Chapter 799 – Fall of Black Iron City
This weird atmosphere outside of the Protruding Dragon Pass did not last for long.
1st month, 21st day; on the 3rd day after the Mountain Barbarian Division reached the pass, the battle finally began. With the help of the limited number of siege weapons, the mountain barbarians launched their first wave of assault.
The strong mountain barbarian warriors used simple siege weapons but managed to launch a ferocious assault, putting the soldiers in the pass in a tough situation.
After a huge battle, the number of casualties on both sides was actually comparable; what a terrifying situation.
At the same time, rumbling noises sounded out from the skies above Protruding Dragon Pass. On this day, the flying squad had finally arrived to help the Guards Legion Corps siege the pass.
The first appearance of the Shanhai City flying squad in Guiping had attracted a lot of attention. Finding a method to defend against the burning bombs thrown down from above became one of the top issues for cities and strongholds.
The most long-term goal was naturally to use stone or green brick to replace wood. The burning bombs that Shanhai City had created were obviously incomparable to the bombs of real life. Without something to burn, these bombs would be less effective.
However, to cities, using purely stone in their construction was not practical.
As for a stronghold, such a matter was more easily done.
However, the Dragon Protruding Pass did not take such measures. Only after war broke out did Feng Qingyue hurriedly order the troops to try their best to remove all flammable items.
As for all the wooden structures, they had already been removed.
From the cluster of flames breaking out within the pass, reality proved that they had not completely followed her instructions. After all, many people could not bear to demolish their own houses.
From 9 AM onward, the Flying Squad used Yongren City as a replenishing base and relentlessly bombed the pass. Along with the coordinated attacks of the mountain barbarians, the Protruding Dragon Pass was now in danger.
Apart from the buildings that were burning, the military tents that were set up were also on fire. To prevent the fire from spreading, more than half of the attention of the troops was placed on extinguishing the fires.
With that, the defending troops could not handle the vicious assault of the Mountain Barbarian Division. In just a morning, the city wall had three close calls and was nearly broken through.
This astonished all the troops within the stronghold. They did not dare to take this matter lightly anymore, and they started to defend the pass with their lives while seeking reinforcements from Black Iron City.
Hence, the 30 thousand reinforcement troops that had just reached Black Iron City did not even stop at the city. Instead, they directly rushed toward Protruding Dragon Pass. The moment the pass fell, Swordsman City’s 2nd legion chance of defending the city would become doubtful.
Just as the Swordsman City Army gathered in Protruding Dragon Pass, the Shihu led troops were going up the river.
With the help of the Flying Squad, Huo Qubing’s plan was smoothly carried out, drawing the 2nd legion of Swordsman City into Protruding Dragon Pass.
If nothing surprising happened, the fall of Black Iron City was only a matter of time. ….. Jiangyang Prefecture, Swordsman City.
As the war in Protruding Dragon Pass battle continued to fester, Swordsman City did not send any further instructions. The frontline decisions were left to the generals. However, it was not the Feng family acting slowly. It was not them being arrogant either; rather, their lack of action was because a massive change that had occurred in the family.
That night, Feng Xiaotian and two elders of the family checked Feng Qingyang and were shocked by their discovery. Feng Qingyang was on the edge of losing his senses. If they did not save him, it would be too late.
Feng Qingyang was the hope of the Feng Family rising up. This time, the entire family was shocked, and even the old grandfather who was cultivating behind doors was alerted.
The four elderly members worked together for two days and two nights before they finally managed to control the explosive Chi in his body. However, as for removing the devilish Chi from his body, Feng Qingyang would need to slowly deal with that himself. Feng Xiaotian did not dare to take the situation too lightly, and he ordered Feng Qingyang to cultivate behind closed doors and not deal with territory matters.
During this period of time, the entire Swordsman City was in a transitional state.
Now that Feng Qingyang was gone, the huge territory obviously needed someone to take over.
Helplessly, Feng Xiaotian could only come out of retirement and personally take charge. Although he was the head of the family, he did not excel at managing the territory and had previously left the matter for Feng Qingyang and Feng Qingyue to handle.
The moment he was appointed, he was bombarded with a whole load of administrative matters, making his head swell. Even when he cultivated, he could not calm down his mind and nearly lost himself.
Just three days after his appointment, Feng Xiaotian had already lost a load of weight.
At this time, Feng Xiaotian had to admit that in terms of territory management, he was not as good as his son.
This whole hold up meant that the battle at Protruding Dragon Pass had already reached the crucial stages.
Seeing that, Feng Xiaotian gritted his teeth and decided to let Feng Qingyue take over, allowing her to temporarily become the Lord.
