Chapter 144

  Rumble, rumble! The vanguard knight of the heavy armored cavalry charged forward first, colliding with the shield and producing a deafening crash as steel met steel. Hundreds of Wind Army soldiers holding up their shields still couldn't withstand the intense impact, tumbling backward in a chaotic mess, but they managed to halt the advance of the heavy armored cavalry.

  Immediately, more wind troops emerged from behind the shield and rushed into the heavy armored cavalry camp, using rolling knives to slash the legs of the enemy's war horses. Having lost their war horses, the heavy armored cavalry also lost their combat effectiveness. The two sides fought for a short time, and over a hundred heavy armored cavalrymen fell off their horses, lying on the ground in a hurry and anger, shouting loudly.

  The Feng Jun also suffered casualties, many soldiers were pierced by the long spears of the cavalrymen when they cut off the horses' legs, and mournful cries occasionally came from the battlefield.

  Zhang Zhou and the others effectively blocked the cavalry, taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Bai Yong led the crowd to break through the barbarian army at the gate, charging out.

  The barbarian soldiers were relentless in their pursuit, chasing and killing as they went. However, it wasn't long before both sides ran into the range of the city's defenses. The defenders allowed their own troops to pass through first, then the Wind Army on the walls began firing arrows at the pursuing barbarians, causing them to scatter in all directions. Seeing that they could no longer gain an advantage, the barbarian soldiers retreated back to their own camp.

  Bai Yong successfully broke through, but Zhang Zhou and his men could not get out. When he was fighting against the heavy armored cavalry of the enemy, the barbarian soldiers around him had gathered like a sea of people, surrounding him in three layers inside and three layers outside, with no way to escape.

  Seeing that cavalry was ineffective against it, the heavy armored cavalry retreated, and then the surrounding infantry stepped forward, pressing on.

  Someone in the barbarian army camp shouted loudly in a harsh tone: "Our commander is showing mercy, as long as you surrender and disarm, we will spare your lives!"

  Zhang Zhou heard the shout and without saying a word, picked up a heavy long spear abandoned by a heavily armored cavalryman from the ground and threw it fiercely in the direction of the shout.

  In the ear wheel, only a miserable cry was heard from the barbarian army's camp, and then the voice of surrendering was lost. This move showed that he would rather die than surrender, and also opened the curtain for the barbarian army's siege.

  The barbarian soldiers charged forward with a loud shout and stood together with the Wind Army.

  In terms of combat effectiveness, the Feng army was no match for the barbarian troops. In terms of numbers, the two sides were even more unevenly matched. The battle did not last long, and the 5,000-strong Feng army suffered over half casualties. Although the barbarian troops also suffered significant losses, they had a large number of people and were able to fill in the gaps as soon as one batch fell, making it impossible to wipe them out or finish the fight.

  After another fierce battle, the number of soldiers around Zhang Zhou was getting smaller and smaller, while the enemy's forces were growing larger and larger. Looking around, he saw a sea of people as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight. Zhang Zhou sighed deeply in his heart, thinking that after many years of battles, he would never have thought that he would die outside Xiangcheng. He gathered his scattered soldiers, rounded them up together, and formed a circle, preparing for a final desperate fight.

  At this time, the barbarian infantry retreated, and the heavy armored cavalry re-entered the battlefield. The Wind Army could no longer withstand the charge of the heavy armored cavalry, and as the barbarian cavalry passed by, they scattered the gathered Wind Army in all directions. The barbarian infantry that followed then separated them and defeated them one by one.

  Fighting to the present, let alone ordinary Fengjun soldiers have given up hope, even Zhang Zhou can no longer hold on, his spiritual armor is broken and battered, blood flowing all over his body, he's so exhausted that he can barely lift his gun. But the barbarian army doesn't give them a chance to breathe, wave after wave of attacks, relentless and unending.

