My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Two hours later.

Chen Da set fire to the first barracks. Sparks burst into flames under the tearing force of the gale, and the tongues of fire twisted and shot into the dark night sky, becoming the most conspicuous beacon on the eve of the storm.

One, two... even the wooden fences of the two defensive lines on the mountainside were set on fire.

The message reached the water village at top speed.

"Fire broke out on the mountain? In multiple locations?"

Murong Yan asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Can you tell whether it's an accidental fire or...?"

"Reporting to the General! The fire is extremely large and spreading very rapidly. Judging from its location, it seems to be originating from the barracks and the trenches and wooden stockades in front! It doesn't seem like an accidental fire, but rather something they started! There are no sounds of fighting!"

The scout recounted everything he had seen in detail.

Did they set fire to themselves? Burn down the camp?

Murong Yan's heart suddenly raced. Had they escaped? Or were they luring the enemy?

He forced himself to calm down and issued a series of commands.

"Reconnoiter again! Send three elite scout teams up the mountain. Don't engage the enemy, just assess the situation. Quickly!"

The waiting time felt incredibly long.

Every moment, the firelight on the mountain made Murong Yan nervous. Finally, the scout brought back even more shocking news.

"The mountain is empty! All the barracks are burned! We approached the core lake and saw what appeared to be people, just a few dozen!"

An empty camp? Burned down? Only a few dozen people left?

Countless thoughts flashed through Murong Yan's mind in an instant: dispersing the refugees and burning down the empty camps seemed to indicate that he was about to abandon his fixed position and flee.

"General! What are we waiting for!"

Murong Lie gripped the hilt of his sword and let out an excited growl.

"Xiao Heng must have known he couldn't hold the position and didn't want to aid the enemy, so he burned the camp. Those few dozen men were there to cover the rear! The mountain is empty now, a golden opportunity! Let me lead the vanguard up and seize the camp first!"

Risk and opportunity were fiercely battling in Murong Yan's mind.

The scouts' intelligence and the burning of the camp both pointed to the extreme weakness of the forces on the mountain, and it was highly likely that Xiao Heng had already escaped through other routes.

"Murong Lie!"

Murong Yan finally made up his mind.

"I'm giving you five thousand elite vanguard troops. Head up the mountain immediately! No matter what tricks Xiao Heng has up his sleeve, your mission is singular: reach the lake dam as quickly as possible!"

"Yes, sir!"

Murong Lie excitedly punched his chest, turned around and strode out.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, as Murong Lie's five thousand elite troops began to climb the mountain against the increasingly fierce wind, large raindrops began to fall, initially sparse, but in an instant turning into a downpour.

The mountain path instantly became muddy and slippery, making it difficult to walk. The torches held high were quickly extinguished in the rain, and the team could only move forward with difficulty in the dark. The heavy armor, soaked with rainwater, became even more of a burden, and the team stretched out, with the formation already starting to fall apart.

"Quick! Don't stop! Charge!"

Murong Lie roared in the rain. He was almost there, but it would take him half an hour to get back.

Immediately afterwards, the wind suddenly picked up, leaving the bare hillside exposed. Many Qin soldiers who were climbing were blown down by the gale and tumbled down the slope. The entire vanguard camp came to a complete standstill, with men and horses huddled together in the wind and rain, unable to move an inch.

And this is just the beginning.

The real terror descended upon the massive Qin army camp at the foot of the mountain.

Tents were blown away in the gale, ropes securing the tents snapped, wooden stakes were pulled out, and tents and supplies were swept into the air. In an instant, the camp was in chaos, with people and horses falling and completely out of control.

Only the relatively sturdy water fortress, with its stone foundation as the main structure, stood firm against the wind, becoming the only refuge in the eyes of the panicked Qin soldiers.

Xianbei warriors, Han auxiliary soldiers, and various non-Han laborers...

Everyone rushed toward the water fortress, crowding under the thick stone walls. The wooden house where Murong Yan was located also began to shake, feeling as if it would be blown over by a strong wind at any moment.

"General...this...this Wind Evil Sect!"

The lieutenant shouted loudly.

"General Murong Lie and his men are probably..."

"Shut up!"

Murong Yan interrupted irritably. At this moment, he was not only worried about Murong Lie on the mountain, but also felt a strange sense of unease.

Did Xiao Heng know all along that this storm was coming? The burning of the camp, the empty mountains—was all of this for the sake of this storm?

But soon, looking at the scene outside, he calmed down a bit. Under such divine might, any military action would be a joke. Perhaps he was just lucky to have chosen this time to burn the camp and retreat.

Just then, an even louder commotion arose outside the water village.

There were too many soldiers hiding under the stone wall, and the crowd was so dense that friction and trampling had already occurred.

In particular, some Xianbei officers began to roughly drive away the Han auxiliary soldiers who crowded in.

