. I didn't get the chance to kill Yan Wang with my own hands, but my promise has been fulfilled. I have climbed the city wall. You cannot hold this Yanguan, and Yan Wang will still die!"

"Keep dreaming!" Mo Yu drew his sword and lunged at Kutu.

Kutu immediately raised his Curved Blade to block, and at that moment, Mo Yu kicked Kutu in the stomach.

With a muffled groan, Kutu fell from the city wall into the pile of corpses.

Mo Yu was just about to jump down to continue the slaughter when an arrow struck his arm.

"Hiss..." Mo Yu let out a cry of pain.

"General, leave quickly." Seeing this, the officers immediately covered Mo Yu's retreat.

It seemed that Kutu climbing the wall had inspired them, as more Northern Di soldiers surged toward the city wall.

Only this time, it was not just the Black Iron Royal Tent; the other three Royal Tents had all dispatched their main armies at once.

As he retreated, Mo Yu felt a chill in his heart; he did not know how much longer they could hold on.

At this moment, he wished so much that his father could be standing on the city wall.

Night fell.

The battle at Yanguan was still continuing; at midnight, a loud explosion resounded through Yanguan.

Hearing this sound, the Yanguan officers all felt a tremor in their hearts.

Nanmen.

Jiang Han struggled to climb up from the ground.

The Yuan Family soldiers had detonated Gunpowder Barrels beneath the city wall.

A section of the city wall collapsed in the massive explosion.

At this moment, his heart tightened.

After a day and a night of bitter fighting, the forces at Nanmen had suffered nearly fifty percent casualties.

But he dared not ask Mo Yu for reinforcements, because he knew the North Gate was in even greater difficulty.

"Brothers, we have no way back. Yanguan is in our hands, and behind Yanguan are the people of Dasong, your wives and daughters. We must not let the Northern Di step past Yanguan. Today, we fight to the death right here!" Jiang Han drew his sword.

Looking at the Yuan Family soldiers pouring in through the breach in the wall, he personally led his soldiers to charge up.

"Kill!" The Yanguan soldiers followed.

Instantly, the soldiers of both sides were locked in a chaotic melee at the breach in the wall.

Outside the city, the corners of Yuan Li's mouth curled upward.

He had won; the walls of Yanguan had been reached, and despite losing seventy or eighty thousand men, he still had over one hundred thousand troops.

And the Yan Pass Imperial Guard, having lost the protection of the walls, would absolutely be unable to withstand his attack.

"All forces, press the attack!" Yuan Li said indifferently.

He could already imagine himself receiving a title of nobility within the Khan Tent of the Beidi Khan.

Under his command, the Yuan Family soldiers charged toward Yanguan.

At this moment, the slaughter became exceptionally brutal.

One Yanguan soldier after another fell under the blades of the Yuan Family soldiers.

Their numbers were too few, and often one man had to face two or three Yuan Family soldiers.

But they did not scatter; the duty of defending Yanguan made them unwilling to abandon this place.

The corpses piled higher and higher at the breach, and the darkness in the east was once again dispersed by the sunlight.

Jiang Han was so exhausted he was nearly collapsing; he lay slanted against the wall at the breach as a Yuan Family soldier leveled a Long Spear and thrust it toward him.

Squinting his eyes, he let out a bitter laugh, preparing to accept death.

But just at this moment, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a silver torrent on the western horizon.

He immediately widened his eyes and rubbed them.

That was right, it was not an illusion; it was indeed a silver torrent.

"Yan Wang, Yan Wang..." Jiang Han's mind was filled with only these two words.

At this moment, an inexplicable strength suddenly erupted within his body; he violently dodged the Yuan Family soldier's attack and thrust his sword through the Yuan Family soldier's body.

"Yan Wang has come, Yan Wang has come! We are saved," Jiang Han shouted.

The Yanguan soldiers looked over one after another, and they saw it.

Upon the earth, beneath the morning glow, a silver army was slowly marching toward them.

Yanguan had hope.