  Zhang Zhou could no longer remember how many barbarian soldiers he had killed, or how many rounds of enemy attacks he had repelled. In the end, not a single Wind Troop soldier was left by his side, and all that remained were endless hordes of ferocious barbarian warriors.

  Zhang Zhou had already reached the end of his strength, and the barbarian soldiers did not want to increase their casualties in vain. The infantry's siege came to an end once again, and they retreated one after another. The heavy armored cavalry re-entered the battlefield, forming a neat square formation, and charged towards Zhang Zhou.

  Zhang Zhou saw the situation and let out a crazy, sky-piercing laugh. With an unknown surge of energy from within his body, he swung his long spear and charged towards the heavy armored cavalry's phalanx formation.

  Both sides had just made contact when Zhang Zhou was engulfed by the dense cavalry, at first he could still hear shouts and clashes from within the cavalry formation, but soon the sounds disappeared. After the cavalry formation passed, not even Zhang Zhou's corpse could be found on the ground, only blood clots and fragmented armor remained, along with a silver spear that had been twisted out of shape.

  Xiao Mqing's plan for this raid is hard to say whether it was a success or a failure. Although they successfully burned most of the barbarian army's grain and fodder, Zhang Zhou and his 5,000 soldiers were also lost in the barbarian camp. More importantly, the burning of the grain and fodder made the barbarian army anxious, and they could no longer delay with the defenders of Heng City, and had to choose to fight a decisive battle.

  In addition, Zhang Zhou was an old man of the Pingyuan Army with a certain reputation. His death not only had a great impact on the morale of the soldiers, but also affected the civilians in the city, and the entire Hengcheng fell into a state of grief.

  Such a result was already mentally prepared by Xiao Miaoqing. Sneaking into the enemy camp was an extremely dangerous thing, and life and death were unpredictable. It was precisely because of this that he chose to let Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong go.

  Zhang and Bai, although only in their thirties, were old-timers of the Pingyuan Army, with high prestige and authority. Every time important military matters were discussed, they had to consider the opinions of these veterans, which was both troublesome and awkward. Moreover, Xiao Muqing was an ordinary soldier who rose through the ranks, and technically speaking, he was under the command of Zhang Zhou, Bai Yong, and Zhu Nu, the three battalion commanders. Now that Tang Yin intended to promote him to take charge of the Pingyuan Army, would these former superiors be willing to obey his orders? Xiao Muqing naturally had no confidence in this regard.

  This time Xiao Miaoqing sent Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong to launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp, it's hard to say whether he deliberately wanted to get them killed to avoid future troubles.

  In short, Pingyuan's army burned down the barbarian army's grain and fodder, while Zhang Zhou died in battle rather than surrendering, sacrificing his body for the country.

  As soon as the sky brightened, the barbarian army's attack on the city began again. This time, the attack was more ferocious than before. Having lost their grain and fodder, the barbarian army had been driven to a dead end and could not break into the city. They either had to retreat or starve to death outside the walls of Heng City.

  The First Legion lost 5,000 men and Zhang Zhou died in battle. His position was taken over by the original deputy commander of the legion, who lacked ability and whose command and mobilization were far from being as steady as Zhang Zhou's, directly leading to a doubling of pressure on the main gate of Heng City, which was almost entirely supported by Bai Yong's Second Legion.

  Against the barbarian army, there can't be any slightest negligence. Once a flaw appears, it's very hard to have another chance to make up for it. By noon, the main gate of Heng City on this side could no longer withstand the impact of the barbarian army. A large number of barbarian soldiers broke through the defensive line of the defending army and surged onto the city wall.

  Xiao Muqing and Qiu Zhen were also on this side of the main gate, watching as the barbarian soldiers charged forward. Everyone was shocked and pale with fear, even Xiao Muqing couldn't stay in the tower and personally came down to meet the enemy.

  He is not a pure scholar, nor a military general, has no spiritual martial arts skills, but has been through many battles and has real combat experience. If he encounters a few barbarian soldiers' joint attack, it's really hard to defeat him.

