Chapter 730

First Volume, Chapter 730: Confrontation at Xiongying Ridge

Ma Tingyun and Lü Ci and others hurried up onto the City Wall; the sky had already turned pale with dawn, sufficient to bring the entire Xiongying Ridge into view.

There, on the wasteland two hundred steps from the Fortress, lay hundreds of corpses, long since severely decayed; many Beixi Soldiers, their faces wrapped in White Cloth Headbands, were dumping cart after cart of exhumed rotting bodies into piles.

There were two more such piles!

Judging from the clothing on the corpses, these were all Beidi Soldiers who had died in battle!

Ma Tingyun immediately realized this was Qin Feng's Attack the Mind Tactic; his gaze instantly grew grim.

"Of course—Qin Feng has decided to launch a direct assault on the Fortress. First, he uses these rotting corpses to disrupt our Military Morale, and when our morale collapses, he will strike!"

"That Qin Feng, to seize the Fortress, will stop at nothing!"

Lü Ci, standing beside him, could not suppress his fury.

He slammed his fist into the Jianbing and roared: "Unthinkable!"

"The dead deserve respect—Qin Feng has dug up their corpses! This is utterly disgraceful!"

"Who will follow me out to reclaim the bodies?!"

At these words, the officers present immediately responded.

After all, these corpses were all heroes who had died in battle; many might have once been subordinates under Lü Ci and the other officers.

Unprecedented rage spread across the City Wall; everyone, enraged, roared their determination to launch an Offensive Action and storm out of the City.

Ma Tingyun quickly raised his hand to halt the furious crowd.

"Don't panic—this is Qin Feng's Attack the Mind Tactic. Don't fall for his tricks!"

"As long as we hold the City, we are invincible. If we rashly charge out, we will suffer massive casualties."

Lü Ci had long despised Ma Tingyun.

Now, he exploded: "General Ma, if you usually embolden the enemy and demoralize your own troops, I might overlook it."

"But now, that bastard Qin Feng has dug up the corpses of our fallen soldiers and dragged them to our gates—how can we honor the spirits of our fallen if we don't reclaim these bodies?!"

"Besides, every soldier on the City Wall has seen this—if we cower inside and watch coldly, won't we crush their hearts?!"

Ma Tingyun knew perfectly well that Qin Feng's Lower Three Tactics were devastating to the morale within the City.

He had to do something to stabilize Military Morale.

But a rash charge out of the City was the worst possible strategy.

After careful thought, Ma Tingyun turned and bellowed: "Everyone, listen up—do not gossip about what's happening outside the City."

"Whoever dares to undermine Military Morale will be executed on the spot!"

The officers had already thought Ma Tingyun cowardly, only ever hiding behind walls, utterly lacking in leadership.

Now, seeing the corpses of fallen soldiers still warm, dug up and displayed, while Ma Tingyun did nothing to rally them—instead continuing to suppress and cower—

Compared to Qin Feng, Ma Tingyun was even more disgraceful.

Lü Ci finally stopped talking; he raised his arm and shouted: "Whoever wants to follow me out—come with me!"

As soon as he spoke, Lü Ci walked toward the City Gate.

Three officers followed him immediately.

Seeing this, Ma Tingyun desperately tried to stop them: "General Lü, calm down—Qin Feng excels at manipulating hearts. There must be an ambush outside!"

Lü Ci did not turn back: "As soldiers, our greatest honor is to die wrapped in horsehide. Even if we die, we will never disgrace the Beidi Army Soul!"

"Unlike some cowards, too timid to even show a man's courage!"

Although Ma Tingyun held a higher GovernmentPosition, as Garrison Commander of the Fortress, he had no authority over these fierce officers who had crawled out of piles of corpses.

He could only watch helplessly as Lü Ci and others assembled a thousand Cavalry at the City Gate.

With no choice, Ma Tingyun ran back to the City Wall to observe the situation outside: beyond the three piles of corpses at two hundred steps, three hundred steps away stood Qin Feng's Vanguard Camp.

Besides the armies blockading the other three sides, Qin Feng had divided his front-line forces into three main camps.

Three hundred steps out was First Battalion, with ten plus Ying Zhang scattered in a single row.

Four hundred steps out was Second Battalion, twenty tents in total, with Cavalry stationed there.

Eight hundred steps out was Third Battalion—the Middle Array Main Camp—where the main force was concentrated.

This arrangement created a very long defensive line, but the Vanguard Camp and the Reinforcements Second Battalion were only one hundred steps apart, while the Reinforcements Second Battalion and the Middle Array Main Camp were separated by four hundred steps.

Such depth meant even light Cavalry could not achieve One-Strike Victory and break through the entire DefensiveLine.

If the Vanguard Camp was attacked, the Reinforcements Second Battalion would immediately send Cavalry to aid—just one hundred steps, a few breaths away! Conversely, any enemy attempting to ambush the Reinforcements Second Battalion would be intercepted by First Battalion.

The entire line was utterly impenetrable—if Lü Ci and his men launched an offensive and became entangled, annihilation awaited them.

But Ma Tingyun could no longer stop them; he could only watch as Lü Ci led a thousand Cavalry streaming out the City Gate toward the corpse piles.

Two hundred steps was nothing to Cavalry—just a few breaths.

Yet the Beixi Soldiers transporting the corpses each had a Single Horse tethered beside them, as if they had long anticipated a sudden attack from the Xiongying Ridge defenders.

The moment Lü Ci charged out of the City Gate, the Beixi Soldiers dropped their wooden carts, leapt onto their horses, and fled toward the Vanguard Camp one hundred steps away.

Before Lü Ci even reached the corpses, the Beixi Soldiers had already returned safely to the Vanguard Camp.

"Cowards! Disgraceful!"

Watching the fleeing Beixi Soldiers, Lü Ci raged aloud, helpless; he turned to his Cavalry and shouted: "Find a way to bring the bodies back into the City!"

But as soon as he spoke, his Deputy General answered with extreme reluctance: "General, it's impossible."

"These corpses have been buried too long—they're utterly decayed."

"Not only are they impossible to gather, but even if we loaded them onto carts, the stench of rot would spread and trigger plague."

Hearing this, Lü Ci stared at the mound of rotting corpses and gave up.

"Then bury them here!"

"Yi Zu on alert, Er Zu on patrol, Si Zu and San Zu dismount and dig trenches to bury the bodies."

With Lü Ci's command, the four squads of Cavalry each performed their duties and hurried into action.

At that moment, Ma Tingyun on the City Wall noticed that the Beixi Soldiers hiding in the Vanguard Camp had all rushed out, each holding a Heavy Stone Step Bow!

"Danger!"

Ma Tingyun shouted at the top of his lungs: "General Lü, the Enemy Army's archers have set a Bandit Trap—return quickly!"