477 Ardent, Lion-hearted Souls (1/2)

Zhan Ge felt chills in his heart, vaguely wondering if, perhaps, his thought might be true. It was not that his teacher had not noticed, but it was more of executing the previous measures until the very end.

On the morning of the second day, before the sun lit up the sky, the dawn of winter came exceptionally late.

However, the abrupt cry to kill that rang across the sky almost tore through the dark night.

Dongxuan's focused attack was finally and officially launched. Yutang's troops who had been thoroughly worn out in the Fortress of Resilience struggled wearily to the top of the wall at once.

Qiu Jianhan was already scaled down in size, unrecognizably thin. This old marshal who had gone through a good portion of his life had been standing at the top of the fort the entire time. He stood tall amidst the thick smoke. There were several times he had almost fainted from the choking smoke; after all, the top of the fort was where the flame burned the brightest and hottest. Even when he had enough mystical skill to protect himself, it was difficult to shoulder.

However, he would rather succumb to the smoke than to leave the fort.

”How many of the enemy troops are partaking in this attack?” Qiu Jianhan's voice was extremely hoarse; his eyes gleamed like the will-o'-the-wisp in the nightfall.

”More than a hundred thousand.” Wang Dingguo had only roughly listened to the movement on the other end before reporting an accurate number. This was the skill of a general who had been through one too many wars; it was not a big deal.

”Still too little…” Qiu Jianhan sighed, ”However, this should also be Han Sanhe's limit and the last advantage we can scoop up!”

Wang Dingguo stood up straight. ”They shall come, and never return!”

”Use all the remaining kerosene in this battle. There is no need to save any more supplies, pour them all!”

Qiu Jianhan coughed harshly, hacking a mouthful of phlegm laced with blood, and said sternly, ”After pouring all the kerosene, everyone is to retreat from the fort promptly! Go according to the plan, turn to the west gate for the ultimate battle!”

”Yes!”

Barrel upon barrel of kerosene was spilled in a messy yet orderly fashion while squads of Yutang soldiers charged down the fortress with loud cries. They crashed into the enemy ranks and began to fight hand-to-hand within the sea of kerosene.

With the icy slope as a buffer, it benefitted the Yutang soldiers as well, since they could hop off the fort right away without injuring themselves. There was a total of thirty thousand Yutang fighters who rushed out like hysterical tigers, battling to their deaths against the enemy in flowing, flammable liquid.

These Yutang fighters possessed contrasting emotions against Dongxuan's soldiers.

Dongxuan soldiers only knew that their enemy had gone crazy. It was their last battle that would put their lives at stake; as long as they beat them, it was victory, it was an unhindered path to success.

Yutang soldiers were well aware that from the moment they had bolted down, their lives were on a countdown. Once the kerosene under their feet was drained, a huge fire would take its place!

By then, both the enemy troops and they would all be turned into charred remains.

Right now, whether they won or lost this battle, it was a battle no one could survive! Nonetheless, there was no fear in their eyes.

”Follow your father on the way! Dongxuan's rascals! Hahaha!”

The thirty thousand Yutang warriors had become a mighty force the moment they hopped off the fort, wielding their glaives and spears to execute the most spectacular retaliatory strike. They had pushed Dongxuan's army of a hundred thousand men back so forcefully that it was hard for the latter to advance. They couldn't even move an inch forward!

”Marshal, Yutang's soldiers have hopped off the Fortress of Resilience to do battle!”

”How many of them are there?”

”They come with strong resolve. The attacking momentum mustered by our hundred thousand men is being restrained!”

”Does that mean the enemy has at least fifty thousand people and more?”

”Maybe… even more.”

Han Sanhe kept quiet and measured out a pace of two steps before giving his command, ”Add another eighty thousand soldiers, make it a landslide victory!”

The drumbeat in Dongxuan's base changed, thundering loudly to another rhythm. Han Sanhe's expression was unreadable from the illumination of the torch.

”Qiu Jianhan loves his soldiers like his sons. Unless it has come to the last juncture… otherwise, such an extreme tactic would never have been used. This also means that…”

Yutang's thirty thousand warriors became a new stretch of the Fortress of Resilience, made of flesh and blood, right on this slope that had been built by them and their enemy under the fort.

They cared nothing about their lives, fearlessly charging forward. At this moment, nothing was in their minds; their parents, their wives, their children, their confidants, their brothers and friends, all they were and all they had, their pasts flashed in their heads before they were all tossed into the emptiness. The fighters' eyes were reddened, like those of a pouncing tiger.

A sonorous voice rang out as someone sprang up and cried in midair, ”Yutang's warriors are here, who dares invade our land?”

”Who dares invade our land?” All thirty thousand militants hollered in unison as they moved three steps forward.

”There's no regret in this life to be in Yutang!” The booming voice cried.

”There's no regret in this life to be in Yutang!” The thirty thousand warriors cried together.