Misty Rain of the Old Times

War drums thundered, the rising sun shone red on the iron armor, thousands of troops stood in formation, and a chilling atmosphere spread, making people's hearts go cold.

A gentle morning breeze stirred up the withered grass and dust, as if a great battle was about to begin, and the next moment would be earth-shattering.

Zhou Xing's army was arrayed in the mountains inside and outside Ganning County. Long spears stood in rows, their armor was gleaming, and their momentum was overwhelming. Their equipment and military discipline clearly indicated that they were elite troops.

In contrast, inside Gan Ning's city, tens of thousands of troops were gathered, but they all looked flustered, and most of them did not even have a decent suit of armor. The difference was too great, and they looked like a group of vagrant bandits.

They were also prepared to defend the city. The city walls were piled with thunderstones and rolling logs, and large pots were set up to boil juicy oil. They were ready to fight to the death, but they didn't have much of a fighting spirit.

Having taken everything in view, even though Chen Xuan didn't understand military affairs, he could clearly see that a sweeping advance was underway. However, he wondered why Zhou Xing didn't try to persuade them to surrender directly. That way, there would be no need for a major war, and Gan Ning County could be taken without losing a single soldier. Was it because they didn't want to, or because the other side wouldn't agree? Or were they training their troops or even guarding against the Rong Kingdom on the other side?

Not understanding these things, Chen Xuan didn't dwell on them. He just watched. To be honest, he had never personally witnessed a large-scale battle, let alone a siege, in his two lifetimes combined.

Noticing that Du Juan's pretty face was tense, Chen Xuan realized that she was probably affected by the tense atmosphere. Even a master of innate skill who had seen many great scenes would feel nervous in the face of thousands of troops. Chen Xuan gently patted her lower back to ease her tension.

As the second war drumbeat subsided, Zhou Xing, clad in imposing armor, nodded and said, "Let's begin. Take this city, and the first to scale it will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred acres of fertile land."

Upon hearing this, the general beside him clasped his hands in a fist and nodded, then turned to the side to signal, and an officer immediately waved a command flag.

As the command flag was waved, the arrayed army roared in unison, shouting "Kill!" The sound waves rolled as if they were about to pierce the sky.

Whoosh, boom boom boom...

The army advanced towards Ganning County. The spearmen in front pointed their spears forward like a forest, their steps not very orderly, and the ground seemed to tremble, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Long spears, long spears, how can they be called long spears if they aren't long? The spears in the hands of those spearmen were over two zhang long, truly a forest of spears. Holding such long spears is very strenuous, but they put their spears on the shoulders of their comrades in front of them, which saves a lot of effort. If the two armies were to charge into battle, with long spears thrusting out in unison, the scene would be terrifying to even imagine.

However, this was a siege, and spearmen were not very effective, as were cavalry. The spearmen at the front were only there to cover the advance of the troops behind them and prevent them from being attacked by the enemy when they came out of the city. It was a steady and methodical approach.

However, the main reason the ground trembled was not the advancing army, but the massive siege engines.

The scene Chen Xuan remembered of carrying long ladders and rushing down the city wall did not appear. Instead, he saw a huge cloud tower among Zhou Xing's army, as tall as the city wall. It was covered with thick armor plates that could block arrows and had observation ports. Moreover, the armor plates had been soaked in water beforehand and could obviously be disassembled to prevent them from being ignited by oil.

From behind the Dengcheng Cloud Tower, one can go straight up the stairs to the top. Hundreds of people push the tower forward with great effort. Once they reach the base of the wall, a large number of soldiers can directly climb the wall. There are ten such Dengcheng Cloud Towers, with plenty more in reserve behind the army.

In addition, catapults were also advancing. If a round stone the size of a millstone were thrown, it would surely leave a pile of mud on one's body.

Then, siege engines, bridging vehicles, and burying vehicles were also advancing. Under the protection of thick armor, unless one was a master of innate skill, it was difficult to injure the soldiers inside from the outside. These siege machines were prepared to prevent breaching and burning, in order to ensure the safety of the soldiers inside as much as possible.

This is a real siege battle, with every aspect taken into consideration. The idea of ​​charging forward with a knife and a ladder is an insult to people's intelligence. How many people would it take to fill the gaps between those high above?
Witnessing all this, Chen Xuan thought to himself that he had truly broadened his horizons, and there were still many things he didn't understand.

At the same time, he was also somewhat moved, thinking to himself, "Zhou Laowu, is it really necessary for you to attack a county town that is clearly outmatched in strength? It's as if you don't want to suffer any casualties at all."

Of course, even a fool knows that this is the right thing to do; a soldier's life is always more precious than equipment.

These are just the methods Zhou Xing has shown so far. Who knows how many more hidden tricks he has up his sleeve? For now, this is the most conventional and straightforward way to take down a city. There are many ways to take down a city, and this is just the safest and simplest one.

