Chapter 157: Condescending

Looking at the eager expressions of the various commanders, Ding cleared his throat and calmly said, "Today in front of the battle line, I carefully observed the terrain of Luoshu Pass. The pass is built right at the mountain gap of Arrow Ravine Ridge, completely blocking the pass. With the Hu army guarding it, our army would find it hard to fly across this fortress even with wings."

At this point, Ding paused, swept his gaze over everyone, and continued, "Although Luoshu Pass has high walls and a perilous location, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, it also has its geographical flaws. I believe you have all seen that Luoshu Pass faces east and backs west, with the cliffs of Arrow Ravine Ridge on both its northern and southern sides. The fortress is wedged directly beneath these cliffs. If we climb to the summits of the cliffs on either side, we can look down from above and rain arrows into the fortress, or roll down boulders and logs. The Hu army inside will inevitably fall into chaos, and our army can seize the opportunity to launch an attack and surely break through the pass in one fell swoop!"

"Commander Tian, you make it sound easy, but do you know that the cliffs of Arrow Ravine Ridge are exceptionally steep, and right now the mountain is covered in snow? Is it something you can just climb up simply by saying so?" Luo Simao retorted loudly with disdain.

The problem Luo Simao thought of had also occurred to Gao Wanjun and Huang Wenlong. They both fixed their gazes on Ding's face, waiting for his answer.

"I have also thought about this issue, but I don't think it can be considered a real difficulty. Compared to assaulting the fortress, climbing the mountain is clearly much easier. When I was observing the terrain of Luoshu Pass today, I also looked closely at it and noticed that the cliffside closer to the Luoshu River is relatively gentler. We can choose to climb from there, select a few agile men to scale it first, and then drop ropes so that the men below can pull themselves up the mountain by the ropes," Ding explained slowly.

"If we can truly climb to the top of the cliff, it would indeed be a brilliant strategy!" Huang Wenlong nodded and said.

"Then let it be so. Commander Ding, tonight you will go to the camp and select five hundred soldiers skilled in climbing, lead them to scale Arrow Ravine Ridge first, and then drop the ropes. We will send subsequent reinforcements up later," Gao Wanjun instructed Ding. It was obvious that she also approved of Ding's strategy.

That night, Ding selected five hundred agile and skilled climbing soldiers from the camp, packed essential tools and items such as ropes, and quietly slipped out of the camp to arrive beneath the cliffs of Arrow Ravine Ridge.

Arrow Ravine Ridge ran north and south, stretching for thousands of miles. The cliffs soared high and sheer, covered in snow, making them extremely difficult to scale.

Luoshu Pass happened to block the gap in Arrow Ravine Ridge, with cliffs towering far above the fortress on both its northern and southern sides.

Standing in front of the mountain with his men, taking advantage of the moonlight and snow-glare, Ding carefully observed the cliffs on the northern and southern sides of Luoshu Pass. He found that the cliffside closer to the Luoshu River was slightly gentler in certain areas, making it appear somewhat easier to climb. In contrast, the cliff on the southern side of Luoshu Pass was much more perilous, requiring considerably more effort to scale and posing a much greater danger.

The source of the Luoshu River came from the mountain streams on Arrow Ravine Ridge. Because of its large volume, it did not freeze even in winter.

Leading the five hundred soldiers to a spot not far from the Luoshu River where the cliff face was relatively gentler, Ding inspected the mountain shape and discovered that even here, climbing up would be no easy task. The precipice occasionally offered tiny footholds, but they were covered with snow, and one careless move would lead to a slip.

Among the five hundred soldiers, some volunteered to make the first attempt at climbing. Unfortunately, several men tried multiple times without getting very far before losing their footing and sliding down. Fortunately, there were men waiting below to catch them, preventing any serious injuries.

Seeing this, and fearing that his men might get hurt, Ding quickly stopped them from trying again. He thought to himself that he would have to take the lead personally.

