478 The Fall of the Fortress of Resilience. Supreme Clouds Route (1/2)
The intense flame that erupted drew a line of heat and separated both armies onto different parts of the field.
The top of the Fortress of Resilience exploded into a tumultuous roar. Those were the maddened cheers of the men who were sending their comrades off.
”Brothers, did you see that? You have not died in vain! These hundreds of thousands of the men from the Dongxuan army are all your sacrificial offerings! These are the tributes sent to you all by us brothers! Your journey to the underworld will not be lonely, you will have your enemies with you!”
Wang Dingguo howled into the sky, hot tears rolling down his face while Qiu Jianhan's lips trembled as he teared up as well.
”You have gone to war today, and it doesn't matter if you have died – alive, you are a man of Yutang; dead, you are Yutang's soul! If there is the next lifetime, let us be warriors, brave like the tigers, once again! Let us strengthen Yutang's core and be Yutang's soldiers once more!”
”Brothers, all of you were great! I, Qiu Jianhan, have no regrets fighting with all of you in this lifetime! It is a matter of pride for me to die beside you. It shall be a glorious end!”
”I hope to see you all waiting for me. When this old man gives Han Sanhe another harsh blow at the west gate, I shall finally be reunited with all of you!”
”The path to the underworld lined by enemies and comrades... how can you be without a leader?”
”Millions of lion-hearted souls continue to linger. Let us fall into formation in the Yellow Spring; wait for this old man's drum before we kill all of Dongxuan souls!”
Qiu Jianhan then hollered at the top of his voice, ”Retreat! Draw back at full speed!”
Wang Dingguo followed with a drawn-out howl.
Countless Yutang soldiers drew back from the top of the fort like a receding tide. Qiu Jianhan mounted his horse with a graceful flip and without looking back, he cried, ”Leave the fort!”
Behind him, the flames burned brightly as it soared thousands of feet into the sky. The Fortress of Resilience was already in ruins, as the outermost wall was reduced to white ash.
The Fortress of Resilience, known as the impregnable stronghold for dozens of years across the world, no longer lived up to its name. Just like that, the legend ceased to exist.
Amidst the flicker of flames, the struggle of the hundreds of thousands of Dongxuan soldiers grew weaker, leaving only the crackling sound of the fire devouring what had been left behind. One torch, a humongous fire that had been planned for days, had buried hundreds of thousands of Dongxuan's militants under a mound of rubble.
Yutang's soldiers on the other side had drawn back from the top of the fort with incredible speed. They were like wraiths as they left speedily, one after another. In just an extremely short period of time, there was not a single soul left in the Fortress of Resilience; it had become an empty fort.
Qiu Jianhan led the last fifty thousand men out of the stronghold; there were obviously very many people, but they moved silently. Even the fluttering flags were carried in an orderly manner.
Normally, a lot of soldiers would have carried the military flags with puffed chests, but there was no one standing beside him. There should have been hundreds or even thousands under a single military flag, but now, there was only one person left, carrying a torn flag while advancing proudly. It was as if his brothers had never left, that they were still marching in formation and were quietly moving forward with him.
The flag bearer himself was still here and the flag was still here. How could the brothers who stood with him under this flag not be here as well?
Such flags and their bearers were a usual sight among the troops coming out of the fort.
A soldier raised his flag high. His chest was bleeding, his injury severe, but he was still walking forward with a raised chin and puffed chest as if he did not even realize his wound was there. His brothers walking beside him wanted to help, but they were rebuffed with a glare – my brothers, only I can carry our flag! It represents the fact that our battalion is still here, and this is only true if I am the one carrying it. There's no need for others to help!
Footsteps and galloping hooves rang throughout the bare Fortress of Resilience, the sounds echoing loudly in the empty air. It was as if there were still millions of patriotic Yutang souls who were leaving the fortress uniformly in their formations to await the battle of life and death under the engulfing night fog.
…
Han Sanhe's face turned red as blood flowed straight to his head, a wave of vertigo washing over him. He watched, dumbfounded at the massive fire that had suddenly devoured everything and everyone in sight.
Splat!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly in agony. ”Qiu Jianhan, how vicious you are!”
No one, Han Sanhe included, had thought that the thirty thousand Yutang warriors who charged down the fort to retaliate against the enemy at the very last moment was actually Qiu Jianhan's tactic to lure the enemy into a counterattack!
He had used tens of thousands of patriotic Yutang souls as bait, as a chance to allow Dongxuan the ease of mind to attack. Yet, he had also sacrificed a hundred and eighty thousand Dongxuan elites in the process!
Even Han Sanhe could hardly have expected this strategy – he had considered the possibility, just like Zhan Ge, that Qiu Jianhan might have kept a certain amount of kerosene to prepare for the worst, but he would never have guessed that Qiu Jianhan, who loved his soldiers like his own, would choose the most unexpected and unconventional path!