Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 113 The Old General is at His Least

Meng Tian's face was much more relaxed, and his eyes regained their brightness. Just as he was about to tell his lieutenants about Meng Yi's annihilation of the Xiongnu elite cavalry in Jiuyuan, he suddenly heard an urgent report from the scout outside the tent, "Touman is leading his army to the city!"

The generals were all shocked when they heard this. The Hun army had been surrounding but not attacking for half a month. Why were they so impatient today and wanted to launch a forceful attack? They all looked at Meng Tian.

Meng Tian's face darkened and he immediately felt something was wrong. He took his helmet and led his generals out of the military tent and quickly went to the top of the city wall to look around.

The Hun army was seen coming in a mighty force from outside the Great Wall, with rolling dust and overwhelming momentum. The infantry slowly deployed in front of the gate. Thousands of siege equipment such as catapults, kerosene carts, battering rams, ladders, etc. were rumbled to the front of the formation. More than 100,000 cavalry were behind the infantry, gradually forming a battle formation, waiting for military orders.

Touman is wearing animal skin and feathers, sitting on his horse, with long hair flying, majestic and domineering. On the left is a man with a skinny hunchback, wearing a black wizard robe, with a hat pulled down very low, and his face cannot be seen clearly. He is obviously a wizard, weird and unpredictable. Next to him is a general with a strong back and bulging eyes, riding a black leopard and holding a pair of meteor hammers in his hands. This man is the fourth fiercest general of the Xiongnu, the Leopard General Qiyan Batu.

To the right of Touman is a general wearing armor, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a nimble figure. He holds a black spear in his hand and rides a white horse. Behind him is a giant eagle, which is more than ten feet tall and stands on the back of another horse, which is particularly conspicuous. This man is the most powerful general of the Huns, Eagle General Ugud. To his right is a man with a mustache, over fifty years old, with a head full of white hair, and wearing a white robe. He should be a Chinese.

When the soldiers on the city wall saw this, they were horrified. They had never seen such a formation in all their years of fighting. They were filled with fear and wondered if they could defend Yanmen Pass.

Meng Tian frowned, feeling puzzled. The Huns' 100,000 elite soldiers invaded Shangjun with the intention of luring him to destroy them. The Huns took the opportunity to break into the city, and now they are colluding with Donghu and Xianbei to invade Liaoxi for the same purpose. This was obviously planned by them. Why didn't they wait for him to leave with his troops before coming to attack? Isn't this obviously walking into a knife edge?

Even though Meng Tian had resisted the Huns for many years, he was still confused at this moment. Although he was not afraid of the Huns' 300,000 troops, he felt as if he had overlooked something and his mind was in a mess.

At this time, the 300,000-strong army had all appeared before the Qin army, and the Qin soldiers on the city wall were also ready and ready to go.

The black-robed wizard muttered something to Touman, who looked at Meng Tian on the city wall with contempt, raised his hand, and shouted, "Send!"

At the command, the rapid sound of drums rang out, "Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Huge rocks and fireballs rose up and smashed into the city wall. In an instant, there were loud crashes, and the city wall was covered with flames, smoke, and screams.

Meng Tian also immediately ordered an attack. Thousands of throwing devices had already been set up on the city walls, and enough rolling logs and stones were prepared, waiting for the Huns to attack. After receiving the order, they threw huge rocks and kerosene barrels at the army under the city. Due to the high terrain, the huge rocks and kerosene barrels thrown by the Qin army had a long range and great power, and many Hun soldiers were killed. Fires broke out under the city gate.

At this moment, the wizard in black took out a one-foot-long curved animal horn from his sleeve. The horn was dark green like jade, and its luster could still be seen under the daylight. The wizard turned his back to the city wall, looked up to the sky and blew the horn. The sound of the horn was like a dragon's roar, roaring and terrifying, and seemed to carry a powerful magic.

A moment later, a black cloud flew over the sky and quickly grew larger, covering half the sky. The strange cries gradually became clearer. The Qin soldiers on the city suddenly raised their heads and shouted, "It's a bird or beast!"