Watching the army advance, Zhou Xing suddenly spoke up: "Brother Xuan, are you wondering why I didn't try to persuade them to surrender? Or why I didn't use some more cunning and easier methods to take them down, instead opting for this direct assault?"

I was indeed a little confused, but I wasn't curious to ask. Since he had already said that, Chen Xuan casually replied, "Please enlighten me, Fifth Brother."

Laughing, Zhou Xing pointed to the opposite side and said, "It's simple. First of all, we don't need them. Those people are notorious for oppressing the people; there are hardly any good people among them. What use are they? Recruiting them would be a waste of food, and whether we disperse or resettle them, it's a troublesome matter. So, we might as well make the most of them. If they can't hold the city, they will naturally flee from the rear. On the other side, it's under the jurisdiction of the Rong Kingdom's court. Their escape from the rear will create some trouble for them, allowing us to take the opportunity to strengthen the city's defenses. By the time the Rong Kingdom reacts and launches an attack, even if they have the guts, they won't be able to break through the city without several times the number of troops."

So that's what they were planning, using those city defenders as a buffer. Sure enough, every action in military campaigns has a deeper meaning. Ugh, my head isn't working properly. Telling me all this is just bullying me.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan nodded and said, "I see, I've learned something."

Zhou Xing found his behavior somewhat amusing, as if he were showing off. But this was just common sense; anyone with a little military knowledge would do the same. It wasn't a clever strategy or a scheme at all.

Anyway, Chen Xuan is a complete novice when it comes to military affairs, and I'm just a slightly stronger martial artist. You're right about everything.

As they spoke, the vanguard of Zhou Xing's steadily advancing army had already reached the enemy's firing range. Immediately, a dense barrage of arrows rained down, but it had no effect whatsoever. The enemy easily blocked the arrows with their shields, not to mention that every soldier was wearing armor. Only a few unlucky ones were grazed, which was not only pointless but also a waste of arrows.

Instead of waiting for the army to reach the city walls and engage in a direct battle, the trebuchets were lined up in a row after advancing a certain distance. With a tooth-grinding sound, the winches of hundreds of trebuchets turned and charged up. Soldiers carried round stones to load them, and with a wave of the command flag, a hammer was brought down, and hundreds of millstone-sized trebuchets were launched at the defenders with a deafening roar.

Amidst the roar, some round stones smashed against the wall, shattering bricks and sending up clouds of dust. Others landed on the city walls, crushing the defenders into a bloody pulp. The bouncing round stones caused numerous casualties, a scene too gruesome to bear.

A single volley of catapults inflicted hundreds of casualties on the enemy. They hadn't even gotten close to Zhou Xing's troops. In particular, several large pots were overturned by the round stones, with hot oil and molten gold splattering everywhere, creating a gruesome scene. The defending troops panicked and their morale further declined. If it weren't for the general's shouts and the killing of a few panicked and disruptive soldiers, the defending troops would probably have collapsed and surrendered.

There was no way around it; the gap between the two sides was too great, and Zhou Xing's various siege weapons were simply a case of "dimensional reduction attack."

When the catapults had inflicted a thousand or two thousand casualties on the defenders after several volleys, Zhou Xing's army had already reached the dry moat under the cover of shield bearers. At this point, the bridging and filling vehicles became invaluable. Underneath their thick armor, the soldiers had no fear of arrows or spears coming from the city walls. They could simply work quickly, rapidly filling the moat with pre-prepared mud and sand, and then building bridges. The already dry moat could no longer hinder the army's advance.

The mission of the spearmen and shieldmen to cover the siege equipment and reach the moat was completed. Next, the tall towers pushed across the moat to the base of the wall, and a large group of soldiers rushed up the stairs to the wall for close combat. The rolling logs, thunderbolts, hot oil and gold liquid on the wall could not do anything to the soldiers in the thick armor.

"First come, first come!"

The soldiers charging towards the city from Dengyun Tower shouted and vied for this honor. Whoever was the first to reach the top of the city wall would have official position, money, and land. Even death would be an honor. The supervising officials would record it and send the soldier back to his hometown. It would even have a separate page in the family genealogy. Local officials would have to bow to the family members. Who wouldn't fight for it?

Boom~!

When Dengyun Tower arrived at the base of the wall, a large group of soldiers rushed forward, and it seemed that close combat was imminent. However, before the siege engine could reach the city gate, the city gate opened by itself.

Then a man dressed in black armor, holding a long spear, rode a fine horse and led two or three hundred cavalrymen who had barely managed to gather enough armor and horses to charge out.

The leader, a man with innate cultivation, was the commander-in-chief of the city of Ganning County. In his forties or fifties, his face was ferocious, and his eyes were bloodshot as he charged out, pointing his spear at Chen Xuan and the others. He roared, "Follow me and charge! To capture the enemy, we must first capture their leader! As long as we take down the enemy commander, we will win! Fine wine, beautiful women, and riches are right before our eyes!"

"Kill!" The cavalry that charged out with him roared as if they were going to their deaths.

On the hilltop, Chen Xuan and the others, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but show expressions of astonishment.

