From the watchtower, when the huge stone flew in, all the soldiers guarding the city involuntarily widened their eyes, and a deep fear swept over them.

Those iron-feathered arrows could still be blocked by walls and wooden screens, but these massive stones weighing over a hundred pounds, falling from the sky into the building, how could they possibly withstand it.

In fact, when the enemy had already set up their artillery and fired, they knew this watchtower would be hard to defend.

And at this moment, one cry after another echoed in everyone's ears.

"Hurry! Get inside the building! Don't stay outside!"

"Hurry! Get out of here!" That was the commanding general's desperate roar.

His face was covered in beads of sweat, his hair disheveled. Several soldiers beside him had been hit by crossbow bolts earlier, and their blood splattered all over him.

The soldiers on the watchtower panicked and rushed into the tower like a swarm of bees, but at this moment, the sheer number of troops became an obstacle.

After all, in previous battles many of them had taken shelter within the city walls and shot arrows from there. So it would be difficult to sneak into a building now.

Those falling boulders won't give them any extra time.

Thus —

"

"Boom!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The earth-shattering booms of boulders falling echoed one after another, dozens crashing violently against the city walls!

The battlements were shattered by boulders, and the wooden screens that soldiers used to shield themselves from arrows were also brought down. The soldiers beneath the screens were crushed into a bloody pulp.

Beneath the thick, sturdy wooden curtain, a mass of viscera oozed out, warm and emitting a faint heat, mixed with bright red blood. It burst forth!

Some soldiers rushed to take cover in the buildings, but while running along the city walls they were struck directly by boulders. Despite their strength, before these hundreds of pounds of stone, they were as fragile as a wild grass trampled by a horse's hoof.

Massive stones rained down from above, crashing into the crowd. They crushed skulls against chests and snapped spines inch by inch, emitting a chilling "crack" sound.

The five internal organs in the chest begin to bleed and rupture under the pressure!

When the giant stone finally fell, that small group of people was crushed like mosquitoes under a palm, becoming a shapeless mass of blood and flesh. The blood sprayed from their bodies stained the stones red, and also stained the city walls.

Stone fragments flew, dust accompanied by blood mist spraying out. Looking up at the tower, it seemed as if a layer of crimson mist had risen.

Screams, wails, roars, a cacophony of sounds all mingled together, ultimately drowned out by the relentless thunder of the falling boulders!

The commanding general had retreated into the watchtower, gazing at the endless stream of dust falling from above and listening to the continuous rumble. His face was ashen.

He looked towards the city wall, where quite a few soldiers hadn't managed to get in and were already blocked by boulders. Patches of blood and flesh mingled with the stones, filling the passageway on the city wall. The stench of blood was thick in his nostrils.

His teeth chattered as he looked up again, the sounds of tremors above him growing louder. It was the sound of giant stones falling.

The Watchtower wasn't entirely made of earth and stone, unlike the inner and outer cities. It was mostly wooden structures. If this continued, he knew that if enough stones were thrown at it, it would be completely destroyed sooner or later.

"It's over! There's no way to stop them! Watchtower, we're going to lose it!" The commander of the defenders stammered.

In just a short moment, the guards on the watchtower were completely overwhelmed by the falling stones and lost all power to resist!

On the city wall, most of the bed crossbows had already been smashed by giant stones, turning into a pile of splintered wood. There was no one standing on the city wall at this moment, either they were killed by the stones, or they had already taken refuge inside the building.

But even so, who knows how many have perished under these massive stones!

And at this moment, under the bombardment of artillery, Gao Shun had already led the soldiers of the trapped camp forward!

"Quick! Charge forward and seize the watchtower!" Gao Shun raised his arm and roared, a line of carts rumbled over the ground, charging ahead!

Meanwhile, Zhang Liao also led a contingent of troops and galloped forward quickly!

From the watchtower, the commander saw the enemy approaching quickly. Knowing that they could not withstand the attack, he decided to retreat immediately as the situation was hopeless.

"Retreat! Retreat to Wengcheng!"

"Defend within the city walls!"

At the command, the remaining soldiers scrambled down the stairs and rushed toward the rear citadel in a panicked scramble.

---

On the tower of the outer city wall, Li Hai leaned against the wall, his face a picture of panic, his eyes wide with alarm.