Ding knew that after practicing the *Heart-Melting Art* and reaching the first tier, not only had his strength and speed increased significantly, but his vision and hearing also surpassed ordinary people, and he even felt his memory continuously improving. Furthermore, when he went to Sunset Mountain previously, he had scaled precipices barehanded, so he was confident that he had more experience in rock climbing than these soldiers.

However, ideals were rich, but reality was harsh. When Ding climbed himself, he did not fare much better than the other soldiers. When he had climbed about three zhang high, his foot suddenly slipped into empty space, and his body immediately began to slide down the cliff face.

A height of over three zhang was equivalent to more than ten meters in later generations. Had he slid all the way to the ground, even if it didn't kill him, it would have left him severely injured.

In this critical moment, Ding quickly drew the dagger at his waist and thrust it fiercely into a fissure in the rock face, instantly suspending his body in mid-air. This dagger, acquired during his trip to Sunset Mountain, was exceptionally sharp.

Having stopped his descent, Ding gripped the dagger hilt with his right hand while groping around with his left, trying to find a handhold.

Fortunately, this was the exact path everyone had attempted to climb moments before, and a few protruding rocks that could serve as footholds were not far from his side. After several efforts, Ding finally planted both feet firmly on the footholds. Only then did the hanging hearts of the soldiers settle down slightly.

Everyone shouted together, "General Tian, come down first and talk!" They were all worried that Ding might suffer an accident.

Realizing the difficulty of rock climbing and having no wish to court further danger by continuing upward, Ding carefully scrambled back down the cliff.

Returning safely to the bottom of the cliff, Ding frowned, scrutinized the cliff face once more, and thought rapidly, searching for a method to scale the precipice.

"If only we could fly up!" muttered a soldier softly from the side.

Indeed, if one could fly up, it would save an immense amount of trouble, but how could one fly up? Ding pondered to himself.

If it were in later generations, flying to the top of this cliff would not be a difficult task, but this was ancient times, lacking the advanced equipment and technology of the future.

Thinking of modern times, Ding's eyes suddenly lit up. He remembered the launchers and flying grappling claws he used to practice with when scaling high-rise buildings during his time in the military. Although this era lacked launchers and grappling claws, his army possessed repeating crossbow wagons!

With this thought, everything became clear to him. Ding immediately sent men back to the camp to push over several repeating crossbow wagons. The soldiers seemed to understand his intention and ran happily back to the main camp.

It did not take long before the soldiers hauled over a dozen repeating crossbow wagons. These wagons were large crossbows improved upon Ding's repeating crossbow design, capable of firing spears a zhang long with tremendous destructive power.

Ding ordered the soldiers to secure ropes to several long spears, and then use the dozen or so crossbow wagons to fire the spears upward into the cliff face.

Sure enough, after more than a dozen spears were fired, several embedded themselves firmly into the crevices of the rock wall and jammed tight, while a few others, though missing the fissures, became wedged securely among the rocks. The soldiers tugged hard on the anchored ropes and felt they were held securely in place, prompting some to eagerly step forward and volunteer to climb.

Seeing that this method was viable, Ding took up some ropes and, leading a few soldiers, took the lead in pulling himself up the cliff along the rope.

This time, assisted by the rope, the climb went much more smoothly.

The cliff was over thirty zhang high in total. The crossbow wagons fired from below could not reach the very highest point of the cliff, so when Ding climbed to the end of the rope, he was still several zhang away from the summit. Pulling out the personal repeating crossbow he carried with him, he tied the rope he had brought along to a crossbow bolt and fired it toward the top of the mountain.

Although the portable repeating crossbow lacked the immense power of the large crossbow wagons below, it was more than capable of covering a distance of just a few zhang.

After firing repeatedly several times, the arrow shot upward finally wedged itself firmly between the rocks at the summit. Testing the rope and finding it secure, Ding resumed his climb toward the peak.

Even so, he did not dare to put too much strain on it; although his crossbow bolt had an iron shaft, he still worried whether it could bear his full weight.

With the assistance of the rope, Ding quickly scaled the summit.

Standing atop the cliff and looking down from above, he became increasingly convinced that his devised strategy was fully feasible.