Several troops of Great Zhao Army were gathered here. These soldiers belonged to three big regiments; there were one million people in total. However... putting so many people in order was a taxing job!
"We must put the army in order. We must quickly retreat before something happens again." Long Ao spoke with a serious look on his face, "There’s no point in staying here. We’ll only get eroded by the enemy little by little. And, what if... our route of retreat gets blocked by the enemy? We will be done for if that were to happen..."
The other two generals nodded again and again.
In fact, the three of them understood that the majority of the Iron Cloud’s forces had been firmly contained on the main battlefield by the Great Zhao’s forces. Only a small part of Iron Cloud’s army was stationed here; and, they couldn’t leave their posts either.
Therefore, they certainly didn’t need to worry about their route of retreat getting blocked by the enemy. Long Ao only said that in an attempt to site ‘any’ suitable reason to withdraw his troops from here.
They were basically scared after they had had come across such a situation. They would rather go to the main battlefield and fight the enemy. They didn’t wish to stay here since they might have to face the falling boulders at any time!
"However, one of must stay behind in order to prevent Wu Kuang Yun from taking advantage of our withdrawal and launching a sudden attack." Jin Nankai looked at the other two and spoke, "Who will stay behind?"
"I will," Long Ao stated solemnly.
Jin Nankai and Yu Cheng Long looked at each other and nodded. Staying behind in the current situation might seem like a choice with the greater risk. However, the ones who stayed behind wouldn’t be in a danger of complete annihilation. On the other hand, the retreating troops would be faced with the danger of getting ambushed by the stones falling.
Though… there wasn’t enough a.s.surance of whether it would really happen or not.
The three generals quickly reached a decision — [we will first wait for the unrest to subside. Then, we will determine the safest time, and two forces would rush down the slanting valley at the fastest possible speed. Long Ao’s troops would retreat immediately-after!]
[Things would get a lot easier once we are outside the slanting valley!]
"It’s such a pity that we ended up facing such a difficult situation..." Yu Cheng Long heaved a deep sigh and said. He looked towards the Heaven Splitting Mountain Pa.s.s with a regretful look in his eyes. The other two also sighed.
This situation was very rare and unusual. The Iron Cloud’s forces had been contained tightly on the main battlefield. So much so, that they couldn’t even move an inch from there. And, Diwu Qing Rou had made such a clever plan to capture this side by deploying three army regiments at once. The total number of soldiers in these three regiments was over a million. They had closely pursued the enemy forces up the slanting valley, and all the way up to the Heaven Splitting Mountain Pa.s.s.
Heaven Splitting Mountain Pa.s.s was certainly called the strongest natural stronghold in the entire world. However, it wasn’t indestructible. Great Zhao’s army had a numerical advantage. They had been attacking day and night. And, they could’ve continued to attack persistently as long as the military supplies continued to arrive from the rear. They would’ve surely sustained several hundred-thousand casualties during the course of the attacks, and would’ve only been able to break through the Heaven Splitting Mountain Pa.s.s after several attempts. The sacrifice on Great Zhao’s end might seem ma.s.sive at first. However, it would’ve been worth it since these sacrifices would enable them to break through the Heaven Splitting Mountain Pa.s.s. They could’ve then opened up the path to capture the vast open lands for their own nation. It would have been such a ma.s.sive achievement for them!
In fact, these three desperado-generals had been a.s.signed to this mission to implement this very strategy! And, these three hadn’t intended to return without success when they had first entered this place.
They had been willingly to give it their best shot even if they had been at a serious disadvantage where they could’ve lost ten soldiers against one of Iron Cloud’s!
They had even started to notice the signs of fatigue on the faces of Iron Cloud’s defenders. They had realized that they only needed to continue strengthening their offensives. They would’ve found an opening in enemy’s defenses sooner or later. However, they were being forced to withdraw due to such unforeseen and inexplicable circ.u.mstances. This was very aggrieving.
