The arduous ascent

Page (1/3)

As the trigger was pulled, the entirely metal-made hand crossbow emitted a series of muffled “bang, bang, bang” sounds.

Then, ten tiger claws attached to steel cables shot upward with a sharp whistle.

The tiger claws traveled about ten meters before firmly grasping the protruding rocks on the cliff, sparking a streak of light.

Su Lie and the others reached out to pull the tiger claws taut quickly. They then tried pulling harder, finding no looseness.

Thus, the ten of them, like agile monkeys, used the steel cables to swiftly climb upward.

Upon reaching the tiger claws, they took out specially made steel nails from their backpacks.

Then, using hammers, they drove the steel nails into the rock.

During this process, the second group of ten had already begun their ascent.

When they arrived, they secured the steel cables they carried onto the steel nails.

The lead climbers then repeated the previous actions, while those behind continued to climb up.

This process was extremely strenuous, especially hammering the steel nails into the rock.

After two rotations, Su Lie and his group swapped positions with those behind, handing over their duties.

The third group was no easier; they had to constantly shuttle up and down to ferry ropes to Su Lie and the others.

By the time they reached the mountainside, darkness had fully descended.

At that point, continuing upward was impossible.

Without hesitation, they slid down the ropes.

At dawn the next day, they resumed their mission.

This time, everyone wore the same shoe covers as Su Lie’s group.

Their task was to reach the summit and launch an attack on the enemy at midnight.

As they climbed higher, the cliff became increasingly steep.

When they were still over two hundred meters from the summit, Su Lie’s group encountered their greatest challenge.

At this distance, they dared not nail steel pins into the cliff face any longer.

They couldn’t be certain there were no enemy sentries on this side.

Now, their only reliance was on the tiger claws.

This meant every anchor point had to be unwaveringly secure.

After a brief rest, Su Lie and the others began the final climb.

The intermittent mountain winds provided excellent cover.

Page (2/3)

The sound of tiger claws striking rock was barely audible beneath the wind’s masking howl.

Long training had given them a thorough understanding of the rock’s structure, greatly reducing the risk of accidents.

Yet, this was not their toughest ordeal.

When they were about a hundred meters from the summit, even the tiger claws had to be abandoned.

The remaining distance was close enough for those at the top to hear the claws’ scraping.

Hence, they had to climb the rest by hand.

At this moment, every heart was clenched with anxiety.

Any slight misstep could send them plunging hundreds of meters, buried without a trace.

Leading the way, Su Lie’s team sought the easiest possible routes up.

They also cleared away loose ice clinging to the cliff.

They climbed that hundred meters continuously until nightfall.

By then, aside from Su Lie’s ten-person vanguard, everyone else had stopped about fifty meters from the summit.

Su Lie’s group, as the advance team, had to scout the summit first, then use ropes to bring the rest up.

Their caution paid off.

Hou Junji had indeed stationed four men beside this cliff face.

Fortunately, due to the bitter cold, these four kept their distance, watching from over ten meters away.

Their task was merely to keep watch and raise an alarm upon spotting the Dragon Cavalry.

Night had fully fallen by then.

The four prepared to endure the cold as they hurried to light a row of torches placed along the cliff’s edge.

Grumbling curses, they wrapped their clothes tighter around themselves as they ran toward the torches.

Just as they reached the cliff edge, Su Lie and his group suddenly emerged from below.

Caught completely off guard, the four were stunned into silence.

Without a single move, they were captured by Su Lie’s team.

Even after being tightly bound, they remained in shock.

Suddenly, one of them began trembling violently.

A pungent smell of urine spread through the air.

His pupils dilated rapidly, and his mouth opened wide.

Page (3/3)

This man was truly terrified.

He wanted to scream out, to vent his fear.

His mind refused to see Su Lie’s group as human; instead, he imagined them as vengeful spirits.

Noticing his actions, Su Lie quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth.

Simultaneously, he spoke: “Comrades, I have no wish to harm you. I hope you will honor the rules of this contest and not make things difficult for me.”

This contest was strictly forbidden to cause fatalities.

Before it began, both sides had agreed that anyone captured or defeated must remain silent.

But the sudden appearance of Su Lie’s team was terrifying beyond words.

Each of the four struggled with the overwhelming urge to cry out.

After seeing Su Lie’s face, the man whose mouth was covered felt less fearful.

Still, like the others, he was unable to speak.

What Su Lie’s team had done was almost unimaginable; no one could believe it was real.

Frankly, no one in this era would believe that anyone could climb up from this cliff face.

Even Hou Junji, who had personally assigned the four guards, did not believe it.

Yet, despite this, after two days without any sign of the Dragon Cavalry, he inexplicably stationed men along the other three cliff edges.

His actions drew ridicule from others, and even the soldiers assigned complained privately.

Seeing no response from the four, Su Lie furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you not intend to abide by the agreement?”

Upon hearing this, the four immediately shook their heads. One finally regained the ability to speak.

He said quickly, “General Su, please do not misunderstand. I was simply too shocked to reply.”

He spoke swiftly, fearing Su Lie might lose patience and act rashly.

Su Lie nodded at his answer and hurriedly helped the others lower the ropes.

The four watched helplessly as the entire Dragon Cavalry climbed to the summit before their eyes.

They watched as the Dragon Cavalry organized their gear.

Although none carried bows this time for convenience, the four were certain their side had failed once again.