Chapter 48

Chapter 48 – Battle of Anping – Day One

October 23rd . Morning .

Han Fu Army appeared at the south of Tong's fortress . Their front line formed up in formations while the soldiers in the back were busy crafting ladders to prepare for the siege .

Guo Dian Army arrived later at 10AM . Just like Han Fu, they settled formed up and took their time getting ready to attack .

Both army sent their spy to scout the fortress layout and obtain more information . They also came into contact with each other and sent their messengers to negotiate for the coalition against Tong and his men .

Tong was observing their movements with his radar map . He had marked both Han Fu Army and Guo Dian Army in a different color when Tong came into the radar range .

To moment Tong saw the two different color came into contact and didn't kill each other, Tong guessed that they should somehow come to a truce .

Up till now, Tong was still baffled of why Han Fu would attack his camp . So once the Han Fu Army arrived, Tong sent his messenger to negotiate with them and asked why they had to attack his camp and his family .

At 10 . 30 AM, a messenger from Han Fu Army came and stopped in front of the gate . Tong already stood on top of the wall, observing the incoming messenger .

The horseman messenger hurled a head toward the gate . It was the head of Tong's messenger who was sent to negotiate with Han Fu Army!

"Bastard!"

There was a limit of how uncivil or trickery antics that Tong could tolerate . Killing a messenger was definitely not one of them .

He took out the rifle and aimed at the horseman .

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Three rounds of burst fire killed the horseman before he could turn around went back .

*Sii*

Tong's subordinates breath in cold air . The immortal had demonstrated another magic again . This time, someone fell because of his wrath .

"Get someone to take that body and pierce it with a stake from his anus through his mouth . I want that stake as a decoration in front of the south gate . "

Tong's voice was calm and monotonous . However, his men could feel that Tong's killing intent was intensified . They hurried back and completed his order with goosebumps and shaking legs .

Ten minutes later, a group of another horsemen came and hurled the insults toward Tong and his troops, causing the soldiers inside to fume in rage .

"They sure want to get me angry alright . And they have succeeded . "

Tong mumbled to himself and adjusted his rifle, sniping the bad mouthing horsemen down one by one . The troops behind Tong cheered when they saw the foul mouth enemies fell .

…

Pan Feng observed the commotion outside the fortress south gate from afar . He heard that the commander of the Zhang family was just a brat, so he planned to provoke Tong and drew him out to fight outside of the fort .

But it seemed that Tong was more tolerant than He had thought because the insult from his men and Tong's dead messenger couldn't draw Tong Army out .

Pan Feng wanted to step forward and challenged Tong into a duel . But after he heard that Tong had a strange thunder magic, he stopped his idea .

He had his men surveyed the landscape, and got the reports that his opponents had dug pitfall traps around the fortress . Yet, the pitfall traps were concentrated around the peninsula-like extended walls of the strange fort while the road to the gate was clear of traps .

Pan Feng smirked .

"Such childish traps won't work against us . Men! Hear my order! Have the shield bearers carry extra planks . If you see any suspicious uneven ground, put the planks on the ground . "

"As you command!"

"Ready the men . We will siege it at noon . "

…

Meanwhile, Guo Dian was relaxing in his tent, ignoring what Pan Feng and Tong had done .

After he heard from his spies that Wen Chou and his men retreated back to Nan Pi, he was relief . They don't have to face that elite army anymore . The rowdy bandits ahead of him could never be a match for his army .

"Since Han Fu wants to deal with the Zhang, then let them have him . "

"Men! Stay in position but do not siege! We will watch the show from the sideline . "

Guo Dian had lost many men already, so he allowed Pan Feng and Han Fu troops to take a bite first . Once Tong's camp was damaged enough, he would launch the assault and reap the fortune later .

…

…

The sun hung on the middle of the clear sky, indicating that it was noon .

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Pan Feng troops sounded the drums and color flags were waved around . The shield bearers marched forward with their shield covering their head and the battering ram behind them . Hundred men followed after the troops, carrying tall ladders and ropes . A total of 1,500 men stepped forward in the first wave .

