Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The towering flames and acrid stench of the Black Wind Pass, like maggots clinging to bones, gnawed at the morale of the Northern Yan army camp day and night.

News of the burning of nearly 30% of the grain supplies could not be completely suppressed, and panic, like a silent plague, quietly spread among the soldiers. Murong Chui knew he could not wait any longer.

Confined to their camp, with dwindling supplies, morale will only continue to decline.

He must attack, he must win, even a Pyrrhic victory, to rebuild morale, restore supplies, and reverse the tide of the war.

"The Han Yuan Army is cunning, but their main force is holed up in Pan Shi Fortress, and their field combat strength is ultimately limited. Their previous ambush relied on the terrain. This time, I, the general, will force them with a dignified formation; let's see what other tricks this brat Xiao Chen has up his sleeve!"

Murong Chui shouted sternly in the central command tent, both to encourage his generals and to convince himself.

He set his sights on a terrain feature thirty miles northeast of Panshi Fortress—Eagle Beak Cliff.

This place has a relatively open sloping area, backed by steep cliffs, which is suitable for large armies to deploy and also convenient for our own cavalry to perform.

He planned to advance his main force to this location and set up camp, directly threatening the flank of Panshi Fortress and forcing the Hanyuan Army to leave the city for open battle.

"If Xiao Chen dares not come out, our army will advance steadily and gradually, depleting his supplies and unsettling his border residents. If he dares to come out..."

A cold glint flashed in Murong Chui's eyes. "Then I will crush them with the iron cavalry of Great Yan!"

Tens of thousands of Northern Yan troops broke camp and set up camp, like a heavy iron torrent, slowly pressing towards Eagle Beak Cliff.

Along the way, they were extra careful, sending out scouts for twenty miles, proceeding cautiously step by step, fearing they might fall into an ambush again.

Fortunately, there were no obstacles along the way, and we arrived smoothly at the foot of Eagle's Beak Cliff. We set up a long camp along the mountainside, facing Rock Fortress from afar, which was quite provocative.

Rock Fortress, on the watchtower.

Xiao Chen and Wang Dashan stood side by side, gazing at the rising smoke and forest of banners from the Northern Yan camp.

"Your Highness, Murong Chui is in a panic. His supplies have been burned, and he can't afford to delay any longer. He's trying to force us to go out and fight a decisive battle."

Wang Dashan said in a deep voice, rubbing his hands together eagerly, "Shall we go out and play with him?"

Xiao Chen remained calm, his gaze deep and unfathomable: "He wants a decisive battle, then let him have one. However, we will choose the battlefield, and the fighting style will follow our rules."

He pointed to the open slope in front of Eagle's Beak Cliff, "That's a good spot, with a good view and a wide field of fire. Dashan, I'll give you five thousand infantry, three thousand crossbowmen, and two thousand swordsmen, shieldmen, and spearmen, line them up against the cliff, and send five hundred cavalrymen to patrol and protect each flank. The formation should be like an iron hedgehog, so that he can see it, feels that there is an opportunity, but has no way to attack."

Wang Dashan's eyes lit up: "Does Your Highness intend to... unleash another barrage of arrows? To wear him down with crossbow formations?"

"Not only should we wear them down, we should inflict pain and scare them, and ideally..." Xiao Chen didn't finish his sentence, but a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Understood, sir!" Wang Dashan excitedly accepted the order and left.

The next morning, the thin fog had not yet dissipated.

The Northern Yan scouts were horrified to discover that a medium-sized Hanyuan infantry force had actually marched out of Panshi Fortress and calmly began to form ranks on the slope they had chosen in front of Eagle Beak Cliff!

When the news reached Murong Chui, he was both surprised and delighted. He was surprised that Xiao Chen actually dared to venture out of the city to fight in the open with inferior forces; he was delighted that the opportunity had finally arrived!

He immediately donned his armor and led his men to a high vantage point for observation.

There were about five thousand Han Yuan soldiers, backed by the steep Eagle Beak Cliff, arranged in a deep square formation.

Outside the perimeter were sword-and-shield soldiers wielding large shields and long spears, while within the formation, dense flagpoles and... many weapons covered with tarpaulins, their specific designs obscured, could be vaguely seen.

Several hundred cavalrymen patrolled on each flank, but not far from the main camp, clearly prioritizing protection.

