Chapter 81

Outside the city walls, as Gongsun Zan heard the thunderous shouts of the Yuan army, his face could not help but change slightly, as if intimidated by the Yuan army's morale.

In the next moment, Gongsun Zan regained his disdain and said coldly, "You, little thief Yuan Fang, do you think that a loud voice can reverse the disadvantage? Truly overestimating yourself. Attack the city!"

Boom, boom, boom!

In the ranks of the Youzhou army, dozens of oxhide drums were fiercely beaten, shaking the earth.

Encouraged by the drumming of their own army, the morale of the Youzhou soldiers soared, and their shouts of battle rose to the sky, gradually drowning out the shouts of the Yuan army on the city walls.

Hundreds and thousands of Youzhou soldiers, shouting, climbed up the cloud ladders, advancing towards the city walls of Pingyuan.

The battle began on the city walls.

In the northeast direction of the city wall, a Youzhou army hook ladder was the first to reach the battlements, with the sickle at the top firmly hooking onto the wall.

As soon as the hook ladder was in place, the Youzhou army's sword and shield bearers climbed up fearlessly.

Seeing this, Yuan Fang shouted sternly, "Throw stones, crush their heads!"

The defending Yuan army was well-prepared, and they began to throw large stones, the size of human heads, down.

The stones whistled down, and the Youzhou soldiers who could not dodge were knocked off the hook ladders. In the cries of pain, the enemies, with bloodied heads, fell from the several-zhang-high city walls, all landing in a bloody mess.

Under the dense bombardment of the Yuan army's stones, the Youzhou army suffered over a hundred casualties in a short time, and their attempt to climb the city walls was thwarted.

Wang Men, who was running back and forth below the city, could not help but become furious and shouted, "Where are the archers? Suppress the enemy!"

Along the moat, nearly two thousand Youzhou army archers, under the cover of shield bearers, shot arrows upwards at the Yuan army on the city walls, hoping to suppress the Yuan army's counterattack with a dense rain of arrows.

Arrows like locusts rose into the air, continuously hitting the Yuan soldiers who showed their heads. Some fell dead on the city walls, while others fell to the ground, mixing with the enemy's corpses.

The momentum of the Yuan army's counterattack was immediately suppressed, and a large number of Youzhou soldiers took the opportunity to force their way up the city walls.

In the northeast corner, under the dense rain of arrows, more than ten Yuan soldiers were shot down one after another. The subsequent soldiers could not fill the gaps in time, and the defense in the northeast corner was significantly weakened.

Taking advantage of this gap, the attacking Youzhou soldiers climbed up more quickly. Several skilled enemy sword and shield bearers quickly reached the city walls.

Gongsun Zan, watching the battle from outside the city, could not help but laugh wildly, "Yuan Fang, the little thief, truly knows nothing about warfare. In less than a quarter of an hour, my army has climbed onto the city walls. It seems that in less than an hour, Pingyuan will be mine."

The Youzhou generals around him all laughed heartily, all full of confidence, believing that the fall of Pingyuan was imminent.

Zhao Yun muttered to himself, "This Yuan Fang is not so simple. If you underestimate him, you will suffer a great loss..."

In the center of the north gate, Yuan Fang stood proudly, calmly directing the battle.

Seeing the danger at the northeast corner of the city wall, Yuan Fang's eyebrows furrowed, and he rushed over with his skull-crushing staff.

With a low whistle, the 92-jin heavy staff in his hand swung like a wheel.

Screams suddenly arose.

How could those Youzhou soldiers be a match for Yuan Fang? In the sound of shields shattering, the enemy soldiers who had climbed onto the city walls were all knocked and scattered by Yuan Fang's heavy staff.

With his divine strength, Yuan Fang single-handedly repelled the enemy soldiers, stabilizing the situation at the northeast corner.

Then, Yuan Fang roared, his muscles bulging, and he pushed the hook ladder on the battlements with his heavy staff.

Yuan Fang, who had reached the Condensation Membrane realm, combined with his explosive strength that did not fear muscle damage, instantly exerted an astonishing force, pushing the several-zhang-high hook ladder, which had seven or eight people on it, out.

In the shrill screams, the hook ladder whistled down, and the several-hundred-jin weight hit the ground with a loud thud, crushing the Youzhou soldiers who could not dodge into a bloody pulp.

The danger at the northeast corner was thus resolved.

The Yuan army soldiers, seeing their young master's bravery, were greatly encouraged, their fighting spirit soaring, and they launched a fierce counterattack against the enemy.

After half an hour of intense fighting, the Youzhou army suffered nearly five hundred casualties, and the walls, stained with blood, turned red. The bodies at the base of the walls piled up high.

The fierce attack of the Youzhou army was suppressed by Yuan Fang's calm command.

In the Youzhou army, Zhao Yun, seeing the prolonged attack without success, could not help but say, "It seems Yuan Fang was well-prepared. If we continue to attack like this, we will only suffer more casualties. My lord, I suggest we temporarily withdraw and plan for the long term."

