Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations
“Boss, let us sally forth to fight them for a bit, so what if they have three Regiments? They will not be able to hold us down.” At Zhou Weiqing’s side, Ma Qun was raring to go.
Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: “No, this time the enemy is not the same. Furthermore, you all have already revealed yourselves in the previous fight, and the enemies will definitely have prepared something against us doing something similar. If your two entire Main Companies were here, I would definitely send you to destroy their confidence. However, you currently only number two hundred in total, and if you were to be entangled with the enemy’s two Heavy Cavalry Battalions for too long, even with your combat prowess and strength, it will not be easy to get out without any losses.”
At the other side, Lei Zi said: “Boss, then let us go instead. We’ll fly above their heads and let them know what is the meaning of heavenly soldiers descending from the skies.”
Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “There will be many chances for all of you to take action soon. However, I do not want to reveal our Peerless Air Force quite so early. It isn’t time yet. After all, it is one of our aces. Prepare your javelins for now… those will be even more effective than arrows in a siege battle.”
Lei Zi nodded and said: “We have already prepared that long ago. Ever since we entered the Crescent City, we have ordered blacksmiths to continue crafting them. Furthermore, we have brought quite a number ourselves.” As he said that, Lei Zi even gestured towards his own Spatial Ring.
Previously, Lin TianAo had been tasked with purchasing as many Spatial Containment objects as possible, and besides all the high ranking officers of the Peerless Regiment, the excess Spatial Rings had been issued to the elites of the First Main Company.
Although Zhou Weiqing only had seven hundred proper fighting forces, never forget that even amongst the Peerless Regiment, those were the cream of the crop, the elite in all aspects.
“Alright, very good. Prepare for battle at any moment. We still have at least half a month before our reinforcements arrive. During this period, we must ensure our city walls stay secured. We must not give our enemies any opportunity.”
The Peerless Regiment officers saluted in agreement as they received the command.
In truth, what Zhou Weiqing was most worried about was not a full on frontal attack on the main gates. With the city walls and defensive advantage, it was nearly impossible to breakthrough the walls guarded by the Peerless Regiment soldiers. However, they only numbered seven hundred, and they could not split themselves or appear in more than one places. If the enemy chose to surround and attack from all sides of the city, their true problem of having a lack of manpower would reveal itself.”
In order to counter such a possible scenario, Zhou Weiqing had meticulously assigned his troops. For the Peerless Regiment archers, he placed two hundred men on the frontal walls, and a hundred on each of the other three walls. As for the Peerless Heavy Cavalry, in such a siege they would be Heavy Infantry instead, and with each wall assigned fifty of them. With their numbers, it was just too difficult to take everything into account, and this was a difficult but necessary choice to make. As long as the enemy commander wasn’t a fool, he would have such plans in mind.
Currently, the Peerless Heavy Cavalry were already in position, but the five hundred Peerless archers were still on the main south wall facing their enemies. With their Consolidated Wings, they could easily rush to the other walls when necessary, so they did not need to get into position too quickly.
On the enemy’s end, the Kalise army did not seem to be in a rush at all as well. After setting up camp, they actually did not attack for three days. However, since their camp was merely ten li away from the Crescent City, the invisible pressure they exerted upon the city was palpable. Without question, this was a form of psychological warfare, and the current commander of the Kalise forces was definitely an excellent one.
It was the morning of the fourth day since the Kalise Empire arrived, just after breakfast, when Zhou Weiqing received an urgent summons to the city walls. As soon as he reached the walls and looked at the sight before him, even for Zhou Weiqing’s stable character, he couldn’t help but have an ugly expression on his face. He finally understood what the Kalise Empire armies had been waiting for these last three days, and it wasn’t just a psychological tactic.
A large number of sieging weapons were arriving from the distance into the Kalise encampment. Amongst them were several siege vehicles specially for attacking city walls. These siege vehicles were not for knocking down the city gates, but for holding troops. Each siege vehicle was five metres wide, ten metres tall, with wheels below them on all four sides. On the top, there were metal plates covered with cured cowhide, while the front was extremely thick and heavy with spikes jutting out.
Each of these siege vehicles were able to hold at least fifty soldiers, and there were push rods within the towers which enabled them to move the siege vehicles. This way, they could ignore any risks from heavy cavalry charges or arrows from the walls to move directly to the foot of the walls.
These siege vehicles actually numbered more than fifty. Besides that, there were also ten large trebuchets, several battering ram carts and various other specialised siege weapons. Amongst them, the most eye catching were the four massive siege towers which could be slowly pushed to the front. All in all, it was clear they were fully prepared for war.
Indeed, Zhou Weiqing had not expected that even knowing that the defending force of the Crescent City was merely three thousand, especially with the majority being fresh recruits, the Kalise Empire would actually spend so many resources to launch their attack. From this alone, one could see how much importance they had placed on this attack.
These siege weapons would definitely bring a lot of trouble to their defending side, especially those siege vehicles. With them, the advantage of the Peerless Heavy Cavalry and archers facing open plains before them would be greatly reduced. With the siege vehicles in front, besides those soldiers in the actual vehicles, they would also be able to cover another four to five thousand men to reach the city walls. Along with the siege towers, ladders, catapults and various siege weapons, it would definitely increase the pressure on their defending side.
Looking at the siege weapons bearing down upon the Crescent City slowly, the Kalise Empire armies also began their movement.
