If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The cold wind and snow poured in through the narrow stone valley, gradually dispersing the lingering stench of blood inside and outside the wooden shed.

Although the first sentry post was swiftly and decisively eliminated, the large iron pot inside the shed and the shocking human bones in the deep pit were like a poisonous thorn soaked in ice water, piercing the hearts of every soldier in the Zhenbei Army.

The anger, suppressed beneath the iron armor, transformed into a chilling and resolute determination.

The cleanup of the battlefield was silent and swift. The corpses of fifteen Blackwater barbarian soldiers were thrown into a shady snow pit in a deep valley, covered by floating snow, and then blown away by the cold wind, leaving no trace.

Ah Man put the blood-stained leather robe she had taken off back on, and the embers of the specially prepared artemisia and pine cones in the brazier were still emitting a faint wisp of smoke, maintaining the illusion that the outer stronghold was still in good condition.

However, the main force advanced less than a mile before the vanguard had to rein in their horses once again.

The terrain ahead was several times more treacherous than Lu Yong had previously described.

The Wolf Fang Path narrows completely here, forming a long, narrow canyon. Towering blackish-gray basalt cliffs, hundreds of feet high, rise abruptly from the ground on both sides, piercing the leaden-gray night sky. Thick icicles, several feet long, hang from the cliffs, resembling white fangs hanging upside down overhead.

The widest part of the canyon was only a few feet wide, and the narrowest part was barely wide enough for a warhorse to squeeze through sideways.

The collapsed rocks and several feet of frozen snow piled up on both sides of the cliff, making it impossible for the large wooden sleds, which had previously moved smoothly across the plains, to move side by side through the narrow gaps between the rocks. A rider with two horses on such a narrow, one-way path not only failed to increase speed, but was also prone to falling into the hidden ice crevasses on either side due to the horses pushing and shoving each other.

"Centurion, we can't get any further ahead."

Zhou Laoqi poked his body out from the narrow crevice in the rock, his stubble covered with a layer of white frost, and replied in a rough voice: "The sled is too wide and the stone path is too narrow. If we go any further, and the warhorses get stuck in the ice pit, the horses behind won't even have a chance to turn around."

Xu Qingshan dismounted, his anti-slip iron feet firmly planted on the hard frozen ground.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the dark mountain ridge and landing on the shadow hidden in the heavy snow behind the main peak of Langya Ridge.

Lu Yong was placed under a rock sheltered from the wind. Seeing this, he gritted his teeth, propped himself up, and pointed to the steep, precipitous peak on his right that resembled an eagle spreading its wings and piercing the sky:

"My lord... that's the direction of the 'Ghost Ladder' I mentioned earlier."

Lu Yong's voice was weak and hoarse as he gasped for breath, "Going up the shady ravine behind that side peak, the path is even more treacherous and steep, entirely made up of old plank roads clinging to the cliff, but it avoids all the cavalry passes in front. If we go that way... and the sleds are carried by hand, we can circle around to the small water gate behind Jubei Fort."

Xu Qingshan withdrew his gaze, a deep and clear calculation gleaming in the depths of his eyes.

If the entire army of 110 cavalry were crammed into the narrow Langya Pass, they would become sitting ducks if they encountered rolling stones at the pass. If the entire army were to risk climbing the dilapidated plank road that had been neglected for more than ten years, not only would the supplies be difficult to transport, but the time spent would also be enough to completely deplete the fort's food supply.

"The team splits up and goes in two groups."

Xu Qingshan turned around, faced his trusted confidants, and made a decisive decision:

"Hou San, Aman."

"Yes, sir!" The two men stepped forward simultaneously and solemnly obeyed.

"Select forty elite scouts, along with Qin Yuenu and ten accompanying medics, for a total of fifty people."

Xu Qingshan pointed to the right-hand side peak: "Unload the hardwood frame from the sled, divide the high-temperature horse jerky, cheese blocks, and all the hemostatic and first-aid medicine bags into individual pouches, which you fifty people will carry close to your bodies. Abandon most of the horses, and only take twenty cold-resistant ponies that are good at climbing mountain paths. With Lu Yong as the guide, follow the 'Ghost Ladder' plank road to make a concealed detour."

