Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 847: Temporarily repelled, can’t hold on any longer!

Gao Yao was well aware that he had limited gunpowder, and had buried almost all of it at the designated detonation point. The shockwave and fragments from the explosion itself had a limited killing range, directly killing or injuring two or three hundred Chu soldiers at best. The true cause of the Chu army's heavy casualties and current chaos was the psychological impact and chain reaction of the explosion!

That earth-shattering blast was nothing short of divine retribution for the soldiers and horses, who had never experienced such a terrifying sound before! Men were instantly stunned, their hearts and gallbladders shattered, and morale crumbled like an avalanche. Horses, naturally fearing thunder, were now maddened, completely out of control! Even Xiang Yu, a formidable warrior, was startled enough to be thrown from his mount by his majestic black horse, so what about the steeds of ordinary soldiers? Countless knights were thrown and trampled by the frightened, galloping horses. The uncontrolled horses disrupted their once-strict formation, and the casualties from the trampling and collisions far exceeded those of the explosion itself. Panic spread like a plague, and the soldiers abandoned their armor and weapons, hoping only to escape this terrifying place, a place shrouded in the howling of demons and gods.

For Xiang Yu, even more fatal than the casualties he saw before him was the complete collapse of his army's morale! The ferocious offensive of the 20,000-man army, already worn down by the defenders' tenacious resistance, was now met with an unprecedented and horrific blow. The string of courage in the soldiers' hearts was completely broken.

Xiang Yu understood the key. War is all about morale! When adrenaline surges and soldiers are driven to kill, they become like ferocious beasts, unafraid of pain and fearless of life and death. This is the state of supreme morale, capable of forsaking fear and unleashing astonishing fighting power.

Once that momentum was lost, fear, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed their rationality. The soldiers would shrink back, their perception of pain and death magnified infinitely, unable to even exert 50% of their full combat power. At this point, the Chu army was a group of frightened, terrified birds. Let alone continuing the siege, even regrouping would be incredibly difficult.

In the eyes of the Chu army soldiers, the Yangping Pass before them was no longer a battlefield for making achievements, but a gate of hell that swallowed lives. The Gao Yao on the top of the city wall who could summon thunder from the sky was as terrifying as a demon.

Xiang Yu looked around, watching the soldiers running around like headless flies, listening to the endless wails and the wailing of warhorses, and feeling the despair that filled the air. His knuckles on the Overlord Spear were white from the strain, and his eyes burned with resentful rage. He longed to conquer this pass in one fell swoop and rip Gao Yao into pieces!

But reality was cold and cruel. No matter how brave one was, one couldn't force a terrifying army to attack when morale was completely broken. Continuing the attack would only result in more casualties and could even lead to a larger-scale rout.

This overlord, who was as strong as a mountain and as powerful as the world, could only suppress the anger and humiliation boiling in his chest and made the most rational yet helpless choice: retreat!

"Retreat! Sound the horn! Each unit should take turns to cover each other and retreat to a safe area! Treat the wounded and gather the defeated soldiers!" Xiang Yu's voice was a little hoarse, but still full of unquestionable majesty. He tried to inject a bit of order into the chaos.

Gao Yao stood on the bloodstained, smoke-stained wall of Yangping Pass, the setting sun a bloodshot blaze, his lone figure stretched out into the distance. He watched the vast, chaotic Chu army, under Xiang Yu's strenuous command, creeping backwards like a wounded beast, slowly and desperately retreating, amid billowing smoke, the pungent smell of blood, and pervasive panic. The trembling of the city wall beneath his feet seemed to have barely subsided, the last vestiges of the Chu battering ram's power, the lingering groan of the earth after his black powder detonation.

A brief respite is at hand.

But this breath, the price is so heavy! Gao Yao withdrew his gaze from the distance, slowly sweeping across the top of the city where he was. The scene before him made him feel even colder and heavier than the retreat of the Chu army below the city.

Defenses on the verge of collapse: the limits of flesh and blood

The 3,000 personal soldiers he brought with him were once well-equipped, highly motivated, and battle-hardened elites. Yet, in just seven days! At this crumbling pass, they withstood the relentless assaults of 20,000 fierce troops, personally led by Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu. Today's brutal battle, coupled with the earth-shattering explosion, had practically drained the defenders of their very life force.

There are less than 1,500 soldiers capable of fighting!

This number was like an icy iron spike, piercing Gao Yao's heart. What was even more despairing was that among these mere 1,500 people, almost none of them were intact. They were either leaning or leaning, sitting or lying, scattered all over the city walls. Most of them had injuries of varying degrees of severity: broken arms wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, injured legs that could barely stand with the help of spears, knife scars on their faces that were deep enough to see the bone, and many more wounds caused by arrows, gravel, and explosion shock waves. Many people were just relying on willpower to hold on, their eyes were cloudy, their movements were slow, and every breath seemed extremely difficult. Their armor had long been tattered, their weapons were bent and broken, and their hands holding the knives were shaking slightly uncontrollably.

Exhaustion, deep-rooted exhaustion! Seven days and nights of intense fighting, vigilance, and repairing fortifications, without adequate rest, had stretched the soldiers' physical strength to its limit, their endurance reaching its physical limits. Many could even fall into brief slumbers while standing, only to be jolted awake by the groans of their comrades or the rustling of the wind below, and seized their weapons in panic. In this state, what fraction of their fighting power remained? How much longer could their will hold out?

Gao Yao's heart sank to the bottom. He knew better than anyone that the Yangping Pass's defense system had reached its absolute limit.

"Tomorrow..." Gao Yao closed his eyes, and the result was clearly deduced in his mind.

If Xiang Yu rested overnight and returned tomorrow... the result would be almost certain. Although the Chu army suffered heavy losses today and its morale was crushed, its huge military base is still there, and its core backbone is still there. On the other hand, our side:

The disparity in strength: less than 1,500 remnants facing at least 15,000 fresh troops of the Chu army. A ten-to-one or even higher disparity was like an insurmountable chasm.

The defenders, exhausted both physically and mentally, were at the end of their rope, struggling to organize even the most basic defensive rotations. The black powder that had turned the tide of the day's battle, providing a moment of respite, had been used up. No more tricks remained, only the most primitive and brutal hand-to-hand combat.

The Chu army suffered a setback, but Xiang Yu remained, their foundation intact, and they could at least recover some of their fighting strength after a rest. Meanwhile, the defenders, the brief boost brought by today's miracle explosion, had long been overwhelmed by extreme physical exhaustion and the huge number of casualties. All that remained was a despairing numbness and the fear of tomorrow's death.

"The probability of holding on... I'm afraid it's less than 10%." Gao Yao coldly gave this harsh assessment. Yangping Pass would be breached in a matter of days, tomorrow, or even at dawn!