The World Online
chapter-1020

The death of Ruan Tianque was like another huge bomb on the already unsettled Annan, shrouding Haiphong City with uncertainty.

The Great Xia Yashan Squadron had already arrived in the nearby ocean region, so who knows how long Haiphong City could last?

Toward Ruan Tianque's death, the Annan players felt a whole host of emotions. However, his death made scolding words useless, and all that was left was one feeling sad for him.

If Annan were a boat, it was now riddled with many holes and was slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

More amusingly, Ruan Tianque's death meant that Annan could not get any help from allies, quickening the destruction of Annan.

Maybe the moment he decided to die, Ruan Tianque had stopped caring so much.

...

Ruan Tianque died, but the country war still had to continue.

When the Annan three armies got the news to return, they immediately stopped their attacks and retreated back to their camps, preparing to leave after the night.

The problem was, would Great Xia allow them to?

With the north battlefield as an example, two days ago, Shi Wanshui had gotten news that the second batch of troops had gathered up in the northwest. Seeing that the enemy was about to flee, how could Shi Wanshui let them off?

If the Annan army tried to leave, Shi Wanshui's forces would chase closely behind, hitting away at the enemy. Like that, the situation that the Annan army faced was a really awkward one.

If they decided to retreat, not only would they face the risk of being chased by the enemy, but even if they smoothly returned to Hanoi, the Great Xia Army could naturally follow them back.

If that happened, not to mention entering the city, but they might be pincered by Great Xia and die right outside the city.

Retreating pretty much became a lost cause.

"So, what should we do?"

The three army commanders were facing such a difficult question, and they all made different choices.

As the north and east troops were closer to Hanoi, they were going to obey the king's orders and return to the imperial city first.

The south troops had just engaged Great Xia. As the journey was far, they gritted their teeth, advancing instead of retreating, going all out against the Great Xia south army.

5th month, 4th day, Baiqi led the 280 thousand vanguard forces and arrived in the nearby outskirts of Hanoi and started to set up camp. That afternoon, they launched their probing attacks on Hanoi.

There were 200 thousand guards and 100 thousand combat occupation players in Hanoi, along with two million work occupation players, and seven million civilians. As a result, they had the ability to resist.

Their only hope was to last until the three armies returned.

That night, the 560 thousand army arrived in Hanoi, and based on Baiqi's arrangement, they surrounded Hanoi. War was about to begin.

The next morning, the Great Xia Army got to work.

Baiqi's strategy was simple. Although he surrounded the enemy from four sides, he was only going to attack one, "As long as one is broken, let the cavalry enter and destroy the stone stele. That would mean we win the war!"

As for the specific target, Baiqi chose the east side.

Choosing the hill on the east outskirts as a command center, Baiqi looked at the towering imperial city and said, "Who's willing to go and act as the vanguard to break the east gate?"

"Commander, I am willing!"

The moment Baiqi said those words, a general sought to fight. The Legion General of the 1st Bear Legion Corps legion, Chen Tang.

Chen Tang joined Great Xia along with the Jiangchuan Province, and he could be considered half a surrendered general. As a result, he had not fully merged into the Great Xia Army system and badly wished to prove himself on the battlefield.

When Baiqi saw that, he nodded, "Good, you'll be one."

For this attack, Baiqi was ready to send two legions up. It was best if both were infantry.

The 1st legion of the Bear Legion Corps was formed from the elites of the territory armies of Jiangchuan Province, so their combat strength was not a problem. Who knows how Chen Tang had managed to drill them and consolidate their strengths.

The Battle of Annan was a test.

When Pei Renji saw that, he was vexed. As a general that joined Great Xia recently, he wanted to establish credit. However, because of his hesitation, Chen Tang had snatched the chance.

Baiqi could not give both of the two spots over to the Bear Legion Corps, so Pei Renji pretty much had no chance with this mission.

Seeing the commander select Chen Tang, the five Legion Generals of the Dragon Legion Corps could not sit still. After all, they were under the commander, so how could he let outsiders snatch their spot?

"Commander, I am willing!"

Pretty much at the same time, Lai Hu'er and Luo Shixin both sought to battle.

When Baiqi saw that, he hesitated, not knowing which one of them to select. Both of them could only look on at the commander, their eyes filled with desire.

"Let the 2nd legion fight!"

Baiqi decided to choose Lai Hu'er in the end. It was not for other reasons, but simply that Luo Shixin was better at cavalry battles.

"Thank you commander!"

Lai Hu'er's face flushed red with emotion whilst Luo Shixin was unhappy.

