As winter's end approached, darkness began to set in even during twilight.
Over 150,000 Tianri soldiers were deployed, with 120,000 concentrated in the military camps east of the mountain range and over 30,000 in the northern mountain pass, guarding the crucial route.
Hannibal, based on reports from scouts, anticipated that the Great Gan army's primary attack would be from the east, where he had positioned all of Tianri's main forces.
The Tianri Elite Cavalry stood ready, tall and robust, armed with long sabers. Both man and horse were clad in heavy armor, carrying powerful bows and crossbows, their eyes glinting with ferocity, like fortresses of steel.
"We must not let the enemy break into the mountains, or our army will face the enemy's mountain fires and be trapped like beasts in a cage!"
"Here, our army holds the advantage of timing, terrain, and popular support. By crushing the enemy's vanguard, we can break the 300,000 strong Great Gan army and avenge Achilles! We will stain the Great Gan army with blood!"
"Once we defeat the Great Gan army and slay Liang Xiao and Gongsun Ye, our army will counterattack south of the Yangtze River, occupy Great Gan, and all enemy forces along the way will scatter at our approach! We fight across all lands to bring freedom to these territories! The freedom of our Tianri people!"
After boosting morale, Hannibal ascended the command platform and gazed into the distance. So agitated was he that the command flag and his specially made horn trembled violently in his hands.
The God of War of Great Gan! The Martial God of Great Gan!
This was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
The Tianri tribe had swept across numerous continents, boasting many military commanders, all undefeated and invincible, named after famous Western commanders and heroes.
But now, Alexander had fallen to Liang Xiao first, and Achilles had been personally killed by Liang Xiao…
As long as he defeated Liang Xiao, his fame and status would surpass that of the Great Marshal of Tianri, Mars, drawing him close to the Tianri King, perhaps even replacing him!
The blare of horns echoed in the distance as the Great Gan army, like a black cloud pressing down on the city, surged forward.
To prevent concentrated attacks from siege crossbows, the Great Gan army adopted a relatively loose formation, making their advance appear unprecedentedly vast.
With Yuzhang sufficiently defended and the logistics personnel having returned to Yuzhang, the Great Gan army on the front lines, free of worries, finally launched its general offensive today.
The earth-shattering sound of war drums and horns caused the leaves along the path to rustle and sway!
Over two hundred thousand Great Gan soldiers, after a brief rest five miles outside the mountain range, charged towards the mountain pass with the ferocity of wolves.
Twilight had passed, and night was falling.
The main forces of the two armies faced each other in the rugged terrain east of the mountain range, with the Tianri tribe holding the high ground, fully prepared.
Liang Xiao ascended a tall earthen mound, gazing into the distance.
The foremost infantry of the Tianri tribe wore heavy armor, were fully equipped, and carried heavy shields.
The perimeter of this encampment was laced with caltrops and abatis, and numerous ramparts had been constructed.
This was the true headquarters of the Jiaozhou Allied Forces. With numerous mountains, it was easy to conceal their presence. The Jiaozhou Allied Forces used this location as a staging ground to raid various parts of Jiangnan, including the time the Sun-Moon Army and the Hui Chun Sect first attacked Luzhou.
Even if this place fell, they could retreat south of the mountain range and escape back to Jiaozhou.
They could advance to attack and retreat to defend!
Precisely because of this, the Jiaozhou Allied Forces chose this location as their first line of defense for Jiaozhou, constructing numerous fortified camps here, even though it was still a thousand miles from Jiaozhou.
As dusk fell, with night approaching, both armies faced advantages and disadvantages.
The Tianri forces had the advantage of familiarity with the mountain terrain but could not accurately strike the Great Gan soldiers at night.
The Great Gan soldiers faced difficulties attacking the mountain, but the Tianri military camp was fixed, allowing the Shenwu Cannons and Hui Hui Cannons to strike targets precisely.
Therefore, Liang Xiao's objective for the first round of combat was to breach the enemy's outer encampment and force them into the mountains.
Five miles was not a great distance; it was well within the range for engagement.
The Great Gan soldiers rapidly approached to within one mile of the encampment and halted, awaiting orders.
This was a safe distance outside the enemy's trebuchet range.
Even if the trebuchets lobbed small stone projectiles, sacrificing weight for range, the Great Gan soldiers could respond swiftly.
Inclined shields were sufficient to effectively block small stone projectiles after they had traveled a mile.
Great Gan had deployed eighty Hui Hui Cannons to the front lines, equipped with small stone projectiles, weighing less than half of regular projectiles, ready to execute the first round of bombardment.
Twenty Shenwu Cannons were also moved to the front, surrounded by large wooden shields for protection.
Liang Xiao, from his high platform, observed the fortress a mile away, personally adjusting the muzzle positions of the twenty Shenwu Cannons.
Beside each Shenwu Cannon stood a captain holding a telescope, responsible for real-time command.
The Tianri soldiers were well aware of the power of Great Gan's bows and crossbows and did not immediately emerge from the camp to engage. They waited silently for Hannibal's command.
"Trebuchets prepare! Once the enemy advances, launch immediately!"
One hundred trebuchets were moved to the edges of the city walls. Using the walls as cover, they were loaded with small stone projectiles, ready to fire.
"Ignite!"
Simultaneously, Liang Xiao gave the order, and the twenty Shenwu Cannons fired first.
"Boom! Boom!!"
Deafening cannon fire erupted from the flat ground, and twenty solid iron balls traced arcs of death through the air, impacting the city walls heavily.
The outer wall, both in height and thickness, exceeded eighteen feet, with abatis at the same height as the wall.
Within this outer wall were numerous plug gates, a common defensive apparatus used to block city gates. These plug gates were almost as wide as the city gates and extremely sturdy. Once a city gate was breached, the defending soldiers would push out a plug gate to block it, and the attacking soldiers at the forefront would be impaled on the knives by those behind them.
Outside the city walls were deep moats, specifically designed to impede the advance of attackers.
The fortified camps built by Jiaozhou in this mountainous region were comparable to small prefectural towns in the Jiangnan area of yesteryear.
As everyone watched with bated breath, the twenty solid iron balls flew one after another, impacting the outer city wall with great force.
"Boom..." "Boom Boom!"
Under the terrified gaze of the Tianri soldiers, three sections of the outer wall, having consecutively absorbed the impact of solid iron balls, exploded open, creating three breaches!!
"What in the world are these things?!"
At that moment, the hands of the Tianri soldiers on the inner city wall began to tremble as they gripped their weapons.
The outer wall was protected by abatis of the same height, which even trebuchets struggled to penetrate.
Yet, the Great Gan army's "demonic iron balls" had, after just one round of attack, breached three sections of the wall, including the abatis!
"Even catapults would not have such a destructive effect!" Hannibal and Xiao Che, standing behind him, stared at the breaches in the wall, somewhat bewildered.
The last time Xiao Che had encountered the "demonic iron balls" was outside Luzhou. They had assumed it was a divine artifact for open-field battles, as Luzhou had not used such a monstrosity in its defensive operations.
But now, the "demonic iron balls" they were witnessing were being used in a siege, displaying power far exceeding that of trebuchets!
"Well done!"
Even Liang Xiao could not help but praise.
The Shadow Guard Legion, which was originally responsible for ten Shenwu Cannons, had shown a qualitative improvement in their operation and accuracy after several practical engagements, achieving twice the result with half the effort!