476 On Your Mark (1/2)
”Marshal, the thickness of the ice that has melted is more severe than expected... also, Yutang is pouring even more kerosene onto the slope.”
”How much are they pouring this time?”
”I can't tell, but it doesn't look like they are going to run out of kerosene anytime soon!”
”Flaming arrows!!” Han Sanhe ordered the bowmen to unleash their fiery missiles.
A few days later, the news had not changed its tone.
”Marshal, Yutang is still pouring kerosene. Are we…”
”Can we see how much they are throwing at us this time?”
”I'm sorry, we can't really tell. At the very least, there's no sign of it being any lesser than before!”
”Flaming arrows!” Han Sanhe's eyebrows were locked in a deep frown.
”Qiu Jianhan, you f*cker, how much kerosene did you collect? Why doesn't it seem to have an end? You've been pouring kerosene down the slope four separate times now!”
”Each time, you threw an undoubtedly large quantity of genuine kerosene at us. How did you manage to get your hands on so much of it?”
Watching the smoke that was soaring into the sky, Han Sanhe continued to frown, vaguely aware that something was not right somewhere. Zhan Ge, trailing behind Han Sanhe, was frowning as well, his face a mask of deep contemplation.
The slope they had built should have been a textbook version of a flash in the pan, but up to this day, it had been rendered completely useless by Qiu Jianhan's kerosene. There was no serious damage done to the army, but they could not afford an impasse for much longer. The military prized speed above all else, as the delay would more often than not cause changes; who would guess what changes could happen as they faced a stand-off for so many days?
The best scenario that could happen now was the exhaustion of kerosene by Yutang, but they appeared to possess an endless supply of oil which was impossible to deplete.
”I am thankful that I didn't get charred today.” Zhan Ge wiped his face and as he mumbled under his breath, a trace of fear lingering in his tone.
The burning kerosene had given rise to a thick column of greasy smoke which engulfed Dongxuan's base. Han Sanhe and Zhan Ge, who had been observing the situation from the camp, had been suffocated by the smoke.
Han Sanhe immediately frowned at his words and asked with a measure of surprise, ”You don't feel smothered by the smoke today?”
He watched the scene for a good while with his frown in place before he suddenly issued his orders, ”Send some men with high cultivation bases to check on the kerosene!”
Upon his command, a number of peak realm cultivators scurried over despite the increasingly violent fire.
”A report for the Marshal! The kerosene that Yutang has poured out this time is not pure kerosene, but a mixture of the accursed oil with a lot of water. It can still burn, but the flames will be weaker than before.”
As he listened, a hint of a smile finally found its way to Han Sanhe's face. It was as if he had expected this.
Zhan Ge's ears perked up as well. ”Teacher, it looks like Qiu Jianhan doesn't have much kerosene left over there anymore.”
Han Sanhe replied with a hint of exasperation, ”Even though there's not much, it can still be ignited and do substantial damage. Ignore it, let's just wait it out.”
Another two days passed quietly.
The Fortress of Resilience was silent. The men defending it were no longer pouring kerosene-like they had been doing before.
Han Sanhe's generals were discussing and whispering among themselves; their excitement could hardly be contained.
”Marshal, let us attack1”
”Yutang is not pouring their kerosene anymore.”
”They used a lot of oil each time they tried to burn down the slope. No matter how much they have gathered, it should be about empty now. They must have finally depleted their resources!”
”Yes, it's the best time for us to follow up our attack now!”
Han Sanhe pondered for a long while before replying, ”For this attack,we have to strike simultaneously from three sides. Each side…” He thought about it for a good while and said, ”Each side shall have ten thousand men!”