Book 3: Nirvana Rebirth

Chapter 14: That Year

Translator: Princeknife and Judairu

Editors: Dragneel and Megumin_Explosion

The army was well-trained, and it appeared they've been trained to swiftly weave wooden rafts together a short while ago, and with just little effort, there was now a long wooden path on the water connective the two sh.o.r.es, enabling the army to cross the river and reach the other side.

Within this short period, Zhong Shan did not give out any orders. The effective shooting range of the archers was only fifty meters long. Even if they fired at the area surrounding the moat, the force behind the arrows would be too weak, and the option of opening the city gates to let out soldiers to fight simply would not exist when one lacked in manpower. It would be for the best for them to conserve their strength and burst forth with supreme might at a later time. Furthermore, the tactic of weaving wooden rafts to cross the other side was within Zhong Shan's calculations.

"Kill~~"

Su Lian Xian roared, grasped his sword and directed it forward.

"Kill~~"

The army roared in unison and hastily transported the siege weapons Eight Ox Crossbow over the opposite sh.o.r.e. Though the makes.h.i.+ft bridge swayed back and forth, the soldiers charged across the bridge fearlessly, bringing with them the sieging tools in hand as they charged swiftly  towards the city wall.

"Release the arrows~~" Zhong Shan ordered softly.

At the side, Ying Lan pulled out a small red flag and waved it high above. On the walls, the majority of the archers had already pulled back their bow, waiting for the next command, and once the red flag waved in the air, a large amount of arrows rained down unto the soldiers that had just crossed the moat.

The casualties of the army could not be counted. A vast amount of soldiers died on spot the moment they stepped foot on the other side of the sh.o.r.e.

In the battlefield, cowering in fear was not an option. The army continued to charge dauntlessly across the moat wave after wave as their bodies fell one after another; creating pools of blood filled with dead corpses. The visual scene was incredibly horrible to look at. Rivers formed out of their blood, plains were made out of their bodies, yet the army continued its advance across the moat, transporting over the siege weapons and Eight Ox Crossbow with them.

Zhong Shan gazed codly at the battlefield  as both sides fought. Though they held the high ground advantage, the strength of their army was truly too little, whereas the enemy had unlimited amount. If the enemy used their life to exchange for theirs, sooner or later, chances of the enemy breaching the city walls would be highly possible, but Zhong Shan did not seem to mind.

Zhong Shan directed his gaze towards Su Lian Xian. Within the large army, the only one who he placed in his eyes was Su Lian Xian whom he made an agreement with and thus did not partic.i.p.ate in the politics of Great Kun.

Su Lian Xian was someone Zhong Shan thought very capable.

Recalling the past, after Kun Er was killed by the Crown Prince Lie Tian, Zhong Shan was left dejected for a long period. In short, his appearance looked awful. Soon after, he concealed his ident.i.ty and left to join the army stationed at the border. Zhong Shan, who was the most respected one in the business world, quickly displayed his gift for war with myriads of strategies. Zhong Shan was skilled in the art of war but there was also another person who was also just as skilled and that person was Su Lian Xian.

Su Lian Xian, who was the Crown Prince at that time, concealed his ident.i.ty too and joined the army as a foot soldier, working his way up the ranks from fighting on the battlefield, working together with Zhong Shan to repel enemies from all directions. However compared to Zhong Shan, Su Lian Xian was still somewhat inferior but it was enough for Zhong Shan to take note of him.

When Zhong Shan had his eyes focused on something or someone, it was as if he ignored everything and all those around him. He engrossed himself into the violent and cruel battlefield, but as he garnered victories one after another, his heart shook to the point it felt unbearable.

It was in this moment that his heart was filled with intense pain when he thought of Kun Er but it was also at this most difficult point in his life he crossed path with the second love of his life, Bao Er. Her gentleness, patience, and consideration slowly warmed Zhong Shan's heart and helped him to walk out from the darkness of his sorrows.

But Su Lian Xian was also interested in Bao Er.

Su Lian Xian was also someone capable, using various means to pursue Bao Er's heart and mind but in the end Bao Er was s.n.a.t.c.hed by Zhong Shan. Su Lian Xian could not resign himself to such fate and eventually revealed his status as the Crown Prince to obtain Bao Er. With the power backing Su Lian Xian as the Crown Prince, he gathered as many advantages as possible and took away all those related to Bao Er, wis.h.i.+ng to steal Bao Er back. However, how could Zhong Shan allow him to do as he wished?

Though the time Zhong Shan spent in the army was not too long, he still had quite a big influence. When he rallied for support, those old generals came bustling forth in succession to support Zhong Shan. The army in the border almost rebelled, prepared for Zhong Shan to seize the throne.

It was then that Su Lian Xian knew he lost, but the lives of Bao Er's relatives were still in the hands of Su Lian Xian, resulting in Bao Er to be haggard and her state of mind to not be well. Finally, Zhong Shan and Su Lian Xian sat down for a talk and reached an agreement. Zhong Shan will leave the army, step down from all the official posts, and become a merchant. Then and only then will Bao Er and her relatives be free.

Up till today, the two formidable figures had finally shed all pretense of cordiality with both armies facing one another.

An hour pa.s.sed by. The death counts of the opposing side rose to a twenty thousand. The bodies of their fallen comrades were scattered everywhere. The flowing blood of their fallen comrades became river. It was a deathly scene but the army continued to charge forward. The never-ending cruel battle made the archers at the top of the wall numb.

