Chapter 115: Desperate Battle

Chapter 115: Desperate Battle

Han Da looked at these people who were determined to die and felt a surge of admiration in his heart.

“What is your plan?”

The slave began to explain. The main idea was to dig pits near here. Each pit would have a small opening at the top and a wider bottom, and they would all be connected.

This was a technique often used in fights among the Turks.

The Turks had also made them dig these pits before, so all of these people knew how to dig them.

After listening to the slaves’ description, Han Da immediately remembered something he read in a book Xiao Ce had written for him. It described something called “scatter pits”.

The slaves said the biggest problem now was that they needed shovels. A lot of shovels!

Han Da said to them, “We have shovels. Enough for each of you to have one!”

As he spoke, Han Da ordered the soldiers on the city wall to hand over their entrenching shovels!

These small shovels were hastily made on Xiao Ce’s order by the people of the Four Prefectures and Thirty-Nine Cities of the Northern Desert. They were part of the standard equipment issued to each soldier.

Before this, Han Da had not fully understood the purpose of these entrenching shovels. After all, in combat, hitting someone with an entrenching shovel wasn’t as fast as cutting them with a sword.

But now, it seemed they were truly proving very useful.

Under Han Da’s command.

After the entrenching shovels were thrown down to them, these slaves, with one group holding up shields to block the enemy’s view.

The people behind the shields started digging pits again!

While they were busy, the Turks on the other side of the Horse Trap Pit were also busy!

Both sides were making intense preparations.

The main Turkic army had now fully advanced and was helping them cut down trees.

After they had fully deployed all their catapults, they were not in a hurry to attack.

Instead, they decided to wait until the road over the Horse Trap Pit was flat enough before launching a full-scale assault.

The two sides were at a stalemate for a while. Not long after, the sky gradually darkened.

These slaves were indeed experienced. Who would have thought that the hard labor the Turks forced them to do would now become one of their skills!

During the meal, Han Da was not stingy. He had good wine and meat sent down to them in a basket.

Han Da watched as the Turks opposite were also making fires and cooking meals.

He knew very well that this was likely the final battle for these slaves below the city wall.

“Everyone, you still have a chance to enter the city! The Turks’ posture suggests they are not willing to waste time here. They seem ready to push forward with their full force, aiming to decide everything in one battle! At that time, with no cover, facing those iron hooves, you would have no chance of survival!”

One of the slaves, drinking wine and eating meat, said, “General Han! They have so many troops. If the city walls are breached, will you run?”

Han Da on the city wall replied, “Unless I die! Otherwise, I will not let them breach the city! I promised the Prince, as long as I live, the city stands! Even if I die, the city must still stand! The moment tens of thousands of our defending soldiers entered Yanbei City, we had all written our wills to our families!”

Seeing this, the slaves said, “General Han, since we’re all going to die anyway! We won’t enter the city! We’ll hide in these pits, wait for them to come, then cut their horses’ legs! Then we’ll jump out and kill them by surprise! We’ve lived cowardly lives for years. Let’s fight them to the death! Killing one is breaking even, killing two is profit!”

“Right! If we enter the city, those Spies might cause trouble for you. We’ll stay outside! Let’s fight them to the death! Let’s do it!”

Han Da was visibly moved. “The Northern Desert will not forget you!”

…

Less than half an hour passed.

Mosi Ashina shouted from the side of the Horse Trap Pit, “Scum of the Xiao Kingdom on the other side, your time has come!”

“Brave warriors of the Turks! Eagles of the Turks, charge!”

With Mosi’s shout, the catapults were activated.

One by one, large stones were hurled from the catapults towards the shields outside the city walls.

Hearing the large stones slicing through the air with a sharp whistle, the slaves quickly shouted, “Dodge the stones…”

Boom, boom, boom…

Dozens of large stones immediately crashed down heavily in the direction of the slaves outside the city gate.

The falling stones caused violent tremors.

The earth shook.

The slaves burrowed underground like moles, getting a mouthful of mud.

Of course, some who were unlucky had the ground above them collapse, burying them alive.

For the second volley, they aimed at the positions on the city wall.

Under the cover of the catapult attack, their army placed tree trunks across the large Horse Trap Pit. In no time, they built a wide bridge there.

The Turks saw that the shields had all been smashed by the large stones. There were no living slaves visible on the ground outside the city.

Mosi Ashina laughed loudly: “Hahaha! Those bugs didn’t even leave corpses! They’ve all been smashed into pulp! Kill them!”

Shield Cavalry holding vine shields began to clear the way. The main army followed closely behind. A dark mass of Turkic cavalry surged forward like locusts.

Han Da on the city wall shouted fiercely: “All soldiers, shoot Flaming Arrows!”

All the defending soldiers shot Flaming Arrows soaked in Fire Oil!

The Flaming Arrows lit up the entire battlefield in red.

Most of this volley of Flaming Arrows were blocked by the vine shields, but the shields themselves caught fire.

The Turkic catapults never stopped.

Some soldiers were shooting arrows to block the enemy one second, and the next second their entire bodies were hit by a huge stone, losing half of themselves…

A soldier nearby immediately took over the bow and continued shooting.

The Shield Cavalry charged very fast. As the vanguard, they soon charged into a large flat area outside the city filled with pits.

Before they could react, the slaves hiding in the pits burrowed out like moles.

They slashed and cut the horses’ legs!

The Shield Cavalry fell from their horses. Seeing this, they held up their vine shields with one hand to guard against the defenders’ rain of arrows. With the other hand, they swung their heavy hammers, smashing them down hard on the heads of the slaves who had just emerged.

A head was instantly crushed in half. At that moment, another slave with a machete appeared behind them and slashed at the Shield Cavalry.

However, as the elite troops of the Ashina Tribe, their armor was extremely hard. A slash bounced off the armor.

The Shield Cavalry reacted, swung his heavy hammer, and with a backhand blow, knocked the slave to the ground.

Such scenes played out repeatedly on the battlefield. Four or five thin, weak slaves, determined to die, threw themselves at the tall, horse-mounted Shield Cavalry who were like giants.

The people on the city wall kept shooting at the flood of cavalry charging from the rear. Below, because they were all fighting in a melee, it was impossible to mount an effective attack!

The slaves used their own flesh and blood to desperately cling to these Shield Cavalry, preventing them from attacking the city walls!

“General Han, don’t worry about us anymore! These bastards’ armor is too hard! Use falling rocks to smash them! Pour Fire Oil! Don’t worry about us!” A slave who was desperately clinging to the heavy hammer in a Shield Cavalry’s hand screamed in pain. His face was already caved in.

“General Han, don’t worry about us! We can’t hold on much longer… We can’t die for nothing! These Shield Cavalry are too tough…”

The slaves were almost begging Han Da to unleash an all-out attack!

Because they had underestimated the attack power and defense of this elite force…

Seven or eight of them couldn’t even kill one Shield Cavalry. Though they were determined to die, it was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

They could only delay the rhythm of their attack.

Some slaves further back rushed to the base of the city wall and shouted: “General Han… pour Fire Oil on us! We’ll fight them to the death! We don’t want to die for nothing! We have to take at least one down with us! General Han! Give the order!”

Han Da on the city wall was now covered in blood. This blood was not his own, but that of the soldiers beside him.

A moment ago, a huge stone had struck the soldiers next to him, their flesh and blood splattering on him.

He listened to the agonized screams from below the wall and the pained cries from on the wall.

He had underestimated the intensity of the Turkic attack!

His face was grim, and his voice was almost a roar as he fiercely shouted:

“Prepare the Fire Oil! Pour it down the wall!”