As an ancient aristocratic family, the Feng Family unavoidably treated males more highly than females. Although Feng Qingyue’s territory management talent was better than Feng Qingyang, she was only given the role of advisor and did not have much power.
When Feng Qingyang had to close up, Feng Xiaotian instinctively took up the role. He did not even consider handing the role over to Feng Qingyue.
Only when he found out that he could not manage it did a lightbulb light up in his head. Just like that, the family elders would not have any room to oppose him.
One had to say, Feng Xiaotian’s decision was truly smart and helped them avoid a catastrophe.
By the time this whole mess slowly calmed down, it was already the 24th day.
Feng Qingyue felt really complicated when she took over the power. When she truly understood the situation on the frontlines and wanted to meet the Shanhai City envoy, the situation experienced a shocking change.
When Feng Qingyue heard the news, she was silent for a long while, and her face was ashen white, “We were still too late!”
To talk about this matter, we have to go back two days.
On the night of the 22nd day, the Jinsha River gushed. The river water was filled with large quantities of sand and dirt. Under the night sky, it showed a golden yellow color, which was how the name of the river came about.
On the river surface, thousands of small boats went against the waves, forming a truly majestic sight.
Shihu led five thousand elite mountain barbarians, going up the river and finally arriving near Black Iron City.
Black Iron City was built on the south shore of the Jinsha River, and the river flowed around the city. The five thousand mountain barbarians disembarked sneakily 20 miles away from Black Iron City. Thousands of small boats flowed down the river and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
“Rest up for half an hour; pay attention to the camouflage!” Shihu ordered.
The mountain barbarians were a group of landlubbers. This was also the first time some of them had boarded a boat. Shaking left and right on the river surface was definitely not a pleasant experience.
If it were not for their strong bodies, they would have already lost control of their legs.
Just as the troops were resting, an unassuming Feng Bird found Shihu and stopped on his shoulder. This Feng Bird was from the Xuanniao Tribe that Shihu hailed from, so the two had a natural closeness to one another.
If not, this Feng Bird would not have been able to pinpoint his location so accurately.
The intel attached left him stunned. The spies in Black Iron City planted by the Shanhai Guards had confirmed that they would open the east gate tonight at 8 PM.
They would at most be able to open the gates for 15 minutes, so the army needed to make good use of this time.
“15 minutes? That’s enough.”
Shihu looked at the color of the sky and ordered his troops to set off and sneakily proceed toward Black Iron City. …… At 7 PM, the army was already hiding in the woods four to five miles away. From the gaps in the trees, they could clearly see that the city gate was shut.
The mining outside of the city had ended, so the workers either slept in the mines or had already entered the city. From the few guards in the city, one could see that the defense of Black Iron City was not that strict.
When Shihu saw this situation, he grew more confident.
At 7:50 PM a torch appeared on the city wall and was swung back and forth three times.
When Shihu saw this, his eyes jolted awake.
This was the hidden signal coordinated by the spy and him to show that everything was normal and to follow the plan.
“Send down my orders, get ready to act!” Shihu quietly ordered.
“Yes!”
In a flash, the mountain barbarians who were resting against the trees all got up swiftly and used the shortest amount of time to inspect their weapons.
In less than five minutes, they had formed up.
The mountain barbarians who were famous for their lax attitude had become a strict and disciplined iron army thanks to the training of the Shanhai City System.
The next few minutes were so nerve-wracking that it could suffocate someone.
A small mistake at such a time could cause an all-out defeat. Shihu stared seriously at the city gate. He did not even blink for a few minutes.
7:56 PM.
‘Kachi!’ a drawbridge was slowly lowered.
“Charge!”
Shihu did not dare to waste any time, and he simply ordered them to charge in.
Five thousand mountain barbarians in the night silently charged toward the city gates. Throughout this entire process, the city gate was being slowly opened.
Seeing that, the mountain barbarians charged more ferociously.
Pretty much at the same time, Shihu activated his specialty to increase their movement speed. It took less than 15 minutes for them to arrive before the city gate.
Peering inside, it was pitch black.
“Charge!”
Shihu did not even hesitate; he lifted the God Weapon that the Monarch had given him and charged in.
The city protection soldiers were finally startled and muddily walked out. Instantly, their heads were chopped off.
A massacre took place during the night.
After killing the city wall defense troops quickly, Shihu did not dare waste any more time and led the troops into the city Lord’s Manor. Only by destroying the stone steele within would they have succeeded.
Black Iron City was not a trading capital, and it was already 8 PM. As a result, the streets were completely empty. The charging of the mountain barbarians had totally broken the silence.
The Black Iron City City Protection Division was still forming up in the barracks when they got the news that the mountain barbarian soldiers were already in the manor. Be it bailiffs or guards, they were all like normal people in front of the mountain barbarians, and they were killed in one blow.