"Hahaha! Heaven is on my side!"

Murong Chui laughed loudly, "Xiao Chen is still young and impetuous, and he can't stand being provoked! He dares to set up a formation to fight against my tens of thousands of troops with only five thousand infantrymen?"

Do you really think my Great Yan Iron Cavalry is just for show?

Order! Commandant of the Infantry, Balue Hong, shall lead his 10,000 infantrymen and advance through the central army!

"I command Cavalry Commandant Murong Jie to lead two thousand archers to provide flanking support and disrupt the enemy formation! Let this general crush them all in one battle!"

"Father, let your son go! I will surely slay the enemy general on the battlefield!"

Beside Murong Chui, a young general dressed in magnificent silver armor, with a heroic appearance but an air of arrogance between his brows, clasped his hands in a gesture of request to fight. He was none other than Murong Chui's eldest son, Murong Jie.

He was brave and fierce in his youth, and was quite famous among the younger generation of Northern Yan, but he had almost no experience in actual combat, especially against a strange opponent like Han Yuan.

Murong Chui hesitated for a moment, but seeing the burning fighting spirit in his son's eyes, and considering that this battle was a good opportunity to establish prestige and boost morale, he nodded in agreement: "Good! My son is brave and ready! Lead your personal guard of five hundred iron cavalry to support the infantry from the rear. If you see the enemy formation wavering, or if their cavalry on both flanks show any weakness, then charge decisively and take the center!"

"Yes, sir!"

Murong Jie was overjoyed. He mounted his horse, mustered his five hundred most elite heavily armored guards, and was in high spirits.

The war drums sounded, and the bugles blared.

Within the Northern Yan army formation, ten thousand infantrymen, under the command of General Balue Hong, formed a somewhat loose but imposing square formation and began to steadily advance towards the Hanyuan army formation.

Most of them were dressed in leather armor, carrying scimitars, spears, and simple wooden shields. They moved with heavy steps and roared like thunder, trying to overwhelm their opponents with their imposing presence.

On both flanks, Murong Jie's two thousand archer cavalry began to accelerate, like two gray whirlwinds, flanking the Han Yuan army. The horse archers on their backs were already drawn, ready to unleash a volley of arrows as soon as they entered firing range.

The Hanyuan army formation was as silent as a mountain.

Only the flags swayed slightly, and the armor occasionally made a soft rustling sound.

Wang Dashan stood on a makeshift platform in the middle of the formation, coldly watching the approaching tide of the Northern Yan army. The command flag in his hand hung low, motionless.

Three hundred and fifty steps... three hundred and twenty steps... three hundred steps!

Just as the Northern Yan vanguard infantry stepped into the 300-step mark, and the archer cavalry behind them began to enter the effective range of their bows, preparing to launch their attacks—

"Vertical crossbow!" Wang Dashan suddenly swung the command flag in his hand downwards!

"Crash!" A series of loud, synchronized sounds!

The swordsmen and shieldmen at the front of the Hanyuan Army suddenly parted to the sides, revealing a dense forest of steel behind them!

Three rows of over a thousand Cold Abyss Type III crossbows, gleaming with a chilling light, were steadily set up by the crossbowmen in perfect unison!

The sound of the crossbow arm cocking the bow rang out in rapid succession, like the Grim Reaper grinding his teeth!

Even more chilling was that, slightly behind the center of the crossbow formation, dozens of even larger heavy ballistae, each requiring several people to operate, had also shed their disguises. Their massive bolts, as thick as a child's arm and adorned with three-edged barbs, gleamed menacingly dark in the morning light.

"What is that?!" The advancing Northern Yan infantrymen looked up in astonishment, a strange chill instantly gripping them.

"Release it!!!" Wang Dashan roared, his voice shaking the surrounding area!

"Buzz—!!!"

It wasn't the buzzing of bowstrings, but the deep, resonant roar of thousands of powerful crossbows firing simultaneously! This sound instantly drowned out the war drums and shouts!

In the first row, more than three hundred crossbow bolts were released!

Immediately afterwards, the first row of crossbowmen quickly crouched down to load their bolts, and the second row of bolts roared out!

Then came the third rank! The three ranks fired in unison, a continuous barrage of arrows with almost no gaps!

The sky darkened instantly.