Chapter 72 – Defense of Hanzhong (2)

Chapter 72 – Defense of Hanzhong (2)

Puuuuuu—!

It was the deep blare of a horn summoning the soldiers. The main army of the Hui Dynasty had finally arrived.

“We’re moving out, too.”

Following So-mu, the Wolf Fang Squad filed out of the barracks.

So-so had already been left in the care of Yeon Seo-hwa. It was normally unthinkable for an orthodox hero to accept the aid of a former Demonic Cult leader, but this was no time to argue over rules. Under her protection, there was nothing to worry about.

Cheong-hae surveyed their surroundings and asked, “Are we taking charge of the catapults, Captain?”

Everywhere they looked, soldiers were running around frantically. Only the members of the Wolf Fang Squad moved in a calm, orderly fashion behind their leader.

So-mu nodded. “It won’t be difficult. Everyone, just stick to the drill we practiced yesterday.”

At the north gate, where the enemy was expected to strike, nine Grand Catapults had been deployed in three groups. The Wolf Fang Squad was split into three units to take position at each group.

As they exited the main camp, the unit led by Cheong-hae parted ways first, exchanging encouraging shouts.

“Stay safe, everyone!”

“Aim true!”

Soon after, Il-gwang raised his hand and called out to the remaining men, “Don’t go dying on me! See you all after the battle!”

The three catapults under So-mu’s direct command were positioned in the center, right behind the main gate.

All defensive catapults were placed inside the fortress walls. Because of this, those operating them could not see the battle outside. They simply had to wait for the signal, load, and fire.

“It might get a bit tedious.”

Yet, there was no trace of nervousness on the faces of the squad members. Since they couldn’t see the scale of the approaching enemy, they remained relaxed, unlike the regular soldiers on the walls who were visibly stiff with tension.

About fifteen men took their positions around each catapult, settling in for a long wait. After some time had passed, Cheol-du asked in confusion, “Are they not attacking immediately?”

So-mu chuckled and explained, “How many experts do you think can skim across the water and leap over a wall in a single bound? They have to prepare bridges to cross the moat first.”

“Then we just keep waiting like this?”

“No, I believe it has begun.”

Cheol-du looked up at the wall. He saw the soldiers on the battlements ducking and curling their bodies.

It was then.

Boom!!!

With a tremendous explosion, the entire stone wall trembled. The enemy catapults had begun their bombardment. Billowing clouds of dust rose high into the sky from beyond the walls.

The bombardment continued relentlessly.

Boom! Boom!!!

“Why aren’t we firing back?”

“Even if they are in range, we cannot target their catapults accurately from down here. We must wait until the enemy advances into the coordinates we’ve pre-sighted.”

“What if the walls collapse?”

“The walls of Hanzhong are thick; they won’t fall so easily. They are throwing stones primarily to crush our morale.”

The squad members turned their gaze toward the area near the gate. Thousands of reserve soldiers stood waiting on standby, their bodies rigid with anxiety. The constant explosions and the vibrating walls were clearly wearing on their nerves.

So-mu walked toward the reserves and quietly released his aura.

Whoosh—!

The sudden ripple of energy caught the soldiers by surprise, and they turned to look.

It was a suffocatingly immense aura. But when the soldiers realized this powerful force belonged to an ally, they took heart. It was the commander of the Wolf Fang Squad, the greatest warrior in the army.

So-mu walked into their midst, his voice infused with his profound internal energy.

“Do not shrink back. Remember who we are. We are an invincible force that has never known defeat.”

Though his voice was not loud, it rang with absolute clarity in the ears of every soldier.

A junior officer stepped forward and saluted him. “Knowing you are nearby gives us strength, Commander.”

So-mu patted the officer’s shoulder and nodded.

The soldiers watched So-mu’s back as he walked back to his position. The fear had vanished from their eyes.

Returning to his spot, So-mu looked toward the command tower at the center of the wall. A soldier stood ready with a signaling flag. The enemy was starting their charge.

“Ready to fire!”

The first stones were already loaded, ready to be launched at a moment’s notice. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the signal. The battle cries of both armies began to clash over the wall.

Moments later, the command came.

“Fire!!!”

The moment the squad members released the locking ropes, the massive arm of the Grand Catapults leaped into motion.

Creeeeak!

Boom!!! Boom!!!

A giant stone weighing two hundred catties soared into the sky. It was nearly double the weight of a standard catapult’s projectile. The stones quickly cleared the top of the wall and disappeared toward the enemy lines.

Thud!!! Thud!!!

The sound of the impact outside the fortress was loud enough to be heard within the walls.

The soldiers immediately prepared to load again. As two squad members hoisted another stone onto the cradle, eight others pulled the ropes. Possessing deep internal energy, the squad members worked with seamless efficiency.

“Fire!!!”

Boom!!! Boom!!!

Despite being massive catapults, they were launching projectiles at a ridiculous speed, even faster than the enemy’s weapons. Projectiles were also flying continuously from the positions commanded by Il-gwang and Cheong-hae.

A short while later, an officer on the command tower raised a blue flag. The enemy was close. Seeing this, So-mu shouted to his men:

“Load canister shot!”

The squad members cast aside the giant stones and brought forward dense nets filled with heaps of smaller stones. Although this would shorten their range, it was a devastating anti-infantry attack.

Once the cradles were loaded, So-mu shouted again:

“Fire canister shot!!!”

Whoosh—! Crackle-crack!!!

Hundreds of stones from each catapult showered over the walls, dispersing over the enemy. Though they could not see the battlefield directly, they knew the impact zone had been turned into a scene of absolute carnage.