Xu Qingshan stared into Hou San's eyes, his tone unusually grave:

Hou San patted the double-barreled crossbow on his chest, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Centurion, rest assured, as long as there's even a crack in that cliff, I'll pry it open with my fingernails and get the grain, medicine, and Miss Qin safely to the city!"

Qin Yuenu nodded with a cool expression, tightening the leather belt around her waist, which was covered with silver needles and medicine boxes: "The medical team will do everything in its power to save the brothers in the fortress from their last breath."

After assigning the tasks, Xu Qingshan turned around and looked at Zhou Laoqi and the sixty elite veteran soldiers of the Zhenbei Cavalry standing in the snow.

These sixty men were all clad in fine leather armor with double-layered protection and iron lining, with long swords at their waists, powerful crossbows on their backs, and each leading their own warhorse. Their figures stood like a row of silent, solemn steel javelins in the cold wind.

"The remaining sixty riders, one person and one horse, traveled light and with minimal entourage."

Xu Qingshan drew his longsword half an inch from its sheath, the blade flashing a cold, clear light in the night.

"I will personally lead the team and advance along the frontal Wolf Fang Road to draw the attention of the main force of the barbarians on the mountain road."

……

A moment later, the lightly armed squad of fifty men quietly slipped away from the main force, following the shadows of the wind and snow on the side peak.

Hou San and A Man led the way, using grappling hooks and barbed steel ropes to clear the path. Ten medics and scouts took turns supporting the heavily wrapped Lu Yong, trudging through knee-deep snow, like a group of white ghosts, quickly disappearing into the treacherous, dark passage leading to the cliff behind the mountain.

Inside the narrow Langya Pass, Xu Qingshan led sixty Zhenbei cavalrymen forward.

The warhorse was led behind them, its hooves making a very faint rustling sound as it trod on the solid ice. The deeper they went into the valley, the colder it became, and their breath instantly froze into hard white frost on their eyebrows and eyelashes.

After traveling about three miles, the originally tall and flat mountains on both sides suddenly tilted inward.

After rounding a huge wind-eroded concave rock, the entire canyon completely transforms into a natural, deadly funnel.

Less than a hundred feet directly in front of the gorge, a mountain pass built of heavy timbers and rammed bluestone stands prominently.

It was a strategic pass built against the mountain.

Behind the checkpoint is a vertical mountain wall tens of meters high, and the slope in front has been splashed with a lot of water and frozen into a huge, smooth, mirror-like ice slope that is difficult to step on under the severe cold.

Even more alarming, seven or eight suspended timber rafts were densely packed on the rocky beams above the pass. Dozens of thick, sturdy, frozen logs, their branches trimmed, were firmly bound to the top of the rafts with thick raw cowhide ropes. Behind the rafts, in low campfire shelters, a dozen or so barbarian archers dressed in wolf-skin cloaks from the Blackwater tribe were crouching in a sheltered position, ready to defend themselves.

Logs, falling rocks, skating slopes, and blind spots from a high vantage point.

This is a meticulously constructed battlefield for guarding the mountain and killing.

Even if hundreds of heavily armored soldiers were to launch a strong attack on this ice slope that was less than ten feet wide, as long as a single cowhide rope was cut from above, the massive logs weighing tens of thousands of pounds that rolled down would sweep all the way down the narrow stone path, crushing all living beings that rushed into the valley to dust.

"Centurion, we can't charge this way."

Zhou Laoqi lay prone behind the rocky corner, looking at the massive logs suspended in mid-air at the top of the slope, a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from his forehead: "The whole road is a dead end, if a log is dropped from above, we won't even be able to find a crack in the rocks to dodge below."

Xiao Qi was also lying beside Xu Qingshan, gently clutching a thin, long blade of grass in her hand, which fluttered slightly in the night breeze.

"The mountain wind is blowing upwards."

Xiao Qi's gaze was sharp as a knife. Pointing to the windproof tents halfway up the mountain, he whispered, "This canyon is like a giant chimney. The cold wind from the bottom of the mountain is blowing fiercely up the pass along the rock wall. Moreover... the barbarians are afraid that the heavy snow will collapse the timber storage racks, so they have put a lot of dry pine branches and coarse linen canvas smeared with sheep fat at the bottom of the timber rafts to prevent moisture."

