Free Web NovelChapter 2336: Chapter 2311: Assault on the City Gate
Bai Shan and Manbao unhurriedly finished eating their meat pies, then took out their water flasks for a sip, carefully wiped their fingers with handkerchiefs, and only then continued toward the West City Gate.
When they reached the West City Gate, Bai Shan lifted his head to glance at the soldiers on the gate tower, then at the ranks guarding the main gate. He turned and smiled at the Kucha official. "The defenses here at the West City Gate seem a bit lighter than at the North City Gate."
Nonsense, your people are all outside the North City Gate; of course that side has to be defended more tightly.
It was also possible that the South City, where Great Jin’s main forces might return in support, was the most heavily guarded.
Bai Shan smiled, did a quick count of the time in his head, and just as he felt it should be about right, the Kucha official had already ordered the small door opened and was about to send them out of the city. At that very moment, the soldiers on the gate tower sounded the alarm, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Enemy attack—enemy attack—"
The man who had just opened the small door moved to close it at the shout. With a wave of Bai Shan’s hand, the soldiers and guards who had been prepared all along drew their broadswords and slashed at the Kucha soldiers beside them.
Jin Kui’an was the fastest. Almost in the instant Bai Shan’s hand came down, as the Kucha official was just lifting his head, he drew his blade. Before the man could raise his head to look toward the gate tower, it was lopped off with a single stroke, hit the ground, and rolled twice.
The man had been standing right at Bai Shan’s side. Blood sprayed out, splattering all over Bai Shan. His expression did not change; he pointed straight at the main gate. "Charge out—"
The seventeen men he had brought were all elite shock troops, originally from the vanguard camp. At his word they surged forward even more fiercely. Only Daji stayed by Bai Shan and Zhou Man’s side without moving.
Jin Kui’an took the lead alone. With a single blade he blocked the Kucha soldiers rushing up. The soldiers behind him quickly filled the gap, then charged out. Bai Shan pulled Manbao close and followed tightly behind them, rushing under the gate arch. The archway blocked the line of sight of the archers above, who simply could not hit them.
At last some of the Kucha soldiers reacted and roared, "Protect the gate, protect the gate!"
Swiftly, Bai Shan snatched a sword from the hand of a fallen Kucha soldier and, gripping it, pulled Manbao forward to join in blocking the Kucha troops who were continuously coming down from the gate tower as reinforcements.
Manbao felt she was at a disadvantage with a sword, so she tossed the blade on the ground aside. It wasn’t until Bai Shan grabbed hold of a long spear thrusting toward them that Daji struck, slashing the spearman with one cut and then kicking him away. Bai Shan then wrenched the spear free and passed it to Manbao.
Manbao gripped it with both hands, turned it half a circle until she found the feel of it, then with a pale face stood behind Bai Shan and jabbed into any gaps she saw.
Erge had received his orders early: once fighting broke out, he was to lead his squad straight in to open the gate and ignore everything else. At this moment, under the cover of the others, they rushed to the gate, cut down the guards, then dropped their blades and three men together leaned in with all their strength to push the crossbars. Bai Shan and the others, meanwhile, were being pressed hard by the Kucha reinforcements and forced to tighten their formation.
Jin Kui’an alone held one corner; almost no one could break through where he stood. Bai Shan, Daji, and the others guarded the center and another corner, firmly blocking the Kucha officers and soldiers.
The Kucha troops were nearly livid. If not for the fact that the fighters were all tangled up together, they would have ordered a volley of arrows on the spot.
But as more reinforcements poured in, the pressure on the men holding the front only grew. A soldier at Daji’s side had his arm sliced by a blade; his own knife fell from his hand, and another sword came down toward his neck. Daji raised his weapon to block it for him, and the man facing Daji swung his broadsword straight at Daji...
Manbao had just skewered one man and was drawing her spear back when she caught this out of the corner of her eye. The spear in her hand slanted out in a thrust...
Bai Shan kicked a man flying and shouted, "Close in again—"
The guards and soldiers once more shrank the distance between each other, squeezing the wounded and those who had lost combat strength into the protective ring inside.
At this moment, Erge and the others finally shoved the two crossbars open. Two men to a leaf, they heaved the gates outward...
They had only pulled them open a crack when they heard the thunderous killing shouts outside...
Bai Shan, his face covered in blood, raised his head to look at the opening in the gate tower to the side. Only then did he realize there were no more soldiers coming down to reinforce; clearly, their own men were already fighting outside.
Bai Shan said, "The main army is here. Hold on just a bit longer..."
The gate gave off a heavy creaking sound as it slowly swung open...
General Ashina narrowed his eyes as he spotted this and immediately ordered the vanguard, "Charge into the city. Our people are inside."
The Kucha soldiers flew into a rage, shouting, "Kill them!"
The Kucha troops still fighting at the gate saw the army outside and became even more furious, pushing forward at them all the more ferociously.
Even Jin Kui’an was having trouble holding them back, not to mention the others. They retreated step by step, but stepping out through the gate would only be more dangerous; the arrows from above could turn them into pincushions.
While blocking, Bai Shan shouted loudly, "Surrender and you will not be killed! You were once subjects and soldiers of Great Jin—the army’s target is only the rebel King of Kucha. Lay down your arms and you will not be killed!"
Manbao joined the others in shouting at the top of their lungs, "Lay down your arms and you will not be killed!" Though there were only twenty of them, the cry sounded like it came from two hundred...
The Kucha soldiers were enraged, but in more than a few heads it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over them—their minds suddenly went cold and clear...
Just then, the main army’s vanguard finally charged up. They galloped forward through the arrow rain from the gate tower. At the sound of the rolling thunder of hooves, everyone’s face changed.
Bai Shan kicked aside a Kucha soldier who still refused to give way and cursed, "Why aren’t you running yet!"
With that, he turned, grabbed Manbao, and darted toward the side of the gate. The others also scrambled to both sides. The army swept in at once. Bai Shan pressed Manbao behind him, forcing her tight against the city wall. A horse brushed past his side and flew into the city, followed by a stream of horses pounding past him.
The Kucha soldiers who could not dodge in time either had their heads cut down by the cavalry or were trampled under the horses’ hooves...
As one rider’s horse thundered past Jin Kui’an, a dark light flashed in his eyes; he reached out, yanked the man down, seized the horse, and mounted up to follow the main force into the city, killing as he went.
The soldier who’d been dragged down stared, dumbfounded, then cursed in fury, "Damn your grandmother! I saw you wearing Great Jin armor, so I didn’t cut you—son of a turtle, and you go and steal my horse..."
Bai Shan heard him, glanced back, and pointed at the milling riderless horses. "Hurry up and mount one, then go after them."
For the moment, the fighting between the two sides was concentrated here at the West City Gate, but many Kucha soldiers had already dropped their weapons and surrendered. Clearly, the battle would soon roll on toward the royal palace.
The main army behind would quickly catch up. If he, as the vanguard, were left trailing at the rear and discovered, he’d definitely be held accountable afterward.
The man’s face changed; he had no time to thank him. He ran to grab an empty horse, mounted up, and galloped off to rejoin the fight.
The army swept through like a swarm of locusts, leaving only one unit behind to guard the West City Gate and watch over the surrendered Kucha troops, while everyone else pushed on into the city.
Manbao looked around on both sides, then simply rolled up her sleeves and went to tend to the wounded.
