Isolated town in northern border region

The wind was strong in the northern border region, making it impossible for Xiao Lie to answer.

He stood atop the city wall, looking north.

In the hazy night, countless torches were converging on this side.

Dotted with stars, more and more, denser and denser, like a pack of hungry wolves smelling blood, pouncing from all directions.

On the city wall, everyone was watching the torches.

No one speaks.

The wind blew in from the north, carrying a biting chill.

The wind made the Chu army flags on the city wall flutter loudly, and the wind made everyone's face feel like it was being cut by a knife.

There was a long silence.

On the city wall, everyone was looking north.

The torches grew more numerous and denser, like stars falling from the sky to the ground.

From a distance, the flames looked like a sea, slowly surging toward Cangwu City.

One hundred thousand people.

Perhaps more.

On the city walls of Cangwu, there were fewer than two thousand people.

Two thousand against one hundred thousand.

But no one ran away.

No one knelt down and begged for mercy.

No one cried out.

They stood there on the city wall, in the night wind, under the fluttering banner of the Great Chu army.

He gripped the knives, spears, clubs, hammers, and even stones tightly in his hands.

Their faces were covered in blood, tears, wounds, and exhaustion.

But fear?

Perhaps it's still there, but something else has been added to the fear.

That thing is called fighting spirit, courage, and never retreating in the face of death!

Xiao Lie stood atop the highest point of the city wall, his golden armor mottled, his body covered in blood, and the wound on his shoulder still bleeding.

But he stood straight, like a flag that would never fall.

Xiao Lie shrugged with a wry smile.

"Gentlemen."

He spoke, but his voice was soft.

"Tomorrow, even more people from the Northern Barbarians will come..."

After a pause, Xiao Lie turned to face the crowd.

That blood-stained golden armor, in the torchlight, resembled a burning flame.

"I hereby swear that as long as I have a breath left, I will never abandon the city and flee!"

"Fight to the death!"

There was a moment of silence on the city wall.

then……

"Fight to the death!"

Er Gou was the first to shout, his voice hoarse and tearful, but firm and resolute.

"Fight to the death!!!"

The death row inmate looked up to the sky and roared.

"Fight to the death!!!!"

Old Zhou's hoarse voice sounded like a broken gong, yet it was louder than anyone else's.

"Fight to the death!!!!"

Everyone roared at the same time, and the sound waves reached outside the city.

The earthquake caused the sea of ​​fire in the north to tremble and waver.

That night was eerily quiet, yet no one slept soundly.

Xiao Lie rested for a moment and then opened his eyes.

He leaned against the crenellations of the city wall, squinting, his mind racing.

Bisu changed his dressing again, and the blood soaked through the cloth strips once more.

Shen Chongyuan walked over and said in a low voice.

"Your Highness, you need to rest. Tomorrow..."

"The Northern Barbarians will launch a full-scale attack on the city tomorrow."

Xiao Lie opened his eyes, his gaze as calm as a stagnant pool.

"General Shen, tell me, what are they most afraid of?"

Shen Chongyuan was taken aback.

"Logs, rolling stones, kerosene."

"No."

Xiao Lie shook his head.

"No, what they fear most is time."

He stood up and pointed to the densely packed camp outside the city.

"How much food does an army of 100,000 consume every day? How many days will the fodder last? In the dead of winter, how many soldiers will die from frostbite?"

"They have penetrated deep into our Great Chu territory, and there are no pastures around. How long can their cattle and sheep sustain them?"

Xiao Lie turned around and looked at Shen Chongyuan.

"So tomorrow, they will definitely launch a full-scale attack on the city."

"This isn't a test, this isn't a feint, this is a desperate fight!"

Shen Chongyuan gritted his teeth.

"This subordinate understands."

"Let's wait and see."

Xiao Lie's voice was very soft.

"At this point, it's just a matter of who can outlast the other!"

