Next Day, Dawn — Northern Khaganate Camp
In the command tent, the highest-ranking officers of the Northern Khaganate gathered for a meeting.
At the head sat the Commander, Kharun Temur.
"These Sheng dogs are really treacherous. Over three thousand raiders!" he shouted, glaring at the generals in the room.
"Commander, we do not know how the Sheng dogs keep doing this. The Soldiers are now terrified of being assigned to scouting units." A general spoke with the other generals nodding at his words.
They were not so detached from their subbordinates that they couldn't see the fear in their eyes when selected for scouting.
Some of them had even intentionally sent unruly and/or annoying underlings into scouting units to dispose of them.
However, a certain general had a different expression on his face.
After a moment of pondering, he stepped forward.
"Commander, I think the results from last night's raid is actually good news. Now, we can be certain that they are scared and undermanned," said General Batu, the same general who had received and presented the scouts' and raiders' reports.
"What do you mean?" the Commander asked.
"Previously, we kept losing nearly all our scouts. But during those times, the number sent out was small. Yesterday, we sent five thousand raiders, and over one thousand returned. That shows we have reached their limit. With all their underhanded tactics, 4,000 is their limit." General Batu replied.
The camp fell into murmurs of understanding.
Another general spoke. "So you're saying that—"
"There is nothing to be particularly cautious about. We should strike hard and fast. Two forces will strike the secondary passes, while the main force attacks the fortress. Whatever resistance they attempt will be futile," General Batu finished.
A moment of silence passed as the generals looked to their commander, awaiting his decision.
"We shall do as General Batu says. 15,000 troops should be more than enough to crush the 5,000 Sheng soldiers stationed at each secondary pass. As for the main fortress, we strike swiftly and relentlessly," the Commander declared.
The meeting continued as they finalized troop deployments and leadership assignments.
---
North Wall, Beiguan Fortress
Atop the wall, Qin Feng stood fully armored, arms folded, staring toward the Northern Khaganate camp.
Using True Sight, he observed the entire meeting within their command tent.
Though he could not hear them, he roughly understood their discussion through lip-reading—something he had practiced diligently since returning to the fortress.
He watched as they concluded their meeting and orders began cascading down their ranks.
'Based on their speed, it would take 2-3 days before they can begin their siege.'
He shifted his gaze to the soldiers along the walls and felt a trace of emotion rise within him. Some of these men would breathe their last in the coming days. Others would be maimed or crippled and returned home as splintered soldiers.
He closed his eyes.
A silent prayer.
Then he steeled himself.
'A battle approaches… I cannot save them all. But I will ensure they do not suffer in vain.'
---
Three Days Later
Three days passed. During that time, Shadow's squad increased by twenty, and most were stationed to protect General Feng Luo's camp of 8,000 cavalry.
Qin Feng had tasked Shadow with ensuring that the Northern Khaganate army did not discover Feng Luo's camp and that no foul play occurred.
Currently, one hundred and twenty Shadow Stalkers were deployed for that purpose, while the remaining fifty were stationed throughout the fortress. Shadow himself remained by Qin Feng's side, ready to relay orders.
Now Qin Feng stood upon the wall, staring at the assembled Northern Khaganate forces. They had committed roughly 80,000 troops to the siege.
Two siege towers stood prepared, battering rams positioned, and hundreds of ladders ready for deployment.
Atop Beiguan's walls, Qin Feng's soldiers stood ready—positioned and fully equipped with peerless weapons purchased from the system.
Moments later, the Northern Khaganate army began to move.
Twenty-five thousand horse archers detached from the main force and advanced toward the fortress.
Their objective was to provide cover fire before the infantry advanced—the first wave of attack.
They divided into rotating groups of 2,500 and rode forward.
However, before reaching effective range, they were met with a devastating hail of arrows from the fortress walls—over 8,000 shafts raining down before they could even loose their first volley.
The initial barrage nearly wiped out the first group, who had been completely unprepared. Their earlier range testing had given them a false impression of the fortress archers' reach.
The subsequent groups fared slightly better, suffering fewer casualties.
They continued rotating—two thousand five hundred advancing, firing, then retreating to be replaced by the next wave.
Their losses mounted steadily, though they managed to eliminate some of the fortress's archers in return.
Meanwhile, their infantry began advancing.
Thirty thousand soldiers formed into five assault lanes—each consisting of roughly six thousand men equipped with pavise shields, ladder teams, and one to two battering rams.
They were immediately met with arrows, repeating crossbow bolts, and ballista fire, suffering heavy casualties as they pushed forward.
The two siege towers, hastily constructed, did not even reach the walls before being reduced to splinters by the fortress's catapults.
Massive repeating crossbows continued targeting ladder crews, cutting them down before they could approach the walls.
The battlefield descended into chaos—dying screams, riderless horses racing wildly across blood-soaked ground.
Throughout the carnage, Qin Feng was far from idle.
He put his divine archery to ruthless use, loosing three arrows at a time—each precise, each lethal.
He did not just target random soldiers. Instead, he eliminated commanding officers whenever they entered his line of sight, causing delays in orders and spreading confusion throughout the enemy ranks.
By the time the ladders finally reached the walls, he had already emptied multiple quivers.
Of the hundreds of ladders brought forward, only about one hundred reached the walls, and barely fifty were successfully mounted.
Even then, the attackers suffered relentless punishment—rolling logs, boiling oil, fire pots, massive wall-mounted crossbows targeting ram crews, and General Bai hurling precisely aimed boulders into densely packed formations.
Eventually, enemy soldiers began climbing successfully and reaching the top of the walls.
But they were met by Beiguan's infantry—locked in tight formations, divided into disciplined clusters acting as cohesive units rather than individuals.
Spears thrust. Blades fell.
The defenders suffered minimal casualties.
At the gate, numerous battering rams were destroyed alongside their crews—felled by giant crossbows, boiling oil, General Bai's boulders, and hidden traps.
The battle raged for hours, yet the attackers failed to breach the fortress.
Instead, they suffered another devastating blow.
General Feng Luo and his eight thousand cavalry struck their rear, destroying arrow wagons, engineering carts, and forward signal posts—throwing the entire Khaganate army into disarray.
They struck hard, fast, and decisively.
The Northern Khaganate army had no other choice—
A horn blared from their camp.
The signal to retreat.
At the end of the battle, the Northern Khaganate lost over 24,000 men, while Beiguan Fortress lost fewer than 2,000.
---
Author's note:
Hi readers, what do you think of this chapter? Was the siege well illustrated? Did it feel rushed—or perhaps overly drawn out?
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