It would be better to not waste any more time since they had already decided to retreat. The troops were ordered to prepare for retreat. The officers and soldiers had long been frightened by this horrifying phenomenon. So, they reveled when they received the order to retreat. Their spirits were aroused 100-times-over by this news. They wasted no time, and packed their stuff at a lighting speed. Everyone was dying to leave this place…
More than 90% of them swore in their hearts — [I will never come back here! I would rather knock my head against the wall and die. That’s better than dying in a place like this...]
.... ….
Meanwhile, Minister Chu was at the summit. He was chopping the mountain. The base of the mountain peak had nearly been emptied-out. It was an alarming sight since the peak was tottering. It seemed like it would fall any time now. Moreover, the excavation they had done on the rear side of the mountain peak was long, but its vertical width wasn’t too thick.
That was because Chu Yang didn’t want this humongous mountain peak to fall in the opposite direction; their efforts thus far would go in vain in that were to happen.
Afterwards, he dug some on the left and the right side as well. He only left a few-dozen-foot thick section in the middle to keep the peak attached.
Whenever the strong winds blew… it felt as if the peak would fall down...
Chu Yang used several big stones to provide support in the back. And then, he cut down a few big trees with long stems, and carefully placed them in the rear. He planned to use these big trees as crowbars. His plan was to use several crowbars to function as one big crowbar when used simultaneously. It would be easier to operate a few crowbars together than operating a big one alone…
In fact, the combined strength of these three people might not be enough to operate one big crowbar… especially since they already a bit tired. So, Chu Yang had no choice but to use this leverage-method. Their safety coefficient would increase since operating long crowbars would help them in staying far away from the peak. Moreover, the possibility of pus.h.i.+ng the mountain’s peak over would also increase by several times.
However, Chu Yang dug a big cave nearby. This would ensure their security. These three would immediately hide in that cave once the mountain peak would start to fall...
Chu Yang spoke in a loud voice once everything was ready, "Your Majesty, you first go hide far away from here. Don’t forget to plug your ears… so as to avoid any injury."
Tie Bu Tian immediately complied. He used body weight reduction technique, and rushed towards a distant spot. He arrived at a stretch of flat land about 1000 feet away, and stopped. His body looked like a small black spot to Chu Yang from the distance.
Then, Chu Yang waved his right hand and the three people started to use their strength together. They shouted the labor’s chant while they were at it, "One, two, three, push… push… pus.h.!.+"
The three people were working together. Each of them was holding a crowbar in their hands, and was slowly pressing it downward. They couldn’t use too much force from the start. They must probe a little in the start since they might not be able to handle the rebound if they applied too much force and the mountain peak accidentally started to sway. Moreover, they were standing on the rear side. So, the sudden upward thrust would fling them off the mountain, and they would crash down below...
The three of them applied the same amount of force, and realized that the mountain peak shook a little bit...
However, they had used their full strength this time. Chu Yang waved his hand, "Slowly, slowly stop applying the force. Don’t do it at once; do it slowly and gradually. Reduce your strength bit by bit..."
Chu Yang rushed forward as soon as the crowbars had returned to their original positions. It seemed like he had discovered something. He chopped out several big stones from the base, and then readjusted the point of the crowbars’ application. He then tossed the big stones to one side.
The two shadows saw him move back-and-forth under a megalith with an almost hollowed out base. They couldn’t help but be covered in cold sweat, [Minister Chu would instantly turn into a ma.s.s of blood if this megalith abruptly slammed down...]
[This guy is indeed very courageous!]
Chu Yang kept scuttling underneath the mountain peak with continuous ‘swoos.h.i.+ng’ sounds. The two shadows broke out in a cold sweat, [this b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He keeps truncating the base of the mountain peak… it’s not even 20 feet thick now...]
[So daring!]
Chu Yang quickly rushed back to his own position. Then, he checked the links again, and made some adjustments. After that, he held his crowbar and gave a hand signal, "Start!"
The three people slowly started to exert their force; in unison with each other’s actions.
