Chapter 69: The Battlefield Resembles a Living Hell

The barrage of arrows from the Wei army did nothing to halt the Qin army's assault. On the contrary, the sense of danger only made them quicken their pace. Only by rushing through the zone of arrow fire could they hope to survive.

On the city wall, Liu Xuanba's expression grew grim. This wave of Qin troops was trouble. “Old Wang, our walls are low and weak. I fear we cannot hold long,” he muttered privately, preferring to call Wang Xiu by his familiar nickname.

But Wang Xiu remained confident. “Though our position is not strong, it is still a position. The Qin are many, but they can only attack from this side, and they lack fine siege engines.”

Liu Xuanba thought this made sense. Wang Xiu watched the approaching Qin soldiers and continued, “If the Qin want to take this place, it will not be easy.”

Liu Xuanba’s worries were somewhat allayed by Wang Xiu’s words. He did not consider victory certain, but he was ready to test his mettle against the Qin. Judging from their formation and disciplined advance, Liu Xuanba could tell these were the main forces of Qin, not mere local troops.

He felt some regret at having been transferred from the central army, denied a chance to fight the Qin head-on. Now that the Qin had come to him, he was eager to prove himself.

“Let me see whether the brave warriors of Great Wei are mightier, or whether the armored soldiers of Qin are sharper,” Liu Xuanba murmured.

The Wei archers continued to rain arrows, but their effectiveness diminished. The Qin soldiers, now moving faster and further apart, adapted to the chaos and most of the iron-tipped arrows missed their marks.

“Brothers, faster!” a Qin officer shouted among the ranks.

Only once they reached the wall would the Wei archers be rendered useless.

“Kill!” The Qin soldiers drew their swords and spears, shouting with a momentum that shook the field.

Witnessing his men’s ferocious charge, Zhai Quan, commanding from behind, shouted his approval. If only he had a war drum at hand, he would have beaten it himself to bolster their spirits.

The Qin drew ever closer to the walls, their charge growing wilder.

“Kill!”

On the wall, Liu Xuanba ordered the archers to withdraw and rest, bringing up the infantry in their place.

“Brothers, draw your treasured swords, raise your long spears! For Great Wei—kill!” Liu Xuanba stood high, raising his sword and shouting.

A chorus of blades unsheathing echoed below. Over seven hundred Wei soldiers gripped their swords and spears, their eyes fixed on Liu Xuanba, their general.

“Brothers, for Great Wei, for the prince—kill!” Liu Xuanba’s voice thundered, stirring the blood of every man.

“Kill!” the Wei soldiers roared back, their courage set ablaze. The force of their cry shook even the Qin’s peak assault, causing a moment’s hesitation.

“Valiant men of Qin, let us share the nation’s peril!” shouted an officer among the Qin.

“Valiant men of Qin, let us share the nation’s peril!” The Qin’s own battle cries renewed their strength, their conviction surging ever higher.

Within the Qin ranks, Wei Xing watched his men’s overwhelming momentum and laughed. “Ha! The Wei rabble cannot withstand a single blow from the soldiers of Great Qin!”

But Zhai Quan frowned, less optimistic. “This will be a bloody fight,” he thought, though he remained confident of victory.

By now, the Qin had set their scaling ladders against the walls. Lacking proper preparation, the Wei defenders had only a few rocks gathered in haste and no logs or stones fit for defense.

Seeing the ladders in place, the Wei soldiers tried to push them away with their spears, but with little effect. When all the throwables were gone, the Qin began to climb.

The low walls made scaling easy, and soon the Qin reached the parapet. In the next instant, they were met by waiting Wei soldiers, who pierced their chests with blades and spears.

Each Qin who fell was replaced by another, but those who reached the top rarely escaped death. Even so, they clung fiercely to the weapons impaled in their bodies, dragging sword or spear down with them as they fell.

This forced the Wei to replenish their weapons, and the resulting gaps inevitably weakened their defense.

At last, some Qin made it onto the wall, swords drawn and attacking. But these first over the wall were quickly cut down by Wei soldiers who outnumbered them several times over.

“Kill!” Liu Xuanba roared again. With Qin soldiers already on the wall, close combat was at hand, and he had to inspire his men.

“Kill!” At his shout, the Wei soldiers rallied, swinging their swords with renewed strength.

But the Qin’s frenzy was unimaginable. Far from being discouraged, their comrades’ deaths only fueled their ferocity.

“Slaughter the Wei dogs!” a Qin officer screamed, his voice tearing through the din.

Like men possessed, the Qin stormed the wall, their actions more agile and desperate.

Soon the Wei defense faltered at the flanks; the Qin had truly breached the wall, and the most desperate phase began—hand-to-hand combat.

Though the Qin were on the wall, they were outnumbered and pressed into the corners, unable to advance.

A cacophony of clashing steel and agonized screams filled the air. Bodies tumbled from the walls like dumplings in a pot—few could hope to survive such falls.

On the wall, whether Wei or Qin, every face was twisted with frenzy, each man intent only on killing the enemy before him. Glory and reward no longer mattered; their only thought was to cut down the foe.

Some screamed in madness, but were quickly hacked down in the melee. Here, in this carnage, anyone losing his wits was doomed.

After splitting open a Qin skull with his heavy sword, Liu Xuanba looked around. The parapet was strewn with corpses and severed limbs, both Qin and Wei. Life here was as insignificant as grass; none could escape death’s maw. The blood-soaked walls had become a living hell.

Liu Xuanba leapt into the fray. Felling another Qin soldier, he shouted, “Warriors of Great Wei, use your swords and thrash these western barbarians!”

“Kill the Qin!” The Wei soldiers’ fighting spirit soared, their courage and vigor flaring anew.

Outnumbered atop the wall, the Qin were swept back by this new wave. Their position weakened with every moment.

“Brothers, one final push—drive the Qin off the wall!” Liu Xuanba fought with growing fervor.

This was the battle he had longed for—especially since victory was within reach.

Soon, as the Wei pressed forward, the Qin were finally forced from the wall.

Watching the retreat, the Wei soldiers cheered in triumph.

“Victory!”

On the other side, Wang Xiu, utterly exhausted, sank heavily to his knees.

“Old Wang, we’ve won!” Liu Xuanba ran over and grasped his shoulder.

Wang Xiu managed a smile, stood, and said quietly, “Yes, we have won.”

Yet Wang Xiu knew in his heart that this was only a probing attack from the Qin. The true challenge was yet to come.