Chapter 53: Troops at the City Gates

The darkness before dawn is the deepest, and also the most silent.

The torches burning on the walls of Jiao Tu Zhen flickered uncertainly in the weakening night wind, like the tired but unwilling-to-close eyes of a night watch.

The air reeked of burning oil, damp earth, and an almost solid tension.

All who could fight had taken their places, hidden behind the battlements.

They gripped their weapons tightly, ears pricked, catching any movement beyond the wind.

Chen Wen stood beneath the watchtower on the western main wall, his figure almost merging with the wooden structure.

He had not slept all night, but his eightfold stamina let him retain peak alertness.

His gaze, like the most precise instrument, swept repeatedly over the distant road, forest, and hill contours shrouded in darkness.

Time seemed stretched, each second accompanied by the heavy beat of his heart.

On the eastern horizon, that sliver of fish‑belly white finally tore open the night, draping the land and all things in a layer of gray mist.

Sporadic birdcalls rang out, only to accentuate the area's deathly stillness.

Suddenly, at the moment when dawn was about to dispel the last trace of darkness, Chen Wen's pupils contracted sharply.

His eightfold long‑range vision let him see, earlier than anyone, what was welling up from below the horizon.

It was not dust, but a moving tide, flashing with the cold gleam of metal!

At first it was merely a faint glimmer, then it rapidly expanded and spread.

Like a bursting flood, it carried an unstoppable momentum, rolling along the road to Jiao Tu Zhen!

The dull, unified tread could be heard even from several li away.

It also came like distant muffled thunder, striking the heart of every defender.

"They're here——!"

The militia on the watchtower let out a heart‑rending shout, their voices distorted by utter terror.

That shout was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly shattering Jiao Tu Zhen's last silence.

On the wall rose a chorus of stifled inhales, clashing weapons, and the chattering of teeth.

Though prepared, when they truly faced this heaven‑covering army, the instinctive fear remained hard to suppress.

Chen Wen drew a deep breath; his voice was low, yet it carried along this stretch of wall like a divine stabilizing needle.

"Take your positions! Hold steady! No one may move without my order!"

His calm infected those around him, and the commotion eased slightly.

People pressed close to the battlements, peering out with half‑opened eyes at the relentlessly advancing death‑host.

As the distance closed, the details of that army grew ever clearer.

Their numbers far exceeded expectation—a black mass of at least five or six hundred, possibly more!

The front rank consisted of shield‑bearers wielding huge shields and wearing heavy armor, like a moving wall.

Behind them stood dense ranks of spearmen, their spear tips flashing with a piercing cold light in the dawn.

On the flanks rode dozens of light cavalry, skirmishing to control the battlefield's sides.

Among the troops several banners snapped in the morning wind, the largest embroidered with a ferocious 'Liu' character.

The army's bearing was neat, its steps powerful!

That battle‑hardened, murderous aura, even from afar, struck like a tangible cold wave!

This bore no resemblance to the rabble of Black Wind Stronghold; it was a true regular force, the very embodiment of destruction!

When had the militia of Jiao Tu Zhen ever seen such a formation?

Many faces turned pallid, their grips on weapons trembling slightly, and some young visages showed despair.

The gap was too great—in numbers, equipment, and spirit.

This was hardly a battle; it more resembled an impending massacre.

Zhang Cheng crept up to Chen Wen's side, his voice hoarse:

"Chief…… there are…… too many people!"

Chen Wen did not turn, his gaze locked on the distant figure beneath the great 'Liu' banner, surrounded by personal guards and mounted on a tall horse.

That must be Liu Du Tou himself!

He actually came in person!

This both shows how much Liu Du Tou values Jiao Tu Zhen and means that this battle admits no room for compromise.

"So what if they're many?"

Chen Wen's voice was ice‑cold like steel, carrying an unyielding resolve.

"Remember, we have no way to retreat!"

"Behind us lie our homes, our parents and children!"

"Today, either they die or we perish!"

"When narrow roads meet, the brave prevail!"

His words were like a shot of adrenaline, injected into Zhang Cheng's and the surrounding militia's hearts.

Yeah, there's no retreat!

Fear cannot change the outcome; only a desperate all‑out fight will!

The enemy halted outside arrow range of the town wall and swiftly deployed their formation.

Shield bearers up front, spearmen behind, archers in the middle, forming a semicircular encirclement that sealed off Jiao Tu Zhen's west side completely.

That disciplined military bearing imposed greater pressure on the defenders.

A cavalryman rode out from the ranks, galloping to the wall's base—none other than the scar‑faced captain from last time.

He lifted his gaze to the walltop; the caution he'd shown in the previous negotiation was gone, replaced by a smug, cruel grin of assured victory.

Chen Wen! Get out and answer!

He gathered his inner qi, his voice carried across the wilderness.

Liu Du Tou has personally arrived, you ants, why don't you quickly open the gate and surrender!

If the Captain shows mercy, perhaps he can spare you lowly folk death, only executing the chief villain!

If you continue to stubbornly resist, when the city falls, not a chicken or dog will be left!

Naked threat and persuasion to surrender, intending to undermine the defenders' will.

Chen Wen slowly rose from behind the battlements, the morning light illuminating his young yet extraordinarily resolute face.

He looked down at the scar-faced man below, and at the distant silent army formation, responding loudly.

His voice clearly transmitted into the ears of every enemy and defender:

Liu Du Tou! Jiao Tu Zhen only seeks self-defense, never offended you!

Why must you exterminate completely?

If you want war, then let there be war!

In Jiao Tu Zhen, we would rather die standing than live kneeling!

If you wish to enter this town, pave the way with your corpses!

His resonant, powerful words, like a war drum, sounded the death-defying horn of Jiao Tu Zhen!

And thoroughly enraged the opposing side!

The scar-faced man cursed angrily, turned his horse and rode back.

In the distance, under the Liu-character great banner, the leader riding a horse seemed to slightly raise his hand.

The next moment, drumming rose loudly in the enemy ranks!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The dull war drum sound, like the footsteps of the god of death, shook the earth.

The military formation began to move forward slowly, like an awakening giant beast, baring its bloody fangs.

The front-rank shield bearers let out a unified roar, the heavy shields slammed down!

Spears protruded from the shield gaps, flashing with the light of death.

Archers have begun to draw their bows and nock arrows!

The great battle, imminent!

Chen Wen stood firm on the wall top, the fierce wind fluttering his robes.

He last glanced at the WP value in his mind that had reached 【8331】 and still faintly fluctuated, then focused all his spirit on the battlefield before him.

His gaze sharp as an eagle swept over the advancing enemy troops, seeking weaknesses in the formation, calculating arrow range.

All fear and distracting thoughts were discarded, leaving only pure calm and killing intent.

Dark clouds press upon the city, about to collapse; armor glints like golden scales in the sun.

Horn calls fill the autumn sky; on the frontier, the Yan's grease congeals into night purple.

In this bloody dawn of the Five Dynasties chaotic era, Jiao Tu Zhen, this lone leaf of a boat, finally meets the tumultuous waves it was destined to face.