Xu Qingshan lay prone in the snow pit, his deep gaze scrutinizing every inch of the mountainside as it followed the wind direction.

While the fortified walls on the front were indeed difficult to overcome, the barbarians were, after all, nomadic cavalrymen of the grasslands, accustomed to open-field battles and raids on the plains. Their understanding of this fortification layout, which relied on the mountains for defense, still bore an undeniable crudeness and oversight.

To keep warm, the sentries lit a huge charcoal fire in a sheltered hollow under the log raft. And less than ten feet directly above the fire were several key suspension cables that bound the log frame together!

"Don't attack head-on, or you'll break his skeleton."

Xu Qingshan's lips curled into a chilling smile as he turned to look at Xiao Qi and the ten agile, lightly armed veterans beside him:

"Xiao Qi, take ten scouts, remove their armor, wear only white robes, take fire tweezers and fine steel short axes, and crawl through the sewage ditch covered by ice below the stone path."

Xu Qingshan pointed to the ice crevice below the cliff, which was mostly covered by snow:

"Don't touch the sentries guarding the pass, and ignore those tents. Follow the cracks in the rocks to the sheltered corner at the bottom of the raft, wrap the burlap soaked in pine resin around their main rope, and set them all on fire!"

A glint flashed in Xiao Qi's eyes, and he instantly understood Xu Qingshan's intention: "Does the centurion want them to use the weapons they left behind to attack their own camp?"

"Since they like blocking the road with logs, let them experience what it's like to have their door blocked by giant logs."

Xu Qingshan coldly ordered, "The moment the fire starts, the entire army abandons their horses and advances, using powerful crossbows to block all escape routes. Leave no one alive!"

"promise!"

Xiao Qi responded to the order, took off the horn bow from his back and handed it to his comrade. He and ten veterans quickly removed their heavy weapons, held poisoned short blades in their mouths, and draped themselves in snow-white felt. Like several silent ice snakes gliding along the ground, they silently slipped into the narrow ditch below the stone path.

……

The howling winds raged incessantly within the canyon.

Inside the Blackwater tribe's outpost halfway up the hillside, eight or nine barbarian soldiers were huddled in a heavy cowhide tent, tearing at half-cooked chunks of meat while loudly laughing and drinking strong liquor.

In their view, the icy and snowy Langya Ridge was the best natural barrier, and the hundreds of Han people in Jubei Fort who were about to starve to death were already trapped like turtles in a jar. It was impossible for anyone to cross the eighty miles of cliffs and break through to this place.

However, in the shadow of the rock formations directly beneath this windbreak tent, death had already silently descended.

Xiao Qi's fingers were like iron hooks digging into the ice crevice, his feet braced against the jagged rock edges, his whole body suspended in mid-air, clinging to the bottom of the log support.

Behind him, two veteran soldiers skillfully used short knives to pry open the frost-proof rawhide wrapped around the thick suspension cable, quickly wrapped it with a layer of coarse linen cloth soaked in strong liquor and antifreeze oil, and gently blew on the tinderbox under the cover of the palm wind.

"call!"

A tiny but intense flame spread rapidly along the burlap!

The fierce night winds that surged up from the depths of the canyon tonight became the most ferocious fuel for the fire!

A powerful gust of air, carrying flames, licked at the dry pine frame and the greasy, tightly bound leather ropes above in the blink of an eye!

"Crackling! Crackling crackling!"

The crackling sound of pine resin bursting, accompanied by billowing smoke, howled straight up the hilltop on the night wind!

"Fire?! Where did the fire come from?!"

The barbarian soldiers inside the tents sensed the heat and smoke, and frantically grabbed their scimitars and rushed out. However, when they looked down at the stone platform at their feet, their ferocious faces were instantly replaced by extreme terror!

"Boom——!!"

The main suspension cable, as thick as a child's arm and soaked in oil, finally succumbed to the terrifying force under the raging flames and the pull of the heavy timber, and snapped with a deafening crash that shattered the heart!

Then came the second one, and the third one!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dozens of massive, frozen logs, each as thick as a person's embrace, collapsed and disintegrated from above the raft with tremendous kinetic energy once they were freed from their restraints!

