The soldiers behind them looked at their comrades' miserable state with a trace of sorrow in their eyes, but there was nothing they could do. This was their fate. Most of them were just cannon fodder, and only a very small number could be promoted to become high-ranking officers.
There were people monitoring from behind. If you tried to escape, you would be killed on the spot. If you rushed up the city wall, you might have a chance to survive, but if you were caught, you would only face death.
Moreover, their military records have already been entered. If they are found to have deserted, they will not only die, but their families will also be beheaded. So this is the tragedy of the lower-ranking soldiers, and also the tragedy of the times!
Soldiers climbed the ramparts, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, shielding themselves from the falling stones and scalding oil. Even so, countless soldiers tumbled down the ramparts like dumplings being dropped into a pot, becoming part of the earth's surface. Those who survived were trampled to death in the battle involving hundreds of thousands, unable to rise again. Endless rebels surged upwards, but not a single one succeeded in breaching the walls. Those who did manage to reach the top were hacked to death by a few united defenders.
The Yinque faction, situated on higher ground, held an absolute advantage. It could be said that as long as Shanhaiguan Pass remained unconquered, they would be invincible.
Yin Henshui watched his soldiers die one after another, his heart breaking. This was his core force; if they were all wiped out, he was finished. So he turned to Lang Teng, who was still watching the show, and said, "We can't let only my men sacrifice themselves. You should also take action. If this continues, I'll withdraw my troops."
Lang Teng narrowed his eyes, reached into his robes, and pulled out a crystal skull. It was midday, and under the sunlight, the crystal skull shimmered with a purple light. The moment Yin Henshui saw this purple light, it was as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, a bone-chilling cold spreading from his spine to his tailbone throughout his body.
"What...what is this?" Yin Henshui shuddered and exhaled a cloud of white mist.
Wolf Teng ignored him, raised the crystal skull high, and chanted in the language of the grassland people: "Great Eternal Heaven, please grant us the power to smash this city gate."
As the incantation was recited, the purple light on the crystal skull grew stronger, and the temperature in the surrounding environment plummeted, covering it with a layer of frost. Amidst the shimmering purple light, an ice cone slowly condensed, white mist billowing around it. The ice cone grew larger and larger, eventually reaching a length of three zhang (approximately 13 meters) and a width of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters), with a sharp spike at its tip.
The light emanating from the crystal skull gradually dimmed, eventually becoming dull and colorless, as if it had turned from a crystal into stone. After the purple light ceased to emanate, the ice cone in the air finally took shape, measuring five zhang long and two zhang wide, resembling an enlarged version of a battering ram.
Wolf Teng stared at the ice spike, his expression complex. He recalled how the shaman had sacrificed himself for it, exchanging it with the great Eternal Heaven for this crystal skull. It was also on that occasion that he first saw the Eternal Heaven, that great and benevolent figure.
The enormous ice cones in the air, emanating a chilling aura, flew rapidly, driven by a mysterious force, their target the city gate.
Yin Que breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the rebels fail to breach the city walls. Suddenly, a purple light shone from where Lang Teng was, and a massive ice cone formed, flying towards the city gate.
The ice spikes were incredibly fast, piercing through several soldiers in their path in an instant. The splattered blood dripped onto the ice spikes and froze instantly. The ice spikes traced an arc in the air, arriving at the city gate in a flash, where they slammed into it with tremendous force.
Bang!
The massive icicles collided with the iron city gate, producing a deafening roar. The entire city wall began to tremble, as if groaning in agony. The shattered iron and ice fragments were propelled by the immense impact, slicing across the battlefield and piercing the bodies of several rebel soldiers, claiming their lives.
The once-solid city gate was breached, revealing a huge opening large enough for the army to enter and exit.
On the city wall, all the soldiers were shocked by the divine and demonic power. They were stunned for a moment and their heads were cut off by the rebels who climbed up the ladder. More and more rebels successfully climbed the city wall, and the original advantage disappeared and they fell into a disadvantage.
The cavalry, already prepared, brandished their whips, and the thunderous sound of hooves echoed across the battlefield, raising clouds of yellowish-brown dust. Even the sight of ten thousand horses galloping was insufficient to describe the magnificent scene.
