"Shoot!"
Though there were only fifty archers, their elevated position allowed them to inflict significant damage.
They weren’t firing randomly but were carefully selecting their targets.
Those confident in their archery skills aimed for the enemies' faces, while the less skilled targeted those in the back rows who wore little to no armor.
Screams of pain echoed as arrows rained down like a fierce wind, cutting through the enemy ranks like scythes through grass.
The enemy fell in droves, and the damage was substantial.
The enemy, however, was not idle.
They returned fire.
Shao Xun stood atop the wall, flanked by Chen Yougen and Wang Que’er, who held large shields to protect him.
The air was filled with the whistling of arrows and the dull thuds as they struck the shields.
Chen Yougen held firm, but Wang Que’er, with less strength, was forced to take a couple of steps back, struggling to keep his shield up.
Shao Xun’s eyes scanned the battlefield.
Without aiming, he fired arrows instinctively, and his accuracy was uncanny.
In the military, shooting without hesitation was a prized skill.
Shao Xun had often berated those who took too long to aim during training, saying that by the time they fired, they’d already be riddled with enemy arrows.
After a few quick shots, Shao Xun demonstrated his ambidextrous archery skills, firing arrows left and right.
One arrow struck an enemy soldier, while another knocked off a helmet.
He targeted valuable enemies—officers, flag bearers, drummers, and messengers darting across the battlefield.
Under his command, the enemy’s movements slowed, and their formation began to falter.
The first wave of attackers, carrying makeshift ladders, was repelled, and the second wave couldn’t quickly follow up, wasting the sacrifices of their comrades.
But the enemy had numbers on their side.
Once their shield-bearing soldiers focused on protection, it became harder to pick off officers.
Moreover, the fifty archers on Shao Xun’s side were tiring.
After firing over a dozen arrows each, their arms grew heavy, and their accuracy waned.
Their killing power diminished.
After a few more hasty volleys, Shao Xun ordered the archers to rest and replaced them with less skilled archers who could barely draw their bows.
By this point, the melee combat had reached a fever pitch.
"Kill!" Huang Biao roared, thrusting his spear with lightning speed.
"Kill!" The soldiers echoed, thrusting their spears in unison.
Enemies who had just climbed the wall were met with a barrage of spear points.
Some screamed in agony, others fell, and a few, emboldened by their heavy armor, charged forward recklessly.
For these heavily armored foes, there were soldiers armed with wooden clubs, halberds, and long-handled axes.
The key was to strike them before they could steady themselves, using heavy blunt weapons to either incapacitate them or knock them off the wall.
This was the advantage of defending a wall.
In ancient times, even seasoned warriors who managed to scale the walls could be tripped by children or killed by women.
However, the walls of the Piyong Academy weren’t proper city walls.
They lacked the defensive structures of a fortress, making the defense much harder.
This was reflected in the high casualties on Shao Xun’s side.
After firing a few more arrows, Shao Xun felt the enemy’s attention shift to him.
His stamina was draining fast, so he grabbed a long-handled axe, moved to a new position, and began swinging it at the climbing enemies.
"Die!" An enemy soldier, clad in heavy armor and wielding a ring-pommel sword, stepped onto the wall.
He caught a spear thrust with his left arm, severed the shaft with his sword, and dodged another spear aimed at his face.
He then charged into the defenders, causing chaos.
"Thud!" Shao Xun’s axe came down with immense force, sending the soldier staggering before he fell off the wall.
Resting soldiers swarmed him, finishing him off with short weapons.
"Bang!" Shao Xun didn’t stop.
His axe struck another enemy who had just climbed up.
This one wore three layers of armor and was a towering, fearsome figure.
The axe smashed into his face, crushing it instantly.
He fell backward off the wall without a sound.
But the fight wasn’t over.
Another heavily armored warrior charged forward, followed by two others in leather armor who scrambled onto the wall.
The first warrior engaged the defenders, leaving Shao Xun no time to think.
He instinctively swung his axe at the two behind him.
"Slash!" The sharp blade cut through flesh, severing an arm.
Blood sprayed onto the face of the other attacker, momentarily stunning him.
Shao Xun stepped forward, sweeping his axe sideways and knocking the man off the wall.
"Ah!" A scream came from behind.