The fifty siege vehicles were intermingling between the various other siege weapons, and they were clearly already filled with soldiers. Two Battalions of Heavy Infantry and the two Battalions of Heavy Cavalry moved forward along with them, both guarding the siege weaponry while also using them as cover. At the back, there were at least four more Battalions of infantry soldiers advancing at a slower pace behind. In just this first offensive wave, the Kalise army had already sent its main force. From the looks of things, they did not even seem to be placing much importance on attacking from the other sides, focusing most of their attention on the frontal assault.
Tricked! Zhou Weiqing immediately realised his mistake. The enemy commander had seized upon the fact that he would prepare for the surrounding all-out assault, and instead changed tactics to focus on the full frontal assault. With the various siege weapons to assist in their assault, this was not going to be an easy fight.
“Boss, let us charge out and destroy those siege weapons!” On the city walls, the feelings of all of them were rather oppressed, and Ma Qun couldn’t help but offer to attack once more.
Zhou Weiqing waved his hands and said: “No, there are too many enemies now, especially with the siege vehicles to cover them. It is just too dangerous for you to charge out now.”
Yan Zhexi said: “Boss, how about transferring back the rest of the Peerless Heavy Cavalry from the other walls?”
Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: “No, the other walls might not be attacked now, but they may be attacked at any time. Look far off in the distance, the Kalise Regiment behind has started sending light cavalry troops using a roundabout fashion to loop around. Although their offense and sieging capabilities aren’t that strong, just leaving the fresh recruits alone to withstand their attacks will be a definite loss. Brothers, we will have a tough fight ahead of us, let’s pluck up our spirits. Once we can achieve this first victory, we can definitely hold on until our reinforcements arrive.”
If not for the Heavenly King assassin who might be hiding anywhere close by, even if the enemy forces were stronger, Zhou Weiqing would not be so dismal. However, with such a powerful hidden enemy who could attack at anytime, he had to spend so much focus on being alert for that, keeping his guard up. This was not a comfortable feeling at all.
The enemy drew closer bit by bit. It was clear that the Kalise commander was extremely experienced, and his directions were very well placed. He was not rash or impetuous, not charging forward, instead moving at a slow stable pace, maintaining perfect formation to fully take advantage of the siege weapons.
Zhou Weiqing gave a cold laugh. “Your Father, I, will give you a greeting gift first.” As he said that, he waved his hands before him, and the Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation appeared as he unleashed it. At the same time, he also entered the Dragon-Tiger Transformation state, the large wings spread out behind his back. All the Jewel Masters present could instantly sense a huge amount of Heavenly Energy gathering towards Zhou Weiqing, swarming crazily to him.
Standing at his two flanks, Shangguan Xue’er and Tian’er subconsciously drew closer to him, looking about warily at this point. Zhou Weiqing was about the launch an attack, and this was undoubtedly a good chance for the Heavenly King assassin to make his move. As the saying goes, ‘caution is the parent of safety’, and the two girls naturally raised their guard further in preparation.
It was not just the two of them. Naturally, Lin TianAo also took up his position right behind Zhou Weiqing. He was even more direct, with his seven-Jeweled Assembly Set Shield already released and at the ready. His eyes were cold as they scanned the area, fully ready to spring into action at any time.
The Overlord Bow gave forth a chilling aura as Zhou Weiqing drew it to a full crescent. Abruptly, he gave a loud shout, and with the Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation glowing about him, in the Dragon-Tiger Transformation state, he truly looked like a demon god atop the city walls. Especially with the loud shout that was like a tiger’s roar, giving all the soldiers on the city walls a morale boost.
Facing such a formidable looking force, along with invisible pressure of the threat from the last few days, the morale of the soldiers on the walls was slightly suppressed, especially those of the fresh recruits. Zhou Weiqing may not be an outstanding commander, especially in terms of ‘normal’ military tactics, but in terms of his grasp of the big picture view, he could match any top commander. He was extremely clear on what he needed to do right now.
A layer of black light covered the Overlord Bow, and in an instant, using the Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation, Zhou Weiqing gathered a massive amount of Heavenly Energy and transformed it into the Darkness Attribute. At the same time, one of the Alexandrite Cat’s Eye on one the edges of the hexagon glowed brightly. Clearly, Zhou Weiqing was not using a mimicked skill, directly unleashing one of the Stored Skills of his Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation.
A pitch black figure appeared silently above Zhou Weiqing’s head, hovering for a moment before spreading out and forming a humanoid figure with three sets of wings behind its back.
Right at that moment, Zhou Weiqing gave another loud shout, his eyes actually turning a vast expanse of white. A strange aura burst forth from his body next, swarming up above his head and forming a small trail of silvery white mist, infusing into the pitch black figure of light above him.
The silvery white mist seemed like the best fertilizer, and within an instant, the figure expanded to almost three times its original size, reaching a height of almost ten metres. The six wings behind its back spread out wide, and the figure seemed to become clearer, more focused and consolidated.
The soldiers on the city wall found they were almost unable to breathe. Although the huge black illusory figure was not directed at them, they still felt the oppressive presence that was almost unbearable. Zhou Weiqing took a step forward, right over the city walls, actually hovering in midair. Above his head, the giant black illusory figure also did the same, and in that instant, its features were fully shown to all the soldiers on both sides, several tens of thousands of men.
