Chapter 466: Surviving the Crisis
Fu Baoguo remained calm in the eye of the storm of arrows.
His eyes were calm and sharp as he paid close attention to Dongxuan army's movement on the field. His orders rang out continuously as he continued to issue commands to his men.
This was the most critical moment!
Countless janissaries around him raised their shields, sabers, and swords to block the avalanche of arrows. Some of them let out an occasional low grunt as they were hit by the Deicide arrows, but they dared not moan in pain for fear of lowering their morale. As long as those shots did not kill, they would hold back their agony; they knew that they could not die here, they could not afford to lose their lives. If they did come to an unfortunate end, they would only cause trouble to their fighting comrades.
It took only a single breath but around forty to fifty janissaries had fallen. Still, no one made a sound, even up until the moment they died.
Fu Baoguo remained standing, unperturbedly issuing his commands.
It was as if he did not see the falling arrows that demanded his life.
He could not move!
The exhaustion that Yutang's fighters felt threatened to overwhelm them and even their morale was low. Standing here, it was the last tactic he could deploy.
Yutang's main marshal was still here; he would live and die together with his men! This was their last handhold on morale. The moment Fu Baoguo moved away, the military spirit would crumble and break apart.
Fu Baoguo understood this very well, having realized it long ago.
"Even if I were to be turned into a porcupine today, I have to continue standing here! I will persevere until the very last moment."
The janissaries blocked the heavy Deicide arrows with all the strength they could muster; a number of them were weeping as they cried out, "Marshal, retreat! The brothers can't hold on much longer..."
Fu Baoguo had a total of a thousand janissaries. The constant war had taken five hundred of them, while there were a total of a hundred and sixty people who had come with Fu Baoguo today. Now, only less than fifty of them were still fighting and expending all their effort to guard Fu Baoguo.
The other hundred and ten people had all turned into human porcupines, bristling with Deicide arrows.
As Fu Baoguo's personal janissaries, each and every one of them had long accepted the possibility of dying while protecting Marshal Fu, but it was one thing to accept it and another to recognize the precariousness of their current crisis; they could sacrifice themselves for Fu Baoguo without any hesitation, but they would never be willing to see Fu Baoguo die. Yet, the current circumstances only promised imminent death, and survival would only be possible by avoiding the threat swiftly. Yet, Fu Baoguo was not moving! This obstinacy would only result in everyone being buried in this storm of arrows; even if all the janissaries were to die here, they would not be able to stave off their marshal's certain death.
"If the Fortress of Resilience were to fall today, I, Fu Baoguo, should die in the line of service here! I made a promise to someone; I swore to share my life and death with the Fortress of Resilience. Today shall be the day that I, Fu Baoguo, will fulfill this promise!"
Fu Baoguo hollered loudly, "If the Fortress of Resilience is safe today, I, Fu Baoguo, will continue to stay here."
His voice was deafening, audible even to furthest reaches of the chaotic battlefield.
"Today, right now, I, Fu Baoguo, am the Fortress of Resilience!"
...
The enemy's drums resounded. Han Sanhe's command was cold and cruel, "Send another hundred thousand soldiers. All out. I want the Fortress of Resilience under my feet!"
Dongxuan deployed another troop. The tidal wave of men swept towards the Fortress of Resilience as they roared deafeningly, "Take the Fortress of Resilience! Take the Fortress of Resilience! Capture Fu Baoguo alive!"
The janissaries no longer even tried to persuade Fu Baoguo, saving their energy instead to tackle the shower of arrows.
The men who deserved to serve as Fu Baoguo's janissaries were naturally the people closest to Fu Baoguo and knew his thoughts very well. Since the marshal thought of dying while serving the country, they would sacrifice themselves here while fulfilling their duty as well! At the very least, they would have to die earlier than the marshal; they were not going to let the marshal fall before all of them had drawn their last breath.
The enemy's additional troops were quickly approaching.
Throughout the night, Han Sanhe had deployed a hundred thousand soldiers towards the Fortress of Resilience. The toll that was paid could no longer be described as alarming.
It was utterly insane! Extremely so!
The hundred thousand men that were mentioned did not include the living; it meant that there was already a hundred thousand lives lost in the siege of the Fortress of Resilience. Now, he had added another hundred thousand men to charge into the fray.
Sun Zihu led his western brothers, the most elite combat strength of the western border; they had already fought until they approached exhaustion. Looking at the enemy and their own men disappear in waves of human flesh, the shock that filled them had long exceeded the limit that they could take in.
So this was how the eastern army fought their wars!
So this was the war they had to face when going against Han Sanhe!
So, it is undoubted that the battle here was actually going to be bloody and cruel!
The so-called unmatched general of the continent, the invincible fort of the world, and the top army of Yutang had all earned their celebrated titles!
A sense of reverence rose within Sun Zihu as he thought to himself, "The eastern troop is called Yutang's top army and they have lived up to their reputation indeed. We're so far away from them that we would barely be able to reach their level in this lifetime!"
