"Eight hundred... then don't go," I said. It was too far. By the time he reached Five-Four City, Jiang Jun would have assembled his troops and returned. It would take at least twenty hours. For ten thousand men to attack an eight-hundred-man city, it shouldn't take that long. I figured the city would have already fallen. In that case, Jiang Jun bringing his troops would be walking right into a trap.
Besides, didn't the captain of Five-Three City know the quality of allied forces? Our three thousand men in Five-Four City were all new recruits. They might be good at defending the city or chasing stragglers, but in a direct confrontation, they'd be thrashed by the rebel army.
"But..." the leader hesitated.
"We're the reinforcements. Just take us," I said, pointing to the ten cavalrymen behind me.
"...The situation is urgent, sir. Please don't joke." The leader gave a bitter smile.
"I'm not joking. To tell you the truth, I've been ordered by Little King Yama to coordinate the defense of all 'Five-Character' gates. You should listen to me!"
This was a fabricated order, but I figured he wouldn't believe me otherwise.
"Alright, then... sir, please follow me!" the leader gritted out, still looking at our ten cavalrymen with some disappointment.
Frankly, the appearance of these ten cavalrymen wasn't very reassuring. The reassuring, burly types had all been drafted. They were temporary hires, who had become spearmen only because they had fired guns on the city walls, thus gaining some experience. Jiang Jun had assigned them to me, but they were essentially randomly picked. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The driver asked if I wanted to disable the tracks and turn into a warhorse. I said no. In ancient times, Zhuge Liang, riding a four-wheeled carriage, had defeated Sima Yi. I would emulate the Prime Minister of Shu Han.
Mainly, I can't ride a horse. Thank you.
The group followed the cavalrymen and soon emerged from the mountainous terrain.
Stretching out from the mountains was a long, steep slope. Five-Three Gate was at the bottom of the slope, about ten kilometers away. However, this Five-Three Gate was not built against the mountain; it only had one city gate. Instead, it was built by the water, with a large river behind it, looking much grander than the small river we had seen earlier. Three sides of the city were exposed and already surrounded by the enemy.
However, fighting had not yet broken out. The encircling enemy had set up their camps, and quite a few cooking fires were rising from them, indicating they were cooking food.
"Why haven't they attacked yet?" the leader asked, puzzled.
"They're waiting for reinforcements," I realized immediately. The Jiang Jun forces likely knew that Five-Three Gate only had eight hundred defenders, so they had deliberately surrounded it without attacking, waiting for allied forces to come to the rescue.
This could be seen from the structure of their camps. In a normal siege, wouldn't the camp face the city with sharpened barricades? Instead, they were all facing outward. They looked like they were attacking, but they could turn around at any moment to engage the reinforcements.
"How can we fight with just a few of us?" Bingbing whispered, showing me her empty magazine.
We didn't have much ammunition. At best, we had five to six hundred rounds. With these guys' shooting skills, five to six hundred rounds would be lucky to take down fifty to sixty people. It wasn't me underestimating them; their hit rate was genuinely that low. Even a professional marksman would have the same results.
There aren't that many sharpshooters!
"Are there any other directions to enter the city?" I asked the leader. The front was definitely out, completely blocked.
"The river," the leader replied. "But it's still risky. We just came out from the river and were almost burned alive by the enemy's rockets!"
I looked upstream and downstream of the large river, and then at the opposite bank, which was not visible. I asked again, "What's on the other side of the river?"
"Reporting, sir. It's the West Mountain Forest."
I nodded. That's where the twenty-eight elites of West Mountain were located. There was nothing to be done there either; the twenty-eight elites had been transferred to defend Five-Four City.
"How do we get across?" Bingbing whispered.
I didn't answer; I hadn't figured out a way yet.
"Alas, if only the Eagle Demon were here. It could have carried us into the city."
"...It's not impossible. How deep is that river?" I asked the leader.
"About... tenzhang. It's very deep."
"Are there any monsters in the river?" I asked again.