The Qin soldiers were horrified. No one had ever seen so many huge birds and beasts. Tens of thousands of birds and beasts flew in layers, circling in the sky like a dark cloud rolling.

The sound of the horn suddenly became sharp and piercing. Thousands of birds and beasts screamed and roared when they heard it. They swooped down like the collapse of the sky and falling stars, and rushed towards the Qin army on the city.

Meng Tian was shocked and shouted, "Shoot!"

Arrows rained down from the sky, killing hundreds of birds and beasts on the spot, with broken feathers flying everywhere. However, these casualties were nothing compared to the birds and beasts that were pouring down. In an instant, birds and beasts came roaring and pounced on the Qin soldiers. Before the Qin soldiers could even draw up their arrows, they were killed by their sharp claws and pecks, screaming in agony. Worse still, some were caught and thrown into the sky, where the surrounding birds and beasts tore them apart and pecked at them, causing their intestines to rip open and blood to gush out. Before they could even fall to the ground, they were dismembered.

After thousands of birds and beasts flew into the sky, thousands more swooped down. Millions of birds and beasts formed a huge vortex above the city wall, surging and rolling, sweeping across the sky and the earth.

While dodging the flying boulders and kerosene, the Qin soldiers took up weapons to fight the swooping birds and beasts. The sky above the city wall was raining blood, and bird feathers and arrows were everywhere. Some slingshots were hit and pulled by the birds and beasts, falling all over the place and breaking into pieces. They had stopped attacking the Huns below the city, and the situation was out of control.

Meng Tian had fought for many years, but he had never felt so lost. He had never thought that the Xiongnu would attract so many birds and beasts to break into the city. Looking at the hundreds of thousands of troops under the city, they were no longer the Xiongnu he knew in the past. He sighed in his heart, "If Yanmen Pass is lost, how can I face Your Majesty!"

Just as thousands of birds and beasts were flying and swooping, and the sounds of shouting, screaming, horns, and crashing and collapsing were reverberating, another piercing bell sound was heard, making people dizzy and confused. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they found that a giant golden-winged eagle had appeared in the sky without them noticing. The eagle was in human form, and the sound came from the golden bell in its hand.

When the birds and beasts heard the bell, they roared and wailed and scattered. Some of the birds and beasts' wings stiffened and they fell to the ground. The rolling dark clouds were dispersed in an instant, and the sky was seen again.

This sudden change inspired the Qin army. The giant golden-winged eagle saved them like a god. The chaotic situation disappeared immediately, and they reorganized and fought back against the Huns.

Seeing that the birds and beasts were driven away, the black-robed wizard stopped blowing the horn. A cold light shone from his hat. He looked at the giant eagle and said hoarsely, "Soul-stirring Bell!"

Touman turned to look at the wizard and asked, "Ancestor, what happened?"

"The golden bell disrupted the sound of the Cang Long Horn. The birds and beasts were frightened and lost control." The wizard said as he put away the Cang Long Horn.

Touman didn't expect that the good situation would be broken in an instant. Looking at the giant golden-winged eagle hovering in the sky, he said viciously: "Ugude, go and shoot that eagle to death!" The wizard stopped him and said: "Wait, that golden eagle has already cultivated into a human form, and its demonic power is not weak. It also has the Soul-Shocking Bell in its hand. General Eagle can't shoot him to death. Now that we don't know his origins, it's better not to provoke him."

Touman suppressed his anger and said, "That's it!"

The old man in a white robe beside him said, "Khan, the thunderstones and kerosene are almost used up. Let's stop here today and fight again tomorrow."

Touman seemed unwilling to give in, and said in a deep voice: "Then follow the Prime Minister's instructions, call off the troops, and retreat from the city!"

When the drumbeats died down, the Hun army slowly retreated a mile, away from the attack range of the city, and set up camp. The golden eagle hovering in the sky saw the Huns retreating and flew away.