It would take the enemy a considerable amount of time to secure bridges across the moat. To delay them further, the archers on the battlements unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows.

The Wolf Fang Squad also kept up their rapid firing of canister shot.

“Fire!!!”

Whoosh—! Crackle!!!

The defensive barrage raged on fiercely. Half an hour passed.

Finally, an officer atop the wall raised a red flag. The moat had been breached. At the same time, fierce hand-to-hand combat erupted at various points along the battlements.

“Support the walls!”

The members of the Wolf Fang Squad drew their swords in unison. They followed So-mu without a moment’s hesitation. There was no time to climb the stairs one by one.

Leading the charge, So-mu activated his lightfoot technique and leaped. Landing halfway up the stairs, he kicked off again and soared directly onto the top of the wall.

The scene that met his eyes took his breath away. The soldiers of the Hui Dynasty covered the ground before the wall like a swarm of ants. Although countless enemy corpses floated in the moat like schools of dead fish, they were a mere fraction of the charging horde.

The defenders’ archers shot arrows tirelessly, while the melee infantry fought desperately with spears and swords against the climbing enemies.

So-mu’s foot immediately slammed into the chest of an enemy soldier who had just crested the wall.

Crack!

“Argh!”

With his chest caved in, the soldier flew backward and vanished. So-mu’s sword then flashed, cutting down two soldiers climbing the battlements.

Slash!

Every time his blade swung, one or two enemy soldiers were cleaved and plummeted down the wall.

Nearby, the squad members also swung their swords tirelessly, repelling the enemy’s advance. However, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. Standing and killing them one by one was not enough.

“We will hold this section! The rest of you, move to assist other areas!!!”

So-mu directed the regular soldiers nearby to other sectors. Hearing this, about five hundred soldiers holding a twenty-zhang stretch of the wall relocated.

In their place, the thirty members of the Wolf Fang Squad spread out to form a single-line formation. Since the enemies climbing up were mostly common soldiers, the plan was to let them reach the battlements and wipe them out in large batches. This was a strategy only possible when one possessed overwhelming martial superiority.

The plan worked. The number of enemy soldiers climbing the wall grew exponentially.

Instantly, a brilliant sword qi flared from the tips of So-mu and his squad members’ blades. The squad members executed a dance of death, mercilessly slicing through the arriving soldiers.

Squelch! Slash!

“Aaargh!”

“Gah!”

Mangled corpses rained down from the wall. Since the wall was crawling with enemies, they did not even have to look for targets.

After slaying over a hundred soldiers in a heartbeat, So-mu assessed the wider battlefield.

The enemy was focusing their heaviest assault on the command tower where General Jang-yang stood. However, as long as the King of Assassins was guarding the general, that area was secure.

So-mu’s gaze shifted to a spot fifty zhang to the right. It was a critical section where the defenders were buckling under the assault of over a hundred elite Salatai warriors. Cheong-hae and Hyeonjeong were leading their men to hold them back, but they were hard-pressed by the sheer numbers.

“Hold this line!” So-mu ordered.

He then sprinted along the wall toward the endangered sector.

The Salatai was the most elite unit of the Hui Dynasty, with many of its members capable of unleashing sword qi. It was crucial to cut down their numbers.

Behind So-mu, who tore through the battlefield like a gale, the corpses of enemy soldiers fell like autumn leaves. As he closed in on the target, he kicked off the stone wall and launched himself high into the air. His first targets were the five Salatai warriors surrounding Cheong-hae.

Like a falling meteor, he descended in a straight line.

Boom!

So-mu tore through their formation, catching them completely off guard.

Slash!!!

Two Salatai warriors fell, cleanly cleaved. As Cheong-hae launched a counterattack against the remaining three, So-mu moved to support the other squad members.

Slash! Splat!

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

The moment So-mu joined the fray, the situation stabilized. No matter how skilled the Salatai warriors were, they could not withstand a surprise attack from the Sword Saint without a proper formation.

With the tide turning, the squad members launched a fierce counteroffensive.

“You bastards, it’s our turn now!”

“See how you like this!”

There was no mercy in the blades of the furious squad members. In the martial world, they would be considered top-class masters who had undergone marrow-cleansing. The Salatai warriors were simply no match for them in one-on-one combat.

So-mu continued to slaughter the Salatai in a state of absolute focus. None of them could last past three exchanges. Had he used sword qi, he could have slain them in a single blow, but in a prolonged battle, using techniques that consumed too much internal energy was unwise.

Slash!!!

Another head soared into the air as So-mu’s blade flashed. He moved without hesitation, sliding to the side to pierce the back of a Salatai warrior who was pressing Hyeonjeong.

Plunge!

“Arrgh!”

In no time, the number of Salatai who had fallen by his hand exceeded thirty. Pulling out his sword, he glided toward the right, targeting a Salatai warrior closing in on Song-hwa from behind.

His blade swept forward, aiming to cleave the opponent in two.

Clang!!!

At that moment, a heavy impact reverberated through his fingertips. So-mu’s strike had been blocked mid-air.

Intrigued that someone had blocked his strike so cleanly, So-mu looked up to identify his opponent.

Clad in glittering golden armor and a crimson cloak, the enemy general held a spear diagonally. He was clearly a high-ranking commander of the Hui Dynasty. Even without trading blows, So-mu could feel the overwhelming martial aura of a man who commanded ten thousand soldiers.

This was one of the opponents he had marked during the Battle of Mount Taibai Canyon.

As the general launched his counterattack, a knowing smile appeared on So-mu’s face.