Zhao Yun's well-intentioned advice only irritated Gongsun Zan. He snorted and said angrily, "I will not give up until I capture Pingyuan. Give Wang Men another five thousand troops and continue the attack."

Gongsun Zan, ignoring the advice, not only refused to withdraw but also added five thousand more troops to the attack.

Wang Men, who had initially been frustrated by the attack, was invigorated by the arrival of reinforcements, and he encouraged the soldiers to continue the fierce attack.

Nearly twenty thousand Youzhou soldiers, stepping over the bodies of their comrades, launched another fierce attack on Pingyuan.

On the city walls, Yuan Fang, his battle robe stained with blood, stood like a mountain, his skull-crushing staff dripping with blood, and his red cloak fluttering in the wind.

Behind him, the "Yuan" banner stood firm.

Facing the second round of fierce attacks by the Youzhou army, Yuan Fang showed no fear, remaining calm and continuing to direct the counterattack.

One by one, the cloud ladders and hook ladders were overturned, and countless enemy soldiers were pushed off the city walls. Logs and stones whistled down, and dense arrows rained down on the enemy.

After half an hour of fierce fighting, under Yuan Fang's command and the hard-fought battle of the soldiers, not a single enemy managed to climb onto the city walls this time.

At the cost of over two hundred men, Yuan Fang tenaciously held back the surging enemy at the base of the city walls.

Below the city, Wang Men, who was supervising the battle, became increasingly angry and frustrated by the prolonged attack.

Looking up at the city walls, Wang Men spotted Yuan Fang and, with a sudden idea, drew his bow and shot a cold arrow at Yuan Fang.

On the city walls, Yuan Fang suddenly heard the whistling sound of the arrow and quickly dodged.

The cold arrow grazed past him and firmly embedded itself in the wall behind him.

Yuan Fang's eagle-like eyes swept over the city, and he saw an enemy general holding an empty bow, shouting in regret.

Yuan Fang was enraged and shouted, "Bring me a bow!"

His personal guards handed him a strong bow, which he snatched and drew, aiming at Wang Men, who had just shot the cold arrow.

With a surge of mental power, the fine pupil in his right eye suddenly appeared.

"Zoom in, zoom in!"

With a strong mental command, the image of Wang Men in his vision rapidly enlarged, filling his eyes in an instant.

The arrow shot out like a meteor, and the sharp arrow, like the grim smile of death, pierced the air, heading straight for Wang Men.

Wang Men, who had just missed his first shot and was preparing to shoot again, had no time to react. The arrow struck him like lightning.

Thud!

The arrow hit Wang Men's forehead dead center.

Wang Men's eyes bulged wide, his expression frozen in terror, and he fell off his horse.

The Yuan army soldiers along the city walls, seeing their young master display such exquisite archery skills and kill an enemy general, were greatly encouraged and cheered loudly.

The Youzhou army, seeing their commander shot dead on the battlefield, suddenly fell into chaos and panic.

The Youzhou army's attack suddenly diminished, and the attacking soldiers retreated without a fight.

Gongsun Zan, who was watching the battle, was surprised and suspicious when he saw his army suddenly fall into chaos. A scout galloped up and shouted, "My lord, it's bad! General Wang was shot dead by Yuan Fang at the city walls, and our army is in chaos."

"What!" Gongsun Zan was shocked, his proud face instantly filled with horror.

Wang Men was one of his key generals. With a force of twenty thousand, they had failed to capture the city and were instead shot dead by Yuan Fang. Such an unbelievable outcome could not fail to shock Gongsun Zan.

"My lord, with General Wang dead in battle, our army's morale is greatly damaged. We should withdraw for now," Guan Jing also advised.

Gongsun Zan, grinding his teeth in anger, was filled with hatred, wishing to tear Yuan Fang to pieces.

However, despite his anger, Gongsun Zan knew that it was almost impossible to capture the city today.

"Little thief Yuan Fang, don't be too pleased. I'll let you live a few more days."

Grinding his teeth and uttering a few threats, Gongsun Zan reluctantly ordered the withdrawal.

The sound of the gong rang out, and tens of thousands of Youzhou soldiers, as if granted a great pardon, withdrew from the city walls.

Seeing the enemy retreat, the Yuan army soldiers were greatly encouraged. Hao Zhao, covered in blood, shouted excitedly, "Young master, the enemy has retreated. Why don't we take the opportunity to attack and leave them with no survivors?"

Yuan Fang, though he wished to do so, remained calm and said with a cold smile, "Although the enemy has retreated, Gongsun Zan still has ten thousand troops. If we pursue them, we will fall into his trap. Let the brothers use arrows to bid the enemy a proper farewell."

The soldiers, following the order, shouted and cursed the retreating enemy, sending them off with a rain of arrows.

In the afternoon, the Youzhou army, leaving behind over eight hundred corpses, retreated in a panic.

On the city walls, the victorious Yuan army soldiers, covered in blood, waved their weapons and cheered, venting their excitement.

Watching the retreating enemy, Yuan Fang secretly sighed in relief and muttered, "The fierce battle has just begun. Gongsun Zan, bring out all your skills. I, Yuan Fang, will see this through to the end."