Chapter 626: Initial Predicament

Chapter 626: Chapter 626: Initial Predicament

It was still before dawn, but the entire military camp was already in full swing. One after another, flash talismans were shot into the sky, scattering sheets of white light that made the pitch-dark early morning bright as day.

The dense ranks of soldiers were already standing atop the surrounding ramparts, and behind the walls stood one catapult after another, each loaded with stone projectiles. Three people stood beside each catapult, their roles clear: one loaded, one aimed, and one hammered and maintained the array atop the machine.

Additionally, Shen Hao finally caught sight of the cultivators from Jingying Prefecture within the camp. Their numbers far exceeded what Shen Hao had initially expected.

Just on the way from his own tent to Cheng Jinhou’s main tent, Shen Hao spotted no fewer than thirty Jingying Prefecture cultivators, the lowest of whom were at the post-Gathering Spirit Realm. As for the highest cultivation present, Shen Hao could not discern it clearly.

Moreover, Shen Hao’s group was thoroughly inspected three times along the way. Right before approaching the main tent, Captain Xu and all the soldiers under his command were stopped and made to wait at the camp’s drill ground, with only Shen Hao’s three personal guards allowed to follow further.

"Inspector Chief Officer and Chief of Miscellaneous Affairs Shen Hao reporting to the General!" After being announced inside, Shen Hao stood aside, ready to receive orders, while also observing everyone in the tent, especially the two cultivators standing to the left and right of Cheng Jinhou.

The man to the left wore an accessory at his waist from the Celestial Toad Sect. He was rumored to be a Profound Sea Realm Second Layer Elder of the Celestial Toad Sect, surnamed Wu—thus, he must be the third elder of the Celestial Toad Sect, Wu Yuan, a man of considerable status within the sect.

The one on the right was a mature, charming beauty whose allure had not faded. Dressed in a fitted white martial outfit, she exuded heroic spirit. At her waist hung an ornament from the Valley of Love Flowers. Her surname was Yuan; thus, she must be Yuan Qingyun, the second elder of Hundred Flowers Valley.

Cheng Jinhou sat in the center, with a row of officers below, all awaiting his orders.

The situation was urgent, so everything was said in a few words; each officer’s assignment had been determined long before. If Cheng Jinhou had no further adjustments, things would proceed according to plan. Thus, tasks were assigned swiftly, and in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, over half the tent had emptied.

"The rest, follow me to the lookout tower!"

The so-called lookout tower was a tall wooden structure in the center of the camp—the highest point in all the camp. Usually, it served as a vantage supplementing the four corner watchtowers; in combat, it was also the commander-in-chief’s high ground for observing the entire camp. However, when Cheng Jinhou announced they were climbing the lookout tower, most of those in the tent—including both Profound Sea Realm cultivators—showed displeasure, seemingly in disagreement. Yet Cheng Jinhou’s aura at that moment was powerful and authoritative; none dared voice their dissent against the commander’s wartime decision.

Of course, Shen Hao followed along as well.

Fortunately, the lookout tower was spacious, with several floors sufficient to accommodate dozens of people standing by level. Because of his special position, Shen Hao stood with Cheng Jinhou at the very top, while Chen Zifang took position on the floor below.

As the field of vision opened up, Shen Hao felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head, his breath quickened, his eyes widened, and his hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist.

By the light of the flash talismans in the sky, Shen Hao—for the first time—truly saw what it meant for "soldiers to be before the city," what it meant for a "vast army pressing at the border."

It was like a thick, black cloud rolling in from afar, three directions consumed by darkness.

Could it be more than twenty thousand?

Though he had no exact count, Shen Hao guessed inwardly, confident that the number of Barbarian Race people encircling the camp would not be fewer than twenty thousand.

"Order flag! Let them approach within a thousand paces. Tell those maintaining the array not to act rashly."

Standing beside Cheng Jinhou were five order flag officers. According to his command sequence, they relayed orders in turn. Shen Hao watched as the first officer stood at the edge of the tower, waving his command flag with broad gestures. Then, a special mana fluctuation from the flag instantly synchronized the command to its intended target—almost no delay at all.

But Shen Hao didn’t understand why Cheng Jinhou would give such an order. It was said the catapults had a range of fifteen hundred paces, nearly three li—so why deliberately shrink the engagement distance?

Puzzled but not daring to ask, Shen Hao widened his eyes, sensing that he would soon see Cheng Jinhou’s reasoning firsthand.

Because the camp was a fixed target, the closer the Barbarian Race approached, the more they would inevitably be forced together, increasing the density of their formation right outside the walls. In this way, the killing effectiveness of the catapults’ stone projectiles was, in effect, improved.

It was a simple enough logic. Watching, Shen Hao quickly figured it out, quietly realizing that there truly was much to learn within the intricacies of military operations.

Originally, Shen Hao thought the Barbarian Race would press forward in a loose skirmish, but in reality, they were not as brainless as he’d imagined. Having fought many battles, they’d already grasped the methods. At around two thousand paces from the walls, their formation began to split. Most stood in simple ranks without moving, while the rest advanced onward in a more scattered formation.

Was this echeloned assault?

Furthermore, the Barbarian Race was not without siege equipment. Iron was likely scarce, but giant wooden shields were not in short supply.

Large shields half a zhang wide, enough to cover two people at once, allowed pairs to rush swiftly toward the camp walls, soon breaching the thousand-pace limit recently set by Cheng Jinhou.

Once inside a thousand paces, there was no need for further command. The catapults, already adjusted for high arcs, began to release. Ten-jin stone bullets were launched in high trajectories, slated to land around eight hundred paces from the walls.

The stones were not all angular and sharp, but were deliberately shaped to be relatively smooth and rounded. This was not for beauty, but because less angular projectiles were more likely to bounce or roll forward upon landing, turning point-target killing into point-and-line linear damage.

The mechanisms of these catapults operated at astonishing speed. From loading to firing took less than five breaths, and there were many of them—by Shen Hao’s rough estimate, there must have been no fewer than three hundred in view.

Besides stones, some flaming balls were also hurled out. These fireballs were not meant for lethal effect, but rather as illumination at varying distances, preventing the enemy from slipping by during the intervals when sky-borne flash talismans flickered out.

"Order flag! Earth Spike Array, activate!"

Although the catapults had long range, their area of effect was limited. While they could suppress the advancing Barbarians, it was hard to cause effective widespread casualties. Only at a hundred paces would crossbows come into range—which, by then, meant the fighting was almost hand to hand. Therefore, another tactic was employed prior to that range.

As soon as Cheng Jinhou’s words fell, another order flag officer waved his flag, sending the command via specialized mana fluctuations.

In the next instant, by the light of the sky’s flash talismans and flaming projectiles, Shen Hao saw: the once-ordinary ground suddenly changed, as arm-thick stone pillars, over three feet long, erupted forth at astonishing speed—so fast that even Shen Hao’s sharp eyes could barely follow them.

The sight made Shen Hao clench his fist tightly. His previously rushed breathing calmed a bit. For the previously pitch-black, massed ranks of Barbarian scattered troops near the camp wall, an enormous patch was instantly "petrified" in place.