Meng Tian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Huns withdrawing, but he was worried when he looked at the devastated city walls and the dead and wounded soldiers. If the Huns wanted to break into the city, why did they only throw boulders and bombard the city with kerosene instead of sending troops to break down the city gates? Was it just bluffing to tie me down here, or were they testing the water first and launching a surprise attack when I was unprepared?
At this time, the messenger soldiers reported: "There is a Taoist priest who claims to be free from obstacles and wants to see the general."

After hearing this, Meng Tian hurriedly asked, "Where is he? Bring him to see me!"

After a while, Wuzhan climbed up the city wall under the guidance of the soldiers. When he saw Meng Tian, ​​he bowed to the ground and said, "I, Wuzhan, greet you, General. This is my brother's jade pendant. Please take a look at it."

Seeing that Wuzhan was speaking the same words as Meng Yi, Meng Tian hurried forward to help him up and said, "Meng Yi has sent me a message, and I know everything. The Taoist priest is proficient in magic arrays and has extraordinary intelligence. It is a great honor for Meng Yi to befriend the Taoist priest, and it is also a blessing for the Qin Empire."

"General, you are too serious. I am just lucky. If it weren't for my brother's entrustment, how could I dare to come here?"

"You're just in time. If you can help me solve this predicament, I'll be very grateful!" He immediately described the current situation to Wuzhan.

After hearing this, Wuzhan thought for a moment, looked at the Hun army below the city, and asked, "General, what are your plans next?"

Meng Tian sighed, "I don't know what to do now. If I withdraw from Yanmen Pass, it will be lost. The 300,000 Xiongnu troops will be unstoppable and the northern counties will fall. But if I defend Yanmen Pass, the Donghu and Xianbei will invade the northeastern counties. If the Shangjun invades, I will have failed in my duty. Your Majesty has shown me your kindness and spared me. This time, Your Majesty has issued an urgent order, ordering me to lead the troops to resist the barbarians as soon as possible, but the Xiongnu are already at the gates of the city. How can I leave?"

Wuzhan said: "General, you should send troops to resist the barbarians now."

Meng Tian asked: "Why do you say that?"

"As the general said, if the general defends Yanmen Pass to the death, it would be against the imperial order. Whether he can defend it or not, the general will be responsible. But if the general sends troops to resist the barbarians and Yanmen Pass is lost, it is your majesty's decision, so the responsibility will not be too great. Instead of being in a dilemma, why not obey the emperor's will?"

Meng Tian lamented, "That's true. Your Majesty will certainly be displeased if I stick to my own opinion."

Wuzhan continued, "Moreover, if the general does not send out troops immediately, the Donghu and Xianbei will attack openly, and the general will be attacked from both sides. At that time, what is the point of guarding Yanmen Pass?"

"Are you saying that the purpose of the Donghu and Xianbei invasion is to get behind me?"

"The Yuezhi army is coming to Longxi in order to tie up the Xianyang garrison, so that Xianyang cannot send out reinforcements. The garrisons in various places are difficult to mobilize temporarily. Now the general is opposed by the court and is isolated and helpless. The Xiongnu has made careful plans and deployments with only one goal, which is to destroy the general's 200,000 troops, not a few counties."

Meng Tian suddenly realized, "Now I understand why the Xiongnu could not break through today. They want me to stay here, and wait for the Donghu and Xianbei 100,000 cavalry to circle around me, form a siege, and then launch a general attack. The Taoist priest is indeed extraordinary."

Wuzhan said: "Originally they prepared 200,000 troops, but now they only have 100,000 left. General, there is still a chance to defeat them."

Meng Tian asked: "Is there still a chance?"

"The opportunity is now. Send troops to fight against the Donghu and Xianbei. Although they have 100,000 cavalry, they are divided into camps. They are not as strong as the 100,000 cavalry that invaded Shangjun. As long as the general quickly sends troops to meet them, ignore the Xiongnu, and hold on to them, they can be easily defeated."

"But once Yanmen Pass is breached, the gate will be wide open and the situation will be irreversible!"

"This Yanmen is just a city gate. If it is lost, it can be recaptured. Instead of letting them stay outside the pass, why not let them go inside? Is the city gate the only way to resist them?"

Meng Tian perked up and asked, "Master, do you have any good ideas?"

(End of this chapter)