Dude, how dare you? There are thousands of troops outside the city. If you had held the city defenses, you could probably have held out for a while. But the city was about to fall, and instead of running away, you dared to go out and fight alone.

The idea of ​​"capturing the king first" is certainly not wrong, but shouldn't you first assess your own capabilities?

This must be a joke.

Chen Xuan was speechless. This guy had innate cultivation, was he getting arrogant? Did he think he could take the central army camp directly? He didn't know whether to say that he had been kicked in the head by a donkey or that he was making a desperate gamble.

As they charged forward, Zhou Xing immediately chuckled, his lips twitching as he gave a signal with his eyes. Lai Cheng, standing beside him, quickly waved a command flag, and the vanguard received the signal and made rapid adjustments.

Faced with a small number of cavalry, especially with a master of innate skill leading the way, even well-equipped infantry would be courting death if they went forward. Therefore, a group of burly, heavily armored shield bearers immediately stepped forward, their shields slamming into the ground to hold them up, while the spearmen behind them raised their spears like hedgehogs.

"Get out of my way!" The leading innate master spurred his horse and roared, his true energy surging and rising around him. The earthy yellow true energy protected him and his warhorse. His spear hummed, and a blinding yellow light flashed as it swept out, a crescent-shaped blade sweeping across the battlefield, intending to overturn the shield soldiers blocking the way, but still charging straight towards the commander-in-chief.

The powerful strike from the master of innate skill swept across the area, instantly shattering the iron shields that were two or three meters tall. The heavy cavalrymen behind them were also sent flying backward, their faces pale, by the terrifying force.

But that's all. Perhaps the gap between soldiers and innate masters is too great, but they are well-equipped and outnumbered, which is enough to make up for the difference in individual combat strength.

The gap he created with his attack was filled by heavily armored shield soldiers before he could even rush through. Then, one heavily armored shield soldiers after another, holding tower shields as tall as a man, surrounded him like tanks, squeezing out their space to move. Behind them, spearmen thrust out their spears like a forest.

How could this be? My powerful strike only sent a few people flying? I'm a master of the Innate Realm! Is armor really that important? No wonder the courts of every country explicitly forbid civilians from wearing armor privately; their heavy armor and iron shields could actually block my attack!
A look of surprise and panic flashed across the eyes of the leading general, but his mind cleared up considerably. Looking at the layers of heavily armored shield soldiers surrounding him, even though it was a cool morning, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

In Zhou Xing's army, a general at the Innate Realm rode on horseback, his hand on the hilt of his sword, but he restrained himself from making a move. He thought to himself that it would be good for the soldiers to accumulate some experience in besieging and killing Innate Realm experts. His Majesty had the ambition to conquer all, and there would be many similar situations in the future. It was impossible for an Innate Realm general to come to the rescue every time.

"Get out of my way!" roared the commander of the defending army, who was fighting alone outside the city, and then unleashed another powerful sweeping attack.

As several iron shields shattered and several heavily armored shield soldiers were sent flying, they were completely surrounded. Towering human figures pressed down on their space like walls, while spears stabbed from behind. Screams echoed behind them as the cavalrymen who had charged out were riddled with thorns.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh, one after another, jet-black arrows shot towards him. They were armor-piercing arrows mixed with black gold, which made the cavalry leader's eyes widen in horror. His innate true energy surged but he could not resist it. His space for movement was restricted and he was overwhelmed by the layers of troops.

He regretted it; he shouldn't have ventured out of the city to fight. He should have simply fled. With his innate cultivation, he could have become a superior person anywhere. He could have easily conquered other cities and continued to enjoy himself to the fullest.

With a quick thought, the man abandoned his horse without hesitation and leaped into the air, using his lightness skill to try and escape.

Chen Xuan, standing on the hilltop, couldn't help but shake his head. "Brother, are you courting death? Do you think this is just some petty squabble in the martial arts world? Running away when you can't win won't work on the battlefield. And you dare to take to the air? You're a sitting duck!"

In the next instant, arrows gleaming with dark light tilted. Arrows mixed with black gold were already capable of breaking through innate true energy, let alone when they were shot by archers in the army who possessed internal energy. With the internal energy added to them, with muffled thuds, the defending general who wanted to abandon the battle and flee was shot into a pincushion.

On his deathbed, his eyes were bloodshot; they shouldn't have been.

"The king is dead! Run!"

With his death, a scream rang out from the city wall, and the defending troops collapsed, abandoning the city and fleeing in all directions, just as Zhou Xing had predicted.

On the hilltop, Chen Xuan witnessed the entire process. To be honest, he had certainly broadened his horizons, but something still felt off. It was a kind of limbo, neither here nor there. Zhou Xing's capture of the city was expected, a foregone conclusion. However, the fierce battles that were expected never materialized. It all went too smoothly, like a mere formality.

It wasn't that Chen Xuan wanted things to go wrong for them, it's just that this overwhelming defeat was so different from the war he had envisioned... (End of Chapter)