Although Lai Hu'er had fallen for an ambush and was demoted during the Battle of Shu Lands, he had learned from his mistakes. In the end, he used his achievements to regain Ouyang Shuo's trust.

At the same time, he had also earned the trust of Baiqi.

After the attacking forces were selected, the army immediately sent down the orders.

'Dong! Dong! Dongdong!'

Along with familiar drum beats, the armies on the four sides launched their attacks at the same time.

The true sieging main force of Lai Hu'er and Chen Tang was amongst the sieging troops as they attacked the east city wall.

As there was limited space, to show fairness, he arranged Chen Tang's forces as the first wave. Lai Hu'er was behind him, ready to take over.

Of course, Chen Tang was not willing to see that happen.

"Boys, it's time to gain credit. Follow me to kill the enemy!"

As he said that, Chen Tang led his Personal Guards and charged forward. 70 thousand healthy men hollered behind him. Right from the get go, they looked like they were going all out.

Around 500 meters away from the city gate, they stopped their steps.

It was time for the machines to work as siege chariots. Trebuchets, and arrow turrets were pushed to the front to suppress the enemy.

Since they had to travel through a tunnel, they only brought a limited number of siege weapons. Chen Tang did not care. Once the trebuchets and arrow turrets suppressed the attacks of the soldiers on the city war, he gave the order to siege.

One division after another was sent to the frontlines.

Since a military order was given, Chen Tang had no way out.

The defending Annan soldiers on the wall similarly had no way out. They would either die there or die when their country was wiped out. This was destined to be a bloody and intense battle.

The ferocious Bear Legion Corps, under the defenses of the Annan army, failed their first three waves of attacks. In the blink of an eye, three to four thousand from the 1st legion had died.

When Chen Tang saw that, his face twitched, sending out another fresh force.

"Boys, the enemy is a tough nut to crack, but we are not cowards. This battle concerns our glory. Behind us, the other legion corps brothers are looking at us, the commander is looking at us, and the king is looking at us."

"Whether we can bring name to the Bear Legion Corps or not depends on today!"

Chen Tang fervently shouted, trying his best to raise their morale, making their blood boil as they barked, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

This was the gene of the Great Xia Army.

Since they were a professional army, each one of them viewed glory as more important than their life.

A crueler siege battle was started. To raise their morale, Chen Fang even ordered the Major Generals to personally lead. He wanted to take down the east city gate by noon.

However, how could this be easy?

Be it the Annan Guards or the Annan players, they were all fighting with their backs against the walls. Behind them were their families, brothers, and friends, so they had totally no way out.

"They could only fight to the death!"

At 8 AM, the east side battle reached its climax.

The Bear Legion Corps 1st legion was filled with elites, and each one of them was fearless. However, Hanoi was an imperial city, and it had perfect defensive facilities and an abundance of them.

Successive attacks, successive failures.

The high city wall was like the grave of the Bear Legion Corps, chewing at one fresh life after another. Chen Tang's face turned blacker and blacker as he stared stubbornly at the front.

At 11 AM, around 30 thousand Bear Legion Corps soldiers had died. For them to last till now, they should feel proud of themselves.

The deputy general said to Chen Tang, "General, why not back down and rest up? The soldiers cannot hold on anymore!" Even in such a disciplined army, such huge casualties could not help but shake their hearts.

Chen Tang gritted his teeth, as he was under a lot of pressure.

"He was not willing!"

Under the relentless attacks, the defending troops were facing problems, and they were just about to succeed.

"Let them hold on for a while more!"

Chen Tang was thinking about it. However, before he could say it out loud, a messenger ran over and said to Chen Tang, "General Chen, General Lai is asking you to back down if you cannot do it and let the Dragon Legion Corps take over."

"What did you say?"

When Chen Tang heard that, he immediately exploded. His eyes turned red as he fumed, "Bastard! Go tell that one surnamed Lai to stand aside and watch us break apart the city gate. If he charges out at this moment, do not blame our swords for having no eyes."

"This...."

The messenger was put on the spot.

"Why aren't you going?" Chen Tang hollered like a ferocious tiger.

When the surrounding Bear Legion Corps soldiers saw that, they were astonished. They did not know that the gentle looking Legion General would be so scary when he was angry.

"Yes, yes, I'll go now!"

The messenger was similarly stunned and ran back.

Chen Tang had no energy to focus on one messenger as he turned around and looked at the nearby soldiers. He loudly said, "Did you hear that? If we cannot take it down, those rabbits are going to ride on top of our heads. Can you take this??"

"No!"

"I cannot either!" Chen Tang took in a deep breath. With a 'Shua!', he pulled out the sword by his waist, "Let's not waste words. Boys, follow me and break the city gates at all costs!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"