At last, the large siege weapons made its way across the moat.

After the death of twenty-something thousand soldiers, the true battle was about to start.

"Attack the city," Su Lian Xian roared from the opposite bank.

"Hou!" Countless soldiers roared and crossed the river bank. The siege weapons were already on the opposite side of the river. The victory would not be out of reach, they thought.

A vast number of soldiers crossed the moat carrying ladders. They hurriedly rushed forward to the castle wall and leaned it against the walls. The archers on top repeatedly shot their arrows downwards but it was not enough to obstruct and hinder the progress of such an army of this size. The army continued to climb up the ladders endlessly. If one was shot down, then there would be another one  climbing up. The battle was too intense. So long as the enemy troops managed to rush up onto the walls where the archers were at, then this barricade of defence would become an utter failure.

Ying Lan, who was on the city's tower gate, suddenly changed to a blue flag and waved it slightly. The archers retreated in succession while the enemy troops rejoiced in glee.

"Huaah, huaah, huaah…."

Goblets of golden liquid suddenly rained down.

"Ah~~~~~~"

The golden liquid drenched their bodies and the enemy troops fell to the ground. The liquid was not enough to stop all enemies from its advance, but it was still more useful than the arrows.

The golden liquid was boiling oil, which Ying Lan arranged to boil oil at the top of the walls. Cauldrons after cauldrons poured downwards by people using large ladles. When the oil hit the people climbing up, shrieks reverberated the air. When the oil came to contact with their skin, it tore open their flesh and blood  gushed out. The scene was b.l.o.o.d.y and frightening. The scene of many hot cauldrons poured with boiling hot oil and it eating your flesh was truly very scary.

But despite this, the army still continued forward. Teams of enemy soldiers raised their s.h.i.+eld, braved death and climbed up the ladders. It was incomparably dangerous. At this moment, at the edge of the city walls, it seemed to suddenly catch itself on fire and the great fire burned towards the ladders. The red, fiery hot scorch wished nothing more than to burn the ladders to ashes.

Cruel. It was really cruel.

Their lives were sacrificed one after another.

But how could the commander-in-chief bat an eyelid towards these sort of deaths. He'd already made the decision to use their lives in exchange for victory, so he might as well not agonize over it.

The foot soldiers weren’t the real killer move, they were just meant to hinder the city guards.The real killer move was the One Hundred and Twenty Eight Ox Crossbow. One hundred and twenty of them were finally arranged in their designated position after the death count of the army reached forty thousand and the plains were drenched with bodies of fallen enemies.

"Release~~~~"

Su Lian Xian roared with a solemn expression.

Under his command, the One Hundred and Twenty Eight Ox Crossbow fired almost at the same time, firing towards the city gates. Typically speaking with the immense force it carried, a single large arrow was sufficient to pierce through the walls of a small city and now there was one hundred and twenty present, firing simultaneously at the city gates.

"Hong~~~~"

An incredible loud sounded out, the whole city seemed to shake a little. Under the huge dust cloud, the four walls of the city slowly came to a stop, the sound was seriously too loud.

However, Xuan City's south gate was not broken, there were only one hundred and twenty huge arrows stuck on it. It was just like status quo before.

All the Xiantian experts and even the Su Family Old Ancestor looked inconceivably at the scene in front of them. How was it possible? One hundred and twenty large arrows actually did not managed to penetrate through the city gate?

"Fire again~~"

Only Su Lian Xian remained collected and continued to issue orders.

In the distant, the attacks on the city continued while the soldiers in charge of the One Hundred and Twenty Eight Ox crossbow replaced the arrows continuously, it was just that the bowstrings were too powerful and were not something that could be accomplished in a short period, it required the effort of three men to pull it back, thus it was much slower.

The longer the delay was  here, the death count of the frontlines continued to increase.

"Lian Xian, is this the One Hundred and Twenty Eight Ox Crossbow? Why did none of the one hundred and twenty arrows pierce through the city gate?" The Su Family Old Ancestor asked in aghast.

"These are the best One Hundred and Twenty Eight Ox Crossbow within the army, and if they did not pierce through the city gates then it is because the city gate is entirely made out of copper and it is extremely thick." Su Lian Xian replied solemnly, evidently he did his research about the city gates before.

"Then what should we do?" The Su Family Old Ancestor asked worryingly.

"It doesn't matter, it will at most take the Eight Ox Crossbow three more shots to break open the city gates, and at that moment, I'll command the army to kill their way into Xuan City, claiming Zhong Shan's severed head." Su Lian Xian answered solemnly.

"En," The crowd nodded in agreement, evidently, it was the only method available, however, in doing so, the death count would only continue to increase.

On the city walls, Zhong Shan looked at the distant Eight Ox Crossbow, and let out a sneer, indeed with one hundred and twenty arrows, you only need to fire it thrice to break open the city gates. However, everytime they replace the arrow, it requires a huge amount of time, and within that period, the deaths of your soldiers will cause the morale of the rest of your army to be extinguished.

Half an hour later.

"Hong~~~~~"

The second cycle of Eight Ox Crossbow shot towards the city gates, the city tower once again shook, and this time around, the city gates caved inwards, it was starting to deform, with another round, it would be able to break the city walls.

The group of Xiantian experts cheered. With another attempt, they would succeed. Su Lian Xian was indeed a veteran of sieging cities. However, Su Lian Xian did not have an ounce of joy in him, he became even more solemn.