Chapter Seven: Abandoned by Heaven
The sun came out, the stars hid and the black night disappeared.
One Qin sentry woke up in the morning and came out of the tent. He took vegetable soup that had some minced meat added from a heated pot outside the tent, tore a few pieces of bread, and then had a full meal.
When he climbed onto the arrow turret to replace the previous sentry to look at Tianqi City, there was even a hint of sympathy in his contented gaze.
Tianqi City was one of the most important cities of the Chu Dynasty on the Yin Mountain border. Yet as Sima Cuo led two hundred thousands in, with multiple consecutive ambushes, they had cut off this place from the other Chu border cities.
Now, Tianqi City was a lone city under siege, and even many Qin soldiers called this city the “city abandoned by the heavens”.
The Chu military were pressed to the point they had to retreat. This city was fated to be abandoned. After being under siege for many days, there had been high fatalities among the Chu army in the city. They were not just short on food but also drinking water.
The Qin Dynasty’s power was far greater than before. This was not just in the number of cultivators in the army, the ordinary soldiers could even feel it from the food. Thinking as to how well he had eaten for the first meal, and the Chu people in the city could only fill their bellies with tree bark and roots, this Qin soldier felt some sympathy.
But even so, the Chu soldiers in this abandoned border city still appeared very stubborn. In the past several days, Qin troops three times their number had mounted fierce attacks a dozen times, and even some powerful cultivators had charged onto the streets of the city. Relying on some seal weapons, the Chu military, or rather, the Chu people, managed to hold on to the city.
When this Qin sentry thought of this, the sympathy in his gaze disappeared, turning into graveness. In the next moment, his face turned stiff, and his eyes filled with shock.
There were many unusual reflections and smoke appearing on the distant horizons. Some golden reflections and smoke was the signal means of the Qin army, and should come from the vanguard of the army. More of the reflections came from the armor and the weapons, and the lights of the seal weapons when they gathered primal energies of the universe!
Black cavalry started to fill his sight. There were at least ten thousand cavalry coming towards the city. From a seal weapon on the turret that could improve his sight, the Qin soldier saw that there were almost an endless stream of chariots behind the cavalry.
To his shock, there were many large seal weapons being dragged by the chariots, towering like little mountains or like ships and palaces moving on the ground.
Sentries like him had the duty of immediately warning when he had spotted the enemy, but now, he was not needed. Because he was not the sentry at the very front. Even more importantly, the golden light and smoke that had rose before had warned all the Qin soldiers here this was a small Chu army, but a large one!
The turrets of Tianqi City were naturally taller than the temporary arrow turrets that the Qin troops had built, and so the Chu soldiers on the walls could see more clearly.
Seeing the army coming towards them, especially seven metal statues of celestials that were dozens of feet tall, these Chu soldiers were very shocked. These enormous statues were made from bronze, and were covered with dense blue lines.
Each metal statue had nine chariots below it, and each chariot had multiple cultivators. Among these cultivators, there was a person who held a bronze seal weapon shaped like a short stick.
This was the strongest seal weapons of the Chu Dynasty “Flying Heavens.” Each of these seal weapons needed nine realm six cultivators to activate, and each attack far surpa.s.sed the power of ordinary realm seven cultivators. There were only sixteen of such seal weapons, and they only existed in the main Chu army.
So this was not a strategic counterattack, but a final battle of the main armies!
Looking down from the sky, Tianqi City had become a nail on the battle line of the Qin army.
The Qin army were mostly dressed in black robes and armor, a sea of black. The Chu army were mostly dressed in bronze armor like a green river.
On a distant plain far from Tianqi City, the place where the pillars of light and the burning smoke came from, the vanguard of the Qin army had already started to fight the Chu army vanguard.
Seal weapons, arrows, blood, limbs, and metal pieces were dancing in the air. The Qin army which had not been prepared enough were constantly retreating under the mad attacks of the Chu army.
On the sand table in the Qin army central tent, Tianqi City was just a relatively large flag. The tent which had been empty usually was filled with the high ranking Qin generals and strategists, waiting for the orders of Sima Cuo who had a dark expression.
Sima Cuo’s gaze swept across many places, and he plucked up many flags. In the end, his gaze fell on Tianqi City.
“Before night, I want this central tent to be moved into the city.” After a long silence, he ordered.
A Qin general suddenly stopped breathing. He had followed Sima Cuo more many years, but he knew that the orders meant they were going to face the resistance of almost three hundred thousand soldiers, as they pressed on to breach Tianqi City before night.
“Why?”
While they could not go against Sima Cuo’s orders, he could not help but ask.
“The Chu army do not have enough food, and when they advance madly like this, their food and seal weapon supply cannot keep up.”
Sima Cuo looked up and glanced at him coldly, saying, “But I did not expect Tang Mei to dare to do this. As long as the Chu army keeps on winning, our food and seal weapons will become their supplies. From the present situation, we are going to lose everything. We have to stop the Chu charge so that there is time for our other armies to move. Otherwise, with his superior forces, he will take the main army. Tianqi City is the only defense place within a hundred miles. You should know how this Tianqi City managed to stop our army. If we breach the city before dark, we can set up defenses in the city, and stop the Chu army advance. The armies along the way will be killed by the Chu army, but compared to the only winning opportunity, this sacrifice is worth it.”
Sima Cuo would only speak a lot when teaching Fusu. Usually, when commanding the war and talking to his subordinates, he was few of words. His abnormality right now caused the generals in the tent to know that even Sima Cuo … was very nervous.
“I will go.”
A cultivator with shoulder-length hair who looked like a strategist spoke from a corner of the tent. He wore black robes, but his collar was very high and the shadow covered his face.
When he spoke, many cold and dark presences surged out of the shaded corners of the tent. Many black flowers formed, and the pupils of some of the realm seven cultivators in the tent contracted.
Sima Cuo did not look at him and just nodded. “Thank you, Sir.”