However, the logs did not fall outwards along the ice slope in front of them as the barbarian soldiers had expected. Because the load-bearing tenons that secured the back were burned through by the fire first, the entire huge timber storage frame tilted and twisted horribly inwards!

Dozens of massive logs, each weighing over a thousand pounds, carrying large amounts of rubble and flames, crashed and slammed down in the opposite direction towards the barbarian soldiers' encampment on the hillside and the passageway behind it!

"Help! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

The barbarian soldiers were terrified, and their mournful screams were instantly drowned out by the roar of collapsing wood and stone.

Two barbarian archers who couldn't dodge in time were struck directly in the chest by the sweeping frozen wood. The sound of bones shattering could be clearly heard. They were sent flying like rag dolls, crashing into the stone wall and turning into a mess of flesh!

A large number of heavy, massive logs were piled up and blocked the narrow pass behind them. The raging fire, fueled by the wind, spread wildly, completely blocking the barbarian's originally fortified retreat route and turning it into a raging, sealed-off dead end!

The remaining seven or eight barbarian soldiers, their eyes stinging from the thick smoke, slid down the ice slope in a disheveled state, trying to escape through the only exit on the front.

However, just as they stumbled out of the thick smoke of the fire, they were met with a chilling, iron-like array of deadly troops!

"Form ranks! Fire!"

Xu Qingshan, draped in a cloak, pounded through the snow and slashed downwards with his long steel sword!

Fifty elite Zhenbei cavalrymen, who had long since abandoned their horses and climbed the mountain, stood like a cold, black iron wall, neatly leveling their double-barreled crossbows at the exit of the main road!

"Boom boom boom boom boom—!"

The powerful crossbow strings vibrated in unison amidst the wind and snow!

Hundreds of armor-piercing short arrows, gleaming with a dark light, transformed into an unavoidable storm of metal at extremely close range, within ten paces, piercing through the bodies of all the barbarian soldiers who emerged from the thick smoke!

"Puff puff puff puff—!"

The dull thuds of sharp blades piercing flesh echoed one after another.

Those fierce and domineering barbarian soldiers on the grasslands didn't even have time to raise their swords to defend themselves before their chests and faces were riddled with bullets, turning them into pincushions. They screamed and fell into pools of blood and mud.

Xu Qingshan stepped forward, his long sword casually slicing across the throat of a barbarian soldier who was still breathing, the blade drawing out a string of blood beads, his expression as calm as ice.

"Collect the crossbow bolts and clear the stone path!"

Zhou Laoqi brandished his long sword and led his soldiers forward to quickly kill the remaining enemies and gather the scattered weapons.

From the moment the fire started until the entire defending force was annihilated, it was only a short time. The second stronghold set up by the Blackwater tribe on Langya Road was lost in the collapse of their own rolling logs and the ensuing flames!

The wind and snow gradually subsided.

The remaining flames crackled amidst the charred wood scraps, and the air was thick with the smell of pine smoke and burnt wood.

Xu Qingshan stood atop the charred ruins of the pass, sword in hand, and looked up at the desolate cliff at the highest point of Langya Ridge, shrouded in wind and snow.

In the brief silence as the entire army stood at attention, taking a breath and preparing to continue their advance, a moment of deathly stillness descended.

A vast, cold night wind swept through the empty, deep valley, and from the top of the extremely distant and high cliffs, it faintly carried a very weak, yet deep and resonant, trembling sound.

"Thump—"

"Thump—"

The sound was extremely slow, carrying an endless dryness and tenacity, piercing through the swirling snow and echoing stubbornly and proudly among the desolate, sunless mountains.

Old Zhou wiped the soot off his face, then suddenly froze.

Dozens of veteran cavalrymen from Zhenbei turned their heads, held their breath, and listened intently to the voice that came from the depths of the wind and snow.

That was the sound of war drums.

On the precipice of Jubei Fort, where food and ammunition had run out and the city had been besieged for two whole months, the broken military drum was still being beaten!

Xu Qingshan slowly closed the five fingers that were gripping the knife, and two blazing lights ignited in his deep eyes in the darkness.

He turned around, tore off the white cloak he was wearing as a disguise, and sheathed his knife with a backhand motion.

"The drums are still beating."

Xu Qingshan's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every soldier:

"The city is not dead yet."

"All troops, prepare yourselves and follow me up the mountain!"