"Make arrangements immediately: five people per group, and conserve energy as much as possible while defending the city."

"Make sure to use every bit of your strength where it's needed."

…………

As dawn broke, the sound of bugles echoed from the Northern Barbarian camp.

It wasn't the whistling sound of yesterday, but a shorter, more frequent command...

That's the signal for the final assault!

On the city wall, everyone instantly tensed up.

Er Gou gripped the spear tightly, his palms sweating profusely!

The old soldier is dead; he's now the veteran of this area.

No, he wasn't a veteran; he was still the defeated soldier who had fled all the way from Youzhou.

But today, he doesn't plan to run away anymore.

"They're here!"

Shen Chongyuan let out a low growl.

On the northern horizon, the black tide surged in once more.

This time, it wasn't five thousand vanguard soldiers, nor was it a multi-pronged attack, but rather...

All!

Shield bearers in front, ladder bearers behind, and archers providing cover on both flanks.

Dense and boundless, like a ferocious beast from the wilderness.

One hundred thousand people marched at the same time, each step striking the pulse of the earth.

The city bricks were jumping, the city wall was shaking, and everyone's heart was pounding wildly in rhythm with it.

Xiao Lie stood atop the highest point of the city wall, his golden armor gleaming coldly in the morning light.

He didn't speak, but simply raised the spear in his hand.

On the city wall, archers drew their bows, the people raised logs and stones, and the prisoners gripped their knives.

"Release the arrows!"

The first wave of arrows rained down.

The northern barbarian shield-wielder raised his shield to parry, and the arrows struck the shield surface, making a dense clanging sound.

But shields are not foolproof; arrows will always find their way through the gaps, and soldiers will always fall with screams.

But those behind them continued to charge forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions.

Ladders were erected on the city walls, one, ten, dozens.

The barbarian soldiers climbed up like ants.

"Smash it!"

Logs, boulders, and kerosene rained down on him.

One after another, the barbarian soldiers fell from the siege ladders, crashing to the ground with their brains splattered.

But the barbarian soldiers behind them continued to climb over the corpses of their comrades, their eyes bloodshot, howling like wild beasts.

Xiao Lie personally picked up a long spear, aimed it at a barbarian soldier who had climbed onto the ramparts, and pierced his throat with the spear.

Blood splattered all over his face, but he didn't wipe it off. He pulled it out and stabbed the next one.

"kill!"

On the city wall, shouts of battle shook the heavens.

Er Gou's spear broke, so he picked up a knife and slashed down a barbarian soldier who had climbed up.

The knife was stuck in the bone and he couldn't pull it out. He kicked aside the barbarian soldier's corpse, picked up the soldier's curved sword, and continued hacking.

The death row inmate stood in the most dangerous spot, blocking three ladders all by himself.

He was stabbed three times and covered in blood, but he did not retreat an inch.

He was like a wild beast driven mad by being locked in a cage, hacking and killing anyone he saw.

Old Zhou didn't go up to the city wall.

He and his apprentices were responsible for transporting arrows and logs at the city gate.

His legs were shaking, and he was panting like a bellows, but he dared not stop.

He knew that every additional log on the city wall would kill one more barbarian soldier.

Bisu was in charge of relaying orders from inside the city gate. Her voice was already hoarse from shouting, but she kept shouting.

She knew that her voice was the prince's eyes and ears.

The battle raged from dawn until noon.

The Northern Barbarians launched four large-scale attacks, all of which were repelled.

Beneath the city wall, the corpses were piled up almost half a person high, and blood seeped into the snow, turning the entire land dark red.

Xiao Lie's golden armor was covered in blood, and he had another wound on his left arm. His right shoulder had been hit by a stone, and he was in so much pain that he could barely lift it.

But he did not back down.

He stood there, a flag in himself.

As long as the flag stands, the hearts of the people will never waver!

The entire battlefield has now become a duel of beliefs; whoever's nerves snap first will be doomed!