474 To Each Their Own Clever Stratagem (1/2)

The Steel Cavalry tried their utmost best to charge over and destroy what had been piled under the fort, but the Shadow Cavalry tried equally hard to stop them. They did not mind sending a bigger number of cavalrymen than the Steel Cavalry would be willing to in order to obstruct the latter. They did not mind fighting back by expending lives.

Qiu Jianhan sighed softly, ”Retreat. Our initial target can't be achieved. Han Sanhe will never allow this to be destroyed. Insisting on doing so will only cause more Steel Cavalry casualties.”

Fu Baoguo was taken aback upon hearing him.

However, before Fu Baoguo could deliver his command, the horn from the opposite side was blown again.

Dongxuan's troop moved like they had earlier, carrying all sorts of things and charging over; they piled them up and the fire soared once again.

A large gush of water cascaded down from the top of the fort.

Qiu Jianhan had ordered for the cold water to be poured before the other side shot flaming arrows but after repeating it twice, he gave up his efforts. Not only was it unbeneficial, it was actually harmful as the large gush of water would further shake the Fortress of Resilience's foundation.

On this day, Dongxuan's troop charged seven separate times. The gong to withdraw was only hit when the sky was turning dark.

Other than the Shadow Cavalry, all of Dongxuan's troop retreated.

Throughout the day, Qiu Jianhan's command for the Steel Cavalry to charge the bottom of the fort was almost impossible to be executed. Only one out of the dozens of advances was successful due to the Shadow Cavalry's desperate defensive manoeuvres; that single time barely did any damage to the pile of things by the wall under the fort.

As night fell and the weather turned colder, the items that were not entirely reduced to as eventually condensed and froze into a solid lump. There was no way to destroy them unless they could unleash a strong blow from an even stronger force. The Steel Cavalry's charge was practically useless and all that could be done was to sigh.

It was also then that Fu Baoguo was struck with a sudden realization. An indescribable fear gripped his heart.

The so-called divine trick of the century, the so-called invincible ice fortress, was only an illusion. Not only did it have a good number of potential risks, it could be borrowed to be used as the enemy's strength. More importantly, would the world's most indestructible fort cease to exist because of this war?

Looking at the charred lumps that stretched dozens of miles by the fort wall, Fu Baoguo felt chills running through him, yet all of his blood had surged to his head. The vertigo and stars that met his vision, as well as the insufficient rest from prolonged fatigue, caused him to stagger.

”Do you understand now? The invincible fortress of ice is only an emergency tactic that provided temporary relief!” Qiu Jianhan watched Fu Baoguo with a grim expression.

Fu Baoguo opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but felt as if a burning charcoal was lodged in his throat; the searing pain caused him to speak with great difficulty, ”I understand…”

”This is Han Sanhe's stratagem, the strategy of the continent's top marshal!” Qiu Jianhan sighed, ”The Fortress of Resilience is destined to fall. I just didn't expect that the first defeat of this fort would actually be in my hands… This eternal humiliation… I wonder if I can carry it…”

Chills coursed through Fu Baoguo, his mind was a chaos of thoughts, rendering him speechless.

Perhaps it was a curse, perhaps it was a nightmare, or maybe it was both. It any case, the seven days that followed saw Yutang and Dongxuan repeating the same rhythm over and over again.

The flames rose, the water was poured and the flames were extinguished.

The flames rose again and it was put out again.

Rinse and repeat.

The seven cycles on the first day were actually the least attacks that had been launched.

Practice makes perfect; the idiom was particularly suitable to the current situation.

The materials that did not burn in entirety under the fort grew in amount and size, piling up higher; they were already indestructible in such wintery weather. As the slope gradually took shape, it was slowly becoming a small ice hill.

Everyone in the fort understood the situation now, and everyone was shockingly grim. There was no one who did not understand what Han Sanhe was going to do and what his ultimate goal was.

Perhaps they did not need to wait until the weather turned warmer; the Fortress of Resilience would have fallen before a breach appeared, just from the repeated thawing and freezing. The ice hill formed by the accumulating items was enough to build a path to attack the fortress!

The lump had formed a passage between the Fortress of Resilience and the outside world.

The massive number of soldiers, the endless resources available from the surrounding mountains, and the icy weather itself had become Han Sanhe's tools in his current plan of attack.