Tong watched the incoming troops with mocking smile .

'Instead of attacking at the weak-point corners, they walk straight into the crossfire . What a bunch of simpletons . '

"Archers and Pillbox Squadrons get ready to fire on my command! Ballista Squads stand by! Do not fire until I give the order! Trench Squadrons, withdraw from the first and the second lines . Draw them in!" Tong shouted with all air in his lung .

Pan Feng shield bearers marched to the gate which had walls surrounding the troops in a triangle shape . One of the soldiers was scared from seeing the shape of this fortress, he walked straight into a V-formation .

"Archers! Fire!"

Archers on both wings on the walls rained down their arrows . At the same time, the pillboxes on the ground, in front of the edges of the walls and behind the trenches, shot out crossbow arrows .

The shield soldiers attempted to block the incoming arrows in front of them, only to find out that they were hit by the side . The arrows didn't come from the front straight angle, but from both sides on their left and right, and from the top of the wall and from the ground .

No matter where they lift their shields to block, there would be arrows flew at them in their blind spots .

The crossfire tactic showed the effect . The approaching soldiers cried in pain, afterwards fell one after another .

A crossfire tactic, which also known as interlocking fire, was a prominent tactic in World War I . The troops would fire from two angles and the arc of fire from the angles crossed each other . Once someone got caught, the person would be considered lucky if he managed to get out of there alive .

The commanding officers were elated seeing the effectiveness of this formation . Meanwhile, Tong cringed while watching his men and his formation .

'If only I have barbed-wires, land mines and more snipers, none of them can even approach the wall . There are still rooms for improvement . '

Tong glanced at the right wing of the wall . Hua Shi, who wore leather armor and disguised herself as one of the archer, was shooting several bright arrows at the targets below . She was enjoying her farming session for free lifespans and grinding her magic arrow skill EXP .

Tong glanced at his radar map . The west gate was still calm . It seemed that Guo Dian hadn't attacked yet, which relieved Tong .

'The first wave was nothing to worry about . Now, show me your next move . '

…

Pan Feng stood on the watch tower, shocking from what he saw . The first wave of the shield bearers with battling ram failed without being able to reach the gate .

The rate of fire from the volleys was terrifying . It was as if there were over 10,000 archers shooting from the walls .

Speaking of the walls, the strange shaped fortress also played a part of this massacre . Pan Feng noticed it just now that it looked like a wing formation or a V-shaped formation .

"Have the front troops withdraw! Sound the drums!!"

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

The retreating signal drums vibrated and the troops that was on the frontline withdrew in a hurry, leaving their comrade's dead bodies behind .

"I want a report on the west side . How is the battle on the west side going on?"

Pan Feng asked his subordinates in his tents whose face were all pale . They knew that once they reported it, Pan Feng would be mad .

"Report to the general, Guo Dian ordered his troops to stand by . They have not laid the siege yet . "

Pan Feng slammed his fist on the wooden table in front of him, destroying it . His face was boiling red . Veins was bulging under his skin .

"DAMN IT!! GUO DIAN!!"

The officers in the tent shrunk back from the roar, but Pan Feng aide stepped up to calm him down .

"Lord Pan Feng, you should not be angry . I think it was a correct decision by Guo Dian not to assault . "

"What!?"

The aide was none other than Xin Ping who had suggested Han Fu to get rid of the Zhang family and ruin the cooperation between Zhang family and Yuan family .

"In common instance, the number of our soldiers has to be at least five times higher than the defending troops in a siege warfare . And from the latest intel, they now have 5,000 men inside . Therefore, we fall short in terms of number and the preparation for this siege . "

Pan Feng heart sunk . Xin Ping was right . After the failed siege they were left with around 7,000 men, which was not enough for a standard siege against 5,000 defenders .

"Then what can I do to break the situation?"

"Lord do not need to worry . I have just received an interesting intel and already drafted a plan . I'm sure you will like it . "

Xin Ping grinned .