He could see very clearly that the watchtower was being bombarded by a constant barrage of boulders, and the soldiers on top were suffering heavy casualties. The scene was extremely bloody and horrifying.

There, the statement had become a veritable charnel house of flesh and blood!

And the soldiers remaining in the watchtower, panicked and rushed towards the moat. Even in this chaos, numerous iron-tipped arrows continued to fly at their backs!

This resulted in a large number of casualties, and who knows how many people died on the road right now!

This scene, this moment, made Li Hai's heart beat so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

"Oh no! It's broken! The watchtower has been breached!"

"It hasn't even been that long! Less than half an hour, and the Watchtower has already fallen. How can this be?"

Li Hai was as agitated as an ant on a hot griddle. Despite being in the outer city district, with a moat and a second wall ahead of him, he was still panicking.

The moat was incredibly wide. If the drawbridge was raised, it would be impossible to cross from the opposite side. If they tried to force a crossing, they would have to endure attacks from the towers of the outer city walls.

And within the city walls, there were also a large number of infantry. The roads inside the city were complex and full of alleyways, giving the defenders a natural advantage in that terrain.

But—

Although Li Hai tried to ignore it, a sense of foreboding lingered in his heart. This feeling was particularly intense.

The enemy's attack is too swift, and at present, it seems like a complete rout!

Looking at those chariots racing faster and faster, watching those siege weapons charging towards the city, Li Hai could no longer stay calmly on the city wall.

He turned his head and looked toward the inner city walls behind him...

Inside the inner city tower, Lian Xiaoru leaned against the railing, her chest heaving violently. Her face was flushed red, and beads of sweat continuously rolled down her cheeks.

The lieutenant beside him turned pale and gritted his teeth, saying:

"General, the enemy came too fast! We thought we could hold them back at the watchtower, but their firepower is simply overwhelming. Where did they get so many cannons?!"

"This...this is simply...unthinkable!"

Did the Northern Liang have trebuchets before? Could it be that Qin Ze used them when attacking the Hu cavalry?

Li Xiao-ru stared straight ahead, his eyes unblinking as he watched the guards on the watchtower flee to the inner city. His hands clenched tightly, and he slammed a fist into the wooden railing!

"Damn it!!"

"How could he have no resistance at all!"

"Try to fight them back with ballistae! We can't just give up the watchtower!"

That general pursed his lips and whispered, "The boulder's impact is too powerful. It's truly difficult to withstand."

Lien Xiao-ru angrily rebuked, "I don't know! There are always more ways than difficulties! We can't just give up on the Watchtower!"

When the general saw Lian Xiaoru's furious expression, he didn't dare to say anything more.

Lien Xiaoru then turned his gaze to the Weng City, gritting his teeth and saying:

"Enough!"

"There's still Wengcheng! Wengcheng has hundreds of thousands of my soldiers inside. The roads are complex, with infantry and archers, and it's strategically advantageous. They have many troops, but if they enter my Wengcheng! Don't even think about coming out alive!"

---

Meanwhile, Qin Ze, who was stationed at the rear of the army, stood inside a cloud ladder. He gazed far ahead with an impassive face.

Dian Wei beside him also followed his gaze towards the distance, a pair of tiger eyes widening in alarm. They jostled each other anxiously.

"My lord, the Watchtower has already been breached. Shouldn't we press our advantage and storm through?"

Qin Ze shook his head and said in a low voice, "There are too many of us. It's impossible for us to enter Wengcheng at the same time. We can't fight street battles in Wengcheng. The Back Ridge Army is very good at that."

After capturing Weng City and crossing the moat, one would truly face the defenses of Anyang County. At this point, it was necessary for the siege camp to charge at the forefront.

After the words fell, Xu Zhu silently nodded, while Dian Wei gritted his teeth and said, "When we storm the city, I'll let that Lian Xiaru taste the sharpness of my blade!"

Saying that, he raised an eyebrow at Xu Zhu. Xu Zhu's face was as deep as water and he remained silent, only tightening his grip on the Huo Yun Dao in his hand.

I just learned today that there's this kind of illustration for persimmons, hehe. Let's just make do and look at it everyone, it's pretty difficult to use. The little author needs to keep practicing and figuring things out.

I'll try adding some illustrations to the next part of the story and see how it looks.

Good night everyone, love you all (`

(Editor in charge：novel peter pan)