  On the battlefield, the most hated command for soldiers is "Charge for me", while the most welcome command is "Follow me to charge". The difference between leading troops to charge into battle and personally leading them to charge into battle is a completely different concept.

  Xiao Mqing as the commander-in-chief was fearless of life and death, personally took to the battlefield, which greatly boosted the morale of the Feng army.

  Under Xiao Miaoqing's lead, the Wind Army launched a counterattack against the barbarian troops who had broken through the city walls.

  Only to see the countless soldiers of both sides crowded on the city wall, you push me and I squeeze you, because the city wall is too narrow, and there are so many people on both sides that they can't even swing their weapons, and can only compare who has more strength, either pushing the opponent down the city wall or being squeezed down by the opponent.

  The barbarian army had just climbed to the top of the city wall, but they were at a disadvantage because they hadn't yet stabilized their footing. Some of them couldn't withstand the wind army's surging morale and were forced to retreat repeatedly, with people in the rear occasionally letting out miserable cries as they fell off the city wall.

  The barbarian soldiers were gradually unable to withstand, Xiao Mucqing also came in spirit, exerted his strength, and topped the front row of his own camp. He stabbed the enemy in front of him with his sword, while shouting loudly: "Brothers, add more strength, follow me to kill the enemy, avenge General Zhang!"

  Zhang Zhou, who indirectly died because of him, has now become a slogan for mobilizing his own soldiers' emotions.

  Upon hearing Xiao Miaoqing's words, the Feng Jun soldiers were filled with grief and indignation, loudly shouting in unison. Their original strength of 10% was transformed into 12%, as they joined forces to resist the barbarian army.

  At this time, the barbarian soldiers could no longer hold out.

  With great difficulty, the thousands of barbarian soldiers who had charged up onto the city walls were repelled by the nearly 20,000-strong Plain Army, and the barbarian soldiers who fell from the city walls were like snowflakes, while the corpses at the foot of the city wall had already formed a heap.

  Many barbarian soldiers fell to the ground but were not yet dead, only to be immediately crushed to death by their comrades who followed closely behind. The number of dead and wounded was too many to count, and the continuous wails and cries for help sent chills down people's spines.

  One side of the city suffered heavy losses, but the attack did not stop at all. Large numbers of barbarian soldiers, armed with steel knives, continued to climb up the city walls via cloud ladders, shouting and charging towards the defending army, cutting down enemies while being stabbed themselves until they were covered in blood and no longer human.

  Both sides are consuming each other continuously. At this time, the competition is no longer about combat power, but willpower. Whoever can grit their teeth and hold on may be the final winner.

  By about 4 pm, the Pingyuan army could no longer hold on.

  The Besa army's attack was too dense, and their soldiers were too fierce, like mad beasts, completely disregarding life and death. It seemed that the only thought left in their minds was to kill people. Under such intense attacks, the Pingyuan army used up all the defensive equipment on the city wall, and then it became a bloody hand-to-hand combat.

  Once close combat was engaged, the Pingyuan army was completely at a disadvantage and was killed by the barbarian soldiers, retreating in defeat.

  It is no longer just the main gate that is in danger, but all four walls of the city are in danger.

  Xiao Mqing was decisive and immediately ordered a retreat, abandoning the outer city wall and defending the inner city wall.

  At this time, the inner city wall built by the people of Hengcheng with great difficulty played a role.

  The outer city wall of Hengcheng is about 10 meters high, and the inner city wall is about 5 meters away from the outer city wall, with a height of over 6 meters. When retreating to the inner city wall, the height advantage was occupied by the barbarian army, which was indeed a helpless move.

  Because the distance between the two walls is too far, it is impossible to jump directly from the outer city wall to the inner city wall, but you can use a cloud ladder. The cloud ladder is erected on the outer city wall and can be directly connected to the inner city wall. Then the barbarian soldiers will rush along the cloud ladder to the inner city wall. It's easy to say, but it's too hard to do.