Chapter 777
Liu Hong’s army behind him made way. The three thousand armored soldiers brought by Bai Qingyan advanced rapidly.
At Zhao Ran’s command, the soldiers of Niujiao Mountain shouted and changed formations. Each group of six men, with four carrying light shields in front, three of which had different shapes. The middle one was a square-shaped light shield with four equal edges, while the sides were triangular shields with three equal edges. The ones at the back carried normal shields, protecting two soldiers with backpacks within. They moved steadily and quickly towards the two corners of the city wall.
Liu Hong watched the six-man groups, each with different-shaped shields, and was puzzled about their purpose.
“Duke Bai, what is the use of these shields in the hands of the six-man teams?” Liu Hong asked.
“Six men per team, with three of the shields carrying hidden clasps that interlock into a single unit. General Liu will see soon enough,” Bai Qingyan replied.
Soon, the first six-man team reached the base of the city wall.
The city wall was built against steep cliffs on both sides. The team interlocked their three shields into a larger shield, with the longest edge pressed firmly against the wall and tilted overhead, sheltering the two soldiers nailing into the wall from the arrows shot down from the top.
When the Liang Army on the city tower saw that arrows were ineffective, they began to hurl rocks down to smash the shields.
But the interlocked shields, angled downward, made the rocks slip and fall off. The impact pushed the three shield-bearers downward, causing their shield to wedge onto the thick nails driven into the wall, and the stones rolled away, their force ringing through the rings tied to the soldiers’ bodies.
The three shield-bearers stepped on the nails, holding their shields up, while the two who nailed the stakes followed them steadily, embedding nails into the wall as they advanced.
The lone soldier holding a normal shield hid in the angle between the shield and the wall, gripping a rope whose purpose was unclear.
At Qingxi Mountain Pass, the soldiers of Niujiao Mountain gathered together, shields interlocked, climbing the wall.
From afar, the soldiers looked like lush vines growing up the wall, covering most of it steadily and methodically.
Occasionally, a soldier would slip, and then the soldier crouching in the angle between the wall and the shield would grasp the rope tightly and pull with force.
The nearly falling soldier would be lifted by the rope tied through the ring. A hand extended from under the shield to drag the soldier back.
Many attacking Jin soldiers saw this and helped pull the ropes, accelerating the assault visibly.
Once the first team climbed up, they threw down rope ladders. The first Niujiao Mountain soldier to reach the wall held the rope with a drawn sword, and soon Jin soldiers started climbing up continuously, engaging in bloody combat with the Liang Army!
The obstacles for the Jin soldiers diminished, and their climbing speed increased.
Soon, the wall was densely packed with Jin soldiers scaling up the rope ladders. Within moments, the entire wall was covered with Jin soldiers; dozens of cloud ladder vehicles were pushed towards the wall, an awe-inspiring sight.
The inexpugnable Qingxi Mountain Pass, known as the world’s mightiest pass, seemed made of paper before Bai Qingyan’s soldiers!
Liu Hong was deeply shocked by the scene. He turned to look at Bai Qingyan, whose calm eyes remained unmoved despite the rain.
Behind Bai Qingyan stood well-arrayed soldiers, eyes fixed on the wall, awaiting her orders to become the next wave of brave climbers.
Was this the so-called rabble Bai Qingyan trained in Shuoyang to fight bandits?
Liu Hong recalled that he had heard rumors of Bai Qingyan, who was always the vanguard alongside the Princess of Zhen, thanks to a fierce female guard unit under her command. Was this how that famed guard unit had captured cities?
Daliang was often plagued by rain. Given Qingxi Mountain Pass’s importance, they constructed its walls of stone to prevent rain from weakening earthen fortifications during enemy attacks.
Liang Kingdom’s stone wall construction techniques were advanced but labor-intensive. They built the Qingxi Mountain Pass’s wall very high and difficult to climb, using the cliffs as natural fortifications.
But, it was these stone walls that gave the Niujiao Mountain soldiers their chance. If it were earthen, prolonged rain would have destabilized the walls. Even with nails, the walls couldn’t hold the weight, causing soldiers to fall.
Now, nails embedded in the stone wall had solid support…
However, Bai Qingyan considered the Niujiao Mountain soldiers still inexperienced. Their training was brief and they lacked real combat experience; they needed to undergo genuine battlefield trials like the Huying Camp soldiers to become truly valiant warriors.
Seeing the Zhao flags high on the wall and the Liang Army flags fallen, Bai Qingyan tugged her reins hard. Her horse turned towards Liu Hong. “General, give the order!”
Liu Hong knew the time was right. The Jin soldiers had broken inside. With the Liang flag fallen, there must already be soldiers opening the gates.
Drawing his sword, Liu Hong shouted, “Jin soldiers! The Liang banner has fallen! Victory is ours! Charge!”
The Jin soldiers were instantly exhilarated, following Liu Hong’s chariot forward, roaring as they raced towards the Qingxi Mountain Pass wall.
Bai Qingyan took out the Sun-Shooting Bow from her back, held the reins with one hand, and spurred her horse.
Inside the thick doors of Qingxi Mountain Pass, the Jin soldiers ruthlessly cut down the soldiers defending the doors. Outside, the battering rams, like armored beasts, struck the gates again. The final thick wooden beam supporting the doors began to crack.
The Liang Army no longer had the strength to stop the Jin soldiers on the walls, which were now flooded with blood.
The Jin soldiers pulled the battering rams back to the furthest point and began clearing debris—the bodies of both Liang and Jin soldiers in their path—roaring in fury as they pushed the rams toward the gates one last time, sure this final strike would break them down.
The ancient and weighty gates of Qingxi Mountain Pass were finally breached…