Chapter 277: First Volume, Chapter 277: Military Morale Collapses

First Volume, Chapter 277: Military Morale Collapses

Over a thousand Beidi Cavalry patrol along the outer edge of the City Wall, continuously shooting arrows upward to disrupt and suppress the Garrison's defense.

Another three thousand cavalry have dismounted and become infantry, relentlessly hurling Hook Chains onto the City Wall and erecting makeshift long ladders.

The defenders are pinned down, unable to raise their heads, forced only to slash at the Hook Chains with knives or shove the ladders over with forks.

Qi Meng crouches beside the Jianbing and snaps at the dazed County Soldier beside him: "Stop fucking around—push those ladders away!"

The County Soldier, stunned by the fierce battle, finally snaps out of it, glances down the wall, nearly soils himself—the Beidi soldiers have already climbed halfway up the ladders.

Several County Soldiers quickly raise their long forks, brace them on both sides of the ladders, and shove outward together.

Since these were makeshift ladders, unlike the usual ten- or twenty-meter Cloud Ladders, they toppled backward entirely under the fork pressure; those Beidi soldiers halfway up either died on impact or were crippled and lost combat effectiveness.

The battlefield echoed continuously with the screams of Beidi soldiers.

But this did not shake the Beidi soldiers' Military Morale—after all, all Siege Warfare is this brutal.

Under Qi Meng's Command, the County Soldiers tenaciously repelled wave after wave of Beidi attacks, losing count of how many times they had driven the enemy back.

But as the battle dragged on and longer ladders arrived, the County Yamen's supply of long forks gradually lost its effectiveness.

The ladders leaned against the City Wall, forming nearly an isosceles triangle between the ground, the ladder, and the wall.

The County Soldiers could shove the ladders out several meters with their three- to four-meter forks, but could not topple them; once exhausted, the ladders slammed back against the wall.

The moment the first Beidi soldier breached the wall, the massacre began.

Untrained and inexperienced County Soldiers, facing hardened Beidi troops, often found a single Beidi soldier slaughtering seven or eight County Soldiers around him—until Tianji Camp Guards arrived like firefighters, skewering the Beidi soldier with a halberd and ending the slaughter.

As more and more Beidi soldiers surged onto the wall, the thousand-plus County Soldiers on the wall lost formation, dodging, shoving, and countless others tumbled off the wall.

With the City on the verge of falling, Qi Meng could only grit his teeth, grip his spear, and engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Beidi soldiers.

Relying on solid training and personal valor, Qi Meng killed every Beidi soldier within two zhang of him.

But the bravery of Qi Meng and the Tianji Camp Guards had negligible effect on this battle.

At that moment, a sharp female cry rang out from below the wall.

Qin Cheng Clan had arrived at the Front Line Zhan Chang without warning, followed by hundreds of sturdy Civilian Laborers.

"Hold the City! If the City falls, we face massacre!"

Under the Mobilization of Qin Cheng Clan, Li Xiaolan, and Lin Quqi, the townsfolk understood that under a tipped nest, no egg remains intact—they seized weapons and rushed to support the Front Line.

Unfortunately, these Civilian Laborers were worse than County Soldiers; facing fierce Beidi troops, they were cut down in a single exchange.

But as the City Wall became packed with Tianji Camp Guards, Beidi soldiers, County Soldiers, and Civilian Laborers, it severely hindered reinforcements from the Beidi side.

Often, a single Beidi soldier leaping onto the wall would face seven, even ten or more County Soldiers and Civilian Laborers attacking at once.

The situation gradually turned into a stalemate.

Chen Si, stationed at a safe distance outside the wall, watched the brutal battle on the wall with cold, emotionless eyes: "Can we breach the City Gate?"

The Colonel shook his head bluntly: "Only Battering Rams or ramming logs can shake the City Gate. Even if we break it, the gate will be heavily defended—the narrow corridor favors Tianji Camp Guards' defense, turning it into a battle of few against many."

Hearing this, Chen Si looked up at the night sky—it had already been nearly two hours past the original withdrawal plan.

Even Chen Si, with his vast war experience, found it nearly impossible to enforce strict orders once battle was joined.

Seeing the wall now packed with fighters, continuing the assault would only add casualties with diminishing returns—Chen Si made no further hesitation, tugged the Reins, slowly turned his Horse, and said grimly: "Our goal has been achieved. Withdraw."

The Colonel immediately gave the order; the Messenger struck the War Drum.

Beixi County City held!

Qi Meng and the Tianji Camp Guards raised their arms and roared at the retreating Beidi army: "Come on! If you're not afraid of death, keep climbing! You fucking Beidi dogs—someday, Young Master Qin will lead us to storm the Di Royal Capital and behead your proud Di King!"

No one responded to Qi Meng's taunts.

County Soldiers and Civilian Laborers stared blankly at the night sky beyond the wall, as if soulless.

After a long silence, sound returned to the wall.

It was the wailing of County Soldiers, the weeping of Civilian Laborers.

Not tears of joy, but terror shattered.

They themselves did not know how the City had been held.

The Garrison slowly withdrew from the wall to regroup; Lin Quqi did a rough count, his eyes filled with despair stronger than ever before.

Qin Cheng Clan also deeply cared about casualties, asking softly: "How many did we lose?"

After a long pause, Lin Quqi answered listlessly: "County Soldiers and Civilian Laborers—over three hundred dead… and according to Tianji Camp Guards' Military Intelligence Report, the battlefield holds nearly three hundred Beidi corpses."

This casualty ratio, one-to-one, seemed not bad.

But considering the Beidi were the attackers, and the County Soldiers' Morale had collapsed to rock bottom, they could never withstand another assault.

And now, at least seven days remained before Xu Mo's reinforcements arrived…

…

Qin Residence, Book Room.

Qin Tianhu gripped his Tea Cup until the tea turned completely cold, never bringing it to his lips; his tiger-like eyes never left Qin Feng.

Qin Feng, since entering, had sat quietly beside him, holding several letters, his expression more solemn than ever before.

Though Qin Feng said nothing, the fact that this wastrel, normally careless and frivolous, could look so serious proved the situation in Beixi was dire.

Finally, Qin Feng sighed deeply, tossed the topmost Beixi County War Report onto the desk, and as he opened the second letter, spoke weakly: "Lin Quqi and the others held off the Beidi's first assault. But we lost over three hundred men—Morale is nearly shattered. If they attack again, Beixi County is doomed."

From the start of the battle to the arrival of the Messenger, four days had passed.

God knows whether the Beidi have continued to besiege the City during that time.

Perhaps while reading this letter, the second battle has already begun—and Beixi County has already fallen?!

Qin Feng dared not think further—he began flipping through the second letter…