All the cavalry slowly deployed into formation, like a bayonet about to pierce the flesh and blood of the Shang Dynasty.
"It's over!" When Yin Que saw the city gate being breached, his vision went black and he almost fainted. Fortunately, the eunuch next to him reacted in time and supported Yin Que, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Yin Que watched as the endless cavalry stirred up dust as they charged towards the city. Once they entered, tens of thousands of cavalrymen would surely carry out a massacre.
"Your Majesty, let's retreat first. As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback." Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the guards and officials beside him hurriedly advised Yin Que to run away.
"I am a sinner of the Great Shang! Why do these grassland people possess such divine powers? Is Heaven going to destroy my Great Shang?" Yin Que cried out, looking up in disbelief that the barbarians he once looked down upon had acquired such divine power.
"Where is the immortal? Has the immortal arrived?" As if grasping at the last straw in the water, Yin Que grabbed the messenger eunuch beside him and asked anxiously.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I have already sent someone over, but there has been no reply yet." The messenger eunuch said tremblingly, feeling somewhat frightened as he looked at Yin Que's frenzied appearance.
"It's over, it's over..." Yin Que collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected. With the fall of Shanhaiguan, the Shang Dynasty had been essentially swept into its heartland, leaving it utterly defenseless. The remaining hundreds of thousands of troops were preparing to besiege the grassland cavalry and the rebel army led by Yin Henshui, and within a day, they would be completely annihilated.
Upon seeing the Yin Palace protected by the Imperial Guards, a pair of cavalrymen shouted, and a large number of cavalrymen charged towards the Yin Palace.
"Heaven is going to destroy me!"
Yin Que sighed, picked up the sword tucked at his waist. Since he could not defend his territory, it would be better to die on the battlefield; that would be his final resting place.
"Your Majesty, do not panic, this humble Taoist priest has arrived!"
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Chapter Sixty: The Monster (I'll be busy in August, so I'll only be updating once a day for now)
(I have a draft, so I don't have to worry about it getting published.)
The white bone mask monster that Wolf Teng had transformed into took a few steps back in fear when it saw Xu Le floating in the air.
As the masked monster retreated, it bumped into a grassland dweller standing behind it. Upon seeing that its king had turned into a monster, the creature collapsed to the ground, trembling with fear.
The monster was on guard against Xu Le attacking it when it noticed the trembling grassland man beside it. It didn't want to pay attention to him, but a desire surged within it and instantly took over its mind.
Eat him!
Under the control of this will, the monster's huge skeletal hand gripped the head of the grassland man beneath its feet, its mouth opening to reveal two rows of sharp, white teeth.
Take a sudden, deep breath!
The captured grassland man wailed incessantly as the blue light slowly detached from his body and was sucked into the air by the skeletal monster.
The light slowly seeped into the skeleton monster's body, and the originally cold white bones began to have a touch of color, turning golden.
The grassland people, held captive by the monster, began to age at a visible rate. Their skin lost its elasticity and became loose. Their once black hair was instantly covered with gray hair. Their faces were covered with dense age spots, and their teeth began to fall out. A strong young warrior had entered old age.
Having tasted the sweetness of victory, the skeletal monster charged into the crowd, grabbed a grassland dweller who was trying to escape, and began to drain their life force.
Xu Le floated in the air, his gaze playful, and did not stop it. Instead, he watched with great interest as the monster continuously devoured the life force of the grassland people and rebels. With each person's life force consumed, the monster's aura grew stronger.
The skeleton gradually grows larger under the influence of this abundant vitality, and its color changes from white to gold.
"Your Majesty, wake up!" A loyal guard rushed forward, trying to wake Lang Teng, but Lang Teng, who had already been swallowed by the mask, sucked him dry in one gulp.
It is truly ironic that the king of this grassland tribe has begun to slaughter his own people.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, this masked monster had devoured hundreds of people, grown to be three zhang tall, and its white bones seemed to be plated with a layer of golden light.
At this point, the monster seemed no longer satisfied with devouring them one by one. After letting out a roar, countless black tentacles spread from its mask, piercing through the fleeing rebels and steppe people, draining their life force.