The mountain peak slowly tilted. The spirits of the three king level experts were aroused by this sight. They mustered the entirety of their strength, and shouted out loud, "Down you go!"
They suddenly concentrated their strength, and pushed the crowbars down!
The mountain peak tilted forward in a super-slow motion, and began to topple over. It seemed like a towering giant was about to fall flat on his face… and it was happening in a super-slow motion.
"It’s done! Withdraw..." Minister Chu exclaimed as he let go of the crowbar in his hands and flew back with a ‘swoosh’. The three persons’ shadows issued ‘whoos.h.i.+ng’ sounds as they leapt here-and-there. They managed to cover a distance of 700-800 feet at an incredibly fast speed. Then, they quickly went inside the cave they had dug-up in advance...
The mountain peak toppled over. It tilted slowly until it reached half the inclination point. Then, it suddenly accelerated!
It finally landed on the ground!
BANG…
The surrounding mountains trembled fiercely!
The mountain peak slowly rolled over towards the cliff, and then slowly slid on to the slope below. It went rolling down from there... Boom! There was yet another tremor…
And then, the sounds gradually grew louder and more frequent… Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom…
It sounded like the G.o.d of thunder was playing drums. The entire Chun Yang Peak went somersaulting downwards. It seemed like a meteor was falling from a height of 9 Km; it thundered as it rolled down from the top of the mountain.
The mountains in the surrounding radius of several hundred kilometers were as if ‘disco dancing’. The mountains were trembling; particularly this mountain since this major event had occurred here. The superficial boulders jubilantly jumped tens of feet high. It seemed if they were competing with each other. Then, they followed after the Chun Yang Peak in abundance… and went down the mountain…
Such power and momentum were indeed world-shaking!
This great peak hadn’t even fallen halfway, and the effects it had caused so far were already equivalent to a scenario of an exceptionally ma.s.sive ‘mountain rockslide’. Moreover, this scenario was simultaneously taking place in the surrounding radius of 50 Km!
This was not a landslide! It was a falling megalith!
We often make the a.n.a.logy and say that it was a ‘mountain-high tsunami’ or it was an ‘earth shattering landslide’. However, how many of us have actually seen the ‘real’ ‘mountain-high tsunami’ or ‘earth shattering landslide’?
Undoubtedly, many people would at last get to see one. And, the Great Zhao Army in the slanting valley would in-particular get to see such a ‘rare beautiful sight’ with their own eyes. However, they would rather wish they had been born blind in this life than to see this ‘rare beautiful sight"!
.... ….
Jin Nankai and Yu Cheng Long finished organizing their troops. They bid farewell to Long Ao, and issued the military order to set out. The carriage wheels rattled, and the horses neighed. The bows and arrows were hanging on everyone’s waists. A military order must be strictly obeyed; no matter what. So, the soldiers rushed out.
The two tiger generals put on their full-body armors. Then, they turned around and mounted their horses. They rode to the forefront of the army with sullen looks on their faces. The soldiers formed rows, and queued up behind them. Then, the neat army formation started to retreat.
All of them were well-trained veteran soldiers. However, there was a look of terror and grief on their faces.
A dull atmosphere was prevalent in the army. The same could be said about the warhorses. They all hung their heads dejectedly, while their eyes looked lifeless. They covered more than 5 Km within no time. Then, they advanced for another few kilometers, and arrived in the section of the slanting valley where the fall had occurred.
Jin Nankai gave a meaningful glance to his men and shouted, "What are you men feeling dejected about? We are only retreating for the time being. We aren’t defeated yet! Sooner or later, we will come back! And at that time, this will be the territory of Great Zhao!"
He paused then said, "Everyone, raise your spirits. We must speed up and cross this section of the road in one vigorous effort; understood?"
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
"Good, now speed up. Let’s go!" Jin Nankai and Yu Cheng Long spurred their horses. The horses dashed forward with a ‘whoos.h.i.+ng’ sound. Even these two couldn’t wait to get out of this d.a.m.ned place...
At this time… an immensely dull and loud sound suddenly resounded, "Boom!"