The Han Chinese auxiliary soldiers, already terrified and desperate, were driven by wind, rain, and discrimination, and their pent-up resentment and anger, suppressed for many days, were ignited like dry tinder.

In the crowd, Jiang Qianzhi gave a wink to a few of his companions. They moved quietly to the edge of the restless crowd and stirred things up in a voice that only those nearby could hear.

"These Xianbei dogs don't treat us like human beings!"

"This damn weather! They're hiding perfectly well themselves, but they're sending us out to our deaths!"

"Rather than be blown to death by the wind or hacked to death by them, we might as well fight! There must be food and dry clothes in the water village!"

"Yes! Let's go for it! Charge in!"

"..."

Chaos spread instantly. At first, it was just pushing and shoving and cursing, but soon, someone started throwing stones at the Xianbei sentries.

The Xianbei soldiers drew their swords and shouted, which only provoked a fiercer resistance. A melee broke out instantly at the narrow entrance of the water fortress and under the stone walls! The Han auxiliary soldiers were numerous and in dire straits, so they displayed astonishing ferocity. Although the Xianbei soldiers were elite, they were completely unable to form ranks in this extreme weather and chaotic crowd, and could only fight individually.

Chaos reigned both inside and outside the water fortress!

In the chaos, a familiar figure squeezed to Jiang Qianzhi's side, grabbed his arm, and shouted in his ear.

"Brother Jiang! It's me, Tan Lin!"

Jiang Qianzhi recognized Tan Lin.

"Tan Gongcao, what's wrong with you!"

"Don't ask! The lord has ordered us to seize the docks! Don't let the barbarians escape!"

"Understood!"

Jiang Qianzhi nodded emphatically and grabbed Tan Lin with his backhand.

"Follow me! I know who's available!"

Like fish swimming, the two quickly disappeared into the increasingly chaotic crowd, heading towards the dock.

On the mountain, at the dam.

Xiao Heng and Chen Da, along with fifty others, stood quietly on the leeward side of the dam.

The lake water level beneath his feet was approaching the dam's limit at a visible speed. Xiao Heng didn't look at the lake water, but instead reached out to feel the fierce north wind.

Are you scared?

he asks.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Chen grinned widely as rainwater flowed into his mouth.

"Your Excellency's ability to observe the heavens is truly astonishing!"

Xiao Heng nodded and said no more.

Chen Da kept asking when the rain started, and Xiao Heng could only give him a perfunctory answer, saying that it was a Taoist technique for observing the heavens, and he even exaggerated the technique to the point that it could summon wind and rain.

Chen Da believed it without any doubt, and even said that he had drunk talisman water when he was a child...

Soon, the lake reached its limit, and the hurricane had already passed the area, but the torrential rain had not stopped. Xiao Heng did not know if the Xianbei people were down the mountain. He had died at the hands of these people in several previous simulations. This time, he had pushed himself to the limit and even drove away the salt farmers.

Seeing that the lake water had already overflowed the dam, Xiao Heng immediately gave the order.

"Open the floodgates—"

After hearing this, Chen Da led his men to the embankment and together they pushed a huge rock down.

"boom!!!"

The boulder crashed directly onto the wooden mechanism outside the embankment.

Then came the deafening roar of collapsing rocks and soil. The reinforced and heightened dam began to crumble from that carefully calculated weak point. The lake water, which had been accumulating to its limit, found its outlet and instantly transformed into an unstoppable torrent, roaring as it rushed out!

The lake water instantly transformed into a torrent that swept everything away, rushing down the steepest ravine that had been repeatedly surveyed.

The flash flood first swallowed the logs piled up on the defensive line, then rushed directly towards Murong Lie's vanguard camp below the mountainside...

Xiao Heng could hear the screams below even from the mountain, and then the flash flood surged unstoppably through the already chaotic Qin army camp!

The stone walls of the water village trembled violently under the impact of the flood peak, and the parts near the low-lying areas were directly washed away.

Inside and outside the village, whether it was the fighting crowds or the soldiers fleeing in panic, all were as insignificant as ants before the mighty power of heaven and earth. The floodwaters showed no distinction between Xianbei and Han people, relentlessly rushing towards the sea...

Standing at the window of the room at the highest point of the water fortress, Murong Yan watched helplessly as a terrifying yellow dragon swooped down from the mountain, instantly engulfing most of his massive military camp.

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating his face, which turned deathly pale and was filled with endless terror and disbelief.

All his calculations, all his caution, all his advantages, vanished completely in the face of this all-out attack combining the machinations of heaven, earth, and man.

That wasn't water; it was an arrow that Xiao Heng had precisely calculated and was actually aimed at his forehead.

The storm is howling, the flood is roaring.

Standing beside the collapsed dam, Xiao Heng stared expressionlessly at the vast ocean below, which he had personally created.

The last card of the game has been revealed.

All that's left is to harvest.