Everyone knows that horses sleep standing up, making it incredibly difficult for them to bend down. If rebel cavalry were to emerge from here, it would cause a bottleneck. It would be fast if a thousand cavalry could break through in half an hour; half an hour is enough time for us to enter Dragon Jade Snow Mountain.
I found Dongfang Jibai, who said that they had already sent word to the snow mountain. However, the snow spirits could not distinguish between rebel and Xuán Jiǎ soldiers, so they requested that upon entering the snow mountain, we tie a white cloth strip to our left arms for identification.
This was no problem. While the Xuán Jiǎ soldiers' armor was black, their inner garments were white to match nicely. Even if stained with blood, there would always be some pure white parts.
As for the south gate, Dongfang Jibai even devised a plan for me. She would prepare things for me, but the execution would be up to me. After hearing her plan, I felt it was even better than my original one.
My original plan was to lead a few commanders and about two to three hundred Xuán Jiǎ soldiers to charge directly for the south gate after entering the city, occupying the inner city and holding off the rebels for half an hour. Now, it seemed that two to three hundred Xuán Jiǎ soldiers wouldn't even be necessary; I alone would suffice, but I had to act in advance.
Returning to the mountain, I finally revealed my plan. Xiao Yanwang and the others were incredulous!
"Ice cubes? Are you sure you want to use ice cubes?" Xie Bi'an asked.
"Wouldn't shields be more suitable? I saw you using them earlier, and they were quite good!" Wu Zhao said.
"Shields are for deceiving the enemy," I replied. "Order the entire army to ambush within the ice wall, in positions where the enemy cannot see. Take off your armor, stuff it with ice, and make 'scarecrows.' Tie shields under the leather drums! Do you understand?"
They suddenly understood, realizing it was another tried-and-true tactic of feigning an attack in one direction while striking in another.
Soon, the soldiers hid themselves, taking off their armor. The armor was stiff, and a few ice cubes stuffed inside could hold its shape. Tied to shields, they were all transported to the east side within the ice wall. Meanwhile, on the west side, four hundred ice bricks had been prepared within the ice wall, each about a meter long and twenty centimeters wide, enough to seat three people.
In fact, preparation wasn't entirely necessary. The bricks they used to build the ice wall before were generally of this size, so a section could simply be dismantled from the inside.
Once the materials were ready, I gave the order. The soldiers on the east side began releasing the "armor people," creating the illusion of over a thousand Xuán Jiǎ soldiers launching a full-scale assault on the enemy camp. After releasing the dummy soldiers, the troops immediately returned from the inside of the ice wall to the west side, awaiting their opportunity.
The enemy knew our numbers. Seeing the Xuán Jiǎ soldiers launching a full-scale attack, they assumed it was a desperate final struggle and immediately transferred troops from the west and central camps to reinforce the east. Many camps on the west side were left empty.
"Brothers! Let's go for it!" I kicked open the ice wall. Everyone pushed together, and in groups of three, they sat on the ice bricks and began to slide down.
The speed at which ice bricks slid on ice was no slower than shields; in fact, with the added weight of three people, they slid even faster. In just about a minute, the first wave broke through the culvert on the west side and entered the city.
Seeing that they had successfully entered the city, I then allowed Xiao Yanwang to accompany all the commanders on their way.
"What about you?" Xiao Yanwang asked me.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I quickly kissed her cheek: "You go! I'll use the Gale Art!"
Xiao Yanwang blushed and pursed her lips: "You rascal! Then, see you at the snow mountain!"
"See you at the snow mountain!" I kicked her and Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu's three-person ice sled out.
By the time the last batch of Xuán Jiǎ soldiers departed, the enemy finally reacted and began moving troops back to the west, but it was too late. The ice sled brigade had suffered no losses and had all slid down the mountain and entered the city. About a hundred brothers lost their direction and crashed into the city walls, but they quickly adjusted, rolling and scrambling through the culvert into the city of Sanyin Hall.
It was my turn. I activated the Gale Art and sped onto the city wall, instantly arriving at the south gate tower. The guards here had not even received the news; some were warming themselves by the fire, others were eating. No one was on watch on the wall.
My eyes immediately landed on the large wooden barrels Dongfang Jibai had prepared for me. I rolled them to the spot directly above the city gate, splitting them open. Water gushed out, flowing down the city wall and onto the wooden city gate.
In the yang realm, it would be around minus thirty degrees Celsius. The wooden barrels contained hot water meant to comfort the unnamed rebels. Upon contact with the cold, the hot water quickly froze, sealing the junction of the two city gates shut!
A water mage like Yao Yao would definitely understand the power of freezing water. I didn't know if the rebels understood, but from a scientific perspective, this was a force that even a battering ram would struggle to break!