Shao Xun turned to see the heavily armored warrior, after killing one and wounding another, get his throat slit by Huang Biao.
He collapsed on the wall.
"Pant, pant!" Heavy breathing filled the air.
Close-quarters combat was grueling, testing one’s courage to face death head-on.
In such situations, stamina drained faster than usual, nerves were frayed, and the pressure could drive one to the brink of madness.
"Kill!" Shao Xun swung his axe again, crushing the helmet of another armored warrior and kicking him off the wall.
He then moved to another critical spot, where the situation was dire.
Men fell around him, but others quickly took their place.
After what felt like an eternity, Shao Xun’s body was riddled with arrows.
None had pierced deeply, but their presence spoke volumes about the intensity of the battle.
Was it really necessary?
They were just a minor flank, yet the fighting was this fierce.
Lower-ranking soldiers were truly cannon fodder!
As the day’s battle ended, the walls were filled with the groans of the wounded.
Shao Xun removed his armor, and Wang Que’er carefully tended to his wounds.
Mi Huang, Yu Liang, Yang Bao, and others gathered around, listening intently to his words.
"Don’t panic," Shao Xun said calmly, though his brow was furrowed.
"In a siege, the first three days are the most dangerous. If we can hold out, things will stabilize."
"Today, the enemy sent many elite troops, heavily armored, hoping to break through in one push. But we held them off. Elite troops aren’t easy to replace. Once we wear them down, things will get easier."
"Think about it. If we were fighting them in an open field, these elites would cause us a lot of trouble. But here, we’re cutting them down easily from the walls. Isn’t that a win?"
"Don’t worry. The enemy doesn’t have to take this place. Meng Chao, their leader, is probably more interested in earning merits elsewhere. If we hold firm and refuse to surrender, he’ll eventually give up rather than waste his elite troops."
"Stay alert tonight. I’ll be making rounds. Anyone caught neglecting their duties will be executed without mercy."
Shao Xun spoke with the authority of a commander, and everyone—including Mi Huang—nodded in agreement, responding with loud affirmations.
Even Yu Liang, a noble who had previously looked down on Shao Xun, now showed respect.
Shao Xun had been everywhere today, likely killing over twenty enemies.
He was a hero.
Without him, the fate of Piyong would have been uncertain.
For this reason, no one dared to look down on him—even if they did, they kept it to themselves.
Everyone’s families were here, and no one wanted to risk their lives.
"Commander Shao is right. Surrendering won’t do us any good. We must hold out to the end. From now on, anyone who suggests surrender will face my wrath," Mi Huang declared sternly after Shao Xun finished speaking.
"Yes!" Not only did Yang Bao and the other officers respond, but even Yu Liang and a young man from the Xu family of Donghai answered.
Shao Xun glanced at the young man.
Like the Mi family, the Xu family was a local clan in Donghai.
Their status wasn’t particularly high, especially compared to the Yu family of Yingchuan.
The young man, Xu Lang, was eighteen and had come to the capital for reasons unknown.
He had sought refuge in Piyong through Mi Huang’s connections.
Xu Lang had met Shao Xun a few times but had rarely spoken.
Even in this dire situation, he carried an air of arrogance.
The remnants of the caste system in the Jin Dynasty ran deep.
Perhaps Xu Lang didn’t think much of Shao Xun, believing he could do just as well.
After all, this was an era where even Lu Ji could command an army of over two hundred thousand.
Such thoughts weren’t uncommon.
"Alright, everyone, back to your posts. Let’s stick to the plan," Shao Xun said, nodding to Yu Liang and Yang Bao.
"The enemy is mostly a rabble. They might not be capable of night fighting, but we can’t let our guard down. You two will take charge tonight."
"Yes," Yu Liang and Yang Bao replied promptly.
They understood the situation.
The Jizhou military district originally had forty thousand soldiers, but now they had over two hundred thousand, most of whom were farmers with little combat experience.
Even the regular soldiers had become corrupt and ineffective.
Otherwise, how could rebel leaders roam freely?
Of course, the defenders of Piyong weren’t much better.
It was a battle of attrition.
If they could hold out for a few more days, the enemy’s morale would likely break.
Shao Xun, however, was thinking further ahead…
(End of Chapter)