Watching Fu Baoguo, who was still standing at the highest point, straight, tall, and proud, Sun Zihu felt a sense of respect within him. Fu Baoguo was truly the unrivaled militant of Yutang's younger generation!
"The eastern troops are heroes but we western troops are no cowards ourselves!" Sun Zihu hacked three enemies off the wall with one slash, walking as if he was flying, and yelled, "Brothers, we will live and die with the Fortress of Resilience today. We shall not let the eastern brothers take advantage of this!"
"We swear to breathe the same fate as Yutang, to share amongst us its rise and fall as we offer our lives and deaths, to never give up!"
"Roar!" The western border men howled insanely, their spirits unprecedentedly fervent.
The war grew more devastating but it was quickly becoming a disadvantage. It did not change its course just because Fu Baoguo stood before the shower of arrows regardless of his safety, but it would shake the western troop's extreme state of emotions!
More and more Dongxuan soldiers popped up from the wall and a fair number at the fort proper, fighting with the guardian's defenses.
At the highest point, the janissary leader continued to swing his weapon as he flailed about with his sword and shield, flinging the incoming arrows away. However, Fu Baoguo had already been stabbed by two arrows.
In spite of this, he stood stock still, commanding collectedly without a hint of panic.
"Marshal..."
The janissary leader let out a low moan as an arrow had stricken his shoulder; then he let out an grieved exclamation.
The exclamation was not for himself but... Marshal, I can no longer protect you...
Fu Baoguo stretched his hand, unsheathing his sword from the scabbard while he remained standing on the spot, and blocked the arrows personally, maneuvering around his own blade; at the same time, he hollered, "Please order thirty thousand Steel Cavalry out of the fort, to fight to the death with Dongxuan! As for the remaining Steel Cavalry and Serving Troop, scatter; follow the initial plan, build another Fortress of Resilience for Yutang's militants!"
It was already the last moment.
Fu Baoguo knew that he could not defend it!
His life was at remarkable risk as well, so he immediately delivered his last command.
Even if I, Fu Baoguo, were to die here duty today, Han Sanhe, you will have to pay the price of at least a hundred thousand lives to enter the Fortress of Resilience!
...
Just as the command was delivered, a white silhouette appeared abruptly to Fu Baoguo's side under the shower of arrows. A tinge of sword light flickered, breaking apart all the incoming arrows.
The divine swordsmanship awed the audience, yet the white silhouette and its sword light were far from done; the surge of sword light soon formed an invincible barrier in front of Fu Baoguo!
All the Deicide arrows were broken as they crashed into this net made of light.
At the same time, another drum continued to beat, without any foretelling signs.
Boom, boom, boom...
Countless Yutang soldiers had charged onto the wall like ferocious tigers and battled fiercely with Dongxuan soldiers who were on the fort.
The Fortress of Resilience' crisis had suddenly been solved!
A squad sped to its arrival from one end of the city to another; the lead had fluttering white hair and a fierce expression, hollering while charging forward, "Fu Baoguo! Your father orders you! Come down at once!"
Hearing the voice, a flush of relief washed over Fu Baoguo.
Old Marshal Qiu had come!
Yutang's strongest relief troop was here, he had finally persevered till Old Marshal Qiu's arrival!
Countless cavalrymen charged out of the Fortress of Resilience like a tidal wave, incessant like rivers returning to the ocean. There was no stopping them.
Qiu Jianhan's relief troops had finally come!
They had arrived during the Fortress of Resilience' most critical moment!
Cooperating with Fu Baoguo's Steel Cavalry, hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen charged out in unison. Just this frontal charge alone had immediately pushed Han Sanhe's attacking troops back to their initial spot, no longer able to move.
At this moment, the sound of a gong rang deafeningly from Han Sanhe's base.
Dongxuan's follow-up troops that were about to reach the top of the wall drew back like a receding tide, not daring to linger a moment longer.
The army led by Qiu Jianhan, who was supposed to at least another twenty miles to traverse before he reached, had arrived suddenly like the decadence of gods at the most critical moment of the Fortress of Resilience. They secured the situation at once, turning the absolute fall of the Fortress of Resilience around!
Upon seeing Qiu Jianhan's arrival, Han Sanhe, who knew that nothing could work no matter how he chose to attack, withdrew his troops immediately. With a heavy heart, he heaved a deep sigh as he delivered the command to retreat.
Only one step! He was only one step away!
If Han Sanhe had been given another hour, the Fortress of Resilience would belong to Dongxuan!
With Qiu Jianhan's presence now, there was not much else that needed to be done to salvage the situation! Why? Why had the person who should not have been present, appeared all of a sudden at this critical moment?
Did the heavens themselves bless Yutang?
Regardless, there was no more meaning to fight again today.
Dongxuan's army had retreated.
Deafening cheers erupted from all over the Fortress of Resilience.
Many soldiers who had been defending the fort the entire time plopped onto the ground cheering. They were unable to pick themselves, no matter the circumstances.
The deafening cheers rang throughout the fort.