Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

Whether it was Pang Xingji's Macedonian phalanx or Ji Yang's three thousand elite troops, they were nightmares that the Lord of the Mountain City dared not touch. He could only wait and see. If Pang Xingji's armored soldiers couldn't help but launch an attack, they would become the best whetstone for him.

An hour passed, and as darkness began to fall, both sides grew anxious.

Pang Xingji waited for Lin Ping's arrival, while the Mountain City Lord waited for the Mountain City Guards to arrive.

Based on the current situation, there are at most two thousand garrison troops left in Jiangcheng, which is not enough to withstand the combined attack from the two major garrisons of Xuzhou and Shancheng, not to mention the instigation by Zhang Chengming.

If all goes well, they should have already breached the main city gates by now, and tens of thousands of troops are on their way to provide support.

At this moment, Jiangcheng Prefecture is indeed facing the greatest crisis in its history.

The combined forces of the two garrisons numbered over ten thousand, plus three thousand yamen runners recruited by the prefect, making them a formidable force. They included not only cavalry skilled in field battles but also heavy infantry adept at siege warfare.

Thud...

A dull thud came from the main gate of the city, naturally the logs on the siege engine hitting the heavy gate.

This log is as thick as a man's waist, with a sharpened tip and fitted with a steel plate, making it virtually indestructible.

However, the main gate of the city was reinforced with iron plates, and even the bolts were replaced with steel. Even though it made a dull sound, there was no danger of it being breached.

Meanwhile, falling stones and pieces of wood from the city wall ended the lives of the last few people.

This was the fifth wave of attacks launched by the enemy. Because the number of defenders in Jiangcheng was small and their firepower was weak, the enemy was able to reach the gate each time. Fortunately, the city gate held up well, giving the defenders inside the city more time.

"Zhang Chengming, you dare to lie to me!" The Shancheng Guard Captain pointed at the Jiangcheng Prefect's nose and cursed. The previous attacks were all launched by Shancheng Guards, and now more than a thousand people have been killed or wounded, but they have not been able to touch the body of the defenders.

This was indeed Zhang Chengming's fault for misinformation; he was unaware that the main city gate had been reinforced with steel.

"Commander, don't panic! We can use ladders to attack the city!" The Prefect of Jiangcheng was also sweating profusely, but he forced himself to remain calm so as not to anger the other party.

"Do you think I'm blind? You think you can climb a four-zhang-high city wall?" The captain of the mountain city guard cursed again, even suspecting that the other party was insulting his intelligence.

Generally speaking, a city wall three zhang high is considered a large city, and it is very difficult to attack. Only the city wall of Yingtian Prefecture is four zhang high.

In fact, they hadn't prepared a four-zhang-high ladder at all. If the soldiers swarmed up the ladder like ants and found that it wasn't high enough, it would be a very embarrassing and dangerous situation.

"Does the city lord's mansion really have the power to raise the city wall to four zhang?" Zhang Chengming said sarcastically. "As far as I know, Jiang Xiuwu only raised the parapet by one zhang with mud. Our army only needs to climb to a height of three zhang to easily destroy that one-zhang-high parapet with weapons."

This is true. The parapet was just a thin wall on the outer edge of the city wall used for shooting. A parapet that was ten feet high could be blown down by the wind and could not withstand the blows of swords and spears.

The Mountain City Guard Captain nodded to himself, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Continue the attack!"

With a command, thousands of infantrymen carrying ladders on their shoulders charged forward madly. The arrow rain created by the two thousand defenders could not kill them all. When they approached the city wall, there were as many as eight hundred left.

"Fire again!" Seeing that the enemy had already set up siege ladders, the city lord personally took command, and two thousand arrows rained down from the sky once again.

The mountain city garrison commander dispatched heavily armored infantry, which could effectively withstand crossbow fire. After a volley of arrows, only a hundred men were lost.

"Charge!" shouted a captain leading the team, greatly boosting morale.

Hundreds of guards swarmed up the ladder like ants, with at least five people on each ladder, almost head to toe and feet to head.

At this moment, the city lord stopped firing arrows and quietly waited for them to climb up.

Upon seeing this, the enemy was delighted and increased their climbing speed again. Before long, they had reached a height of three zhang, which could be considered the top of the cloud ladder.

"Break!" Dozens of soldiers on the siege ladders lined up in a straight line, all striking the parapet with the hard hilts of their swords, waiting for the wall to collapse.

It must be said that this attack was indeed quite powerful; the entire parapet trembled slightly, immediately causing the city lord to break out in a cold sweat.

Once the parapet collapses, these hundreds of soldiers will swarm in. Even if the two thousand defenders can drive them back, they will not be able to withstand the tens of thousands of enemies below the city.

Therefore, this parapet was a matter of life and death for the city lord. Even though its strength had been tested beforehand, the city lord was still worried and even clasped his hands together in prayer.

The shocking thing was that the parapet, made of concrete, showed no signs of damage or even cracks.

"Fight back!" The city lord was overjoyed and immediately shouted.

Two thousand private soldiers acted quickly, throwing the stones they had prepared in advance through the crenellations, which landed directly above the ladder.

The enemy's heavy armor was both an advantage and a disadvantage. When the boulder hit their heads, they were powerless to hold onto the ladder with their hands and fell to the ground along with several guards below. They were bruised and bleeding from all seven orifices, dying a gruesome death.

Almost every stone could kill five enemies, like skewering candied hawthorns, far more effective than crossbow bolts. Most of the hundreds of people were reduced to a pile of minced meat, their blood forming a small stream—a truly gruesome sight.

"Hahaha! As expected of my good son-in-law, this wall can hold back an army of 100,000!" The city lord laughed heartily, feeling even more fortunate to have picked up such a treasure.

Since Jiangcheng didn't suffer any losses, it's likely that Yancheng also won a great victory.

The city lord couldn't help but laugh with excitement. He even felt that after this battle, the Mountain City Lord's Mansion would never amount to anything again.

"Is this the mud wall you were talking about?" The commander of the mountain city guard was so angry that he gritted his teeth and wished he could execute Zhang Chengming on the spot. Repeatedly reporting false military information was a capital offense, and even though he held a high rank, he could not escape military law.

Zhang Chengming was so frightened that he trembled all over and broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly shouted, "Quickly extend the cloud ladder by one zhang!"

After receiving the order, a thousand constables ran away in unison, whether to extend the siege ladder or to take the opportunity to desert.

Extending the siege ladders is a considerable undertaking, requiring at least two hours. By then, it will be completely dark, making it unsuitable for attacking the city. In other words, it will take at least until dawn the following day.

"Hmph, I'd like to see how long you can hold out." The captain of the Mountain City Guard sneered, mistakenly believing that Lin Ping and the others had been eliminated by the Mountain City Lord and that they had plenty of time to wait.